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helluva-daughter · 5 months

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So let's talk about Vivziepop's designing skills!

The amount of sadness I feel when I see Vivziepop's designs of the demons in Helluva Boss is impossibly high

Simply comparing them from where she is pulling from feels like looking at a newborn compared to a grandma. Now let's go through them!

Lucifer

Viv's Lucifer, a popular depiction of Lucifer ("The Fallen Angel" by Alexandre Cabanel), and one with Jesus ("The Temptation of Christ" by Ary Scheffer)

You can see a big difference in a lot, as you can see Lucy (which will be Viv's version) has well. Clothing but we can give her a pass for that as I don't think Youtube would be fine with an animated dick on screen. Another thing is his lack of wings, bat-like or feathered along with blonde instead of red curled hair and yellow eyes instead of the blue Lucifer has in The Fallen Angel.

But what I see as the biggest thing is Lucy's lack of muscles! In both of these depictions I have chosen Lucifer appears muscular whilst Lucy has Viv's favorite smile and body shape.

Asmodeus

Here we have Viv's Asmodeus (Ozzie) and Asmodeus from Collin de Plancy's "Dictionnaire Infernal"

I will give Viv major props, I LOVE Ozzie's design. If we removed the feathers, made his head bigger, and some small things it would be AMAZING! But comparing it to Asmodeus it's... wooo.... very different.

First you can see is Asmodeus does not look conventionally attractive with his strange old man face, elf ears, bull head, ram head, serpent tail, and literal chicken legs. Ozzie does have the 2 heads on his shoulders (just very small) and a tail (not a serpent one) but other than that the similarities end. Though I do think taking Asmodeus the direction to being physically attractive to most people was a good way to go.

A personal nit pick is the clear lack of a BADASS DRAGON. Yes, Asmodeus has a BADASS DRAGON. On his little Dictionnaire Infernal image he's sitting on a BADASS DRAGON which he holds a banner as he rides. Viv you could have made Fizz a cool dragon demon! Make him look LESS like Blitz's twin brother and more like something that related to the Ars Goetia canon.

Beelzebub

Now this is Viv's Beelzebub and a fly-like Beelzebub (Beelzebul) (I've left out the more manly versions of Beelzebub to keep it fair as Beelzebub is a woman)

So a big thing we can see is Beelzebub is a furry whilst Beelzebul is a straight up fly, taking the term "Lord of the Flies" much more seriously. Now comparing these two is basically impossible minus their wings and extra arms. Now with them looking nothing alike I'll put some of my own personal critique's in.

One, Beelzebub's hair and tail makes me want to vomit. It's constantly moving thus every frame it must be moved which is HORRIBLE on an animation stand point. Two, Her clothes. A direct quote from the Helluva Boss wiki says "Beelzebub represents the animal tamer/animal shows" when her clothing looks like that it's hard to believe. If it was casual clothes? Okay I'd believe that but it being her debut episode wouldn't you want her in her normal clothes? And that's ignoring her magical disappearing bra... is that just an arm strap? Three, the ear thing. God the ear thing! Viv said they were supposed to appear like beehives... girl what beehives have you been seeing? Maybe she meant honeycomb? Still I see zero resemblance.

Mammon

Here we have Viv's Mammon, Mammon (Mam) from the painting "The Worship of Mammon" by Evelyn De Morgan, and Mammon (Mon) from Collin de Plancy's "Dictionnaire Infernal"

As we can see Mammon looks like the Teen Titans Go Robin mixed with a Christmas tree, the Christmas theming is quite clever I'll give Viv that. Christmas is a time of greedily taking all that is given to you through gifts. Now I could complain about how Mammon is poor rep for a fat character and simply is a widened version of her normal body type but I already made a post about that

But comparing him to Mam and Mon? Nothing similar. Mam we can see appears like a very large naked buff dark skinned man whilst Mon is a freakish old man with wide eyes and tattered clothes. Mammon shares zero similarities to either of them.

Another thing is Mammon's monster form... I believe everybody has seen it and hochie momma it is HORRIBLE! From the screenshots I've seen we don't see all of it but he's clearly intended to be a spider of sorts which is great! Spiders can often be seen with 6 flies trapped on their web being hoarded for later but Viv seems to have taken the lazy route of extra legs and 2 extra set of eyes. Anthro spiders can be so so SO cool but I feel scammed. Stolen from. My life savings have been taken by this shitty design.

Paimon

Here we have Vivziepop's Paimon and Paimon (Paimonia) from Collin de Plancy's "Dictionnaire Infernal"

As we can see they appear nothing alike minus the crown and odd chicken legs though Paimon lacks the camel that Paimonia has. Paimonia also has a feminine face and a humanoid body, nothing like Paimon. Though I personally think Paimon's design is stunning what made Viv connect the two, is it because the Goetia family is intended to all be ripped from the Ars Goetia? I feel though that Paimon's design takes as much as it can from Paimonia while making him look related to Stolas but why does he need to be named Paimon?

Stolas

Here we have Vivzie's Stolas and Stolas (Stolos) from Collin de Plancy's "Dictionnaire Infernal"

So, I have a lot of issues with Stolas's design, it's ugly first of all but compared to Stolos's cute yet shocked wide eyes and charming little beak it's even more obvious how ugly it is.

First, Stolos is shown as an owl (but also is described as a Raven). which Viv got right along with keeping his crown and odd horn-like feathers. However, I believe making Stolas that skinny doesn't follow the model of most owls as they can be pretty fluffy and plump. Even Stolos has a round fluffy chest that trails into his comically long legs.

Second, that cape is very horrifying but not in a good way. Nobody wants to animate a cape with that many rips! Even if they don't have to be precise. Also, why do his buttons have no lineart when everything else around it has lineart? I have the same issue with Blitz's design and his random chest orbs.

Feel free to put in your own reblogs and replies with your opinions! You can also send in asks with designs from HH or HB that aren't linked to previously existing designs unlike these fellows and I'll throw in my personal thoughts.

-Mod Paimon

#mod paimon #helluva critical #anti helluva boss #helluva boss critical #helluva boss criticism #helluva boss critique #vivziepop critical #anti vivziepop #hazbin critique #hazbin hotel critical #hazbin hotel criticism #hazbin hotel critique

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riddles-fiddles · 9 months

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Can we get the dorm leaders reaction to s/o telling them that Twisted wonderland is a game in her world? She gave them plenty of proof and even showed them the game on her phone.

Riddle's confused and extremely intrigued from this piece of information

Though he's more on the confused side of things. He's not so acquainted with technology so it's a hard time for him to discern what's true or fake

And honestly, your claims are so absurd it easily slips on his side as a prank. He'll be polite and look interested the whole time, but his brain is racing against time to make reason of it all

"Cater always tells me about this 'effects' things you can add to photos and there are plenty apps for image manipulation"

Dismisses all the proof you show him as a very dedicated prank of yours, because how could he be merely an AI when he very much feels very alive? Bullshit.

He lays down on his bed for a few nights with a deep sense of dread, being unable to sleep from all the doubt that creeps on his mind. He wants to believe that it's all just a lie, but what if it isn't?

Sleeps through half your essay about how everything he knows is a lie, growing in boredom as you stubbornly shove evidence, talking like some scientist presenting a thesis

Honestly half your argument has already gone through his head at some point so he's not truly impressed

Plays it cool saying you're gone nuts and that all this magic stuff fried your brain

"Geez easy now herbivore, nothing you're blabbering about makes sense", and he looks absolutely unnafected, shrugging it off

He can't help but dwell on it for some time though, but he'll never show it on your face or hesitate for even a moment in front of anyone

No, you are the crazy one, he's very much real. His pain is real, or else all the things he feels deeply rooted on his heart wouldn't hurt this much... right?

At first he's skeptical and scoffs off at your attempts at making his mind around your little antics

He's got the mind of a businessman, he's not falling for such childish pranks, no matter how well made that photoshopped image looks. Oh, wait, it's an app? Well, you're probably just teaming up with Idia to piss him off

His interest is piqued the moment he sees the cards with his face, and as you tell him it's a gacha game, his features light up for a fraction of a second - but then he remembers that you're trying to shove some absurd nonsense down his throat. No, it's not the time for profit thinking

Though you sure did gave him an idea, and he'll be sure to talk it out to Idia some other time

Azul keeps on a composed and rational feeling to him, one he pridefully shows to everyone around him, but he's got his insecurities and doubts, and now you just sparkled something inside his heart

He can't quite grasp it, but it always leaves him choking and uncomfortable, something alike to fear and anxiety, something he used to feel when he was the pathetic little octopus with too much time alone

For the first time after many years, he finds himself pondering about life, questioning everything he knows, a sense of dread tugging at the confines of his mind. He didn't like to think that maybe you were right, that everything he might have experienced was nothing but a cruel lie

Kalim can't quite grasp the concept of his existence being literally a video game, but he's the first one to not treat it like a joke

He's very interested on everything you says naturally, but he's very impressed to know that there's a game where he is a character!

"But... y/n, how could I be a literal game character when I'm right in front of you? Doesn't that mean that you are ficitional as well?"

He laughs light-hearted, taking things surprisingly well - because he can't understand he's not truly real. No matter how many screenshots you show, his wiki page, his cards, not even playing through the whole Scarabia arch will suffice to convince him

He just thinks you're a very talented person who made the game as some kind of diary or something, being inspired by everything that happened in Night Raven College

Eventually Kalim just convinces you to brush your point off, seeing how happy and entertained he looked. Maybe it's for the best to just allow him to eat up that lie

You wouldn't want to make Kalim sad now, would you?

Vil looks at you like you have just insulted his whole bloodline and then threw all his makeup on his face

Stands there in awkward silence, processing all the information and carefully picked proof, snatching your phone to look through it

By the end of this tense moment, he shakes his head, laughing out as if finally understanding that everything was merely a joke.

But you don't laugh back, instead looking him dead in the face

Vil's unsettled by everything, from the way you look at him and the new, hard to swallow information

He asks you to go to therapy and says that he'll be more than happy to accompany you, sincerely worried about you

He doesn't want to believe the things you showed him, so just like the others, he'll just settle on the idea of you playing a prank on him for the sake of his own mental health.

Idia.exe has stopped working

"I KNEW IT!!!!!!!!!!!!" shouts out once he snaps out of his paralyzed processation so loudly you're sure everyone at NRC could hear him

He looks mortified and equally thrilled as he goes on blabbering about some underground government bullshit

Red and blue pill kinda shit, you know? Talks about simulations and how he dreamed saw the walls around his room glitch for a moment while gaming (he's sleep deprived)

Shut him up or else he'll be wailing in his fake existence and talking to you about some conspirational theories he formulated with the source of his own brain

Malleus is eerily silent as you present him with all the information you have, a perfect display of your confidence and everything that just fell right like puzzle pieces

When you're done and looks up at him, expecting an answer, he stares back, his emerald eyes deep and piercing, silently rummaging through your features though his gaze made you feel like he was reaching directly for your soul

"I know," he responds simply, an amused smile creeping between his lips

With a nod of farewell, he turns on his heels and simply leaves, unbothered to give any kind of explanation

Malleus leaves you with an existential crisis, hanging where you stood without understanding a thing

He knows? How can he know? Is he programmed to say that? Is he truly an IA?

You're not sure and will never be, because Malleus never gives you an answer eveytime you poke at the matter, simply smiling warmly before resuming to his tasks

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flickering-nightfall · 10 months

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I’m pretty sure that you made a post explaining why the arm is not the umbilical but I can’t find it, so, if you did make one, can you give a link to it? Sorry if you didn’t make one, I don’t have very good memory.

I'm not entirely sure which post that is but it sounds like something I'd ramble about? I have this post talking about making a 3D umbilical and this post talking about making a 3D arm with allusions to that buuut...

If that post doesn't exist then I'll make one right now!

Here, I made a diagram of terminology I use for the puppet/arm/umbilical structure. These terms aren't necessarily canon - they're just what I use.

As for umbilicals being different from mechanical arms, it's an interpretation, I think. But there's reasons why I call them different things.

So first here's this Moon dialogue.

(I think that's vanilla dialogue? The wiki confuses me sometimes. Link here if you want to see it yourself.)

We can assume from that dialogue that the wires + cord are the "umbilical." Moon's are obviously cut, but Pebbles' are not. And Moon's puppet is still attached to her mechanical arm.

(Lots more under the cut)

Umbilicals in real life resemble the wire/cord structure far more than the mechanical arm portion does. So that's another reason I refer to the wire/cord as the umbilical.

Lemme slap some stuff from my iterator headcanons doc here.

I like interpreting the puppet as a place to focus an iterator's consciousness. It acts as a sensory hub and a means to interact more finely with their surroundings. Neurons, in turn, are active memory comparable to RAM. Moon refers to Pebbles' imprints on his neurons as "a ghost left from his processing routines." They're not meant for long-term memory storage, but upper processes such as, well... thinking... cannot be done without them. So removing neurons affects an iterator’s ability to encode, recall, and process information. (Courtesy of my friend Folly, I also think they're mostly made out of fat. Kind of gross to eat.) Although Moon's umbilical is severed, she is still able to see through and control the movements of her puppet. So either she has some sort of other connection to the rest of her can, or her consciousness comes from the puppet rather than the can. The mechanical arm’s functions would be mostly structure-to-puppet function (control movements of arm and puppet, transmit the sensory information of the puppet) while the wire/cord handles more consciousness-in-puppet-to-structure function (facilitates awareness and control over superstructure and all that encompasses). So both the cord and the arm are part of the iterator-to-puppet connection, but the cord is more important. I feel like with the wire OR the arm's internals intact, the iterator can maintain perception of the puppet. When you give Moon an overseer eye, she says, “I am not much more than what you are looking at - a little creature in a box.” This can be literal, or it can imply that her perception is just limited to what she can see through her puppet in her damaged state.

In Rivulet’s campaign, the rarefaction cell could be partial compensation for a missing umbilical. Moon can move on her arm, call up image projections, reconnect to her overseers, and broadcast locally to Pebbles after getting the rarefaction cell. She refers to it as finally having her freedom back. But we don't know how many of her systems she does or does not have access to anymore.

If you eat one of Pebbles' neurons in front of him as Rivulet he says "I would appreciate if you would not eat those. My umbilical will keep me conscious, but every neuron lost is a piece of me lost as well..." We know that Pebbles keeps his wires/cord/arm connected in Saint's campaign, though, and he remains conscious despite having no visible neurons. Does the umbilical compensate for the lack of neurons as well? Maybe there are some still alive in the structure that we can’t see, and the umbilical allows him to stay connected to them.

...honestly, I think downpour makes questions about umbilicals harder to answer than if you only base off of vanilla lore. But I like working with downpour stuff, so oh well.

One last thing - the wiki page for Moon also says this under her trivia: "Looks to the Moon is still connected to the wall by her umbilical, but the damaged hardware lacks power to let her move around." Other references to umbilicals written throughout the wiki imply the arm is the umbilical as well. But! I don't know where the writers of that got that information. I don't think there's anything in the game that confirms that the umbilical and the arm are the same. If there's anything in the game that supports that, let me know~

So to summarize: I think evidence suggests the wires + cord are the umbilical because Moon refers to hers being cut. The mechanical arm could also be a part of the umbilical, or it be considered a different part that provides function in a different way. I usually refer to them separately, but that's just me, and I mostly do it for the sake of clarity. It's not confirmed canon.

There are a lot of things about Rain World lore you can run in circles around for hours, but not find any definitive conclusions for. It's part of the fun even if it drives me nuts sometimes. Come be confused with me :)

#every time i edit this post the “keep reading” thing jumps down a paragraph #tumblr is a functioning website #ask #anon #text #images #rambles #rw spoilers #dp spoilers #saint spoilers #headcanons #rain world

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lilyginnyblackv2 · 1 month

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I don't think I've ever seen anyone talk about this Utada Hikaru quote in regards to both Hikari and Passion before:

In an interview, Utada said, "It's like... as if 'Hikari' was the dawn, and 'Passion' has a concluding or 'dusk' feeling to it. The lyrics of 'Passion' show how phases of the past, present and future of the character in my song relate to each other."

This came from the KH Fandom Wiki, which I'll link below in the comments. I've seen the Nomura quote mentioned all the time about how Passion is about Sora and Riku's reunion, but I think a part of Nomura's quote that often gets overlooked is when he states:

I wrote stuff like "An image of a reunion, a happy moment in a way" and "Like a Hikari 2" in there.

Italicized part by me for emphasis and the main thing I want to talk about here. The quote from Nomura can be found over at Kingdom Hearts Insider (which I will also link below in the comments).

We have Utada mentioning how Hikari is like the dawn and Passion is like the concluding dusk, thus connecting the two songs to each other in a sequel like way, just like Nomura mentions in his interview when he states that Passion is "Like a Hikari 2." So, in my mind, since Nomura states that "Passion is about Sora and Riku's reunion" and Utada uses the phrasing of dawn, as well as how the song highlights how past, present, and future relate to each other for the character in the song...I think it's pretty safe to say that Hikari is about Sora and Riku as well.

That seems to be what both Nomura and Utada are implying with their answers here. Now, I know that some people really like to say that Simple & Clean and Sanctuary are their own songs, which they are. The lyrics are different. But the thematic elements are still the same and there are still similar through lines (like the backward lyrics being the same in both Passion and Sanctuary for instance).

The lyrics of Hikari really fit Riku's views on Sora and the bond they have/had - the desire for it to remain unchanged. The person they are singing about being their light (Sora being Riku's light, something we know Riku views Sora as via things like the DDD Novel Side Riku). Simple & Clean's lyrics definitely fit Sora as a character and his voice more.

With Passion and Sanctuary it almost seems like this is reversed though. The English version, Sanctuary, has more lyrics that fit Riku and his perspective on Sora and their reunion. Meanwhile, Passion's lyrics fit Sora a lot more. The line: "I heard my old crush is having a baby in the wintertime" is quite interesting in various ways. The whole last set of lyrics in Passion aren't really directly related to KH, but more to general ideas of things that denote changes and passages of time (people having children, getting New Years cards, etc.).

It's also so interesting that Hikari is mentioned as being the Dawn (the time of day associated with Riku) and Passion the Dusk (the time of day that is often associated with Kairi). In KH2 is when we start to see a shift in Sora's feelings and interactions with Kairi (distance, drifting apart, change) and a reconnection happen with Sora and Riku (reunion, airing out feelings, better communication, reinforcing their friendship and bonds to each other, etc.).

We get games that focus more on Sora and Riku's bonds (Re-coded, BBB when they are little kids, and DDD) and Kairi is sadly neglected by the narrative and both Sora and Riku in a way. Something that we see her taking note of in KH3, more obviously through the novelization.

I don't know. To me these quotes just make me think it is very obvious that both Hikari/Simple & Clean and Passion/Sanctuary are all songs about Sora and Riku and their bond with each other. Of course, since KH3 is meant to be a conclusion to the Dark Seeker Saga, of which KH1 and KH2 are both a part of, it would make sense that Oath and Don't Think Twice are about them too.

Sadly, we don't really have anything remotely official to really solidify that interpretation though, not that official recognition of things like this are necessary - they aren't - but they do add more validity to interpretations and theories. Maybe some day we'll get a comment about Oath / Don't Think Twice from either Nomura or Utada. But until then...I'm still going to think that those songs are about Sora and Riku.

Anyway, these are just rambling thoughts on a topic I've talked about before (the KH themes like Oath / Don't Think Twice and their connection to Sora and Riku). But I was thinking about this all again with the new Hikari re-recording by Utada that came out recently. It's a beautiful re-recording that I definitely suggest every KH fan check out. I'll link that in the comments as well, lol. Also, feel free to add this via reblogs or in the comments! I might not respond right away, but I'll read everything that gets commented, added, etc.

#Soriku #KH #Kingdom Hearts #Sora x Riku #Nomura #Utada Hikaru #Hikari #Simple and Clean #Passion #Sanctuary #Don't Think Twice #Oath #long post #thought post

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no-name-publishing · 4 months

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Cleaning Out the Rooms by bitochondria

After all this time I'm finally calling this bind complete. The concept was a radial pattern with intersecting shapes of desaturated materials in the same tone. I think it was mostly successful, but it was time to move on to other things and stop fucking around with this lol. If you like Disco Elysium and Harry/Kim consider giving this fic a read if you haven't yet. More pictures of the final result and progress pics under the cut.

The colored marbled paper is mine own creation, marbled in my kitchen. I created the black and white version of it simply by scanning the image and printing it on a black and white laser printer lol. It gave me the truest transition into the desaturated colors of the marbled paper, and I used both as references in the endband, where the colored pattern of the threads transitions into it's base tonal iterations.

The body font is typeset in Sina Nova font. Decorative title font is Roti. Images were sourced from the Disco Elysium wiki. Everything was arranged and designed in Word.

Little video displaying the bind and the typeset.

The order of events from laying the paint in the water for marbling the paper, to creating the template for the cover pieces, cutting each of those 91 pieces out, then cutting them out AGAIN from the cloth and the paper. Gluing it all on, to deciding I didn't like the buckram cloth I'd originally planned on, and tearing it off. Cutting out the pieces AGAIN and gluing them on AGAIN. Luckily buckram is so coated in acrylic that I was able to peel it up with next to no issues.

Overall this bind was very experimental for me, and I'm glad to have done it! Excited to move on to simpler projects though, I'm sure you understand.

#fanbinding #fanficbookbinding #bookbinding #cleaning out the rooms #bitochondria #disco elysium #harry/kim #no name publishing

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solradguy · 2 months

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What’s been the most fun and/or challenging part of working on the wiki? Also is there anything that still needs to be worked on that other people can help with?

THE CODE KILLED ME. So the wiki has a template that automagically puts this cool little Wikipedia help thingy next to Japanese text (the "?" on the end) in infoboxes and by command in text using some {{wiggly boys}} code:

And we wanted to try to get the Korean stuff on the wiki too because it's the second most officially supported language behind English and there's a bunch of cool exclusive Korean GG stuff no one's ever documented before. But there wasn't a module like this to help out with Korean text like there is for Japanese text.

I put one together based on the Japanese template's code and it was a nightmare. I was fighting for my life in the template trenches. It works though!! I did get it after a while!!

Mostly.

Shoutout to the Final Fantasy Wiki for the original JP template code and to the Dragon Blaze Wiki for seemingly being the only other English language wiki out there that cares about Korean text lol I don't know anything about Korean writing beyond super basic stuff (like what "hangul" is) so I had to do research into that alongside trying to learn wiki code.

The most fun part was probably getting GG World together, honestly. We couldn't believe that no one had actually transcribed those anywhere online before. Well, there was a file compiled by Lux for Revelator, but we wanted to transcribe these as-presented in the games and we couldn't use Lux's file since the goofy typos and some lore oopsies had been edited haha

Toxic and Elk have hauled ass getting those entries ripped and added. Major shoutout to them. I got the base layouts together and they went to town lol It's so cool seeing it all together now. We even started getting the official languages besides English and Korean added for Strive too.

As for what someone could do to help........ There's.... a lot...... Of the 4,532 image files currently on the wiki, only a very small handful of them were organized into categories when we forked. Here's the page of all the files currently not in a category: https://guiltygear.wiki.gg/wiki/Special:UncategorizedFiles

And all of the image categories they need to be sorted into. Note the subcategories under some of them: https://guiltygear.wiki.gg/wiki/Category:Images

I think I made the correct amount of categories for stuff but there may be one missing here or there. There were a lot and it was hard keeping track of them lol Feel free to holler at me on here or on my talk page over on the wiki if you need something made. I'm solradguy on the wiki.

These major character pages are also either entirely lacking citations or only have maybe 1 or 2 on the entire page (bad!!): Johnny, Chipp, Kliff, Baiken, Venom, Jam, Robo-Ky, Slayer, Sin, Izuna, Dr. Paradigm, Valentine, Bedman?, Answer, Haehyun, Elphelt, Giovanna, Happy Chaos, Asuka R♯

Swapping out the vague "GG World" citations on the wiki with the correct entry would be very helpful too. Like some pages will cite something and it just says "GG World" instead of " 'Axl Low' Xrd Rev2 GG World entry" or whatever relevant entry is needed.

If you know Korean, we also need to have the romaja added for the GG World entries. None of us knows Korean well enough to do that so not a single one has it filled in lol.... We were planning on using Revised Romanization of Korean since it's the official South Korean romanization system but if there's one that's more commonly used/accepted that's cool too (like how Hepburn is used for Japanese more often than the official Kunrei-shiki romanization)

#asks #long post #Axl Low is my example guy for GG World stuff because he was the first entry that got added #The GG Bible's Glossary was the start of the GG World project and Axl's the first thing listed in it #So the GG World test dummy he became

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thecreaturecodex · 1 month

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Scrab

Image © Oddworld Inhabitants, accessed at the Oddworld Wiki here

[Sponsored by @martyslittleusedblog. Like previous Oddworld creature the paramite, the scrab combines a very distinctive look with pretty basic mechanics. After all, in a game where your character dies to a single bullet, combat isn't exactly the developer's goal. So the good stuff is in the flavor text, which I did tweak just a little. In the games, it's implied that scrabs are pure carnivores, but both their desert habitat and ability to be farmed for food suggests something a little broader. So I went omnivore.]

Scrab CR 7 N Magical Beast This creature has four crab-like legs, each tipped with a large claw, above which grows an armless, humanoid torso. Its head is eyeless, with a large upward scooping beak, sword edged along the lower jaw.

Scrabs are belligerent omnivores native to the desert mesas and canyons of an alien world. They are extremely territorial, repelling all other scrabs from their territory except for pack members unless it is the mating season. Territorial marking is done with booming calls that carry for miles through the still desert air, but if that fails, scrabs do not hesitate to fight others of their own species to the death. Due to the harsh nature of their habitats, scrab territories are large. Most scrabs forage independently by day, and then return to a communal nest during the night to feed the young, who are communally raised on regurgitated food provided by all pack members.

The bulk of a scrab’s diet consists of roots and gourds, dug up using their shovel-like bills. They prefer meat when they can get it, though, either carrion or killed on the hoof. Scrabs find the meat of their own kind unpalatable—the one thing a scrab will refuse to eat is another scrab. This is unusual, as many species find scrabs to be delicious, albeit difficult game. Due to their homebody nature and garbage disposal physiologies, scrabs can even be farmed, although this runs the risk of the farmer becoming the next meal if the scrabs are neglected or underfed. Due to their durability and fierce nature, scrabs are also sacred animals in some cultures. The cultures that farm scrabs and those that venerate them are usually deeply at odds with each other.

Scrab CR 7 XP 3,200 N Large magical beast Init +5; Senses blind, blindsight 60 ft., Perception +9

Defense AC 21, touch 10, flat-footed 20 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +11 natural) hp 76 (8d10+32) Fort +10, Ref +7, Will +6

Offense Speed 50 ft. Melee bite +13 (2d6+6), 2 claws +13 (1d6+6) Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft. Special Attacks thrash

Statistics Str 22, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 2, Wis18, Cha 9 Base Atk +8; CMB +15 (+17 bull rush); CMD 26 (28 vs. bull rush, 30 vs. trip) Feats Endurance,Improved Bull Rush, Improved Initiative, Power Attack Skills Acrobatics +10, Climb +15, Perception +9, Survival +10; Racial Modifiers +4 Acrobatics, +4 Climb, +4 Survival

Ecology Environment warm deserts and underground Organization solitary, pair or pack (3-12 plus 100% noncombatant juveniles) Treasure incidental

Special Abilities Blindsight (Ex) A scrab’s blindsight is based on hearing and electrical signals. When deafened, or in an area of silence, a scrab is considered to have blindsense instead. Thrash (Ex) As a standard action, a scrab can lash out with its claws and beak in all directions. All creatures adjacent to the scrab take 3d6+9 slashing damage (Ref DC 20 halves). The save DC is Strength based.

#pathfinder 1e #scrab #oddworld #video games #sponsored post #magical beast

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panthera-dei · 5 months

Text

Technomancy 101

Hi, friends! I'm back with another witchy FAQ from the past couple weeks. This time from the world of tech magic!

Here are some quick TL;DR technomancy tips for those who may not want to read the long FAQs post beneath the cut:

1. Chest spells (like a jar spell but with a chest filled with in game items that match the intent)

2. Poppet spells using the game characters by giving them items or altering their names/appearances

3. Similar to a chest spell but not necessarily magic per se - using chests or sheds with in-game items as altars and/or offerings

4. Build a shrine / altar / temple with offerings, or leave an item such as a torch in the game world as an offering

5. Burn/bury/destroy ingredients to activate a spell with the desired effect

6. Write an affirmation or a spell on a sign or other in-game item and destroy it to activate as a sigil

7. Build a golem or animal pen or something as a servitor for protection

8. Use some form of sympathetic magic connecting in-game items to IRL items

9. Light sticks, flashlights, plastic lightsabers, and toy sonic screwdrivers make *awesome* wands, especially if they light up and make noise.

10. The possibilities are limited to your imagination!!

(I am choosing Wittgenstein from The Brave Little Toaster movies as my mascot for tech magic, simply because I like him and because I can. Image credit - Fandom Wiki.)

What is technomancy?: Technomancy, techno magic, and tech magic are all terms for a form of magic that utilizes common modern technology, such as smartphones and video games. Technically, “technomancy” could refer specifically to divination with technology; however, in my experience, the term usually has a broader meaning in common usage. I personally tend to use these terms interchangeably, with perhaps a slight preference for technomancy, since I learned that name first.

What are some forms of technomancy?: Common forms of technomancy include digital sigils, emoji spells, shufflemancy, video game spells, and video game altars.

How do I create a digital sigil?: The ways are about as unlimited as creating a physical sigil on paper. You can use a drawing app on a smartphone or tablet, find a digital sigil generator online, use a photo editor on a picture, or even add a string of charged letters to an email signature (just make sure they blend in!).

OK, and what's the deal with emoji spells?: Yes, this is an actual thing (though not a thing that I'm particularly experienced with). They're pretty straightforward. They can be done like a sigil - string emojis together and charge them. Or like an actual spell - put them together and send to cast, or like to charge and send/reblog to cast.

What kind of games can you use for technomancy?: Any of them. Minecraft is a very popular one. So is Stardew Valley. Skyrim and other RPGs are other common choices. As with other forms of magic, the only real limit is your imagination.

What kind of spells can you cast in a game?:

Chest spells - like digital jar spells - are very common.

Poppet spells are another common choice. In games that allow you to create a character, or in games where you can give items to an NPC, you can turn the character into a poppet of someone and give them an item to cast the spell. For example, if I wanted emotional strength, I could create a Skyrim character as a poppet for myself, and have the character drink a strength potion to cast a spell of strength for myself in the real world.

Burying or burning items in games like Minecraft can be done to cast spells that are similar to physical spells that require burning a paper, bay leaf, or other ingredient.

Enchanting! Use the enchanting function in a video game like Skyrim or Minecraft to enchant a physical object. For example, you might choose to connect a physical scarf to a shield in Skyrim, and when you enchant the in-game shield with a damage resistance effect, voila! You now have a fancy enchanted scarf to protect yourself from spiritual attacks.

Customize your avatar to your advantage! In games such as Sky: Children Of The Light, where you can accessorize your character, you can equip different items to cast a different spell on yourself. For example, you might use the Saluting Captain's staff as a cosmetic to cast a spell of protection on yourself, or you could use a particular cape as a spiritual veil.

For deity work & spirit work, consider creating a space in your game (e.g. a chest, shed, home, biome, character, etc.) dedicated to the entities you work with. For example, temples and altars in Minecraft are common. Devotional sheds and chests are popular in Stardew Valley. I’ve named some appropriate Pokemon after an entity or dedicated the critter to them. You can even place a torch or candle in the game world as an offering.

There are lots more out there, too! This list is a starting point, not a limitation. Use your imagination and swap ideas with others, too!

How exactly does all of this work?? How is it possible?!: OK, so the principle behind tech magic is that you're harnessing the energy of multiple sources.

First, the device itself (and if you're using something like a Switch, the cartridge or other physical media). Each of these items has its own materials - electricity, glass and metal, etc. And each of those materials has a magical property that you can use... Glass and metal come from the Earth and have their own correspondences, while electricity is pure energy in itself.

Second, you have the energy of symbolism, or as I like to think of it with a butchered sociology term, symbolic interactionism - i.e., the idea that we create our own reality (or our *perception* of reality) via symbols. In other words, the power of correspondences! A candle is still a candle whether it's physical or digital. Lapis lazuli has the same qualities in this world that it does in a pixelated version. And so forth. So when you use the correspondences in digital spell work, provided that you raise the energy, it can and does have real world consequences. Similar to doing magic in the astral as opposed to the physical world... you are making a conscious decision to connect a digital item to an effect either in the astral and/or physical worlds.

Finally, you're also harnessing the power of belief and the energy of attention, which is where the chaos magic concepts start to come in. The digital worlds are real because you believe they are and you pour parts of your energy and personality into them - and so do *millions* of other people, in many cases. All of that energy is sort of like a reservoir in these games and it's just waiting to be harvested for spell work!

So… This is another subset of chaos magic, then.: Pretty much, yes. I haven't seen it categorized as anything else yet, except for in those cases where technomancy is given its own category.

And what did you mean by “energy of symbolism” again?: Correspondences. Both traditional ones and your own. For example, obsidian corresponds with protection IRL. So if you were making a chest spell in Minecraft for protection, you'd want to consider adding an obsidian block to your spell. Some of this is also stuff that you can brainstorm on your own and explore! Like for example, in the Elder Scrolls series, there are several plants and items that don't exist IRL, such as the corkbulb root - but in the game, that item can be used to make a potion of healing, so for me, it has a healing correspondence. Also, if the game you’re playing has spells already, you can consider how to adapt those spells to affect the real world in a logical, realistic way! Many pop culture magicians have done a great job of turning Pokemon moves into real spells, for example. So feel free to play around (pun intended) and see what works best for you!

How come you only mentioned shufflemancy once in this whole entire post??: That, my friend, needs to be a post for a later date. I assure you, I absolutely can (and probably already have, and probably eventually will) write an entire post about shufflemancy.

How come your formatting is crap?: Because I wrote all of this on a smartphone and pieced it into a post with the mobile app. Bear with me. XD

Where do I learn more and fact check you, smarty-pants?: Tumblr. The answer is usually Tumblr for this kind of thing. Or sometimes Discord. Like pop culture magic, techno magic is simply very new. Some tags to search include tech magic, techno magic, technomancy, video game magic, etc.

#tech magic #technomancy #techno magic #techno witchcraft #pop culture magic #pop culture witchcraft #witchy faqs #witchy tips #witchblr #paganblr

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ichijokaoru · 3 months

Note

omg do you have the 2 other ichijo songs to share??? i have only ever heard the live performance vids of him singing

[also small edit: just turning reblogs off cus I'd like to make a proper post abt these another time and this is rambly and a mess 👍]

aah I will post at some point, and I WILL message you when I do! I wanna make it a nice post and not do it in a rush you know, but I will remember to do this I promise 👍 (we also have a non kuuga related bricks album, if you want even more ~shingo singing~... he has a very beautiful voice! uwu)

I just will need to sort through some things as my partner is the one who ripped them off the disks and I'd like to just add other stuff to the post (such as original lyrics in japanese) and the ~approximate~ english lyrics which we will come with the full disclosure that they're machine translated, and we may wanna upload them to youtube since I don't know if they're actually findable up there?

that being said, it is a machine translation but are you seeing this shit though:

(from carry on:)

OKAY!! you're in love with godai we get it..

(from 勇気をくれた人へ, which, edit: is probably a Godai song, just sung by katsurayama actually?)

It's interesting cus we kind of had to wade through the pains of machine translation of shingo katsurayama's japanese wiki page to learn that the carry on release, which is 'carry on' and '勇気をくれた人へ' (which here is machine translating as 'to those who gave me courage' but is translated from our scan of the booklet, as 'to the person who gave me courage'- idk which is more accurate) is a kamen rider kuuga thing!

this isn't on the kuuga soundtrack properly (which we should probably also upload, we have both discs!), like 'it comes rain' (song I just reblogged) is but was just released separately by bricks, which is a personal musical unit??? (edit for clarification: they are kuuga songs in an official capacity just not on the soundtrack) but hey, I shouldn't be surprised that yes, world's strongest goichi warrior, shingo katsurayama went off and?? released the extra songs?? for his personal band?? ik I read somewhere him saying ichijou is one of his fave characters he ever played so this tracks, I guess. one time I found an image of him holdign up a little picture of godai and ichijou and a tiny little box with roses in? it was obviously sent by a fan and I don't know the context but.. hm. he seemed pretty happy to hold it up all smiley so ok shingo!!

[all these text screenshots had image descriptions if they're hard to read]

#ask #iridescentspacewhale #kuugaposting #kr kuuga #kamen rider #is this also a funny time to say i obsessively machine translate shingo's blog every day.#he posts a lot about his cat

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ceranovis · 3 months

Text

Some musings to do with this celltw pic

As a fandom I feel like we could be doing So Much More with Other Side Elements being canon + all the connected Ordem worldbuilding it introduces by association.

Canonically, Cellbit chose to align himself with the knowledge element. So I hopped on over to the ordem wiki page for Knowledge to look for things to put in the paperwork on the table. Then I realized there's a memory alteration ritual (accidentally pulled the wrong ritual circle image for the art though oTL ...let's just pretend Cellbit identified the right one at some point).

The [Change Memory Ritual] can erase all or only some specific memories of the victim. In both cases, if the victim comes into contact with people, places and certain objects that were part of this past erased, it will begin to gradually recall some elements and have quick flashes of some moments, being able to recover its memory completely after a while.

Now listen. If there's one thing I think of as core to q!Cellbit's character, it's that as far as he's concerned the ends always justifies the means. This includes doing things he knows people he loves will hate him for because he thinks it will be better for them in the long run.

In the regret arc letters, he told Tazercraft he loved them, that Cell was dead & he didn't want them to think he was reverting to that type of monster. While there were a few moments where he brought up clearly unresolved feelings of anger and betrayal/abandonment regarding how things went with Fuga, I do think at that point he cared for the Favela crew as a found-family, and was making decisions he felt were in their best interest (usually without consulting them, or like...running those ideas by anyone else ever...)

If he discovered a way to erase specific memories, I could fully see him using that to 'make things better' for Pac. I doubt he'd try to erase all the Fuga memories (especially as he'd have to also erase Mike and Felps) but I also don't think he'd feel like he had to go that far anyways.

Earlier on in the Quesadilla timeline, Pac seemed to think of Cell as basically dormant and was relatively comfortable with having a fairly close and positive relationship with Cellbit. He only grew paranoid about Cell re-emerging when he saw signs of Cellbit snapping, and he first responded by actively trying to keep Cellbit in a headspace that wouldn't lead to that. There have been multiple instances of Pac extending a bit of grace, an unspoken offer not to forgive or forget but to move forward. He wants Cellbit to be a good man, not a monster.

So I think Cellbit would use the ritual to smooth over events that put a strain on their current relationship. Things that made Pac scared he was turning back into Cell. And he'd probably justify it as 'helping' Pac, but there's also a selfish element there too, of him desperately trying to keep hold of this new start and family he probably doesn't deserve but somehow got anyways.

It's small things at first-- just wiping away little instances that put Pac on edge around him. Pac is prone to glossing over Cellbit's red flags anyways, so even if other people remember what Pac doesn't, it wouldn't set off immediate alarm bells. Nobody would catch on to the manipulation.

Pac himself would write off most of the weird, vague flashes he gets sometimes. It feels sort of like deja vu but with an extra helping of uneasy dread. He's not very self-confident when it comes to his brain; he's just being unreasonably paranoid because of his memories of Cell-- those half-memories are so foggy because his brain is panicking and conflating the past with the present, right? More importantly, wants to trust Cellbit.

Now, there's a clip of Pac (which I can't find now but it lives in my head rent free) where he implies that, if Cellbit and Roier hadnt been introduced, he and Cellbit would have been together.

There are a few points in the canon timeline where guapoduo could have been derailed. Cellbit may never have even gotten to that point with Roier if he and Pac were already a little bit closer. If he was fucking with Pac's memories in a way that made Pac less cautious of him, I think it's entirely possible their relationship would have had a chance to develop in place of guapoduo's.

Cellbit didn't start erasing memories with the intention of getting Pac to fall for him though. He wanted the olive branch Pac extended. He wanted Pac to not be terrified of him. But it never occured to him that Pac might be capable of falling in love with the man who ate his goddamn leg. So it completely blindsides him when Pac does, in fact, very deliberately step over the line between platonic and romantic in their relationship.

It feels a lot more morally dubious to be manipulating Pac's memories once that happens. But he's in too deep. He knows Pac would hate him if he found out the truth. But isn't it better this way anyways? Pac, somehow, impossibly, wants to love him-- it's not like he's forcing Pac feel anything about him, right? He knows how terrible betrayal feels-- and he doesn't have to make Pac feel that way, doesn't have to hurt him like that! All he has to do is omit the truth. It's not even a lie, really.

He wants Pac to be happy, wants to preserve the warmth Pac looks at him with now, and if holding his tongue is what assures that... well he can swallow down the guilt gnawing at him and bear that mental burden for both of them. Theres so much in their history for him to feel guilty about anyways, what's one more thing?

Unfortunately for Cellbit, he's never used the ritual on people prior to this, and the books he got it from were light on details as to how it works. He has no idea that the locks on Pac's memories start to slowly erode as soon as he encounters a trigger. And since all of the erased memories are of Cellbit, their time together is just speeding up that process.

Eventually, Pac regains a memory he can't just brush off. And he has to come to terms with the fact that something is very, very wrong between them even if he doesn't understand exactly what's happening to him. He'd figure it out eventually, go through Cellbit's notes in secret and piece things together. When he does he's horrified and angry and heartbroken. But he's torn too because it's not like he can just forget the relationship they've built either, even if he now knows the foundation is half rotted.

He still loves Cellbit, despite every fucked up thing Cellbit has ever done to him.

The question is really whether Pac loves himself enough to pull the plug on this unhealthy dynamic.

#musings #canon divergent au #qsmp au #celltw #qsmp shipping

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simspaghetti · 9 months

Note

Hey, I love your ts3 gameplay, but I'm curious, how do you do these windows with emotions and so on?

Hello!! Thank you so much 🥰🥰

With the moodlet / wish overlays, I actually created my own PSD template for them a while ago, which is up for download here - it's based on JustMiha's CleanUI design :)

I personally use photopea to edit my screenshots (it's a free very similar version of Photoshop), so all I do is open the template in there, and then edit the text to match the in-game moodlets & wishes my sims get!

(they're psd files though so you can also open them in other editing apps such as gimp if you prefer)

I heavily use this icon collection from MTS and these pages (moodlets / wishes) from the sims wiki to add the icons onto the moodlets

Once I'm done editing, I save the image as a png and then just place it onto my gameplay screenshots

I've also recently been using the Layer Style -> Dropshadow function and playing around with the settings of that to make them look a little nicer!

For the notifications, interactions, and any other in-game overlay type thing, I followed this tutorial by erasabledinosaur, but basically in summary, I screenshot the overlay when it pops up using reshade's screenshot function, and then bring the screenshot up into photopea

I then draw a box around the thing I want to select using the object selection tool and copy -> paste it onto my gameplay screenshot

Sometimes they require a little bit of erasing the background as well, it depends on how clear the background of the screenshot is, I also use the Layer Style -> Dropshadow function for these to make them look a bit nicer :)

I hope that's helpful!

Let me know if you have any more questions I'm happy to help 🫶

#wcif #resources #tutorial #replies

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phoenixyfriend · 7 months

Text

Ko-fi prompt from Becky:

I actually would love to hear where ticket/concession/merch money for concerts go. If someone has already asked about that, can you do something similar for a sports game of your choice?

Already got a request for concerts, but I can do the sports game!

So, let's go with... baseball. I've been to professional baseball games ('twas the Ducks), even if it's been a Very Long Time, so that's the one I have some perspective on. Who is in control of the money any given game (as in, who owns the stadium and the home team) varies by place and sport, so let's use the Mets and Citi Field as our example when we need a specific.

Mostly, this is because I'm in New York and so it's down to either them or the Yankees, and between the two... the Mets, through a wholly owned subsidiary, Queens Ballpark Company, are the ones that actually own their ballpark, which makes a few things easier and includes a Fun Fact about the naming. It also means that I can treat the team and the stadium as one singular entity instead of waffling over who gets to be the Main Character of this simulation. It's not exactly uncommon for teams to own their own stadiums, but it's not most of them.

(The Mets, btw, are owned in large part by a hedge fund manager. Like, 95% of the team stock is owned by this one guy. Why can't more sports be like the Packers and just belong to the city.)

In this case, I will be referring to the Forbes article on Citi Field's revenue for 2022 as a guide or framework, as they have an actual image of the financial report; they don't do much explaining of the actual data, though, so my part will be explaining the less-obvious things and doing some maths. A few other articles will also be cited as they come in useful.

I'll also note that the Mets are a very expensive team operating at a loss, but they still work for our purposes.

MONEY COMING IN:

Tickets, most obviously

To quote the wiki article on Major League Baseball:

"MLB is the second-wealthiest professional sport league by revenue after the National Football League (NFL). [...] MLB has the highest total season attendance of any sports league in the world; in 2018, it drew more than 69.6 million spectators."

I didn't know that until I started researching for this post, but it makes sense. After all, baseball is "the American pastime." The Forbes article cites average attendance of 33,000 per home game. The stadium seat about 41,900, so we're looking at roughly 79% attendance. This is fine, because attendance is not the only stream of revenue.

Advertising

If you have seen a professional sports game in the past however many years, you have seen that, depending on the type of court, they are plastered in advertising. Let's take a look at Citi Field:

(Image Source: MLB website)

The Forbes article states that the stadium makes about $48.5 million per year from advertising. About $28.5 million of that comes from the various 'temporary' and long-term ads, the Nikon and Geico and Toyota and Coca Cola, etc.

$20 million of it comes from one company. I'm going to quote Wikipedia again:

The naming rights were purchased by Citigroup, a New York financial services company, for $20 million annually.

This is not uncommon! ESPN has an article about it, and some standout examples are Bank of America Stadium, Coors Field, Delta Center, FedEx Field and FedEx Forum, General Motors Place, Gillette Stadium, Heinz Field, and the list just goes on. I'm not even sure if the list is up to date, because I'm seeing even more articles elsewhere with higher figures.

Concessions

The financial report that Forbes cites has $22mill in concessions. This is not entirely surprising. Going by this page, we're looking at... 84 home games in that 2022 season. Let's assume that 33,000 average cited earlier. That's 2,772,000 attendees over the course of the season. So, what, a little under $10 per attendance tick? Entirely plausible. A hot dog plus a soda is $15, so... that tracks.

Parking

Apparently parking is, collectively, about $13mill annually. That's... genuinely a little concerning to me, for uh. Reasons. Also parking is $40.

(A lot of people go to games via train, if anyone's interested.)

Luxury Suite Premiums

I had to google this one, but uh. Turns out those fancy private box seats are even fancier and more private than I thought, bringing in over $10 mill a year.

Other Revenue - Stadium, undefined

"Other Revenue" and "post season revenue" are not given any further information, but they're about $16.5 mill so. They're definitely doing their part? Wish we had more information.

One guess is that there are events in the vein of the Citi Field Spring Carnival that contribute to the revenue through either fees to the stadium (if this is a carnival that rents the parking lot) or concessions and tickets (if the stadium rents a carnival).

Other Revenue - to the team that is not direct operating income of the stadium itself

Not counting the "other revenue" section of the financial statement, the Forbes article tells us that:

National broadcasting deals with Fox, ESPN and TBS that pay over $60 million a year to every MLB team, as well as the local cable fee the Mets get from SNY, which is over $80 million a year.

That's another $140mill in addition to the $244mill that the financial report cites.

Merchandise - not direct stadium revenue.

Get your Mets hats here! And your jerseys! And your logo bats! And your commemorative plushies! And--

MONEY GOING OUT

Operations

This one's easy: you have to pay wages to your employees, from the players themselves to the food sellers to janitorial to security to field maintenance, etc. Also, you have to pay for utilities (those billboards and floodlights aren't cheap), product to sell (frozen hot dogs), supplementary materials for products you sell (plastic cups, paper for the ticket machines, bags for garbage cans, and so on), and repairs/maintenance for the stands themselves (can't imagine they get through a season with all 41,900 seats intact).

Player salaries (and a few others, like the coach) aren't actually included in stadium revenue, but since the stadium is owned by the team, we're bundling them together for the sake of this case.

Payment in Lieu of Taxes

So this is an interesting one, and while the Forbes article does touch on it, there's a bit more detail to the story.

Citi Field was built in 2009, and the process cost $850 million. Of that, $615 was public subsidies. A lot of this was municipal bonds, which the Mets have to pay back with interest for the lifetime of the park; those municipal bond repayments are an offset, and in return for paying tens of millions in municipal bond repayments each year (the 2022 report shows about $43.5 mill), Citi Field does not have to pay property taxes.

Wikipedia only cites property taxes, but the financial report doesn't include any other taxes, so I'll assume the only other taxes they're on the hook for are sales and payroll, which aren't displayed in the financial report.

Parking

Right, so, parking as a bundle is about $7.5 mill in expenses, which means that parking alone has a marginal profit of about 42.3%, given the earlier figure of $13mill in parking revenue. I'm not finding any solid information on where that money goes, but it seems very like that New York City's taxes on land use for parking is not included in the property tax exemption we discussed above, and that most of the $7.5 mill is in that regard.

Post Season Expenses

I'll be honest, they don't define this $1.8 mill, but given what is and isn't included in the other sections, I'm going to hazard a guess that this may be about upgrades (more than maintenance) or replacement of physical billboards that are also not included as regular maintenance but require a lot of manpower to get up and set if complicated enough.

General and Administrative

This is the other possible allocation of the utilities and related payments. This is also where back of house activities like accountants, lawyer fees, payroll clerks, facilities managers, and so on are bundled in. It's about $5.5 mill.

Publicity and Promotions

This one's easy, it's just marketing that doesn't fall into General Mets Things and is rather for home games specifically.

Depreciation and Amortization

Bit trickier, but you know how a car loses value the second you drive it off the lot? That is depreciation. You paid $20,000 for a car, but two years later it's worth $16,000; on a financial report, you put that down as a $4,000 loss to depreciation. Amortization is similar, in that it lowers values of various assets in relation to time and relative value to what it was when new.

Interest Expenses

Expenses related directly to interest rates tend to get their own line separate from regular debt repayments. This isn't really relevant beyond 'loans are more expensive than when you first get them.'

Travel and League Expenses

Since this is a traveling team, being professionals, and a Major League Baseball Team in particular, money has to be spent on the plane rides, team bus, and of course, the league fees. I wanted to end that a bit more pithy, but it turns out it's not easy to find league fees for the MLB.

(A new team joining would have to pay about $2.2 billion, according to one article, while previous new additions were a couple hundred mill, so... 100 mill? Maybe?)

Hope that answers your question!

#economics #capitalism #phoenix talks #ko fi #ko fi prompts #research #baseball #the mets #citi field #sports #business #financial reports

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theultimatemercenary69 · 1 year

Text

Sonic and Infinite are so fucking GRAUGHHHHHHHH I want. To study them in a lab. I don’t know how to convey the emotions I feel for this dog and hedgehog so please bare with me

Before I start my bs I just wanted to say this post actually goes out to @neurotypical-sonic and uh @beloved-user (and maybe a few other people but those were the only 2 that I saw had said anything at the time of writing this) because they wanted to see this content in the world so shoutout to them for giving me the courage to post about these cringe fail mobians (I am the sonic and infinite psychoanalysis anon btw)

there’s so much under the cut please be careful also please be nice it’s 2 am and I’m very emotionally fragile

The fact that sonic and infinite are 2 sides of the same coin yet also thematic foils to each other is just sending me over the deep end I can’t take it ARGHHHHHHH (I am willingly taking it)

You’re probably asking “what the actual fuck are you going on about dude” and to this I raise you all of this entire post (you’re gonna regret asking)

A few things before I start, this is obviously gonna be Forces bullshit because I Bear The Curse™️also I’m only gonna be talking about the English version of the game because sadly I have not been able to play or see the japanese dub yet, I’ll do that later though

Also if there’s photos with shit quality, sorry, that’s on me

Ok autism activated let’s go

Let’s start with our obvious main man Sonic, the blue blur. I’m gonna start with something that irked a lot of people, and that is the fact that Sonic seemingly came out fine after being tortured for 6 months.

The thing is, he was absolutely not fine, at all, it was just so subtle that it was genuinely hard to tell, but once you notice, you continue to notice. The first thing you can see is that he is acting a lot more brutal I guess I could say???

I mean, look at the end of the Zavok fight, he beats the ever loving shit out of Zavok with his hands, not a few homing attack or spin dashes, his fucking hands, I don’t know how often that happens outside of games where the actual gimmick is hand to hand combat, but it seems pretty weird to me how he just keeps hitting Zavok and he just stares at him as he falls, panting and out of breath from how relentlessly he was attacking him

Second, he’s constantly talking about how he wants and will get revenge for what happened, he doesn’t let up that he’s going to get revenge, and I was actually kind of shocked when he started saying that I was kinda like “woah calm down buddy” (note, one of these screenshots is from the wiki because I couldn’t get the image from the game, also, these 2 are just from the cutscenes I could find, there’s so much more, this hog can hold so much malice and rage)

Third? Now this one is my favorite to talk about, because it really shows just how drastic Sonic and Infinite really are, the scene it occurs in is during the infinite fight with sonic and the avatar character, during the first stage where it’s just sonic

You may say “ok what’s special about the reskinned metal sonic fight?” sarcastically but this is a very important fact to me, and the fact is that Sonic just straight up implies to Infinite’s face that he’s gonna murder him!

The line he says is played off as a kinda joke, but the way Sonic says it is so genuine that it’s a little bit disturbing, it’s a fridge horror kind of moment where you look at the line, maybe giggle, but after a quick google you realize just how fucked the line is because of the inclusion of one word, one single word.

The word being “Epitaph.” An Epitaph being the phrase or words written on someone’s tombstone in memory of them.

Now, you may know what line I’m referring to if you’re like me and reply that fight alot, but if you don’t know the line that’s fine, I’m gonna explain it either way because it’s very important to me!

So the fight starts and the first lines said are these;

Infinite: What would you like your epitaph to read? How about “Here lies the blue buffoon”?

Sonic: Why not “Here dozes the masked clown”? Might as well make it for the person who needs one, right?

I think you can see where I’m going with this point, let’s move on now to the other point I wanted to make, which is also kind of a major tone shift from the point above

This point ties in with the “2 sides of the same coin” bit, but the point I want to make is that Sonic needed companionship to win. (Take a drink of water every time I write the word “companionship” or anything similar starting now, see how hydrated you get)

He needed the avatar character to support him throughout that fight, he needed the avatar & classic to help him defeat the eggman and ruby as well, he needed companionship.

This theme of him needing support and a companion is echoed through the very song that is the theme of forces, I am, of course, referring to Fistbump

AGGHHHH I LOVE FISTBUMP SO MUCH IT’S SO GOOD THEMATICALLY AND IT’S ALSO JUST A GOOD SONGi want you to know I’m snarling and biting and growling like a rabid animal but in a good way I’m sorry I just needed to say that real quick back to the point I was trying to make

Now, the first indication that Sonic needs companionship is that Fistbump is literally him “speaking” to the avatar character, the lyrics portray this perfectly, but I am going to stop myself before I go on a tangent about this song for too long, so next um dot point

The second indication he needs companionship using Fistbump is that it plays whenever he double boosts with the Avatar and during the level Null Space, the double boost is self explanatory, it’s them working together, they’re being friendly friends!

What people may not completely get is me bringing up Null Space, because, once again, there’s seemingly nothing special but there is. There is to me. In my heart. I love Null Space as well as the other stuff mentioned here because it ties into this insane bs I’m concocting for my viewing pleasure that just so happens to get to be on tumblr too!!

Null Space is a level where Infinite sends Sonic and, accidentally, the Avatar character to the level’s namesake, Null Space. Null Space is devoid of substance or life, it is the loneliest place you could ever be, but here Sonic and the Avatar are, the complete antithesis of such a concept, they are together, they are safe with each other, they are going to get out of there together.

And so they escape, and what is playing in the background as they do so? A version of Fistbump dedicated specifically to that level.

Before I can make the rest of my points, we have to talk about the elephant, er… jackal, in the room; Infinite.

Let’s start with a general thingy like we did with sonic, now, I’m not gonna go over his actions in game, they speak for themselves, I will, however, be talking about the implications of his actions; his morals, his values, all of that

First off let’s collectively discuss and by discuss I mean go ‘what the actual fuck is wrong with this dude’

It’s very clear that he’s just not a “good” person, he does morally frowned upon things like being a mercenary, of course, that’s one of the big ones, but the one that really fucks with me and makes me really wanna pick his brain is that despite Shadow being the one who hurt him, he immediately clicks to Sonic and the best way I can describe it is him going “i NEED to beat the ever loving shit out of that kid right now.”

Like, even during Episode Shadow, he still mentions Sonic with this personal malice that you don’t expect, stating that Sonic won’t be able to stop him, and it’s honestly just kind of weird tbh???

So he hates Sonic from the start, he gangs up on him, beats him to the point of unconsciousness, kidnaps him, is indirectly (at least) the cause of 6 months of torture, beats him again, tells him he’s not even worth killing, tries to kill him and the entire resistance by throwing the sun at them and then tries to kill him personally before Sonic can finally get the revenge he wanted.

So I’m sensing a lot of initially one-sided hostility between him and Sonic.

Another point is that his theme seems to be directed towards Sonic, it is mocking him, trying to tear down everything he establishes in Fistbump, stating that friendship will get you nowhere when you rely on it too much, asking who is going to save Sonic from Infinite when he is alone?

This is once again shown with how he interacts with Sonic, using Silver and Infinite’s little tussle as a comparison, yeah, Infinite throws an insult, but it’s as a collective, he says he’s happy to crush a hero to keep the “rabble” (the resistance) in line, but when Sonic appears it becomes very personal

He’s immediately on him, stating that Sonic is “back from the dead”, calling him the “little blue savior” and insisting he can smell Sonic’s fear, glad he’s left an impression, noting that Sonic is “still thrashing around”, in his own words.

He speaks to Sonic so personally, hell, he waits for Sonic to quit talking before tossing Sonic to another part of the jungle to fight him alone. He very well could have gotten rid of Silver and then dealt with Sonic, but he instead decides dealing with Sonic immediately is more important than Silver is. He even says that he will meet Sonic again after that fight.

he also threatens to smash Sonic into blue jelly. I just wanted to mention that because it’s funny that he specifically said he would smash him into BLUE JELLY

So it makes me wonder, what is this dude's issue??? Why is he so obsessed with Sonic? And then it kind of hit me. Sonic is the antithesis of everything he values and believes in, of course he’d be intrigued.

Or, alternatively, he’s intrigued because Sonic is just like him.

Yep, It’s the moment we’ve (me) all been waiting for! We’re finally discussing the “two sides of the same coin” point!

Sonic and Infinite are exact opposites but they are also the exact same! They both so desperately need support and companionship (I’ve covered Sonic’s need, but we can see how Infinite needs support and companionship with how he handles the loss of his squad), they both have the same kind of goal (change the world to be a place they would want to live in, good or bad), they’re both associated with the same people (Shadow and Robotnik)!

They are the exact same but they are exact opposites! They are each other’s foils but they complement each other so well, they are two sides of the same tarnished, damaged coin!

I LOVE SONIC FORCES SO MUCH WHY AM I LIKE THIS

Sonic and Infinite are what they could have been based on how they responded to their own struggles. Infinite could have very well been just like Sonic, dedicated to helping people because of what happened at Mystic Jungle, and Sonic could have very well been just like Infinite, lashing out and hurting everyone in his way because of any of the copious losses he’s been forced to deal with.

But they don’t, they become the person they are because of how they respond to their own struggles, trauma, losses and wins. And that’s the beauty of their characters.

Sonic and Infinite are foils to each other, it’s a point you can’t argue, but the reason they are foils to each other is because they are the same in some weird, messed up way.

But I wanted to add one more thing before I finish this off.

Infinite very well left an Impression on Sonic. Like it or not, somehow, someway, Infinite’s concepts and ideals imprinted on Sonic and it made him and his own problems worse. So much worse.

I won’t go into too much about that because that links to other things outside of solely Forces, so yeah, tangent done. Thank you for listening

#infinite the jackal #sonic forces #sonic the hedgehog #sth #sonic #infinite #long post #what else should I tag #Sorry if you didn’t want to be @‘d I just love shouting out people because they are cool #*slaps roof of jackal and hedgehog* these bad boys can hold so much trauma and also rage apparently #*also slaps roof of shadow. Idk why I just felt like I should considering we’re talking about forces*

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calling4glaives · 1 year

Text

Personnel File 9: Nyx Ulric

Though the original Personnel Files were for the other glaives, we thought we'd do one with Nyx to try to gather his information in one place. We hope it helps!

From the facebook blurb:

Name: Nyx - Greek - (can also be transliterated Nux) - Night, and the greek goddess thereof, a daughter of Chaos, mother of Sleep (Hypnos), Death (Thanatos), Day (Hemera) or even Dawn (Eos), etc. Her Roman equivalent is Nox, the genetive form of which is Noctis (of Night/of a Night/of the Night). [[Setting up the Nyx & Noctis, Selena & Luna parallels.]]

Ulric - English - probably Wolf Ruler, from Wulfric. Interesting Ulrics include Lenore Ulric, a silver screen hearthrob and Ulric Dahlgren, an interesting officer in the American Civil War. Or German - Ruler of all, or homestead/heritage + Rich, usually spelled Ulrich in modern times, though historically such variations as Uodalric or Odalrici make an h a slightly trivial difference. Interesting Ulrics include St. Ulrich of Augsburg, a warrior bishop who defended the city and Ulrich von Liechtenstein, an alias used in the movie A Knight’s Tale. The Germanic language origin is a little unusual among the Glaives. Perhaps a sign of a family origin connected to Niflheim?

Age: 32

[[From the wiki.]]

Equipment: - Battle Uniform - Nyx has a very unique battle uniform that draws on some of the others' styles but has no real match. Even the base elements of the uniform are modified, such as the zipper on the inside of his boots that make them much more practical to get on and off than most of the glaives', and a silver cuff around his right leg that is part of his thigh holster, but is reminiscent of Drautos’s.

His other sheath for his kukri at the small of his back is not in an unusual placement for a weapon among the glaive, though the horizontal draw is a little unique, but he lacks the external belts most of the other glaives have [[how is it attached?!]]. Even his silver mask is modified to have a curved horn on the right side that evokes the coeurl in his concept art. (Different from Ramuh’s horned staff)

[[Also from the wiki, Nyx's and Ramuh]]

Some of the completely unique elements include two oversleeves made of animal materials. On his left, he has a furred sleeve that is starts under the yoke part of the regular uniform, peeks out of the shoulder cutout in the short sleeve that is part of the jacket and then dangles out the bottom of it, fading from dark to light as it becomes a rectangle of more standard cloth-like texture that forms an open sleeve. On the right, he has a wider piece of some sort of black reptilian hide that drapes completely over his sleeve (not unlike Tredd’s on that same side, but wilder in shape and fabric) and stops at his elbow in v-shaped tatters. Somewhere underneath this half-cape, half-sleeve is also where the long, trailing purple-ish ribbons attach to his back, at the same location as Luche’s hanging fangs do.

Over the top of the whole thing, he wears a double chain that arcs from his shoulder to attach to one of the buttons on his front, which has no other matches in his fellow glaives or anything even similar.

[[Also from the wiki, which has so many beautiful images]]

The rest of his battle uniform seems to be a leather-embellished combination of the other common uniform types: he has a folded-collar dickie that straps under the arm, with his Kingsglaive badge over his right breast, but it is made of a crocodile-like leather rather than the garland-pattern fabric seen on Luche’s; he has a symmetrical yoke reinforcing his shoulders with silver spikes on top, but smaller and without the shoulder protection of the kind Libertus has.

[[Look, just go look at the wiki if you haven't already. It's awesome.]]

-Standard Uniform: Nyx’s standard uniform is also rather unique. For one, he wears his kukris with his standard uniform while walking the halls of the Citadel, whereas usually the standard uniform is worn without weapons at all. The double chain of his battle uniform also is kept for his standard uniform, which is the only accessory we see carry over among the glaives.

Like Luche and Libertus, Nyx’s uniform has silver rather than black on the “stripes” of braid between the buttons of the front, which is unique to the three of them and possibly an indicator of rank.

Underneath the jacket, Nyx wears a fairly normal shirt with the standard sword design and a silver-ornamented vest that zips up the front, but also has an unusual set of criss-crossed belts with beads and other embellishments hanging from them.

While not confirmed to be standard or not, Nyx's pants are the only ones we see without boots on, and his end just below the knee, where they appear to be rolled or cuffed.

[[Screenshot showing his normal right glove courtesy of @starjunco]]

Nyx’s gloves are mismatched. The left has reinforcement of some sort across the back, but doesn’t actually cover the fingers in any way, instead having loops over the fingers to keep the back from sliding off, perhaps to leave more flexibility for magic or spinning his kukris as he often does. The right is the standard black fingerless gloves most glaives have.

-Casual Wear: Even if Nyx is not seen in casual wear directly, he does own some, and it hangs above his bed. He appears to have a thin hoody, undershirt, and socks.

-Kukris: Nyx’s kukris are unique among the glaive, like most of his equipment. Most of the Kingsglaive seems to favor longer blades, as a rule, and usually just one. Nyx’s blades have matching decoration along the hilt and are about the same size, but are otherwise rather different:

Galahdan: The Galahdan Kukri has two fangs (like on Libertus and Luche's uniforms) hanging off the pommel and has a somewhat normal shape. The sheath for the Galahdan kukri has two smaller blades, probably used to sharpen it and/or for utility (rather than martial) usage, based on its real-life counterparts.

Insomnian: The kukri made in Insomnia has a dark spine which has a concave curve to it, so that there is a large blunt edge to across to the tip that makes it look almost like a hatchet. It has a series of beads hanging from the pommel instead of fangs. This is the kukri he throws at Tredd and the others when he cannot warp and that Libertus later finds.

Identifying marks: Nyx bears a lightning-patterned scar across his chest, originating in a knot on his right pec. It is unknown if this is actually a scar from lightning damage, as the popular image of Lichtenberg figures usually disappear within days if they occur at all, though, granted, it could be from the recent battle.

He also bears several characteristic tattoos: an arrow and dot on his right cheek near a scar, a dot and blade below his left eye, dots and lines along the shell and lobe of his right ear, a dot cuff around his left ear, two crossing lines down his throat, crossing lines above each shoulder blade, a cuff around his left forearm, a line down his left middle finger and right index finger from the cuticle almost to the last knuckle, and a cuff around his right leg halfway up the shin, and possibly more.

[[Screenshot courtesy of @starjunco]]

Personality: He is brave and loyal, respected enough in the Kingsglaive for King Regis to recognize him on sight. Nyx’s loyalty is well known to the Glaives and Regis, but it only goes so far, as seen when he pushes back against the Lucii and even Regis about the collateral damage from the plan to sacrifice Insomnia for Noctis. He is equally loyal to Galahd, given his plans to return to defend it.

He is known as the Hero of the Kingsglaive, though he seems to resent it, and seems to be rather well-respected by most of his fellow glaives, for the most part.

He disobeys the order to retreat to rescue Libertus. When questioned by Captain Drautos, Nyx tells him he holds the motto of the glaive “For Hearth and Home” over all other orders, so he wouldn’t leave a comrade behind. Disobedience seems to be not unusual behavior, but he also does not do it lightly, as he hesitates for a good while before going to Libertus’s aid to analyze the situation.

Nyx appears to favor silent contemplation to both intellectual and emotional puzzles. He works through his feelings regarding the treaty and Crowe's death in silence, and the puzzle of the tracking device for the most part, only reaching out to Pelna for help gathering information he can't otherwise get without telling him much about the situation, and not informing Luna of any of his theories regarding the tracker until they are proven. Similarly, he is quiet through Petra's taunts at the gate, enduring rather than fighting back.

He is far from stoic, however, quipping through battles and social interactions with memorable lines, and is willing to chew out anyone when push comes to shove.

Nyx suffers from PTSD related to his sister’s death. He experiences flashbacks hearing her call for help multiple times, including during the infiltration of the airship which causes him to miss a warp. Though his talk with Luna might show that he is willing to try to live on as Selena would want, he doesn’t get a chance to do much to prove that, and even after it he tells the Lucii that his life is “nothing”.

Relationships: He is from Galahd, where he and Libertus grew up together. His little sister Selena was killed during an attack on Galahd when he was 20. His mother was alive during the attack on Galahd, but her fate afterwards is not mentioned. The pictures on his corkboard hint at his father and/or uncle figure, as well someone who looks like Luche, who also hails from Galahd.

Nyx, Libertus, Luche, Crowe, and Pelna meet together after hours, which appears to be a fairly common occurrence. Pelna claims to owe him, and Crowe calls out for him when he goes back to save Libertus. His relationship with Libertus is more complicated, but obviously has a long history.

He looks up to King Regis and claims to owe him a debt, and is visibly worked up over his death despite Nyx's anger with him over the situation of the treaty. He obeys his final order, though whether that is from loyalty to Regis or Luna is unclear.

He was personally mentored by Captain Drautos, and seems to be on familiar terms with him, since Captain Drautos tells Nyx to not call him sir and he likely discussed his sister’s death with him, as he knows to bring it up in their final battle.

Despite his grief and his exasperation with her conviction and actions, Nyx warms to Luna fairly quickly, protecting her and working with her, and sharing his history with his sister as they hide.

Death: When Nyx arrives at Section D during the escape with Lunafreya, Luche shoots him twice with hollow point bullets. He is unable to stand from his injuries, but when Lunafreya tries to put on the ring, he takes it from her and puts it on instead. He asks the Lucii to call the Old Wall and protect the city, but they ask Nyx to sacrifice Libertus or Lunafreya for the power. Nyx refuses to sacrifice either of them, and instead barters his own life for the power of the Lucii. They grant Nyx use of their power until sunrise. Nyx uses the Lucii’s magic to defeat Glauca and give Libertus time to get Lunafreya out of Insomnia. At dawn, Nyx dies, burned by the Lucii’s magic.

When Noctis and company return to Insomnia, Nyx's legacy is shown in two items: his kukris carried by a psychomancer (possibly Nyx, possibly Drautos, possibly just a daemon who found them) and in the figure of his burned body in the throne room as part of Ardyn's decorations.

Behind-the-scenes: Nyx is voiced in English by Aaron Paul, best known as playing Jesse Pickman on Breaking Bad. (Break your heart with these clips of Nyx) He is voiced by Gô Ayano in Japanese, who is usually in front of the camera; this is his only credited role as a Voice Actor.

Johan Akaz (Johan Picard in the movie credits) Nyx's face model, is an actual model irl. French. His birthday is May 16, which has interesting applications if you want to use it for Nyx’s. A Model Fansite claims he is 6’0”/1.83m tall.

Neil Newbon was Nyx's mocap model, and also portrayed Petra (mocap and voice - this is part of the reason Nyx is so stoic in his scene with Petra, as his usual actor is occupied) and other roles. He has also been a Voice Actor for several video games (VA and mocap for Detroit: Become Human, among others) and acted more traditionally. IMDB and his sites claim he is 6’2”/1.88m and a trained martial artist. He now runs a company for training mocap actors.

Hope this helps! Let us know if we missed anything or messed up right and left again.

Good luck with Nyx Week and all your work.

#NyxWeek2023 #Nyx Ulric #Kingsglaive #FFXV #Final Fantasy XV #deep dive

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