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gasstationdog · 2 years

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Art Website Rant

ready for some rants?

i have Opinions about places to post content, especially art. online galleries are my jam and i’ve been part of them since the early 2000′s! here’s some info about websites to post art to!

if i don’t have something listed, let me know! i’m ALWAYS looking for other websites

jump on in if that interests you

1. Deviantart

This is the website I started on! Waaay back when, I was a teenager on DeviantArt. I haven’t used it as a real gallery in years. But...

Moderation- not well

NSFW- does not allow, but thanks to lax moderation get ready to be assaulted with it anyways

Community- granted, i stopped being really active on there several years ago, but after dAmn (deviantArt message network) stopped being semi-popular, not much of one. very large hate base, or at least used to have one, and it was absolutely anxiety inducing being part of the website

Blacklist- as far as i’m aware, none

Tags/Searching- not. good. at one point i was just using the stock image category to look for pictures of cameras to use in a compilation, how is this literally impossible (screenshot from today, it’s still a problem) they clearly use data in the description/metadata instead of tags, because all but one of these were taken with a camera, which deviantart takes metadata from

2. Newgrounds

I was on this for a while to post stuff last year! It didn’t really take off for me though, and I’ve since deleted everything (reason below)

Moderation- not sure actually. never had any experiences with it

NSFW- allows nsfw, HOWEVER WATCH OUT FOR THIS ONE!! if you post NSFW and mark it as adult, EVERYONE can see it even if they are not logged in if they have a link to the work or view your page. and if google indexes your art it WILL show NSFW ART ON SAFESEARCH

i am SO PISSED ABOUT THIS and i think it’s so goddamn awful. so i removed *all* my art and actually reported my own art on google to try to get them to remove it so people with safesearch on don’t fucking find my steven universe scat art while googling something

Community- i did not really have any interactions or engagements on the site, that’s not bad it just means it’s probably not for me

Blacklist- as far as i’m aware, none

Tags/Searching- i didn’t even try gotta be honest

3. Inkbunny

I really liked the site layout, i liked how responsive it was, i had a good time on there! until... well, read on

Moderation- very fast when i reported things for tagging errors! i appreciated the mods and their speed

NSFW- allows nsfw

Community- had great interaction with people on this site! it was really fun!

Blacklist- (loud screaming) LET’S TALK ABOUT CUB. So inkbunny allows cub, that’s like their big thing. i do not like cub. so i blacklisted it. blacklist “cub”, and you will no longer see cub! but you will see... “cubs”. blacklist that, and you will still see “lion cub”, blacklist that and you will still see “lion_cub” or “lion cubs” or any variation of the word. i finally left after having more than 25 words on my blacklist just to blacklist cub, with NSFW turned off, and still saw cubs. As you can tell, I am still salty :(

Tags/Searching- because of the noncentralized way tags are used, your stuff may easily get lost because someone searched “cat” instead of “cats” and you only tagged “cats”.

4. FurAffinity

I basically live on here. It’s the only place that allows all my content. I still have Opinions, though. TW: Suicide mention in “Moderation” area.

Moderation- Hit and miss. Lately, it’s been fairly fast when reporting trolls and spammers who are abusing the “General” tag to post shock porn. However, I have also reported very worrying users (one threatening to shoot up a furry convention happening in the next few days, right after the chlorine gas fur con event happened) and a user threatening suicide. Both of these took weeks to resolve, and the user threatening to mow down people at a convention was talked off as “he’s just joking” and there was no resolution to the second one because the post was deleted way before the ticket was resolved. I would have liked to see something happen with users posting suicidal ideation, such as a team to reach out with mental health information or SOMETHING, rather than this. And threats of mass homicide? Yeah, that’s not a joke guys.

NSFW- allows NSFW

Community- VERY active! I’ve had bad experiences with a few users, but vastly outnumbered by the great experiences! I love using FA for the community, despite the issues I have with the mod team and the owner of the website.

Blacklist- haha. none. god. FA step up your game.

Tags/Searching- non centralized tagging system, but the search function has been improved ever since FA2.0 came out! I appreciate the new functions a lot, as someone who uses their search quite a bit to source art. This used to be an utter nightmare, now it’s much easier. It still hits a limit on search though, after many pages, that I’ve run into. The new functions mean I can rearrange my search zone though and get past this.

5. Twitter

This is not an art website. It functions horribly as an art website. Yet I am there because of yoooou, tumblr :/

Moderation- LOL, yeah right

NSFW- allows NSFW for now, but it’s handled horribly

Community- you can get lucky and get a lot of interaction, might meet some new friends! Or your posts can be swept away in the flood of thousands of posts to be forgotten about forever.

Blacklist- has block/mute function for terms and users, but because there is no tagging system this is almost moot for terms.

Tags/Searching- because of the character limit, only the bare minimum (if any) tags are in place. Finding posts via search or blacklisting is terrible because of this.

6. Tumblr

I used to live here. I’m back now, only because I hate twitter. But I am simply a shell of my former self and my blog was nuked from orbit by the site.

Moderation- ain’t even gonna try

NSFW- no :/ like, i don’t mind websites that start off without nsfw, but to pull the rug out from under creators? that ain’t cool.

Community- it used to be great for me, and since coming back it’s been nice to actually see people interacting with art!

Blacklist- gotta be honest, I have not even tried. Even back then.

Tags/Searching- I MISSED THIS SO MUCH OH MY GOD THANK GOD I CAN TAG SHIT AND LOOK SHIT UP I HATE TWITTER AAAAA

7. Pillowfort

I joined waaaay back when the site had trouble loading!

Moderation- Haven’t tried yet, tbh.

NSFW- allows NSFW

Community- I don’t really feel like I’ve interacted with anyone on the site, except for one person and it was a very bad interaction. I don’t feel like many people are there, I can go weeks without getting a single like or share, and I can’t find a bunch of content for me to interact with either.

Blacklist- It has one! However, I can’t comment on how well it works because I have not used it.

Tags/Searching- seems to work like Tumblr! My main complaint is that when typing tags, it does not remember the previous individual tags. Instead, it remembers all of the tags you entered in a single, large line. This means if you tag a post “dog, cat, my art”, and then you go to upload a new picture with just a dog and you type “dog” it will immediately bring up “dog, cat, my art” as an entire result to add them all. I find it really annoying. It also won’t remember single tags so if you have a cute name for queue like “cue” but you don’t use it as your first tag, good luck remembering what it was because it won’t tell you.

8. Fanexus

A newcomer!! I managed to snag a beta key to have access, and it hasn’t opened for public signups just yet.

Moderation- Haven’t tried yet.

NSFW- allows NSFW

Community- I’ve had only a few interactions, but that’s to be expected as they’re still in beta!

Blacklist- Has one! There was an issue with this functioning a while back, but I haven’t tried it since then. It was many months ago, and of course the site is in beta and it was a recognized bug that they were working on back then. Expected!

Tags/Searching- THE BEST OF ALL WORLDS!!! A pretty dang centralized tagging system, wiki entries for the tags, and required tagging for certain extreme subjects! I LOVE IT

Extra- seriously guys, I hope to see Fanexus grow and bloom and become my main home. I love the ideas they’ve implemented.

9. Weasyl

It... definitely exists! Sorry, Weasyl, you’re still there but it seems that not much happens with you :(

Moderation- Haven’t tried

NSFW- allows NSFW

Community- Way back when I joined, I don’t remember many interactions. Honestly I forget this place exists a lot, and I think it needs more love!!

Blacklist- Just signed back in to check, and from this cursory glance I do not see a blacklist feature. I may be missing it, though.

Tags/Searching- allows tags, unknown how great the search feature is

10. SoFurry

I just logged into this after yeeears of forgetting it exists. IIRC, this used to be “yiffstar”.

Moderation- I have not tried

NSFW- allows NSFW

Community- I need to get back to this websites tbh, same with Weasyl, because when I was part of it years ago I don’t remember many interactions, but I also didn’t reach out to many other people!

Blacklist- They have a private tag filter! Unknown how great it works, but glad it’s there :D

Tags/Searching- Has tags! unknown how great search feature is

11. e621

This is NOT TECHNICALLY an art website. This is a furry art archive website, and it has certain standards that must be met in order for art to be posted. However, I want to mention it because I absolutely love this website. Before posting any of your art be sure to read the rules THOROUGHLY to make sure it’s allowed.

Moderation- GOLD STAR MODERATION TEAM. This website has extremely active moderators, and they are vert easy to talk to.

NSFW- allows NSFW. you do NOT have to be logged in to view NSFW, which I have opinions on, but considering the type of website (archive) it does make some sense to me. It also has an entirely SFW variant.

Community- this community is active and excellent!

Blacklist- THE BEST BLACKLIST, BECAUSE...

Tags/Searching- THE TAGS ARE CENTRALIZED! So there’s no Inkbunny problem! It’s SO EASY to find your content, and even though you may search for a certain wording for one tag, it can be related to many other tags that mean the same thing, so you are getting results for all of it.

Extra- Seriously, great site. I don’t like cub, I’ve blacklisted ‘cub’, and even though they allow cub I’ve only seen it twice in the many years I’ve been on here (user mistag, fixed very quickly). I love not having to worry about stepping on a landmine of content that upsets me when I can easily enter it on my blacklist and have a 99% guarantee that I’ll never see it!

12. Instagram

It’s definitely there, and it’s definitely active. It feels weird posting content to a place where a ton of non-furries gather though, tbh. Mostly post there for family.

Moderation- Have not tried

NSFW- NO nsfw

Community- Not easy to break into, it’s got such a sheer number of people.

Blacklist- None that I know of

Tags/Searching- Has hashtags and searching, similar results to Twitter though.

13. Pinterest

I’m not even going to rate this I hate Pinterest it’s just full of art reposters and it makes it damn near impossible to source art to its original artist i’m just putting it here because you can host images on it and to mention that i hate it (make sure to use “-pinterest” in your google searches!)

14. Eka’s Portal

I have not used this place much at all, to the point that I forgot the name! Whoops! This place is focused on vore specifically. I need to use it more, so unfortunately I don’t know much about it yet.

Moderation- Unknown

NSFW- Allows NSFW, although I am wary that I can see NSFW without being logged in. I’ve forgotten my username and password but just browsing around I do see full on sexual images without logging in. I am not sure if this is a moderation issue, or if all images are available without an account.

Community- Just from a quick glance at the front page, it seems active. I will update this if I become an active member!

Blacklist- Unknown

Tags/Searching- Has a search feature, otherwise unknown.

15. Y!Gallery

Oh yeah, it’s back baby. Y!Gallery allows art and stories focusing on male characters only, female characters must not play a major role in the work and must not be involved in NSFW situations. Things get... a little murky if you have a trans character. I feel like this website ran its course before it went down years ago, and then was recently revived.

Moderation- it’s active, but it’s weird. A lot of decisions made by the staff years ago were awkward (I am not going to use the new website) including banning all furries above a certain furry percentage. Now, the new website may handle it completely different, but my view will be influenced by the old interactions.

NSFW- Allows NSFW. However, based on the old website (since the new one looks the same) watch out for community banners, because they did have NSFW imagery that you could see without logging in.

Community- Based on pre-revival, the community was alright.

Blacklist- Unknown

Tags/Searching- Based on pre-revival, had an interesting centralized tagging system! The new website looks very similar to the old one so they may have kept that!

#art websites #website reviews #meow barks

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primrose-path-of-dalliance · 4 years

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prim’s wildemount map scale adventures

i apologize in advance to the folk that use screen readers for this post’s reliance on image references, i will do my best to make my logic and the contents of the images comprehensible in the text portions.

this post isn’t about spoiler territory either, so i won’t go into detail about how recent developments with e111 were the initial reason i started thinking about distance on the official wildemount maps. besides, i think plenty of people will understand when i say that my digging got a lot bigger than the initial question itself lol. regardless, i’m making this post in the hopes that it might be a little helpful for anyone dealing with the same confusion.

see, i realized the funny thing about the official wildemount maps is that they don’t have any scales. as a basic explanation, scales are those funky little bars usually found on maps that illustrate what distance on the map is equivalent to what distance in ‘reality’—AKA the scale of the map.

however, for whatever reason, matt and co. did not create any for the broader wildemount maps like of the menagerie coast or the zemni fields.

[id: two images from the explorer’s guide to wildemount. the first depicts the region of the menagerie coast and related islands in the lucidian ocean. the second depicts the zemni fields, which is the central area of western wynandir and the dwendalian empire at large. map scales are absent from both images. /end id.]

this was a little baffling and unhelpful, but i’m not here to judge matt about his choice to not include scales, considering how it would give people on twitter even more ammunition to rudely question his dming with.

but then i discovered that the maps of the major cities do have scales.

(continuing past a readmore.)

[id: an image from the explorer’s guide to wildemount. it is a map of the city of rexxentrum, the capital of the dwendalian empire. in the lower left corner is a compass rose illustrating the cardinal directions and a scale. /end id.]

at first, i was excited. maybe i could use the city’s map scale to approximate a scale for the larger maps. it wouldn’t be super accurate, especially as things got bigger and errors grew larger, but it would be a little better for some thought experiments than no scale at all.

but then it got weirder.

since the map of rexxentrum takes up a full page, the resolution of the image makes it difficult to read the map scale. so let me zoom in.

[id: an image at a higher resolution of the lower left corner of the rexxentrum map, clearly displaying the compass rose and the scale. the scale is a thin horizontal bar separated into four equal lengths of alternating black and white, with indicators claiming that each part represents 500 miles for a total bar length of 2000 miles. /end id.]

so. maybe some of you can already tell what the problem is.

for those with slightly worse spatial understanding though, that map scale is measuring in miles. and a mile is pretty damn long.

let’s have a comparative illustration from real life to show my point. los angeles, california, is the city in the united states where the critical role cast live and work and stream us their wonderful d&d games. the los angeles area as a whole is massive. anyone who lives there understands what i’m saying and has probably wept before while in traffic (and i’m sorry).

if we use the google maps function to get a distance in miles between two points in the los angeles area...

[id: a screenshot of a google maps route for traveling on foot from the olive view-ucla medical center in the far north of the los angeles area to the los angeles international airport in the southwest. the route is fairly direct as the bird flies due to the on-foot nature of the route and is labeled to be a distance of 31.1 miles. /end id.]

this is a pretty good representation of the distance from one end of los angeles to the opposite end. a modern city with a population of about 4 million people, filled to the brim with urban sprawl and suburbs.

and that distance is 31 miles, or about 50 kilometres.

that scale in the corner of the rexxentrum map? its claimed length of 2000 miles (over 3200 km) measures less than a seventh of the apparent width of rexxentrum. according to the scale, you would have to travel a distance of over 14,000 miles (over 22,500 km) to get from one end of the city to the other.

simply put, that scale at face value is nonsense lol.

[id: a screenshot of discord messages with no identifying account attached. the messages begin with, in all caps, “EXCEPT THE SCALE FOR REXXENTRUM MAKES NO SENSE” (new line) “WHAT IS THIS MATT MERCER?????” an image of the lower left corner of the rexxentrum map follows. below that is the final visible message which reads, in all caps, “DO YOU KNOW HOW BIG A MILE IS SIR. DO YOU KNOW HOW FAR TWO THOUSAND MILES IS SIR.” /end id.]

so. maybe you are wondering if matt, huge nerd that he is, is making some oblique historical reference to a previous measurement of a “mile” that is way shorter than the modern standard mile. that was the first possible explanation to occur to me! unfortunately, based on the wikipedia article on the mile throughout history, there is no prior known definition of a “mile” short enough to make this scale make any sense.

so maybe the explanation is a unit error. maybe it’s meant to be a smaller unit of length, like a metre or a foot.

i spent a bit of time trying to guess which unit it might be by comparing details of the map to each other, since there are detailed individual buildings and roadways illustrated. it quickly became obvious, though, that the details were more for artistry and not to a reliable scale.

so it was time to dive into the transcripts.

i looked for a point where matt not only described the length of time it took for the mighty nein to travel from point A to point B within rexxentrum, but a point A and a point B that i could locate with confidence on the map. i found a scenario that fit the bill in e86, “the cathedral,” when the party raced from the cobalt soul branch in rexxentrum to the chantry of the dawn.

MATT: [...] And you've stepped out from the Rexxentrum Archive of the Cobalt Soul into the wet, slick cobblestone streets of the city, heading eastward towards the base of the Shimmer Ward, where it is believed this cathedral, known as the Chantry of the Dawn, stands.

this bit (beginning 13:39) is the first clue in matt’s narration to locating the endpoints on the map. the chantry of the dawn is located near the base, suggesting the immediate south, of the shimmer ward, and is in an eastward direction from the cobalt soul. this is consistent with the relevant textual descriptions in the explorer’s guide to wildemount: the rexxentrum branch of the cobalt soul is located within the court of colors on the west side of the city, while the chantry of the dawn is near the southern wall of the shimmer ward.

[id: two images of the rexxentrum map. the first is composed of the center and western area of the city, displaying the labeled wards of the tangles and the shimmer ward along with individual points labeled “R7,” “R6,” “R3,” “R1,” and “R2″ from west-most to east-most. at the bottom is the map scale, added for reference, that measures about a fifth of the entire image.

the second image is the legend of the map, which defines a few of the illustrated details and clarifies the R-series labels. truncated to relevance: R7 is the court of colors, R6 is the vigil’s circle, R3 is the academy grounds, R1 is castle ungebroch, and R2 is the candles. /end id.]

as the party made their way to the chantry, matt revealed a few more notable details on where precisely they’re traveling through (17:18).

MATT: [...] Your [Caleb’s] eyes train on the rising walkways and towers of the Soltryce Academy that are peeking over the walls of the Shimmer Ward that you can just make out on the horizon as you pass by a series of buildings where the roofs are a bit lower than the other ones you've been rushing by. You can see pale yellow walls that surround the Shimmer Ward of the capital.

You begin to approach the exterior of the Vigil’s Circle, which is a region between where you are and your destination, as noted by the network of ring-like streets that denote the circular marketplace, some varied shops, and industries that normally fill this area, as well as the mini-fortress of gray rock known as the Tower of Writ.

the view of the soltryce academy is consistent with an approach from the western side of the city, since the academy is located along the inner side of the shimmer ward’s northwest wall. the placement of the vigil’s circle in between the cobalt soul and the chantry is also consistent with their depictions on the map, as the vigil’s circle is both labeled and illustrated through a pattern of circular roads with an apparent depiction of the tower of writ in the center.

anyway, the mighty nein had traveled a little ways into the outskirts of the vigil’s circle from the west when they were abruptly stalled by a giant purple xhorhasian worm coming out of the ground.

at that moment in time is when liam gets a travel time from their current location to the chantry (21:26).

LIAM: Caduceus just asked how far we are from the chantry. Would I know that?

MATT: You would know you're probably about, I'd say, depending on— with it being pretty empty, maybe seven minutes.

this brings me to getting a precise location on the chantry of the dawn. both the explorer’s guide to wildemount and matt’s narration only describe the chantry as located within the tangles and near the southern wall of the shimmer ward. that’s a wide potential area to be seven minutes from.

there’s a pretty helpful pattern in the map details, though. most landmark buildings are visible—the soltryce academy campus is clearly delineated, as well as the colorful tower rooftops of the candles and, as previously noted, the top of the tower of writ. castle ungebroch stands massive in the center of the shimmer ward illustration.

so if the chantry of the dawn is both a huge structure and a significant landmark, that should merit a visible illustration of it on the map.

[id: the image of the western and central area of rexxentrum plus map scale appended to the bottom, edited to include my personal labels. R7 is encircled in red with the label “cobalt soul,” R6 and the visible circular road complex is encircled in blue with the label “vigil’s circle,” and a large rectangular rooftop by the southwest corner of the shimmer ward is encircled in red with the label “chantry to [sic] the dawn.” /end id.]

the position of this large building fits the details of the narration and its description in the explorer’s guide—it’s near the southern wall of the shimmer ward, it is eastward of the cobalt soul, and streets of the vigil’s circle lie on the direct path from the court of colors to this building.

so there’s the approximate location of the chantry of the dawn. we also know the approximate location of the mighty nein on this map.

[id: an image, almost identical to the last, of the marked-up western and central area of the rexxentrum map plus map scale, but with a further addition of an orange star in the northwest corner of the vigil’s circle labeled “mighty 9.” /end id.]

since they had entered the outskirts of the vigil’s circle from the direction of the cobalt soul, they would be within its northwest area by the time they were interrupted via purple worm shortly after.

two approximate locations with a travel time in between means that now i could estimate a distance in length. so i took a look at the d&d official rules for movement speed:

a fast pace is about 400 feet per minute,

a normal pace is about 300 feet per minute.

for campaign 2, matt as a dm tends to follow the official rules. so taking into account how the urgency of the situation had the party moving quickly, along with the emptiness of the streets eliminating the variable of a slowed pace through crowds, the mighty nein are likely traveling between 300 and 400 feet per minute to get to the chantry.

with matt’s provided estimate of 7 minutes, that means the on-foot distance from the party’s current position to the chantry is somewhere between 2100 to 2800 feet.

[id: a zoomed-in image of the marked-up western and central rexxentrum map, focused on the vigil’s circle and the chantry of the dawn. imposed beside the orange star representing the mighty nein’s location and the chantry is the map scale edited to remove the ‘miles’ indicator. its position allows a viewer to measure the distance between the mighty nein and the chantry to about “1500,″ or three-fourths of the total length of the scale. /end id.]

since the scale there measures distance as the bird flies, comparing it to the probable distance the mighty nein had to travel needs to account for the twists and turns of the streets.

with that in mind, though: an as-the-bird-flies distance of around 1500 feet sounds like a pretty good approximation of the estimated on-foot distance of 2100 to 2800 feet!

so with that, it’s probably safe to guess the map scale meant to claim feet instead of miles as its unit of length.

so far i haven’t puzzled out how i might translate this into a makeshift scale for the larger maps, since none of the cities like rexxentrum are clearly illustrated on them. but if anyone was very confused about the unit of length for the city maps’ scales, i think i’ve reached a reliable conclusion that it should be feet.

hopefully some of you find this helpful!

#cr #critical role #rexxentrum #maps #wildemount #wynandir #prim post #prim says some things #long post #VERY long post #readmore #enjoy this dump of what i spent a few hours on thursday night out of sheer curiosity and frustration

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chibipika · 4 years

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3, 4, 20! :D

3. What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)

Alright, so we all know that I want to write the AU of chapter 19 where Jade gets killed in front of Starr, but I wouldn’t say that that needs much context. I could pretty much jump right in, the only problem is… it’s just legit really hard to write. ^^; It’s just such a sheer level of guilt and self-loathing far beyond anything I’ve ever written. Maybe the experience of roleplaying Starr in Blacklight will help me get to a level where I know how to tackle it, because I really, really want to be able to.

Miscellaneous other scenes that I want to write that do require me to work out some annoying context include:

Sebastian meeting with Giovanni and demanding the position of commander.

Sebastian catching Latios (possibly will be included in a Chapter 65 extra.)

Confrontation between Starr and Ajia prior to the revolt.

Jade/Ajia/Starr pre-story friendshipping. I’m just really bad at slice-of-life and can’t think of how to make the daily lives of ordinary elementary schoolers all that interesting. :T

Chibi/Razors friendshipping. This is the epitome of “requires annoying context” because in order to write this, I’d have to figure out a lot of details for like, how the experiments were raised and trained, what experiences they had, where they were contained, etc. Everything I’ve come up with has some manner of logistical issues. ><

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

Right now my favorite sequences in LC are the dream sequences in chapters 46 and 47. Unfortunately, I can’t talk about why I like them because every sentence has the highest- spoiler-density possible. I’ll just say that I was really particular with the symbolism there.

Other than that, I’d definitely say that this paragraph from chapter 36 is way up there:

A blindingly bright flash of light shattered my field of view as a wave of psychic energy shot through my entire being. I was ripped apart, flipped inside-out, put back together, and then shredded once more, over and over into infinity. What felt like white-hot metal coursed through my veins, dissolving any and all sensations in a spiraling vortex of pain. And then my brain split open, unleashing a torrent of images from the past year. All of my panic, all of my uncertainty, every hesitation I’d ever felt from the moment the fight began suddenly bombarded my mind simultaneously, fighting for dominance.

In general, I really enjoy coming up with weird ways of describing inner turmoil, and I think that’s the main place where my descriptions could be considered decent.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

Man, it’s hard to think of something I haven’t already rambled at length about, either here or on Thousand Roads. And by definition, I can’t point out all the clues that I want to...

In particular, I have an annoying tendency to hide clues in would-be errors, which usually manifests as (a) a character conspicuously refraining from doing something they should obviously do, or (b) a character doing or knowing something that shouldn’t be possible. I sure do love using that as a way to tip off readers, huh. Only problem is, if I haven’t yet earned a reader’s trust, they’re likely to just be like “ok but why did that happen.” It also means I have to be really careful to not have accidental inconsistencies.

As for recent hints... it’s probably pretty obvious that I enjoy dropping mentions that the psychic connection the chosen and patrons share is definitely totes psychic everyone. :V

Hmm, as far as anything else I’ve needed an excuse to ramble about...

So I’ve made the joke a few times that I’ve stumbled my way into writing Jade and Starr as moirails, and I very much want everyone to enjoy this as much as I do. For everyone who’s not Homestuck trash (I'm not even! I just absorbed it through osmosis!) that term refers to a close platonic bond between two individuals, one hot-tempered and the other even-tempered, wherein the latter watches over the former and keeps them in line. This will become more apparent during the checkmate arc of LC (chapters 55-59) and I’m very much looking forward to it.

A preview:

I grabbed her arm. “Ohhkay, let’s just… let’s just sit over here,” I said, tugging her over toward a couple of office chairs. Starting a brawl in the middle of an office was not going to look good on us.

“God, it would be easy to break his nose,” Starr muttered under her breath.

“I’m sure it would,” I said dully. “Which is exactly why we’re not doing that.”

I just really want people to care about these two. ;-;

[Here’s the ask meme if anyone else wants to throw me any!]

#antialiasis #writing #ask meme #LC

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foul-humors · 5 years

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Radiant Duet II

It took some time for Steia to return to the Crystarium following Mister Lavada’s return from the fae kingdom. Twice she drifted off course, distracted by her thoughts. As unsteady as she was, an observer could be forgiven for believing she headed towards her own death. Once within the city at the base of Syrcus Tower, a guard even took notice, asking if she was okay.

She lied, assuring him she was merely put off balance by the returned night sky. The guard patted her shoulder before proceeding to wax poetic about the restored firmament. Steia didn’t listen, but made a show of feeling better.

Outside the door to her - or rather - Drassa’s room in the Crystarium, Steia paused. Hand on the doorknob; she could sense the presence within. Shaken once more, she took a step back. The presence felt like another Mirror, both known and unknown to her. As her mind raced with new questions - chief among them wondering what Esoterica had kept from her - a wave of vertigo took hold. Her breath quickened, she swayed, and she stepped back, gripping the railing behind her for support

.....

While Steia made way for the room, Drassa paced within. A pixie sat on the edge of the nearby table, sipping from a thimble of nectar. On that table, a basket of fresh fruits was arrayed, and a kettle of tea sat next to a bottle of the self-same nectar drank by the pixie. Drassa’s pacing took her past the table, and she snatched an apple from it, taking a few bites as she continued.

“I spy with my little eye,” the pixie began, looking about, “Something tiny, but bright and twinkling merrily.” They giggled.

Drassa stopped, and tilted her head. Then she cracked a grin and replied, “Your reflection in the mirror.”

“Oh! How do you know tis not a star in the sky?” the pixie replied, a tad frustrated that Drassa had guessed so quickly.

“Full certain am I you saw the stars, first, then thought of what else might fit such a description in effort to trick me.”

“You have been playing with me for too long, Petal,” the pixie replied. They mock pouted, then giggled again. “I shall fetch a new mortal to replace you, I think.”

Drassa chuckled, and sat down on the stool next to the table. “I doubt much you will find one quite like me, my Flower.” Quietly, Drassa appreciated the attempt to pull her from her thoughts. Like Steia, she was nervous. Unlike Steia, Drassa was burdened with knowledge. She knew where the woman had come from, and why she was here, even if Steia barely knew it herself. She'd had visions of other worlds, a being broken into fragments, and a cursed woman desperate to correct her errors.

“Do you think we will like her?” the pixie asked.

Drassa wrinkled her nose. “If one is to judge by the company she keeps, no.” She looked to the pixie. “Though, the bully did say they were simply family, and one does not choose their family.”

The pixie nodded. “She was alone most oft when I checked in on her.” They rolled their wrist. “Tis hard to know someone you cannot interact with, and she wears something that hides her true self.”

They were silent again, as Drassa took a few more bites of her apple. She amused and distracted herself by biting little patterns into it, then after a moment, stared at what she had done. Her smile brightened, and she looked to the Pixie. “I have an idea of how we might know her!”

.....

Steia was about to knock again, only to hear the moving of heavy furniture within. Curious, now, she quietly opened the door, and beheld a silver-haired woman in green robe expending effort to move a bench on her own. Chewing her lip thoughtfully, Steia finally entered, and went to the opposite side of the bench, gripping it to help move it.

Naturally, this caused the other to look up at her, and they both immediately dropped the bench with a start. Astonishment was clear on their features, but Drassa spoke first. “Light take me...you truly could be my twin.” She shook the thought away, and pointed to the side of the room. “This is to go over there. Ready?”

Steia continued to stare at her “twin” a moment, puzzled by how nonchalant Drassa was about the matter. Still, she’d silently offered to help, so she did, answering aloud: “Yes. On three? One, two, three!” The bench was lifted accordingly and moved. Then Drassa went to move a partition, with Steia helping. “What are we doing?” Steia asked.

“You will see,” Drassa replied. Steia wrinkled her nose, but continued helping until a large spot had been cleared in the middle of the room. Drassa grinned, then motioned to the table. “Okay, catch your breath, have a bite.”

Steia looked to the table, and shook head. “I fear I am not hungry. Mayhap one of your friends has filled my stomach with butterflies.” She paused, and approached the kettle. “If this is tea, however....”

Drassa chuckled. “Never would the little flowers do such a thing...lest you were to make the suggestion to them. And yes, tis tea. My favorite, in truth.” Steia poured herself a cup and took a sip. The taste of apple tea met her tongue, and brought a smile to her lips: it was her favorite as well.

“Most appreciated,” Steia murmured. A few more sips, and she set the cup down. Drassa was staring at her, curiously, but rather than ask a question, she motioned to the empty spot they’d created. “Stand here, and face me.” Steia did so, hesitantly. “Okay, I will be performing some movements, and I wish you to copy me.”

Steia screwed up her face, clearly confused. “You...wish me to copy you? What on Norvrandt for?” Drassa shook her head.

“You wished to meet with me, no? Well, these are my terms. Now, first....” The grey-haired woman grinned and stuck right arm out to the side, somewhat raised, fingers together. “Lali-ho!” she said enthusiastically. Steia boggled for a moment, but then copied the motion.

“Lali-ho?” She more asked than stated. Drassa nodded. “Needs work, but you understand! Now another.” Now she held her arms in front of her, elbows bent at right angles, as though she might fold her arms. Instead, the arms were spaced apart, and her hands cupped, the lower hand facing up, and the upper hand facing down.

Steia mimicked the action a little better, as she recognized it; she’d seen the guards in the Crystarium doing so as a sort of salute. Again, Drassa nodded, grinning. “Perfect! Another!”

Steia nodded, grinned, and parroted, “Perfect! Another!” This drew a giggle from Drassa, who then performed a more elaborate motion. Steia also giggled, and performed the motion as best she could. As they continued, the motions became more and more involved until they pair appeared to be dancing. Had anyone observed, they would be forgiven for thinking the pair to be fools, practicing for a show.

.....

“So what was that all about?” Steia asked after she caught her breath. They were seated at the table having finished Drassa’s little game. For the moment, they were in high spirits.

“Twas a bit of a test, I admit,” Drassa answered breathily, less in shape than Steia. “Your...family? I fear they were among the most dour visitors I have received in a while.” She took a few breaths before continuing. “The one that looked like an elf is much like the other Fae, but most unwelcome, known for bullying the others. The mystal-like woman seemed like she might be fun, I suppose, but her mood took a turn for the worst when my little flowers decided to turn her into a leafman as she announced she’d sit out on one of the games.”

Steia blanked. “I cannot speak for Mister Lavada - the elf - being a bully. Never have I thought of him as such. Yet Aspen’s stance seems understandable.” She paused. “Admittedly, her patience may have already been thinner than normal. Matters are strained between us.” Steia hung her head. “You see, I fear I have grown rather disconnected from the mortal world, and gravely offended her recently.”

“You are...disconnected?” Drassa chuckled. “As am I. It leads me to wonder: how much alike are we? I sense naught from you.” Steia nodded and removed her earrings and rings. “Ah...clever trinkets, hiding the truth of yourself...and I can see why. Tis a terribly, corrupt taint on your soul.”

Steia nodded, then tapped her fake eye three times, activating it. She looked Drassa over for a moment before tapping it three times again. “A fae taint upon yours.”

Drassa chuckled. “I should think it a mark, not a taint. Full proud I am of it.”

Steia frowned at that, and went to the window to look out at the sky. Drassa followed, wondering if she had offended. Steia folded her arms and stated, “Once did I feel the same way regarding my horns.”

“Until they were ripped from you, right?” Drassa asked, joining her. Steia nodded, then looked sharply to the fae-touched woman. Drassa chuckled, and motioned to her own head. “I have visions of people from time to time.”

Nose wrinkled, Steia muttered, “I should not be surprised...people where I come from call it ‘the Echo’. I should have known you would possess it, too.” Hanging her head, she asked, “Have you seen the reason I came?”

Drassa nodded. “Indeed. Tis quite an unfortunate situation...no fun at all.”

Steia nodded. “I was told I could find the solution by traveling to another world, and so here I am. I cannot think your presence a coincidence, and so...I would know if you have any ideas.”

Drassa rubbed her chin thoughtfully, then shrugged. “Tell the clan about your mirror, and I should think it will sort itself out.”

Steia shook her head. “She would simply alter their memories. She has done so before.”

“Hmm. I suppose destroying the clan is out of the question.”

Steia scoffed. “Twould certainly solve a number of problems, would it not? Alas, no.”

The two were silent for a moment before Drassa offered, “Why not create another of your Mirrors to fight her?”

Steia shook her head. “Reliance on mirrors is a poor idea, as I have proven. Not only might they rebel, but if Esoterica were to destroy that Mirror, their soul would rejoin with the nearest compatible mirror, that being Esoterica. Simply would she become more powerful.”

“So why not skip a few steps?”

Steia huffed. “What do you mean? Rejoin with the soul from the start? I suppose that might work, but I would still need to find a compatible...soul to....” She trailed off and looked to Drassa, who was grinning at her. Her jaw dropped as the realization struck her. “No!”

Drassa shrugged. “Yes.”

Staring at Drassa, all she could manage was, “Why?”

“Are you not tired, too?” Drassa asked. Steia furrowed her brow, and the other woman's smile softened as she continued, tone calm. “You are old, and have many regrets, yes, but you spent much of that time blindly seeking aether, and yet more of it drifting aimlessly through the void. In all that time, sans stimulation, even the most willful mind stills, eons becoming instants. How long have you actually lived?”

Steia shook her head. “I...I know not. Between lost memories and not really keeping track...”

Drassa chuckled. “I have lived...actually lived for centuries now. I know I might seem full of life, but I am exhausted. I was old ere the flood came, and I have regrets. Many, many regrets. I thought about ending my life several times now.” Drassa pinched the soft flesh of her wrist with her nails hard enough to leave a bruise. She showed it to Steia. “You see, I am merely ageless, not immortal. If one were to stab me in the heart, I would expire as quickly as any other hume.”

Drassa then mimed holding a knife to her chest. “Yet whenever the knife was to my bosom, I started thinking about what would happen to my body after the fact. Who would find it and have to deal with it? What tasks would I saddle someone else with? Whose hearts might I break?”

Dropping her hands to her sides with an exasperated sigh. “I would do naught but leave another mess for someone else to deal with, and worse yet, I would not have made up for all the suffering I have caused, or helped to cause. And so I resolved to wait until I could trade my life for something good...and tis my hope that you will help me do that.”

“But what about-?” Steia started, before Drassa interrupted.

“This world? Psh. Any fool can do the things I would do to help the people on this world, and oft they do. Tis the whole premise of the Crystarium, no? Yet how many fools can claim to have a reflection of themselves come from another world to seek their aid?” She pointed to herself. “I should think this fool uniquely blessed.”

Steia chewed on her lip. “I...Oh! Wait! You can simply return to Hydaelyn with me.”

Drassa grinned. “Assuming you can return as well, indeed I could!” She nodded, then shook her head. “But I will not.” She patted Steia’s shoulder. “No, I made up my mind ere I came here, and come to terms with my path. Already have I said my ‘farewells’ to those that might care to hear it.”

Drassa took Steia’s hands in her own. “And what of you? Do you make your peace with your loved ones ere you came here?”

Steia’s breath caught in her throat. “I...no. I did not really have time to think it over, and merely told them I was going away.” She chewed on her lips, mulling over the significance of this. After all, she had planned to return, but would she? “Oh...oh.... If I do not make a mirror of you first, what will happen to me?”

Drassa gave Steia’s hands a little squeeze. “You know the answer to that. So, again...are you not tired, too?”

#short #melodia #huntsman lavada #aspen allspice #tw: suicide

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vaguely-concerned · 5 years

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empire of ivory here we go!

previous temeraire let’s read here

- um excuuuuse me I have waited two books for us to come back home to britain to see everyone again and now everything is awful and shitty and scary and my fave is leaving and nothing’s how it should be??? no??? this is unfair??????

- tharkay NO please don’t go everything provably goes to hell whenever you leave D:D:D:

(to be fair to him I guess it’s understandable to want some time alone to process the absolute outrageous bullshit he just pulled for a guy he’s known for like four months)

he used his page time well tho; instantly convincing roland of his worth and making her laugh... giving laurence his cup of tea b/c he looked like he needed it more... telling laurence that he’s leaving because he promised to do that much at least... truly the best boy, off to fetch more dragons apparently because it wasn’t quite crazy enough the first time

- god I love jane roland, I’m so glad my two faves got along instantly, between them they could... maybe protect laurence from himself? at least a little??? I can but dream

- I think this is the most emotionally invested I’ve been in a piece of media since that time I spent a few months completely incoherent over uncharted, and naughty dog very kindly held my heart in their hands and chose to be gentle with it in the end but I am not so sure that is how it’s going to be for this series and I am Not Prepared for the suffering

- I love whenever laurence thinks uncomfortably about one of the various and sundry atrocities committed by the government he’s still pledged all his loyalty to. yes william maybe the british empire... is in fact not good and has enough blood on their hands to dye the ocean red. I can’t wait until he connects the dots here (and presumably has a pretty intense crisis if faith about it because it seems like one of the loadbearing structures of his character... actually no wait I’m not ready to see this D:D:D:)

- the little details like the fact that he just calls bb!roland ‘emily’ and harcourt becomes ‘catherine’ so easily in his narration now are so so sweet

- lord allendale is one of those dudes who have good politics but is a shitheel to his family and I want to smack him

laurence being the mortified poster boy of this party, though? priceless, imagine coming up with a protagonist this effortlessly involuntarily hilarious, it’s the mark of true genius

- I don’t usually quibble over things like this, but I think the edit for this fourth book specifically is a bit lacking? I’ve come across a lot of mistakes even my dumb ass can pick up on already, and I’m only a hundred pages or so in

- caught between crying and cackling at this part b/c like laurence I’m d e v a s t a t e d at the thought of temeraire getting sick but also temeraire is just like cheerfully getting laid the whole time

also how did none of the aviators think to give laurence The Talk about giving his dragon The Talk, you all know what he’s like

- oh thank god

- I have spent half of today crying about dragons coughing, how are you this fine evening good reader

- btw this series fills a hole in my soul left by jkr giving me all those tantalizing hints of different types of dragons in ‘fantastic beasts’ and never following up on it

- tharkay may not be here but laurence just mentioned him like once in his narration so let’s take the excuse to reminisce about the good old days (when tharkay was here)... remember that time when the one of his own jokes he laughed openly at was about lawyers and laurence frankly should have responded better b/c it was kind of funny and sadly temeraire doesn’t have the worldly experience to know it yet.... aaah precious, he truly is a sardonic blessing to my heart and deserves the world

okay back to our regularly scheduled content

- riley why u gotta b such a bitch about this

(I love how laurence is constantly doubting himself over this tho, as if he’s done something wrong in this situation... like honey baby if there’s one thing worth breaking a friendship over it’s probably them being cool with slavery lol. it shows how much laurence has grown, considering that this disagreement has always existed between them but he used to be willing to just overlook it... I’m so proud of you laurence)

also lol @ berkely coming in to tell them everyone can hear them, I have a desperately soft spot for him and maximus. just the image of both of them turning to him ‘united in appalled indignation’ like ‘excuse you???’ and him giving exactly zero fucks... *chef kiss emoji*

- most important information revealed in this book: a) dragons are not widely considered to have committed original sin, thank you reverend erasmus and b) laurence has taken time out of his day at some point to worry about it b/c he’s a dork

(this is the sort of world building I am hopelessly weak to lol)

- gong su tricking temeraire into eating in the most melodramatic way possible... god bless you chef

- fkjhsadkjfhsdkjalhfaskjldhf laurence judging chenery for what he’s wearing while going out into the jungle in full uniform hat included himself... I caaaaan’t

- demane has only appeared on three pages so far but if anything happens to him I’ll kill everyone in this book and then myself

- ‘average dragon speaks one million languages’ factoid actualy statistical error. Temeraire Linguist Georg, who wants a pavilion thank you very much & learns over 10,000 languages each day, is an outlier adn should not have been counted <3<3<3

(I love that temeraire is like... a nerd dragon with a hopelessly jock captain)

- laurence effortlessly rating the relative hotness of the other male aviators to try to suss out who harcourt has slept with fjsaldfhsdkljafh do you ever hear yourself think william

like this is the thing about him it’s so easy to headcanon him as bi b/c he can be so mindbogglingly oblivious it’s entirely possible he literally wouldn’t even have noticed until someone smacked him over the head with it

- see I’m very happy they found the cure but I don’t fucking trust it b/c the pattern of these books tends to be to give you one moment of ‘oh phew everything is going to be okay’ about 2/3 into the story and THEN everything goes to hell and fifty pages later laurence is dissociating and napoleon has conquered prussia

- THERE WE GO RIGHT ON SCHEDULE

temeraire is never going to let laurence go anywhere without him again and rightly so

- hasn’t mrs erasmus been through enough. can’t she just be allowed to chill

- this is really cool world building but I’m too stressed out to appreciate it

really enjoy the description of architecture tho this sounds so awesome

- sfahdfklsahdfksjda laurence making sure his clothes are as washed and presentable as possible... I can’t with you you beautiful idiot

- TEMERAIRE OH MY GOD IS HE HERE IS LAURENCE HALLUCINATING PLS SAY HE’S ACTUALLY HERE

- ...well I mean if anyone has a freudian excuse for being kind of dickish I guess it would be these guys? it’s actually pretty chill of them to only flog one of them (laurence, because he just can’t play it any way but stupid lawful good at every turn) and not just killing them all I guess, they kept them fed and stuff

- oh thank god

- temeraire you are the most darling dragon boy and I love you

I was really really worried for a moment there that the reference to the Colosseum was a not-so-subtle hint they would have to gladiator fight to the death but thankfully they were basically just calling in a parliament

- DID THIS MOTHERFUCKER JUST STAB A CHILD IN THE STOMACH?? I HOPE HE ACCIDENTALLY SHOOTS HIMSELF IN THE DICK AND DIES pls say demane is going to be okay

- aw okay finally something good for mrs erasmus I will take it

- laurence you useless fool of a narrator is demane okay??

- god roland is just so cool naomi novik really gave us a jovial butch silver fox aviator lady huh... she did that for us and I for one am full of gratitude

- oh thank GOD (hm I sense a running theme here lol) the kid is going to be okay I can breathe again

- iskierka the pirate captain + temeraire’s reaction... perfect

- ;____________; I would lay down my life for temeraire and also that’s a gutpunch of a moodswing... the perfect hilarity of ‘that is an ugly hill’ immediately followed by That... jesus

- awww every time volly shows up again is a joy (temrer!!!)

- laurence... laurence you need to stop asking people to marry you because you never actually really fucking mean it!!!!! have you learned nothing about yourself since book 1, trust your goddamn instincts for once in your life you and roland have been doing perfectly okay thus far as like... affectionate fuckbuddies right?

(her reaction was priceless tho god bless)

- aaaah there we go the british government is looking more like itself... welcome to the world of realpolitik laurence I’m really sorry :(

- “It is only dragons, you know” JANE ROLAND WTF DID YOU JUST SAY

- “This government is not of my party; my king is ill and mad; but still I am his subject. You have sworn no oath, but I have.” He paused. “I have given my word.”

:) this is... fine

(like. I know this is necessary character growth and he’s basically been a waste of a good man in service to a government like this the whole time and the writing’s been on the wall since book 1 but I don’t want this to be happening to hiiiiim)

- tfw... ur dragon boi is so good... that being anything less than good for him in turn is unthinkable...................... b o i

- ...jane doesn’t really know him very well if she didn’t see this coming from a mile off tho does she

I mean I guess she has other stuff to think about but this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone

- remember when he thought the entire corps was weird and now he’s finally at home there... and has to leave it behind :):):) super extra fine is what this is

- yeah okay laurence definitely has a crush on ol’ bonaparte noting that down lol he’s all but blushing after that kiss on the cheek

also... if you just overlook the dictator thing for a moment is napoleon wrong about what he’s saying tho. (no and not even laurence is prepared to say so he’s just going to go back there and get murdered anyway b/c idk lawful good is dumb as fuck sometimes I guess)

It’s really cool how the author shows that napoleon has a better handle on laurence’s psychology after barely meeting him than a lot of people he’s known for years now, though, really adds to his menace and appeal as a character

- wow uh that’s one way to end a book... it’s actually tipped over from tragedy into a strange sort of hilarity for me now: he literally got sued out of his life’s earnings for being a decent human being, committed treason for the same reason and is about to be hanged for thinking genocide might have been a step too far -- in the span of thirty pages. I believe ‘that escalated quickly’ is not too much of an exaggeration here

- SIPHO IS GONNA WRITE BOOKS ONE DAY YOU GUYS!!!! I PROUDLY WELCOME OUR SECOND NERD TO THE CREW

- I think this one might be my least favorite so far? not that I disliked it, it’s just the one that’s hit the worst by the fact that there’s not always that much time spent with the cultures central to the book; tswana seems really interesting but because of the way the plot played out and our limited perspective though laurence it just didn’t work for me? the cool shit comes in sipho’s book at the end, like how thoroughly they kicked the europeans out of the coast of africa, which is very cathartic (I will say that most of the second book being set on the ship and then only a sliver of it is actually in china annoyed me too haha)

I have the distinct feeling this book is setting up for some Misery and breaking of the pattern a bit in the next one though, which will be interesting! ONWARDS TO MORE PAIN AND LAURENCE IS ALREADY PASSIVELY SUICIDAL FROM THE OUTSET SO LIKE... I’M SURE THIS WILL BE REAL FUN :)

maybe my boy will be back tho? silver linings silver linings clinging to some silver linings

#temeraire #empire of ivory #meta

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calliecat93 · 3 years

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ST: TNG S6 Watchthrough Episodes 2-5

Realm of Fear: Barclay’s back! So this time, our favorite anxious officer is dealing with a fear of transporters. Oh good, it’s not just a trait unique to the CMO’s! But seriously, I fully understand Barclay’s (and by proxy McCoy and Pulaski’s) fear of the things though especially with all the incidents we’ve seen with transporters in both series. I mean just a few episodes ago Geordi and Ro essentially became ghosts! But hey Barclay can eventually go through with it… but during the beam back, he sees some kind of lifeform within it. The poor man just cannot catch a break in any of these episodes! He’s convinced that he’s losing it and may have transporter psychosis, a condition that essentially causes hallucinations. Which him asking the computer about it… wow THAT scene aged incredibly well cause let’s face it, we’ve ALL read medical descriptions online and jumped to the conclusion that we had a serious illness without any actual professional conformation. It honestly makes the episode insanely relatable with Barclay’s anxiety, fearing that he has some kind of serious condition, trying to deal with the issue without seeking help which just makes it worst, and just being a walking bundle of nerves… well, more than usual. I… was actually in such a state not too long ago and am lucky to have a therapist mother who calmed me down, so needless to say he hit me like a lead balloon. I do like that once Barclay does come forward about it, the others take it seriously. Picard even notes that considering everything else, a lifeform in the transporter beam is very much a plausible problem that should be looked into. So I guess the lesson here is that if you’re concerned about something or fear that something is wrong with you, get help. But yeah, good episode! I think it’s my favorite Barclay episode~! Plus he got to save the day in the end, good job buddy~! 3.5/5.

Man of the People: Troi is in love… again. Okay, not that I’m against romance, but do we have to do this as frequently as ST does it when we know it’s not gonna last?! Anyways, we have a negotiator, Alkar, and his elderly, very overprotective mother. Troi and Alkar start flirting… but then the mother dies, and Troi begins undergoing some changes. Not only is she becoming more rapidly negative, possessive and clingy towards Alkar, and outright violent, but she starts aging rapidly. It’s pretty much the aging disease from Unnatural Selection combined with the plot of Violations. So yeah, it’s another ’victimize Troi’ plot because we were just dying for more of that! Seriously, can the show just be nice to her already?! But yeah, Alkar is horrible. The reason Troi is acting this way is because he transmitted his negative emotions into her just like he did his ‘mother’ (who is actually a woman he previously did this to) and comes off just as horrid as the bad guy in Violations. While I hate how they keep doing crap like this to Troi, it is disturbing to see her act so completely unlike herself. She’s usually such a nice, comforting, cheerful person and to see her so spiteful, mean-spirited, and vicious even towards her patients is just… so wrong. Fortunately, Alkar got what was coming to him and Crusher manages to save Troi, which thank goodness that they allowed Crusher to be awesome at least. The episode is overall fine. It certainly freaked me out and there’s a message in there about monsters like Alkar who seem all nice but is actually a terrible person who has killed multiple women. That’s certainly still relevant and Picard calling Alkar out is very satisfying especially when he tries using the greater good as an excuse. It’s what helps me not rate this lower than I do… I just wish that they’d quit using Troi as the designated victim and just treat her better whenever she’s in focus. She deserves better. 3/5.

Relics: IT’S SCOTTY! OH MY GOD!!! So Scotty ended up stuck in a transport beam for 75 years... yes, really. But yeah, the TNG crew bring him out of it so he gets to see the Enterprise-D. It’s actually kinda nice since Spock’s guest appearance keeps him on Romulus and while McCoy did go onto the ship (or at least to Sickbay) in his cameo, that was off-screen... kinda sucks that he only got two minutes while Scotty got a full episode and Spock a two-parter tbh. Ah well. There’s also a continuity error cause Scotty assumed that Kirk sent the Enterprise after him... even though he knows that Kirk ‘died’ cause he was there when it happened in Generations. I guess tbf that hadn’t been planned yet and we can just say his brain is scrambled from being in a transporter beam for 70+ years, but still. Because of those said 70+ years, Scotty is completely out of touch with the changed times, and his engineering expertise and knowledge are decades out of date. It’s really just… sad. He wants to help and tries to get used to the way things are, but you can tell that he’s having a hard time with it. He feels like… well, a relic of the past. Especially when he goes into the Holodeck and brings up the image of the TOS Bridge and they used the TOS score, that was just… damn. Seeing it but it being utterly empty as Scotty wanders around and toasts to his old friends, just perfect execution. Heck seeing Picard on the TOS bridge was such a nice image~! This was such a joy to watch. I know that James Doohan had probably just come off The Undiscovered Country so getting back into Scotty likely wasn't hard, but still. He got much, much more than he ever did in either the show or the films tbh and he did an excellent job and I just feel so bad for Scotty throughout. Thankfully he got to prove that he’s very much still got it and a renewed sense of worth, free to explore the galaxy. His interaxtions with geordi were also good and truly feels like a nice, long overdue pasisng the torch moment that Geordi deserved. It was such a great episode and f was so respectful towards TOS as well, showing that despite its age, it is very much still valuable. That is the kind of respect that I appreciate in reboots/spin-offs so thank you TNG. 5/5.

Schisms: Riker is having sleep problems. He can’t fall asleep at night, falls asleep at impromptu times, and still feels tired afterward. It’s okay buddy, I go through that constantly. But more strangeness happens as incidents like Geordi’s VISOR shorting out occurs and many of the crew find that they have an hour gap in their memories, including Data. So what’s going on? As it turns out… alien abduction. Yes, really. Various crew members have been captured/tested by aliens and poofed back as though nothing happened, but with repressed memories such as laying on a surgical table. It kind of reminds me of Conspiracy where we have an alien race plotting who knows what and we get no real resolution concerning them in the end, though like with that one I think that the ambiguousness actually makes the whole thing scarier. Oh and we also don’t have the possession plot and the graphic bits. So it was overall good. Freaky for sure especially with reveals like Riker’s arm got amputated then reattached and he can’t remember any of it. Not much else to say tbh other than that it’s solid. Also loved Data’s poetry, you keep expressing yourself and your love for your cat buddy~! 3/5.

#st watchthrough

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glorilian · 6 years

Note

I gather from your test posts that you're coding this yourself? o: Where did you learn it?

Yes. Or partially yes?Well, when I was younger - and it was been cca 8 years ago, I think? - I had a little blog to which I was making designs via CSS and HTML. It was hobby. Those were my self-taught coding starts. But then I stopped and just now I returned to it because I was nudged/talked into creating my own Tumblr. Well, that was… in Friday I think? So, during the weekend and the following Monday (3 days) I basically did diy self-taught crash course into Tumblr coding. I was… quite rusty after all those years not touching CSS etc.

For start, when you want to do your own theme, Tumblr has this helpfully unhelpful (?) page (link: https://www.tumblr.com/docs/en/custom themes) containing basic codes or HTML Tumblr tags, but also - and this *was* helpful - there is banner-link that will redirect you to GA Dash site, which was very helpful in my initial quest to even recall again what I (more then half-) forgot. The first four parts (from 5 in total - including the robot part) were wonderful in relearning old things but also new things. After all HTML and CSS evolves and… I admit I am bit astounded what now is possible to do with just pure codes (I mean I did not use any pictures/images while doing this blue theme - all those gradients, (half-)transparent parts would be impossible to do for me before without using external pictures). It is just wonderful. I love gradients, rgba, opacity and, oh my, z-index. I want to make loooove to them. Hhhhh. Oh, and let’s not forget those Google fonts.

But, ok, step by step guide how I learned (partially) to code Tumblr. – that GA Dash page is lovely in teaching you the barest basics (HTML structure…) – then comes the fun part. What I basically did was selecting the most basic theme that Tumblr offers you and…. I just utilized my oldest, but working, method of TRIAL AND ERROR. That is, you look at the Tumblr basic pre-installed code, you look at your page-Tumblr how it looks and… then you start playing with it: you change it here and there and look what it affects. I first had to learn *what is what*, so I changed part by part the background-color to see/learn what CSS code affects which part in Tumblr. Because I am Neanderthal I did this learning part directly in the HTML Tumblr editor. *sigh*. I recommend you to do this right in your browser. It’s faster, more comfortable, better, it let’s you see side by side which part in HTML is tied to which part in CSS. (because in that HTML editor, there are only parts of CSS visible, the rest is hidden in… idk, somewhere. But this browser tool will let you see the whole CSS code). I did it in Mozilla Firefox, I looked at the code in Chrome too. You just load your Tumblr, then you right-click somewhere on the page (or! You can select just one part, eg. highlight the title+description and then right-click on it) and then from the menu (or idk how to call it) that appears you pick (I think second option from bottom) to *Inspect Element*. (Here link what I mean for mozilla: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Tools/Page_Inspector/How_to/Open_the_Inspector).It’s absolutely wonderful tool. It helps you in learning soooo much. You just inspect the page and… when you change something (by hiding/showing, deleting, rewriting, adding…) it immediately directly affects the loaded page(Tumblr). You can also look at someone else Tumblr and *spy* their coding…

So… that’s how I (partially) learned Tumblr coding. I say partially, because (if I discount few HTML changes here and there right in “body” part of the HTML code) all I did was just working in the “style” part of HTML. What I am trying to say is that I changed primarily only the CSS part = how my Tumblr *looks* and not the html/script (jQuery) part (how it *works*, what parts your Tumblr even *have*, diverse moving effects, etc). I practically (nearly) only changed what already was there.

Still. It’s not done. I would say it’s finished only by… 60% (? 65? max 70% if I am generous). I need to adjust the reblogs part, I have certain (uncertain) hopes that I will manage to force my Tumblr to show posting dates (in posts-header even? Maybe?), iframe mystifies me (I mean he refuses to obey my directives), I have to go back and clean my code (CSS part) and most importantly I still have to do the *for phones/tablets* part of CSS. Because as it is, my Tumblr is unusable on mobile devices. (Go look on your smartphone if you want - you will immediately know what I mean.)

Ah. Eh. Bit… looooong response to your ask? Sorry? (That’s typical me… it’s as if brevity would kill me or something…). :D

Right. I will wrap it up with this: *If you want to just change the looks of your Tumblr, it really is not so hard. Start easy. Use some pre-made working theme that works (for it’s HTML “body” and “script” parts and metas) and start slowly, easily… just changing what is already there… CSS is like… painting? It tells you “I want THIS to be positioned HERE and THAT to be located THERE. And I also want it to look like THIS.* :D

Was I helpful??? At least bit? :D

#Asks & Answers #Tumblr design #CSS/HTML

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cutegirlmayra · 7 years

Text

Commission Rules and Prices!

I reserve the right to change these rules when I see fit, check here often before purchasing. So there you have it!

I enjoy writing, but I do have my limits and standards. Here they are! just so you’re more aware :) I will be enforcing these.

PLEASE NOTE THESE ARE JUST OPTIONS - You can still ask for prompts and asks, free advice, and what not. This is just if you want something more with it. :)

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Summary: Basically, what you’re about to read in spark notes.

- Based on the amount you wish to pay, I message you and ask for details about the story and how many pages your payment will give me for a minimum number. (I usually like to give more pages X3 My gift to you!) For example, 8$ will give you about 20 as a limit, 20$ could get you about 60 or so minimum pages. (This example is for a short story purchase)

- You can request updates to see how the story is going. If it’s an Original Character, I will ask for bios and references. Please detail the story you want and allow me to message you if I have any questions regarding the story. (For example: Can your character do this? What kind of genres are you looking for? etc.)

- Lastly, where do I send the finished product too? Email? Tumblr submission box? You get the Rough Draft and have One Edit request after that. List out the things you may want changed, grammar or spelling errors (Though you have the right to change those if that’s all it is.), and I’ll happily take it back and rework any scenes for you! After that, I will write up your receipt and post it to tumblr with your details, review, and (if you consent to your product being advertised.) a preview of the product for others to enjoy! If you post it anywhere, I would like a link and you are required to keep a link to me or my name upon the document, stating something like, “Cutegirlmayra -link- wrote this for me! Please enjoy and support her work!” or something along those lines. In other words, just credit me please. :)b

Now, on to the specific things! Commission Receipts and Rules are below for your viewing pleasure!

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! ! ! ! PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING BEFORE PURCHASES: (x) ! ! ! ! ! !

They are important rules that govern my writing!

Why, thank you for reading them. Now that you’re back-- A small recap and some extra tidbits for Purchases only.

First, would you like to see some of my works before purchases?

Here you go! (x) These are all my Commission Receipts! Some have previews of the stories written for them :) Feel free to choose if this is something you’d be interested in!

Now, on to the extra explanations of rules specific to Commission Purchases!

Rule 1:

- Nothing weird or too out there. (I uphold right to make my own decisions on if something is too strange for me.) Again, contact me if you have specific questions before purchases. (*No refunds. So be careful and ask me first!!)

Rule 2:

- If it’s something I’m not familiar with I’ll have to decline UNLESS it’s an Original Character or Story concept. Then I will ask for a reference, bio, etc. to make sure I adequately understand. If it’s not fanfiction, I need lots of description of your characters and some lines to get a feel for who they are or how you want them to be portrayed. Please put a well put description of the main plot key-points you may desire or at least a fully developed concept for me to go off of. (We can also just chill and talk to each other, I may ask some simple questions about what you want. No big deal ;)b )

Rule 3:

- All writings need some description for them, as in, what you would like. We can discuss that over chat or messages. Keep everything together and all in one request, not a few requests that are all connected please, cause it can get confusing and messy. (In other words, one purchase/story at a time! :Db) I uphold the right to deny any requests if I feel violate a rule in any way, but I can work with you to make whatever you’d like work within my range. But again, we can talk about it, or I can message you if I have questions. :)

Rule 4:

- For stories you pay for, I will accept appropriate pictures of either characters or the story you want to be based around your image. Remember to leave some description for me of what you would like or at least some references/bios. I will not post all my works to my sites if I don’t want too, so no requests to advertise your works that way. (But I usually do post a receipt, if you’d like that :)c it shows off my work.)

Rule 5:

- There are no Refunds or Cancelations. If you are dissatisfied with the story given, you have a chance to ask for edits upon receiving the Rough Draft. I can revise it if you kindly contact me and I’ll give you the changes you require. This will only happen upon the first time you ask for a redo on one purchase at a time. Meaning that I will take my work back for revisions that you have asked for, then return it to you and nothing more. If you have a separate purchase that has not been through that process yet, and you desire its revision, I can work with you on that. But I will not revise a work more than once, so make sure you please list out kindly the changes you would like before asking me to revise it. (*Orders Due Dates require patience due to life circumstances but I can offer status updates If you’d like to keep tabs on where I am with the story :). If there’s a delay I’ll message you and I might even send you half the unfinished work so you may have evidence to see it’s being worked on.)

Rule 6:

- You may submit my works but only with credit given to me by linking people to my websites, and mentioning I wrote it with your idea in mind, on the page where you posted the work or other but it must be attached with the product. (In other words, credit me! ;Db) I don’t require permission for this, but I would be very happy if you sent me a link where you posted it. I enjoy seeing happy smiles and people appreciating my works. You may edit for grammar and spelling only, all other edits must be done by me through my revise.

Prices:

$1 - Priority-Prompt: Do you like my prompts I do on here? Tired of waiting in line? Get this! You can push yourself up to the top of the list! Your prompt is now immediate and written specifically for you! (Includes Otps or OCs.)

Consisting of your paragraph of description involving a story concept and moment you desire. (Please include where to send the finished product within your purchase. Tumblr, Email..? Etc.) Includes characters you wish and what you would like from the prompt’s outcome. (If you so desire to include all these things) I will then deliver a summarized plot idea with a more detailed moment through my creative freedoms to write a satisfying conclusion if one is so desired. This purchase makes your prompt my priority to finish first. The length will be 6-9 pages minimum, but if I write you more, will you complain? Haha! This purchase does include Art-Prompt trades (Consisting of including an image with your request, all images must have a link to the original artists with added permission from them provided.)

$15-$60 (Your Choice) – Short Story – This is the most fun! We discuss the price you’re willing to pay, I then calculate (15 - 20-30 pages, 30 - 40-50 pages, 45 - 50-60, 60 - 70-80 pages, etc.) how many pages that would give your story, then you tell me exactly what you want and I send updates to let you know how your full-on story is going! (Includes OCs and OTPs)

This includes your description of a short-story with plot details you so desire, characters, and overall themes. Please include if I have artistic freedom in how you want it to be portrayed and executed. If not, please detail each thing you may desire, I will do my best, but I may change some details in hopes to surprise you or make the scene better. If this is not allowed, please mention it in the purchase. According to how far I can take your idea, I uphold the right to give you more for your money if I’m enjoying myself, lol! Once again, if there is a picture provided for, there must be a link and artists permission before I use it, and please inform me where to send the finished product, -Tumblr, Email?- Thank you!)

Your freedom (according to rules) of whatever you wish in a story, including what you will and free communication with me as well as sending you small portions of what I’m writing to make sure you like it. (Which would exclude any request for revision so be forewarned) This includes both prompts or one-shots, and you are allowed to ask for writing advice, I do not mind. ^^ (This purchase will include stories with these prices to pages ratio or more if I so desire to give you more for your money. you’ll have communications with me personally and updates as you wish them.)

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(You can message me before making a purchase if you have any questions for clarity and other such things :) )

This doesn’t mean I won’t be making prompts on tumblr! It simply means if you want one of these things, you can get it! :D Otherwise, you wait in line and I do whatever I please with your prompt request on here :) but this is more ‘specialized’ for those who may want these services ;)

If you want to support this blog instead of commissioning, donating a dollar can also be very generous! (x) Much obliged :’)

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sanguinarysanguinity · 7 years

Note

rabbit & like a bat family, for the ask meme, whichever questions you feel comfortable answering

(Questions)

Like a Bat-Family

(Elementary; Martha & Kitty & Joan & Sherlock; part of Rolling Remix)

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

I received my copy of “Like Family” for remixing and groused and whined and cursed its author, because like hell did I see a way into it. The obvious thing would have been to flip the pov to Kitty, but “Like Family” might already have been a pov-flip from whatever came before it and I didn’t want to risk just flipping it back again.

I finally decided on a slumber-party-like variation of the mutual nail-painting, probably featuring Martha. Then once I had Martha and Kitty in the same mental premise, I realized they had probably built some kind of relationship during their mutual time in the brownstone, and thus that Martha should be added to the list of people cheated of a proper good-bye with her. (And not just cheated of a good-bye, but of the entire history of their relationship!) So this became a reunion/closure story for not only Joan-and-Kitty, but also Martha-and-Kitty.

I set it during New Year’s at the brownstone mostly out of cussedness. I’d already remixed a story for the exchange, which meant I knew there was a cluster of NYE stories at the beginning of the chain. I thought it’d be hilarious to re-introduce the New Year’s theme at the tail end of the chain, too, in the hopes that it would mess up some of the guessers.

2: What scene did you first put down?

A scene that no longer exists: Joan on the roof New Year’s morning, ostensibly cleaning up after the party but mostly staring at the river, and being surprised by Kitty’s entrance. The energy was never quite right, somehow, and the whole story stalled there until I switched povs and began over with Martha. However, the scene still indirectly exists in the current version of the story, and the original image of Kitty appearing from nowhere like Batman was the genesis of the Bat-Family motif.

The only part of that now-deleted scene that I was really sad to lose was the color scheme:

[Joan stood at the roof edge, looking out at] the desaturated, wintry grays of the city, contemplating the rough slate of the East River and how it reflected back the platinum sky above.

Happily, I was able to salvage the bones of that description for Nostoi:

Beyond that streak of white, there was nothing but grey all around us: sky and rain and sea-water; iron and silver and slate.

3: What’s your favorite line of narration?

Joan and Sherlock argued silently with each other, a flurry of mulish mouths, jutted jaws, and raised eyebrows.

4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

“Alfred,” she whispered, and all three of them cracked up into giggles.

5: What part was hardest to write?

Ugh, gah, cramming in the backstory and off-screen bits. Backstory and flashbacks are always a struggle to incorporate smoothly without overexplaining or messing up the narrative flow, and this story was written so quickly, with so little opportunity for editing… Meh.

6: What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics?

My first and only story from the pov of a trans character? More unusually, I didn’t have the time to ask someone who is trans to look it over – that’s usually something that I take care to do when writing a marginalized identity outside of my own experience. But once again, the turn around time was so fast… I hope I did no harm, and I own it if I did.

9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic?

I was going to bring back Joan’s accordion from the first two stories, which – when joined with Kitty’s clarinet and Sherlock’s violin – would be the foundations of a Klezmer band. (Martha would be on drums, because.) When I later saw that someone in the exchange had written a Band AU I kicked myself so hard that I hadn’t done it.

Rabbit

(TSCC; Jesse Flores; 5+1)

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

The Terminator franchise centers itself so strongly on Southern California and the Connors, I craved to know what that franchise looks like if you don’t presuppose John Connor as the center of the universe. Further, I am fascinated with the way the timelines fold back on themselves in that franchise, the way Judgement Day is forever shifting, the way futures keep reaching back to rewrite the past-to-be based on whatever has been going on in the current timeline.

A 5+1 seemed a convenient way to explore what successive futures might look like when one is half a world away from the causes, experiencing only the after-effects; it also allowed me to build an argument that John Connor may not always be the single most important person in the future. That is, that there might be futures where other people become more strategically significant.

I also had the very misguided idea that a 5+1 would be a short, simple, and easy structure, and would get me out of having to build and plot a full-blown story. Ha fucking hah.

3: What’s your favorite line of narration?

There are a ton of narrative lines I love, mostly in the final section. But have this one out of the fifth section:

Jesse stared at the farmboy, her gaze flicking to where the dolphins should have been on his chest. Jesus Fucking Christ. A whole crew of nubs. They were running a deathtrap.

4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

“You are not a god, Derek. You made choices, I made choices, John Connor made choices. We all made choices. Hell, there’s a twelve-year-old Jesse out there somewhere, making choices. Whether to swim at the leisure centre or swim at the beach. For all you know, the war hinges on the choice she made today.”

Tied with:

“What do you want me to say, that it could have been anyone? That the only reason Skynet went after you—the only reason your family died—is because Goodnow tells a good story and Skynet fell for it?”

Because I have opinions about the Terminator franchise, and how everyone is running around making choices based on stories they were told. Skynet, the Connors, everyone from the future who gets their hands on a time machine, everyone they meet in the past: everyone has heard a story, and now they’re all making choices, and the entire future history of the world is gonna hinge on those choices. Talk about a universe that runs on fucking hearsay and gossip.

But mostly my favorite line is this:

“I’m Jesse!” she screamed at it, to make herself breathe. “I’m Jesse fucking Flores!”

Because Jesse fucking Flores. :-D

5: What part was hardest to write?

All the Australia bits. :-P

@lastwingedthing put in a good chunk of work on this story, correcting language and helping me with geographically appropriate choices for stuff. (That olive tree in the first section began life as a prickly pear, which is invasive in Australia – I wanted an invasive plant for thematic reasons – but it’s invasive in a different part of Australia.) However, the challenge with writing something that will later be Ozpicked (or Britpicked, or whatever) is that it’s not enough to eschew Americanisms in your draft, you have to put in geographically specific stuff, too, otherwise you’ll end up with a bland and non-specific story. And while a generous Ozpicker can and will help with that, you can’t expect them to do the bulk of that work for you.

For an example of what I’m talking about, consider my own The Case of the Six Marmalades against @scfrankles’ The Case of the Deceased Marmalade Thief: they’re nicely matched in terms of fandom, genre, and topic, and I consider Frankles a peer in terms of our respective skill. But notice that Frankles’ use of idiom in her dialog is much, much richer than my own (in part because she really is just that good with voices), but also in part because she’s English, and has a much larger mental catalog of appropriate idiom to select from. In contrast, I’m forever rejecting language as “too American” and then finding I have nothing interesting to replace it with. Consequently, my dialog has a linguistic blandness to it that hers doesn’t. This is the kind of thing I see a lot with American vs. British authors in British fandoms: the British authors have a vibrancy to them that American authors seldom manage to attain.

And this isn’t to run myself down, or to suggest that Six Marmalades is a failure of a story. (It’s not.) It’s simply an illustration of how it is with stories written by outsiders: even if they manage to eschew errors and stereotypes, they often end up with a generic, non-specific blandness that’s difficult to overcome. *shrug emoji* Either you never write outside your own specific cultural context, or you accept that you won’t manage the vibrancy that your story deserves. Choose your poison.

Anyway, back to Rabbit: I had to come up with Australia-specific stuff to put in, but I was starting from near zero. I watched all the Australian post-apoc films I could stomach; I played Australian talk and comedy shows in the background while I did chores; I listened to a series of Australian podcasts for English-language-learners during my commutes; I spent a fuckton of time browsing anAustralian slang dictionary (where I learned more usage via the crowdsourced definitions than in the nominal terms being defined)… Just, trying to pick up idioms and usage and rhythms and words, both to reduce the load on my very generous Ozpicker, but also trying to make sure that when she was done removing my Americanisms, my language didn’t end up blandly generic nowhere. (If nothing else, I could give her possibly-wrong Australian slang that she could correct to something more appropriate, yeah? And she did a bit of that: “yobbos” became “sad bastards,” for example.) So the language was a fair amount of up front work, even with her polishing and fine-tuning it for me.

And getting the Australian bits right was more than just language, of course; there was the usual ton of googling random shit. Who runs public swimming pools, the history and composition of the Australian submarine service, what plants are invasive, imports/exports from Perth… Again, she corrected and fine-tuned a bunch of stuff (and sometimes pointed out issues that I hadn’t thought to question), but there was still a chunk of work involved in giving her something that could be corrected and fine-tuned.

I wanted to set Rabbit in Australia, a place that is distinct from America, and that ultimately was the hardest part of writing the story.

6: What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics?

At the time, it was my only fic set in Australia, my only go at action/suspense, my only 5+1, my only “heroine against the world, framedaround a strong central metaphor, ending when the showdown begins in earnest” kind of story structure. I’ve since repeated all of those things, because I wrote this a long time ago, and I’m as repetitive as fuck.

As to what makes it still unique among my stories…

Um…

It’s the only one with submarines in?

8: Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?

I grew up in a Navy town, outside a nuclear submarine base, and one of the members in my origfic writing group served on a submarine, back in the day. So all the submarine stuff is strongly influenced by my hometown, the kids whose parents were in the Navy, my own dad who worked for the Navy, my schoolmates who went into the Navy themselves, the submariner who I dated when I was faaaaar too young for him (and the shit my dad pulled to scare him off), the tours I’ve taken on out-of-service submarines, the time I’ve spent fucking around in boats while sharing the same waters as submarines, plus all the time I’ve spent editing my friend’s submarine novels based on his own service.

None of which is actually the same as actually serving on a submarine myself, of course, but there are a number of submarine details that were inspired by spending a chunk of my life submarine-adjacent.

(Navy showers! My father enforced Navy showers on us when we were kids. Although not the same way that they’re enforced in the actual Navy, because that would have been child abuse. But you know. You run across random shit in your life, and it eventually ends up in a fic.)

#my writing #dvd commentary #rabbit #like a bat-family #long post #I'm waiting on beta for one story #and haven't started plotting the next #so I'm picking up this very-long-ago-prompt #as a palate cleanser #beanarie

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asiahgray-blog · 5 years

Text

Month 11: Presentation of Design Solution

A little different than the past course this course was about presentation not speaking physical but still presenting work in a professional manner. Reflecting on this course I want to speak on three takeaways and the importance

Takeaway 1:

Thesis presentation or any presentation is meant to Persuade the audience on the topic. In order to persuade them included the research and the facts as well as the design process and design solutions. Presentations are not meant for you to just talk about the work once it is done but instead the presentation should go over why and how steps were taken that lead to that final piece of work. Wanting to focus on branding knowing how to present a brand in Totality is something that has to be done even if it is only presenting it to a small business owner they have to know how and why things were chosen and why it is best for the brand's identity in the long run.

Takeaway 2:

With any presentation get to the argument don’t waste time explaining certain information unless someone asks a question about that specific thing. Assume that the audience already had the understanding of why it was important because more than likely the audience already has the jest of the topic you are going to be talking about. Often times you find yourself including useless information in order to take up time but that doesn’t make the presentation useless all the time. Using methods like CAST (content, audience, Story, and tell) will help bring a presentation together by using important information. This is something that can be used in the future because I am someone that is not always comfortable with doing presentation especially when I have to speak I often want to include useless information that everyone already knows just to take up space and time but understanding that getting to the argument is best and having the content to back up the argument is better and can make you master presenter. This will be useful because apart of working with brands is to present so if I am able to get the important information out there that supports the argument then this could Potentially get money for the brand or partnership for the brand whatever they are looking for.

Takeaway 3:

The portfolio speaks for you when you are not there. If people are looking at your portfolio and it is missing information, the work has errors, or anything that should not be there is there than you might not get a call back so it is important that you not only create a professional cohesive portfolio but include descriptions about the project and include captions for each image so that no matter who is viewing the portfolio that has no reason to question what was done and why. Never having done a professional portfolio before until recently I am one of those people that throw the best pieces of work together online and call it a portfolio but in reality it’s just a group of work thrown together that only shows I am able to do certain things but it doesn’t show that I have the ability to take direction or rationalize my work. Once graduating I want to really actively start looking for jobs in the media design field and apart of even getting an interview, they have to see a portfolio. The portfolio will be a good opportunity to show a few different skills I have like writing in a professional manner about the work done and also being able to produce a variety of work that shows different styles that I can do.

The course overall helped me understand how to do a presentation for different work that highlighted specific concepts. Also, the course helped with my writing I have always said that I am not the best writer I often get lost and have a lot of grammatical and syntax errors so whenever I get the chance to write as much as I might dislike it I am always ready to take on the challenge in order to better myself.

Reference:

Sykes, M., Malik, N., & West, M. D. (2012). Stories that Move Mountains: Storytelling and Visual Design for Persuasive. Retrieved from https://ce.safaribooksonline.com/book/communications/presentations/9781118423998

Before making my thesis presentation site wire firms were made to explore different layouts that best achieve balance and cohesiveness between the writing and the images.

Solving Problem page from thesis presentation site. This page is about how the research was conduct to find the problem in the chosen community and how was the problem solved.

The Acquiring Competencies page that talks about a new skill and program that I have learned during the journey of getting my MFA.

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syrupwit · 5 years

Text

Just Married Exchange 2019 Letter

WARNING: CONTAINS AVENGERS: ENDGAME SPOILERS

Hello, and welcome to my letter for Just Married Exchange 2019! Thank you very much for considering creating a fanwork for me. This letter is intended to provide optional details and potential inspiration; my primary intention in writing it is to make things easier for my assigned creator. If it’s not doing that for you, please feel free to disregard it.

My AO3 profile is here.

For this exchange, I’ve requested fic only for the following fandoms and pairings, divided into themed sections for ease of browsing:

Dishonored: Corvo Attano/Delilah Copperspoon, Delilah Copperspoon/Emily Kaldwin

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Peter Parker/Tony Stark, Peter Parker/2012!Tony Stark [Endgame spoilers]

The Umbrella Academy: Allison Hargreeves/Luther Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy/Vanya Hargreeves

DNW / DO NOT WANT

Hopeless or unremittingly dark endings

Rape/non-con

Underage sex

Non-canonical permanent major character death

Onscreen animal harm/death (referenced/implied nonspecific death is fine)

Onscreen child abuse (referenced/implied past abuse is fine)

Bestiality, necrophilia, scat, permanent non-canonical significant body modification

Characters in requested romantic ships being written as asexual/aromantic

Character or ship bashing

GENERAL LIKES

Humor: ludicrous/cracky premises treated seriously or unseriously; comedic action sequences; comedy of errors; hijinks; absurdity; gallows humor.

Romance: first times; get-together; pining; friends to lovers; enemies to lovers; UST; belligerent sexual tension; flirting, especially when one character doesn’t think the other is being serious; flirting in established relationships; possessiveness and jealousy without entitlement.

Action/Adventure: time travel; interdimensional/multiverse travel; escaping from captivity together; camaraderie, teamwork, unusual team-ups; missions/cases and snippets thereof; undercover as XYZ; identity porn; road trips of the terrestrial, extraterrestrial, aquatic, and supernatural varieties; space travel; visiting other planets; wilderness survival; climactic warehouse confrontations; wacky foes/locations/circumstances for battles; bar fights.

Smut: characters feeling overwhelmed; lots of emotions; awkwardness; praise kink; unexpectedly compatible; kink discovery/exploration; characters being really into their partner and/or what they’re doing and/or how into what they’re doing their partner is. I will read pretty much any kink besides my DNWs if the characters are jazzed about being together and doing the specific act(s).

Miscellany: atmosphere, mood, immediacy; character studies; missing moments; surrealism; slice of life; domesticity; appetizing descriptions of food; diners; carnivals; big scary buildings with tragic histories; mansions; abandoned mansions; secluded or remote locations; forests; beaches; holidays; seasons; weather; thunderstorms; getting caught in the rain.

DISHONORED

Corvo Attano/Delilah Copperspoon Delilah Copperspoon/Emily Kaldwin

Delilah! She's the best/worst. What if her coup in Dishonored 2 taken a slightly different approach? Alternately, what if she'd shown up earlier to claim the throne? I'm tickled by her creeping on Corvo as the Heart and her tension with both Corvo and Emily. I'm fine with UST or weird feelings/foe-yay instead of straight-up romance for both pairings.

Please note that I love these games + world/lore and am spoiled for everything.

Freeforms Requested:

Disastrously Incompatible Political Marriage: Because it so would be. How might future history books characterize a Corvo/Delilah or Delilah/Emily co-rulership? What about journalism of the day? How would they fare resolving problems in the empire? Diplomacy? Daily life? Or maybe they suck as co-rulers, but unexpectedly discover that they’re okay at fighting together or living an average life?

Disastrous Wedding Ceremony Everyone Will Gossip About For Years: PLEASE. How rushed or drawn-out was the wedding planning? Has one of them been trying to sabotage the ceremony with clashing decor choices, or perhaps with murder? ...Does the Outsider crash the reception?

Is my spouse trying to kill me | Someone's trying to kill me and I think it's my spouse: Grouped together for being thematically similar. I feel like Delilah is a more likely candidate for the role of spouse-attempting-murder, but I’m intrigued by the reverse as well.

Marriage is Interrupted by an Assassination Attempt and they Continue After they Take Care of Them | planned assassination during wedding night goes wrong: Again, grouped together for thematic similarities. Who hired the poor assassins? If Delilah or Corvo / Emily end up having to use their powers, how do they deal with the aftermath?

.[Buffer space for Endgame spoilers below!]

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE

Peter Parker/Tony Stark 2012!Tony Stark/Peter Parker

Wooooo! \m/ This is my MCU OTP at the moment. I adore their mutual importance to each other, their easy teamwork and camaraderie despite the age gap, and the potential for ANGST ANGST ANGST and pining as well as humor and fluff. I love stuff where they’ve been pining mutually and self-awarely for a long time, but also stuff where one or both parties don’t realize their feelings until XYZ catalyst forces them to.

Please note that my underage DNW does apply here, although UST and feelings/pining while Peter is underage are fine with me.

I'm totally down with Infinity War / Endgame compliance or canon divergence AUs (e.g., the universe where Thanos disappeared in 2014, AUs where they defeated Thanos in IW, Civil War was resolved without Tony recruiting Peter, etc.). Please feel free to run with the freeforms as-is, or check out the expansions and prompts below.

Freeforms Requested:

Accidental Travel to an Alternate Universe With an Unexpected Spouse | Permanently Transported To Alternate Universe Where They're Married To Person Who Is Dead In Theirs | Temporarily Transported To Alternate Universe Where They're Married To Person Who Is Dead In Theirs: I’m intrigued by the idea of Peter traveling to an alternate universe where he’s somehow married to Tony, but also by the idea of Tony -- post-IW Tony, perhaps -- stumbling on a world where he’s married to Peter, perhaps in the course of trying to reverse the Snap.

Trapped In Fake Perfect World That Includes Marriage They Don't Believe They Can Ever Really Have: Oh no! Who’s trapped? Who’s the fake perfect spouse? What compels the trapped party to give up the fake perfect world, and how difficult is it and why?

Always Married to Same Person When You Dream | Marriage within dreams becomes real: Is the dreamer pining, mourning, or experiencing a more complicated situation (e.g., a spell, meetings on the astral plane, meetings in a temporary afterlife, meetings in a space between universes, premonitions of a breach between universes, etc.)? I am very fond of dreams and surreality in fic, so I would love to see that sort of atmosphere incorporated too if it floats your boat.

Aliens Make Them Get Married: YESSSSS. Whatever the justification, I love this trope.

Characters Keep "Forgetting" to Annul Accidental Marriage | Series of Mishaps Prevent Annulment of Accidental Marriage: This seems like it could be hilarious. :D

Carried Over The Threshold: I just really like this image! Though I’m partial to Peter carrying Tony, the other way around appeals to me too.

.[Buffer space for Endgame spoilers above!]

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY

Allison Hargreeves/Luther Hargreeves

I will admit I wasn’t sold on Allison/Luther during my first viewing of the series, but subsequent viewings have decidedly awoken me to their charm. I’m super interested in the idea of an incongruously sweet connection arising from the fucked-up-ness of their upbringing, and in exploring how that connection carries over into their adult lives.

Allison became a superstar; Luther spent four years alone on the moon. How did they part, back when the siblings went their separate ways as young adults? Where was Luther during Allison’s wedding? How did Allison learn what happened to him? Did they keep in touch directly, or just hear about each other incidentally from the people they did maintain contact with?

If you can tell from the selected freeforms, I am here for tropey fluff and angst for this pairing. I also really like canon divergent AUs -- The Day That Wasn’t, handwavey “we averted the apocalypse after all” AUs, for want of a nail, etc. -- and futurefic. I enjoy Claire and would love to see her meet Luther. In general, though, I’d just like to explore these two more.

Note: I would prefer that any fic written for me in this exchange not focus more than briefly on the incest aspect of this pairing. Outsiders can be horrified that the adopted siblings are getting it on, but the Hargreeves children don’t seem to care a lot in-universe, and I’d like it to stay that way in fic.

Freeforms Requested:

Asking someone to be their witness

Character fantasizes about getting married

Crying With Happiness During Wedding

Wedding Fluff | Wedding Planning | Something Old Something New Something Borrowed Something Blue

Crashing a Wedding to Prevent a Bad Marriage | Crashing A Wedding So Character Can Marry One Of The Participants Instead | Objecting during the marriage ceremony

Road Trip Honeymoon | Road Trip to Marriage Ceremony

Trapped In Fake Perfect World That Includes Marriage They Don't Believe They Can Ever Really Have

Undercover as Married While Mutually Pining

Time Loop Can Only Be Ended Through Marriage

Number Five | The Boy/Vanya Hargreeves

So. Five is a dick to everyone, but he’s slightly less of a dick to Vanya. What’s up with that? Or: How close were they as kids, and how might they reconnect as adults?

I’m really interested in how a relationship might develop between these two in a future fic or canon divergence AU. Maybe Five only zapped forward in time for a little while, or was able to return at an earlier point in time than 2019? Maybe Vanya was able to learn to control her powers as a child and grew up as a participating member of the Academy? Maybe -- maybe! -- the siblings managed to avert the apocalypse, and they’re adjusting to life together in the aftermath? I don’t know! I’m interested in all kinds of things.

I love the idea of Vanya and Five as a battle couple or married coworkers, and of them getting together while on a case/mission. A while ago, someone on FFA brought up the idea of them undercover fake married in 1950s suburbia, and I am SO into that -- both the specific setting, and the concept of Five/Vanya going undercover as a fake married couple in various eras/locations.

Please be advised that my underage DNW includes Five having sex while in his younger body. UST is fine, but I’d like Five to physically be an adult for any sexual situations.

Freeforms Requested:

Blood-Splattered Wedding Dress

Fake Marriage Results in Surprise Real Feelings | Obviously Fake Marriage Leads To Third Party Realizing Their Feelings For Half the Couple

Pretending to be married to access information

Undercover as Married | Undercover as Married Leads to Unexpected Feelings | Undercover as Married While Mutually Pining

Honeymoon Heist | Road Trip Honeymoon | Working While on Your Honeymoon

Time Travel Backward To Fix The Past Also Results In Unexpectedly Getting Married

#optional detailed letters for exchanges tag

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term3itmedia · 5 years

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Progression of Video Game Design - Final Major Project Development (Year 1 - Weeks 21-32)

This is it. The final frontier. The last post of the year. The last 12 weeks of the project, which is how long I have spent on it.

Prior to this project, I have been preparing by practicing game design with both Unity and Game Maker Studio (see my Games Engines post to learn more about them), which mainly required me to improve my coding skills if I was going to make a game for my final major project, even though it was a 12-week process that could mean I barely make progress. But did I succeed in the end?

I don’t have videos of these games I made in my own time, but I do have pictures.

This is a home project I’m doing called Creak, which is a test to see how well I can create something like Minecraft/Terraria (games I really enjoy playing). I have learned a lot over this time, like how to use certain functions and storage mechanics.

This is another screenshot, which takes place in Creak’s space. There isn’t really anything interesting I can tell you about it as this part of the game has nothing exciting.

Anyway, onto my final major project progression and what happened during this time. I chose to do game design because that was my strongest suit this year, and I wanted to expand upon it.

Now, I don’t have many screenshots of what it is in this video, but I DO have video proof of me doing this project. Because all of the footage stuck together would be over 10 hours long, I decided to speed it up so it would be at least 10 minutes.

youtube

You will need to constantly refer back to this when I say “see the video”, since a lot of what I screenshot will mainly come from this video. And yes, this is my video.

The Beginning - Weeks 21-23

The beginning of the project involved me having to make assets, as I needed a lot of them at the time, because I couldn’t make a game without any base assets (there are default shapes in Unity, but those aren’t good since they lack textures). Because my game takes place in a city, I had to make many houses and other tall structures. This is the earliest screenshot I have of one of them. You can check my earliest post to know more about these buildings, as I have already discussed them in that post.

This is the end result. The detail didn’t really matter as it was going to be filtered red in the game, but was still needed just in case I couldn’t get it working.

I then created a scene with these buildings and added more elements (see the video), after which I decided to start on the final outcome itself, by creating a skybox and added lighting (see the video).

I decided to then start working on homing bullets, as those were going to be important in later additions. I created cubes that could be damaged and destroyed (no video or screenshot), and made a test level to test the behaviours of these objects. Unfortunately, I scrapped the homing bullet concept as the bullet never faced the right direction, even when told to via code (see Programming Languages post for more details about them). I deleted the test level shortly afterwards and got to work on guns (see the video at around 1:30 in).

Map Design and Testing - Weeks 24 - 27

This was the trickiest part of all, as that involved adding more objects and making sure everything worked properly. In this picture, you can see me watching a tutorial on YouTube, which I had to do multiple times to learn certain mechanics.

Overtime, I made more assets and practiced more at home with Unity. Eventually I got problems fixed and was free to move on with no interferences. However, upon adding this sniper rifle, disaster struck.

I stated in another post:

In the game, there is an option where you can choose the gun you want to use. Making this actually work correctly was a NIGHTMARE. I have added in the gun to layer on top of what was the placeholder gun (which has been kept for selection purposes and good use), and then I went into the script that handles the guns.

Following that, I have written code into the script that allowed the player to switch weapons. When I went to test it, the code did work, but not in the way I intended. What happened was that after I pressed the hotkey that makes it happen, the gun just disappeared and could never be seen again. The other gun didn’t even show up.

I went back to the script and wrote another method that involves the usage of other assets and scripts, but this time, BOTH guns could be seen and not switched. At this point, I’m pulling my hair out a little, and it has been one hour.

For 50 minutes after that, I was trying to get some help via the Internet and tutors, but nothing was successful, even the expert tutorials.

But then, I have realised. What the script does is that when the gun disappears, the other one doesn’t appear since the object isn’t active for long enough to tell it to be visible, hence the endless onslaught of headbanging fury.

So I took to a different asset that was visible all the time and ran some tests with the same script methods. After over two hours and losing count of the amount of times I wanted to cease the project entirely, it FINALLY worked. The guns were swapping perfectly. I followed my victory by loudly shouting “YES!” and having some time out to calm myself down. All I’m doing now is praying that I NEVER have to deal with a problem like that ever again.

I had spent 4 weeks on the project at the time, and this was the point where I almost gave up entirely. But after a calm break, I took back to work.

There were more assets that I made for the game which were originally going to be added, but they were scrapped due to time constraints and the problems which I had just solved at the time. One of the scrapped assets is actually one I have tried to implement, but failed:

This is the Spike Plate, a planned trap for certain areas. What it would have done was move back and forth, instantly kill the player upon contact and move when the player moves in front of it, like a sensor trap. I scrapped this idea as the instant kill technicalities didn’t work, and all it did upon collision was throw the player through the floor, rendering the game unplayable. This is no longer in the game’s files, but is still a Cinema 4D asset I have in storage.

During this time, I was also hunting for sound effects for my game, since I have no knowledge in designing sound effects from scratch. This will explain why some of the sound effects will seem familiar, since they came from Freesound and YouTube, and I tried to find similar sounds on Freesound than I did on YouTube, but they were worse than what I currently had, so I decided to keep them instead, such as this one:

youtube

I made the majority of the map over Easter break (see the video at about 3 minutes in). The minority was just missing textures, which I’m applying in these screenshots. In the second screenshot, you can see the first part of the last area. The very top (the fourth floor) is missing due to loading technicalities which I had to add, otherwise the game would likely crash due to memory overload.

Before, the reactors and cubes were just white with no textures. Here, they are the proper textures, which is a rough red with some noise. The stairs however, remain un-textured due to time constraints and the fact that I’m not really wanting to spend hours just texturing every single one of the steps (there are 10 sets of these, for the record).

After the testing and map design was done, I had to make the menus which appeared at the start and end of the game. This proved to be difficult to perfect as... firstly, this was my first time using an interactive button in Unity, and secondly, the text turned out very blurry (when opposed to the logo) upon compiling the game. To get around the second issue, I had to cheat a little bit. What you see in the picture below is the text on multiple UI (user-interface, learn more about that in my User Interface post) layers, but distanced in such a way that it would look perfectly clear (see the picture below the one below this text).

In short, making the menu was tricky and... would I do it again? Probably, since I know how to make one now.

Final Testing and Assembly - Weeks 28-32

After the menus were complete, I got a few of my classmates to try out the game for themselves and give opinions. The reception on this game was positive, however there were collision errors and ways around obstacles I didn’t know about, which were quickly fixed shortly afterwards.

After that, I had to build the game. This was done in the Build Settings in Unity, which required me to change up a few things for good performance.

There was a lot going through my head when I did this, but mostly I was just shaking my fist in victory for completing this project... well, not quite. There was still a few more things to do. Like, the controls sheet for when it is on public display, and a concept to what the game would look like if it was released on Steam, which is the world’s most popular online video game distributor.

I made this concept with both Photoshop and Google Chrome’s Inspect feature to edit text and certain parts, like the videos tab and the banner above the description. If you’re curious, here is the original image with only a changed title, release date and publishers:

Would I ever release the game on Steam? Well, putting a game on Steam is very expensive, so no. In fact, I probably wouldn’t even put it anywhere online.

After that was done, I had to do the Controls sheet.

Here is my first draft. You can see the game’s logo, the description and objective of the game and the main controls of the game. As you can also see, it is an A3 sheet when it should be A4, which I finished up with more changes, like making the “w a s d” controls all capitals, and changing the weird arrow text to drawn arrows.

So that is it. The entire process of making a game from start to finish in just 10 weeks, which is now described to you as incredibly hard work. Before this project, I was preparing for it. And it was worth the struggle, if I’m completely honest.

Now for the plan for the end of year show where all work goes up on display.

Throughout the entirety of this project, I’ve kept a spreadsheet of research I had to do, which helped me greatly:

And that’s the end. 12 weeks of working finally got me to this point. I honestly didn’t think I was ever going to finish this after all of the problems that I had with it, but then I’ve come to the conclusion that my game is more than just a game - it’s a reminder to never give up. Would I do this again? Maybe with something a little bit simpler and original, as this was very complicated and a little bit unoriginal (Only using a cube for a target? Walking around with guns and shooting everything down?).

Next time around I plan to put a lot less food on my plate so I can stop worrying night upon night of work, about error upon error needing a fix, drifting from tab to tab on the Internet filled with information that I need... it’s not as easy as you think, as you can see in the video.

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annasdesignblog-blog · 5 years

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Week 3 - The Industry

This week was all about researching the industry: careers, my options, awards, companies, etc.

I have first used the Prospects website, a site for all things job and career related (https://www.prospects.ac.uk/) to research the exact career within the creative industry that suits me best. After some reading, I am certain the role of Graphic Designer is what would suit me best. The other job options that were recommended for me as they directly applied to my degree were Animator, Production Designer and VFX Artist. However, I am not very interested in those. The reason I think that a Graphic Designer role is the most appropriate for me is because I fit all the qualities needed, have a lot of experience of the typical responsibilities described and are very interested in what the work involves. The full job profile can be viewed here, but I will highlight the key points I have found: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/graphic-designer.

“A graphic designer works on a variety of products and activities, such as websites, advertising, books, magazines, posters, computer games, product packaging, exhibitions and displays, corporate communications and corporate identity, i.e. giving organisations a visual brand. You'll work to a brief agreed with the client, creative director or account manager, and will develop appropriate creative ideas and concepts for the client's objectives. The work demands creative flair, up-to-date knowledge of industry software and a professional approach to time, costs and deadlines.”

Your typical responsibilities as a graphic designer include:

Meeting clients or account managers to discuss the business objectives and requirements of the job

Estimating the time required to complete a job and providing quotes for clients

Developing design briefs that suit the client's purpose

Thinking creatively to produce new ideas and concepts and developing interactive design

Using innovation to redefine a design brief within time and cost constraints

Presenting finalised ideas and concepts to clients or account managers

Working with a range of media, including computer-aided design (CAD), and keeping up to date with emerging technologies

Proofreading to produce accurate and high-quality work

Commissioning illustrators and photographers

Working as part of a team with printers, copywriters, photographers, stylists, illustrators, other designers, account executives, web developers and marketing specialists.”

I think I have proven to have be able to handle most of these responsibilities:

Developing design briefs - I have developed my own creative brief in a project last semester at university, where I created my own Japanese style restaurant and takeaway located in small villages and towns, enabling a variety of choice for a takeaway as it’s not just common Indian or Chinese restaurants and takeaways most know and are familiar with.

Thinking creatively – I always explore many options and alternative ideas before deciding on the final, and try to come up with concepts that haven’t been created previously.

Presenting finalised ideas and concepts – at the end of a project at university, a presentation is always involved, but this is also featured throughout the course and not just on final deadlines, so I have presented multiple times. Having a job currently that’s customer service based also means I have the confidence to present, as my job is based on talking to people.

Working with a range of media – I am comfortable using Adobe software, such as Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign as well as Microsoft Office, but I’m also very comfortable with sketching, painting, printmaking and collage.

Proofreading to produce accurate and high-quality work – my work almost never contains typographic mistakes, colour errors, etc. as I have a keen eye for detail. I can also work with a large quantity of text as seen in my university theory work such as the essays, and the lack of mistakes in them.

Working as part of a team – I have started working in groups on a brief for the first time last semester at university, and I’d say that this was successful as everyone participated, and I especially took care of meet ups to ensure everyone knew what they had to do and was up to date.

However, there are a couple of points stated that I have not had experience with yet, such as commissioning illustrators and photographers, estimating the time required to complete a job, providing quotes for clients, using innovation to redefine a design brief within time and cost constraints and meeting clients. I am not sure if I will have a chance to do these during my time at university as they are things done when working in a professional environment, however I’ll try to keep those in the back of my mind so I can be on the look-out and see if the opportunity to complete some of those appear.

I have next researched into more specific and detailed jobs related to a Graphic Designer using this blog, https://blog.printsome.com/graphic-design-jobs/, which explains all different branches a Graphic Designer could get into. The ones appealing to me the most are:

Marketing Graphic Design:

Marketing Exec – creating promotional materials, e.g. coupons or ads that show shoppers what the latest sales are

Branding designer – for a lot of really well-known companies, their branding is so strong that you can recognise one of their products instantly with a small piece of information (e.g. a specific colour)

Logo design – though it’s a niche, there are plenty of people whose entire job consists of creating logos. This is perfect for designers who love to spend a good time on the drawing board

Editorial Graphic Design:

Editorial design – coming up for designs for things like newspapers and magazines to get the perfect balance between images and text

Book editorial design – you can specialise even further and just focus on book cover design. These designers also work on supplementary materials to promote those titles

Layout artist – this is another niche of editorial design, meaning you only focus on layouts of print publications

I am unsure currently which out of these two I would prefer to take up as a career; if I were to apply for a job involving one of these roles with my portfolio as it currently is, I wouldn’t be able to apply for the editorial role as I don’t have many examples of editorial work – perhaps this is something I can work on.

Mentioning applying for jobs, I have used Design Jobs Board, a site dedicated for creative job adverts to view current roles being advertised. This website can be found here: https://www.designjobsboard.com/. This particular advert caught my attention the most:

This advert is for a Graphic Design Internship based in London; it is likely the type of roles I will be applying for after graduating. From the description, I think that this role would be ideal for me as it matches my skills and desires: eagerness to learn, humbleness, experience with Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, understanding of design, passionate, organised and sociable. The location of London relates back to my blog post from last week, with Keith advising that if you really want to be successful, moving to somewhere like London could be extremely beneficial due to the amount of creative jobs that are found there.

In addition, I came across this book at the library when researching various roles within the graphic design are; it’s all about how to become a graphic designer. The book is simply titled “Becoming a Graphic Designer: A Guide to Careers in Design”, and it’s written by Steven Heller & Teresa Fernandes. The book explains the different areas of graphic design and tells the reader what to expect from them and how to get the role you want by what is expected in your portfolio; this information is supported by interviews from famous designers such as Milton Glaser and Chip Kidd as well as contemporary ones. Here’s a small preview of what the book contained:

In the industry, it is common for designers to recognised for their work by receiving awards. The most significant award in the graphic design industry is the D&AD Award (https://www.dandad.org/en/d-ad-awards/), which comes in the iconic pencil shape. As the website describes, “The D&AD Awards have been around for 57 years. They stimulate and celebrate creative excellence in commercial creativity, annually inviting 250 of the world’s greatest creative practitioners to judge the year’s finest work. The award is the symbolic D&AD Pencil, and for those who achieve one, it is career defining. The D&AD Professional Awards are recognised globally as the ultimate creative honour, entered and attended by the best from around the world.” The D&AD Award doesn’t only focus on graphic design, but design in general by including other disciplines such as architecture and fashion. Designers applying for the competition know they’re being judged by experts and the best people in the industry.

As the competition hasn’t happened this year yet, I have looked at last year’s winners, focusing on the area of Branding - all of the winners and runner ups can be viewed here: https://www.dandad.org/profiles/jury/733267/branding-2018/. These are two of my favourites:

1. Agency: Jones Knowles Ritchie, Client: Ugly Drinks - https://www.dandad.org/awards/professional/2018/branding/26723/the-ugly-truth/

“Ugly was the first 100% natural, fruit-infused sparkling water to market. To take its message to the masses, it adopted an approach that was every bit as bold and uncompromising as the product. The result? The Ugly Truth campaign that is both provocative and playful in tone.”

What I really like about this is the playful and lively atmosphere – a lot of drink companies attempt to do this, but I don’t think any manage to come across as bold and stand out as much as this one. I also like the contrast between the blue, a colour associated with peace and calm, and the exciting, energetic imagery. I also like the cartoon style.

2. Agency: Interbrand Australia, Client: Cotton On Group - https://www.dandad.org/awards/professional/2018/branding/26746/g-ay-mate/

“G’day mate. The most famous of Aussie phrases. So, when the debate on legalising gay marriage turned sour, Cotton On Group decided to embrace the term as part of the collective fight back. G'AY MATE is a reminder of what it means to be Australian: friendliness, being laid back, and to always give everyone a fair go.”

The play on words used is so clever, which helps the audience to understand the message instantly. The reason why the message is so smart because the designer uses the famous Australian saying, and relates that to gay rights by taking out a letter, creating a missing element. The plain design and bold text helps the message to come across also, as there’s nothing else to take away attention.

I personally haven’t ever entered a design competition, however I think it could be a good experience - at the end of sixth form, I was awarded “Outstanding Student” in graphic design as my work achieved full marks and was always consistent in quality and I was so pleased to receive this, so to be recognised by professionals in the industry and win something meaningful could be great.

Library Visit:

From the library visit, I have decided to look at journals that focus on Graphic Design specifically. I came across Communication Arts, which is the largest international trade journal of visual communications, founded in 1959. The issue I looked at was published November/December 2018; it’s the annual advertising journal, where designers submit their best advertising work from the past year. This particular issue was of my interest as advertising is part of the branding area, which is what I want to get into.

The issue doesn’t only show a number of images of various advertisements; it also discusses how advertising differs nowadays in comparison what it was thought to be a decade ago. Crimi-Lamanna, one of the judges who decided on the images that were put in the magazine, stated that adverts are more common online and on social media nowadays, rather than on television and magazines where they traditionally would be found. She noted that this isn’t a negative thing, as social media advertising allows an opportunity to move from just story-telling and content creation on different platforms to more ‘story doing’, where costumers are invited to participate in a variety of brand actions that prove that brand’s values in unexpected ways. I agree with this, as you can’t interact with an advert seen on television or a magazine, as much as social media which does allow for a new concept. Crimi-Lamanna expands, and mentions all the tools available now that enable brands to get closer to customers; the intimacy created allows a greater connectivity to brands. Additionally, customers have a larger role in advertising now, rather than just being buyers of products – they can question how do we help serve?, and how do we raise awareness of the issues that need attention? Customers are realising that they are the masters of shifting public thinking, and those powers should be used for good. Again, this is something I strongly agree with it, and I think social media is to thank for this, as it’s very easy to create content to advertise and promote yourself if there is something one feels isn’t receiving as much attention as it should – customers are in the same position as advertising companies by doing this.

Moving on, these are some of my favourite adverts I saw in the magazine.

The social media influence is very strong in many of those adverts, in particular the first two. The first one is based on texting, however with a twist as it’s an interaction between a human and a body part of theirs - their liver, which is a really smart way to raise awareness of safe drinking I personally think - it’s fun, but very informative at the same time. The second one is different, as it’s the Coca-Cola company engaging with their customers by creating unique bottles with names on. The other two are beauty based - I really like the collage technique used in the first one, and the mixture of faces as no face on that advert is simply one face. There’s a sense of mistaken identity, which of course matches with what is being advertised as the question of “who” is being asked. The last one I particularly enjoy and especially its use of texture as a way to connect with the audience - common textures are used that most people have come across previously, and the posters don’t ask “does your skin feel like this?” - it’s more firm and assertive, telling the audience to visit this place if they relate.

Action Plan:

As I mentioned earlier, I would like to possibly get into the editorial industry in the future, however, at the moment I don’t have any work to put into my portfolio that is editorial. By the end of the module, I would like to re-create an already existing magazine article and cover, which can be later used in my portfolio as an example of my own editorial work.

Additionally, after researching job advertisements, I want to book an appointment with the Careers & Employment service at the university, so I can discuss about what is needed to write a good graphic design based CV, what to put in a portfolio, how to get experience etc.

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