November Round-Up '23

This month was, yet again, INCREDIBLY busy for me!! I've been mostly offline working on assorted projects, as well as celebrating Thanksgiving with friends, and as a result don't have too much to talk about media-wise... but there was a lot created! Check it out!

Projects

  • My partner participated in NaNoWriMo, and as of this writing, is currently finishing up meeting his goal of 50k words - I'm so proud of him!!! I know nothing about the story he's been writing, but I'm looking forward to reading it in the future!

  • I was commissioned by Sonia Lee - a wax melt maker I'd met at a small maker-market at the end of October - to make some art of Anya from Spy X Family for some adorable wax melts inspired by an episode of the anime.

  • I took a handful of handmade Holiday/Christmas card orders to make the season a little more merry and bright! I've only done Valentines cards in the past, so I was excited to make cards for one of my other favorite times of year... and I'm finishing up the final touches on the cards as I write this! I hope everyone who receives a card can feel the love I put into them!

    • Here's the Work In Progress pic for the Christmas version of the cards! I'm waiting to send out the cards before sharing pictures of their colors/final look!

  • The holiday shopping season has begun, so I focused very hard on making some fun designs for my shop (which is currently having its huge annual sale right now!!) My "Big Shop Drop" was where I put a lot of my energy this month - I worked hard to make some super-cute designs that anyone would enjoy wearing or displaying!

    • You can see the 6 new designs here!


    Games

  • We started the visual novel The House in Fata Morgana (specifically the Dreams of the Revenants edition) on a whim last month after I'd heard countless good things about it for years, and while it was very well-written with a beautiful story, it was also very hard (read as: depressing) to get through because of what the characters endure. It's absolutely worth reading, but I would only recommend it to those who can withstand stories that cover times of deep sadness and pain.

    • Look how pretty it is!! The art is decadent!

  • I played through Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, and while the story as a whole wasn't as deep as other games in the series (this was meant to be DLC originally and it really shows), the ending had me CRYING as what seems to be tradition with the Yakuza games... My main takeaway was the gameplay: it was fun and smooth, and I especially enjoyed the "Agent" gadgets gameplay style! If you're unfamiliar with the series, please wait to play this one until you play at least some of the others or Yakuza 7 (the one with Ichiban)!!!

    • I LOVE the new karaoke song, Sayonara Silent Night!! It got me into the Christmas spirit!



    Anime

  • I didn't talk about it last month, but my favorite currently-running anime (slowly becoming one of my favorite shows of all time) is Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. As the title implies, the story begins after a band of heroes defeats the demon king, and focuses on what comes next for Frieren - the party's long-lived elf mage - after her party members begin to age and pass on. It's a fresh take on fantasy adventure, with the theme of finding fondness in forged relationships taking center stage. There are also excellent action sequences!

  • I haven't quite finished it yet (due to lack of time), but I'm very much enjoying Pluto. Gorgeous background designs set this fantastic retelling of Astro Boy's story, and its emotional story beats and high octane action has kept me intrigued through each hour-long episode (8 in total). I'm looking forward to finishing this soon!


    • Bells jingle ominously in the distance...

    The holidays are just around the corner! One of my traditions is to watch a Christmas-y/Holiday movie every day until Christmas arrives. Next month I'll detail everything I watched hehe! If you have any recommendations of movies or media to engage in for some of that good ol' Christmas spirit, please reach out to me with them!

    Neko