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lucabyte · 12 days

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your ocs!!!!! please ramble about them!!!!

i love your art so much

(GRABS YOU) H. CAN DO BOSS.

So ! My ocs. I guess I'll do an overall explainer for the overall groups. If you check out my Toyhouse (LINK!) there's a bunch of folders up top that are how I categorise them. It's primarily by universe except for the folders that are just "misc."

So folder 1: Blatant favouritism:

These are silly little guys that don't fit in any specific wider universe, but I really really like. So I'll spotlight the two important ones before i get real in the weeds with my main universe.

In here are notably, my Fursona (self explanatory), Ali and Pittsburgh Cincinnati. There's also Hauntkit and Clearpelt who are warriorcats ocs that *is dragged away by airport security*

... So, Pittsburgh, lovingly sometimes called pissbug, is a weird little Thing who I made as like, an homage to characters like happy bunny and Sweetypuss. She (and her weird dog) exist to stand next to strange and offputting captions. I love her. No further context. She's just silly. and violent.

Now. Ali.

Ali Alighieri has thoroughly stolen the show, and also ties into the next folder along, Making Your MK.

With over a hundred extra images compared to second place (Sorry, Tabitha). Ali is my fucked up little scrunkly. My little baby guy. They're a shared character of mine and @samhainian's, and is from their Creature Feature setting (A modern fantasy setting wherein Cryptids and Magic are real but in our modern world.) They are as such, a modern human young adult... Who is also a demon + magic user.

Strange little pansexual altersex genderqueer poetry-nerd that they are... The modern setting also means they are literally just a tumblr user. A fellow countryman, so to speak.

HOWEVER.... Ali's true origin was in *Purrgatorio*, a scrapped visual novel of mine set in the MYMK universe! They were simply retrofitted into CF as the joke with Purrgatorio was that a regular human had mysteriously just shown up in MYMK's pure-furry setting.... And then when we scrapped the project we got all attatched to our little not-so-blank-slate protagonist. But I'll put a pin in Purrgatorio for later.

Making Your MK.

(Guest of honour: My super unfinished website <3)

Okay so here's the big one. The setting with.... (looks at spreadsheet) 109 characters not including so-called incidentals. At time of writing.

MYMK is home to... Multiple stories. As you would hope when a setting has 100+ characters. I'd wager each story has about 10-20 relevant characters tops but with a big shared universe like this there gets to be overlap between casts!!! Yay !!! 😊😊😊

MYMK is the name of the main story in the setting. Pronounced "Making your Mark", it is centered around Markus Felidae (The purple one) and their family. It's very action-adventure-y. It's also the plot I'm most secretive about the backend of since I WILL!!!!! Turn it into a nice prose story with pictures SOMEDAY!!!!! But for now tee hee hee secrets secrets. Markus' family is strange and ragtag and is keeping something from them... I can't ramble on too long here unless further prompted in asks about specifics but!!! Everyone in the MYMK folder has a fully furbished little profile with a blurb about them. So if you're curious....

But yeah, I tend to think of the MYMK setting more in terms of its Locations than its Casts, due to the overlapping nature of them all. The Malbranche may be the villains of the main plot, but they're also major players in relation to The Palsgrave who are the antagonists of Moraine, etc etc,

The country everything in MYMK is set in is called New Orphidian, Southern hemisphere little thing, here's a very cartoony map of it.

Um. Cliffside!

Since it's the best map I have... Here's an exclusive sneak peek of a Zine I'll be getting back to once the fandom brain cools down a bit.... :3c

(... I REALLY NEED TO DO A TOUR AROUND THE MINECRAFT CLIFFSIDE SAM AND I BUILT..... IT'S SO CUTE....)

Cliffside is situated on a big ol' Cliff.

A tiny hamlet of a place, it used to have reason to exist, and now does not. It's not even a good tourist locale, as the cliff is much too dangerous compared to the nicer tourist spot of Welkin just a little north. Not to mention nearby Moraine's allure as a tax haven with no labour laws place where a bunch of TV and Movies are filmed!

It's where most of MYMK's main cast reside (except the antagonists from the Big City Varmonte), and is as such a location I have a lot of tiny little worldbuilding thoughts about :)

I won't go into the other locations here just because then this post will SUPER get away from me but... I think most importantly for Cliffside right now...

Is that it's where Purrgatorio is set. Yes, that VN I said got scrapped. It's not dead. It is in fact serving it's original intended purpose as "A (mostly) noncanon exploration of character voice and setting"

It's back and its prose babeyyyyyyy!!! (A BUNCH OF THE EARLY STUFF IS ME BEING SUPER RUSTY ... BE WARNED)

Purrgatorio is currently the most publicly available coherent work I have out of my ocs! It's very low-stakes and serves mostly to bash my toys together and see what character dynamics come out, but you can look if you want to!

(There's also a whole THING on the meta of its Canonicity... It's not canon, but it's also not NOT canon. But if I talk about Metanarrative Timeline Collapse in my normal mundane non-magic setting im gonna sound bonkers ✌)

Ali's dynamics with the MYMK cast are so goddamn funny to me. Like I literally just handed my OCs some ET shit but ET is a sexually repressed tumblr user with a mood disorder.

But yeah I don't think I can coherently string together much more about MYMK without just actually explaining THE WHOLE PLOT.... Though I will absolutely elaborate on any given character's Whole Deal if i'm prompted. (OH MY GOD I DIDNT EVEN TALK ABOUT CHROME AND TABITHA. WAIT. OKAY THERE'S. OK NO IF I TALKED ABOUT THEM IT'D JUST END UP AN ESSAY ,SORRY..)

So here's some bonafide classic images for the road.

(IF TUMBLR BREAKS THE FORMATTING AND JUST PUTS THESE ONE AFTER THE OTHER INSTEAD OF IN A GRID IM SO SORRY LMAOOOOO)

... And as for the other folders on my toyhouse!

Misc and Fandom are what they sound like. Self explanatory,

Then, Ysden is @samhainian's fantasy setting. It's where our DnD games happen to be set but it's also a general fantasy setting :)

and Monster of the Week... Is currently being revamped! It used to be a modern world setting with hidden magic, now it's going to be more... Adventure Time-y. Fantasy world get iphone. Yknow. It has a lower Age Rating than MYMK's "anything goes", as it started as a Pitch Bible Project in my animation class. They're a little neglected but I still love them :) The revamp is extemely recent and not reflected in any of the art/writing yet but I'm workin on it. It still doesn't have a proper title..... OTL

So yeah!! Uh. This wasn't as comprehensive as I was hoping but it turns out I have way, WAY too many thoughts on my guys. And no idea what to do when im actually asked about them so !!!! This was not a very coherent ramble but it was a ramble !

There's things like essays on Chrome and Tabitha (Link) and also The Queer Gender Identities Of The Whole Cast (Link) hiding around on my toyhouse, and once again, Purrgatorio (Link) serves as my sandbox for playing with how these characters act in situations.

But..... ! I did try to make my toyhouse approachable for the average layman. Every character in the MYMK folder (Link) has a *blurb* of information, rather than a giant wall of text explaining everything about them. I want people to be able to understand their general vibe at a glance rather than be overwhelmed.

In any case ???? Uh. Fun game for everyone: If you know your homestuck classpect, every single MYMK character has a classpect and lunar sway. and a birthday. Try and find your andrew-hussie assigned kin! As a Prospitian Witch of Heart, I share my classpect and lunar sway with Chrome. No I don't know what this means. It worries me honestly he's kind of an asshole.

#oh my god this is so long and not coherent at all anon i love you thank you so much for asking but this is unintelligable from me LOL #long post #EVEN LONGER IF TUMBLR BREAKS THE FORMATTING WHICH IM SUPER SCARED IT WILL DO #but yeah. BURSTS INTO TEARS. I LOVE MY LITTLE GUYS THERES LIKE 10 YEARS UPCOMING OF DEV ON THEM ITS UNWEILDY #THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ASKING AUGH.... SORRY THIS IS MOSTLY JUST SAYING TO LOOK AT MY TOYHOUSE LOLLL #but if anyone catches your eye dear reader feel free to ask about them in specifics? even if they seem niche or under-drawn...#i will have had a lot of thoughts on them. no matter what.#also my toyhouse doesnt make it clear whos trans gender because i only list pronouns and not gender identity but . theres a bunch.#i have so many goddamn nonbinary characters who use binary pronouns too its . i realise i make it hard to tell LOL #anyway the classpect assigned kinnie thing is my fav thing to do. everyone should do this with their ocs #lucabytetalks #LUCABYTETALKS LIKE. A LOT. THIS TIME. THIS IS SO DISORGANISED GOOD LIRD.....

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mixelation · 11 months

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more rotating on this post: kakashi dating a civilian OC who has no idea he's a ninja

original proposed concept is they "meet" via icha icha fanzine. i bothered @tozettastone and they suggested that OC be a cosplayer. what does icha icha cosplay even look like? you ever seen IRL naruto coplay that's like "naruko but she wears a miniskirt and fishnets and a lot of makeup." or like fanart of kakashi where he's wearing a bellyshirt for no reason other than to show off his abs. like that, plus some very over-the-top traditional clothing for undercover work and civilian characters. everyone has off the shoulder kimono that show off cleavage and magically stay up, etc

anyway, i can't really see young!kakashi (like 18-19-20?) actively participating in fandom. but maybe he finds a zine somewhere and starts collecting them, like a pre-internet lurker. it's his coping mechanism, okay. he likes fanart. he likes bad fics. and then our lovely OC who's also 19 and fresh to being allowed in the porn section is like: I MADE THE BEETLE WING HAORI HERE'S A PHOTO. there's a note about her sorting through thousands of beetle wings to get the right colors, and also what a nightmare they are to sew, and also what should she try next, mail me here??? and Kakashi is like: oh wow, this person is insane. i have just the challenge. <3

(OC's additional notes on the haori: no one should ever do this again. just don't. you'll regret it)

kakashi is not the only person to write her suggestions, but he IS the only one to suggest something that's actually technically difficult to make, which is what she wanted. so they start swapping letters where she sends him progress updates on this insane thing she is making. he finds this mildly amusing until about a month out from the next con when her letters abruptly turn insane. she WILL premier this cosplay there even if it kills her-- listen if her wig guy isn't up to snuff she'll just LEARN HERSELF--

and listen kakashi isn't going to FALL IN LOVE but this level of commitment is something he can appreciate.

OC sends him a letter about the con (her very first one!!) and going to a con is not something he has any interest in, but like. he is curious to know what they're like, and it's nice to like? have? a friend??

they trade letters for years without actually talking about their personal life much. kakashi is not creative (no writing fic, no fanart, no cosplay, etc) but he IS really good at analysis. you need every detail on naoki's civilian outfit in paradise? he's got you. you don't understand wtf the text is talking about when it describes a weapon? he'll draw you a diagram (and not mention he knows what jiraiya is talking about because it's based on a real thing that was popular for like a month during the third war).

this goes on for years. oc lives in a small town in a little border country with no ninja, and her family runs a clothes shop, and she's deeply bored of making and altering shirts. she has a frustrating life in a very mundane way-- she dates a few guys and doesn't marry any of them and her family gives her grief. she moves to a slightly bigger city and can't get a job doing what she wants (making high-end luxury clothes and/or just insane fashion) and ends up working at a general store and doing minor alterations as a side gig to fund her hobby. she doesn't get to travel around and do cool things as much as she dreamed as a kid. she skips some cons because she doesn't always have the money and also there's a weird guy who'd been low-key stalking her. she tries selling little pre-made costume pieces at a con and doesn't even break even. only a handful of these details make it into her very serious discussion with kakashi about how the many details the icha icha miniseries got wrong

kakashi is.... being kakashi. obviously he doesn't write to her about all the assassinations he's been doing or whatever. but he doesn't mind when OC hints at her own boring problems. it's kind of nice, actually, to know there's people out there having boring problems? anyway one day she complains her landlord won't let her get a dog and he mails her a polaroid of a random dog he met in a park.

i'm thinking around the time of just before canon starts is about when kakashi is at a place where he's like..... okay with sharing some personal details? like he doesn't say a LOT but he realizes it actually feels really nice to write to someone that he's annoyed the store stopped selling his favorite pre-rolled sushi. the letters get sent more frequently and the conversation escalates at a slow, tedious pace. kakashi sends more dog pics. he tells her that he was so exhausted after work that he considered eating dog treats instead of cooking, and this feels like a very big deal to him

her: PLEASE tell me it was at least the fancy kind that look like cookies

him: obviously i would only buy the highest quality treats for my dogs

her: dogS?

kakashi: (ignores this question in the next letter)

kakashi checks his mail everyday now and he's like. oh no my feelings. but also she's in a whole other country and only exists to him in letters and that feels.... safe, somehow.

they met via a club for porn books so they don't "get together" so much as one of their very academic discussions of kink in icha icha violence suddenly turns into deeply sexual letters that have nothing to do with icha icha. there's still their normal conversation but then it's also like "if you were here now, this is what i would do to you--"

OC has been pretty good at not prying into Kakashi's life and she's very understanding of team seven making kakashi's life insane (she's under the impression her got an apprentice for whatever his job is) but she starts bugging him for a photo. kakashi is very against this at first, but then sasuke leaves and naruto leaves and sakura runs off with tsunade and suddenly he has a lot of free time and a big gaping hole in his social life. and like. he DOES really like her. they MIGHT be dating? definitely they have a thing going. so instead he asks if she wants to meet in person

OC agrees but she goes into it VERY nervous. she figures he didn't want to give a photo because he's embarrassed about his appearance, and she doesn't care what he looks like, but what if he lied about other things? what if she walks a whole day to this resort town and he's a weirdo or gross or stood her up?? but she puts on her big girl pants and also her push-up bra and goes

she wasn't actually going to sleep with him for their first meeting but it turns out he is like. hot. and talks just like his letters. and also it's way cheaper to just share one hotel room-- kakashi are you SURE you won't couple cosplay--

#i guess i need a tag for this au #kakashi/cosplay!oc au

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y0itsbri · 1 month

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tagged by @heymacy and @sxltburn the cutest cuties ilysm

name: bri

age: twentysomething who knows

location: snuggled up in bed w my cat<3

latest music discovery: good luck, babe! by chappell roan is on repeat in this household babyyyy 🍀

latest movie: death note⚰️

last tv show you finished: death note aaaand dungeon meshi 🍲🐉

most recently started book: the 'fucking trans women' zine by mira bellwether

most recent trip out of town: my gf's birthday trip to our first concert together 🎂

most recent trip out of the country: oh lawddd. probably to the bahamas with my dad about a decade ago

most recent gift you made yourself: a little crochet bumblebee and a couple crystal carvings of a fluorite cat and a selenite heart ❤️

most recent gift you made to someone else: idk if it was the most recent but i picked out a megalodon shark tooth for my gf and it's so fucking cool

most recent text message you received: 'hi honey. u up?' from my mom

most recent text message you sent: 'yeah i'm up' to my mom

last fic you read: girllll it's been a hot minute

last drink you had: ginger ale

last thing you ate: a bowl of cheerios

latest piece of clothing you bought: a vintage button up from the 80s, equipped with shoulder pads and all

latest piece of advice you received: everything happens for a reason

latest piece of advice you gave: don't overpluck your eyebrows right away (unless you're going for a 90s goth look but they may or may not grow back)!

latest thing you promised yourself: hold less room for anger at the table

tagging @heymrspatel @gallawitchxx @vintagelacerosette @creepkinginc @7x10mickey @sickness-health-all-that-shit @arrowflier @energievie here's a mini garden happy spring lovies🌺🌻🐝🌷🐞🦋🌼🌱🫛🐇🦔🪷🌈🍅🧺☀️

#tagged

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boo-cool-robot · 2 years

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@Wellnoe and I made a little one-page Orth/Ibex zine for the Sam’s Club Zine Exchange, themed around reunions. Of course we HAD to write about our favorite difficult old men in a situation. Art and lettering by them, script and dialogue by me.

If you are interested in printing out and folding your own physical copy, you can download one here.

Image description below the cut!

Traditionally drawn black and white comic in simple grid layout. Orth Godlove and Ibex are older, wearing suits as described in the dance during the Counter/weight finale.

Page 1/Front Cover

Top half of the background is flowers. Bottom half is leaves.

Title: A postscript after Orth and Ibex’s dance.

Caption:

Script & Words: Wil Xia (boo-cool-robot)

Art & Letters: Wellnoe

Page 2

Orth sitting on a marble bench in a lush, artificial garden. His tie is loosened and he looks tired.

He looks up at the night sky.

Ibex approaches, silhouetted in the foreground.

IBEX: May I join you?

Caption: You scavenged data. You fed blueprints to me and I, well, I executed them.

Page 3

Ibex lets himself down onto the bench. Orth cocks his head at Ibex.

ORTH: Bringing me another offer?

IBEX: I brought you chips.

Close up on Ibex’s hands holding a cup of potato chips.

Caption: I comb through the data myself now. What’s coming. What used to be.

Page 4

Orth makes a grossed-out face that’s surprisingly unguarded and expressive.

ORTH: These the ones on the little platters inside? Awful things.

Orth is already reaching for a chip.

Caption: The moment his hand lifted free from my back, I’d realized. In another world, Attar Rose could have loved him.

Page 5

Orth is turned toward Ibex on the bench, looking down a little at him, amused. Their hands are close, hovering over the chip cup, postures mirrored.

IBEX: I could make better chips than these.

ORTH: I remember.

Caption: You had told me what to say, how to take his hand in order to turn him to me.

Page 6

Orth and Ibex with their backs to the camera, looking at a fountain in the distance. Ibex hesitates, looking at Orth. Orth has turned away already, the moment gone without him even having been aware there was a moment.

Caption: I thought I had mastered you. But in your absence, I realize that I instinctively feel for your guidance on the lead before I bite.

Page 7

Orth leaving the garden, stepping out of the pool of light. He looks back at Ibex, who looks weary.

ORTH: Are you ready?

Caption: I was like a very good dog.

Page 8/Back Cover

Chip cup, crumpled in the dirt below a blooming rose.

#friends at the table #counterweight #orth godlove #ibex #attar rose #orthibex #does anyone even tag that lol #this is secretly an ibex/righteousness comic-#a podcast about sadness and that's it period #this was a lot of fun to make.............brenna draws these guys so exquisitely #old men who have a miserable gay thing going on #shoutout to rufus roswellians for printing out physical copies for me on his personal printer lmao #shoutout annie dancynrew for organizing the exchange too!#mine #sounding writes fic #ibex (ibex)

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perexcri · 1 year

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to hell and back again now exists as a physical object!

(cat for size comparison )

hello hello!! i’m here for an official post to brag about @chubsonthemoon, a dear and lovely friend/hamster/beautiful fic writer and binder/Sandman zine contributor(!!!) who recently bound To Hell and Back Again as a present 💜

chubs is a dear irl friend and is (as i said in my final a/n for thaba) quite literally the only reason i ever started reading or writing fic in the first place. we’ve become good friends over the past couple of years, and i’ve loved being able to embrace these aspects of fandom that i never allowed myself to when i was younger (for many reasons, but that’s another story), and it’s really all thanks to them.

so without further ado, here are some pics of their lovely work!! they’re going to be making their own post about it later, so i’ll be reblogging that here and linking to it in this post as well, because they’ll have far more cool details to explain about the actual binding process than i could never articulate (they literally sent me a full video explaining so many things and i responded with something to the effect of “and the way you did that binding thing - i think you said it was German??” and “wOAh tHE edgEs”, so).

so, first of all: the covers!! @byierficrecs was very kind to make such a lovely graphic for this fic, and he was especially kind to let chubs use it for the actual cover!! i know most people in the fandom seem to already know about Angel and the lovely work he does, but if you haven’t checked out his work, please go give it some love~ (the original thaba graphic can be found here!!)

the spine, with chubs’ lovely little maker’s mark :D

(and if i rearranged my bookshelf just so i could put it between all of my R. F. Kuang books then that is my business alone)

and tHE EDGES?? i kind of blacked out after i opened the package today so i didn’t notice until about 10 minutes afterwards that they had continued the vines from the graphic onto the edges?? chubs i know i already screamed at you in private but now i get to do it on a public platform so please know i am still freaking out about this

art!! look at the lovely art!! thanks again to @starsarefire824 and @itssstarry for your lovely work!! i love getting to stare at these pieces regardless, but now i get to hold them in an actual physical form and stare at them heheheh. posts to show them support and/or links to find their work can be found here (for @starsarefire824) and here (for @itssstarry)!!

and finally, here’s it opened to my favorite chapter!! just if anybody wants to see the typsetting :D

thanks again to everybody who contributed to this!! like, yeah, i wrote it, but @chubsonthemoon bound it, and @byierficrecs designed the cover, and @starsarefire824 and @itssstarry contributed art? idk my brain’s being broken tonight over the fact that people can live in completely different places and all contribute to this thing that now takes up physical space on my bookshelf. i can’t really use my words right now, so here’s a poorly-made meme to express my thoughts instead:

and especially thanks to you, chubs!! again, you are a wonderful friend, and i’m glad we got to meet each other 💜 bonding over Chris Fleming videos and our shared connections (i’m thinking of cats and giraffes, ofc) has led to some wonderful memories. Louie says hello, btw!! she was sniffing your handiwork very intently heheheh :] 💜💜💜

anyways, i hope you guys enjoy the pics!! please send your love to all the wonderful people who made this possible~

(also!! i would encourage you guys to read chubs’ fanbinding commissions statement, just in case you have any questions, or reach out to them if you want to scream about their amazing work or have questions~)

chubs’ post can be found here!!

#byler fic #to hell and back again #fic binding #everyone say hi chubs #im updating irresistible tonight but the second i do im immediately rbing this ok #and then im rbing chubs' post #so if you see this a bunch of times just know it's not my fault my friends are talented and deserve all the attention 😌

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paramorearchived · 1 month

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June 23, 2013

Transcript:

what's cooler than being cool?

..... being yourself. That's what.

I was just thinking the other day... Looking at random blogs, fashion sites, online zines... and I got sad. Mostly because I feel like a lot of the different subcultures that exist today, exist because at some point there was someone who felt like they didn't fit in. (Stay with me.)They had a movement of their own to live for. So they did and maybe at some later point, it caught on or somebody else felt like they could fight for those same things. Maybe it wasn't even a "fight", maybe it was just a way of living. Marching to the beat of their own drum. My Granny always told my sisters and I from a very young age... "You girls just march to a different beat". I didn't really get it back then and honestly, I'm glad I didn't because when I was that young I didn't see the point in pointing out people's differences. It was just a way of living. Still is, I suppose. Or at least, I hope.

I do get it though and I see it in other people now... mostly young people. My sisters, for sure. But in a lot of our fans, as well. Again, mostly in the younger ones. Cause when we're just young enough, we're not yet jaded or bothered by what's "cool". We're not quite as worried about fitting into some of society's little cliques or sub-genres of human beings. So, we just do whatever comes naturally to us. Funny how there's an entire part of our culture completely obsessed with youth and beauty - yet we forget the most essential ingredient to youthfulness is that clean slate, non-judgemental, wide-eyed curiosity. You can't be sold any of that.

Anyway, I got sad because within these subcultures and an entirely new breed of "too-cool kids"... there are likely some people who, at some point, didn't fit in, weren't "normal", and probably needed somewhere to go to feel like they could fully express themselves. I see it everywhere. These are the nerds from junior high that got bullied everyday but then ended up in a band and now they've turned their old loser status into a trophy of pretentiousness to beat everyone over the head with. The guys and girls who wouldn't be caught dead in a regular old mall where they once probably got made fun of for what they were wearing... but are now wearing unique and fun brands like UNIF or Lazy Oaf (which, to be extra clear, I love) and calling everyone else "basic". I'm just saying, why doesn't the cycle end with the people who should've learned their lesson? Why aren't the once regarded weirdos and freaks raising up a new generation of people who are more self-assured in their individuality? Why does it seem like some of the strange ones found their bit of success and now look down on anyone else who doesn't look, think, or have the way they do? It's like seniors who constantly give sophomores a hard time as if they weren't just sophomores themselves like 3 years ago. I was not the most popular person in school. And even when I did have friends I still felt a bit like a weirdo. I'm not threatened by that... It's something that I hope to encourage other people with. That's a huge part of the message behind Paramore. To lift up the people who feel ashamed that they're different. To tell them that that's probably the coolest part about them.

At this very moment, at 24 years old, sitting here in sweats and looking/feeling utterly disastrous (hey, i got my rights)... I have to say, I'm really proud that as a kid I never felt like I fit in with the popular crowd. And as an adult, I don't feel like I fit in with the self-righteously uncool crowd either. Honestly, it's nice to be on a real quest to just be me everyday. No matter what. It doesn't matter if I'm in Silverlake, CA - land of the upturned noses - or back home in Nashville. Doesn't matter if we're on a red carpet. I guess I just couldn't care less. I'm not saying it's always easy but it's always worth it to stay true to you.

If anything, this could be a Back To The Future type of warning, to anybody who cares enough about this post, that high school ends but it never actually ends. There will still be people around who try to point at you and laugh. Who think you're not on some tip like they are. Who feel like their job, their shoes, their money, their boyfriend or girlfriend, their lifestyle ... is on some level that you haven't even ever heard of. The truth is that no one else could live your life. Nobody else - man or woman - could wake up and put on your shoes in the morning. Nobody else could pull it off. So own that. Cool is a lie. Cool doesn't matter and it never did. Merely perception.

In conclusion, you are your own torch carrier. Don't let anybody steal your light. Wear what you want. Think how you want. Challenge normal. And yes, even challenge what's "cool".

In total conclusion... We're really excited to be posting the video for "Anklebiters" in a couple of days. This is not an official single release, this is just a video we wanted to have done because of what the song has come to mean for our band. Thanks to all the people who came up on stage with us over the last tour and a half and sang it with us. This song is our way of contributing to the art of self-love and self-acceptance, no matter the odds.

We love you guys and we love you most when you're being yourself.

xxxxx h

#paramore #hayley williams #2013 #self titled #livejournal

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hwsforeignrelations · 8 months

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Southern Nights and a Balled Up Shirt

AO3: Leave kudos and and comment! Starved for feedback :)

Words: 2k+

Summary: Queen Arthur Kirkland is joined by Army General Alfred Jones for the centenary Royal Southern Spadinan Tour.

Based on the song Southern Nights by Glenn Campbell for 2023 @usukustwiceperyear Zine: “I Love You Like A Love Song” hosted by the amazing and fantastic TheNarcolepticOne and VerusMayaii II!

Beta-ed by the magnificent @corvussei. Thank you so much friend!!!

Alfred Jones grasped the top of his hat to fan his face, blond eyelashes fluttering blissfully over flushed cheeks. Air sweeping across Southern Spades' dusty earth provided momentary cool. When it passed he pried open his eyes with great reluctance.

Replacing the wide-brimmed hat over sweaty hair Alfred peaked over his shoulder as a crumpled figure adorned with inadequate purple fabric swelled with breath.

"Have you ever felt a southern night like this, Your Majesty?"

"Gmungh." Alfred lazily dodged an unmotivated pinch.

No matter how many times Arthur Kirkland set foot in any of Spades’ southern regions, the monarch of an empire spanning several continents never could appropriately pack for the weather. Personal aids, Alfred himself, and Jack Yao’s cajoling to make the man see reason stood against the latest (urban) Spadian fashion.

They had no ghost of a chance in influencing Arthur’s packing.

Three hundred years of rule made anyone accustomed to prioritizing appearance- a ludicrous endeavor traversing lands like these, not running into another soul for days at a time.

"I know you’ve taken these tours before - the people need to see their leader every once and a while. Why pay taxes if you've never heard of the peeps representing you up at Parliament, amirite? Yao and I tried to tell you- YOUCH"

This time, Arthur’s pinch struck its victim with the invigorated purpose of its perpetrator.

“That’s what you get for being a smart-ass.” Arthur straightened and held his reins with more purpose, sniffing his way past America's horse. Eyes stared down his nose at the road. ”I refuse to be seen, the only Spadian royalty these people might ever meet in their eighty-odd years, gallivanting about wearing anything less than a proper shirt.”

He kicked out the leg closest to Alfred for inspection. Alfred smirked at the pristine pair of jeans Arthur submitted to at the castle, after Alfred took every opportunity they spoke to nail in the supreme importance of denim pants during their tour. “Look at these-these… these things,” the queen’s regal lip curled in distaste while Alfred’s eyes laughed behind his glasses. “You couldn’t understand, Alfred,” he intoned, concealing his amusement at Alfred’s scandalized expression.

Arthur continued, “As leader of my most excellent military, public appearance speaks well for Spades in your creased, town-to-earth glory. You need only slip into a uniform for ceremonies. Not present the best Spadian fashion in crisp, tailored form every waking moment.“

Alfred scoffed, stabbing a thumb towards his puffed chest, declaring, “My taste in fashion is the pinnacle of class and culture. With our Jack and Queen and every Royal Guard maintaining Spades’ image of fancy-schmancy puffs and ruffs, it all comes down on my shoulders to show the people that their government, too, drips hip and trendy with Timeless Togue.” (Famous Spadian magazine equivalent to Vogue).

This is why Arthur preferred summers in the capital. Unbearable heat was less unbearable with flash showers to cool the air and wet cobblestone, with morning fog to beat back the sun a few hours before it broke through. Arthur did not want to be here - would not be here but for Yao and Alfred’s insistence. The affection he felt now started budding years ago. He liked being near his Army General so much, it often frightened him.

Many Christannikas ago Arthur addressed a holiday card to his Army General’s office. Then existed a grudging hope in Arthur’s mind that the handsome and highest member of the Spadian Royal Guard should receive said card - unlikely given the honey blond’s habit of not staying in one place longer than duty demanded. A week later Alfred responded with his own motley card. From there, infrequent casual letters greeted their desks. The now-weathered papers signified their first non-diplomatic interactions.

Never terribly personal, but consistently cordial, their exchanges contained areas which held mutual interest: travel, gossip, which fashion trends were lively to survive the decade. Especially gossip. Which members of the military were boning which of Parliament, which international relationships exceeded diplomacy. Occasionally politics, and the general wellbeing of their respective personnel.

Alfred enjoyed his Queen’s company, his quips and snark and resilience in the face of struggle. He knew Spades stood stronger for their royalty (not always a constant in any monarch’s history) and respected Arthur, cared for his well-being.

Every hundred years, the Queen made tours through the southern regions, Spades’ most rural, sparsely-populated towns and farmland. Alfred spent many decades living in the South. Due to homesickness and knowledge of the terrain, combined with concern for his Queen and a desire to be with Arthur (a desire Alfred wasn’t completely conscious of), he offered early on to escort Arthur through this years’ Southern tour.

The Queen struggled to acclimate to the southern region’s dry, humid, dusty plains. His centenary “cultural tour” was a nightmare for someone accustomed to chill to moderate temperatures. Cowboy camping under the stars, baking under an unrelenting sun and swallowing mouthfuls of dust, and watching Alfred charm small-town Spadians with broad smiles, full pockets and good labor at every wooden welcome sign their horses trotted past was their life during the twelve weeks.

Arthur held town meetings, presented state of affairs with overconfidence, shook hands, handed out stickers designed with the Spadian Coat of Arms, answered basic questions, ate (and drank) well, slept in a proper bed, then left for the next town. It was a dull, sweltering business. On the off chance his neck was exposed, mosquitoes ate him alive.

Between towns the occasional tree, Alfred and the horses’ shadows, and the tall slabs of limestone speckling the landscape provided the only shade to be found. SPF 500 did nothing for Arthur’s cheeks and neck, baked a bright red with not even the beginning signs of a tan.

Alfred’s bronze complexion seems to laugh at him and the freckles which dotted his nose. “Freckles look healthy on you,” Alfred offered once, unprompted.

Within the first week, Arthur was ready to return to the Capitol City. Eleven weeks left.

Arthur would never admit to enjoying the sight of Alfred in his element, broad shoulders stretched out in the unconfined outdoors. If the brown and beige ground existed for anything, it was to provide a flattering background to Alfred’s portrait. An eagle riding the wind cast ethereal sun rays over his General, the light bouncing off his lenses so his expression seemed mature. Capable. His relaxed silhouette upon the horse looked free as a breeze.

It was hard to imagine Alfred indoors now that he’d seen him like this. The landscape, although dry and hot as all Oracle’s worst punishment, was beautiful. The clear skies and uncrowded sounds of nature were so different from the crowded stress of urban living and the rolling Spadian countryside he was familiar with. Plants adorned the land even in this heat. Their survival reminded him to straighten his back and keep his chin up. If these resilient plants wouldn’t be caught drooping in this damned heat, neither would he.

Arthur imagined his countryside estate, the twisting mountain range of paperwork bending the thick wood of his desk. Though he shouldn’t be capable of the sensation from deskwork alone, his back ached at the prospect of pouring over thousands of documents, of the weeks it would take to make up for this damned cultural tour.

“- An’ I had a hotshot blast right past my year just five years ago. Seafaring is hard work, Queen Arthur, I commend your take-over of the Royal Navy from my management. The people you selected to run really know what they’re doing, and it gives me a more comfortable bandwidth- Royal Army’s always gonna be my favorite, y’know. Anyways, after that hotshot tore through the beam over my head I swore I’d never step foot in another boat. Besides awful seasickness, I’d much rather kiss the earth goodbye than some crummy wooden deck.”

Arthur tuned into Alfred’s narrative. He raised an eyebrow, though Alfred couldn't have seen it behind him. “If I didn’t know you better, it sounds like you’re running from danger,” he said it was a slow shoulder roll to tell Alfred he was joking. “But I agree. It’s far better to have the Navy under more specified command, and as you know from my early days working as a captain under the previous Queen, I do so enjoy taking more of a role in Spades’ overseas trade.”

Alfred hummed, considering Arthur’s contribution. In casual conversation, Alfred’s expressiveness meant you could perceive him regardless of whether your eyes were on him. He could imagine Alfred tapping his stubble with a dusty, gloved finger, and he could hear the other hand drumming over his saddle. Arthur found the repetitive action more soothing than agitating. Which was… perhaps a strange thought. Arthur further imaged Alfred blue eyes peering at the back of his head behind their lenses, was somewhat disturbed by the detail in which he could recall the likeness. Lost in thought, an unnatural shifting of dust behind them alerted Arthur’s senses.

Gooseflesh rippled over Arthur’s back and he whipped his head around.

“BLAM!”

In a flash Alfred's firearm was pulled an inch from his nose into the belly of a blue wolf. Arthur's ears rang momentarily.

Silver blood met his tongue in the same moment he opened it in shock. So rarely could anything sneak up on him, much less magical beings. Their auras alerted Arthur miles away. Arthur perceived Alfred’s heightened breathing after the encounter and internally berated himself, so distracted by present company he’d endangered them.

Alfred was fussing over Arthur when he broke the silence. “By Oracle, man! Let’s get a wiggle on before we shoot more poor beasts.” He still couldn’t hear so well and fixed it with a thimble of magic. Much better.

Now thoroughly awake, Arthur took his Stallion round and broke into a trot, Alfred coming up alongside moments later. Both men breathed closely as they surveyed their surroundings, Alfred with his natural senses and Arthur with his magic, exhausted though he was. Whispering wind was equivalent to a scream in an otherwise silent landscape.

Alfred spoke, “Poor buddy musta lost his pack, looked awfully skinny.”

Arthur knew that, of course. Even predators as powerful as a blue wolf had to have been starving to attack two humans. On horseback, no less.

“There’s no town for miles, Your Majesty. I’ll start setting up camp.”

Even for the bureaucratically-resentful Alfred Jones, no one ordered monarchs to perform domestic tasks. As the Army General, a high agent of state, the man wouldn't dare ask Arthur to get off his ass and help.

But he wanted to.

A golden sun cast its remaining specks of heat over the horizon and a breeze picked at their skin - Alfred’s unsubtle eyes ran over their stash of firepacks (self-contained fires) before busying himself with the horses' care, their sleeping arrangement, and supper.

Arthur flicked his index and a spark of blue erupted in a circle of rocks, the fire spitting at the air. Arthur watched Alfred labor. When the sun fully set the Queen and Army General sat close, eating their sandwiches and soup in silence. After supper they laid on cots under a clear Southern sky, stars brighter than anything either man was used to in the light-polluted city.

Neither man said a word when Arthur abandoned his cot altogether and buried his nose against Alfred’s warm neck. A chill swept the land, and Alfred had heat to spare.

–

When morning broke their bags were already packed.

Arthur shrugged into his warm long-sleeved, navy blue shirt (the coolest he’d brought) and felt sweat pouring from his pits before he saddled his horse. They went an hour before Alfred stopped them.

Arthur dismounted without question, already exhausted from the heat, irritated by the warm dampness of his torso, and sleepy from getting up earlier than usual.

He didn’t realize what was happening until Alfred’s hand offered a baby blue, light-weight shirt. Arthur looked up into Alfred’s smiling, slightly anxious face. “No use overheating when I packed plenty of tops.”

Arthur didn’t bother to fight that sound statement. He felt beyond grateful as he took the shirts from Alfred’s hands, but the day he displayed weakness to Alfred-Golden-Chucking-Jones was the day his heart stopped.

“Thank you, Jones.” His fingers reached the button over his collarbone on the queen's damp shirt, and Alfred’s ears turned a funny shade of red. He looked away, pretending to watch a cloudless sky and chattering nonsense while Arthur changed.

“King Ivan and Francis’ dispute over Campbell River’s gone south- well not actually but, like, figuratively, y-know. Anyways, the last town we stopped at had a few telegraphs from General Maisie. She’s got a few squadrons keeping an eye on things and looking after Spadian press- not to mention Francis feels safer with someone other than his and Ivan’s men to back up stories if shit really goes down. It’s worse than when we left, not sure quite how bad but we’re gonna have our work cut out when we return to the capital. Fact, I might be flying right back out. Real glad I was able to join you out here through, Yer Majesty. I woulda been worried if anyone else were out here guarding during your tour,” Alfred flicked one eye down to Arthur, who was just buttoning the last shirt.

“Does it feel better?” he asked.

Arthur moved around a bit. The shoulders looked ridiculous and it was very roomy, but he felt a million times better than he had inside that stuffy dress shirt. The collar smelled like Alfred. He was warm for an entirely different reason now, but he ignored it.

“Much,” he paused before adding. “You might know more than I do, right now. Yao insisted I take this tour as a break from diplomacy beyond interacting with these people. He must realize this forced ignorance only causes me more pain. But… it is a possibility we might be taking a more physical presence as Diamond’s ally if this dispute broadens.”

Alfred nodded, still flustered. For a man who didn’t hesitate to take off his own shirt during sparring practices, he went awfully red at the sight of Artur’s bare neck.

They had, of course, engaged in physical relations once or twice. Perhaps, Arthur admitted, with occasions ranging in the 50s (56 times, he knew. But who was counting?). After working alongside one another for over 100 years, who doesn't want to release a bit of tension after a stressful meeting, then and again? Or after a particularly merry holiday ball, or an unplanned run-in in an otherwise empty meeting room?

The detail that neither of these men knew was that this boning had been monogamous. Neither Alfred nor Arthur had engaged with, nor desired, another sexual partner in all their years of intimacy.

As they continued their ride along the humid landscape, Arthur’s gratefulness for Alfred lending his shirt expanded with every breeze which broke through the loose collar and cooled his skin. By the afternoon, thanks to their early start, they reached the next town and conducted their usual business with its population.

The inn-keeper set down a heaping plate of sauteed vegetables and shredded chicken with a liberal portion of gravy, eaten over corn muffins fresh from the oven and slathered with butter before the Spadian officials. They watched behind the counter with a prideful expression as Alfred tore into it with his usual gusto and the Queen polished his own portion at a slower pace, humming appreciatively.

Arthur didn’t bother interrupting Alfred’s fork romance with conversation and took his chewing breaks to watch Alfred enjoy himself. To see someone as expressive as his General unabashedly taking pleasure in a simple, good meal made the Queen’s breast grow warmer than any spiced brandy could hope to. Once you worked past Alfred’s generally animalistic method of consumption (which didn’t include a whole lot of chewing) it was a gratifying sight to see another human take such delight.

The night’s inn, the Blue Wolf, was better than most Arthur had slept in. The hesitant knock on his door was expected and he opened it in the nude, hand on hip and swung Alfred shirt, held between his two hands, around the Army General’s neck.

“These Southern nights felt so good, Your Majesty,” Alfred breathed against Arthur’s forehead, “Wish I could…”

Arthur pulled him inside.

“Bit warm, luv.” Arthur teased gently, “And… you can.”

Alfred shut the door behind him.

#hetalia #usuk #hws america #hws england #fanfic #my art #cardsverse #hwsfr cardsverse

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thedragonboosterzine · 2 years

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Letter from Rob Travalino to DB Fans- 2022

Hey y’all! So we managed to get in touch with Rob recently, and he was extremely kind to write a note to us! We’ll be updating the zine with this section soon-ish, but thought you might enjoy reading it here first! Enjoy :)

-Li / @paynnincorporated

(Also hehe, there might be more news to come! Rob’s kindly taken some fan questions from the organising team! We’ll share answers when we get them.)

----

Dragon Booster remains one of my favorite life moments, and there have been so many since the show. It was a fantastic journey to be sure, and it often seemed the dragon was in control from the beginning, and the show was meant to be.

Our Canadian partner Alliance Atlantis (Ken Faier and Jennifer Bennett) came on board the very first time they saw the presentation. They learned about the show because Kidscreen Editor Jocelyn Christie loved it so much that she did a feature about it and put us on the magazine cover. We sold the show to CBC (Martin Markle) and Disney (Gary Marsh) with just one meeting.

We already knew Ace Fipke from another company called Mainframe, and NerdCorps in Vancouver was actually custom-built just for Dragon Booster. Our original sales video/animation test was made in a rented apartment that we filled with computer workstations, passionate artists, and animators. That apartment crew became the seeds of NerdCorps Entertainment.

Then, even more, amazing things happened:

Everybody found something different to love about the show and message, which was so rewarding. My co-creator Kevin Mowrer and I lived in the world for years. It began with a feature film prequel idea that takes place years before the series and focuses on Tannis Bllayrr. The world took years to plan and create. It was meant to function as a real place, and we'd hoped to make it into a sprawling online game.

I carefully scripted the show and story for you, the fans, and was thinking about what the story and each detail might mean and hopefully inspire. I wanted Dragon Booster to reflect the world and finding our place in it. Kevin Mowrer shared this vision and carefully put story, emotional content, and personality into every but of art and design he did. The NerdCorps crew picked up the vibe and expanded from there, taking the look and feel of the show and world to even new levels. As a result, the show itself is full of cool double and hidden meanings about culture and our world. Like Mortis might suggest, like Dragon City, and each of us, it all depends on how deep we're willing to look.

Obviously, I'm still a fan myself, and sometimes I look back, and wonder, wow, was I really part of all that? That for me is the best aspect of the creative process, when the community comes together, and when the characters and world take on lives of their own and begin to guide everybody together.

All of you are part of this world now, you have lived in and helped build it. You are part of a long chain of crews, dragon powers, Dragon Priests, and approaches to life that, like the history of Dragon City, have led here. It's a fantastic honor that you continue to explore and expand the history and world of Dragon Booster.

While much of the show still holds up today, one of the things I'm most happy about is the basic message that we can all be superheroes as long as we realize that true superpowers only work for moments, and that they only come out when we're genuinely balanced with ourselves and those around us. I'm super honored how the show has kept so many fans for so long.

Thank you and of course, thanks Beau!

Release the Dragon!

Rob Travalino

#Dragon Booster #dragon booster fanzine #dragon booster zine #updates

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louisupdates · 1 year

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BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN: LOUIS TOMLINSON

MUSICALLY | 19 April 2023

2. The centrality of merchandise

We started on the creative really early and that was a key factor in how successful the album was. We knew early on from discussions with management that his merch business was berserk. We knew what kind of fans he has. With their merch drops during Covid, they played around with the strategy. They got in a really cool design team and they would just do regular drops – limited-edition releases and you’ll never see it again. Everything just sold out constantly.

That informed the whole product strategy.

We knew we had to make product that’s limited in its nature because it encourages demand.

The fans just want it. It’s got to look amazing; it’s got to have Louis looking phenomenal because they just adore him; it’s got to be priced right; and there’s got to be a selection. So it’s more stuff, but less of it.

Instead of treating it like a music product, treat it like merchandise. We absolutely nailed that strategy.

We sold 35,000 records and around 2,500 units were streaming. A good chunk of that was physical album sales. It’s going to inform our strategy for any other albums we do with him.

We did 19 products in the end. We did a standard CD, we did a CD ‘zine which had 82 pages of beautiful content and photos, we had a picture disc vinyl, we did around eight different exclusive retail vinyl albums, we had a splatter vinyl for HMV, we had a colour one for Amazon, we had a clear one for Spotify, we had several more for Urban Outfitters and Target, we had an indie retailers one.

It was a collector thing: how many of the vinyl albums have you managed to get? We did a double deluxe vinyl for D2C. We did cassettes where the artwork joined together when you got all three. They were embossed and glowed in the dark. Louis has Easter eggs that he drops everywhere. The number 28 is like a lucky number, so you see 28 dotted around places. The same with 369 – he uses it in many iterations. If you had a UV light, you’d be able to see ‘3’, ‘6’ and ‘9’ embossed on each cassette.

That range and that strategy was probably 80% of what made it super successful this time around.

MAIN POST

#musically #bmg marketing #lisa wilkinson #louis tomlinson #19.4.23 #louis press

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sisterdivinium · 1 year

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I think someone mentioned mixing WN with D&D on Twitter a while back and I hope that, if so, "D&D" was being used as a synonym for RPG rather than actual D&D 5e (which you shouldn't really do because they aren't synonymous, but I know it's a common thing).

Adapting Warrior Nun into 5e rules seems a bit like fighting the system rather than working with it, at least to me.

Here is a game that depends on character classes -- how will you make it work when all characters will probably share the class of sister warrior? If the idea is to differentiate them through skills, then isn't it better to just ditch the concept of class altogether? Maybe take inspiration from something like Knave, Maze Rats, Cairn if one wishes to stick with a D&D-ish aura.

Fights in WN aren't all that long if you think about it; so how will you conciliate that with the HP sponges that 5e characters are? (An anecdote: the other day I saw someone complaining about their weak initial character, who had some 20 HP. Playing old school D&D, I've had players start with 4. Ask them if they weren't scared shitless of dying -- and if this fear didn't make them play smarter and end up valuing their PCs much more when they levelled up!)

The economy system of 5e (well, of D&D as a whole, really, including older editions) has very little in common with the one our favourite ass-kicking nuns would use -- would it even be necessary, if we assume the Vatican is responsible for providing them with gear?

I'm not asking any of these questions simply because I dislike 5e (which I do, I admit) or to dissuade people from mixing WN and RPGs (I even did it myself once and might or might not be doing it again with another play style and basic system in mind), I just ask that they take mechanics into consideration. 5e can be good for what it's made for (or so I'm told), but in this particular instance it seems inappropriate for WN.

If I may be so bold as to offer amateur designers some suggestions...

I'd start by taking a look at Nathan Paoletta's RPG Design Zine, just because it helps you think about what the hell you're doing.

Generic systems are just that, generic, but they can be much easier to adapt than something so heavily-coded for a certain type of game as 5e is. They can be more complicated (maybe GURPS, though you could go for Lite and consider getting, idk, Religion, Martial Arts, Low Tech, High Tech... Go explore) or lighter. I am a gigantic fan of Freeform Universal Classic, but you could do something cool with FATE or FAE, Mini Six, hell, I don't know! There's a good deal of generic systems out there.

You could be a little more daring, if versed in PbtA games, and hack one up yourself, why not?

All I'm saying is that you shouldn't be wrestling with the system to make this thing. Have it work for you, not against you; find something that can "translate" the show more easily than 5e does.

There's a whole world of games out there, a wealth of inspiration to work with. A lot of creators stick to 5e because it's popular and it helps them get visibility for their products -- and I don't fault them for it, but you aren't going to sell this, are you? You're not the IP owner. Others use 5e because "everybody knows the rules" -- which isn't true and, honestly, if you're going to change the whole thing up so it matches WN, then what's the use of knowing how rangers in a high fantasy campaign progress if you're playing nuns with guns?

I guess my point is: just don't tire yourself out trying to make an apple pie out of ingredients meant for chocolate cake.

#silly blabbering #look i don't judge people for playing 5e but it drives me nuts when they want to use 5e for everything #you might even get it to work but it won't be ideal #i promise other games aren't as full of rules and that they don't take so long to learn. take a leap of faith #and it's cool if you go back to 5e afterwards but try to have more experience with rpgs before designing your own #HERE IS WHERE I LOSE FOLLOWERS ISN'T IT LOL #again i'm not bashing 5e. play it all you like. hell adapt wn to it if you really want to do that #i'd just rather save myself the trouble and use something i don't have to fully distort to make work but to each their own #either way send me the link to wn rpg stuff you make. my group can't really play right now but hey #i've been dying to playtest my little wn lasers and feelings hack but no chances to do so yet. grumble.

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bittermoonswrites · 3 months

Note

Can I ask, your favorite media, like from books, anime/manga, movies, tv series, etc (if you feel like listing multiple) of all time?

I’m going to reframe this media that changed how I saw something important at some point in my life, since if you ask me for favorite anything, you’ll just get what I’ve been recently been watching/reading.

Vagabond (Sans toit ni loi, dir. Agnés Varda 1985): I watched this movie when I was 18, and it left a deep impression on me about what it means to be a woman in our world. This is a fictional film made in a mockumentary style that starts with the main character’s death and works backwards.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: I don’t even know if it’s good or not at this point. I’ve just been a huge fan for over 10 years, which means I’m stuck with it for the rest of my life.

The Nonary Games (9 Hours 9 Doors 9 Lives, Virtue’s Last Reward, Zero Time Dilemma): Math-based sci-fi horror visual novels for the soul :) Never has math been so terrifying yet so fun! They’re kind of deeply fucked up on an existential level, but I enjoyed these games a lot.

K-Ming Chang: K-Ming Chang has been a major inspiration for me as a writer the past few years. The way she writes about folklore, queerness, diaspora, intergenerational trauma, and mothers and daughters has been deeply eye-opening and awe-inspiring. I'm a huge fan. I’ve read pretty much everything’s she’s published and look forward to whatever she writes next. There was an interview a few years ago that called her the 'future of literature,' and I don't think that's an exaggeration given that she's still in her mid-20s. I personally think of her as more of a writer's writer because she hones in on what each sentence and image can do and sharpens each one until they gleam, and writers tend to appreciate that more than readers don't write.

Patrick Radden Keefe: Patrick Radden Keefe is a investigative journalist for The New Yorker, and I am a big fan of everything he has written, between his books, articles, and the one podcast he did called Winds of Change back in 2020. This man literally has been followed around by PIs and has had his home broken into by the Russian Mob while digging into things. Keefe has a deep understanding of human nature and commitment to following through that I admire a lot. I was invited to be in Our Infinity (the satosugu wedding zine, here’s my plug for that since preorders are up and the merch is really cool lol). The fluffly fic I wrote for it involved Geto’s day job being basically Patrick Radden Keefe. It’ll be posted on AO3 once I’m allowed to, which is whenever after zine orders have been fulfilled (my guess is this fall). I would be lying if I said I haven’t thought about writing another entry of that AU where Geto is going around investigating Sketchy Things with help from his himbo assistant and math professor husband Gojo. Maybe someday!

#bittermoons has asks!

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asterlizard · 4 months

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2023

I have kinda mixed feelings about this year. There were some low points, but then there were some high points too.

I was mostly busy with almost nonstop dogsitting sessions and zine work, but they really ate away at my personal time, especially during the middle of the year. On top of that, I kept job hunting for the first half of the year but it was going nowhere. It really broke my spirit, to the point where just thinking about job hunting made me feel depressed, and I needed to step away from it. All of this combined, I dealt with burnout, discouragement, feeling lost, and stressed to the point of developing a excessive hand-washing compulsion during the summer, which I'm still trying to shake off. I wonder if I also lost a bit of myself along the way, often not feeling absorbed in the moment.

And yeah, this low period also showed in my art summary for the year. I only published a few sketches if they weren't zine works.

That being said!

It wasn't until December that things felt like they were starting to get back on track. I finally got a chance to draw for myself again, and I think the interest I had in this showed in these last few pieces. I felt a lot more comfortable drawing these pieces. I was also finishing tasks in December when I wanted to finish them, and I'm now feeling more accomplished and less ashamed of myself.

On another note, we had great weather this year! There were no wildfires to watch out for (at least, that I was aware of), no nearby smoke or really bad air quality, and not much hot weather! Also lots of rain and cool weather in the first half of the year, it was really pleasant! It really helped with our drought crisis!

As for other accomplishments:

I went travelling for the first time since lockdown! (though even with official safety precautions being relaxed, I still continued to be careful)

I finished pieces for 5 zines: -DanganParty: A Birthday Party zine -Fly!!: A Haikyuu zine -Tsukuyomi: A Tokoyami zine -Celestial Night: A Sailor Moon zine -Wintertide: A BNHA zine

Started some serious cleanup, both at home and on the computer

Going to the cinema again for the first time since lockdown!

I turned 30, which does feel kinda weird because I certainly don't feel like I'm that age. I spent some time while I was 29 kinda fretting about it, but if it makes me feel a bit better, 30 is technically the last year of the 20s. I felt like more could have been done in my 20s that I would look more fondly on like I would for my first two decades, but then again I was dealing with hardship and then healing during my 20s (though it wasn't all bad) I can only hope that I can make my 30s more what I want.

Now then, onto the resolutions:

Image descriptions: Because my mind was preoccupied due to working on other things, I never got around to making any image descriptions this year. On top of that, I ran into a dilemma on where to put these descriptions (do I use alt text? or do I keep writing it in the text box because I hear the alt text can be buggy?) Hopefully I can find a solution and make good progress this year.

Language learning: I think I progressed well in my Japanese learning this year (I watched a video of a N5 test review, and I only got a couple of mistakes, so I think I qualify? Not a huge accomplishment, but it still feels good to pass some kind of level) I'd like to add another resource that involves writing or speaking, if not communicating with someone (that'd be a difficult goal, since I'd need to figure out where to find a conversation partner)

Storywriting: I'm in the middle of writing my next chapter for KalChi, though burnout created a roadblock for me. The chapter after that should be a bit easier though, so I'd like to get more than one chapter published this year. Also… I have another story I'd like to get started on soon (hopefully I'll have news about this in the 4th quarter of the year) I'd also like to try and find a proper website to put my stories on, such as Wordpress. I'm open to suggestions!

Other fun things: Find more things to do outside of what I normally do. It got a bit monotonous for me this year, and I was really itching to see some local stuff again.

Relax: This is the most important! I made this my resolution last year, but I didn't follow it at all, and I think I did worse this year in regards to self care. I really want to plan out my personal time better so I'm not either rushing to get a lot done at once or feeling bored out of my mind.

I also want to continue to keep up with friends! I think I did a little better this year, but our main issue was schedule coordination. But I feel like my ability to communicate has suffered a bit, so I need to keep that up too.

I want to remind myself that making an effort can make a positive difference and not to give up, so I'm once again adding a link to some good things that happened in the world this year: [link]

I have a feeling 2024 is going to be a big year, at least in the world. Maybe the same will be true for me as well, at least in a positive way (though I won't push myself too hard) So I also hope that you stay safe and take care of yourself too. I wish the best for you 💕

#my posts

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worldbeyondzine · 1 year

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one more week to buy the World Beyond transmasc sci-fi zine and merch!

one more week to get a free digital PDF if that's more your speed!

looking for something cool for pride month that’s made BY transmasc people and ABOUT transmasc people? here’s just the thing for you!

the store: https://worldbeyondzine.bigcartel.com/

the giveaway: https://worldbeyondzine.tumblr.com/post/716509391676899328/want-our-zine-but-short-on-credits-you-could

ID: Advertising photo showcasing the World Beyond Zine and associated merch, including prints and keychains. A letter board reads "One more week" and a giant lite brite displays a grinning alien face and starry background.

#transmasc zine #trans zine #transgender artists #trans art #pride month #original zine #zine sales #leftover zines #zine leftovers

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cockadoodlebumtits · 1 year

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Mentioned all the renewed Goncharov (1973) hype to my mum and she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, your aunt was really excited about that film when it came out, she got all the girls at the office to watch it. They even made little leaflets for each other and made copies when the boss wasn’t looking.” I couldn’t believe it. My Auntie Pat, making what sounded like early Goncharov zines? Was Mum sure it was Goncharov? “Trust me, I remember. I used to call it ‘God, Shut Up!’ to annoy her.”

So obviously I have never rung my aunt so fast in my life. I hardly dared to hope she’d still have some bits of paper from her first job kicking around 49 years later (she did not appreciate me phrasing it like that, for the record) but she loved the film so much... Here’s what she could dig out for me without completely turning the house upside down. Apparently they were in her ‘important documents’ folder along with less essential things such as her kids’ birth certificates, vaccination records, etc. Full transcript below the cut.

[Image 1: A scan of a photocopy of the first page of an old typewritten zine. It's quite legible, considering. A hand-drawn title at the top of the page reads 'THE WEDNESDAY CHIMES' in capitals. The 'C' of 'CHIMES' has a little clock face drawn in it.

The typewritten portion of the page reads as follows (titles were originally in red, but are just in a slightly paler grey on the photocopy).]

A GONCHAROV ZINE INSPIRED BY STAR TREK ZINES – 7TH OF NOVEMBER, 1973, BRIGHTON

Joan Chipperfield, Nancy O'Reilly, Linda McGregor, Susan Armitage, Maggie Williams, Mary Coleman, Pat Hutchinson.

Thank you to all you ladies for contributing, please don't forget to put a few pence in the petty cash (new pence, Mags) to cover reproduction costs. -LM

THE CLOCKTOWER. The scene at the clocktower was one of our favourites, of course, but one thing we haven't really discussed is the use of colour in this part of the film. This was the turning point for the red-blue colour motifs, in my opinion, so it has a lot of both colours in the way it's lit and the various characters' [deleted word] palettes. I'm pretty sure this was when the Goncharovs' colour palette first diverged, with the first appearance of Goncharov's red tie replacing his blue one, and Katya still wearing only cool colours like her trademark grey/silver and her blue brooch. Obviously they're in two different physical places at this point but as the film cuts between them these colours show that they're also not on the same page emotionally. I think Andrey is actually [misspelt 'actualy'] wearing less red than in some of the previous scenes (even excluding the opening, which is in the future, where everything is red) showing how tired he is at this point. If anyone remembers exactly what Andrey was wearing please let me know – I'm honestly not certain. Did he still have his wrist-watch at this point or had he already lost it? -SA

KATYA. I just think it's really sad that Katya is trying so hard to make her life work even though everything is against her – Goncharov himself, her guilt over her father and what happened to him, even sometimes Sofia – but she keeps going and she is doing her best, but then it all comes crashing down around her anyway. -MC

GONCHAROV AND ANDREY. I don't know if this makes any sense, but it sort of feels as though Andrey is more like Goncharov's wife than Katya is. Whenever he has a bad day in the film, he turns to Andrey instead of Katya. And then, to a certain extent, this is mirrored by Katya's relationship with Sofia. She's protective of her and she's trying to help her make her way in the world, but she also relies on her far more than she ever does on Goncharov. I just think that's really interesting. -PH

MUSICAL SCORE. I don't know how you all remember so much about the film so long after we went to the pictures. All I remember is that the tickets were too expensive for how many times in a row we saw it, and I can't believe I let you talk me into it oh and also the music was very good, I enjoyed that immensely. I wish the orchestra would visit for a concert so we could all appreciate it again. -JC

APPLE FRIEND. I want to know more about the 'old friend' who gave Katya the apple in the market. There are so many unanswered questions about their relationship in the past and what that friend is doing there now, because aren't they in Italy? I don't remember if they were there to try to take over Naples or if they moved to get away from their old lives and events overwhelmed them to the point where they tried to take over Naples but either way it seems very far away to bump into an old friend unless that old friend was there for a reason. What was apple friend doing there? I think maybe it's a bit like the apple in Snow White, and Katya was right not to eat it. What do you all think? -MW

ICE PICK MAN. What was his name? Joe? I would have watched a whole film about him, to be honest. He was a very exciting character and in many ways he went on almost the same journey as Goncharov, only faster. I wonder if he had a Katya somewhere, waiting for him to come home. -NOR

[The page is signed with the typewritten initials LM, next to the page number 1. Both of these details are in the paler grey that was originally red.]

[Image 2: A scan of a photocopy of the first page of an old typewritten zine. It's quite legible, considering. A hand-drawn picture sits in the top-left of the page, incorporating the word 'CHIMES'. It is a scene featuring a small town with a church in the foreground, a river, and a small copse of trees with a flower. The river runs over the 'M' of the word 'CHIMES', which is incorporated into the drawing to resemble a bridge. The 'C' has a pair of clock hands in it, and in the top of the M is a little platform with two figures on it.

The typewritten portion of the page reads as follows (titles were originally in red, but are just in a slightly paler grey on the photocopy).]

A GONCHAROV ZINE – 23RD OF JANUARY, 1974.

Joan Chipperfield, Nancy O'Reilly, Linda McGregor, Susan Armitage, Maggie Williams, Mary Coleman, Pat Hutchinson.

Thank you to all contributors, money in the petty cash please. -NOR

SOMEONE WHO LOVES YOU. “Katya.” She turned in the doorway of the room, meeting Sofia's eyes in the mirror of the vanity. “I hope, more than anything, that one day you find someone who loves you. Someone who loves you the way you deserve to be loved.” What could Katya say to that? It was all she had ever wanted for herself, but it was forever out of reach. Once, she had hoped that her husband would be that person. But the time for such dreams was long past. She was silent for too long, and Sofia spoke again. “Well? Aren't you going to say it back?” But Katya couldn't. -LM

THE BATH. I keep coming back to the bath scene – I know you're all sick of hearing about it. But given Goncharov's fear of drowning and the unease and distrust in this scene in general, the fact that the bath was so full, too full, to the point where Goncharov can't even move without water slopping over the side onto the floor, so he just sits there and barely moves except to shiver... I don't know, I feel like that means something, and I'm going to work it out. -PH

A KINDER FAREWELL. Goncharov could see nothing but the gun, for a moment, his very breath catching in his throat. Then he forced his gaze upwards, to Andrey's face. “Must it end this way?” Andrey swallowed hard. “All things end this way, Goncharov.” “But must they? Can't we make some time to find a better way? Can't we just... go away from all this? You and I? Where they will never find us?” Andrey's hand, holding the gun, shook. He lowered it slowly. “Where could we go?” “Anywhere you like,” said Goncharov, and they walked away together. They found a little house in France and lived happily ever after, and nobody from their old lives ever found them. -JC

JUST A FEW NOTES. The opening scene of the film really sticks in my mind, because even though none of the other characters appear in that opening scene, the piece of music that plays every time Andrey is on screen is underscored by all those little tunes that go with the other characters. I noticed it on the second or third night we went – to begin with Andrey's theme is alone, but then it's joined by little pieces of Goncharov's, Katya's, and Sofia's. I think the little two-note sting from Ice Pick Joe's final scene even appears, but very slowly and gently. Very clever! -SA

NOBODY EVER SLEEPS. None of these characters seem to stop for a moment! Even when we see Katya and Goncharov in their dressing gowns, getting ready to go to bed, it turns into an argument and Goncharov leaves. (I do think it's funny to imagine him out wandering through Naples in his dressing gown, being angry. Scary Mafia man that he is.) And when Sofia appears to be asleep that time, she opens her eyes at the end of the scene, revealing that she's been listening all along. It's a wonderful film but I get tired just thinking about how exhausted they must be. -MW

THEY CALLED ME JOE. Disappearing had been a gruesome business. Joe hadn't enjoyed carefully staging his own death, arranging for a witness, manipulating events so he would appear to be violently killed. But there had been no other way. Joe had been trapped in a cycle of brutality, known by the weapon he wielded and not the name that meant family or home. Escaping from the mess he'd got into – the mess he'd made – in Naples meant leaving it all behind, both the good and the bad. It semed seemed to Joe that most of the people he knew there who weren't already dead would be soon. So he staged his death, and he fled everything that he knew, and he got himself a nice job selling ice creams on Brighton beach. He met a nice girl one day, and she said, “well, what do your friends call you?” “They called me Joe,” he said. -MC

[The page is signed with the typewritten initials NOR, next to the page number 1. Both of these details are in the paler grey that was originally red. End ID.]

(Also, credits: the paper background is by Annie Sprat on Unsplash and the font is Remington Noiseless, via dafont.)

#goncharov #unreality #i thought we were missing something #i absolutely had other things to do today but here we are #explanation in the link in the title

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