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lunaa007 · 2 months

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Astrology observations #3

These are my personal observations and should be taken in the context of the whole chart, never isolated 😊

Some of this is 18+, no minors allowed

♦️Mars-Uranus aspects can indicate a liking for risky activities and extreme sports, like motorcycling or base jumping. They can even like to put themselves in danger as they need the adrenaline. Routine is super boring for them, they need to try new things very often. They should be careful to release this nervous energy with sports, work they're passionate about or things like that or it can backfire. This aspect can be tempered down with Saturn aspects or a lot of earth energy in the chart.

♦️Venus square mars aspect: can often be mean to the person they like, classic "if he pulled your hair it's because he likes you" stuff. Can be very passionate, might have difficulty to separate feelings from lust. They might have talent for artistic sports like dancing or ice skating. For women, they might like a more sporty fashion style.

♦️Sun-saturn aspects: especially for harsh ones, this can really change the expression of the sun sign. I know someone with sun and several planets in Leo, but they are all square to Saturn and you could never tell she's a Leo; she is very reserved, shy and restrained in life. But as with all Saturn aspects this can change with age, the personality coming through more and more while keeping an amazing sense of discipline, wisdom and grounding.

♦️Moon-uranus aspects: with harsh aspects (conjunction, square, opposition), the mother might have been emotionally cold during the childhood, and she might have been a bit erratic and unpredictable. This could have showed up as frequently moving places, or having a mother considered weird or crazy by society. With soft aspects like trine or sextile this could show up as an untraditional family, maybe having two fathers or two mothers, or parents very into technology, but this was not hard on the person and it helped them develop their individuality and independence.

♦️Taurus mercury: these people can learn much slower than other people (this does not mean they are not as intelligent, their rhythm is just different). At school they might have felt behind their schoolmates or felt like they didn't have enough time to finish their exams/homework. It is important that they don't feel bad about this and take the time they need to do their work. This might be less strong with Uranus influence on mercury. ♦️ Aquarius moon natals and their need to always read and watch self-development content without ever actually feeling their feelings 🙃

♦️ Venus conjunct moon: these people are so kind, they have such a big heart and do not wish harm on anyone, please stay mindful of who has access to you as many people might want to be in contact with this energy but sometimes also energy vampires.

♦️ Mercury conjunct/square pluto and their dark humor! I have this in my chart and one of my colleagues actually said to me three days after she started: "your jokes can be really dark sometimes" 😂 it gets worse when I'm tired as I don't filter my jokes so much before saying them. These aspects might also think a lot about death and dark themes, they can be the type to think "what happens if I die tomorrow", or "I could die if I do this" but not in a worried way, just thinking rationally about what is possible.

♦️ Leo mars women and their secret backup plan of becoming a stripper or an exotic dancer 💃 these women often have a talent for dancing, and performing can make them feel desired and confident.

♦️ Aries moon/mars placements and their road rage! Both my parents have these placements and my god the number of stressful rides to school I had when I was a child 😂 this can also apply to the other fire mars.

♦️ Lilith conjunct ascendant: these people often provoke reactions everywhere they go, they rarely go unnoticed whether it is positive reactions or negative. The women with this aspect might get sexualised a lot, and the men with this aspect might attract animosity from other men. ♦️ Sun-jupiter and moon-jupiter aspects: they might always see the bright side of things, "it will get better", "this is temporary", seeing the glass half-full. A lot of optimism, faith in a higher meaning, maybe too optimistic sometimes and too trusting that things will unfold in the right way.

♦️Mars square pluto women often attract creepy men on the street, interactions with aggressive men might be unfortunately common. It is important to not repress their anger and channel their power in something like martial arts.

♦️Gemini moon/IC: they might love to talk with their loved ones at home, a lot of communication and learning in their private life. If they live alone they might be a lot on the phone or always have music or tv or radio on.

♦️Mercury square saturn: they might doubt their intellectual abilities when young, their learning style might not fit the classic school system. It is important that they are encouraged by their family, and with time they will gain confidence and master the learning techniques that fit them best.

♦️Mars in virgo might care too much about pleasing their partner in bed and have a hard time receiving pleasure without giving anything. They might also feel self-conscious if they do not feel "clean" like not fresh out of the shower. It is important for them to practice letting go of their thoughts and doubts and be present in their body. They deserve pleasure as much as everybody else!

♦️ Jupiter in the 2nd house might have a very good self-esteem, if the moon and venus are not too afflicted. And if it is the case it helps the native deal with the harder aspects.

♦️ That's why it is so dangerous to interpret an aspect in isolation of the rest of the chart, a challenging aspect might be very beneficial in a chart and less in another one. For instance moon conjunct saturn might be more challenging for a Capricorn moon which is already quite controled and closed off, but in the sign of Aries it might help the native tame their impulsivity and control better their emotions.

♦️ Or moon square Uranus might be beneficial for a Capricorn moon or a Taurus moon as it might help them break out of their routine and become more adaptable and flexible to change.

Thank you for reading!

@lunaa007

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zairene · 6 months

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hey girl i loved your dazai relationship headcanons SM, can I please ask for a version with Chuuya? YOUR WRITING IS LITERALLY AMAZING.

AS A BOYFRIEND. chuuya nakahara

* ˚ ✦ synopsis: how chuuya nakahara would be like as a significant other.

* ˚ ✦ genre: headcanons !

* ˚ ✦ warnings: spoiler free + a fem reader is also very heavily implied / stated !

* ˚ ✦ author’s note: sure you can ! and ty so much that means a lot <333 i did write as y/n still in the ADA, if you don’t mind !

chuuya nakahara, the hot-headed and impulsive young man who you were interested in when you first met him.

he’s very arrogant when it comes to his abilities and his remarkable skills revolving around the port mafia. he may talk a lot of shit, but he can still definitely beat your ass at any time any day, no doubt. and this personality does NOT come off as pleasing to women, hence his failure in the romance department. so, when he realized that you weren’t immediately disgusted with him after knowing him for such a little time, he already developed some appreciation for you.

with chuuya, there is also a lot of patience with him too—but not in the way you would think. chuuya had a difficult time trusting you. chuuya despises dazai, and it’s very well known, and knowing that you were a part of the armed detective agency and was on dazai’s side put him off. yes, even in their years of rivalry and multiple times of working together, he just doesn’t find himself truly trusting him or you.

it’s not like you weren’t trustworthy or showed signs of being dishonest, he just knew that if he became too vulnerable with you, it would open up an opportunity for you to betray him and he doesn’t do well with betrayal. he knows that it’s not impossible to gain his trust, so he respects you at first, but he keeps his distance.

so yes, you have to chase him, he doesn’t chase you.

think of the trope of, she falls first but he falls harder… sort of.

this started with subtle flirting from you, very subtle to the point where it had him going insane on the fact whether or not you were interested in him. it’s not like he could go to someone with advice so he was seriously stressing himself out over it. there were times even when dazai pointed it out but chuuya would brush it off as dazai trying to poke fun at him.

after you did it multiple times, he finally decided he would reciprocate it because it’s not like he didn’t like you, he was just surprised at the fact HE DID? so, the one time he came back with an even risker line with you, you were shocked. this had you excited because you finally had some type of confirmation that he liked you! now the next step, asking him out.

it was hard catching him in his free time with being the port mafia’s strongest martial artist. he was constantly sent out on missions and meetings. just to your luck, you found him strolling the streets one random day, and that encouraged you to just go up to him knowing this moment would not occur again.

this confession was just you talking and him staring at you with his widened eyes and his lips slightly parted. and when you were done speaking, he could only spit out one thing. “yeah… yeah sure.”

and that started your relationship with him!

i honestly don’t believe it would be filled with arguments, at least not real ones. because the PETTY ARGUMENTS you guys have is an hourly occurrence. no joke. the playful banter between the both of you is amazing, but his competitive spirit can get overwhelming and it causes petty arguments. at this point, you kinda just believe that he likes to hear himself talk.

i feel that the biggest problem you would have in a relationship is his major trust issues. mentioned before, he doesn’t do well with shady or shifty behavior. this doesn’t pair well with situations where you want to have a surprise party for him for his birthday, but he’s under the impression that you’re doing something behind his back that isn’t as innocent as it is.

the product of this is arguments and a lot of breaks between you two. he’s not difficult to talk to, but incredibly difficult to get to, if that makes sense. it would take a lot for him to believe that you’re being truthful. you can sense he takes loyalty very seriously, so after the birthday party incident, you took a mental note that surprises don’t sit well with chuuya and to make sure to not do them again.

other than that, your relationship with him is pretty smooth!

however, he also has his moments where he makes weird comments toward you trying to suggest that you’re “inferior” to him and that you can’t handle yourself. he always feels like he has to protect you or things will go downhill even when you have proved countless amount of times that you were extremely capable.

those times when you have to give him a reality check and bring him back down to earth for a second. his apologies are him bringing you a bouquet and a long talk about how sorry he is why he made those comments and how he would never make them again. you forgave him and he really stood by his word! he always gave you credit when it was due, maybe too much sometimes, but you can tell he was sorry.

other than that, some general things would be that he isn’t a big fan of PDA. he doesn’t hate it but doesn’t prefer it. he wouldn’t mind if you just held his hand or kissed him on the cheek (maybe lips) but would much rather save everything else for in private. he’s all for separating his work life from his relationship with you, especially since both of your workplaces are against each other. he’s very awkward when it comes to intimacy, but once you’re together for a while he likes it, especially getting home after a very rough mission that day.

he likes to act like he hates pet names, even the silly ones you give him, but he likes them. he would never admit that you calling him pookie bear makes his heart happy each time.

overall, chuuya is a pretty good guy who has his moments. he can be painfully unaware of himself and his actions sometimes so you have to handle the liberty of telling him off and putting himself in his place when it’s needed. but don’t worry, he never takes it to heart when he realizes he’s wrong. he loves you and as the relationship goes on, he learns to trust you a little more every day.

(📦) — BUNGOU STRAY DOGS TAGLIST // @4nthonyyliving

(📝) — TAGLIST FORM :: sign to be apart of the taglist!

#✏️ :: — fanfiction !#bungou stray dogs fanfiction #bungou stray dogs x reader #bsd x reader #chuuya x reader #chuuya nakahara x reader #chuuya nakahara x y/n #chuuya nakahara x you

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fuckyeahgoodomensfanfic · 1 month

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Good Omens Fic Rec: Big Name Feelings

FANDOM AU! • Crowley is a BNF fic writer, and Aziraphale is a lurking artist who might be just a little parasocially in love with him. How they ever became friends is beyond him, but here they are: One month out from Prophet Con, and Crowley is asking him to be his boyfriend. Just for the weekend, of course.

Length: 103,997 words

AO3 Rating: Explicit / Spice Level 🔥🔥🔥

Best for: Safe in Public, Human AU, Slow Burn, Fake Relationship, Pick-me-up

Triggers: None

Read it here, fic by ghostrat

*Minor Spoilers* It's here! The finale of one of the most entertaining and immersive fanworks that I have ever experienced is finally upon us! I feel like most of you who follow me here are aware of this fanfic or have read it. However, for those who haven't or might come across this post later: I'm begging you to read this one. Buckle up; it's a long post today.

So, if you're not aware, this fanfic involves writer Crowley and fan artist Aziraphale. Crowley, being ace, seeks a boyfriend to shield him from unwanted attention during an upcoming convention. Aziraphale, smitten, agrees to be the fake boyfriend. This Arrangement is sure to work out exactly as planned!

Every one of the author's stories feels cinematic to me. The worlds are always so real and immersive, but this one, in particular, will have you feeling like you're actually watching the story unfold in real life. Some of that is achieved through embedded media like chats, artwork, and Tumblr posts, bringing a sense of reality to these conversations. The rest comes from really rich prose. You'll flow through it very easily, yet deeply.

The use of fandom and a convention as the backdrop for this fic was, to be honest, genius. I've seen attempts before, but none captured the spirit quite like this one. The fandom lore for The Nice and Accurate Prophecy (the in-universe fandom they're in) was rich enough for us to fully grasp the shape and feel of why they loved it so much, yet it never impedes the ongoing story. This story perfectly captured what it's like to be a fan: how friendships develop, how ideas and fan theories are freely discussed, the passion for a shared topic. The con, in particular, will fill anyone who has ever attended a fan convention with a strong dose of nostalgia and love. Oh, and having them in their 50s? Thank you! There is no age limit to fandom!

Having Aziraphale as the artist and Crowley the writer was not the most obvious choice, but it's one that worked amazingly well for the story! Crowley struggles with words and expressing his feelings in real life. However, in stories, he can build his own world and express whatever emotions are on his mind. Aziraphale, who does not wish to draw attention to himself in real life, expresses himself through his bold and beautiful artwork. His specialization in traditional, physical artwork is so fitting for him, though he's not unwilling to try new tech. There is a scene where they stumble upon some street art that Aziraphale had done. I teared up at that scene, and it's not even angsty! Just the casualness of it, how it's not Aziraphale but Crowley who boldly leads them to it, how Aziraphale doesn't sing his own praises. He's not self-deprecating, but he doesn't celebrate his work. He's still learning that he has value that's worth celebrating. At least now he has Crowley to teach him to be proud of himself.

They are both beautifully written characters. It's a real testament to the skill of the author to bring these characters into such a different reality and have them be unmistakably Aziraphale and Crowley. Sure, they're updated for the time and setting, but their souls are still the angel and demon we know and love. This setting is an amazing way to explore the different sides of their personalities. Crowley's asexuality, in particular, was one of the best depictions I've ever read. It brought a new level of understanding to me, and I'm sure many of you will feel a kinship with him. Really pay attention to what's being said here, there's some really deep and insightful passages that are worth analyzing. Like this moment, which may have been a subconscious thought, but again speaks to how deeply the author understands the characters.

This was such an amazing experience as a fan. I've never had a fic feel like this much of an event before. Every chapter drop was so exciting; I never knew what exactly to expect. And now, with the end being over 100k words?? Where did that word count come from! That's insane! I'm sad to leave this iteration, but I'm so excited for what's to come next. So please, if you haven't read this, give it a try. It's such a impressive work, so much time and effort was put into this and you can tell. It's not only a love letter to Good Omens, but one to fandom and fanspaces as well. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this journey

There are some explicit scenes towards the end, but they are all marked and skippable, so I'd say you're perfectly fine reading this in public.

Edit from after actually seeing the finale: no I’m not tearing up it’s just really dusty in this room. I’m being so normal rn 🥹🥹🥹

Read it here, fic by ghostrat

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jmdbjk · 4 months

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Hello 2024

I did a thing:

We know there will be lots to look forward to but if you find yourself with some time, please read the book, Beyond the Story.

A lot of things that are confusing, especially to those who weren't around since 2013, can be understood more clearly through the words of the members in the book.

If you can, watch the docuseries Beyond the Star. So much information from them, in their own words, their tone of voice, and in context with what they are trying to communicate, adds another layer of context.

And watch the recent HYBE Labels series that explains what T&D is... their staff become emotionally attached to their trainees too. To see them bloom into fully rounded artists that take off on their own journeys must be an amazing experience. It helps to have real human faces to associate with "the company."

The series should be eye-opening for some. I hope it is. Hearing that Namjoon and BTS formed the foundation for how they develop trainees... imagine that... huh...

You will learn so much about them and how they got to this point.

That's not to say that they didn't work hard, that they weren't pushed, that they didn't question themselves, but the big picture is that they were young, making it up as they went, both the members as individuals and the company itself. Bang PD had the experience but he also had other ideas that broke away from the normal.

Not to mention the enormous pushback, bullying, downright hate, they received all through it. I don't know how they kept going.

It took years for them to be able to stop, take stock in what they'd accomplished and how they got there and then decide what they wanted to do from then on. And then they did it again this past year, choosing to forge ahead as a group with their company.

I believe they indeed talked about ten, twenty, even thirty years and have tentatively outlined what they want to accomplish. I think they are working their way toward whatever it is they envisioned.

Nothing is a coincidence but I bet a LOT is serendipity.

On another note, my two that I pay closest attention to...

Jungkook tried all year to tell us they were a pair. And Jimin... bless his heart. What a handful he has, right? Maybe they are both a handful for each other and that's why they are together right this minute.

Jimin sort of intimated in his last live that after MS he can do whatever he wants without hindrance, whether he means pushing the envelope with his creativity or just being able to work without anything hanging over him...

And Jungkook is apparently building a wonderful and securely-walled place to live that will be ready for when they're discharged. Very large for one person and a dog...yeah, it's huge.

Just my own thoughts here: at this point, with everything we know, the possibility could be that Jimin and Jungkook may live together following MS. There will be enough room in that place for sure, 5 levels? 12,000 square feet? It's huge. Why wouldn't they? That's just my own thought.

#we wait #bts military service #bts chapter 2 #jimin #jungkook #taehyung #yoongi #namjoon #jin #j-hope #jikook #happy new year 2024 #jin will be back this year #hobi will be back this year #they will all be back next year #it feels good to be able to say that

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leafofkudzu · 4 months

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Hello and Happy New Year!!! The first Saturday of a new month will soon be upon us, which means it's time for another art party hosted by my guild, Verdant Shield [VS]! But this one is extra special, because exactly one year ago was my first real foray into the world of event hosting - that's right, it's the one-year anniversary of [VS] Art Party!!!

The very first [VS] Art Party was held January 7th 2023, and was a very quiet experiment with no visible tag, announced only two days before and hidden away in an obscure corner unlikely to be noticed by non-participants. I was nervous, but with a modest 20ish-person turnout and a chill energy not dissimilar to the current EU parties, it seemed to go over great! As art trickled into the tag over the following days and weeks, people started asking about future parties, and even about hosting ones on EU servers, which I could certainly do since I already had an EU alt. And so, a monthly tradition was born!

For those unsure of what an art party is, they're a concept carried over from Final Fantasy XIV - in-game get-togethers for artists/writers/creatives of all kinds to hang out, chat, and create together! Grab your character and outfit of choice, head to the party location, find someone that inspires you, and create! Afterwards, everyone posts their creations in a shared tag (ours is #VSArtParty) so others can see, interact, and share! The tl;dr I've been repeating since the very first announcement post is simply this: the 'goal' of an art party isn't to be drawn, but to draw others, and share with the community!

Time and /squadjoin information is under the cut, but will be posted again via reblogs as the squads go up on the day of the party!

Location Information:

It's a bit tricky to get to if you're F2P, but there was no way I wasn't returning to the location of the original party - the uninstanced asura home instance in Rata Sum, the Applied Development Lab! I've even dusted off my original map image, complete with hand-drawn arrows:

(That's Magustan Court Waypoint, by the way.)

This area is only accessible via flying mounts or with the use of a Teleport to Friend, so be sure to have one (or both) handy when the time comes!

Time & Squad Details:

As per usual, there will be two 3-hour parties - one on EU servers and one on NA ones - with an hour break in between. People do tend to arrive early though, and those with multiple accounts often jump directly from one to the other, so don't be surprised to see things running late and/or starting early!

The first party will be on EU servers and begin at 9pm Central European Time (aka 3pm Eastern Standard Time or 4 hours before in-game reset). I’ll be hosting on my EU alt account, so to join either /squadjoin or whisper Paranomalous Plexxi for an invite.

The second party will be on NA servers and begin at 7pm Eastern Standard Time (aka 1am Central European Time or at in-game reset). I’ll be hosting this one on my main account, so to join either /squadjoin or whisper Teekzi for an invite.

Closing Words:

The engagement, energy, and love in these events always blows me away, and words can't express how happy I am with what we've all created together. I'm so glad that I took that first step last year and extended an invitation to what would've likely just been a throwaway guild event to the best section of the GW2 community I know. GW2 tumblr, keep being amazing. I love you guys so much, and I can't wait to see you guys on Saturday, and for many more first-Saturdays-of-the-month to come!

Ever your diligent cat herder,

Meka ♥♥♥

#i was very serious about this month's graphic i made a gif for it and everything #super critical that it be at its absolute best because it's for a special occaision #i hope teekzi's little dab is appreciated #gw2 #guild wars 2 #obnoxious tourist simulator #vsartparty #📢🎨

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asaraviapt · 9 months

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[EN] Video Game Writing Resources!

Hello! My name is Andrea--I have been writing for games since 2018, and even worked as a writer at Firaxis Games from 2022 until April of 2023. So, I knew a few things about narrative design--but what the fuck is it? Recently, I gave a talk about the fundamentals and history of the field of narrative design. In Spanish. So, let's talk about it in English--the "what," "why," "how," "when," and "who," of narrative design! What is narrative design? Narrative design is not just writing--it's a huge part of it, but designing a narrative system involves implementing narrative content into the build of the game. So there is a technical learning curve to it. Personally, I watched and obtained certifications in Unreal Engine 5 and Unity in order to be aware of the limitations of each engine. I used the free trial of LinkedIn Learning, but courses about this engine are available in these websites: - https://platzi.com/ - https://www.arkde.com/ - https://www.domestika.org/?query=unity - https://www.coursera.org/ Why do we need narrative design? In order to create an interactive story that the player feels a part of, narrative designers are mandatory. It's not a responsibility that can be placed on other designers (then we would be entering crunch territory) rather someone who specifically specializes in both creative writing and game design is needed to explain within the context of the game's story why the mechanics work in a certain way. Imagine if a Telltale game did not have dialogue, for example--what would we be left with? Or if The Last Of Us did not convey a narrative through its environments.

Narrative designers are needed so that all of the departments are in sync and understand the story that they are trying to tell. For example, if a game takes place in a haunted house that was abandoned, we need all hands on deck. The narrative designer can explain to the environment artists why there are so many holes in the living room--perhaps the last tenants of the house were a rowdy bunch. Or, they can tell the sound designers which planks of wood are the most rotten and need a loud sound effect to highlight how it has been abandoned. How do I become a narrative designer? There is no one way to become a narrative designer. Some people start in QA and transition into the field, I have also witnessed engineers and doctors wanting to get into narrative design. I do recommend having the following (at least): - A passion for storytelling. - Deep understanding of the mechanics of the game and the player experience. - Communication skills are incredibly important--can you describe your story in a concise way to your peers in a Confluence page?

Documentation skills are also a massive plus.

Very basic understanding of game engines and limitations. You don't have to be a computer science major, but know what your requests will entail. If you have an idea of a cutscene, can the engine handle it? Will the animators have enough time? Is it within scope?

If you can, attend game jams! They are an amazing way to network with amazing people and get a feel of what the game production pipeline is like.

Additionally, I highly recommend the following resources: First, the free resources! ~It's free real estate~

Look up Twinery tutorials. (https://twinery.org/) Not only is it free, but you can use it on your browser. More importantly, you will learn about branching narratives and can create your own games within a few minutes--the interface, though it requires a bit of coding, is incredibly easy to use and there are a lot of tutorials available online.

Download Ren'Py (https://www.renpy.org/) and watch tutorials. It's free, and there is a huge community of visual novel developers who may need help with narrative designers, writers, editors and even translators. An amazing resource that a colleague shared was this Discord with visual novel developers--if you have an idea, feel free to connect with artists and voice actors here! https://discord.gg/nW5yn4FE

Network, network, network! Follow narrative design and game writer groups on Discord, Facebook and even LinkedIn. -- An amazing convention that is online, free and accessible regarding narrative design is LudoNarraCon.

If you go to itch.io you will see a list of game jams that you can attend to for free! Some game jams that I have attended and had a positive experience are the following: - Woman Game Jam. I encourage folks from marginalized genders to attend this game jam, as we have a large pool of mentors willing to help in every single discipline at any time due to the global nature of it. It is a safe and inclusive space for women and nonbinary folx who want to get into the gaming industry! - Global Game Jam. Self explanatory, it has some in-person opportunities but you can also attend remotely. - Greenlight Jam. Do you have an idea that can not be done in only 48 hours? The Greenlight Jam is amazing, as it lasts four weeks--which allows narrative designers to develop complex narrative systems and even record voice lines for a more complex project. Side Note: Even though most game jams have a time limit, I do encourage narrative designers to develop and polish the prototypes and levels created during game jams to have portfolios and writing samples that stand out!

Work With Indies is a job site that publishes job opportunities--including ones in writing and narrative design. Additionally, their Discord has some networking events with writers so you can connect with them.

Other websites that not only publish jobs but include networking events are Hitmarker.net (this is their Discord), IndieGameAcademy (link to Discord),

Newsletters! A lot of experienced game writers have newsletters dedicated to the craft, to name a few that I highly recommend: -- Greg Buchanan's newsletter. Rounds up game writing news every Tuesday, and includes job opportunities. -- Bright Whitney's newsletter. A studio founder with amazing insights regarding game design and thoughtful narrative, Whitney's threads are extremely insightful. -- Susan O'Connor's blog on The Narrative Department. In addition to providing free knowledge regarding world building, narrative design, game writing and other specifics of the craft Susan interviews industry professionals and alumni who offer testimonials that have amazing advice. -- GDC talks about narrative design. Though I recommend the GDC vault as well in the next section, I highly recommend the GDC talks regarding not only narrative design but the development of your favorite titles!

Now, for resources that may not be free--but I highly recommend, as someone who used them first hand. - The Narrative Department. This post is not sponsored by them at all, however it is rare to find an instructor as kind and hard-working as Susan O'Connor who has been a narrative designer in historic AAA, AA and independent titles. Known for her contributions in Tomb Raider, Batman: The Enemy Within, and BioShock to name a few (imdb is: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1897248/) her Game Writing Masterclass offers a certification in everything related to game writing. A few subjects she touches on are: -- Characters and how to make them compelling. -- Barks and ambience writing. -- Dialogue, backstories and scripts. -- How to work with other departments. And more! Additionally, you would obtain access to a huge alumni network full of game writing professionals working in independent, AA and AAA studios! Not to mention that all of the assignments completed in the class will look amazing in a portfolio as game writing samples. - GDC Vault. Though I have an opinion on the price tag of GDC tickets and the vault, I would definitely include it as it has resources from several studios, writers, narrative designers and more! When was narrative design formed? When can I become a narrative designer?

That's a wonderful question. Narrative design, as a term, was first used around the 90s but became more established between the 2000s and 2010s. So, although the field is relatively new, and there are not a lot educational resources available, consider yourself part of an innovative field that is exponentially growing! Recently, a game developer asked when was the best time to keep an eye out for job openings. And a harsh truth about the gaming industry is that it is extremely volatile--layoffs, downsizings and startups rise and fall. This is not meant to deter anyone from pursuing a career in narrative design, but rather I am including it for the sake of transparency. We cannot predict when a studio is going to layoff their employees, or when they cancel unannounced projects. Unlike most industries where we know for a fact that recruiters keep a sharp eye for candidates in Q1 and Q3, a piece of advice I received from a mentor of mine was to try to predict when projects are going to need more stories. There's the release of a game, and then there is the addition of additional narrative content--and for this, they will more than likely need associate/entry/junior level narrative designers, writers and quest designers. But--this is related to searching for a job as a narrative designer, and I can write a novel about that (and will edit this article to redirect folx into it.) So, keep an eye out for huge game announcements. Then, cater your resume to what the studio is looking for in a narrative designer. Now, to finish off this article: Who is a narrative designer? If you have a passion for storytelling and games, and have participated in game jams, congratulations you are a wonderful narrative designer! Make sure you always include that you are a narrative designer, and not an aspiring narrative designer--it makes you stand out amongst applicants. That's all I have for now--feel free to interact, comment and share! Let me know if I missed something and I will be sure to add it.

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dragonwritersblog · 26 days

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I’m looking for an artist to collab with for an AU

Hello! If you don’t know me already, my name is Dragon, the author of the TADC fics 5+1 and Royally Screwed (and also a funnybunny shipper). However, I am coming up with a totally new AU, something similar to the carnival and freakshow au as well as inspiration from Bendy and the Ink Machine, Poppy Playtime and Amanda the Adventurer.

I call it ‘The Amazing Digital REDACTED’ au.

In this au, you ‘the player’ play as Jax, an ex-employee of C&A returning to the abandoned building in order to find the rest of your work employees after a mysterious incident years ago. With hidden knowledge that he must enter the game in order to find them, Jax does just that while managing to retain his memories. Along with his accomplice Bubble (a helpful AI who wants to free the rest of the trapped souls) and some help from his friend Winter (yes Winter from 5+1 will be in this but that fic isn’t canon to this au) on the outside, Jax tries to fix his past mistakes and save everyone – especially a particular jester he loved and lost long ago.

Yup that’s right, Jax will be the main character of this au and you will be playing as him. Let me explain, there is a feature on AO3 that allows you to make multiple choices on how you want the story to play out, like a telltale video game if you understand what I’m saying. You will get to pick and choose how Jax goes about his adventure and receive more than one ending (with a canon ending as well). And yes, this au’s main ship is funnybunny as I believe that it deserves more recognition and I find that these two in this au are very interesting to explore (especially with their past).

However, this fic is going to take quite a long time to make and is going to be bigger than anything else that I have written in the past. That is why I want to team up with a fellow TADC/funnybunny artist (since I am not an artist and do better with writing and characters) and create a separate blog for this au to come up with comics and art together. If you’ve seen the blogs for the Carnival and Freakshow au’s, you know that with their comics and art they explore more of the world, drop some lore, do character sheets and explain the pasts of the characters. This is what I’m hoping for if I team up with an artist. This au will mostly be on tumblr however if it does well I might add it to twitter as well since I’m putting this post on twitter as well.

Here are what I have pictured for the characters so far.

Jax: Past name; Jack. Ex employee of C&A, main character and who you the player will be playing as. Before the ‘incident’, Jax used to work at C&A as part of a coding team, to make sure that there were no bugs before any games were released. While C&A wasn’t on his list of jobs to pick, it was the only one that seemed best due to the pay and the fact that they could pay for schooling for those with children. Since Jax has a little sister named Jane, and has no parental figures in his life, he takes the job in order to help pay for the both of them and to make sure that Jane gets a good education. Unlike his canon TADC counterpart, Jax is more quiet, tired and while sarcastic, isn’t all out cruel to everyone unless they are bad people (think Mike from the FNAF movie especially with his relationship with his younger sister). He becomes quite close with his boss’s daughter however, Penny (Pomni) with him starting to develop feelings for the shy girl. However, after the day of the ‘incident’ Jax is left with nothing but guilt since he knew things that contributed to that day. Now he has a chance to make things right and save everyone, and Pomni.

Pomni: Past name; Penny. Ex employee of C&A and daughter of the CEO Abel, Pomni is an extremely introverted and socially awkward person, due to being traumatised by her mother’s death. She and her father don’t have a good relationship, with reasons that will become clearer later. She was quite close to the past version of Ragatha, but other than her father, she doesn’t really have a relationship with anyone. She likes to work alone to focus on the numbers and accounting part of her job (she understands numbers more than people) until she meets Jack. Though Jack is usually a bit standoffish, he is sweet to Penny due to her shy nature and helps keep an eye on her throughout their jobs so that she doesn’t feel too overwhelmed. Overcome by his sudden kindness and protectiveness, Penny starts to develop feelings for Jax. However, after the day of the ‘incident’ she is now trapped in the game, forever a jester trapped in a box…until Jax shows up.

If you’d like to be an artist for this au and collab with me, you can send me a DM or @ me. Do either of these and a sketch of the characters and I will reach out to you and confirm that you can be my partner for this project.

Here are some visuals on how I envision the characters.

Jax:

Sans the goggles, think of Jax wearing this over his grey and dirty overalls, he could also be holding a makeshift weapon like a bat or a stick so that he can fight off enemies. This version of Jax is much more serious and he is ready to fight in order to get the job done.

Pomni:

(on the last pic, focus on the makeup rather than the outfit)

Overly baggy and childish, with blue and black instead of blue and red. This design is a reminder of her past trauma and as so, is implemented into her circus features. Due to it being too big for her, it makes it hard for her to run and escape, and the ridiculousness of it all is a huge slap in the face that this is her new life now and is fully erased of her past. Even the makeup covers up any kind of normalcy on her face.

Well that’s it for now, I hope you guys take this into consideration and I hope you all have a lovely day/afternoon/night.

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shineemoon · 11 months

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ONEW•JONGHYUN•KEY•MINHO•TAEMIN… '15th Anniversary' SHINee's 'RACE'

Since the debut in 2008, SHINee has been considered a role model for many K-pop artists as both a group and solo artists. Not only did all the members release solo albums, but they also have a solid career in various fields such as entertainment, acting, musicals, and fashion. SHINee, who has been developing personal skills not only through the team but also through solo activities, announced that they will reunite to mark the 15th anniversary of their debut this year. While high expectations are being placed on the synergy that 'Complete SHINee' will show, we looked back at SHINee's brilliant solo career.

Unrivaled ‘VOICE’ Onew. Onew, who sang many drama OSTs and collaboration songs, released his first solo album ‘VOICE’ in December 2018, which was filled with his own lyrical music, once again proving his warm tone and outstanding singing ability. He solidified his position as a unique vocalist by presenting a fresh and refreshing charm with ‘DICE’ and a healing song that comforts the listeners with his first regular album ‘Circle’ Last March, he held his solo concerts in Korea and Japan, thrilling his global fans with a high-quality performance that combines colorful music, performance, and scent production. He also played the role of Haram in the musical 'Midnight Sun' and received favorable reviews for his delicate portrayal of his shy character. Unchanging team's ‘BASE’ Jonghyun Jonghyun, who was recognized for his solid skills early on with his refreshing vocals, has released his first solo album ‘BASE’, his first collection 'Story Op.1', his first full-length album 'She Is', his second collection 'Story Op.2' and his second full-length album 'Poet | Artist', the albums that show a wide spectrum of music have received enthusiastic responses from music fans. In addition, he participated in the lyrics and composition of various songs that cross genres, such as his solo album songs, SHINee's hit songs 'Juliette' and 'View', Taemin's 'Pretty Boy', and EXO's 'PLAYBOY'. For about three years from 2014, he communicated with listeners every night as a radio DJ and gave warm comfort, and he was active in various fields such as publishing the novel “Skeleton Flower: Things That Have Released and Set Free”.

Always new ‘FACE’ Key Key is showing off his versatility in music, entertainment, fashion, etc. to the extent that he is called 'all-around cheat key'. He opened wide the door as a solo artist with his first full-length album 'FACE', and with the so-called 'retro trilogy' leading to his first mini-album 'BAD LOVE', his 2nd full-length album 'Gasoline' and repackage 'Killer', he presented music and performances with a unique charm that can be heard. In addition, Key is displaying an excellent sense of entertainment in popular entertainment programs such as tvN's 'Amazing Saturday' and MBC's 'I Live Alone'. Accordingly, it was realized that he was receiving high public attention by winning the Male Excellence Award in the variety category at the '2022 MBC Broadcasting Entertainment Awards', and winning the '2022 Brand Customer Loyalty Awards' and the '2022 Brand of the Year Awards' for two consecutive years in the entertainment idol male category. Challenges with passion ‘CHASE’ Minho Minho, a 'passionate character' in the music industry, has played a prominent role in various entertainment shows, including sports variety programs since his debut, combining his superior physique, passion that burns like a flame, wit and sense. He also showed his smooth hosting skills as an entertainment MC, including various award ceremonies and the original TVing ‘Webtoon Singer’. In addition, Minho showed a variety of performances across the spectrum through dramas such as tvN's ‘The Most Beautiful Goodbye’ and Netflix series ‘The Fabulous’, as well as movies 'Inrang' and ‘Jangsari: Forgotten Heroes’. In December last year, he released his first mini-album ‘CHASE’ filled with hip-hop and R&B genres with his own emotions, filling the last puzzle piece of SHINee's solo album. K-pop ‘ACE’ Taemin Taemin announced his solo debut as the first member of SHINee with his first mini-album ‘ACE’ in 2014. With the hit songs ‘MOVE’ and ‘WANT’, he caused the so-called ‘Move’ and 'WANT' syndrome and won awards in the album and best dance performance solo categories at various awards ceremonies. In addition, Taemin is loved by fans all over the world for his excellent vocals and powerful performance skills, as he has various modifiers such as 'Yeoksolnam (all-time solo male singer)' and 'Taemdol (Taemin is also a role model)'. He has established himself as an irrefutable "ACE" of K-pop by proving his powerful global power by successfully completing his first arena tour 17 times in six cities across Japan in 2019.

SHINee is set to release a new full-length album to mark the 15th anniversary of their debut this year. (Source: xportsnews)

#SHINee #onew #jonghyun #key #minho #taemin #lee jinki #kim jonghyun #kim kibum #choi minho #lee taemin #ace #base #face #voice #chase #whoever wrote this article 👏👏👏👏👏#can't even put into words how proud I am of them ♥

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erika-xero · 1 year

Photo

Decided to post the whole thing on Tumblr, since Tumblr is just perfect for longreads.

Here is a small background tutorial I did a few days ago! Hope you guys enjoy it! I decided to make this tutorial free, but if you wish to leave a small tip you can do it at my BMC page. But basically all I wish for is to share this thing with others, so I would really appreciate some reblogs here!

This tutorial is not for the beginners, it requires some basic knowledge on perspective drawing (but don’t worry, I got you covered: here’s my easy guide to perspective drawing). 3D-modelling skills aren’t necessary though, there are plenty of free models out there that can be used in personal or even commercial projects. All the architecture and interior element designs/3D models are my own (I use SketchUp for modeling), the pillows and cloth are some random 3D-models used as a base with a bit of overpainting. The background is photobashing (I always use the assets published under Creative Commons license or similar licenses, especially now when I can't buy stock images and packs for photobashing) with some paintover. The nice brushes I used to draw leaves are from LoranDeSore pack (you can find it on her DeviantArt page) and the watercolor texture I used on top of the image are made by Hibbary (check out their DA for texture packs).

There are plenty of nice free assets out there, both for Photoshop and CSP, and I think it is important to share this stuff with others, especially knowing that not everyone can afford paying for brushes, textures and stocks. And if you can't afford PS or CSP either there are a lot of software developers who offer their stuff for free, everyone can download Krita and Gimp or other amazing stuff online.

I find it funny when Ai-bros say that artists are gatekeeping (all while fighting with each other over prompts). Like, it literally have never been easier to find tutorials, assets and instruments for your creations.

#tutorials #tutorial #art tips #art guide #3D #photobashing #environment art

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kiwikiwii · 2 months

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Very Big and Very Long AI rant.

After the recent OpenAI stuff I'm gonna be here to share my two cents about the whole very realistic AI stuff, from the perspective of a very anxious and very art oriented person who loves techy stuff.

I very much would understand if this isn't your cup of tea so it's all undercut, thank you for your time anyways <3

Now. Onto the AI stuff.

Recently OpenAI has put out some new technology that's showing off some very nearly realistic videos and they're both creepy and very uncanny. About 2 or 3 years ago, the concerns about AI was already rising with deep fakes and the such and is going to start being a lot worse if this technology isn't properly regulated. This is what is prompting my very long and apparently, 927 word rant.

Going to put this in a few parts so it'll be easier to digest I hope.

About the tech.

We are at a point where the lines of AI generated content and real life are starting to blur. It's to a point where a sentence or a prompt could create scenes that look realistic enough that most people wouldn't even suspect that it's AI.

It is such a powerful and interesting technology that's slowly growing out of control. The people who are supposed to regulate the content and lawmakers has no idea what the fuck is going on and how the content is made in the first place, how are they supposed to make a change when they don't even understand what they're supposed to be tackling. The lack of understanding of how AI functions, how it comes to be, where the data was even gotten from in the first place and how it will impact society as a whole will truly be how we'll lose control of it someday. I'm not saying any of this because I want to be a 'hinderance to the future of technology', I'm saying this because the later we try to do something about it, the harder it is to do anything that is useful and effective for safeguarding artists, creators and everyone else who's using the internet. Not to mention the amount of frauds or scams that will skyrocket, children's safety on the internet being compromised, YOUR safety on the internet being compromised, people faking inappropriate images, videos and more will be a nightmare to deal with.

About art.

Many corporate companies unfortunately don't give a fuck about how the art is made and whether it's good or not but how fast it can be made and how much money can be made off of it. In their eyes, the trade off between quantity and quality is worth it. And that to me is extremely frustrating because where the art comes from should also be a part of the story when talking about art. Who the person who made it was like, how they developed a certain style and so on should be cared about and should be appreciated just like the art piece that was created. It shouldn't just be treated as another piece of thing to be fed to the scanner to be spat out as something else.

About creating.

Art is intrinsically a very human thing. People who make the argument "it's letting more people experience how it's like to create art" doesn't understand what it's like to create art. The entire idea of art is the learning, developing and polishing of the skills that you yourself develop. Taking away the steps that it took to get there in the first place diminishes the point of wanting to make art in the first place. It's degrading the time, energy and effort of the people who've already put effort into creating said art to be put out as a cheap and gross mimic of what it came from.

More emotional stuff that doesn't fit in any of the spaces above.

I saw someone use the word 'amalgamation' to describe what AI is today and that about wraps it all up. It's an amalgamation of dots and data skinned off of what there was and chained together to create an image, a video, an audio sample and more without a shred of humanity, love or emotion put into it.

I barely go on twitter nowadays, when I so, I see people sing high praises about the "the amazing advances of AI" and downplay the part of artists that were stolen for to create the technology they love so much in the first place. This whole ordeal makes me sick. It's depressing to see companies laying people off because they're seen as useless or worse than AI. It's disgusting to see the amount of talented people out there stolen from so that people could churn out heartless work at a faster pace to replace you. It's not a stepping stone for humanity, we're stepping over the ledge blindfolded.

I will never stop creating. It's what makes up a big part of me and will continue to be even if AI starts crumbling humanity to ash. One thing they can never take from us is creativity.

To the people who read this far, thank you. Thank you for spending your time to read over my word vomit that has been cooking in my head for the longest time.

To the artist that are still reading this. Remember you are irreplaceable. Without your art, this technology wouldn't have been here in the first place. Your art is invaluable. Never stop creating. Never give up, never give in.

Have a bear <3

#rant #ai rant #very long post #no beta we die like men #bonus bear #thank you for coming to my ted talk

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mackeydoodledoo · 4 months

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Chapter 4: Life in District 7

Pairing: Lamina x (Fem!Mentor)Reader

Summary: You began living life in 7 after Lamina finds you. The both of you continuing on growing, a continue developing feelings for one another. However, Lamina continues to deal with her PTSD from the Hunger Games...

Warnings: Social Anxiety, Swearing, New Life adjustment

Key: Italics = Thoughts, +*+ = Time Skip, Bold/Italics = Flashback

Theme: True Colors - Justin Timberlake/Anna Kendrick

A/n: None

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

*Y/n's POV* You walk back into the house to search for Lamina.

"What do you want?" She asks

"I was just... Letting you know that your father and I are heading down to the market," You say, "And... I nearly forgot that my mother packed me some baked goods before I left. Mostly baked them for you of course..."

Lamina doesn't answer as she coddles her brother. You awkwardly leave them on her nightstand and briskly walk out of her room.

*Lamina's POV* When you hear the front door close, you out your brother back into his crib for a nap. Walking back into your room, you walk up to the settled basket on your nightstand. You move the cloth covering the baked goods and reach for one... Slowly bringing it to your mouth, savoring its taste...

"Also, how did you get these done so fast?" You ask, biting into a treat

"Well, when your mother is pretty much a culinary artist, and her only daughter is in the infirmary, she stress bakes," She answers, "Hence, why I have so much food right now."

"So you're an only child?" You ask, highlighting Y/n's only-child status

She nods, "Father died when I was a little kid, and mother never remarried. So, when you told you had a younger brother, I got a little jealous."

"You? A capitol citizen jealous of a girl from the district?" You chuckle

"Yeah," You say, straight faced, "I've always wanted to know what it felt like to have at least one other sibling. But, guess I'll never know."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed that you basically could have everything you wanted," You say, tucking hair behind your ear

"It's okay," She says, "We're from opposite upbringings. Technically, I could have everything I wanted. But, I chose to go at it my own way."

"Not really when you're spilling personal information like this," You say, "My mother died giving birth to my little brother. We're kinda alike in a way."

"If... If it were up to me, I would switch places with you; you mentoring me, and I'd be the one going into the arena," She confesses

"You'd die?" You ask

She nods.

"Well, maybe in another life we would meet under different circumstances," You say

You think back to that specific night and sigh...

I've missed her ma's baking...

*Y/n's POV* Lamina's father brings you into the market. You weren't sure what you were expecting other than lumber sales, but you were taken aback with all types of lumber that was around.

"So you all don't just cut down trees huh?" You ask

"Of course not," Lamina's father explains, "Of course, that is our main schtick. But, we managed to find little hobbies to utilize some creative skill in our district."

As you gaze around, you see people carving utensils, figurines... Even instruments...

You were amazed.

"Set it up here kid," He gestures to an empty table

You set his stuff down as you see eyes set upon you form everywhere...

"Don't mind them," He tells you, "Once you're here for about a year, they'll stop seein' you funny."

"Hope so..." You sigh, "So, how does this go?"

"Watch and learn," He says

You watch as a couple comes walking up to the table. However, began to look at you oddly.

"She's my apprentice," Lamina's father averts their unpleasant gaze

He goes onto explaining the products you and him had brought.

+*+

You return with Lamina's father after a day in the market.

"I'm assuming that you don't have a place to stay?" He asks

"No I don't sir," You say

"We have a spare room, you're more than welcome to stay with us for as long as you need," He says

"You're too kind," You chuckle

You follow him to the spare room, which you happened to pass by Lamina's room; she sits in her bed, reading a book of sorts.

She's kinda cute when she reads...

Your eyes drift to her nightstand... Basket open... You couldn't tell how much she had consumed.

"What do you want?" She asks

"Nothing," You say, quickly making your way into the spare room

You take in the surroundings; way smaller than what you were used to back living with your mother. But, you weren't going to complain.

You settle yourself into the small room...

+*+

Screaming...

Your legs burst out into a run and you nearly slide past Lamina's doorway, but caught yourself on the doorframe.

"Hey hey what's wrong?!" You ask, panting

"N-nothing, I'm fine," Lamina attempts to compose herself

"You're clearly not fine," You say

*Lamina's POV* You viciously wipe away your tears.

"I'm fine Y/n, now get out!" You say, pinching the bridge of your nose, trying to hide your tears

You let out a sigh and turn your back towards Y/n, slowly drifting off to sleep...

+*+

You wake up to the birds chirping outside. As you sit up in bed, you look over to the door and see Y/n, knees pressed against her chest, using her arm as a pillow; sleeping uncomfortably against the wall.

Was she there... All night?...

You were falling even harder... But, you weren't sure how to tell her that...

You get up from your bed and make your way towards Y/n. You gently shake her, and her eyes flutter open.

"Come on," You whisper

She begrudgingly stands but almost collapses from the pain in her back and legs. You keep her upright as you begin to motion towards your bed.

"I.. I thought you were going to take me back to bed, in the spare..." She yawns

"Too far..." You say

You gently lay her down along your bed, tucking her in like you would to your brother.

"Thanks for... Staying with me," You say, brushing some loose strands of her hair

"Always," She replies under her breath

You couldn't help but crack a small smile...

"You're so dumb sometimes," You say under your breath

You stand up and make your way out of the room, making your way down to the kitchen.

"Mornin' kiddo," Your pops greets you

You could easily tell that he was already cooking up breakfast.

"Mornin' pops," You greet back, walking up to his side

"You uh... Slept okay?" He asks

"Yeah, why?" You ask

"Well, you would often wake up two to three times a night," He points out

He was right, you normally would. Ever since coming home from the 10th games, you've lost a great amount of sleep.

*Y/n's POV* You walk down the stairs and see Lamina's family at the table.

"Ahh, good morning Y/n," Lamina's father greets you

"Morning," You reply

"You slept okay?" He asks

You nod.

"Lamina finish up, we have to get you ready for the reaping," He tells her

Both you and Lamina drop whatever the both of you held... You nearly forgot about the 11th Hunger Games...

"Uhh..." You break the horrifying silence, "I don't know if you know about this but... Lamina is exempt from any future hunger games."

"Exempt?" He asks

"Basically she has no obligations to put her name into further reapings for the rest of her life," You say, "When the Dean chose us for mentorship, he had us read up on the hunger games rules. And according to the rules, every victor, despite still being of the reaping age; Lamina being sixteen, she does not have to participate

Lamina attempts to stop tears from rolling down her face. Lamina's father gently grasps your hands and gets onto his knees; profusely thanking you for the information.

+*+

Instead of accompanying Lamina's father to the market like the last few months, you accompanied Lamina to the forest.

"What did you bring me out here for?" You ask, "Don't you... Have... Friends... Around here?"

"They're all at the reaping..." She explains

"Oh..." You sigh

Lamina stops and presses her hand on your shoulder and hides the both of you in a hollow stump. The both of you watch a pair of peacekeepers walk by.

"Why are we hiding from them? You don't need to go to the reapings," You whisper

"They probably wouldn't care if I'm a victor," She whispers back, "They'll probably throw me in the reaping anyway."

The both of you slowly crawl out form the makeshift hiding spot and continue your way through the woods.

+*+

The both of you find a part of the forest that you're far enough from the peacekeeper population, but not far enough to be past the border from 7.

You watch as Lamina strgetically finds stable branches, unnoticeable cracks and scales the seemingly smooth tree. She turns and looks down at you.

"Are you coming or what?" She asks

"Y-yeah, hang on," You clear your throat

You attempt to match where her hands grabbed and where she placed her feet. You look up and see her already halfway up the tree.

What the hell?!... Wow...

You watch her pull off to the side somewhere far up the tree. In which you attempt to climb faster.

"How do you make this..." You strain, "Look... So easy?!..."

You let out a yelp as your foot loses its footing. Your hands claw at the bark, attempting to grab at anything. However, you stopped... You look up and see Lamina grasping at your arm. You regain your footing and your other hand grabs at the tree's surface as you carefully catch up to Lamina.

"How do I make tree-climbing look so easy?" She jumps back to your question, "Been climbing trees all my life."

"Yeah... Makes sense," You sigh, trying to let your thrumming heart calm down

When you do, you begin to take in the scenery before you... Mountain ranges for miles... Rivers connecting to lakes here and there... You were able to see everything.

"If only... This were in the Capitol," You sigh

"I didn't think I'd live through the games," Lamina comments, "I... Also never got to thank you..."

You look at her, "For what?"

"Bringing me home," She says, looking back at you, "When they announced me the victor, I was surprised that you lived up to your promise."

"Please, there was only so much I could do behind a computer screen," You chuckle

"Well, your last bit of advice really pushed me through the moment when the tributes from 4 were double-teaming me," Lamina says, "I think it was something like... 'If they try to kill you, kill them first.' Kind od thing... That was what was going through my head when I was fighting them..."

You were surprised on how well Lamina remembered that line... Because it was word-for-word. Even though it came out of your mouth, you didn't remember how you said it....

You felt Lamina's pinky brush against yours. You look down at it, then back up at her.

"Thank you, Y/n," Lamina smiles

"Always," You smile back

Lamina scoots closer to you, enough to rest her head upon your shoulder; the both of you gazing out on the beautiful 7 forestry whilst avoiding the horrific reality of the world you both reside in.

+*+

It was a slow process on adapting to the culture in 7. However, you were surprised on how everyone was being so kind towards you; despite being from the Capitol.

"I bet everyone is beginning to tolerate me is because I got you home," You joke

"It is not that Y/n," Lamina says, "Okay that is one factor, but you don't flaunt your wealth nor do you think lowly of us."

"Well, after I announced to my mother that I was moving, she isn't giving me any ounce of support," You say

"What?!" She asks, "I thought you had a good relationship with your mother."

"Oh, trust me, I do," You say, "I did tell her that I wanted to make a new life. So, any ties I would have with the capitol, other than her, are severed."

*Lamina's POV* "So..." You say, "You're now going to be seen as a lowly person?"

"It's better than being brainwashed into believing what the capitol is doing to the districts are right and filthy rich people should be praised like... These gods... That they were in control over everything, even in the districts." She says

"You said 'they'," You point out

"Y-yeah... I guess I did," She chuckles, "I just... Felt.. So... Out of place there... I.. I... Always felt. Different compared to the traditional capitol families. That, my life wasn't in the capitol. That. It could be... Somewhere out here."

"Well, I'm glad you chose 7," You say

"I thought you weren't happy to see me when I arrived," Y/n chuckles

"I wasn't," You confess, "But, after having you around here for awhile now, I don't think I'd let you go back to the Capitol."

"Then that should be easy for you," She smiles, "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

+*+

You wake up with a scream, cold sweat and tears streaming down your face. Y/n rushes over.

"Hey," She yawns, but obviously concerned, "You okay?!.."

You nod, "Just another nightmare..."

You let out a sniffle, wiping your tears.

"Same one?..." She asks, having a good guess of what it is

You nod again.

You watch her sit next to the door, the usual night after night.

"Actually... Will you... Hold me?..." You ask

Her eyes search you for certainty... In which you easily show to her that you were, indeed certain, and watch her get up and make her way to your bed, carefully getting underneath the covers with you. Almost immediately you cling to her; causing her to twitch.

"Is this... Too much?..." You ask, noting how she twitched in your embrace

"No," She says, slowly relaxing her arms, "Not at all."

You immediately settle yourself in her embrace and slowly rest your eyes, listening to her heartbeat .

Chapter 5

#lamina #lamina tbosas #lamina x reader #female reader #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #the hunger games #tbosas

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spockandawe · 4 months

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Okay, I think I'm ready to start chewing on and articulating some Peerless/Wushuang thoughts at least, because I'm deep in the parts of the book where this starts becoming more relevant.

Feng Xiao and Cui Buqu are VERY alike. This is an asshole4asshole relationship, they're both leading secret police bureaus, they're both ruthless and calculating and VERY smart. But they're also so different in some crucial ways. Yeah, Feng Xiao is one of the strongest martial artists alive, while Cui Buqu's health is so fragile that everyone is amazed he's still alive, which is delightful, but i do think the differences in personality are even more more interesting

Like, a thing I've said before (maybe not on here?) is that one of the things that makes Yan Wushi so compelling despite being such a jackass is that he's VERY true to himself, in a considered, deliberate, intelligent way. Part of what drives him to try to break Shen Qiao is his conviction that everyone who clings to ethics and morality is just putting on a self-serving facade and it won't take much hardship to shatter that. Feng Xiao doesn't have an internal conviction like that driving him, or, he sort of does. But his core driving force is pure unadulterated self-love.

Feng Xiao has lived his life with perfect cheerful conviction that Feng Xiao is the most beauitful, most capable, most clever boy in the whole world. Now. It doesn't take long for him to become VERY wary of Cui Buqu's intelligence, but the personal vanity doesn't falter. It's a delight to read, someone trying to suck up to him sends him the most beautiful woman he's ever seen trying to curry favor, and Feng Xiao has her clean his room. He's literally like 'buddy. pal. why would i sleep with someone less beautiful than i am?' He's capable of schemes and plotting, but when it comes to personality, he is a CHEERFULLY open reflection of his own inner self however rancid that inner self is lmao

Cui Buqu on the other hand. MY GOD. The man literally starts the book acting a fabricated role. This won't have been spoilers if you read the book summary, but Cui Buqu has a whole city convinced that he's a perfectly benevolent, kind, generous daoist priest, and meanwhile. When it comes to a contest of who's the most ruthless in this book, between Feng Xiao and Cui Buqu, i think Cui Buqu handily wins! Even once that initial act is peeled away, Cui Buqu has layers and LAYERS. Mister onion ogre man. The author even calls him out for being like this in the notes. It's extremely funny, but also makes for a delightful slow burn in terms of relationship development, it's very rewarding to read.

But as i do that actual reading now, I'm really taken by how subtly that tension between them really enriches the surrounding story. The arc I'm in now involves Cui Buqu's backstory, and he's simultaneously being revealed to be more vicious and more gentle than the prior story suggested. This is DEFINITELY weighted more towards the viciousness than gentleness, but without spoilers, that really makes the moments when he chooses to be kind hit so, so hard! And while Feng Xiao is strong, he's always been openly and bluntly strong, the way more and more of Cui Buqu is gradually brought to light underscores the depth and nature of HIS strength.

Both of these men are very beloved by their subordinates, so the story communicates well that they have good points, but it's fascinating how Cui Buqu's are revealed to readers by patiently peeling those layers away, while Feng Xiao, someone much more open, but with a very demanding personality, is rounded out in large part thanks to those reveals from Cui Buqu, and the way he reacts and how his behavior modifies.

Is that coherent? I can't tell anymore. But the depth of meng xi shi's character writing is something fascinating to me, and Peerless and Thousand Autumns give a LOT of narrative attention to who their main characters are, and the different seemingly-contradictory layers of characters like Yan Wushi and Cui Buqu. Shen Qiao and Feng Xiao are fascinating in the sense of however far down you dig, what you see is what you get, lmao. But the nuance and elaboration within that space, which might seem restrictive, still makes for a FASCINATING character, and a very engaging read

#peerless #wushuang #fengcui #feng xiao #cui buqu

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melodichaeuxx-lacritquexx · 9 months

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Last review! I’m so sad to see it end but from what I’m hearing, it ended beautifully.

Danny didn’t have chance from the beginning. He got a silent mother; abusive stepfather, abusive alters, and a lawyer with an addiction, I see why he thought suicide was his only way out, even without knowing about Stan’s addiction—Candy was the icing on the cake.

Ray’s boss annoys me. “Good girl”??? Such misogyny! And it hasn’t gotten better either, men still act this way.

Tom did his big one with this role. Like does Stan believe Rya finally when he heard Jack speak? Jack is the evil within this whole entire time. He made Danny leave for London to look even more guilty. If he left at all. Jack is horrible. I don’t even know how his alter was created.

Also, I love how the closed captions say normal voice when he’s speaking with an American accent when we all know Tom’s normal voice is British 🤣

Never heard Jason’s American voice ever, that’s amazing! And how Tom’s American accent changes to match Jason’s is SO FUCKING AMAZING! You hear the struggle of trying to keep his British accent at bay while trying to sound like Danny but it’s not Danny’s voice, which is much lighter in tone.

Now Jack came out lol and had the other lawyer looking at him crazy lol. I’m so glad Danny broke free so that Adam/Danny could finally speak. And I hope the alters finally see how destructive Jack is.

Danny finally coming to terms with Adam not being his actual brother but another alter (it’s funny how alters don’t age when you do, like what if you’re in your 60s but you have an alter in their 20s and they try do a backflip? That’d fuck you up)

Adam came before Marlin entered into their lives. Imagine all the abuse he had to deal with before that in order to create Adam? That’s sad. And the fact that Adam let marlin do whatever just so that candy wouldn’t be alone is heartbreaking. She put all her hurt and emotions onto Danny, allowed him to see her that way, and that made Danny/Adam decide to put up with whatever abuse he had to to keep her happy

And now the other lawyer is crying. I understand it’s her job but she pissed me off. I’m glad Danny won. And Danny being in shock—the emotions from just his eyes alone?? Unbelievable.

This new wig don’t look bad, I just wish they filmed it different so they could allow him to cut his hair cause I know he was over it at that point.

Love how Rya became the mother figure he needed. Candy knew that his biological father had been molesting him but because memories don’t develop until after four (sometimes early but the brain is so traumatized, it’ll black out anything, trust me—half my childhood is gone and I don’t remember anything) that’s when he created Adam and she let him believe that Adam was real and off with their biological dad like some parent trap shit—what parent willingly separates twins?! Seriously!

I’m so happy Danny didn’t forgive her. She the victim and the villain; instead trying to make the situation better again, she just stayed and allowed it to continue. I truly thought she was gonna say his father had DID, not that he was a pervert. And I just don’t understand how she couldn’t leave again if she did it the first time.

Tom’s cold icy stare is both sexy and heartbreaking, he gives tortured artist. Emmy looks like Mila Kunis to me. (Sorry it’s the ADHD)

So now that fusion therapy is working (a better outcome than the person this was based on) does this mean that Danny’s bisexual 👀 (do not come for me, it was an intrusive thought!)

Love the paintings are exactly the one from the intro; I wonder what debt Danny’s talking about. We’ll never know; the show’s over and it’s an anthology 🙃. It was beautifully written and so well taken care of. I’m sad that Tom can’t express that anymore cause of the strike but hopefully he sees how much this show means to us

Never mind I think I know what the debt is:

Danny has to now fuse Adam. His inner child that he has to protect, or be a guardian Angel for.

This show has made me appreciate those who struggle with mental health (like myself) and those who never stop helping them. And it also made me appreciate the cast’s acting, especially Tom’s; this shit was difficult and hard and I’m sure he will never do another difficult role again and I hope he never has to.

#tom holland #melodicheauxxo #melodicheauxx review #thcontent #the crowded room #tcr spoilers #danny sullivan

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zeta-in-de-walls · 5 months

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Reminiscing on the Dream SMP (part 1)

Hey guys, I was thinking about Dream SMP the other day. That server was a lot of fun in its day even as the content creator Dream turns out to be a terrible person.

It's been a little over a year since Tommy's DSMP ending and I thought I would reminisce on it.

The main question I have for the server is just how its final streams were so bas.

In its day, it was pretty cool and I believe it helped inspire a lot of future SMPs, showing creators how much fans had an appetite for story in a minecraft server (it wasn't the first but it was certainly influential).

One of its main strengths that first attracted me to it was the improv lead stories slowly evolving into loosely scripted streams.

By loosely scripted, I mean they had a concrete plans for the story beats but still left the actual dialogue up to the streamers to come up with which, when it worked, gave you some really natural sounding dialogue that at least somewhat reacted to the world around it.

The actual storylines were nothing too special. But the medium helped uplift them to feel extra unique - you would often get long unhurried streams allowing any important plot points to really breathe and get to see the characters going about their days, often doing things like rebuilding structures or mining even in content heavy streams - which many were not. This all helped the world feel very lived in and surprisingly immersive. Streamers interactions with their viewers through their chats was also an important element. This helped streamers as they had a live audience to judge their content off of and also to bounce off of, which was especially useful when they were streaming alone as it gave them an audience to naturally deliver soliloquys about their characters thoughts or just allowed them to narrate what they were doing at any given moment.

Being a server with many different streamers was also an interesting element. Viewers were not expected to watch all of it and indeed there was tons of content - another amazing about it was the sheer amount of content you got from it, such as multiple multi-hour streams every day - sometimes a different perspective of the same events, sometimes something completely different at the same time. I like to compare the server to comic books in that regard. They all took place in the same server but what stream you watched was what character you wanted to follow. And some fans would keep up with multiple, some only one or maybe two characters. But they were all fans of the server even though gradually they diverged more into their own separate fan groups - especially as different streamers had very different styles of content.

All this is to say that streaming was a cool medium for the Dream SMp and it was both a huge strength and sometimes a weakness. One reason I was such a fan of Tommy's exile arc was essentially how it was able to tell a story of isolation and the development of an abusive dynamic rather uniquely as with streams you got to see the everyday and see the character going about their day-to-day routine while gradually becoming more depressed. It basically used streaming and the minecraft medium to its advantage so well that I appreciate it almost artistically.

There were downsides to streaming as well. Overtime the fans increasingly labelled streams as heavy lore or semi lore or non-canon depending on what the streamer was up to as some days they just streamed building something and didn't want to interact with the server's plot. Sometimes the streamers would do stuff for content and looking at the wider story it was very easy to see these characters as terrible people or struggle with the disconnects. Sometimes jokes would turn into the most serious plots and there was some real whiplash.

But as I said. I don't really believe the story or characters were all that special. But the nature of the Dream SMP elevated it and when it was good, it felt like something special.

#dream smp #meta #oh look i decided to discuss this old server one more time #this is all so i can rant about the finale but naturally the introduction got long xD

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