#patrons can also see & download the zine
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✨XMACX Monthly✨ | February 2024
Happy February! Thank you again so much for voting for the Cover Model last month! March's Cover Model Poll drops tomorrow!
You may read this month's update as a public post on PTRN or below the cut! You can also see the previous issue here.
Last month went by way too quickly and now Valentines' Day is just around the corner! Then I'll blink and be another year older... This month, I'll be focusing on adding the final touches of Froot Basket: Dark Chocolate and prepping for a White Day (March 15) release. February is a short month, so I know it'll fly by... but we've got a lot of fun stuff including two OC birthdays!
Schedule
February 1 - XMACX Monthly
February 2 - Cover Model Polls
February 7 - Valentine Cards
February 9 - Cover Story
February 14 - Valentines' Day, Sidney's Bday
February 15 - Kurosaki Twin's Bday
February 16 - Art Process
February 23 - FBDC Voice Update released for Patrons!
February 28 - Sketch Dump
Cover Story Preview | Momo's Special Chocolate Recipe
Momo made some special Valentine chocolate for his beloved senpai. This month, he's sharing his special recipe!
Valentine Special
I'll be dropping some Valentine cards for everyone to download and send to your pals! I'm saving Valentines' social media post for Sidney because it's his birthday, so I'll drop the Valentine cards on social media before then.
February's OC Birthdays
This month we're celebrating Sidney, Ken, and Maya's birthdays! Sidney is an adorable red head from my project After-Party Chemistry! Ken and Maya are fraternal twins. They're not associated with any one project right now... But I'll be dropping some fun illustrations and OC lore about them on their respective days for everyone!
VN Development | Froot Basket: Dark Chocolate Release
I'll be releasing Froot Basket: Dark Chocolate's voiced update for patrons this month! You can play before I drop it on Itch on March 15. Last month, I added a "recustomize Jordan" menu in case you want to swap between Jordan's voices or looks in-game. I also messed around with the Gallery and Achievements screen, but you'll have to see in the update.
Other than prepping for FBDC's Voiced Update Release, I have some marketing art for release to work on lol... I'm planning two different pieces: a new poster featuring all the characters and a piece which features the four different color combinations of Jordans. I don't expect to finish these this month because day job's looking pretty busy, BUT I'm hoping to at least get some sketches done.
Other Goals this Month
I'll be wrapping up some zine pieces and commissions. :^)
Next Month
March 1st falls on a Friday so the Monthly and Polls will drop all on the same day. I can't wait to see who'll make my birth month's cover!
Aloha nui~
Ari
#xmacx monthly#vndev#visual novel update#devupdate#original character art#original character#oc art#oc#xmacxart#xmacxoc#momo#froot basket valentine#furuta basketball club
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Interested in receiving our quarterly newsletter? Exclusive buttons and stickers delivered straight to your mailbox? Early access to zine downloads and merch drops?
Or, you just really care about seeing lesbian-run projects thrive and want to help us keep Beloved going?
We at Beloved Zine are so excited to announce that we now have a Patreon page!
Ever since our first issue (Love Letters) came into being, we have been dreaming up ways to expand this project and offer the ButchFemme community something tangible and real– pages you can touch, stickers and postcards and tote bags you can show off. We are so endlessly grateful to the ways that the community has shown up for us, giving us so much love and support.
In deciding to launch a Patreon dedicated to funding the expansion of Beloved, we had a couple things in mind. First, Beloved is currently fully 110% run out of a teeny tiny bedroom in Manhattan. Our first and major priority for the funds from our Patreon page is to pay rent for a physical studio space for Beloved. A physical studio space would mean order time could be cut down significantly, because the entire packing and shipping would no longer be operated out of Lottie's home, and we could invite volunteers to help pack orders rather than have Lottie put together every single order by themself.
Additionally, with a brick and mortar/physical studio location, we could offer real life community events for the NYC ButchFemme community. Part of expanding this project is creating these opportunities for community building with Butches, Studs, and Femmes in lesbian spaces. In the future, hopefully with your continued support, we will be able to expand Beloved into even greater heights with loftier goals, such as financially compensating staff + contributors, creating gallery spaces for ButchFemme art, among many other ideas!
With the launch of our Patreon, we wanted to emphasize the fact that so far, this has been an entirely volunteer run group. Every single person working at Beloved as an editor/director/assistant is in school and/or works full time. None of us on The Beloved Team have made a single cent off of this project.
That being said, it would be great if we could have enough money to keep Beloved going and eventually be able to compensate ourselves and our contributors for the labor of love behind our work!
On our Patreon, for $5 a month, you will get early access to our upcoming issues' themes, spreads, and artwork before anywhere else. You will also receive an exclusive Beloved sticker design every three months. We will be offering monthly stickers designed by our lovely Art Directors at the $10 tier, with an additional button pin delivered to you in the mail if you join the $20 tier. Our goal + priority is to be steady enough outside of seasonal releases that we can use the funds from Patreon combined with our sales income to lease a small studio space to operate out of full-time!
Independently run and reader-supported networks of publishing zines exist in the same historical continuum of lesbian communities of ButchFemmes. It would mean the world to us if you chose to become one of our Patrons and helped sustain this project!
You can learn more about our Patreon here! Thank you so much for your support either way. ♡
Much Love,
♡ The Beloved Team ♡
#reshares appreciated!!!!!#beloved#butchfemme#butch4femme#butch4butch#femme4butch#butch-femme#butch/femme#femmebutch#butchfemme zine#beloved zine#lesbian zine#lesbian#crowdfunding
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I realized it's been awhile since I last posted anything here. I've been really busy and a lot has happened, so here's some of the stuff I've done since my last post 8 months ago...
New short story to be included in my next issue of THISTLES (hopefully later this year.) You don't have to wait to read it though, you just need to visit https://tapas.io/episode/2658337 to read it for free online!
I also organized a new FREE comix zine, released back in January. Contains comics inspired by actual lost films of the silent film era! There's 4 stories by several other artists. I illustrated the front & back covers and an interior page, in addition to compiling the book and writing the introduction. You can download it from https://anthologies.itch.io/silent-funnies
I released an Patreon exclusive comic back October. And I have more Patron rewards coming through out the year. If you'd like to support my comics making habit visit Patreon.com/DejahPayne
I also just released an image pack for use in your next zine, game, or presentation. The pack contains all the foods seen above, plus line-art versions. The images, which were traditionally inked and then digitally colored, range from roughly 1" to 3" @ 300dpi in size. It's available to all patrons, or you can purchase it at https://syruppirates.itch.io/isometric-food-friends-image-pack
There's a lot of other projects I've done for clients, and have been working on for myself, but I'll just leave with of one of the projects I have currently on the stove-top. The above comic is the first of a series starring myself as part of a detective duo. I have 6 pages done so far, and will try to share them all with you shortly! (or if you can't wait, you can visit my Mastodon or Instagram to see them.)
That about does it for now. See ya again soon!
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flickr
I’m excited to announce my year-long project for 2021 — a small single-sheet artist book/zine collection. This collection will be available to all patrons including the $3/month Studio Journal level. It’s like buying me a cup of coffee each month.
Inspired by numerous single sheet artist's books out in the universe, I have decided to make works that can be digitally shared with my patrons and collectors. I will be creating at least one single-sheet art book each month.
Each month, Patrons will be able to download a book PDF to print and fold at home. Directions and a little video for how to fold it will be posted. You'll be able to see flat views and folded views of the finished book for reference.
This book contains drawings i made specifically for this book. This one includes a poster backside that can also be printed separately.
All current Patrons get these new artbooks.
www.patreon.com/stellauntalan
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I have a Patreon Now!
Link to my Patreon
I explain my reasoning in a bit more depth in the 'About Me' section of my page, but basically, I want to make and sell zines, but because of the way I work, I usually have multiple projects going at once. This means it'll probably take me longer to publish finished zines, but I still want to have a way to support myself in between publications.
Hence a Patreon!
Right now I have two tiers: one that gets you access to high-res versions of all of my zine illustrations (and other paintings I finish), and another that lets you see WIP pics and download the PSD files for all of my work. As I gain more patrons/ experience using Patreon, I want to branch out into livestreams, tutorials, and physical releases for my zines! But for now I figured I'd start simple.
I've already posted a Kazumaji zine illustration that won't be on my tumblr along with my Haruka illustration and my Fool Tarot Card Design that are available for everyone to see.
There's also WIP pics for a Saejima illustration and one of Makoto and Lee.
Here's some teaser pics for the stuff I'm posting and what you can expect when you join!
Finished Paintings
WIP pics
Saejima
Makoto and Lee
PSD downloads
If you're interested, please consider joining! It's been a dream of mine to make art my career and even just one person joining makes that dream even closer to coming true!
I do want to make it clear that I'll still post art on my tumblr account for free. I'm planning on releasing my entire tarot card series on tumblr, and I also have some sketches and other drawings that I've finished, but just haven't gotten around to posting here.
So I'm not hiding all my art behind a paywall. I want all of y'all who follow me here to enjoy my art, even if you decide not to join my Patreon.
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SoME Vol. II : Stressor, p. 54
In which Zelda loses her temper.
SoME is brought to you by coffee, spite, my lovely readers and patrons, and the letter S. The comic remains free to read, though NEW pages go up FIRST every Thursday on my Patreon. (We’re deeper in Volume II over there. Also patrons get the collected ebook versions of various comics to download, along with other goodies.) There is also a master post (that actually works) with all live pages there, as a public post of course.
Also! Please, if you can, support the Ganondorf-themed charity zine Hogs Gone Wild! There is some truly lovely art in there (including some by yours truly), adorable swag, an absolutely wonderful bonus art collection, and if we hit 100 sales of those very classy physical copies there is even a pin!
https://studiorat.tumblr.com/post/634886299363491840/hogsgonewildzine-the-hogs-gone-wild-zine-is
Budget tight? We know the feeling - even small tips help and warm notes help the art continue to exist, especially in dark hours, and you can still hang out on the public pages of Patreon and various social medias (we have a Discord! See notes for link…) and as always, signal boosting is greatly appreciated.
Thank you for reading!
#zelgan#princess zelda#blins#loz fancomic#twilight princess#i love the blins they are a disaster#shade of my enemy#winds of twilight#loz fanart#the legend of zelda#ganondorf
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[Image: Drawing of a white person with long brown side-shaved hair, sitting cross-legged in front of a collage of various animal/nature art. Text reads, Stina B - Animal Artist. End ID]
📌 stinabart.com - patreon - twt - insta - etsy - inprnt - redbubble - tip jar
Hi! I’m Stina B., an illustrator and animal nerd from the southeastern USA.
I aim to post art about good news and/or interesting facts around once a week (and miscellaneous other art in between). News/Fact art is usually accompanied by a public Patreon post with links to read more about the subject and close-ups of the illustration.
More info and links below ⬇️
PORTFOLIOS: stinabart.com is home to my portfolio, and larger galleries of work can be found on Behance and Artstation.
MORE CONTENT: I’m now on Patreon! You can find close-up looks at artwork, bonus doodles and sketches, zine downloads, and bi-monthly blogs. Most of my posts are completely public -- it mostly serves as an easy recurring tip jar, with the occasional perk of private posts and physical mail. If you’d like to help support me and all the work I put online, you can become a patron for just $2 USD a month.
SOCIAL MEDIA: I’m also on Instagram and Twitter. Aside from a few retweets and IG Stories, it’s basically the same content you find here.
SHOP: Items sent directly from me to you can be found on my Etsy. More prints and other merchandise can be purchased on-demand through Inprnt, Redbubble, and Society6.
FREELANCE/LICENSING: Need some animal art? I’d love to work with you to create something new for your project or license some of my existing art for use. Send an email to hellostinab[at]gmail[dot]com and let’s talk.
PERSONAL COMMISSIONS: Open on a limited basis. More info here.
QUESTIONS? Check my bio and FAQ first!
CONTACT: Business inquiries or otherwise time-sensitive messages can be emailed to hellostinab[at]gmail[dot]com.
For casual comments, replies on Instagram and Twitter are most reliable. I miss most comments/reblogs here and sometimes Tumblr disappears asks for no discernible reason -- sorry!
My primary blog is @stinareblart so if I do see your comment on an art post, replies will come from there! You’re also welcome to send not-strictly-about-art questions/comments to that tumblr. Or, just check out some of the art and photos from other wonderful creators I queue up to reblog over there.
Thanks for checking out my work! If you like what I do, please consider becoming a patron or leaving a tip.
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Tip of the Iceberg
Did this for the Arkham Garlley Zine which is free to download here
or check them out at @arkhamgalleryzine
Oswald is preparing for a bi-annual auction at the iceberg lounge and is inconvenienced by the thrills and spills that gotham has to offer and is own mind. For a man who has control over everything, he has more under the surface.
By H.T.Vitols
Gotham is rather unique, in that most places with rotting infrastructure and corrupted governments don’t tend to lean so hard into that aesthetic, usually places like that tend to keep up a facade as to hide its own putrefaction, in a half-hearted attempt to delude anyone who comes across them that there are civilized. Gotham has never hidden how ugly it is, to a point that its almost beautiful in an ostentatious sort of way. Not to say that there is nothing alluring about Gotham, quite the opposite. Gotham has a way of claiming the hearts of many, sometimes literally, but the lost and forgotten can always find a home in Gotham, their still lost and forgotten but so is the city itself.
The Iceberg Lounge was the closest thing to elegant that Gotham had to offer. The outside was, and forgive the prosaism, Gothic. The doors where lined with white heavy steel and where shaped like umbrellas, if umbrellas were sharp, metallic and had an ominous amount of cleaning done. The doors themselves were wooden, polished and painted indigo blue. The doors were about 4 feet wide and were as strong as enforced steel which coincidentally was inside it, you could drive a car into it, and you would need a new car and a paint job for the door. The top of the door frame which was about 6 to 8 feet upward had a blue and white neon sign that spelled out the name of the club and blue lights that moved around the top of the roof, signalling, daring anyone to enter making an announcement to the police, the city and the Batman, I’m right here come and get me, if you can.
The inside of the lounge was far larger than the outside could have prepared anyone for, the ceilings were high, the main floor was laid out like a ballroom, with blue, purple and white lights slowly dancing across the floor as if they were patrolling lights, that most if not all the patrons were far to used to. The centre of the main room had as the name of the club suggests an Iceberg, it was a rather fitting piece of décor and not just because of the predilection, but also what could be a more apt metaphor for the men and women who dwell here, then a clandestine place that has a chilling and unstable piece at its core and the magnitude of how vacillating it truly is, is hidden under the surface.
There were purple curtains that lined all the walls of The Iceberg Lounge, what was behind them was anyone’s guess, a room, a door, an alarm, a wall, a way out, a way in, who’s to say. The Iceberg Lounge is home to many in Gotham, the bad, the slimy and the straight up crazy. It is a place to go and to hide, from whatever animal themed hero is on your ass that week. The Lounge is a strong hold and a neutral ground to any who enters.
No fights, No guns, No deaths.
These rules were enforced to the highest measure, not out of any moral obligation but simply to make things easier for business, after all, people are more willing to meet and make deals with you if they know within a reasonable assumption they are not going to be shot. This peace of mind comes with a small price though, any deal made in the lounge has a fee to go with it.
Negotiations: $100 (per person)
Trade-offs: $200
Drug deals: $400
Gun sales (unloaded): $1000 (per every 10)
If you were caught trying to make a deal in the Lounge without permission, well let’s just say no one ever does it twice. This level of meticulous control was possible due to the work and obsessions of one Oswald Cobblepot. The man thought rather highly of himself, more so then he should, which is easy to do when you are barely above most door handles and wider than some doorframes. Not to say he did not have class or rather his own definition of class, hand tailored suits all with tails, the most beautiful fabrics and of course a shining monocle that never left his face. And today Oswald donned an indigo blue jacket that had black fathers around his neck so today he looked more vulture then penguin. And in a place where a man with a rodent facade is more productive and less corruptible then the police department and the mayor’s office combined, being larger than life is not only common but a necessity. Oswald had many enemies, in fact if you weren't his enemy, he was less likely to trust you. Having enemies was more repute then having friends as he liked knowing what people wanted from him, it was easier to control the situation and easier to turn the situation in whatever suited him best.
Today, much like many other days, Oswald was in his office at his desk with a small glass of fine port wine at his side. Unlike many other days, he has not allowed anyone to disturb him (other than for an unexpected rodent infiltration). He wrote with a quill tip pen; the pen was white with a black line that matched up with a black swan feather that was connected by a small metal penguin pendent. He did not write with this pen often, as it was as impractical as it was beautiful. He only ever used this pen for one reason.
To my dearest, Penelope.
I write to you in good health, my dear I have been having a quite the week, however, I will not plague you with the details as I fear your heart or indeed your stomach may not be able to take them. However, my dear, what I can tell you is that today is a big night for the Lounge, for it is the Biannual Bat Bunker party. I do not believe I have told you the full story behind this party and that will be a story for another letter, but simply my dear, some years ago there was an incident, that lead to certain events, that lead to a great number of my associates to take refuge in my lounge, and since then it has become so what of a tradition for a rather long party to take place here twice a year.
The party is to be quite the sceptical and I do believe you would enjoy yourself, but I would not be much of a father if I allowed you to attend such a thing with the calibre of characters that indent to come. But any money is good money if you understand the price. Speaking of, Edward Nygma will be stopping by at some point before the party, I have mentioned him to you before, and as much as he can annoy me I can’t help but enjoy our conversations, for it is one of the rare times that learned discord is actually of value, though I could do without more of his foible, idiosyncrasy's.
As Oswald wrote at his desk, the door opened silently and a man walked in and slowly made his way to the desk, the man than sat on Oswald's desk and crossed his legs like he was a femme fatale from a noir film.
‘Oswald, how are you, you old bird, you.’
‘Edward, you better have a very good reason for disturbing me. Who let you in here?’
‘You’re working under the assumption that I would ask.’
‘Good point, but you also know my tolerances for your antics only goes so far.’
‘True, but since I’m still alive, safe to say I have not irritated you too much your lordship,’
‘Sarcasm is beneath you Edward.’
‘To hell it is, it’s one of my best survival instincts and I’ll have you know Oswald, the only things beneath me are invalids, the wilfully ignorant and my silk sheets when I lie my weary head to bed for most earnest of rests.’
‘Why don’t you put your vanity to bed for a moment Edward, and tell me, why exactly you have disturbed me.’
Edward clapped his hands together, his leather gloves gathering as he did.
‘Well, Oswald, I have come baring gifts, for our little shindig tonight,’
Edward pulled out a note from his pocket.
‘Here,’
‘What is this, Edward,’
‘A list of inventories, from all of our friends, the supplies and donations they will be making this evening.’
‘Well thank you Edward, but you could have had some else send this up to me.’
‘Oswald, I’m a praise whore and you know it.’
‘Yes, I’m aware of that, but that is no reason to interrupt me.’
‘Oh, come now, I came all the way out here to do you a favour and I’m treated with such hostility.’
‘Edward, my boy, you are very much aware that this is me, not being hostile, but if you would like to see it, then by all means, continue.’
Edward then slid off the desk and adjusted his jacket.
‘Very well, I will prepare myself for tonight's debauchery elsewhere.’
Edward went to the door.
‘Oswald,’
‘Yes, Edward.’
‘In all the years we’ve know one another, I have only seen you use that pen for one propose and yet I have never seen you read a letter in return,’
‘Your point, Edward.’
‘No point, just observation, I just don’t know why you still bother, if she’s never written back.’
‘Get… out… Edward.’
‘Alright, alright, I’m gone, give her my best.’
Oswald throws his glass of port at Edward as the door closed behind him, missing his head and shattering on the door. The wine dripped down the door slowly leaving a trail of red residue, like other red fluids that have dripped down this very door and will no doubt do again in the near future. Oswald leaned back into his chair and picked up his white and black pen.
Penelope dear, I sometimes envy that you have never meet any of my associates, Edward is one of the most insufferable men I have ever meet, and I have discussed politics with the mayor of Gotham. Not to say I don’t respect the man, in fact Edward’s capacity to anger anyone he comes into contact with has never failed to impress me. But charm and showmanship can be mutually exclusive my dear, as I know all too well.
Are you happy where you are dear?
I have found I can be content, but I have also found happiness is not on the cards for me without you here, Penelope.
In any case, I have been keeping myself busy. The list Edward handed me some moments ago will help with tonight’s proceedings, you see dear, the list is inventory being put up for auction. Now you must be wondering why this is of any importance, after all you are a clever girl and the Lounge has an auction monthly. This auction is a special one, you see unlike the usual fanfare that comes through here. This list has items that are more exclusive and the most sorted after then any other in the city, such as some of Doctor Cranes Fear Toxin, a rather deadly pair of hydrangea’s curtesy of Doctor Isley and Edward has donated one of his masterplans that contain everything from blueprints of the job, to the riddles to leave.
Now my shrewd child, you must be asking why we are doing this, the answer is the reason any of us do anything in Gotham, entertainment, profit, and to cause chaotic shenanigans , but most importantly nothing brings us all together more than trying to one up the Bat and his Birds. You see my dear, these items are sold at these times as to have a level of mutually assured destruction. You see, by having these items you can set someone up at your own discretion, I for one like to know the cards others are holding. But it is mostly used to throw The Batman off the trail. The Batman won’t investigate my shipping lists if fear toxin is in the air.
Truly mad, is it not.
Oswald continued to write as there was a knock on his door.
‘What.’
A man slowly moved his head into the room leaving the rest of his body outside. He was trying his hardest not to look at red liquid that is at his feet, as he wanted to maintain some level of ignorance in his line of work.
‘Mr Cobblepot.’
The man paused and waited; Oswald tapped his pen down hard on the table making the man in the frame flinch.
‘Yes, well, spit it out lad, I don’t have all day.’
The man’s voice jumped as he found the words.
‘Mr Wayne is here, sir.’
Oswald slowly put down his pen, he lifted himself out of his chair and moved behind it to push it into desk. Mr Wayne did not often frequent the Lounge but when he did it was a sign of fortune if it was good or bad was up to Mr Wayne’s mood, but what can you expect from a man who could buy up all the city if the whim ever hit him. Mr Wayne and his horde of children were almost as annoying as the Batman and his Birds. Oswald made his way downstairs to the main floor where Mr Wayne was leaning on the bar talking to one of the female bartenders.
‘Mr Wayne, to what to I owe the pleasure.’
‘Cobblepot, I have come to see you about tonight’s auction.’
‘Mr Wayne, I fear the guest list is full for this evening.’
‘I’m sure you can make an exception.’
‘Now, Mr Wayne, I am sure that you are used to that being the case, but I am afraid I am going to have to use an unfamiliar phrase to you, No.’
‘Well now I have to be there. Is there anything I can do to change your mind?’
‘I assure you, there is nothing you could say or do to change my mind, Mr Wayne.’
‘Nothing?’
‘Nothing, you would be willing to do, Mr Wayne.’
‘Such as?’
Oswald paused before slowly letting out a coy smile.
‘As amusing as your antics are Mr Wayne, I am going to have to ask you to leave, as I am preparing for tonight’s festivities. So, I bid you adieu and if you wish to join next month’s auction then you are most welcome, provided you make the proper arrangements.’
For the first time since the younger man came in, he dropped his smirk as though a mask had trickled away, but the man put it back as quickly as it went, making Oswald question if he saw anything at all.
‘Yes, of course, then I will be seeing you Cobblepot.’
‘Yes, a good evening to you Mr Wayne,’
Oswald waved three men over to them,
‘Will you gentlemen escort Mr Wayne off the premises.’
As the two of men walked Mr Wayne out of the club, he held on of them back.
‘Make sure he stays out, the last thing I need tonight is Gotham’s golden boy finding something he shouldn’t, I don’t want the hassle of killing him. The body disposal alone would be a logistical nightmare.’
Oswald then set the man after them, Oswald made his way to the centre of the room and put his hands on the railing to look at the icy mountain that floated in the frozen water. The lounge was being set up for the auction, people moving around him as quickly as possible, as Oswald stood still looking at the ice mountain that was swaying in the water. The ice was towering and the cold from it could be felt all throughout the lounge. Oswald looked harder at the chilling structure; he saw a small steady stream of water was trickling down the ice. Oswald’s mind floated elsewhere, think how something with such presences and intimidating high could be melting away slowly and unnoticed by all around it.
‘As much as I have always liked this glorified monument to your ego, it’s always come off a little more …. Subzero, then was intended don’t you think?’
Oswald jumped, snapping his head around, and snarled.
‘Edward, I swear. If you ever do that again I will throw you into the water and I will make sure everyone here watches you, as you’re drowning.’
Edward gently twirls the green drink in his hand and takes a light sip, he then leans his back on the railing and faces Oswald. Edward lingered on Oswald, his face void of any hostility, silently staring at Oswald waiting for a reply but Oswald just turns his head back to the ice in front of him, his hands gripping the railing tighter.
‘Rough day, Oswald.’
‘It’s going to be a long night.’
‘Oswald this is Gotham, every night is a long night.’
‘Edward, leave me be.’
‘Heavy is the head that wears the crown, are you looking upon your kingdom and weeping, old friend.’
Edward took a long slow sip of his drink.
‘Oh, how very apropos of you Edward, and what is it exactly that I have to weep about.’
‘Oh, who knows, Oswald, you have never once been satisfied with anything.’
‘Perhaps not.’
‘Oh, perhaps, perhaps, is that what you are going with, ok I’ll play, Oswald you have more money, territory and respect then you have ever had, and yet here you are gazing like Gatsby. So, riddle me this Oswald, a turn of phrase, to be sage and yet mindless, what is at its lowest when it’s on top, and how can less be learned and more be dim-witted?’
‘Edward, I don’t, I can’t, do this today, I have not the strength nor the temperament.’
‘My, my, Oswald, I dare say we are dangerously close to having a heart to heart.’
‘Please Edward, don’t insult me.’
‘Yes, your right, we would actually have to have hearts for that.’
‘My boy, you have no idea how badly I wish that to be true.’
‘Tut-tut, we can’t let the other degenerates know such unsightly things about us.’
‘Yes, I suppose it would be quite a blow to the reputation.’
‘Indeed.’
Edward took one last sip of his drink.
‘…Have you figured it out yet?’
‘Edward.’
‘Alright, fine I’ll drop it…. for now.’
Oswald loosened his grip on the railing and looked at Edward.
‘My boy, I believe there is still work to be done.’
‘Indeed.’
Night fell and crowds grew as the auction came closer. Item after item was moved into the lounge, the air was filled with cigarette smoke, gunpower and opportunity. The items were counted by a heavily motivated Mr Wesker as Mr Scarface watched him from a nearby shelf. The auction could now get under way, Oswald was by no means a showman that was one of Edward’s games, but he was at times diplomatically inclined. Oswald went to the stage and tapped the microphone.
‘Good evening, lady’s, gentlemen and twisted creations of the night,’
Oswald raised his glass gesturing to Killer Croc and Man-bat.
‘Right, now, we all know the rules, but for those of us who need to be reminded.’
He tuned his gaze to Harley Quinn, who was at the bar drinking three different cocktails through three curly straws all at once.
‘One item per customer, so choose wisely. You may inspect the product, but it cannot be opened in the Lounge. And most importantly this a silent auction, so do not go around boasting and giving away the tonight’s secrets, so in short keep your mouths shut.’
Oswald looked over to the side of the stage where Edward was standing. Edward then put his hand over his chest like a Victorian woman who just saw something unseelie.
‘Now ladies and gentlemen and others, to tie you over while the auction is underway, I give Edward Nygma,’
The crowd collectively groaned.
‘Now, now, I promise this is only his musical stylings.’
The crowd mumbled in agreement, as Edward walked on stage.
‘Oh, gee, thank you everyone, for that dazzling display of comradery.’
‘Sing, Nygma or get off.’
Growled Harvey,
‘Wooo, Eddie. Take it off.’
Harley cheered.
‘Give 'em the hook.’
Yelled Crane.
‘I am going to ignore that Johnathan. Now without further ado, Duke Ellington’s It don't mean a thing hit it boys.’
The band started to play. The patrons started to put their names in for items, Harvey pulled himself from one side of the room to the other, well it seems Harvey and Harv were having a disagreement on what to buy as his ashy left hand kept slapping is right whenever he tried to write anything down though oddly enough there was no coin in sight. Jonathan was sitting off to the side letting his slender frame trail up the wall, his head down letting his glasses slide down his nose. As laughter and small talk flooded the room. A loud crash came from the roof, when the Batman comes knocking it’s never on the door.
Now what is that old saying about glass ceilings.
The Batman comes bursting through the roof, the patrons scattered to the wind like glass being through onto the concrete. The Batman grabbed Jervis by the back of his collar and Edward was still on the stage.
‘Well now, we have a Bat in our belfry.’
As Batman pushed Two-Face down, still holding on to Jervis, Two-Face pushed Batman onto the bar counter.
‘Oh, you who Bat’s.’
Harley had grabbed poured alcohol all over the bar and lit it on fire.
‘Oh, and it is getting a little hot in here for the dark knight.’
Edward said calling into the microphone. A glass bottle flow in his direction and he ducked to avoid it.
‘Shut up, Ed.’
‘Make me Crane.’
‘Fine.’
Jonathan yelled as he throws another glass. Oswald then runs on stage pulling the microphone out of Edwards hands.
‘Enough! All of you, Enough.’
The room settled under Oswald’s voice, Batman still holding onto Jarvis.
‘Now, I dare say Batman, that you have made it abundantly clear, that you want something or rather someone form here this evening. Yes?’
The room was silent, flames still burning on the counter dancing on top of the alcohol.
‘Yes. Now, why don’t you take Mr Tetch and leave post haste, before I change my mind and burn this place down along with everyone in it, myself!’
The last words died in is throat from the screaming. Batman looked around the room he took a moment and then silently started dragged Jervis by the scruff of his neck, taking him out of the club as Jervis begged and pleaded to everyone in the room as he was struggling but all of them were still looking at Oswald on stage none of them moving.
Oswald then screamed at the room again.
‘Get out! Auction over, out now, all of you, out. Be gone, go back to whatever place has the misfortune of having you as a resident.’
Not ones to out their welcome, the room began to clear. Oswald headed back to his office, he shut the blinds and sat in darkness, he pulled out his pen once again.
Well my dear, today had just about everything, thrills, spills and arson. Not that I am ever sure what these nights will ever bring. I am only ever sure of what that they will never bring, and that is you, Penelope.
I have done monstrous things my dear, I have robbed, killed and betrayed many men. I have seen vigilantes rise and the old ways of Gotham fall. I have built all that I am on the bones and ashes of other men and yet the only regret I have is and always will be that I never got to see you grow. That for all my transgressions and all the immoral measures I have taken in my life, the blood that was spilled for all of it, was yours. Even though I have buried the ones who are responsible and entombed them so deep into the earth that their own souls can’t find a way out.
But the emptiness I feel by your absents is one I can not fill, no matter how much luxury, power or control I obtain.
Truly, Penelope, my love, my sweet Penny, there is only one thing that could appease that void and that would be for me to hold you in my arms again and to tell you that,
The door swung open.
‘Well that was a disaster.’
‘Get out, Edward’
‘It’s a big mess out there, and you through a fit on that stage, mind you that’s not unordinary behaviour for you or any of us. But there seemed to be a little more to it this time as compared to your usual screaming fits of rage.’
‘Edward, I swear, if you don’t leave right now, I’ll.’
‘Kill me? Please Oswald, empty threats are unbecoming.’
Oswald the reached into his coat and pulled out a gun.
‘Are you sure about that.’
Edward flicked up his hands with a light flourish and spoke dryly.
‘Oh, no, I have been bamboozled, please sir, leave me with my shillings and silk robes.’
Oswald cocked the gun back.
‘Edward, out, now.’
Edward leered at Oswald with his hands lowering to his sides.
‘You really mean it this time don’t you.’
Edward said steadily.
‘What gave it away, dear boy.’
‘Oswald whatever is happening, you need to keep a level head, lest it be chopped off.’
‘Edward, I am going to tell you one, last, time, get, out.’
‘Oswald,’
Oswald’s hand was starting to shake rattling the gun. Edward then slowly moved to go out the door and looked out to club’s centre piece.
‘Our love for the dead, like a floating iceberg, can only be measured by the depths of our resentments.’
‘Rosario Ferre.’
‘Rosario Ferre. Just something to think about, Good night Oswald.’
When Edward closed the door, Oswald still held the gun in his shaking hands. After a few shuddered minutes Oswald placed on the table. He picked up the pen once again.
Penny, my dear child, you were taken from me to soon, you shined so brightly you could block out the sun. and even now after all these years I think of you always.
And perhaps Edward has made a point, though he has done so in a way that made me want to shoot him. My love for you has fuelled my fury, my culpability and solidified my wrath over these long years without you. So even in death you are my hidden strength. Sleep well my child and know that I have not forgotten you. For you are forever a part of me and as long as I am etched into the walls of this city, where my name is held in respect and the city’s life blood flows through me, you will live in its bones with me,
until my bones rest next to yours.
Happy Birthday my dear, With all my love,
Your father.
Oswald then put the letter in an envelope and signed it, he then closed it and went into the ballroom, it was empty, a mess, and small ambers still danced on the bar counter. Oswald made his way slowly to the iceberg, he moved around the ice mountain until he reached a platform that lead out and was attached to the iceberg, Oswald walked onto the platform until his noise felt the frost from the monument. Oswald then placed his hands on the ice, moving down to a small block that had been carved out and he removed it and then he put the block at his feet, the hole in front to him was no bigger then a sheet of paper. Oswald then held the letter in his hands. Moments stretched out into hours in Oswald’s mind, he then reached out and put the letter into the hole, it landed onto a pile of older frozen, frosted over and twisted together letters. The frozen graveyard has received another body. Oswald them puts the block back into place, he then adjusts his coat and walks off the platform.
For the morning is upon him and light is on its way, so it is time for Gotham to lay itself to rest. As everything worth doing in Gotham is done in the darkness and hidden below the surface.
Oswald the put the letter in an envelope and signed it, he then closed it and went into the ballroom. Oswald then made his way slowly to the iceberg, he moved around the ice mountain until he reached a platform that lead out and was attached to the iceberg, Oswald walked onto the platform until his noise felt the frost from the monument. Oswald then placed his hands on the ice, moving it down to a small
The end
#Arkham Gallery Zine#gotham rogues#Gotham#batman rogues#batman villains#oswald copplepot#edward nygma#iceberg lounge#Arkham Gallery Zine full work#yeah i can put this here now
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Divination with DnD Dice
There seemed to be enough interest in the DnD Dice Divination system that I decided to go ahead and write it up. I couldn’t fit it all on here though so I might be making more posts in the future about it. I’ve included the most important stuff here to get started.
I’ve included a zine to download and print off if you want to take it with you. I actually recommend the zine, it’s a better format than what tumblr would let me put together.
Please consider tipping me and definitely credit me where you can.
I know there are other systems out there and I don’t have a monopoly on dice divination but this guide did take a lot of time to put together and is built on my own collection of frameworks, meanings.
Dice sets can be picked up for cheaper than most basic tarot decks making the barrier to entry lower. My goal was to create a system that could get a similar level of complexity of information to tarot and oracle cards. I found in test readings, I could get roughly the same as I would get from a four card reading. So it’s a good start!
It’s my mission to make divination more accessible, tipping me helps me devote more time to this.
Zine: https://www.scribd.com/document/380692727/Divination-With-DnD-Dice
If Scribd gives you trouble try here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/21613135
Read description for printing directions or it might not come out right.
If you can’t print it off, the same information is included below the cut.
Hope someone finds this useful!
D4 - Element
1 - Air - Mental, Academic, Communication, Anxiety
2 - Fire - Spirituality, Passion, Ideals, Anger
3 - Water - Emotional, Romantic, Connection, Depression/Sadness
4 - Earth - Physical, Material, Home, Emotional Block
I use the Element dice to give an indication for the area of life the reading pertains the most too. I look for indications with other dice as to what the element dice might be speaking to more specifically, but it gives me a place to start.
D6 - Problem
1 - Plot - drama, conflict, things outside of your control, change
2 - Character - another person is blocking/causing problems, fixation on a person, possibly even loss of a person
3 - Thought - paradigms getting in the way, not in touch with reality, judgmental, fear/anxiety, getting stuck in your head
4 - Diction - how a person talks is causing problems, speaking too much/too little, passive aggression, divisive or hateful language
5 - Song - Harmony with another, being out of sync with oneself or another, learning to join the choir/group, teamwork
6 - Spectacle - Things seem worse than they actually are, petty fights, aesthetic/surface level changes, playing with how things are perceived to achieve an outcome
The Problem dice is based on Aristotle's Six Elements of Tragedy, a dramatic and literary analytical framework. I use this to see what might be the at the crux of the problem in the area the Element dice indicated. The Action Needed dice can also refine the Problem.
D8 - Action Needed
1 - Right View - seeing the situation for what it truly is, actions have consequences, material reality, paradigm shift
2 - Right Resolve - being intentional, recommitting, choosing what is right, dedication and ambition
3 - Right Speech - be honest/don't lie, don't be passive aggressive/be forthright, speak compassionately and for the benefit of others.
4 - Right Action - don't harm others, act compassionately and for the benefit of others, take positive action
5 - Right Livelihood - don't profit from harming others, long term commitment to benefiting others, take only what you need and give what you do not, ethical employment
6 - Right Effort - Exert influence on your environment to cultivate a better internal world, set strong boundaries, avoid negative influences and seek out positive ones, "just do the thing"
7 - Right Mindfulness - Don't make things out to be more than they are, see them for what they are, know life is in transition, don't define the self by these external transitory states
8 - Right Concentration - unification of the mind/body, unlocking higher levels of thinking and feeling and operating, don't let desire for what might be get in the way of what is, healthy detachment
The Action Needed dice is based on the Eightfold Path of Buddhism. While the particulars of the path vary by the different schools/traditions, these seem to be the most common English translations. This dice is usually pretty straight forward, especially when taken in consideration with the rest of the dice.
2D10 - Difficulty
Pretty self-explanatory. The higher the difficulty, the longer the process will take. Gives an indication about how important or long term the reading will be.
D12 - Time
The number can refer to a month of the year which you may have your own associations you can pull from or classify into a season and pull meanings from that. I use the seasonal method most often.
Winter - focus on the self, rest, restore yourself, weather the storm, be the light the world isn't giving you, inner strength
Spring - new beginnings, plant seeds, the rain and the storms lead to new growth
Summer - wait to harvest, find shade, relax
Fall - harvest, make preparations for winter, celebrate accomplishments.
You can also think of what sabbat is in that month and the lessons inherent in that holiday. It can also be time of day.
9-5 - Work related, stress, out of your control
5-12 - Free time, friends and family, hobbies
12-9 - rest, dream, restore yourself
AM if there are more even than odd numbers and PM if there more odd than even. You can also take the month and the time to be literal if the reading calls for it.
D20 - Lesson
1 - The Magician - jack of all trades, master of none, experiment, unfocused, learning, skilled but unrefined, beginning
2 - The High Priestess - balance, intuition, insight, between worlds, lessons learned while solitary
3 - The Empress - growing, flowering, creativity, taking what you have and making it thrive, thriving where you're planted
4 - The Emperor - expand, leader, confidence, step up and create the life you want/need, protect what/who you have
5 - The Hierophant - balance between material and spiritual, lessons learned from teachers, benevolence, structure
6 - The Lovers - connection, union, positive outlook, nostalgia, romanticism, love given freely
7 - The Chariot - power, confidence, leadership through passion/emotional intelligence, decisive action
8 - Strength - rely on internal direction/sense of self, internal strength and peace, resilience
9 - The Hermit - internal knowledge and discovery, minimalism, truth is inside you, you are capable on your own
10 - The Wheel of Fortune - things are outside of your control, this too shall pass, ebb and flow of fortune, reversal of luck
11 - Justice - objective truth, standing by/doing what is right, lawful good, cutting ties with deceivers, protect the community
12 - The Hanged Man - Insight, understanding impermanence, sudden realization, enlightenment, major paradigm shift
13 - Death - the old makes way for the new, the cycle of life, we all die in the end, reinvention
14 - Temperance - spiritual balance, abstaining from negative influences, taking responsibility for one's internal well being
15 - The Devil - materialism as bondage, enjoy pleasure without becoming victim to it, pleasure seeking as escapism
16 - The Tower - being shaken to the core, foundations pulled up, self of self overturned, ego shaken
17 - The Star - uneasy hope, possibilities, leaving and traveling, opportunities somewhere else, dare to dream
18 - The Moon - deception, things aren't always what they appear, intentions and actions do not line up, reflect, see the true nature of things
19 - The Sun - relax and enjoy your accomplishments, celebrate with friends and family, share your abundance, revel in joy
20 - Judgment - shine a light on everything, be honest, be critical and fair, lay firm boundaries, take up the old and make it new
The lesson dice is there to indicate what can be learned from the situation. Every situation is an opportunity to grow and evolve. It's based on the framework of the Major Arcana as teachers and posits that every situation can likewise be a teacher to us all. This dice can help refine the problem dice as well. It can be hard to keep this dice from getting preachy so make sure to be honest about what this dice is saying but temper it so as not to be patronizing.
Putting the Reading Together
Like all divination, the goal is to look for patterns and craft those patterns into coherent themes. Like reading a novel, you’re reading between the lines to make the reading more useable than the raw info the dice turn up. An example of my notes for a reading are:
D4 - Element: 2 - Fire
D6 - Problem: 3 - Thought
D8 - Action Needed: 3 - Right Speech
D10 - Importance: 51 - Middle
D12 - Time: Evening/Summer
D20 - Lesson: 8 – Strength
This is the reading I gave:
“The reading suggests there’s some conflict stemming from letting passion overtake reason in your interactions with others. You believe very passionately in your ideals, but how you talk about them to others looks like it’s causing tension. This seems like it will be of moderate difficulty to grapple with, not easy but by far not the hardest thing you’ve dealt with. The reading suggests being mindful of your words and advises to concentrate on your inner power rather than seeking validation for your ideas from others. “
When pulling together a reading you want to look for conflict, strengths, and resolution.
There was a lot of fire (passion) and air (communication) in this reading, while they work great in harmony, they can really hurt the user when out of balance so that was the conflict. Passion is a beautiful thing even when it’s not in alignment and I didn’t want the reader to think their ideals were the problem since the rest of the reading pointed out their words so their passion was their strength. The resolution lay in relying on their own internal strength for validation rather than others, that that would lead to better communication and less conflict overall.
I’m still learning myself. It takes practice so don’t give up!
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I hope this was helpful! Please let me know how this works for you. I’m totally open to people changing it to fit them better but I wanted to provide a model for how this could be done. I also got some really solid readings out of it. So it definitely has potential.
#astraglomancy#dice divination#tarot#witch#witchy#witchblr#dnd#dnd dice#divination#pagan#magick#dnd divination#Dungeons and Dragons#witchcraft#dice
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July Patreon Zine Poll!
It’s almost July, which means it’s time to vote for what I’ll be focusing on in my July Patreon zine! Non-patrons can also vote, although they won’t be able to see the zine. Pledges as low as $5 will get a downloadable PDF of the zine, and higher levels will get their own printed copy!
https://www.patreon.com/phantomseptember
https://www.patreon.com/phantomseptember
https://www.patreon.com/phantomseptember
This next month’s options are:
- Vampires
- Death
- Food
- OCs
- Fashion
- Historical Fashion
- Folklore
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zine thoughts pt 2
where do you sell videogames? zine fairs, children's book stores, used record marts, from the trunk of a car like rudy ray moore, on etsy or on craiglist, with flyers on the wall of the local chip shop or library. through awkwardly hammered-together handmade electronic systems or the reverse, turning your game into a jumbled set of paper text and graphical fragments which can be sold in boardgame stores as some kind of reconstruct-the-narrative puzzle.
you could make one-off bespoke games or game simulacra for movies that want to depict some kind of videogame being played onscreen without having to go through the licensing rights. you could ghost-develop games for wealthy people to put their names on ("american mcgee presents my life with princess diana by donald duck").
you could develop training games for the military-industrial complex, ha ha ha ha. you could get funded by the CIA to ensure the medium of videogames remains sufficiently arty and rehabilitated to function as propaganda for capitalism... i mean we already know they were involved with the paris review and iowa writer's workshop and all that jazz so they gotta have least a couple people on the payroll already, right, and we will all be treated to some very entertaining revelations following the inevitable freedom of information act request 15 years down the line.
you could try connecting with the little self-contained fan communities for things like touhou, fnaf, undertale, m-minecraft, like those renaissance artists who had to drop their patron's face in the background of some religious scene except in this case it would be one of the homestuck guys. you could make "trainers" for more popular games, or demos that could show how they "feel" without a $60 investment.
you could sell small games as assets for larger ones that want to have some kind of in-universe playable arcade system without having to invent a whole new game from scratch. you could just make extremely specific forms of pornography, maybe not the worst option even, just make sure the very artistic sequences of the protagonist remembering his dead wife are broken up every now and then with scenes of him unhinging his jaw to swallow and slowly digest another, smaller sad games protagonist whole (with rumble function for controllers!!!).
you could make games for all the people who are still on windows xp or earlier or have some kind of arcane video card setup that prevents them playing anything other than that one preinstalled pinball game. you could try selling them at street vendors. you could try learning another language and making games for non-anglophones that don't sound like an english-written game that was localised without much thought after the fact.
you could make games for kids in the hopes that they sexually imprint on them enough to support your erotic oil paintings of the characters 10 years later, just like nintendo. you could make an extremely interesting and thoughtful videogame and then offer not to release it if the donation threshold is met, thus sparing people the emotional obligation of having yet another thing on their should-play-this-eventually list. you could develop games with some bewildering system of in-game and real-world currency interactions and then sell it to the mob as a way to launder money.
you could make videogames that robots record themselves playing to upload en masse which are then watched by other robots as part of some weird, ungraspably abstract SEO economy, or better yet make robots to make the videogames as well. you could make virtual cemetary plots either private (downloadable exe) or public (hosted on the server) with their own customisable mood-themes and weather settings (dark, stormy, remember-you-will-die; sunny, quiet, circle-of-life etc). you could make prosperity orbs.
you could make games for office workers or call center staff which resemble excel documents or phone system frontends from a distance. you could make games which really ARE excel files, some dense collection of interlocking hidden formulas that change to display text and ascii characters as you tab your way through. you could probably talk your way into "adapting" any of those old IPs that still float around long after anyone stopped having any particular thought or feeling about them at all, like the flintstones or ziggy or something, maybe do like those 1960s superhero cartoons where they just filmed panels from the comics - just break a 2d flintstones cartoon into constituent elements and have them hover around in a little cutout diorama that you fly thru, possibly explained in-universe as representing the 4-d vision of the great gazoo. you could make games that play themselves, for the depressed. you could become a ghastly serial m**derer where after each crime you upload a new game to itchio which will reveal the name of your next victim, and costs only $9.99, and of course everyone buys and plays it because the police have put up a reward for solving the crime because they can't get past the dinosaur on level three, and all seems lost until some plucky young computer student who found the game on a friend's hard drive manages to solve the riddle hidden within the game's structure, following the clues, to an old castle, she knocks on the door, it's opened by, yes, it's will wright, wearing a wizard outfit, who tells her that by dint of solving all the puzzles she is now invited to join that mysterious organization known as "The Elect" which is assembled from the finest minds in all game design with a view to secretly controlling the world economy (via "werewolf blood", somehow), that she need only complete the ceremony by sacrificing one untutored soul, he holds out an ornate knife, she hesitates........
the question is where to sell videogames rather than how because for the most part we already know how - there are a million more or less instructive articles out there about hitting up conventions or talking to the press, and it's not that they're wrong, exactly, more that they expect to be applied in an environment that no longer exists. but what should preface and qualify the idea of sheer volume swamping the indie games market is that, outside of a few small pockets, there never really was an "indie games market" to begin with - indie games drew and mostly still draw on the existing videogames market, rather than constituting a new one. it's telling that the glory days of indie games were just the ones where they were able to draw upon some of the same privileges larger titles already had in the ability to access that same audience - being frontpaged by steam, say, or making it onto a comparatively closed console platform, or generating earnest thinkpieces... you could say that they were tapping into structures the industry had already built but had not yet occupied to full capacity.
of course there are exceptions and various efforts to set up new economies for small weird interactive things (like patreon, or game bundles), and some efforts to reach outside the existing games audience likely were successful - but when we think of indie games "functioning" economically, whether that means supporting a small team, a single person, or just hitting minimum wage per hours spent, i believe we're mostly still talking about ones which are built around the existing games economy. which is fine, but i think it's also intrinsically precarious in ways which maybe get glossed over in discussions of the "indiepocalypse" - are all those new steam releases really causing a problem or are they just exacerbating a structural limitation which was already always there, a reliance within the indie game economy on a certain lucky-few-ism which just became grossly more noticeable the more disproportionate it got?
of course it's easier to be dismissive after the fact, and my fantasy about "where" to sell videogames is partly a fantasy of them having a location to begin with - of attaining something of the grounded and immutable appearance of the non-digital, as though brick and mortar stores don't have a relationship to the likes of amazon as basically precarious as any online storefront. and there are also real and obvious reasons why the various videogame audiences all tend to clump together - similarities in terms of the hardware required, the inputs allowed, of visual and cultural reference points, to say nothing of the personal / professional histories of the people involved in each. we are all contained within "the medium"...
so maybe it's also a fantasy of starting to pick apart that conception of the medium. i think small game developers already have more in common with artists or musicians working on the fringes of their respective industries than they do with even moderately successful teams within the same format, and use similar language, engage in similar forms of practice - particularly as near everything comes increasingly mediated by the digital these days. i think they already ARE working in similar spaces to some extent, whether it's social media sites or digital storefronts or meatspace stores pushed by necessity not to specialise. and without wanting to be paranoid (or moreso than the CIA thing, at least) i think we should be cautious of the way a certain focus on mediumicity can obscure these overlaps. a "new medium" is one which inherently pushes against the image of one as grouded ahistorically in some eternal human verity or other (where each medium supposedly embodies some different mode of perception / medieval humour / ninja turtle etc) - it is to see firsthand the way in which supposedly eternal, neutral qualities are materially constructed, which includes seeing forms of social organisation and usage become mystified into extrahuman conditions. and given their basis in technology that includes drawing from wider trends in the use of that technology as a whole - which specifically, in tech circles, can mean more and more tightly interlocking systems of proprietary knowledge and speculative capital, as well as "new mediums" constructed so as to be inseperable from some storefront, website or monitoring technology.
i don't think anybody will necessarily break even taking their games to a zine fair (not that they're breaking even now). but i do feel like trying to build networks across those medium boundaries could be more valuable in the effort to build some sustainable environment for these things than any amount of reform within the house that tech built.
[PS: it occurs to me that you could plausibly argue that the very bagginess of medium-centric formulations is what makes them valuable, in forcing many different groups to butt against each other on one platform rather than just disperse into echo chambers. but i think exactly the reverse is the case: nobody really engages with each other's work in artgames because the stakes are simultaneously too small and too large. they're too small in that however much i might be picky about another person's work - and i think it's this vague pickiness or sense of not-quite-right-ness that drives the most searching critiques - it still feels pointless to pursue that instead of the glaring, omnipresent faults of the big AAA players, which means more complaining about far cry for all eternity. and they're too large in that most small game development is so precarious that it's not really worth the risk of knocking someone out of the circle over penny-ante shit. only with both economic security and broad similarity of outlook can a truly vital, human culture of spiteful cattiness begin... our day will come]
(image credits: Eco Fighter, World Heroes 2 ,The Space Adventure, Nancy)
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【Creative Encounter】Week4: Deciding the topic
What power do we have?
[An Image of our brainstormed ideas about the exhibition goal]
In the beginning, we were asked to write down what power we have and what we think the final project will be. We put everyone’s papers on the wall and saw them together, so we were able to see what power and interest we have as a group. In terms of power, political, contrast, knowledge, self-expression, and moral, ideas came up. I though these elements are well balanced and I could expect that we could really make a great work with these power together. However, it is nothing more than reference. It is about the each person’s ability, but it is also about who can extract the power from the person. This is why the collaborative work is not that simple. When working alone, we challenge ourselves to get the most out of our ability. It is easier because we have more experience doing that so far and we understand ourselves the most. When working with others, we need to start from getting to know each other so we start trusting each other. This will result in a great collaborative work. One thing I got confused is, when we try to find examples of work that applied all the power we suggested as a group, it leaned to one element, political as other five elements were very general and applicable to a lot of examples. We ended up showing example relating to political. I do not think everybody wanted to do that. I think it is important to respect team members power, but need to be discussed and negotiated in the end because everyone has different preference.
What Project are we going to make?
[An image of exhibition content idea]
[An image of an artwork draft]
For the final project form, four people wrote exhibition and one wrote sculpture, and I wrote book/zine. Clare suggested we could make an exhibition the involves sculpture and zine to supplementally explain about the project. When thinking about power, we start from thinking about the great power that is directly influencing the young generation, then we came up with ‘social media.’ We consider how young generation is relying on not only on the image and information, but also the human relationship measured by follows, comments, and likes. In the end of the day, it is just pieces of images, it can not change anything in us physically. We always forget that and we are fooled by them. To show the vulnerability and meaninglessness of social media, we came up with creating an art object of a tree made of pieces of paper Instagram posts are printed. Actual phones will be hanged on the brunch of the tree displaying instagram posts scrolled fast. On the floor of the tree, a tans of printed images will be abandoned.
I researched a few examples related to our ideas.
SCOTIABANK CONTACT PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL(2013). Erik Kessels, 24 hrs in Photos, Contact Photography Toronto 2013. Available from http://2018.scotiabankcontactphoto.com/archive/2013/primary-exhibition/contact-gallery-24hrs-in-photography [Accessed 12 February 2020]
Purpose
- “This work explores our shifting relationship to photography during a hypermediated era, in which internet users are bombarded with images on a daily basis.”
- Visualising ‘data’ in phone
Process
- Photography were downloaded from all of the free and accessible images uploaded to the photo- sharing site Flickr by amateur photographers in a single 24-hour period-about one million images.
‘Hansel and Gretel’ by Ai Weiwei and Herzog & de Meuron, New York’s Park Avenue Armory, 2017
Howarth, D. (2017). Drones stalk visitors to Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei's Park Avenue Armory installation. de zeen. Available from https://www.dezeen.com/2017/06/12/drones-stalk-visitors-herzog-de-meuron-ai-weiwei-hansel-gretel-park-avenue-armory-installation/ [Accessed 12 February 2020]
Purpose
-to visually show surveillance in public space and tackle the issues of surveillance and privacy in the age of social media.
Process
- visitors walk through several dimly lit hallways leading to the gallery’s main space, the Drill Hall. The Drill Hall is filled with a network of infrared (赤外線)censors and drones which track patrons’ movements and not only feeds the footage to various locations throughout the gallery, but also to an online live stream.
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SoME Vol. II : Stressor, p. 53
In which adversity.
SoME is brought to you by coffee, spite, my lovely readers and patrons, and the letter R. The comic remains free to read, though NEW pages go up FIRST every Thursday on my Patreon. (We’re deeper in Volume II over there. Also patrons get the collected ebook versions of various comics to download, along with other goodies.) There is also a master post (that actually works) with all live pages there, as a public post of course.
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