ChiaraStellata
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chiarastellata.bsky.social
ChiaraStellata
@chiarastellata.bsky.social
68 followers 64 following 410 posts
Engineer in VR and francophone. Interests: Japanese, braille, gaming, generative AI, anime, pop music, civil engineering, and math! 42, pan/poly/grey-ace woman. No DMs from minors please.
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chiarastellata.bsky.social
On my bedroom ceiling this morning I saw this whale made of light 🐋
Photo of a bedroom ceiling with stuffed animals on the bottom and right part of the frame on shelves. Filtered light from blinds creates a shape that resembles a whale with its tail lifted up and curving above it.
May 31, 2025 at 3:50 PM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
Just got this awesome optical fiber taper, it's like a rock that magnifies things! Using it to help read small kanji! 😊
Bowl shaped white stone sitting on an instruction manual written in Japanese. Same scene viewed from above, showing the document magnified by 2x as viewed through the circular optical fiber taper.
May 19, 2025 at 6:09 PM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
Just saw these migrating birds! They were at incredibly high altitude, barely specks in the sky. Their formation was briefly disrupted by a passing plane.
Telephone pole with birds flying at high altitude in a disrupted V formation above it
April 17, 2025 at 5:33 PM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
Fun fact: if you travel 1.75 light years along the route from here toward Alpha Centauri, at that point the Sun and Alpha Centauri system will appear equal in brightness, and BOTH of them will be slightly brighter than Sirius, which is otherwise the brightest star in the sky.
Chart reading "Apparent Brightness of the Sun vs. Alpha Centauri and Sirius Along the Route". The y axis on left reads "Apparent Magnitude (lower=brighter)" and is labelled from 0 up to -10. The x axis on bottom reads "Distance from Sun (light-years)" and is labelled from 0 up to 4.4, the distance to Alpha Centauri. A yellow curve representing the Sun begins at -10 and descends to +0.4. A red curve representing the Alpha Centauri binary system begins at -0.27 and ascends to 12. A dotted purple line representing Sirius remains constant at -1.46. All three appear to intersect at a central point, 1.75 light years from Earth, where the Sun and Alpha Centauri both have magnitude -1.52, and Sirius still has magnitude -1.46.
March 24, 2025 at 5:44 AM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
I learned today to my shock that the Moon and Mercury actually look really similar. They both have dark gray surfaces full of craters, and little to no atmosphere. Mercury is just a bit bigger, and internally has a larger iron core, but otherwise, they look just like siblings!
Picture of the Moon and Mercury and Mercury, side-by-side against a field of stars. Both are dark gray with many small craters, with Mercury having a 40% larger diameter. The Moon has some more noticeable large dark areas (maria).
March 19, 2025 at 12:47 AM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
I just finished playing "In Stars and Time" which is a 2023 indie RPG and it's one of the most impactful games I've played in my life. I recommend it to everyone. This is my Steam review:
Steam review. Thumbs up, recommended. 26.3 hours last two weeks, 35.3 hrs on record. This is one of the most impactful games I've ever played in my life. I don't often connect in a deep emotional way with games, but the themes of this game, which revolve around a lot of adult themes like family and anxiety and trying to construct identity, really resonated with me. Every reaction that Siffrin went through, the highs and the lows, feeling cold or sick or shocked, feeling hopeful or loved, I had a direct physical reaction to it in my body, and I was moved to tears many times - I even considered stopping playing because the weight of it became unbearable sometimes. The dialog is natural and subtle, the rapport between the main characters is heartwarming, and every single character design is unique and interesting, even the minor side characters. And the nonbinary and ace representation was also very thoughtful and welcome. The use of animations / sfx / music, text formatting, and character portraits to communicate emotions was also very well done. I was genuinely shocked by every plot twist, and I recommend playing blind if you can. I have a feeling this game will stick with me for a long time. I will note that this is a story-driven game, the RPG mechanics are minimal and mostly there to support the story. There are character stats, equipment, spells with cooldown, a literal rock-paper-scissors type system, and (fixed) classes, but most of this game you will not be struggling to win fights, nor is there any grinding. It's not the point. And although the worldbuilding is intriguing, the setting is also in many ways a conventional fantasy setting - the focus is really on the characters. If that's what you're here for, play this game.
March 13, 2025 at 6:58 PM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
@baofox.bsky.social my favorite fox in the world 🦊❤️
AI-generated image. Anime style. A young woman with long brown hair and amber eyes is sitting on a bed under a black starry sheet, holding a black fox with green eyes. They both look toward the camera while she pets the fox on the head.
January 3, 2025 at 6:22 AM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
Making my way through Final Fantasy 6 in Japanese while systematically reading all the dialog, menus, and even item descriptions. Just got to Vargas! It took me quite a while to work my way through Narshe, Figaro, and South Figaro and there's a ton of game still yet to go.
Screenshot from a Super Nintendo game, played on emulator. On the left, Vargas (villain/boss), a muscular, tanned, shirtless man with long blue hair in braids and a flowing cloth belt with baggy blue pants. On the right, the three party members Edgar, Tina (Terra), and Locke stand at the top, while Mash (Sabin) stands in the center and confronts him (all four represented with small chibi sprites with different outfits and hair colors). In the background, the mountain landscape of Mount Kolts with a green grassy plateau and steep vertical rockfaces. At bottom is a white-on-blue text box reading: 「たわごとなど、　ききたくないわ！自らあみだした奥義！そのぱわーみるがいい！！ (Translation: "Nonsense, I don't want to hear it! I've devised a secret technique of my own. Behold its power!")
December 30, 2024 at 5:16 AM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
Painted this for a teambuilding event at work, it was fun! I added a fox. 🦊
Painting showing a snowman with purple scarf and a top stove hat with purple stripes a carrot nose and closed eyes and a straight mouth waving with one arm (made of sticks). The background is a snowy hill with spirals of white wind and a red fox sitting and looking at the camera.
December 18, 2024 at 11:02 PM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
I just figured out how to loop a video continuously with NO PAUSE OR DELAY between loops, not even for a single frame. The key is to use PotPlayer and use its "Seamless Playback" mode. Put 100 copies of the video in your playlist and tell it to preload and combine all 100 of them.
Screenshot of how to configure PotPlayer to do continuous looping of a single video with no delay between loops. The "Advanced" dialog for Seamless Playback Mode is visible. The Method "Seamless Playback: Preload and Combine Files" is selected. Max files to process is set to 200 (since there are 200 copies of the video in the playlist, as shown on right). All other settings are at default.
December 15, 2024 at 6:46 AM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
I started a subreddit for AI art of foxes. Because I like them. Join up if interested. 🦊 www.reddit.com/r/aifoxes/
Screenshot of r/aifoxes subreddit. In upper-left is a circular icon showing a fox transitioning into an integrated circuit. At top is vector art of a red fox running through a field. At bottom-left is a post labelled "Galaxy fox" showing a fox made of stars and nebulae. In the right sidebar is the following text: aifoxes: AI-generated art, images, video, etc. about foxes. 🦊 Created Dec 14, 2024 Rules: 1. SFW only 2. Respect human artists 3. High-quality foxes please 4. Include your prompt Moderators: u/ChiaraStellata"
December 14, 2024 at 9:04 PM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
Just finished watching the anime Angels of Death (殺戮の天使). It's based on an adventure game. There are only 6 characters but I love all their designs, especially Rachel Gardner. She seems innocent at first but she's both resourceful and unsettling. Excited to play the original game in Japanese! 😊
Poster of all 6 characters from the Angels of Death anime. In bottom are the protagonists Rachel (a young blonde girl standing and praying) and Zack (a cloaked man with black hair wrapped in bandages and carrying a scythe). On the left is Danny, the doctor, in a lab coat, on the right are Eddie (a boy wearing a coconut with eyeholes over his head, a red scarf, and blue suspenders) and Catherine (a smug woman with short blonde hair and a suit and red tie). At the top is the preacher, Abraham Gray, wearing a purple longcoat and looking over his shoulder with blank white eyes with no pupils. At the bottom is the text "Angels of Death" in sharp white letters with a bloody red outline.
November 14, 2024 at 7:07 AM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
200 postcards ready to send to swing state voters! My hand hurts but I did it! ✍️
A stack of 200 postcards, all filled out by hand, along with instructions from the Postcards to Swing States project, and a pen.
October 19, 2024 at 6:55 AM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
50 done, 150 to go, 25% done!
Stack of 150 blank postcards next to a stack of 50 completed postcards. The top one shows a message to a voter named Michelle.
October 17, 2024 at 7:20 AM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
Sending out some postcards with the Postcards to Swing States project, just started filling them out. 😊 I'll be sending them out Oct 26.
A stack of postcards. In the lower right one is filled out with a handwritten message: "Hi Mathew! Thank you for being a voter! Your friends and family may need your reminder to vote. Please ask them to vote in the Tuesday Nov 5 election! -Chiara" on the left and top are the instructions sent from the Postcards to Swing States project. In the center is a red thermos. A pen is near the cards. In the back is a computer monitor showing the project's website and Spotify.
October 17, 2024 at 5:18 AM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
AI-generated piece I found on Pixiv today that I really loved. (白髪 [white hair] by ri2isa). I just love peaceful moments and that monochrome-ish line art style fits the nighttime really well. www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/...
Line art illustration, blue-and-white (or maybe blue-and-cream?). White-haired girl on a balcony looking at the sky. A stylized crescent moon and stylized stars and a blue-to-white gradient are in the sky while rough buildings and skyscrapers are in the distance below.
October 7, 2024 at 4:22 AM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
Today finally finished playing through the original Japanese version of Link to the Past, including reading all the dialog! This is my first game I've finished in Japanese and I am very proud. 😊
Screenshot of Japanese version of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (known as Triforce of the Gods) showing the final end-game cutscene in which the Triforce floats above a rectangular pedestal with a green curtain behind it. Link stands in front of it facing it in red armor with a purple hat and the golden Mirror Shield. The Triforce says "ようこそ、キアラよ…。私は、トアイフォースの精　…　…　…" which means "Welcome, Chiara. I am the spirit of the Triforce..."
October 4, 2024 at 8:21 AM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
Just saw the most intense beautiful rainbow of my life leaving the gym 🌈❤️
A Les Schwab tire center with an intense rainbow arc above it in the evening. A road is in the foreground and the faint image of a second rainbow is off to the right.
September 29, 2024 at 1:47 AM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
I love practicing my braille reading by touch when I encounter it in public places like this but I'm always afraid someone is gonna stop and question me for acting suspiciously. That happened to me on a train once when I was reading the emergency call instructions.
Sign on a wooden door reading "elevator equipment room" with matching braille below, in an office building.
September 25, 2024 at 8:27 PM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
Tonight @goddesscalyptra.com did her 2nd Twitch stream ever and I already see so much improvement! Way better video quality, keeping up with chat, banter, and most of all way less nervous. She's learning and adjusting so quickly and I'm proud of her!! 💕
Twitch stream of VTuber Goddess Calyptra playing Monster Hunter. Her anime-style avatar features red eyes with black schlera, as black dress, two white fluffy antennae, and two wings folded down. To the right are several chat messages from viewers like "it's me" and "ok imma lurk for a bit".
September 19, 2024 at 4:52 AM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
Long fall boots my beloved
Closeup screenshot of the long fall boots from Portal 2, being worn by the main character Chell. The boots are white with black curved metal strips attached to the back of them, reaching down toward the ground behind the heel, intended to absorb the shock of a long fall.
September 14, 2024 at 7:52 PM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
Just made level 42 in WaniKani! I've learned 1425 kanji and 4718 vocab so far in 1063 days of practice, which is enough to read about 95% of kanji on Twitter or Wikipedia. Someday I'll reach level 60! 💪
Screenshot of Flaming Durtles practice app showing attainment of level 42. 82 lessons and 0 reviews are pending. 4853 items are burned. At the bottom are recently unlocked vocabulary words. Stats on wkstats showing 455 radicals, 1425 kanji, and 4718 vocabulary learned in 1063 days, with 187000 reviews and typical response accuracy around 92%.
September 9, 2024 at 6:59 AM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
YOU SHALL NOT PASS 🐿️
A squirrel lies flat on its belly with its tail horizontal along the ground, across the top step of a staircase. The staircase is outdoors next to a fence and leads down to a road with parked cars.
September 8, 2024 at 8:38 PM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
Started reading Oshi no Ko (推しの子) vol 1 for Japanese practice, on page 9 now. I love this intro. 捏造して、誇張して…この芸能界において、嘘は武器だ！ (Fabricate, exaggerate... in this world, lying is a weapon!)
Photo of a hand holding open up a black-and white-manga, displaying page 6 and a bit of page 7 of Oshi no Ko. In the top panels are the members of B Komachi performing at a show and in the bottom is their center, Ai, one of the main characters, making a heart with her fingers and winking. There is a star pattern in her eye and a rabbit ornament in her hair.
September 8, 2024 at 7:06 AM
chiarastellata.bsky.social
Drop an alien that's not from Star Wars or Star Trek
Screenshot of Bogo, a pet-like alien creature from the Bogo VR virtual reality experience from Oculus. He is smiling and has the text "Bogo" printed in a playful font above him. Green hills and grass are in the background.
September 5, 2024 at 8:55 PM