Summer Zine 2018

S U M M E R 2 0 1 8

Table of Contents

3 First Taste of Summer: CN Server Third Anniversary + LN's 2018 Summer Events!

Illustration by: Val (@vallustrations)

Frame + Typography by: Donsveertje (@donsveertje)

5 Lookbook

9 "Ready for the Monsoon" by Megaera

18 Knit Your Own Red Headband

19 Game Guides (Arena Streak + Hot List)

49 Wardrobescopes

43 "Don't Linger" by Sophie

36 An Interview with Iri

33 FanPOP + August Styling Contest

24 "Memories" by Yasjupe

23 Artist Spotlight: Zemiki

51 Contributors + Sources

Please do not distribute the images or articles without permission from the authors and artists.

Love Nikki content and materials are trademarks and copyrights of their respective publisher and its licensors.

About the Illustration + Artists

Inspired by the vintage travel posters popular in the late 19th century all the way to the 20th century, this Wintermount Travel Poster sweeps us into the classic, nostalgic feeling of a summer swimming past. Wintermount itself seems to be based off of Santorini, Greece, a town famous for its distinctive architecture of white buildings and blue roofs. Here, a lovely tourist takes a break from sightseeing to enjoy the view of the ocean, which Wintermount is famous for (aside from its Designer Tea Party!).

Val, the illustrator of this piece, is a hobbyist artist and a big fan of intricately designed clothes. You can find her art at vallustrations.tumblr.com.

The typography and frame were contributed by Donsveertje, a graphic designer and digital artist from the Netherlands. You can find her art at donsveertje.tumblr.com.

Hot in Wintermount This Season

SWEET SUMMER LEMON NAILS

On POPNikki YouTube now! Like and subscribe!

Tutorial by: Rev | Video Edits by: Joltik

Please do not distribute POPNikki content without the permission of our contributors. Thank you!

About Lilith's Wintermount

Letter from the Editor

Hello, POPNikki! Ready to dive in to the first LN FanZine? So many hands have touched this project; so many talented, creative people have come together, worked under tense deadlines, and created high quality content for no pay, just because they love this game and their fandom that much.

I must ask that you respect their hard work by not posting, downloading, or reproducing any part of this Zine without the expressed, written permission of the translators, authors, and artists who poured their hearts, souls, and time into this endeavor. For three months, twelve days, and some hours, these Contributors have been planning and preparing for the moment they could share their art (be it words, illustrations, or creative projects) with you, free of charge. Do them the courtesy of enjoying what they made right here with us at POPNikki, or at their own blogs, a list of which can be found here. If you have inquiries about permissions or POPNikki in general, feel free to contact us at our website.

Now, about the issue itself. I'm so excited to present our "Last Taste of Summer" Zine. We've had help from translators like @cosmos-tide and @poproulettee to help make a few of our articles more accessible to you all. We've had writers and artists team up to bring Lilith's Wintermount and Cloud's Flower Fields to life with a summer flair. We've had Stylists from all over the world put their best looks forward. We've had creators think up cool projects like knitting patterns, quizzes, and coloring pages. And when I look at all of these things together, I get so excited thinking of which parts you, the Reader, will find most enjoyable.

So do us a favor? Share this Zine! Tell us @popnikkiofficial what you liked most, what you want to see more of, and most importantly, if you're interested in seeing it happen again! To get the most out of your Zine experience on the Genially platform, I highly recommend going full screen on desktop. To this issue's Contributors: thank you for creating this place for us fans to immerse even more deeply in a world we already love. And to you, this issue's Reader: thank you-- for joining us at summer's peak to love on Nikki (even more than we know you already do).

Enjoy!

The Librarian @lovenikkilibrary

POPNikki Summer 2018 EIC

Note: All handles referred to simply with the @ "at" symbol without further explanation of platform assume Tumblr as the platform in question.

First Taste of Summer:

CN Server's Third Anniversary

Promotions + Activities

Written by: Ms. Loki

On May 18th, 2018, NikkiUP2U 3: Miracle Nikki celebrated its Third Anniversary. If you're unfamiliar, that's the original Chinese version of the game!

The celebration was huge! A new Story Event with tons of clothes, free outfits, giveaways, promotional videos, and a new title screen was released. It was all pretty hard to miss, and even the players of the North American version took notice of a lot of the amazing new content. I was one of the players lucky enough to take part in the celebration since I play the Chinese version as well, and I'm here to tell you all about it! Hopefully you'll be able to feel like you were a part of it, too.

Videos

Giveaway

Event

I hope you all enjoyed looking at this retrospective of the amazing event that was Miracle Nikki's Third Anniversary. I hope this makes you excited for the future! Let's keep styling together for many more years.

2018 Summer Events! (LN Server)

Written by: Iri

Videos

Translation: Cosmos-Tide | Written by: Ms. Loki

The hype train got its start through two promotional videos that were posted on the game's official Weibo (a social media website, kind of like Facebook meets Twitter). The first video posted featured the star attraction of the anniversary: the new Story Event and all of its suits. Soon afterwards, a live-action short which focused on the significance certain pieces of clothing can have to a person revealed itself to be a Miracle Nikki promotion. It's a lot more heartwarming and cute than it might sound, so why don't I stop talking so you can take a look! Both of these videos have been given English subtitles so you can fully experience them.

Giveaway

Along with the very first video, a special giveaway was announced. Ten users would get 2000 diamonds, five users would get the special, final story suit immediately, and three users would get all ten story suits for free.

As if that wasn't cool enough, every user would be getting 365 diamonds on the first day of the event, 365 stamina on the second day, and on the third day, everyone would receive a special (and at the time, secret) third anniversary suit. Oh, and another thing; the number of social media shares the post in question got would be the amount of gold given to everyone for free as well. I'll admit that I can't remember what number we ended up with, but let me tell you, it was large.

In-Game Activities and Promotions

There was a lot that went on here, it was actually really hard to keep track of, but basically you couldn't do anything without running into some kind of in-game promotion or free thing. It was awesome.

If you were around for OUR first anniversary, you might remember the Diamond Postcards we got every day for free in the mail. An NPC would give us a nice sum of diamonds, usually between 50 and 80, and we would also get three free postcards to send to our friends or association members (plus extra cards if we recharged diamonds). That was going on during the whole event as well, which was pretty great considering there was a Story Event happening at the time.

There was also a recharge event and all the double-diamond recharges were reset. There were three suits you could get, all brand new and all stunning. Getting all three suits cost about $30, which is pretty amazing for three extravagant, posed suits. You even got a new background! These suits were definitely worthy of being spotlighted during the anniversary.

Even if you couldn't spend any money, though, you were getting some new, beautiful suits! Two suits were given away for free, one as a log-in bonus and the other, a reward for doing five incredibly simple tasks. To give you an idea, one task was to open five diamond postcards, and it counted both player and NPC cards. Both suits were stunning and could easily have been recharge suits. The log-in suit even had a pose (albeit a simple one).

It didn’t stop there. A lot of players have trouble completing Marionette Grice and Grice, even on the Chinese server where they've been out a lot longer. This has to do with them being the hardest Lifetime Completion Suits out there, even if newer ones have been added since. So, there was a little event to help players complete it and encourage crafting!

It started with your typical Momo quest: complete a suit and get an extra reward. Well for starters, this extra reward was more suitable for such a hard-to-complete suit than the small handful of diamonds you'd normally get as the quest completion prize. 100 diamonds, 3 crystal shoes, and 300 stamina. The crystal shoes might seem random at first, but if you've been crafting these suits, you know by now that every easy shoe counts.

Now to help you actually complete the suit, there were some other events. First, a pack that cost the equivalent of $0.50 gave players 30 diamonds, 300 stamina, and 33 starlight coins, all intended to help you get the ingredients for the suit (though even if you didn't care about the suit, that's a pretty awesome deal right?). There were also TWO weekends of TRIPLE drop rates and gold rates, double starlight coins in The Arena, and for those with the diamonds, there were no limits on Princess Level refreshes, no matter your VIP level.

The Hell Story Event

Of course the star of the whole event was the new Story Event. This event was incredible and super hype because there were 10 suits you got from the four milestone nodes and 4 suits you could get through your pulls. 14 whole suits. And to get the 10 major suits only cost 10 000 diamonds! Sure, that's a lot of diamonds, but for 10 suits? 10 posed suits and a free background at each node as well? I hate to tell you guys, but there are much more expensive events with way fewer suits in our future. The four minor gacha suits also each had a recoloured version.

As you hopefully already saw in the video, 8 of the suits are paired with each other. Each of the first three nodes were random, and the final node dropped the girl on the bus and her fantasy mermaid form. The random nodes dropped a complete pair of suits (meaning two suits per node), and in the case of the girls sitting on the steps, you got four suits, the past and the future versions, and two backgrounds — day time and autumn sunset. This is where you'll probably be thankful for all the free diamonds you've been getting! I'm free-to-play on the Chinese server, and I only had about 2 000 diamonds saved up before this event started. I still made it to the third node and got 8 of the 10 major suits! With the pulls necessary to get those, I was also able to get every minor suit and 2 of the minor recolours. You definitely didn't need a lot of money to be successful in this event.

The Suits

【Caelum et Ocean】July 3rd - July 10th

The summer won’t be complete with a second hell event. And so Caelum et Ocean arrived, with its bittersweet lovestory and beautiful story suits. The siren and seagull shall forever remain in our memories.

Official Trailer | Guide

It’s hard to pinpoint when summer started exactly (unless we want to get extra technical), but let's just say for our beloved LN that it began with the epic Miracle Concert!

【Miracle Concert】May 11th - May 18th

Originally a ranking event on the Japanese server, this event arrived upon our server with much fanfare and a modified format where the ranking component was taken out.

Official Trailer | Guide

【Midnight Escape】May 22nd - May 28th

Shortly after, our hearts were stolen by the Heart Stealer of the Midnight Escape event! His fellow Crime Buster is also an amazingly bright suit in her own right, not to mention she came with corgis. We all love corgis.

Official Trailer | Guide

【Happiness IV】June 1st - June 7th

Maybe it was because the Midnight Escape had a rather romantic storyline, but we were immediately greeted by Happiness IV next. This time around we saw some massive and magnificent wedding suits, along with a crystal staircase that became many players’ go-to Starry Corridor item.

Official Trailer | Guide

【Time-limited Housing Pavilion - Lilith】June 1st - June 7th

If you are into housing, the time-limited Housing Pavilion also became available at the same time as Happiness IV, in its full, pink glory.

【Zodiac Packs】We then welcomed the Zodiac Packs into our everyday Nikki experience, as well as the famed “I Do” suit with its super scoring coat that was so overpowering that comments were sent to the developers, who eventually nerfed its stats.

【Night Castle】June 11th - June 17th

And since the events so far had been happy and bright, LN gifted us with Night Castle, a loved though controversial event, known for its gorgeous gothic suits and dark fantasy accessories— as well as a hefty 4k+ diamond pricetag.

Official Trailer | Guide

【Starlet’s Zodiac Quiz】After Night Castle, we were given a welfare event— Starlet’s Zodiac Quiz! She let us pick a zodiac sign of our choice and a different “request” with each zodiac. Fulfilling her requests gave us free gold for our crafting, evolving, and massive pavilion pull needs.

【The Mirage】June 21st - June 30th

Immediately after the welfare run from Starlet, we ventured into the great deserts of Wasteland and welcomed two suits with darker-skin compatible make-ups, and a meme-worthy camel accessory.

Official Trailer | Guide

【Fondant Game】June 24th - June 30th

During the Mirage event, Fondant Game also graced our server with her sweetness - although the event’s “1-theme-2-outfits” format may not have been the friendliest to newer players, it’s hard not to notice her sweet, sweet suit design.

Guide

【Summer Color Date】July 13th - July 22nd

Last but not least, the latest event at the time of publication - Summer Color Date! Complete with energetic poses, a new make-up, and an actual ice cream stand. The event format is the same as that of Fondant Game but since we’ve had practice with that prior event, LETS BRING IT!

Guide

Summer Lookbook

Katya

Ayna

Katie models a light blue and white colour scheme, going with a preppy, school uniform look for the summer, though not exactly by choice. Stuck in the brig christened “summer school,”

She dons a cropped sailor fuku top with puffy short sleeves against her will. What makes dreamer Katie stand out amongst her peers, however, is how she’s made the typical look her own. The non-regulation cloud pattern on her skirt invokes this feeling of lightness and freedom, which is continued by white socks and light blue loafers. During classes, you might catch her fidgeting with either her small sailor’s cap or the two white bracelets and simple ring she wears. She likes to doodle things like small sailboats and dolphins on her notebooks when in a boring class, though her most notable sketch is a quickly-coloured blue rubber ring— one she uses when playing in the pool. If only she could be in the water instead of stranded on land.

Summer Days

Apple Ahoy!

How Katie turned hearts toward her bold statement with style

Background Illustrated by: Val

Credits

Katie's Stylist: Kira | Model Stories Written by: Sophie | Illustration by: Dayan

Get the Look

Makeup: Warm Love Dream
Hair: Quiet Night Poem
Top: Sailor Suit Top
Bottom: Multicolored Blue Sky (posed) | Sky Impression (unposed)
Hosiery: Youthful Emakimono (unposed)
Shoes: Marguerite (unposed)
Accessories: Sailor Cap; China Bracelet; Nikki Lifebouy Blue

Visit Nikki's Info for more item info

Katie's Close-up | Illustrated by Dayan

Meet the Model

Ayna opts for comfort via looseness rather than baring skin with summer wear matching her motherly nature--though this summer style is common in southern Cloud this time of year. The white of the airy top reflects the summer sun, and the dark red of the loose trousers adds a bold but seasonal bit of color to the cool, classy look. The addition of the fan is a must for Cloud girls during summer, and the red of the heels matches the trousers. This look is finished off with gold-and-red earrings meeting Ayna's hair at the shoulders so as not to add to the heat.

Credits

Ayna's Stylist: Yasjupe | Model Stories Written by: Sophie | Illustration by: Dayan

Get the Look

Makeup: Improvised Challenge
Hair: Snuggle Trunk
Top: Millet - White
Bottom: Rainbow Chant - Skirt
Shoes: Toon Shoes
Accessories: Clouds Folding Fan; Golden Tassel

Visit Nikki's Info for more item info

Ayna's Close-up | Illustrated by Dayan

Meet the Model

The North is not known for its warm weather, but Katya's relaxed style fits the more minimalistic nature of the northern nation. Pairing a cropped vest jacket with a simple, red dress is an easy way to make a cool summer look, as Katya clearly knows. Her strappy sandals bring out the gold decorations in the hem, reminding her of the pride of being a good citizen of the North. She finishes the look off with a gold bracelet and matching necklace, and has opted for a short ruffled hairstyle underneath a beanie for a ready-to-go look.

Credits

Katya's Stylist: Luna | Model Stories Written by: Sophie | Illustration by: Dayan

Get the Look

Makeup: Northern Soldier
Hair: North Kingdom Girl
Coat: Camouflage Coat
Dress: Slip Dress - Red
Shoes: Poem of Journey
Accessories: Red Headband; Rule of Love - Bracelet; Cool Selfness; Golden Sunset

Visit Nikki's Info for more item info

BONUS! Learn how to make your own Red Headband-- just like Katya's (ft. on page 18 for intermediate knitters)!

Katya's Close-up | Illustrated by Dayan

Summer Days Styling Battle #1

Illustrated by Dayan

Dark red is not a typical summer color, but these looks make it work. Which of these summer looks featuring this rich color appeal to you most?

Ayna (Cloud Empire)

Katya (North Kingdom)

Created with QuizMaker

Notes from the Illustrators

Written by Dayan + Ms. Loki

The more we worked on the LookBook the more we grew to love the whole project, and the more we wanted to make the outfits we illustrated great! It was very important to us to not only capture the beautiful clothing, but the individuality of every character as well. We wanted to really bring them to life!

Dayan

For Katie, Ayna, and Katya I paid extra attention to the textile design and fabrics of their clothes which are such a defining trait of their outfits.

Ms. Loki
For Lydia and Dahlia I really wanted to focus on the frills and lace that are so important in Lilith and Pigeon clothes.

For Sedna my biggest focus was all the bangles and dangles and gold, which really defined the glamour of her outfit, as well as the attitude her pose has.

Marza has a simple design but each piece has a lot of details, especially the top, that might go overlooked, so I wanted to make sure I focused on those pieces. From the start I knew I wanted to integrate her bike into her pose.

About the Artists

Dayan is an artist who loves fashion and is very inspired by it. Her work can be found at dayansie.tumblr.com.

Ms. Loki is a graphic design student inspired by anime and classic comic book styles. You can find her art at www.bittershades.com.

Lydia

Dahlia

Sedna

Marza

Meet the Model

Lydia has taken a different approach to beat the summer heat. Black is an unconventional colour for summer, but the light fabric of the top and the skirt means that any goth girl can handle the heat in style. She lightens the look with a pair of plum heels and matching ruffled socks. Lydia accessorises with a black bow in her hair, a silver cross necklace, lacy glovlettes, and a parasol to keep the sun away. Beneath the stern expression, the plaits hint at a softer side to this Lilith girl.

Credits

Lydia's Stylist: Ms. Loki | Model Stories Written by: Sophie | Illustration by: Ms. Loki

Get the Look

Makeup: Flower of Sin
Hair: Carefree - Black
Top: Redundant Clothes - Black
Bottom: Mask of Night
Hosiery: Goblin's Dream
Shoes: Castle Dream
Accessories: Hunt Witch (posed); Hunt Paradise (unposed); Dream Wings; Cross Necklace; Night Bow

Visit Nikki's Info for more item info

Lydia's Close-up | Illustrated by Ms. Loki

Meet the Model

Dahlia is a shining example of how to be elegant while out in the heat of the summer sun. The wide-brimmed hat keeps the sun off her face, allowing her to focus on her styling. This is perfect; as she competes in this season’s Styling Battles, Dahlia can show off the latest in Pigeon summer fashion, having designed the striking cape and dress herself. Her hair is kept off her shoulders, dyed a marvelous magenta for summer fun. A fine choice, finished off with the requisite summer basket and thin-heeled shoes, popular with today’s young Pigeon lady.

Credits

Dahlia's Stylist: Dayan | Model Stories Written by: Sophie | Illustration by: Ms. Loki

Get the Look

Makeup: Legendary Show
Hair: Natasha Rare
Coat: Sand of Time
Dress: White Jade
Shoes: Dream Traveller
Accessories: Gem Yarn; Miss in Summer

Visit Nikki's Info for more item info

Dahlia's Close-up | Illustrated by Ms. Loki

Meet the Model

Sedna's red and gold attire matches the golden sand and red sun of the summer. The natural palette nicely complements her brown hair, while the open two-piece helps her stay cool in the shade of the tent during Wasteland summer. She shows off a jewelled halter top paired with a high-waisted mini skirt and matching red shoes, denoting her status as the tribe chief’s daughter and her connection with the environment. The gold jewellery on her arms, legs, and in her hair may say a lot about her wealth, but her look is incomplete without the bronze armband marking her position as heir.

Credits

Sedna's Stylist: Haley | Model Stories Written by: Sophie | Illustration by: Ms. Loki

Get the Look

Makeup: Improvised Challenge
Hair: Tribal Girl - Linen
Top: Wind Rider - Top
Bottoms: Reminisce - Gold
Hosiery: Elf Anklet - Epic
Shoes: Star Revelation
Accessories: Wild Choker; Tribal Armband; Star Island Bracelet; Star Trail

Visit Nikki's Info for more item info

Sedna's Close-up | Illustrated by Ms. Loki

Summer Days Styling Battle #2

Illustrated by Ms. Loki

The accessories of these summer outfits provide not only a sense of polish, but sun protection as well. These elegant, lacy looks are both lovely, but which style is your personal pick?

Lydia (Lilith Kingdom)

Dahlia (Pigeon Kingdom)

Create Online Quizzes

Summer Days Styling Battle #3

Illustrated by Ms. Loki

With these two looks, there’s a contrast between traditional and futuristic styles. Both have their own appeals, but between these very different outfits, whose do you like most?

Sedna (Republic of Wasteland)

Marza (Ruin Island)

Created with Quiz Maker

Meet the Model

Marza keeps her summer look nice and light with a white-dominant palette throughout. She selects a high-collared crop top with red accents, a techno-version of white shorts with yellow highlights and black edging, and finishes off with matching boots and thigh-high stockings—much needed for a girl constantly on the move. She accessorises with silver headphones to listen to the latest tunes and block out the noise of the world when overstimulated. Later, you might catch her on the beach, cruising the sand dunes on her trusty white-and-pink bunny motorbike. Her signature black gloves with white banding are the perfect fit for a biker girl riding in style.

Credits

Marza's Stylist: Clarko | Model Stories Written by: Sophie | Illustration by: Ms. Loki

Get the Look

Makeup: Wound of Nirvana
Hair: Lucia
Top: Mechanical Heart - Top
Bottom: Airborne Step (posed); Electric Recombined (unposed)
Hosiery: see "Shoes"
Shoes: Swift Paw (unposed)
Accessories: Fingertip Melody; Background Music; Cute Rabbit; Polygon Display

Visit Nikki's Info for more item info

Marza's Close-up | Illustrated by Ms. Loki

Ready for the Monsoon

About the Story

With the weather in Wintermount being perfect for a day at the beach, playful Mira invites her dear friend Orange to spend time with her, the sand, sea, and sun. However, the always-prepared "Fruit Girl" knows they're overdue for a storm and isn't 100% sold on Mira's idea for a girl's day out. The difference of opinion doesn't bother Mira; all she wants is for Orange to loosen up! Can she help her friend have the perfect day, or will a stirring storm tear the two apart?

Written by: Megaera | Illustrated by: Artistic Armoury + Donsveertje

Coloring Pages

The "Ready for the Monsoon" artists, ArtisticArmoury and Donsveertje, have offered three illustrations from this piece in coloring page format for your enjoyment. After finishing the story, return to this page so you can make these scenes from the story your own!

Please do not post these coloring pages on your own blogs. These are POPNikki Exclusive goodies, and the artists may display their POPNikki art on their blogs in future, so reposting their blog posts or sharing Zine as a whole is a better way to show your respect/ spread the word. Thank you and enjoy!

About the Author + Illustrators

Megaera is a recent college grad who has been writing fiction on and off for eight years. She enjoys fantasy, fan fiction, and complicated mobile dress-up games. You can find her at megaera-plays-nikki.tumblr.com.

The beach background and Orange & Mira drawings were drawn by ArtisticArmoury, a digital artist, both for fun and for work. He loves creating fantasy artwork (especially elves), and loves to write (whether story or roleplay) about his fantasy worlds. You can find him at artisticarmoury.tumblr.com.

Donsveertje is a graphic designer and digital artist from the Netherlands whose realistic style brings her fandoms and characters to life. You can find her art all throughout POPNikki's Summer Zine and at donsveertje.tumblr.com.

Ready for the Monsoon

Written by: Megaera | Full body Illustrations + Background by: ArtisticArmoury | Story Illustration by: Donsveertje

The moment Orange swung open her door, Mira’s eyes swept over her figure, lips curling up in distaste. “Are you seriously wearing that?”

Orange glanced down at her attire. She was wearing her rain jacket over a modest one-piece bathing suit. It was a simple outfit, sure, but it was also practical and appropriate, which was more than could be said for Mira’s elaborate and revealing bikini, entirely visible through her thin cover-up. “Yes, what’s wrong with it?”

Mira scoffed. “We’re going to the beach! The whole point is to get wet; why would you wear your raincoat?”

Orange frowned. “I’m not going to be caught unprepared if a storm comes up. It may be sunny right now, but as far as the calendar is concerned, we’re in the middle of monsoon season!”

“Well as far as reality is concerned, we’re in the middle of a freak dry spell! Come on, Orange, it’s perfect beach weather.”

“That’s exactly my point, the weather is being unpredictable right now; I intend to be prepared.”

Mira looked as if she might continue objecting, but after a moment she sighed and shook her head. “Suit yourself, I guess. Now come on, we’d better hurry or we won’t get a good spot.”

It was early morning, so when the pair walked through Wintermount and down the cliffs to the beach, there was still plenty of space to spread out. They claimed a prime piece of beachfront and settled in to relax. For a while, Mira was content

to sunbathe while Orange pulled out a book to read. The light salt spray on the breeze, the calls of the gulls overhead, and the laughter of children playing nearby all combined into a pleasant ambience. However, Orange couldn’t stop herself from glancing up now and then to check for any storm clouds on the horizon.

When Mira eventually noticed, she rolled over onto her back and groaned. “Orange. Stop it. Just relax, it’s a beautiful day out, and―oh, for Nanari’s sake, why are you still in your rain jacket? You’ve got to be baking in that thing!”

“I’m fine,” Orange said, frowning down at the book propped open on her legs.

Mira sighed as she sat up. “Alright, that’s it, I’m getting hot just looking at you; let’s head down to the water and cool off.”

“No thank you,” Orange muttered, turning her page. “I’m not going to swim today.”

Mira frowned. “You’re kidding me, right?”

Orange furrowed her brow, but said nothing.

When Orange didn’t respond, Mira huffed and crossed her arms. “Come on, Orange, why won’t you come play with me? It’s a perfect day out!”

Orange sighed and finally looked up from her book. “It’s not supposed to be so nice out, don’t you see? It’s supposed to be pouring rain right now.”

“Don’t tell me you’re still on that!”

“Still concerned about this freak weather? Of course I am, I―”

“That’s it!” Mira shook her head, stood up, and brushed the sand off her hands. Then she looked down at Orange and fixed her with a determined stare. “You’re coming swimming with me. I’m going to get you to loosen up and enjoy this day if it’s the last thing I do!”

Mira in Wintermount

Illustrated by ArtisticArmoury

Orange in Wintermount

Illustrated by ArtisticArmoury

Ready for the Monsoon

Written by: Megaera | Full body Illustrations + Background by: ArtisticArmoury | Story Illustration by: Donsveertje

Orange closed her book and gently set it aside before crossing her arms and glaring up at Mira. “I’m enjoying myself just fine right here! I don’t want to swim!”

Mira considered Orange for a moment before turning her lips into a fake pout. “Please, Orange? Pretty please? I really want to swim, and I really want to spend time with you. Won’t you do this, for me?”

“I’m afraid that plea only works once an outing, and you already used it to get me down here,” Orange said stiffly. “Just let me be!”

“Hmph.” Mira turned and walked away, although she didn’t go too far. She circled around so she was standing a few feet behind where their towels were set. As soon as Orange started to relax and reach for her book again, Mira pounced, grasping Orange under her armpits and dragging her backwards with her towel.

Orange shrieked and swatted at Mira’s hands. “Mira! What are you doing, let go of me!”

“No! You’re coming swimming whether you like it or not! And you’re taking off that stupid rain coat, too!”

With a last determined pull, Mira yanked Orange fully off her towel. However, Orange dug her heels into the sand and started to squirm. The slippery material of the raincoat made it difficult for Mira to keep her hold, and after a moment Orange worked her way free. She scooted back onto her towel and glared at Mira, who had crossed her arms and was staring sulkily out at the horizon.

“Really, Mira, you’re acting like a child! Perhaps you should see if you can play with those kids over there; they might be more fitting companions!”

Mira opened her mouth to give a bitter retort, but then paused, a strange

expression crossing her face. “If that’s how you’re going to be…” she muttered before stomping off.

Orange huffed in annoyance before rearranging her towel, smoothing out its edges and brushing off the sand. Then she realized that Mira’s little stunt had gotten sand under the straps of her sandals, so she slid them off and tried to brush her feet clean. As she was about to put them back on, a shadow fell over her towel. She looked up just in time to see Mira hoisting a purple plastic pail over her head.

“If Orange won’t go to the ocean, then I shall bring the ocean to Orange!” she declared before tipping the pail over and dumping a rush of seawater onto Orange’s head.

Most of it rolled off the rain jacket, but by the time the flow stopped, Orange’s face was dripping and a few strands of hair clung to her forehead while some slipped between her lips. She spit them out, glowering up at her friend. Mira dropped the bucket and took a couple of steps backwards, ready for Orange to leap up and chase after her.

Orange did stand up, but she didn’t make a move towards Mira; instead she brushed the hair off her face and said softly, “That was unnecessary, I think.” She then turned around and stalked away towards the public restrooms, leaving spots of darkened sand where the water dripped off in her wake.

Mira watched her retreat, a wave of guilt causing her anger to evaporate. She supposed the bucket of water had been uncalled for. But Orange was always like this! Sometimes Mira, who was a go-with-the-flow kind of person, couldn’t understand. Still, that didn’t give her the right to do something so (admittedly) childish, and she now owed Orange an apology. After returning the bucket to the children, she followed after Orange to beg for forgiveness.

When she reached the restroom, she pushed the door open and stepped into the

room, glancing around. When she saw no sign of Orange, Mira frowned. “Orange? You in here? I came to apologize…”

Her words were met with what sounded like sobs coming from the furthest shower stall. Mira rushed over to it and pushed the curtain aside, gasping when she saw Orange huddled against the back wall, her shoulders quaking. “Orange! What’s wrong, did you get hurt?” She reached an arm out and placed it on Orange’s shoulder. “Is this my fault? “I am so, so sor―”

The moment she made contact, Orange flipped the shower switch and turned on the water, hitting Mira directly in the face with a sudden icy blast. After letting it run for about thirty seconds Orange switched it off and turned around to take in her dripping friend, her fake sobs morphing into a bout of hysterical laughter that went on for a bit.

“Now that was entirely necessary!” she said, grinning once she’d calmed down. “It’s not much fun to be unexpectedly doused in cold water, now is it?”

Mira stared at her for a moment before a wide, mischievous grin of her own spread across her face. “Why no, I can’t say that it is. I should really apologize. Why don’t I… hug and make it up to you!” She sprung forward and wrapped her arms around Orange, who shrieked and tried to get away, still laughing.

“Mira, stop that! Now I’m all wet―again!”

“That’s the point, Fruit Girl,” Mira said. She squeezed Orange tighter for a second before releasing her and stepping back. “I really am sorry, though,” she added, wrapping some of her hair around her fist and wringing it out. “I should have just left you alone.”

Orange shrugged. “Well, I could have been more agreeable. It’s a lovely day out, I should let myself enjoy it.”

Mira paused her attempts to fix her hair. “Enjoy…the water? You’ll go swimming

Ready for the Monsoon

Written by: Megaera | Full body Illustrations + Background by: ArtisticArmoury | Story Illustration by: Donsveertje

Caught in the Monsoon

Illustrated by Donsveertje

Ready for the Monsoon

Written by: Megaera | Full body Illustrations + Background by: ArtisticArmoury | Story Illustration by: Donsveertje

with me?”

Orange smiled. “We’re both already soaking, I suppose we might as well.”

“You don’t have to just for me,” Mira said quickly. “I understand if you want to go back to your book. And even if you want to keep wearing the rain coat, I swear I don’t mind―”

Orange interrupted her with a shake of her head. “No, really. I think I want to.”

Mira smiled. “Well then. If you want to.”

The pair left the bathroom and reemerged into the bright sunshine. They made their way down to the water, although they stopped by their towels so that Orange could carefully fold up her rain jacket and leave it by her book. The water was the perfect temperature for swimming, and the two of them floated leisurely for a while before Mira accidentally splashed Orange. Her friend retaliated, and their water battle erupted again, turning into an all-out war. After they’d been thoroughly exhausted, they returned to the beach and laid out to dry.

“Do you still wish we were having our regularly scheduled monsoon season?” Mira asked, smirking.

Orange grinned. “Oh, but we did! And what did I tell you—we both got caught in it!”

KNIT YOUR OWN

RED HEADBAND

Pattern + Guide by: Lilly | Beanie Illustration by: Kira

When I first thought about what kind of physical crafting project I wanted to make for POPNikki’s first issue, I really wanted pick something that was a good project for a beginner to intermediate knitter. I’ve always liked the Red Headband as an accessory and I thought it was just perfect for the last bits of summer, with nights that cool way down, plus it’s handy to have heading into fall! And, of course, never be constrained by the yarn colors. I made mine in purple just because I wanted to!

MATERIALS NEEDED
+ One skein worsted weight yarn (100% acrylic works best)
+ US 8 / 5 mm 16" circular needle
+ Size US 8 / 5 mm double-pointed needles
+ Darning needle for weaving in ends

SIZES
small (medium, large) = 16” (18”, 20”) circumference

ABBREVIATIONS
CO = Cast On
K = Knit
K2TOG = K two stitches together
P = Purl
STS = stitches
DPNs= double-pointed needles

BRIM
Using long tail method, CO 64 (72, 80) sts. Place marker to join, being careful not to twist.
Row 1: [K 2, P 2] around.
Repeat Row 1 [9] more times. You should have a total of 10 rows of ribbing.
HAT BODY
Row 1: K all sts.
Repeat Row 1 until hat measures 7” (8”, 9”) from CO edge.
SHAPE CROWN
(switch to DPNs when necessary)
Row 1: (K6, K2tog) repeat to marker
Row 2: K all sts
Row 3: (K5, K2tog) repeat to marker
Row 4: K all sts
Row 5: (K4, K2tog) repeat to marker
Row 6: K all sts
Row 7: (K3, K2tog) repeat to marker
Row 8: K all sts
Row 9: (K2, k2tog) repeat to marker
Row 10: K all sts
Row 11: (K1, K2tog) repeat to marker
Row 12: K all sts
Row 13: (K2tog) repeat to marker
FINISHING
Break yarn, leaving a long tail. Use darning needle to thread yarn through remaining sts. Pull yarn tight and secure.
Weave in all ends.

Printable Guide

4 Tips to Keep Your Winning Streak

Written By: Ms. Loki

Ah the Stylist's Arena. A source of endless frustration and yet one of the most important places in the game. At least, it's pretty important if you actually want to progress as a player and expand your collection, since its Exchange Store is the place holding all the recipes and dyes hostage.

Most of you are probably familiar with the format. Search for an opponent, have a styling battle, and win the currency of The Arena, Starlight Coins. You’ll get less Starlight Coins for losing than you will for winning, so you obviously want to win. Five coins for a win versus three for a loss adds up over time, especially for more expensive recipes. Plus, every win gets your Arena Rank closer to the coveted 5-Star Queen of Stylist Rank, earning you the most prize coins at the end of the week (with the exception of the prizes for ranking in the Top 20 of all players, of course). If you are aiming for that Achievement, then you'll definitely want to keep up a winning streak. Certain Arena streaks can also get you prizes of gold, diamonds, and even exclusive clothing.

That brings us to our exciting topic today: how do you keep up a winning streak in The Arena? Momo's predicted scores can be outright lies, the themes are weird, and you can't manually use your skills, so how are you supposed to keep up those victories? Well don't worry, because I'm here to help you. Once you understand these surprisingly simple tricks, it's super easy to keep up a huge winning streak. I got my own streak to hit 1473 using these strategies before my own complacency lost me my match. So let's dive in!

Now obviously there are a lot of chance elements here so unfortunately I can't guarantee you're gonna be the next Overlord of The Arena. Still, this should get you those achievements and those shiny Starlight Coins. Plus, it can be a fun way to challenge yourself and impress your friends.

Now, go forth and conquer! Good luck, Stylists!

Si habla español

4 tips para mantener tu racha de victorias.

Escrito por: Ms. Loki | Traducción por: Roulette

Ah, la Arena.

Stylist's Arena, una fuente de frustración sin fin y sin embargo, uno de los lugares más importantes del juego. Es bastante importante si realmente deseas progresar y expandir tu colección, ya que su Tienda (Exchange Store) es en donde se encuentran como rehenes todas las recetas y tintes.

La mayoría de ustedes probablemente es familiar con el formato. Buscas un oponente, tienes una batalla, y ganas Starlight Coins, las monedas para intercambiar en la tienda de la Arena. Obtendrás menos Starlight Coins por perder que por ganar, por lo que obviamente nos conviene ganar. Además, cada victoria eleva tus puntos lo cual ayuda a que te acerques más a las codiciadas 5 estrellas del rango más alto Queen of Stylist, el cual te permite ganar la máxima cantidad de premios al final de la semana (con la excepción de los premios obtenidos por quienes terminan en el Top 20). Si deseas lograr llegar a las 5 estrellas de Queen of Stylist definitivamente deberás mantener una racha de victorias. Además ciertas rachas en la Arena también pueden otorgar premios de oro, diamantes e incluso ropa exclusiva.

Esto nos lleva a nuestro emocionante tema de hoy: ¿cómo mantener una racha de victorias en la Arena? Los puntajes pronosticados por Momo pueden ser viles mentiras, los temas son raros, y no puedes usar tus habilidades (Skills) manualmente, entonces ¿cómo se supone que puedas mantener tus victorias? Bueno, no te preocupes, porque estoy aquí para ayudarte. Una vez que te queden claros estos simples trucos, será muy fácil mantener una gran racha. Usando estas estrategias conseguí que mi propia racha llegará a las 1473 victorias, claro eso antes de que me confiara de más y perdiera mi partida. ¡Bien, vamos a sumergirnos!

Punto 1: Maximiza tu puntaje para cada tema.

Tal vez sea bastante obvio, pero vale la pena revisar este punto. Si llevas poco tiempo jugando o aún no tienes mucha ropa, esto puede ser difícil para ti, ¡pero haz tu mejor esfuerzo y no te rindas! Siempre puedes actualizar tus conjuntos una vez que obtengas más y mejores ropas. No es necesario ser un veterano para que te vaya bien en la Arena.

Al igual que en los niveles de la Historia, para obtener una puntuación alta no deberás usar un atuendo simple que se ajuste al tema, lo que en realidad vas a necesitar será un abominación de atuendo.Tendrás que lidiar con eso si quieres lograr un alto puntaje. Para averiguar realmente qué ropa usar, hay varios recursos. Primero, hay muchas guías en línea donde la gente ha publicado sus propios conjuntos con los que han obtenido puntuaciones altas. Buscar en Google debería ayudarte a encontrar algunas guías, pero siempre puedes comenzar aquí con algunas de las mías. También hay programas de terceros diseñados para ayudar a los jugadores a organizar sus roperos para que puedan pasar cada nivel. La aplicación para Android llamada "Nikki Guide" puede ayudarte a crear atuendos óptimos una vez que hayas importado tu propio closet, y por supuesto, el sitio web Nikki's Info, el favorito de la mayoría, en él podrás organizar tu ropa y obtener las mismas recomendaciones para cada nivel todo en línea sin descargas. También hay una aplicación de iTunes llamada "Guide for Love Nikki", aunque nunca la he probado de acuerdo a su descripción, es similar a la aplicación de Android que mencioné anteriormente.

Intenta encontrar uno o dos métodos que te gusten y usalos para maximizar tu puntaje. Idealmente, tu puntaje promedio debería ser de aproximadamente 50 mil.

Punto 2: Habilidades. (Skills)

El uso de skills afecta en gran medida tu puntaje. Usando Skills variarán los puntajes aproximados tanto de tu oponente como el tuyo.Este es el gran factor de por qué Momo "miente" sobre los puntajes aproximados de tus oponentes: no puede predecir cómo le beneficiaran sus Skills, y puede estar equivocado hasta en ~ 25k puntos (cielos!)

Tus habilidades se usan automáticamente durante una batalla, pero aún puedes usar un poco de estrategia. Las elecciones de todos son diferentes; a mí me gusta usar Smile y Charming para aumentar mi propia puntuación, Sleeping para evitar que mi oponente use sus Skills, y Critical Eye para dañar su puntaje. En mi opinión, es bastante improbable que tu contrincante use Critical Bounce para defenderse de ti cuando uses Critical Eye, esto dada la naturaleza aleatoria de la batalla, por lo que no debería ocurrir con demasiada frecuencia.

Punto 3: Mantén un registro de tus puntajes.

Debido a que tus propias Skills aumentan tu puntaje y a que tu oponente posiblemente lo disminuirá, tu puntaje en cada tema puede variar tanto como el de tu oponente. Mantén una lista de los puntajes que obtienes en cada tema. Deberías poder notar un patrón general en los puntajes máximos y mínimos que generalmente consigues. Eso te ayudará a escoger mejor a tus oponentes.

Todo esto nos lleva al consejo MÁS IMPORTANTE para ganar en The Arena ...

Punto 4: Nunca escojas una batalla que no puedas ganar.

Bien, a estas alturas tu puntaje debería ser el más alto que puedes conseguir, y ya tienes una buena idea del rango en el que puede caer tu puntaje. Excelente. Ahora es el momento de las Batallas.

Si no lo has notado, justo debajo del icono de tu oponente hay un botón que dice "next" (“siguiente”). Ese botón es tu mejor amigo.

Echa un vistazo al puntaje aproximado de tu oponente que te brinda Momo, y ten en cuenta que el puntaje real podría ser de hasta 25 mil puntos más. Checa tu propia puntuación; mira tu puntaje promedio y mira lo más bajo que ha sido. Pregúntate si puedes garantizar una victoria con esos números. Mi método es mirar mi promedio, compararlo con la predicción de Momo, y luego darme un umbral de entre 25-30 mil puntos. ¿Excesivo? Tal vez. Pero así es como consigo mi racha.

Ahora, una vez que hayas analizado la situación, si crees que puedes ganar, ve y prueba. Por otro lado, si sabes con seguridad que puedes, sigue adelante, me gusta tu actitud.

Pero si no está seguro, o si no puedes contra ese contrincante, aprieta el botón "next". Apriétalo hasta que encuentres un oponente seguro. Puede llevar tiempo. Podría ser el siguiente o bien podría llevarte cien intentos, pero tienes que buscar a ese oponente seguro para garantizar tu racha.

Tomar un riesgo a veces puede rendir frutos y resultar en una victoria rápida, pero muy fácilmente podría resultar en una pérdida. Necesitarás paciencia. La impaciencia te hace perder. La imprudencia y el exceso de confianza es cómo se pierde. Los puntos 1 y 2 te ayudarán con tus posibilidades, pero son los puntos 3 y 4 los que te darán una larga racha de victorias.

Ahora, obviamente aquí hay muchos elementos que quedan al azar, así que desafortunadamente no puedo garantizarte que serás la próxima Deidad Suprema de la Arena. Aún así, esto debería ayudarte a desbloquear los achievements de la Arena y a obtener más de las brillantes Starlight Coins. Además, puede ser una forma divertida de desafiar e impresionar a tus amistades.

Ahora, ve y conquista! Buena suerte, estilistas!

Point 1: Maximise your score for each theme

Ok so this one is probably pretty obvious, but it's worth going over. If you're a newer player or don't have a lot of clothes this might be harder for you, but try your best and don’t give up! You can always update your outfits once you get better clothes. You don’t have to be a veteran to do well in The Arena.

Just like in story levels, you're going to get a higher score with an abomination of an outfit than you will with a nicely put together outfit that actually fits the theme. You'll just have to deal with that if you want a high-scoring outfit. To actually figure out what clothes to use, there are a few resources. First, there are plenty of guides online where people have posted their own high-scoring outfits. Searching around on Google should help you find some additional personal high-score guides, but you’re always welcome to start here with a few of mine. There are also third-party programs designed to help players assess their wardrobes to pass every stage. An app for Android called "Nikki Guide" can help you build optimal outfits once you’ve imported your own wardrobe, and of course the fan-favourite Nikki's Info website can do the same online with no downloads. There's also an iTunes app called "Guide for Love Nikki," but I've never tested it myself. Based on the description, it’s similar to the Android app I mentioned earlier.

You should try to find one or two methods you like and use those to max out your score. Ideally your average score should be about 50k.

Point 2: Skills

Skill use can and will greatly affect your score. With both you and your opponent using skills, your predicted scores can vary a lot. This is the big factor in why Momo "lies" about your opponents scores: he can't predict how their skills will affect it, and he can be wrong by up to ~25k points. Yikes.

Your skills are used automatically during a match, but you can still use some strategy. Everyone's choices will be different; I like to use Smile and Charming to boost my own score, Sleeping to prevent my opponent from using their skills, and Critical Eye to hurt their score. In my opinion, using Critical Eye at the same time that they use Critical Bounce is pretty unlikely given the random nature of the battle, so it shouldn't happen too often.

Point 3: Keep track of your scores

Because of your own skills boosting your score and your opponent’s possibly harming your score, your Arena score can vary just as much as Momo's prediction of your opponent’s. Keep a list of scores you get for each theme. You should be able to notice a general pattern of where your score usually lands, but you'll also get to see it at its worst. That will help you when scoping out opponents.

That brings us to THE MOST IMPORTANT advice for winning in The Arena…

Point 4: Never pick a battle you can't win

So at this point your score is as high as you can get it, and you have a good idea of the range your score can fall in. Great. Now it's time to battle.

If you haven't noticed, right under your opponent's portrait is a button that says "next." That button is your best friend.

Take a look at Momo's predicted score for your opponent, and keep in mind that their actual score could be up to 25k points higher. Take a look at your own score; look at your average score and look at the lowest it's been. Ask yourself if you can guarantee a win with these numbers. My usual method is looking at my average, comparing it with Momo's prediction, and then giving myself a threshold of 25-30k points. Excessive? Maybe. But that's how I keep up the streak.

Now, once you've analyzed the situation, if you think you can win, go ahead and try. If you know you can, I like your attitude, and go for it.

But if you aren't sure, or you know you can't, then hit that "next" button. Hit it until you find a safe opponent. It might take time. It could be the very next opponent, or it could take one hundred tries, but you need to look for that safe opponent to guarantee the streak.

Taking a risk or a gamble can sometimes pay off and give a win in a fraction of the time being safe would, but it could just as easily result in a loss. You will need patience. Impatience is how you lose. Recklessness and overconfidence is how you lose. Points 1 and 2 will help your chances, but it's Points 3 and 4 that will get you a long winning streak.

SUMMER HEAT AND THE HOT LIST

Written By: Roulette

Even though Love Nikki has several game modes, we are often slowed down by the mandatory requirements of stages and chapters, or even by Competitions where our creativity is limited when only certain items reach the top 1%. Fortunately, we have Starry Corridor, the only place in the game that allows us to share our unique creations with other players.

The Starry Corridor offers us even more freedom without big amounts of pressure because we do not compete there to win diamonds, or some other currency, every week. Sure, for some players that makes it less appealing, but don't forget the event we had at Easter and during the Mermaid Hell Event! On those special occasions we had the opportunity to receive rewards for appearing in the Hot List. So whether you just want to feel proud for getting thousands of views with your creativity or you want to prepare for the opportunity to earn rewards in a future Starry Corridor event, here I present to you 8 tips to increase your chances of reaching the Hot List.

Good luck, Stylists! It might take a few tries, but with practice you’ll be able to make it to the Hot List. In the meantime, you can share your creations with me on Tumblr or on Instagram @poproulette. And remember, don’t “steal” other people’s Nikkis, or you won’t get any grilled fish.

NOTE: The example Starry Corridor looks were contributed by the writer, Roulette, from her personal gallery + experiences

Si habla español

Calor de verano y la Hot List

Escrito por: Roulette | Traducción por: Roulette

A pesar de que Love Nikki tiene varios modos de juego, a menudo nuestra experiencia se ve frenada por los requisitos obligatorios de los niveles y los capítulos, e incluso por la Competencia en donde nuestra creatividad se ve limitada cuando sólo prendas específicas son las que reciben votos. Afortunadamente tenemos Starry Corridor, el único lugar en el juego que nos permite compartir nuestras creaciones únicas con la comunidad. Starry Corridor nos ofrece aún más libertad sin grandes presiones porque no competimos allí cada semana para ganar diamantes, o algún otro tipo de moneda. Claro, para algunos jugadores eso lo hace menos atractivo, ¡pero no hay que olvidar el evento que tuvimos en Pascua y el que se llevó a cabo durante el Hell Event de la sirena y el ángel! En esas ocasiones especiales tuvimos la oportunidad de recibir recompensas por aparecer en la Hot List (La lista de favoritos en la página principal de Starry Corridor). Entonces, si deseas sentirte genial por obtener miles de vistas con tu creatividad o si unicamente quieres prepararte para la oportunidad de ganar recompensas en un futuro evento de Starry Corridor, aquí te presento 8 consejos para aumentar tus posibilidades de alcanzar la Hot List.

1. Etiquetas de nación.

La página principal en Starry Corridor consta de tres secciones: la lista de 24 horas, la lista de 3 días y dos etiquetas de nación diferentes y aleatorias. Si no agregas ninguna etiqueta, tu publicación probablemente nunca aparecerá en ninguna sección. Cuando hagas una publicación, agrega dos etiquetas de nación a tu imagen (Lilith, North, Cloud etc), las cuales deberán ser diferentes a las que ya están destacadas en la página principal al momento que estas haciendo tu post. Puedes encontrar las etiquetas en el recuadro que dice ‘No tag’ en la esquina inferior izquierda de la pantalla (debajo del cuadro de descripción que tiene la foto de tu avatar). Luego tendrás que esperar a que la página principal se actualice, y con suerte las naciones que seleccionaste serán las próximas que serán destacadas. No ayuda a añadir otro tipo de etiqueta (como "Goth" o "Fairy") si quieres llegar a la página principal. Cuando aparezcas en una nación destacada tus vistas y comentarios aumentarán más fácilmente, lo cual te permitirá tener la oportunidad de clasificarte en la Hot List.

2. Publica en las mejores horas.

Lo primero que hay que tener en cuenta es que las etiquetas de nación cambian/se actualizan cada dos horas a partir de las 5:00 AM en el tiempo del servidor (la hora que aparece todo el tiempo en la esquina inferior izquierda del juego). 2 horas después (específicamente 1h y 58min después), cambian una, o ambas naciones de la página principal. Incluso si sólo cambia una, la que se repite se actualizará destacando nuevas imágenes. Si deseas obtener más posibilidades para que tu imagen sea seleccionada publicala entre 6 y 4 minutos antes de la actualización, por ejemplo, a las 10:54am en el tiempo del servidor (eso sería 4 minutos antes de la actualización).

Ahora, cuanto más gente haya en línea, mejor será el momento para publicar tu estilo y obtener esas vistas. Una vez conocido el horario de actualización de las naciones, ten en cuenta que los tiempos con más gente son después de que se entrega la stamina gratis del día (disponible a las 12:00 y 19:00 en el tiempo del servidor); aprovecha al montón de jugadores activos y pública en esos momentos, pero recuerda: minutos antes de que las naciones en la página principal se actualicen. Los primeros y últimos días de un evento también son buenos tiempos para publicar porque la gente quiere mostrar sus nuevos trajes. La hora de actualización del juego o reset (5:00 am en el tiempo del servidor) también puede funcionar, pero es potencialmente demasiado temprano para algunas personas.

Importante: cuando se está llevando a cabo un evento de Starry Corridor, es mejor publicar a la hora de actualización del juego (reset), si te es posible, para que evites que más tarde tu imagen se pierda entre todas las demás entradas, las cuales fluyen demasiado rápido cuando hay evento; además, al subir tu entrada escribe en la descripción algo así como "vote adorable please," porque durante el evento los votos deben concentrarse en una sola burbuja.

Ejemplo:
Destacada en las primeras 50 imágenes de la Hot List (en el primer día del evento de Starry Corridor "The meet of Sky and Ocean"), 1657 vistas, 79 comentarios:

-Publicada en la hora de reset.
-Uso de nuevos artículos.
-Petición para que se votará sólo por “adorable”
-Objetos añadidos para cambiar el fondo.

3. Crea nuevos fondos.

Aun cuando pienses que el fondo que estas utilizando para tu imagen es poco usado, ten por seguro que siempre va a haber otra persona que tenga el mismo. ¡Las creaciones únicas son la clave! Para conseguirlas puedes hacer uso de todos los objetos extra que tengas y con ellos cambiar/decorar el fondo de tu Nikki. ¡Puedes usar uno o diez! De esta manera, incluso si tienes el mismo fondo que otras personas, tu imagen destacará. Elige los objetos que quieras de la pestaña "ornament", luego ve a la pestaña "selected" y uno por uno posicionalos para crear una escena única para tu Nikki. Recuerda que puedes girar y cambiar su tamaño (y el de Nikki) Puedes crear, por ejemplo, un diseño en una camiseta haciendo un objeto pequeño y poniéndolo encima de la camisa de Nikki, así puedes usar tus objetos para hacer más cosas creativas a parte de cambiar el fondo. Si todavía no entiendes muy bien cómo usar tus objetos, mira este video.

4. Utiliza prendas recientes.

Si puedes conseguir los artículos más llamativos en los primeros días de un nuevo evento: ¡utilízalos! Obtendrás más vistas por dos razones: primero, ¡Son nuevos! Muchas personas no se dan cuenta de que ya están disponibles, por lo que cuando se combinan objetos ya vistos con uno nuevo, el nuevo se destaca y atrae la atención; la gente querrá ver tu foto para echarle un vistazo a lo que estás estrenando. En segundo lugar, las personas que todavía no saben si van a gastar diamantes en el artículo que estás utilizando querrán ver el elemento más de cerca ya que eso puede ayudarles a tomar su decisión.

Ejemplo:
Destacado en etiqueta de nación, clasificada en Hot List.

24 mil vistas:

-Se usó el nuevo traje "Midnight Prisioner" del evento más reciente en ese momento.
-Publicado poco antes de la actualización de las naciones, a la hora de entrega de stamina, en el último día del evento.
-Se usaron accesorios nuevos del Hell event "miracle concert"
-Se usaron accesorios nuevos del evento "Shutendoji".

Información adicional:
-Mucha gente se fotos conmigo, crearon historias con el prisionero.

5. Toma fotos grupales.

Tener dos Nikkis para trabajar te da más posibilidades de hacer tu entrada visualmente más atractiva. También inspira a la gente a que se tome fotos contigo haciendo que más personas entren a tu imagen, además de que da la posibilidad de inventar más historias visuales

6. Sigue las últimas tendencias.

Usar la cinta policíaca que dice "keep out para hacer diferentes escenarios en una sola foto, fondos blancos, utilizar objetos para escribir palabras... hay miembros muy creativos en la comunidad que a menudo saben cómo dar un giro innovador a sus imágenes. Su originalidad se ve recompensada cuando aparecen en la Hot List, y son tan buenas ideas que no podemos evitar probarlas con nuestra propia Nikki. Las tendencias ayudan porque las fotos que las siguen normalmente obtendrán vistas automáticamente. Todo el mundo se fijara en esta nueva idea y querra ver el propio toque tú le darás a la tendencia.. Escribir palabras con objetos todavía es popular ¡intentalo!

7. Crear historias.

Incluso cuando ya estás haciendo uso de objetos para hacer tu fondo más llamativo todavía puedes agregar un toque más interesante a tu foto creando una historia; una historia que se entienda preferiblemente sin tener que leer la descripción de la foto. Ver a dos Nikkis en una habitación rosa se vuelve repetitivo. En vez de eso, hacer dos Nikkis demonio llevando a cabo una ceremonia, dos oficiales en batalla, o dos chicos tocando en concierto es mucho más interesante de ver.

Ejemplo:
Destacada en etiqueta de la nación, clasificada en Hot List, 13 mil vistas:

-Publicada en tiempo de resistencia.
-Se creó un nuevo fondo.
-Se usaron accesorios nuevos del Hell event “Miracle Concert”
-Historia visual: oficiales en batalla.

8. Checa a otras personas.

Por último, siéntete libre de buscar inspiración en la Hot List. Si te gusta una idea de allí, ¡pruébala! Dale tu propio toque/giro, o toma fotos grupales con las Nikkis que llamen tu atención, continuar sus historias ¡o simplemente haz un meme!

¡Buena suerte, estilistas! Podrá tomar algunos intentos, pero con la práctica podrás llegar a la Hot List. Mientras tanto, puedes compartir tus creaciones conmigo en Tumblr o en Instagram, mi cuenta es: @poproulette. Y recuerden, no "roben" Nikkis de otras personas, o no conseguirán ningún pescado asado.

1. Where are you from?: Nation Tags

The Main Page in Starry Corridor consists of three sections: the 24-hour Hot List, the 3-day Hot List, and two different, random Nation Tags. If you don't add any tags, your post will probably never appear in any section. When you submit a post, add two Nation Tags that aren't already featured. You can find the tags in the bottom left corner of your screen (below the description box). Wait for the Main Page to refresh, and hopefully the nations you selected will be the next ones featured. It does not help to add another type of tag (such as “goth” or “fairy”) if you want to get to the Main Page! Once you appear on a featured nation your views will increase more easily, that’s gonna allow you to have a chance to rank on the Hot List.

2. Be on time: Post at peak traffic

First you need to keep in mind that the nation tags reset every two hours (specifically after 1h 58min have passed) starting at 5:00 am server time. 2 hours later one or both of the nations featured on the main page will change. Even if just one changes, the one that repeats will still pick new pictures to feature. If you want to get more chances to have your picture selected post it between 4-6 minutes before the tags change, for example at 10:54 am server time (that's 4 min before the nations reset at 10:58).

Now, the more people online, the better the time to post your style and get those views. Knowing the nation tags schedule, the most effective times are after the daily free stamina becomes available (12:00 in-game time and 19:00 in-game time); take advantage of the rush of players and publish at those times, but don’t forget: a few minutes before the nations on the main page reset! The first and last days of an event are also good times to post because people want to show off their new suits. The server’s reset time (5:00 in-game time) can also work, but it is potentially too early for some people.

Important: When a Starry Corridor event is running it is better to upload at reset time, if possible. Also, when uploading your entry, write in your caption something like “vote lovable please”, because during the event the votes need to concentrate in only one bubble.

3. Portray your own worlds: Create backgrounds

Even if you think you are using a unique background , there's always going to be another person using the same one. Unique creations are the key! To achieve this you can make use of all the ornaments you have. You can use one or ten! That way, even if you have the same background as every other person in the Corridor, yours will stand out. Choose the objects you want from the “ornament” tab, then go to the “selected” tab and one by one arrange them to create a unique scene for your Nikki. Remember that you can rotate them and resize them as well (and your Nikki)! You can create, for example, a design on a shirt by making an object small and placing it on top of your Nikki's shirt. You can use them to do more than brighten or change the background.If you still don’t quite understand how to use your objects, check out this video.

4. New, new, new: Use the latest items

If you can get the most striking items in the first days of a new event, use them! You will get more views for two reasons: First, they are new items! Many people won't realize that they are already available, so when you combine old items with a new one, the new one stands out and it attracts attention. People will want to see your picture to check it out. Second, people who still don’t know if they are going to spend diamonds on the item you’re using might want to see the item more closely; it can help them make their decision.

5. 2 Nikkis Up to you: Take group photos

Having two Nikkis to work with gives you more possibilities to make your entry visually striking. It also inspires people to take pictures with you, and makes it easier to create visual stories!

6. Meme it up!: Follow the latest trends.

Using the police “keep out” tape to make different scenes in a single photo, white backgrounds, using objects to write words... there are very creative members in the community who know how to think outside the box. Their originality pays off when they appear on the Hot List, and they're such good ideas that we can't help but want to try them out ourselves. Trends help because the photos that follow them will usually automatically get views. Everyone will be hyped on this new idea and want to see what you did to make it your own. Writing words out in items is still very popular, give it a try!

7. Once upon a time: Create stories

Even when you’re done using flashy objects, you can still add something a little extra to your photo by creating a story; a story that is preferably understood without having to read the description of the photo. Seeing two Nikkis hanging out in a pink room gets repetitive. Instead, making two demon Nikkis conducting a ceremony, two officers in battle, or two guys playing in concert is much more interesting to look at.

8. Keeping up-to-date: Check out other people

Finally, feel free to look for inspiration on the Hot List. If you like an idea from there, try it! Give it your own twist, or take group pictures with their Nikkis, continue their stories, or just do a meme!

Memories

Artist Spotlight

Written by: Yasjupe | Illustrated by: Zemiki

Zemiki

Written by: Astie

Q: First off, tell us a little about yourself!

A: I am a graphic design college student, Canadian, I like anime, video games, and art. I do anime and realism, sometimes I merge those two styles together a bit. I’m 30 years old and have the attention span of a tiny energetic puppy. I bounce between different anime genres, so I can get in all the art styles and stories I can, as well as different game genres.

Q: When did you start drawing?

A: According to my dad, as long as I could hold a pencil. But the earliest I can remember is 7 years old.

Q: Generally speaking, how long does it take you to finish a piece of artwork?

A: I can finish a piece in a day if my ADD doesn't distract me...which it does easily/often...If not distracted I'd say, depending on style and detail, 2-9 hours.

Q: Has playing Love Nikki influenced your motivation to draw or your style of art in any way? If so, how?

A: Playing Love Nikki hasn’t influenced my motivation to draw, because a lot of the art is intimidating to even think about drawing. But it has helped with coming up with clothing ideas for characters I draw and fanart for other stuff I am working on.

Q: When did you start playing Love Nikki?

A: I have been playing for over a year now. I can’t remember when exactly I started, but I do know it was shortly after the nurse and doctor suits.

Q: Do you have any favorite styles or characters within the game?

A: I do like Henry, what was his new name now? Nidhogg? Idk. I’m still going to call him Henry. I like his character design. I also bounce between steampunk, to a Persephone/earth mother look, to punk and goth.

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say to aspiring artists?

A: Well, I can suggest this to aspiring artists. Always draw. Even if it’s little doodles on small scraps of paper. Also try to do a comic. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Comics are a good way to progress your style, because it can force you to do things you are not comfortable drawing. Angles are also good. Practice angles. Even if it looks not great at first, eventually you’ll get better.

About the Illustrations

The "Memories" artist, Zemiki, collaborated with author Yasjupe to create four illustrations for this piece. Each illustration depicts an important moment from each summer of Nikki's past and present that are revealed throughout this piece. Zemiki has offered one of her illustrations from this piece in coloring page format for your enjoyment. After finishing the story, return to this page so you can make this scene from the story your own!

Please do not post these coloring pages on your own blogs. These are POPNikki Exclusive goodies, and the artist may display their POPNikki art on their blog in future, so reposting their blog post or sharing Zine as a whole is a better way to show your respect/ spread the word. Thank you and enjoy!

About the Story

Looking out on the beautiful beach at Wintermount prompts Nikki to reminisce about past summers spent with her family. But as the weather turns and the memories pass, one by one, someone seems to be missing from each picture.

About the Author

Yas is a writer and artist based in Ireland. She mainly writes about romance, though she is no stranger to more general works. You can read more of her work on her ao3 page.

https://archiveofourown.org/users/eunbeanie/

Memories

Written by: Yasjupe | Illustrated by: Zemiki

Dusk is fast approaching in Wintermount. A soft breeze blows through the beach. The sky, painted in rose, blue and lilac, remains clear, save for a few clouds on the edge of the horizon. Gulls fly ahead, cawing and chirping without a care. Waves sweep in and out, crashing gently against the sand, masking the sound of Nikki’s footsteps.

It’s strange being on her own. Usually she has Momo and Bobo accompanying her. Without the two of them bickering or Momo criticising her outfit every five seconds, the beach feels quieter. Lonelier even.

She sits near the water, letting the sea wash over her feet.

Now that she thinks about it, Nikki can’t recall the last time she’s ever truly been alone. Before she had come to Miraland she had Yoyo, her sister. Her dad was there too, before he’d left for his photography trip. And of course, there was Momo. Because when had that darned cat not been there with her?

She still remembers the day Momo first spoke to her. He had been in their family for three years and had acted just like a regular house cat up until the grand reveal.

Nikki stood near the back, the petals in her hand shaking. It was her first time being a flower girl, after all, so she really didn’t want to mess it up. Yoyo was by her side, trying to calm her down.

“Nikki, breathe.” She moved her hand, as if conducting an orchestra. “In and out… in and out…”

Nikki tried to concentrate on her big sister’s voice, taking deep breaths until she heard the music change. Her ears prickled at the soundz, and she nearly forgot to breathe. But Yoyo smiled and she took a final, shaky breath.

She began to walk, leaving coral petals in her wake. The bride was only a few feet behind her, following her trail. She could vaguely hear the clicking of Dad’s camera. Nikki finally felt she could actually do this. She reminded herself to smile, but based on the expressions on the faces of her family, she knew she could make it. I can do this, she thought proudly.

Then halfway down the aisle, disaster struck.

“What on earth are you wearing Nikki?!”

-x-

It happened eight summers ago at her aunt’s wedding.

The church was small but beautifully decorated. Pale fairy lights were woven through flowers to make them glow. Petals fluttered gracefully throughout the ceremony. The seats filled rapidly thanks to the many relatives attending, and soft, orchestral music was playing as they settled.

The audience gasped at the shrill voice. Nikki froze dead in her tracks, eyes comically wide, smile dropping instantly. She turned around to see a truly bizarre image in front of her.

There, at the end of the aisle, was Momo, standing on his hind legs and wearing a cape for some reason. He was pointing at her feet, a smug, mocking look gracing his features.

She slowly looked down at her own outfit. Her face grew hotter by the

Chaos in the Chapel

Illustrated by Zemiki

Memories

Written by: Yasjupe | Illustrated by: Zemiki

second. She was wearing a pale pink dress with a magenta ribbon around the waist with matching gloves and socks.

And crocs.

Bright, neon pink crocs.

“Trying to match your face I see,” Momo continued, as if he didn’t just ruin her aunt’s big day. “Here’s your first styling tip: never, ever, wear crocs at a wedding!”

Suddenly there was a thud. Everyone looked behind the cat to see Yoyo on the ground, hand on her forehead. Her flower crown had fallen off.

Silence. Tension thick enough to cut with a knife. Then...

Click!

-x-

stays the same.

The image takes her back to a simpler time. A time where she didn’t really think about what she wore. A time where her biggest concerns were creating the best sandcastle and getting ice-cream. A time where she could be with all of her family.

Nikki laughs at the memory. In Momo’s defence, wearing crocs at a wedding was a bad idea. Unfortunately, Dad had that specific picture framed not long after, forever immortalized above their fireplace.

She honestly doesn’t know where she’d be without Momo. Under his (usually) helpful guidance, her styling skills have flourished. He’s been with her basically all her life and stuck with her throughout all of her crazy adventures. A true ride or die, for better or for worse.

Reminiscing on the past makes the beach feel less lonely, Nikki finds. It’s nice to think about times gone by as she watches the sun set. The sky takes on more of a reddish hue now. Makes the sun itself look more like an egg yolk. It’s nice to know that no matter what country (or dimension) you’re in, the sun

-x-

Mom had finally come home after a long business trip, so with Dad, they all decided to go to the local beach. Nikki and Yoyo were excited as it was their first time going to one. Yoyo spent at least an hour trying to decide which swimsuit to wear and ended up wearing a purple one piece with matching flip-flops. Nikki wore an indigo one piece with a bow at the side, an orange sun hat and lime green crocs (because at six, she hadn’t developed a fashion sense or found Momo just yet).

The beach was an hour’s drive so they stopped for ice-cream on the way. This was where Yoyo had the bright idea of eating grilled fish ice cream with squid sauce. That went great, if one considers contracting food poisoning the next day to be fun.

Once they got to the beach, though, the two girls didn’t hesitate to start searching for materials they could use to build and decorate their sandcastles. Yoyo’s castle fell apart almost immediately because she didn’t wet the sand enough. When she saw Nikki’s perfectly intact masterpiece, she got annoyed and destroyed it when her sister wasn’t looking. Both of them burst into tears and Nikki ran to her parents.

“Daddy! Yoyo ruined my castle!”

“Did not!”

Memories

Written by: Yasjupe | Illustrated by: Zemiki

“Did too!”

The squabble escalated to a full on sand fight with Nikki chasing Yoyo all across the beach and into the ocean. It wasn’t until Dad suggested they bury him in the sand that they calmed down.

“Mommy, look! Look!” Nikki cried, a bright, gummy smile on her face. “Dad’s stuck in the sand!”

“Nikki!” Yoyo covered her mouth in an attempt to shush her, but ended up getting sand in her mouth.

“Hey!”

-x-

It’s raining. The sky is darker and cloudier. The air is colder. The tide is coming farther and farther in. Nikki knows that she should be heading home soon; that whatever thinking she needs to do can be done on the way back to Bobo’s house. But she can’t bring herself to.

The sand is damp and squishy beneath her feet. Her hair darkens. Starts sticking to her face. She can barely feel the hot rain rolling down her cheeks. She should’ve listened to Orange’s advice and brought rain-proof clothing, or at the very least an umbrella.

Does it have to rain so much in Wintermount? This city almost makes Ireland look like a desert in heat. And that place was practically underwater it was so wet. It was a beautiful country, though. She, Yoyo and Momo went to visit the Cliffs of Moher last summer while looking for their father, and the view was spectacular. Tall, green cliffs surrounding a vast, blue ocean stretched as far as the eye could see. The sun melted into the horizon, leaving golden hues in its wake. It was truly worth the effort to get there in Nikki's opinion, but the

While this was going on, Mom was relaxing on a beach chair. Long, pink hair sprawled around her. She was holding a silver reflector, presumably to get a tan. She lowered her oversized sunglasses to watch her kids play and smiled.

After swimming in the ocean and getting thoroughly soaked, they took a picture in front of the setting sun. All smiling, all happy, all peaceful.

Soon after, Mom announced that she had to leave.

“Gone to visit a friend far away,” Dad had said. “Should be back any day now.”

That day never came.

minute they reached the cliffs, Momo fell flat on his face, crying out for grilled fish until it was time to leave.

"It’s beautiful,” Yoyo had said, an expression of wonder on her face. Then her face softened. Her eyes gained a faraway look.

“I wish Dad could see this.”

Nikki remained silent. Hesitantly, she took her sister’s trembling hand. She felt it tighten around her own, much like her heart as she thought of sharing this sight with her family.

First Time at the Beach

Illustrated by Zemiki

To the Ends of the Earth

Illustrated by Zemiki

Memories

Written by: Yasjupe | Illustrated by: Zemiki

-x-

Momo huffs before letting out a big yawn and climbing onto Bobo’s shoulder. He curls up and not even a few seconds later, he begins to snore. Bobo rolls her eyes at the cat before turning to Nikki.

“Ah, thank you,” Nikki says, giving her a grateful smile as she tries to take the towel from her. Bobo grasps her hand and pushes it down.

“Here. Let me.” Bobo stands on her toes and rubs the towel against Nikki’s hair to dry it.

They stand in silence for the next few minutes. It feels nice, having Bobo dry her hair. She has such a gentle, caring way of doing it. She likes it.

Suddenly she feels a hand caress her face through the towel. She looks at Bobo, confused. Her face feels warm all of a sudden.

“Your face was wet,” she explains. Her blue eyes are filled with concern.

Ah. “Just... the rain,” she says, a sheepish grin on her face. “Yeah.”

Bobo looks like she doesn’t believe her but doesn’t press on the issue. She strokes Nikki’s cheek one last time before turning.

“Let's go home,” she states. “Momo looks like he needs a bed.” She begins to walk away. Then she pauses and looks back. She smiles at Nikki and reaches out a hand. “You do, too.”

Nikki nods and takes her hand. Together, the three of them begin to head back to Wheat Field.

Her dad always told her that home was where memories are made. She wonders if, one day, she can call Miraland home too.

“Nikki! There you are!”

Momo’s voice breaks her trance. Nikki’s suddenly aware of the harsh wind blowing against her face. She hears a roar of thunder in the distance.

Her vision is blurry. Her throat is unusually tight. She blinks quickly. She places her hand against her chest and clenches the material of her dress, taking a few breaths to steady herself. She puts on her usual smile and turns around to see Momo running towards her. Bobo is close behind with an umbrella in one hand and a towel in another.

“My goodness, Nikki,” Momo exclaims. “We were worried sick! What were you doing out here?”

Good ol’ Momo, she thought. Straight to the point as always.

“Just thinking,” she replies. Her smile turns sheepish. “Sorry for staying out so long.”

Momo sighs and crosses his arms. “Well. Make sure to tell us before you pull another stunt like that, young lady.”

Nikki chuckles at the comment. “Roger that.”

-fin-

"Just the Rain"

Illustrated by Zemiki

FanPOP!

Bonus Coloring Pages

Personality Quiz

Styling Challenge

Ice-cream Background by: Donsveertje

FanPOP consists of games, polls, and quizzes (from us to you) and YOUR art, fics, Starry Corridor looks, etc. (from you to us).

Get creative! You can submit whatever you want as long as it is YOURS. Some ideas to start you off:

your fanfic
your fanart
your own cosplay pics
your vids (can try our tutorials!)
your starry corridor pics/ LN home screenshots
your attempts at our challenges
your comics
other ideas!

Where to Find POPNikki's Summer Coloring Pages

Did you collect them all? Find our coloring pages scattered throughout Zine!

+ "Ready for the Monsoon" Coloring pages found on page 9-10 (Click Orange and Mira)

+ "Memories" Coloring page found on page 23 (Click the middle photo of Nikki)

+ "Don't Linger" Coloring pages found on page 43-44 (Click on Winter Sister)

Bonus! FanArt Team Lead Val has gifted these three lovely pieces for an extra Summer treat! Enjoy giving these lovely illustrations by POPNikki artists your own LN makeover!

Special thanks to Val's friend who styled one of the OCs featured in Val's "Summer of Stars" piece (and gave us permission to use the piece for the POPNikki Community)!

"Last Taste of Summer" Styling Challenge

Duration + Limitations

Submissions accepted from August 1st- August 30th (midnight Nikki Server Time).

From September 1st -10th it's up to you to vote for your favorites by giving a heart! (Reblogs will not count toward the final vote, but feel free to reblog your entries! Only likes will be counted.)

Site Team will tally the votes and a panel of POPNikki Contributors will judge the 10 entries that received the most hearts. On September 15th, visit our website to see the Top 10 Community Favorites and the Top 5 POPNikki Contributor Faves!

Only two entries per person. See "How to Play" Step 4 for details on how to submit your entries.

NOTE: In the event both entries of a single Community Member receives gobs of hearts, only the entry to receive the most hearts of the two will be counted toward the Top 10 Community Favorites as to include multiple members in the final post! A special mention, however, will be made at the end of the post. Thank you for understanding!

How to Play

Step 1: Choose Your Theme!

Step 2: Choose one item you MUST include in your set.

If you do not own that item, challenge yourself to find it OR spin again. We won't tell anybody ;)

For an extra challenge, choose 2 "must use" items!

Step 3: Open up Starry Corridor or Free Dressing in your LN app and style according to your theme.

OPTIONAL: In Starry Corridor, you can “tag” your entry by putting “@popnikki” or "@popnikkiofficial" in the description + your theme. Let’s see how many POPNikki entries make the Hot List this week! ;)

Step 4: Take a screenshot of your fabulous summer look and submit to POPNikki’s Tumblr STYLE CHALLENGE inbox.

If you don’t have a Tumblr, you can still submit to the Style Challenge by using the Contact Us form on our website with the subject “FANPOP: LAST TASTE SC.” Don't forget to include the screen name you want us to credit!

If you have a Tumblr sideblog and don't want to submit your entry from your main, use the Contact Us form on our Site as well (please include the handle you want us to credit in your message)! For this challenge, we have to wait until the 1st to post all of the entries, so we don't want your @s to get lost in the shuffle.

Step 5: Heart your favorite entries on Tumblr to “vote” for them from Sept. 1st-10th!

Note that we will accept last minute entries, but voting closes strictly on the 10th (midnight, Nikki Server Time). The earlier you submit, the longer you have to receive votes! We will post all entries submitted during the entry period consecutively as soon as voting is open on the 1st.

To filter our feed to only see the entries for this contest, use the tag #last taste of summer.

Remember! The 10 Looks to receive the most hearts on POPNikki’s Tumblr will be featured on our Site. Only two entries per person. Can’t wait to see your favorite entries!

An Interview with Iri

Written By: Roulette

In only four months and with already 30 videos at the time of this interview, Iri has been gaining popularity at a considerable pace. Her wardrobe is almost at 100% in Love Nikki and in the ‘Miracle Nikki’ Chinese server, they accredit her as a true veteran in the game. This makes her videos a great help to our server’s players as she knows how to prepare for a new event or update based on what she’s learned from the CN server. Her channel is also attractive because of her helpful and friendly personality which makes her content pleasant and interesting to watch. She has been with us for a short time, so in this interview we will get to know more about her and what she has to share.

ROULETTE: Iri, hello! Thank you for agreeing to this interview. First, how about you tell us a little bit more about yourself?

IRI: Hi, this is Iri! I am your fellow Nikki addict, I mean player on both the English (LN) and the Chinese server (CN). I like to chat about both current and future suits, events, and game features on my channel and hype about what’s happening and what could come to LN.

Now you've made just a few videos, but it seems you started playing a long time ago. When did you find out about the game, and why did you start playing it?

Yes, since the Chinese server is the oldest server and came out three years ago as opposed to just one like the English server, I started playing there when I was still getting my Master’s. The game clocks me at exactly at having played 1,122 days as of today, on and off. I started playing it because I was pretty busy with projects and interviews, and dressing up in a game just sounded relaxing. I thought I’d be too old for it, yet ended up having so much fun that I didn’t care. I did take breaks in the middle, but overall it has been a fantastic ride.

About the Flower Fields

About the Illustration + Artist

This Flower Fields illustration was inspired by and done in the style of vintage travel posters. The design of the illustration is an attempt at not only showing Flower Fields from a new, unseen perspective, but also capturing the beauty of its nature and architecture as well.

Dayan is the artist of this illustration. She is a self-taught artist who is constantly inspired by her love of various things to create and draw as much as she can. You can find her art and more about her at dayansie.tumblr.com.

Summer Style in Flower Fields

LANTERN WISH TUTORIAL by Sea

On POPNikki YouTube now! Like and subscribe!

An Interview with Iri

Written By: Roulette

You understand and play on the Chinese server but not only that, like so many other people you're also very committed to our server, Love Nikki. I think that speaks favorably about the game. Tell me what would you say is your favorite thing about the game?

Thank you for noticing and yes, the game itself is well-designed— every aspect of it relates to something else, and it all ties to the ultimate goal of letting you create the outfit you dream of. To be more specific, however, I think the best thing about the game is actually the community. Because if we think about it, we are limited by our stamina / gold / diamonds / our own energy, so there is only a certain number of actions we can do in the game each day, and all together they still take a relatively short amount of time compared to, say, an MMORPG where you can get a party of 5 and spam a dungeon three billion times (…I totally didn’t do that at any point in time by the way).

So the community comes in when we hit that dry spot, when we can do absolutely nothing else in the game that day. Whether it’s Discord, Reddit, Facebook, or the CN forums, meshing with other players who enjoy the game makes the game itself more enjoyable by reminding us things that piqued our interests in the first place and more exciting things that may come tomorrow.

If we really want to point out a game feature that I like though, it would be Dreamweaver— a feature that may drop, hopefully soon? Maybe even right after this interview is published? One can dream. It is my favorite because it combines many of the game’s outstanding points seamlessly. You get the deep dives on characters you didn’t know you’d grow to love, crafting challenges... the items you eventually make are glorious and add to your scores!

-continued-

Do you follow any strategies for events, and/or have tips on how to save diamonds?

Before I started making money and made myself v15, I followed all diamond saving strategies possible for all content, especially the very helpful one where we only get parts from an event that cost more diamonds to craft upon their return. Nowadays, I have some leeway but am still careful with diamonds since I have a tracker of all future events and they’re hovering at about at least 150k diamonds.

As many players already know, in addition to the usual daily diamond saving routines, the key to saving diamonds is to plan for everything that could come our way and set a goal for what we want now vs. later. Also, continuously judge in Competition and the Starry Corridor because the diamonds we get from those boxes are true, free diamonds. I try to keep my competition boxes always above 9,999 on both servers.

Are there any major differences between the Chinese fans and the people from our server? Or do you think we share the same feelings towards the content?

Great question and there are differences for sure, simply because the players are, in general, are from different parts of the world. The Chinese fans tend to bargain about the prices of the suits more. For example, when the Sweet Spell recharge suit came out on CN for about $20 (it was 128 yuan), there were much more intense criticisms for its price tag.I especially remember how one player posted a picture of an actual, beautiful cake with the captions, “Real cake I bought with that money.” My guess is that the development team there understands this tendency well, which is why CN does recharge suits much less frequently than LN.

An Interview with Iri

Written By: Roulette

That being said, the fans from both servers definitely share their love for dressing up and creating beautiful art in general.

In LN who's your fave and least fave character(s) and why?

My favorite character is someone who hasn’t appeared in the main story on LN yet as of today. His name is Louis / Louie and we should be meeting him in Chapter 15!

My least favorite character…honestly there is none (cliché, I know), but that is because the writing grows tremendously later in the game, and we discover surprising sides to even the minor characters, making almost everyone multi-faceted and fascinating. So rather than having a least favorite character, it’s more that there are characters who might not be as memorable as others yet, though I bet the writers will continue to throw us “aha!” moments that give them the proper spotlight too.

And what's your favorite suit?

My favorite suit would be the second newest lifetime suit on CN, “White Sakura Love Song.” It has everything – versatile, spammable parts, high scoring parts, and a background that is essentially two backgrounds in one, complete with CG effects. The honorable mention would be the newest suits on CN, “Minstrel of Time / Psalm of White Night,” specifically the recolor. This lifetime suit is not only gorgeous in detail, but the way it introduced a new category of accessories, namely, accessories that look like another person, opened up much styling potentials for the game. And this bobble head suit is #ForeverBae.

-continued-

If we’re just talking about a dress though, Grice recolor shall forever be my favorite. It’s been 2.5 years since it first debuted on CN, and I’m still not tired of looking at it.

Is there any specific suit you wish for the game? Like a character from a movie or anime you love.

I would be so happy if we ever get a Boku no Hero Academia (My Hero Academia) or Houseki no Kuni (Land of the Lustrous) collaboration. The costume designs for both are not the most ideal for Nikki’s type of outfits though.

In general, more suits with well made parts, such as special poses that are localized to one part of Nikki’s body (e.g. just legs) would be fantastic and add much more styling diversity.

You created a YouTube channel not so long ago. What or who motivated you to do it? Are you happy with how things are going with it?

It’s a funny story because as an introvert, I never thought I’d create a YouTube channel. What happened was that earlier this year, while I was on a plane for a business trip, the 8th hell event for the Chinese server started. I knew I was going to be stuck in meetings so I racked my brain on the plane about how I can possibly do my job and still get to play. Along the way I thought that I need to memorialize this endeavor and so I ended up recording that event on my cell phone in my hotel room after working for 15 hours. That small piece became the first ever content and eventually grew into the channel thanks to everyone’s kindness and encouragements.

The Bobblehead Suit

An Interview with Iri

Written By: Roulette

-continued-

coins, on the other hand, will sit at a comfortable 10k with nothing for us to spend them on.

Also, don’t feel like you have to finish the Pavilion of Mystery in one day either. There are only three known individuals who have all items and all recolors of all items on CN even after three years. It took them 240k pulls, 170k pulls, and 220k pulls to accomplish that, respectively, so it’s meant to be a marathon.

And last but not least, one day we’ll look back at Grice and not want to scream at the time it took to craft it. Our wardrobe % can only go up with the time too so please don’t fret if it looks like you’re stuck, because it can only get better from here on now! :)

And there you have it, Stylists. Hope you enjoyed getting to know the lovely Iri and that this interview added a whole new layer to your game experience at LN, because as you can see, we all still have big updates/features to look forward to! Finally, a huge thank you to Iri for her time; don’t forget to check her out at her YouTube channel!

Are there any big plans you have for your channel (ike doing giveaways etc) or do you just want to keep it casual and take it easy at least for now?

I have typically stayed away from giveaways up until now because I wanted the channel to help people through its contents rather than temporary attractions. There are definitely milestones worth celebrating though so I have been meaning to do one, and just want to find a good, meaningful occasion :).

What videos have you prepared for the near future? Let's start some hype!

Thank you! I am working diligently on a Dreamweaver guide. It is so far the guide I have spent the longest amount of time making ever, so please look forward to it! There are also more future suits videos that I want to share in between now and Dreamweaver’s arrival on our server and after.

Do you play other dress up games? What other games do you play?

I don’t play any other dress up game mostly due to having a limited amount of time. I used to be a healer in MMOs and dabbled in a card game called Shadowverse. I still play the latter casually with my fiancé today, and we take turns acting out the voiceover lines of the cards.

Some final words you want to share with us? Something you want to say to all the newbies out there or just some words of encouragement for the people that are crafting Grice right now!

A personal recommendation would be to not exchange association coins for dyes. Blasphemous, yes. But we’ll need so many of it in the future, 9k for the newest association shop suit and recolors alone on CN. Our star

Walk Through of Chapter 15 (When You're Ready)

Don't Linger

About the Story

Alone on her way home from Moonlit City, Emmy stops to think about her relationship with Vane (past and present) for a short while in the Flower Fields. Not everything would be easy, her father always said. But is the sudden chill in the air from the thoughts fogging her mind or the setting sun?

Written by: Sophie

Illustrated by: Fishbone + Inky

Coloring Pages

The "Don't Linger" artist, Fishbone, has offered one of her illustrations from this piece in coloring page format for your enjoyment. After finishing the story, return to this page so you can make these scenes from the story your own!

Please do not post this coloring page on your own blogs. These pages are POPNikki Exclusive goodies, and the artist may display their POPNikki art on their blogs in future, so reposting their blog posts or sharing Zine as a whole is a better way to show your respect/ spread the word. Thank you and enjoy!

About the Author + Illustrators

Sophie, the author of "Don't Linger," is a fantasy writer based in the UK. Her work tends to feature darker twists and themes with brilliant details that stick in the mind long after the story ends. You can find her at silverfae16.tumblr.com.

Inky is a digital artist whose passion for her fandoms is expressed in the attentive details of her work. For this piece, Inky illustrated the animated petals and the 4 Season Sister chibis featured on the title page. You can find more of her work at inkstainseverything.tumblr.com.

Fishbone is a daring illustrator who contributed the full body illustrations, background, and final illustration for this piece. She hopes to one day create a successful franchise, but in the meantime she should probably learn how to do that. Find more of Fishbone's work at bittergourdking.tumblr.com.

About Moonlit City

For info on Flower Fields, see pg. 35

Inky's Chibis | The Season Sisters

Illustrated by Inky

Don't Linger

Written by: Sophie |

Illustrated by: Fishbone + Inky

Feeling she needed to rest her legs a little while on her way into town, she chose to stop near an old monument of the Ancient Pavilion Designer—or at least, the statue depicted what people thought the reclusive designer looked like. Her father had once taken her to this monument as a child, telling her he used it as a place for thinking over important decisions.

He had told her that not everything would be easy, taking her hand and pointing at the old master's bowed head, as if to show her the spirit of the designer agreed. “Just don’t linger too long, Emmy. This place has a magic of its own, and it can entrap you if you let your thoughts wander too far. I don’t want to lose my daughter to this place.”

Yet she found herself drawn to the peacefulness of the area surrounding the old statue. It felt like it would be wrong if she didn't stop by, even briefly. That was why she took the time to pause for a minute, staring up at the weathered stone of her famous friend.

She couldn't help but wonder if Vane was doing okay and what the nature of his family emergency was. Had something happened to a family member? Please be okay, Vane. I pray that your family's okay, too. She started to go down memory lane, wanting to remember happier times, remembering her first meeting with a younger Vane—a quiet, shy child in comparison to her rambunctious nature all those years ago. Oh, she must have scared him the first time they were introduced...

How they'd changed since then. Vane was more confident but still quiet, while she had mellowed out a bit. Who knew how life would turn out for them in future? Her younger self probably wouldn’t believe she would actually be dating the quiet rich boy she'd doted on for years by this point!

And that was when the wind, only a fine breeze before, started to pick up. Emmy felt not just a physical chill, but an emotional chill settle deep in her heart even as it pricked her skin and sent shivers down her spine. She missed her beloved, that was oh so true...

Nearly home... Emmy sighed, brushing her bangs off her forehead. The trip out of town had been nice, but only for the short time her boyfriend, Vane, had been there for company. He had been called home by a family emergency, and so the trip had been cut short for him. He had told her not to let this separation spoil the trip since she liked Moonlit City, but as much as she enjoyed strolling through the bustling streets… She felt lonely, and so she started to return home a few days after Vane’s departure. Besides, with the Harvest Festival coming up, it was better she returned soon. All part of being the clan leader's daughter, right?

A Stroll through Moonlit City

Illustrated by Fishbone

Don't Linger

Written by: Sophie | Illustrated by: Fishbone + Inky

Her thoughts were distracted by a sudden voice, floating on the wind towards her.

Emmy...

Clutching the sleeve of her dress with one hand, Emmy wanted to turn around. She recognised the calm tone of Vane's voice, and yet...how was he here? As far as she knew, his family weren’t the type to let a high-ranking heir go so easily. Eyes widened, heart racing, she could feel someone approach her.

"Emmy?” His voice was strong. “It's me, Vane. I'm sorry to have left you alone. Are you okay?"

Emmy turned around to face her boyfriend; or at least what she thought was him. He had sounded so near, yet his figure seemed so far away from her. She rushed over, wanting to touch him, to make sure tragedy hadn't befallen his family.

"I've missed you so much!" she exclaimed, stretching her arms out, ready to hug him...and meeting thin air.

"Vane...?" her voice wavered.

Collapsing in the sea of flowers, she wanted to reach out again. Yet… With one last glance at the old designer’s statue, Emmy could have sworn his head seemed to lower.

I can’t chase after the easy path, can I, Father?

A Voice Across the Field

Illustrated by Fishbone

Wardrobescopes

Written By: Lilly | Illustrations by: Val | Constellations by: Kira

CONTRIBUTORS + SOURCES

Editor-in-Chief: Librarian

POPNikki Team

ArtisticArmoury . Astie . Brittany . Clarko . Clow . Dayan . Donsveertje . Haley . Inky . Iri . Joltik . Kira . Legs . Lilly . LIttle Avalonia . Meg . Ms. Loki . Openly Witchy . Red . Rev . Roulette . Royce . Sea . Sophie . Val . YasJupe . Yoko . Zemiki

Sources

Translations from @poproulettee and @cosmos-tide

Miraland Info from @nikkiandmomo

Special thanks to Sweet Cupcake from "Nikki's Info" for allowing permissions to use item icon art on POPNikki Site this season

Please do not distribute the images or articles without permission from the authors and artists.

Love Nikki content and materials are trademarks and copyrights of their respective publisher and its licensors.

Front cover contributed by:

Donsveertje (concept, sketch, + typography)

Val (line art + layers)

Joltik (coloring + touch-up)

Back cover contributed by:

Fishbone

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Transcript