helianthus-fields > changelog 2026
january 7 2026
its been a while since the last devlog. the site has changed a lot to make it more approachable, i guess? we're aiming to keep this sort of set up going forward. if we're good at it, we'll keep this sort of layout for atleast 4 months LOL.
what all changed?
- updated homepage layout - button & custom asset navigation instead of dropdowns
- themeswitcher themes - smeeps is lightmode and notebook/game-ish while proxy's is darkmode and distorted
- new webmaster page, still a WIP though
- restructuring the mini galleries/folders for art that we feel works together (ie. co-con gallery)
site updates & plans
we're doing a slow transition into using semantic HTML - clearly not the best with it rn because im still figuring out what should be used for what...BUT its a start....however i dont know if that makes the site even worse accessibility wise than if i werent using it lol. we're using new CSS sheets too across site and now just have two themes for the themeswitcher. plan is to continue to condense code into css sheets when we realize its code we're constantly using across pages.
current project is figuring out how exactly to code the art archives & current (2026) art gallery. i just havent figured out how we should go about it. the plan is to have a lightbox feature at minimum, and the rest of the page be more blog like. there is the gallery code we use on other parts of site we're considering, but not for the actual art archive / era section. atm, we're considering netfriend's ez-gallery for the archive pages.
outside of our art archive, many pages are incredibly underveloped or constantly changing WIPs because we want to decide on a layout that will remain functional and nice and seamless to update overtime. im not even gonna list whats a WIP right now - we'll just state them when theyre done.
in terms of updating what changes are made....babes idk how to do it well or consistently. alot of changes we make tend to be minor fixes BUT we will have a section dedicated to these changes. it might be a while before we formally announce what was updated, i guess?
life updates
site updates and art have slowed drastically since December, and is likely to still be slow for another week or so. im getting used to my job & driving at the same time, so i've been overwhelmed. health issues pop in and arent fun to manage but ive been pretty determined to not sink into misery considering things have gotten better even when tho i still have bouts of not wanting to exist. i think we've gotten better at just lying to ourselves that it is gonna be okay sometimes?? its a weird mix of factors. its very terrifying to even try to state im doing relatively ok because it feels like itll get sniffed out and the hook will grab me and yoink me into pain again. i think we're just so determined to not sink anymore that i just Wont let it happen without fighting, biting and raising utter hell. less passive ig
art plans
keeping this short, but we're gonna spend the next days editing short stories and fics we've written for our series and just publish them on site instead of sit on them for another couple years LOL. we want to get back into writing. main way to do so is to just fucking post what we did finish (or worked on and didnt finish). we're less worried about making stuff fancy and polished i dont give a shit anymore. goal is to be less restrictive or make it perfect and just have fun
december 21st 2025
THE SITE UPDATES
december 14th 2025
THE SITE UPDATES
WEBMASTER CHATTER
once again i dont post updates when i should lol. im really great at keeping up with this....lol. but seriously, we're just busy rn and just not really engaged online much since we're busy irl. its become an out of sight, out of mind thing in a way. being AFK plays a huge part of it because a lot of time not at work is spent ruminating about whatever socializing struggle we experienced, and i dont go on my computer at all because i lay on the floor. i have to force myself to spend time to draw in my sketchbook. im just struggling to cope this past month due to the job.
i do have a great update though! we got a stable job for this upcoming january! we can say goodbye to retail and hello to a job that involves us doing work we feel is important (destigmatize getting help and help ppl access resources and aid). ofc this is a toss up with the political climate and course of the world but this is my entry way in gaining skills and more insight on how to partake in community action and make sure this remains something possible for people. its part of my motivation for why i even went to college, so yeah im excited for this position. scared but hopeful.
i deleted what rambling i did type here, but it boils down to me trying to not feel as bad for my neurodivergence because of how it impacts me trying to navigate adulthood and how obvious it is to other people...everyone just sees it and i dont know how to hide it. it was brushed off when i was a kid and even applauded, but it doesnt work like that when you're an adult. im having a hard time but im doing good, and i think giivng myself the credit and still being nice to myself is whats helping me keep it up
oh yeah, for 2026 we'll have a couple new page set ups going on.
SITE PLANS FOR JANUARY 2026:
- have themed digital art archive pages for every year/era instead of current layout (akin to v3 - with descriptions and "lore")
- publish the fucking oc repository!!!!!!!
- scheduled monthly reflections & showcases instead of trying to keep up any sort of daily diary or updated art feed
december 6th 2025
THE SITE UPDATES
WEBMASTER CHATTER
its been a long while since my last entry. coding has been difficult to do while we try juggling our seasonal job. everything feels like too much these days for me.
we're doing a lot of facelifting around the site. we're having a fun time making assests! its just really hard to stay focused and code beefier pages (like in terms of text). im trying to build templates for alot of the site so we arent as intimidated to work on them.
unforutunately a lot of code for assests have to be updated manually on every page due to how i coded them. the issue of learning new coding practices is having to go back and fix previous ones. it makes me want to redo my entire site every time lol...im resisting! for now. but a lot of pages are under construction or being moved around. im atleast learning my lesson
november 4th 2025
yeaaah a lot of changes. i have to get better at updating this bit here. i didnt even make the last update live where i showed off the coding for our side site! but thats a wall of text for a different day
anyways! site has a christmas theme. ill get everything fixed up soon so the icon change carries across pages. shits a mess bc i started work and im just trying to get adjusted to most of the day being gone again & training ourselves to stay awake longer after work.
so rn theres some CSS errors across site. its not at the stage i want it to be given im making this changelog go live but it wont break the world. ill fix it later
soon to update: furrealife oc hub pages, the oc hub itself, move silly gifs into current art, update the sketchbooks
october 19th 2025
we've started to build the sunflower playroom! using draggable javascript for it. i look up how to alter it so it flips images too so yay. the sunflower playroom will be made to try to capture similar vibes of noggin, starfall and nick jr, which are 3 sites i grew up playing and absolutely obsessed with. itll have dress up games most of all and be a way for me to learn javascript.
open to view gifs
october 13 2205
wow yeah its been a lot of css changes since we decided to implement a themeswitcher! by doing this made us realize the power of var(--) in terms of css sheets and wow its a gamechanger. ive been very shy about javascript in the past, but implementing the switcher helped me process some of its functioning. im also learning the power of ::before lol
right now, im essentially going around cleaning up code & updating assets for everything thats a placeholder right now. sites a bit of a mess but we're liking how its coming to life. i really want us to invest more time and learning into the site, but its hard juggling all of our fixtations. things have been rocky irl which wanes our motivation to code.
soon to update: plushies.html (60%), islandpachi (36%), magical pokemon journey shrine (updating), mlpau (20%),
planning to build: hub/subsite that will have a sort of nickjr/noggin/starfall vibe focused on dress up games, storytimes and more
september 27 2025
theres a lot of css updates that happened over the last few days. im just not good w updating this page
alot is being coded behind scenes, some pages have been WIPs for months at this point
september 21st 2025
im really good at updating this thing. Master at it. september was just hard but theres a lot thatll be posted soon
hopefully updates will be more consistent. got ideas on how to make it possible going forward
august 29th 2025
i did a ton of updates behind the scenes before making all of this one officially live lol sorry. just been a bit finicky about updating.
currently working on: pachirisu shrine, plush page, selfship page. art archive will return soon its just annoying to redo the files. maybe in the next few days bc ill be in bed lol
august 19th 2025
kinda small today
up next: new button, art archive fixed, sunflowers will actually use their pages.
august 18th 2025
whatever. go forth updates
august 14th 2025
restored some pages of the site. sunflower pages & system discussion will be back later in the week
august 9th 2025
made some things that became priority live while ive had energy for it.
next in line: art archive update, series hub, oc profiles...alot
august 8th 2025
hell on earth, truly. havent properly updated this until now due to not feeling well. most progress still not live but...
august 1st 2025
minor shit while we get motivation again. havent been at front so i wasnt able to work.
july 18th 2025
not alot was done for this particular update today due to health, its mostly stuff from yesterday being live. however
next in line: same as listed for yesterday
july 17th 2025
ive coded nonstop since last entry. we now have the supporter role to feel more invested in working on upkeep of the site over doing compulsions on other sites. with this, i ended up coding a ton behind the scenes but wont make it live until it settles.
next in line: webmaster update, art archive update, furrealife hub, upload oc profiles
july 15th 2025
basically trying to unify the site. we had a thought of making a second site for archiving but nah, we like the theme we have going tbh we just have to make it cohesive
next: fix library, fix blog, fix webmaster CSS. add worldbuilding pages (im still writing them up in obsidian tbh)