#do you have any idea how many cool things you can do with this domain

[nickpeppermint]

They didn't waste a second...

#public domain was a mistake #y'all ain't do NOTHING fun with it #Disney #Mickey Mouse #Steamboat Willie #Animation #horror #creepypasta parody #meme #shitpost #screenshot #why is it always quick cashgrab horror ripoff that isn't even scary #do you have any idea how many cool things you can do with this domain #yall had Winnie The freaking Pooh in public domain and there was NOTHING but dumb horror

[dcxdpdabbles]

the photo au just has me thinking that lady gotham is shipping dead tired and i love it

(it's a change of pace from her shipping dead on main so that's cool too)

"King Phantom," Danny jumps, not expecting the raspy voice to call from the dark alley he was passing. He turns his gaze to the shadows, squinting as a woman made entirely of smoke and tar takes form, towering over him like the skyscrapers of her city.

His head barely reaches the knees of her dark grey dress. Her outline flickers in the air as if she is nothing but the smoke of a flickering candle about to be blown away.

Despite her aristocracy beauty- her high cheekbones, her smooth skin, and lovely dark curls that fall along her shoulders- her presence inspires a terrible amount of dread.

Around him, people continue to walk by, unable to see her but sensing her all the same. Danny quickly moves off the street, entering the alley of darkness- at once, the city's noise is silenced while the two power ghosts are muted in a safe little bubble.

"Lady Gotham," He greets, bowing his head slightly. It's not quite a nod, for that would be too dismissive of a noble lady, but it's not a complete bow, for that would mean she is higher ranked than he.

"How are you enjoying my domain, your majesty?" Lady Gotham breathes her voice, sending chills down his spine.

"It's lovely. My sister and I are truly enjoying exploring it. I particularly enjoy photographing the scenary." He says, keeping the unease out of his voice. Her black-painted lips pull upwards into a smirk as if amused by his attempt at diplomacy.

If there is one thing Danny has learned, it is that while he is the King Of Ghosts, that doesn't mean he has absolute power- politically wise. Many entities have domains for centuries that have, through those years, earned nobility status among the ghosts.

He couldn't just scorn the noble ghosts. Even Pariah Dark- the most potent ghost of all time- was defeated the first time when the nobles- later renamed Ancients- banned together to take him down.

Lady Gotham was not among those Ancients, but Danny knew she could quickly call upon her allies and dethrone him just as easily. If Danny is a King, she would be the Queen of a neighboring kingdom just gearing up for war if he fumbles his manners.

"Is it truly the scenery that catches your fancy? Surely, there are far prettier things to look at in my domain?" Lady Gotham's voice is soft, like the humming of a gentle river.

Danny blinks, thrown by the question. "I can't say I understand, my Lady. What pretty things do you speak of?"

She flips open a fan, hiding half of her face as her black coal eyes stare at him with an appraising glint.

Above them, a hiss of a grappling hook springs out, and Red Robin flips over their heads in pursuit of a fleeing car. Danny's finger twitched with the huge to pull out his camera and finally get a meme-worthy shot of the teenager.

Alas, he can not do so, for he is speaking to a ghost noble who could use his careless behavior against him at the next afterlife high society meeting.

Lady Gotham's eyes crinkle in amusement. "I speak of what I find amusing but what others find shocking. What can be entertaining but others call fascinating. After all, trying to capture one's faults is where true beauty is found."

Danny fights to keep his face pleasant even if he has no idea what she means. She speaks in riddles, at least. That's what it sounds like to him.

He should introduce her to Clockework. They would have a good time talking in circles around each other.

"That's an interesting outlook, my lady." He settles on. She hums, then snaps her fingers. In front of Danny, a paper appears, floating in swirls of smoke.

"My King, I have existed long before humans found this plot of land and bestowed the name Gotham onto me. Yet I find myself lacking in any solid evidence of my precious people. I can interact with their world, but I can never truly step into it. Especially the Waynes. They have done so much for me through generations, and I can't even greet them properly." Lady Gotham's words may sound sad, but her tone only implies amusement. Danny is instantly weary. "I was wondering if I could ask that you- the bridge between both worlds- would do me a favor to remedy this."

The paper floats closer, and on it, Danny can see it is an invention for the Wayne Charity Gala. His name is printed on the guest list, asking that he join them for his donations to the art programs around the city.

Danny never made such donations because the Fenton's are far from wealthy enough to do so. Lady Gotham was behind this, as she could interact with the world but not the humans. Getting money for the programs under his name would be child's play.

He couldn't say no, per the norms of high society, and he knows she is well aware of this. Lady Gotham has cornered him.

"What is the favor, My Lady?" He asks, pocketing the invitation even though his insides are twisting.

"I only ask for a photo of each current Wyanes." She says, her voice now the sound of falling rain on the city. "Each photo should be the of them individually, for it will be what I display in my lair as their portraits."

Oh, she just wants pictures? Danny could do that!

"Of course." He says, smiling easily up at her. "I shall have that done for you."

"Excellent. I shall await the gala with anticipation."

Danny leaves the alley wondering if he will have a suit nice enough for the event. He'll have to contact Kitty- she was raising fashion designer before her untimely death on Johnny's bike- surely she will know what to dress him in.

He wanders around the city for a few hours, trying to get better shots of the buildings and accidentally getting one of Nightwing mid-sneeze. He giggles at the camera, unaware of Lady Gotham sitting in her haunt in the dark clouds above the city, standing over a three-dimensional model of Gotham City and covered in figures of real-life citizens currently residing in her town.

"Hmmm, Jason hasn't had an embarrassing photo today," She mutters, pushing the figure of Red Hood in front of King Phantom's glowing figurine's path. Her gaze falls on Red Robin- her little Tim- as it moves across the city following the live model's movement.

His figure is also glowing, not nearly as brightly as the King's, but the fact it shares the King's glow means the King has unknowingly claimed him.

She hopes that pushing them together in his civilian forms will allow the two to realize their hearts have been given to one another.

"How romantic." She sighs, floating onto her stomach and kicking her feet. "A King in love with a Knight. Society pushes them apart, but their love will conquer all."

"Sister, must you behave in such a childish manner?" A voice cuts in, and Lady Gotham's face twitches. She turns her head to watch her brother's shift between adult and child.

"Brother. What brings you here?" She asks, unbothered by his comment.

"Can I not visit my dearest little sister?" Clockwork asks, reaching over for a one-sided hug. She returns it with a smirk. "Especially when she messes with the life of the King."

"I do not know what you speak of." She huffs, turning her head back to the humans on her board. Around her, thousands and thousands of miniature models appear as she watches everything that is meant to be for the humans.

"Karma, you know better than to interfere with King Phantom's life, especially if it's something as silly as his love life-"

"Ah ah, brother dearest. You are in charge of time, and I control fate. " She grins. "I can guarantee that they are fated to be. I know it."

Clockwork rolls his eyes, shifting into an old man. "You let humans call you Lady Gotham. I highly doubt you know anything."

She hums, grinning as King Phantom's figure drops into a crouch, pointing a mini camera at Red Robin. Quickly, she leans forward to adjust the vigilante in an alluring position, knowing it will cause the King's heart to flutter when he develops the photos.

Clockwork clicks his tongue. "Honestly, don't you have anything better to do?"

"You should leave your tower more often, Brother. Maybe you could find a date and not nag your younger sister constantly." She taps her lips. "That young John Constinune was rather interested in you-"

"I am leaving!"

She laughs. "You can't run away from fate, brother!"

"Watch me!"

Oh, she plans to; after all, what is more amusing to fate than to see people try to defy her? Either they succeed, which is fascinating to watch them conquer all her trials, or they fail, which is entertaining enough to watch them fumble.

Master Post Link

#dcxdpdabbles #Danny and the fan blog #Part 3 #Lady Gotham is Karma's online persona #Ghosts have high society. #Danny is very new to it so he doesn't have much power even with his throne #Karma is the ghost in charge of Fate #She ships Dead Tired

[martinsharmony]

Is there an active Gahore community I can follow?

Hi nonny! First I have to say I'm so excited to actually be getting a legit ask! Thank you!

Now I have to be a bummer and say that sadly, I'm not aware of any active Gahore communities. Your best best is probably AO3 as #Gahore is a tag on there and there are many fics with that tag (including mine). Also Tumblr itself is probably gonna be your best bet as far as active peeps who are into #Gahore. I still get things across my dash occasionally however I have to say I'm not heavily into Gahore fic anymore so I'm not up-to-the-minute on it.

Now. Having said that, I went digging into my old bookmarks. I actually found quite a few communities that are still online. I can't speak to how active they are, you will just have to check that out for yourself. Maybe you can find some active parts and some cool fic!

Back in the day most of our fanficcing was done on Live Journal so quite a few of these are still there. I have no idea if the mods are around anymore - you may have difficulty joining and reading stuff if the mods aren't around to add you. The communities are likely dead but presumably the fics are still there.

I'm actually a mod in here - If you join this one I'll add you:

LoversDevoted.livejournal.com/profile

The rest I have nothing to do with. I'm just a member not a mod.

AnotherBlackDay.livejournal.com/profile

DMFanfics.livejournal.com/profile

Drugtype-d.livejournal.com/profile

Halo-n-reverse.livejournal.com/profile

StJarnaVerse.livejournal.com/profile

OK now the following ones are not LiveJournal but looks like there might be some recent activity and some fanfics here too.

DMSlash.forumcommunity.net

mesmer-sophie.gportal.hu (not in English but Chrome translate works well. This author - I know her - is on AO3 now)

martingore.proboards.com

wattpad.com/stories/gahore (I found this one by literally googling "Gahore")

The community I mentioned in my post is sadly not online anymore however I technically still have access to the files (I owned it for a while) -I just can't read them. I let the domain go so I can't get to them anymore. I hung on to it for a loooooong time. Way after the community went dead. I was so sad to let it go because we had so much good stuff in there.

I also had a group on Facebook but it's deactivated.

I'm so happy you wrote in to ask about this! The DM fanfic community is tiny - and it's even smaller now (I presume) than when I was an active member. I truly hope you can find what you are looking for.

PS: PM me for some goodies I've saved if you are interested.

#gahore #martin gore #dave gahan #depeche mode fanfic #depeche mode rpf #depeche mode #ask #SlashWhore

[glitter-stained]

Writing tip #1

As a reader, one of my biggest pet peeves is seeing a character introduced as "clever", their intelligence treated as some sort of super power that helped them out of impossible situations off-screen or even worse, they solved basic elementary problems that I remember getting as homework in middle school and everybody is in awe of such a wondrous mind. As a reader, few things irk me more than that kind of characterization.

But as writer, I get it! I understand the appeal of writing smart character, they can be so cool and challenge our traditional perception of strength and pose interesting questions etc... and as I'm not that bright myself either, I end up with the sensation of struggling to write a character much smarter than myself.

But that's okay! Luckily for me, I study developmental and cognitive psychology, which gives me tools to help me write smart characters without having the same skillset, so I thought I would share!

#1: research cognitive psychology, because there is so much more to say than what I know and can fit in a tumblr post, so go look it up- I promise it's worth it.

#2: your IQ number is practically a myth. Unless it helps diagnose and measure a global intellectual deficiency, that number alone is generally worthless as it's nothing but the average between scores of wildly different abilities which belong to the traditional model of intelligence (around which there is no consensus today, so keep in mind that it's incomplete at best.) From that it follows that it's a terrible way to describe a character, as it doesn't refer to any specific skill -and while there is partial correlation between these scores, I can guarantee you nobody is exactly as good in calculus as they are in English as they are in geometry etc. Describe what the character is smart in, what "kind" or smart they are if you wish; the separation between book smart, street smart and people smart is a good start, but still not enough: there are many flavours of booksmart alone, nevermind the others. Again, look it up: an easy background to use is the Wikipedia page for "Theory of Multiple Intelligences". I promise it will help!

#3. Sometimes less is more. Your character doesn't have to be the best student in the country or win every prize. Did you know that Einstein was considered a bad student? Or that the incredible mathematician Euler got second place in the 1727 Paris Academy Science Competition? It's fine for your character to be second place, it's fine not to win every time, even in their own domain of expertise. If you tell me someone got the bronze medal at the Olympics, I'm still gonna assume them a better athlete than the vaste majority of people, and few would disagree with that idea; it's the same with intelligence. Your character should be allowed to fail, and simply to not always be the best -if not because it makes them more humane, because we love to project on smart characters, it strokes our ego. Think of all the stressed out straight A students on the verge of burn-out projecting on your characters: let them know it's okay! A- is still very good! You're doing great!

Anyway I'll probably make more posts about this because there's so much to say but it's probably too long already so I'll stop here. You know how it works, this is just my opinion, I'm not the authority on writing, but I thought it could be helpful so if it doesn't work for you, don't follow this advice! Let me know what you think, and please be kind

#writing advice #writing #academia #dark academia #intelligence #psychology #sherlock holmes #agatha christie #hercules poirot #miss marple #dr house #psychology in writing #cognitive psychology

[which-qsmp-egg-would]

you said tma influenced your ttrpg, what ttrpg are you playing ? :O and are you a player or a gm ? (or even both idk)

I forgot to answer this--

Its a fully homebrewed one that I really need to rework. it's nearly 3 years old now and I've only done about 4 sessions. I'm the GM, although I'm still improving my storytelling skills. I'm a fic writer, improv is NOT my strong suit.

There's a lot I've written down, and so I really want to give a very basic overview of my ideas, so I'll just throw it all below this cut and you all can ask questions if you want. But this is going to be LONG winded and probably not make any sense.

Gods:

I made too many of them, and they only really make sense to me. Lore wise, they didn't make this world. They found it. They didn't know something was here before them, and don't realise its REALLY angry that they've claimed domains and stolen its power. In terms of the gods currently in charge, we've got:

Dark and Black (2 facets of darkness, and they might just be the same dude.)

Frost, Snow, and Glacier (again, facets of Winter, might all be the same thing)

Death (fr just mumza, ill be honest)

Sky and Air (air's the winds, skys the ..sky, and also gets the trickster archetype)

Light (all my homies hate light, they're dangerous and bored)

Water (dead)

Locations (only the interesting ones):

Winter: winter trio's domain, noone can survive there.

Frozen Woods: also winter trio's domain. a snowy forest of ginormous, and i mean BIG, petrified trees. the petrification all happened at the same time, isn't that weird.

The Dark: Dark and/or Blacks domain, they fought over it a long time ago but noone knows who won. The place is surrounded by mountains and is full of glowy crystals. It also should be super cold but theres thermo vents under it and also hot springs around.

Creeping Wastes: Death's domain, but used to be Dark and/or Black's. Lore wise, it used to be part of The Dark. They share part of the mountains and its also surrounded by mountains but has a little access to the ocean. The people don't know this though, since something happened that put a blight over the entire land to the point nothing can live there. Fun!

Shrouded Peaks: Air's domain. It's a bunch of mountains that form like a horseshoe that faces out onto the ocean. Its really cool and misty there.

The Exiled: A few island off the coast of the Shrouded Peaks. Noone knows what its like over there but that's where bad people get sent. Ya know, ethically!

The Blinding Desert: Light's domain. Used to be all lush like The Wildlands (forest), but something happened and noooow its a desert. woohoo. Noone really goes there if they can help it because theres a river in the way. Beyond that is the Shores but they arnt toooo interesting right now.

Creatures:

Dark Satyrs. When Dark and Black fought over The Dark (and what's now the Wastes), the energy infested the crystals that were growing there, and the Dark Satyrs popped out! They still pop out of the glowy crystals, and the crystals grow on their bodies. That's how they denote families, too, since they aren't related by blood, but instead by vein!

Dragons: I'm not going to do my funky spelling for these for everyone's sake (Dragoens) but this pretty much where the egg's designs come from for me. they're like reptile people with no wings and feathery tails and shoulders. They were made by Air and given funky patterns and colors by Light. They live on the shrouded peaks in big groups. They can fly, even without wings, by bending the energy around them. But they think it comes from the gods specifically, so they're very religious. Oh, also they have 2 sets of horns! the top set is pretty similar to the satyr's horns, but the second set come out a bit behind the ears and curl down towards the front usually.

Ice Fairies: again, I won't do the funny spelling for you all (Faeries). They were made by the winter trio, and live in the frozen woods. They've hollowed out homes in the trunks and decorate the trees. the faries have twisty horns on the tops of their heads and big ol delicate wings on their backs. if the wings get hurt they CAN heal, but it'll come back discolored. the discoloration depends on their diet though, so they have some fun risky tattooing the do sometimes.

Stone Golems: Death got sad that it couldn't create life, so it carved some golems out of "living stone" from the Wastes. It used some left over soul material from the dead to animate them. They can't really die, but they also don't have enough of a soul to pass on if they do, so they bond their soul with another's so they can pass on with them and go back home to Death :]. Its like c!Skeppy and c!Bad, but the other way around. Stone Golems have a very close relationship with their soul bond, and can read their emotions and stuff.

There's more creatures that I'll quickly sum up, like Candles (failed creature by Light), Prisms (like a siren made of colors. by Light), Black Ice (Big monster in the sea by Dark and Glacier), Walker Wraiths/Darsite Husks (sleepwalking demon -> modified creature that took its body but really isn't all that bad if you know how it works), Shadows (lost souls because of improper reaping), Crystal Golems (long story, but the Wastes WERE a part of the Dark so you know) and definitely some more that I can't think of.

So!

Any questions :]?

#LONG POST #It's very rambly lol #thank you for the ask mansmth #very much appreciated #not a poll

[theminecraftbee]

I'm vibing so hard with your magical girl scar au but I realize I don't have much experience with magical girl media, do you have any recommendations?

okay so my all-time favorite magical girl show is definitely princess tutu, which is actually not what i'm basing this au off of AT ALL but i promise it is really really good and if you think you may like magical girl stuff it may be the way to go. plus, especially as we get into the second season? all the metacommentary about storytelling in that show has probably affected how i write and the sorts of things i like to talk about. princess tutu is SO GOOD guys even if you don't normally like ballet or magical girls i promise you should watch it and it's very silly in... many parts... anteaterina in that second episode... but it's also SO GOOD. and if you already like magical girls? GO WATCH IT WHY HAVEN'T YOU YET.

outside of that i like cardcaptor sakura a lot as a show that generally makes me feel happy whenever i watch it. it just is a show that has such nice and good vibes if you want something with nice and good vibes i recommend. plus something about cardcaptor's animation and designs specifically makes me feel soft and nostalgic for some reason. (this au takes its inciting incident almost verbatim from cardcaptor's inciting incident, fun fact, although then things immediately change due to the differing directions from there.)

classic 90s sailor moon anime is a classic for a reason; it is very much the magical girl formula but also it's like, one of the first ones to do it as strongly as it did, and if you like monster-of-the-week 90s TV and anime you'll definitely like it. or if you like stuff like power rangers; 90s sailor moon anime is actually pretty high on the 'basically super sentai for girls' scale as far as magical girl stuff goes (plus it's probably my formative magical girl anime).

i don't know much about precure; someone else can tell you what precure is good to watch! however i do know precure is really good and is what currently holds the torch of played-straight, long-running magical girl franchise, and i have seen the transformation sequences and stuff and it looks really good i just haven't had time to watch much of it. at some point i will.

recently, tokyo new mew is out, another thing i need to watch, because i watched tokyo mew mew in high school as one of the first anime i purposefully sought out to watch. that one's fun, i really like the animal themes in it, another just very good magical girl show in my opinion. it's been a long while since i last watched it but i remember i liked lettuce a lot. (they are all named after foods for some reason.)

madoka magica is gonna come up when you talk magical girls; it's... i like madoka actually but i will say that both a lot of people tend to misread it and also that it did this thing where it permanently made people go "oh but what if OUR magical girls are EDGY" as though magical girl shows have never had anything dark in them and also as though edgy makes it better. (all the sailor scouts die like, once if not more than once at various points in sailor moon guys, this is not a thing madoka invented for the genre.) it's very good and i really love the visuals of the witches in madoka, but it's also very much not a magical girl show played straight and i honestly think you appreciate it more if you actually like magical girls? idk complicated feelings on madoka you know.

however i will add one last recommendation for a post-madoka magical girl thing, and that's the webcomic sleepless domain by mary cagle. it's a REALLY cool webcomic, has good worldbuilding, despite the specific twist it uses it doesn't feel like one of the ones that went "but what if our magical girls can DIE" after madoka did but has like, a lot to do with its premise, i like a lot about how it's magical girls work and i'm really interested in what's going on right now. i wouldn't be surprised if it influenced my ideas for this au a little considering that i actively read that one as it updates.

and... yeah that's my list of various magical girl things i recommend! obviously there's also a lot of other stuff out there depending on what sort of show you're looking for?

#answered #starkeeper-the-storyteller #my BIGGEST recommendation on here is princess tutu i ADORE that anime so so so much #but also all of these are good places to look too!

[lunarblazes]

yeah that’s right fuck you and fuck your mom the empires cast mentioned dungeons and dragons one too many times and my hands slipped welcome to a list of my assigned races and classes for each of the empires season 2 characters. objectively i’m right always. explanations will be under the cut in case you are not immediately convinced i’m right

race; class/subclass

gem: scourge aasimar; paladin/ancients

false: kalashtar; ranger/fey wanderer

katherine: high elf; barbarian/beast

lizzie: changeling; druid/shepherd circle

joel: water genasi; sorcerer/storm sorcery

fwhip: darkwood goblin; ranger/horizon walker

sausage: firbolg; cleric/peace domain

scott: lotusden halfling; bard/creation

joey: tabaxi; rogue/swashbuckler

pix: human; artificer/alchemist

shelby: astral elf; wizard/order of scribes

jimmy: human; fighter/banneret

EXPLANATION TIME.

gem is a scourge aasimar because, like, look at her. look at her character’s story. she’s a princess of light. she worships the sun. honestly i also like the interpretation that she is a child of the sun, hence aasimar, and i made her a scourge because scourge aasimar are metal as fuck. sometimes you just gotta bleed light in the name of the sun. as for an ancient oath paladin—that just felt like it worked with her absolutely incomprehensible nature and the idea that yeah sun ancient what’re you gonna do.

false. kalashtar are people… sort of inhabited by reincarnated… dream? spirits? it’s weird and tricky and hard to explain, i’m not fully sure i understand it myself, but i thought a combination fey wanderer and kalashtar would be super fun for false’s dimension hopping thing! kalashtar don’t dream, they see windows into their past lives, and i thought that was super cool for false. plus i just love the fey wanderer subclass, and false always has ranger vibes. her fey blessing would probably be some kind of illusory feathers drifting around her or perhaps reflective coppery eyes!

katherine is the assignment i love the most and am least willing to change. before i get mauled on this one, i know there’s a ranger class called monster slayer, but this is about eight thousand times cooler. consider, for me, katherine’s story about her parents disapproving of her fighting monsters in a world where she is a high elf. high elves are weird motherfuckers like that. a beast barbarian princess who wears pink and saves fairies is my favorite fucking character ever she can use her rage to transform herself into a fucked up hulking bear creature thing and maul any dark beasts around her. her magical girl transformation is her going into a rage. i’m right on this one.

lizzie as a changeling! i loved this one because in order for her to like keep that weirdly suspicious disguise thing she’d have to be either a really bad changeling or really paranoid. and i mean it is incredibly lizzie to go “how can i make sure people don’t suspect i’m a fey shapeshifter. I KNOW. [pulls out a cardboard box with a bad drawing of her own face on it] nobody will ever notice a thing now!” circle of shepherds is because those druids have an affinity for being able to summon animal spirits to aid them in battle! lizzie’s got her crazy menagerie with her :^)

alright joel is a water genasi because i think it’s cool. he’s made of water whatre you gonna do about it. i knew i wanted to make him a sorcerer from the get go and then i read the storm sorcery page and i was like yeah. this is him. i’m like 85% sure that the wiki page even says you can get storm sorcery magic from a weird fountain. joel girlbossed too close to the sun on this one. like to imagine he just decided yeah im a god now after touching a fountain and suddenly becoming able to control lightning

fwhip’s race is pretty self explanatory! tried my best to find a race that fit the bill for cave goblin, hence darkwood goblins, who are a bit more chill and interested in machinery than other goblins, i think. the class was tough to pick for him, but i figured since he’s sort of a keeper of the end portal and was the one who wanted to solve the mystery of the stronghold, a horizon walker subclass would be good! they protect the intersection of the planes.

sausage’s race was one i struggled with a bit. i don’t know why but sausage just has such human vibes, but i just also really liked firbolg for his gentler homey sort of vibe this season. plus they’re sort of natural druids and i think that works well, as i was also considering making him a nature domain cleric, but then i found out peace domain existed and i went yeah that’s him. his empire is literally called sanctuary. his abilities all center around how good of a relationship his allies have, how well they’re able to get along, and i love that!

i have no justification for lotusden halfling scott. lotusden halflings are sort of more sneaky and tricky than typical halflings, which, it’s scott i think he deserves that, and i don’t know! i just kind of wanted to make him a halfling. scott’s so often a very typically graceful and beautiful race and idk i just wanna see him be a funny little jester with his rainbow empire full of flowers while also being beautiful and graceful anyway. a bard of creation just felt like it fit with his colorful empire, plus scott always has fey vibes and that’s a very typically fey-associated class.

joey’s race is something i struggled with HARD. i thought about verdin, i thought about kenku, i thought about half-elf, i thought about half-orc, but eventually the need to make joey graceffa a stabby murder cat won out. i imagine he’s a tiger-styled tabaxi! swashbuckler is a no-brainer and i couldn’t find anything that fit him better for me, unlike katherine, so he stays a tricksy pirate guy :^D

as i’m writing this i have just watched pix’s newest episode, episode 3, though i made this list on series launch day, and i am feeling VINDICATED. his projector thing!! he made it to help him!! he’s got his gadgets and gizmos to help him out!! i think alchemist was the subclass that encouraged the most sort of curious testing, so that’s why i chose it for him. he’s just a guy with some magic items, uncovering ghosts in the savannah like it’s a casual tuesday!

shelby obviously had to be a wizard with the way she described the system of magic she belongs to! for a bit, i wasn’t sure what subclass to give her, as we don’t know much about her specific magic capabilities, but then i found circle of scribes, and i was like yeah she needs to be part of the nerd ass wizard circle, aka the nerd class. double nerd, double academic pressure, poor thing! astral elf was just because i found it and thought it was sick as FUCK, and plus the image of this regal elven girl made and blessed by stars being exiled to the swamp is so good.

yes the sheriff is a human fighter. what do you want from me. my friend banana suggested a critrole homebrew class called gunslinger for him but 1) i have no idea how to find information on that, it wasn’t on the wiki i was using, and 2) i wanted to stay out of homebrew stuff for this list, so i felt banneret fit him the best! bannerets excel at leading others to follow them, and i think this season jimmy’s got the charisma to pull it off.

#empires #empires smp #empires smp season 2 #yeah that’s right everyone i maintagged this #would love to know what the emperors themselves think of my assignments muahaha #if people are interested i did also assign season one #and i was thinking about doing hc too #though that would probably just be oops all bards #so many bards. god so many

[robbybirdy]

Baking therapy on a budget Ft. Genshin Characters: Faruzan - Buttermilk Chocolate Cake

Hello, Every bridy. Today we are going to be making a very simple buttermilk chocolate cake. The reason being I was given a bunch of buttermilk, and wanted to use it up so I didn’t have to throw any of it away.

I have to be honest with you all. When I made this cake, I had no idea what character this cake would be inspired by. Sometimes I do plan that part before baking. But this recipe was one where I just wanted to bake it and have future Robby figure out who it should pair with, in regards to Genshin Characters. And I honestly still had no idea until I actually did Faruzan’s hangout event. 

Faruzan is a professor for one of the schools in Sumeru. She was trapped in a domain puzzle 100 years ago but was able to free herself. Everything around her changed, but because she was in the domain filled with magic, she stayed the same age that she was when she entered. Even though she looks young she is 100+ years old, and she gives off Grandma vibes. She says that she likes baked goods. 

The recipe and the measurements will be down in the description below. 

The first thing that you are going to do is gather your ingredients. 

For the cake:

Granulated sugar

Vegetable oil

3 eggs

Vanilla extract

Sour cream 

All-purpose flour 

Cocoa powder

Espresso powder or finely ground coffee (optional)

Baking powder

Baking soda

Salt

Buttermilk

For the frosting

Butter

Cocoa powder

Powdered sugar 

Buttermilk 

Vanilla extract 

Chocolate sprinkles for garnish (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350F. 

You are going to need a large mixing bowl. In that bowl, you are going to combine the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. The batter should be light in color and well incorporated using an electric mixer at medium speed.

Stir in the sour cream and beat well.

Sift dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add slowly to the main batter with buttermilk, mixing until the flour is just combined.

To make a great blend, simply mix the dry ingredients with some buttermilk on a low setting.

Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula and stir the batter from the bottom to the top to make sure that everything is mixed well. 

Pour the batter into a 9x13 inch pan and bake it at 350F for 26-28. Once a toothpick comes out clean it is done. 

Remove it from the oven and let it cool completely, before putting the frosting on. 

While the cake cools, we are going to be making the chocolate frosting. 

Cut the butter into pieces that are about 1 tablespoon in size. If you are using a spread or margarine, just eyeball it. 

Whip your butter for about 3-5 minutes making sure that you scrape down the bowl occasionally. You want to do it for this long so that the butter becomes light in color, and has more volume. 

Next, you will be adding your cocoa powder and powdered (confectionary) sugar. Followed by 2 tablespoons of buttermilk and beat for 60-90 seconds until everything is completely smooth. 

If desired you can add in the remaining buttermilk and the vanilla extract, and beat for 2 minutes. 

Spread the frosting of the cooled cake and then if desired cover the frosting with sprinkles. 

Honestly, this was a very simple cake, and despite how many ingredients there were in the recipe it was very straightforward and easy to understand. And the taste was amazing. Everyone told me that they liked it. And trust me when I say they are very honest with me. They know that I write about their comments, and they encourage me to write. 

They said as chocolate cakes go, it was a very good cake. 

I hope that you liked this recipe. Feel free to check it out for yourself. See you in the next post. Thank you. 

Pinterest: Here

Recipe:

#ts3 #simblr #Genshin Impact #genshin impact #ts3 simblr #baking #baking therapy #recipe #food #Buttermilk #chocolate #Cake #chocolate cake #dessert #faruzan #faruzan genshin

[kishigunpla]

Talking about the doujinshi archive blog. Not an actual update or anything, just rambling.

I've been facing the uncomfortable realization that I will not be able to continue this project without creating a full website to support it. As in, a registered domain name with a host, not just a free blog like I have now. Things will be okay as they are for a little while, but it's simply not sustainable in the current form long term.

Space limitation is the big one. WordPress gives you 1 GB to work with as a free member. Until I hosted some of the images elsewhere, I was already at ~25% with just the articles I have now. And that other hosting solution is the equivalent of trying to hold a car together with scotch tape. I'm not sure how long it'll last.

The other is adult content. Obviously I would never translate and share anything illegal or horribly objectionable. As it is now, however, I can't show anything too suggestive (this is a rule set by WordPress), which means I have two options - heavily censoring or leaving content out completely. Though I was somewhat fine with this at first (the Personal Theory IV article is an example of that - I left quite a bit of the spicier details out), I realize I'm doing both my audience and the original work a disservice by doing so. In a way it feels like disrespecting the artist, even. I'll be honest, one of the tipping points that made me write all this up was realizing I would have to censor Fictional Opera, and I REALLY do not want to do that. With upfront and detailed content warnings, I believe I can share just about any work in it's original form.

Moving from a free blog to a website will solve both of these problems. I found a web host that allows mature content and basically unlimited storage, for a fee of course. The learning curve to actually building the site will be pretty steep, but I don't mind that aspect. Plus there are so many more ideas I have that I could bring to fruition - hosting full backups of my scans is a big one.

Is this the right thing to do, though?

I talk a lot about archiving and preservation and sharing old or rare fan works with a larger audience, as if it's this grand ideal. Perhaps it's vain of me to think of what I'm doing as important enough to justify all of this. Is there enough of an audience for it to be more than that? Am I just an idiot with big unrealistic dreams? I don't really know...

I haven't even touched on the money aspect yet, and I probably won't until I decide if it's right to go through with this.

So I'm at a crossroads. I can either fight my way around restrictions, or go all in and create something hopefully really cool - but accept the fact if I go that route, there isn't any going back.

#kishi's rambling #I really just needed to get this off my chest

[sarifel-corrisafid-ilxhel]

My Opinion on AI Art

I am going to put this on my main blog where everyone can see it, because I have seen a lot of different takes about AI generated imagery and I wanted to share my take. Do what you will with this information, but keep in mind it is only in relation to the state of AI generated imagery in 2022. If you come back to this in 2025 and scream at me about some controversy that has occurred after this was posted, I will hit you with a brick.

Okay. First things first, is an AI generated image art? Well, let's look at it. As of this writing, there are no sentient AIs, and all pictures made by an AI are made at the behest of a human*. The human involvement in these images is significant: humans start the projects, come up with the ideas, run as many iterations as they want, make changes to the inputs as they need to, and decide what the final product is. Humans may take the images the AI generated and edit them, modify them, paint over them, etc. The AI, much like a spirograph or a bucket of paint dangling from a rope, is just an algorithm to create images with.

In this regard, because most of the conscious decisions are being made by a human and it's being done recreationally (as opposed to being a survival tool), it is art. Full stop. What kind of art it is, the quality of it due to visual artifacts, and whether it should be in its own category away from art created with more traditional tools are all separate questions from the intent that drives it, which is that a human wanted to make something for fun. That's the only criteria needed for it to be art.

*Human here is used to mean "Living thing that thinks", and can include H. sapiens, elephants, aliens, time travelers, crows, and members of the family Hominidae that don't belong to the species H. sapiens

Now, onto the second part. The way most of the AIs we have seen so far have been trained is just wrong for a product that's being released as an art tool. For our own reference, let's look at how websites use art. When an artist joins an art website, they give that website permission to store the image, distribute the image to other computers which request access to the image, and make alterations to the image (e.g. make tiny versions of it to use as a thumbnail). That's part of the Terms of Service for every art website, and if you didn't know that you should go read the TOS again. However, the artists did not give the same permission to the groups that run these AIs, and they did not give the website permission to transfer permissions. That means when the AI makers scraped the internet for images to train the AI with, they did so without getting anyone's permission. This is the part people should be upset about.

Now, we've all downloaded images to our hard drives, shared pictures we like with our friends, and even studied other artists to figure out how they do that fiddly thing we don't know how to do yet. Individually, that's okay. We're not claiming the picture is ours. But these groups are creating AIs that will regurgitate pictures they have been trained with and then people attribute those pictures to the AI, not to the original artist. That's basically the art version of money laundering. At this time, that means the only ethical AIs to use are the ones that were trained solely on public domain works or had permission from the original creators of the works being used. And as far as I can tell, no AI image generator that meets those criteria exists yet. The people who made these tools made them without any consideration for the people who may be impacted by these tools, and that's not cool.

Now, the third part. Some artists are freaking out because they think AI art will replace them. I personally do not share this opinion. As we have seen from various other industries, such as the jewelry industry or furniture industry, people will pay a premium for the artisanal stuff even though mass produced alternatives exist, even if the mass produced stuff is equal in quality. I believe that tendency will also occur in the art world, and there will always be a place for independent and professional artists as a result. Photography did not end the career of the landscape painter, nor did CGI destroy the job of the set designer. There were periods of upheaval, yes, but at the end of the day things settled into a new normal and those jobs continued to exist.

Furthermore, we already have hobbyist artists who do great work for next to nothing, and that hasn't driven independent or professional artists out of business either. One only needs to look at the sheer disparity of prices in the Furry Fandom to see that independent artists can compete even in a market saturated with low cost artwork.

So, that's my opinion, and I look forward to giving AI generated imagery another shot when they come out with an AI that was created with informed consent and input from artists.

#not animorphs #ai generated art #ai #long post but important #long post

[citrus-cactus]

👀👀 i would LOVE to hear more about the harujin Dante's journey concept (if that's cool with you)

Oh yes, of COURSE that’s cool! Though I should say it’s less of an AU and more of… well, a vibe, I suppose, or a framing of their relationship that I’ve had for a while but never tried to explain outside of my own head. Also, my reason for feeling this way might not be that valid of an interpretation, since I’ve never actually read the Divine Comedy (but there is a substack book club for it now, and I have very seriously considered joining XD). But the broad-strokes concept of a character wandering alone, mourning for their lost love, stumbling into the underworld, journeying through all the levels of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, and getting to see that person in some form again just feels very Haru/Yuujin to me… that, or there is just a part of me that wants to relate Harujin back to some sort of mythic/fairytale journey, or possibly something Utena-esque. But it doesn’t hurt that Appmon (imo) really sets up the Deep Web as being the App equivalent to the Underworld, with its own threshold guardians in the form of a three-headed Cerberus and Dante(mon).

I can even see something of the Divine Comedy being alluded to in the quest to rescue Yuujin and Offmon in the Ultimate Four arc: the “Hell” of the Ultimate Four’s domain is accessible through a graveyard, it is split into its own visually district subsections, and Haru needs to climb upwards in order to rescue Yuujin in time. As a 14-year-old, I doubt Haru would have actually read the Divine Comedy(??) (and Yuujin most certainly hasn’t!), but I did at one point want to write a little missing scene for them after the rescue that was absolutely going to have Haru muse on going through Hell in order to regain some sense of Paradise for himself, because if any character was going to notice a literary parallel like that, it would be Haru :3

More + spoilers under the cut

I really do love the theme of this type of journey for them though, so much so that this is how I keep framing my own attempt at a Yuujin-is-resurrected fic (I absolutely adore your take on the concept though, and I would read the heck out of that!!!).

This idea has been germinating in my head for several years, and I’m not sure it will ever bear fruit in the form of a fic, but it’s something I’ll think about/tinker with from time to time. Using the conceit of “appmon(/digimon) never really die,” my thought is, post-Application Project, Yuujin’s data is not actually gone, just… incomplete. He wakes up in the Appmon Graveyard (I mean, he’s kind of like a defunct app) with an in-tact sense of his digital self but no memories, save for a vague notion that he needs to get back to someone. Thus, Yuujin begins his own journey through and out of the Underworld, which of course involves him coming to terms with everything he is and everything that he was as he starts to remember everything leading up to how he got there. To circle back to Dante—and because I have been thinking about their relationship using this framework for far too long—as Yuujin starts to remember Haru and what happened, he would start to see Haru as some sort of idyllic abstraction of a real person (his Beatrice, if you will): pure, ascended, angelic, and wholly above him, someone whose love Yuujin does not feel worthy of anymore… until the end when it is revealed that Haru has been trying just as hard to find him just because that kind of resolution really f*cks me up. Ahem.

Oooough, an Orpheus and Eurydice AU would be brutally good though. Here’s the thing: the romantic in me genuinely want the final scene of the series to be true (in some sense) and for the two of them to have a happy ending… but there are just so many juicy things that could get in the way, and I love thinking about those as well.

Also, nobody asked for this, but as soon as I heard this song it became my post-canon Harujin anthem:

So yeah, mythic journeys. The Underworld. Harujin. I YEARN.

Thanks for the ask, I really appreciate having the opportunity to talk about this!

#appmon #appli monsters #appmon spoilers #haru shinkai #yuujin oozora #asks #randomidiosyncrazies #look there is just. quite a bit you can say about appmon and greek myth #I didn’t even mention rei’s association with the deep web/underworld #and that being why I think his god-grade partner is named Hadesmon #but I think about it often #it’s just so thematic and *chef’s kiss*

[monstrousvoice]

Kudaai Thoughts™ with a side portion of Claunek

Okay, okay, I swear I'm working on other fics right now, I have a NariLamb one coming shortly, I just need to finish typing it up in docs.

But Kudaai brainrot is strong and without access to discord to blab and blab about him I needed someway to purge myself of these thoughts.

So I wrote these out in a fervor on one of my breaks at work. Its messy, but it is what it is.

First off, we don't know for sure what they are, but I have two possibilities that I like, may end up even combining them together. I like to think that these two are some type of dragon morph, preferably crocodile or alligator, with their "cloaks" being scales or feathers. Another idea is that the "cloaks" are leaves, and they're both some type of nature creatures. The idea of them being a dragon morph with leaf scales that change with the season is such a cool idea to me. Claunek gains pink highlights in the spring while Kudaai gains more orange and red. In winter they both turn white, with light layers of frost settling over them. Inside me there are two wolves-

I do also believe these two are gods within their own right. Haro explains that the lands of the Old Faith once had many gods, hundreds even, and that many of them are gone now. Some were killed, others left, others still slept. It wouldn't surprise me if under their hoods, these guys have their own little crowns. The Bishops are aware of their existence but they have an agreement, Claunek and Kudaai are allowed to live on their land so long as they don't try to amass any followers or grab power from them. This works fine for the two of them as they care not for such things as worshippers, they just want to focus on their craft.

Kudaai, I see being a God of Flame, the first fire being the one lighting his forge and is unable to burn out, seeing as he mentions it being an eternal flame in his dialogue. As well as this he is known as a god of blacksmithing - think Hephaestus from Greek Myth. Not only do mortal blacksmiths follow his practices for forging, but followers of all kinds pray to him for blessings on things. This can include anything from horseshoes so a follower's mount stays sturdy and strong for a long journey to blessings on tools and building materials for homes so that they can weather any storm and have protection from intruders.

Claunek I see as a God of Prophecy, moreso than Shamura. Shamura can see visions of the future, but they can only see so many before they feel drained, and they arent able to choose what they see. Claunek on the otherhand, can choose. Where Shamura is more spontanious, Claunek is more like Garnet from Steven Universe. He can see the different branching pathways an individuals furture can take, from most likely to happen to least likely to happen. He can then use this knowledge to influence them towards a more desired outcome, but anything is still possible as the future is never set in stone. His tarot cards are tied to this ability, and however he wants to answer your questions or influence you, it effects which cards he pulls during readings. This is to say that no matter how many times you shuffle his deck, take or remove cards, etc, if he has a specific path he wants to push you towards, the appropriate card will manifest within the deck for him to pull. As for if he has a second domain to rule over the way the other gods in the game do, I have been entertaining the idea that he has some control over hope. It makes sense to me, considering he can see other's futures, being able to sense what they hope and wish for would be incredibly helpful.

I do see them both as brothers, the same way all the Bishops are related to one another. Whether they were born from another god's death, or simply manifested, they came into the world knowing who the other was and calling them brother. I do think Kudaai came first and acts as an older brother. He's protective over Claunek, and has sacrificed a lot to keep his younger sibling safe from the dangers of their world. He is covered in scars from past battles, and a couple of the weapons stuck in his back are results of said battles. They cause him chronic pain and Claunek feels guilty whenever he thinks to much about how they got there. He often makes tea blends and medicines from herbs in the forests to help ease his brother's issues. I do enjoy the dynamic of them having a sibling rivalry, however I actually see Claunek as the more competitive one.

Specifically, he's the more competitive one in a passive aggressive/subtle way. Kudaai stops by with a wonderful new tea blend he wanted to gift his brother? Oh well, Claunek also got him some new rare ingots and high quality leather for his next weapon project, clearly he is better at gift giving. And he has better snacks to choose from, and is superior at games of wit. Kudaai just kinda sits to the side like; "Cool. Anyway…"

I honestly see his personality being more in line with like, a knight? He's very reserved and calm, patience coming just as easily to him as his younger brother due to the nature of his craft. He handles things the way he handles forging, careful strikes and patience, waiting for the right moment to make his move. This doesn't carry over to social situations, however. As a young God growing in such a dangerous land, with a delicate charge of his baby brother relying on him, Kudaai didn't have much time for socializing. If he needed to talk to others, for whatever reason, his words were always few and clipped. He never shared more than he needed to, the sword lodged in his right shoulder was a very potent lesson in keeping his thoughts and secrets close.

This is one of the reasons Claunek tries to stay loose and carefree, as well as try to engage his sibling in a healthy sibling rivalry. He hates to think that Kudaai never got to express himself or have friends or live life in any way because he was too busy taking care of his baby brother and protecting him from danger. Claunek likes to think that someday he'll be able to help his older sibling break out of his emotional imprisonment and be happy.

Thing is, Kudaai is happy. Or at least, he thinks he is. He's a bit of a minimalist, and doesn't have much desire for material things or the company of others. His younger brother is safe and happy, he gets to work on his forge as often as he wants…what more could he need?

I do have many, many, many more thoughts about these two jumping around, but I can't get them all out as of right now. Probably will write more about them soon.

#Cult of the Lamb #CotL Kudaai #CotL Claunek #Cult of the Lamb Kudaai #Cult of the Lamb Claunek #Kudaai #Claunek

[romeoandjulietyouwish]

Dropping in here because I have a conundrum, and I think you might get a kick out of poking at it!

SO for my Champion!Vex AU, that's already 4k words deep because I am a force of chaos, I want Vax's multiclass to be different as part of a butterfly effect. However, I'm not sure which I want to go with :c which I need to figure out cause it'd have a big impact on how this Vax changes vs canon Vax!

My main problem is that Vax feels like he failed to protect Vex, and will be looking for some magic/divine options to potentially either get her out of the RQ's deal or have something to blast her with should she show up again. He might do so by leaning hard into another god, ideally one that dislikes the RQ, or by swearing off gods altogether and finding ways to say fuck off to them.

In canon, he was considering asking Pike about joining her in worshiping Sarenrae before the Sunken Tomb happened - he could still take that planned path here and just. Still be a Paladin, though I'd rather things flutter out a bit more. I like the idea of Divine Soul Sorcerer, because I am a huge sucker for the subclass and the healing + metamagic could be fun. I'm not sure I like the idea of two in the party being tied to the same god, though, so maybe Pike might nudge him to another one? Idk who, though.

A Gloomstalker dip could also be fun, perhaps justified as him spending more time keeping an eye on Vex and looking out for the Raven Queen's influence. Might be just enough magic for him to feel better, while also echoing Vex's many Rogue dips in canon (which will stop at one here).

I also had the idea of Vax taking to Druid early and more extensively, spending more time with Kiki for support and to learn magic from a source not tied to god, because he miiiight have a bigger bone to pick after one scoops up his sister. I like the idea of Circle of the Land with Underdark, though idk how I'd justify that given the Underdark was ages ago and they don't return there during the Conclave arc.

And Int is Vax's next highest stat at lv13, so a Wizard subclass could be another way to get some 'fuck u gods' power.

Just! GAH! Any thoughts?

I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS (bc I'm a huge dnd nerd anyway...)

I think that in this context it would make sense for Vax to either be a cleric or a paladin (I know that in this au Vex multis as a cleric so probably paladin then). Sorcerer would also be cool, but it's a bit more complicated with how that magic really comes about versus just taking an oath to a god.

He would want to try to free Vex from her deal but not really sure how to do that, I can see him talking to Pike about it because as much as he wants to avoid the gods at all costs, there's no real way for him to try to intervene without using the power of another god.

I think that having Vax be a paladin of Sarenrae would really fit especially with the focus on light and life to oppose the Raven Queen. But if you did want to go a more druidic route with it, I could also see him leaning towards Melora because she also presides over the domain of life.

But this also got me thinking about what subclass that Vax would have as a paladin. In the show he's Oath of Vengeance and I could honestly see that to with his vengeance directed towards the Raven Queen. But, because of his whole fate-touched thing, I could see him as a Heroism paladin. It's from Unearthed Arcana, but I think it would work well, especially if he goes with Sarenrae instead of Melora.

#lis makes hcs #critical role #vox machina

[faeflowerz]

Misao Kuromori - The Blue Fairy

TWST OC MASTERPOST

Gender: Female (She/Her)

Age: 17

Birthday: February 16

Sign: Aquarius

Height: 175cm

Eye Color: Emerald Green

Hair Color: Brown + Red

Homeland: Vale of the Briars

Family: Shinko Kuromori, mother

Dormitory: Heartslabyul

Year: 2nd

Class: 2-A

Club: Light Music Club

Best Subject: Arts/Music

Dominant Hand: Ambidextrous 

Favorite Food: Kimchi

Least Favorite Food: Tarts

Dislikes: Lightning Storms

Hobby: Violin

Talent: Singing

Nicknames: Narwhal/Ikaku, Mademoiselle Amaryllis 

Unique Magic: No Strings Attached. Misao can briefly control someone’s movements. Only works once per person.

Personality: Based on the Blue Fairy (Sapphire Fairy), Misao is a young woman that appreciates her human heritage a lot more than most fae would. Being born and raised in a mostly human town just on the outskirts of the Draconia domain, Misao does not rely on magic to complete tasks. When she was a child, she did grant wishes for the townspeople for a while, but stopped for unknown reasons.

Her fierce determination for self reliance and hands off approach to learning has made her the right fit for Heartslabyul. She admires Riddle for his power, but also feels that he is too sheltered to understand the world. Despite this, they have mutual respect and share ideas on how to properly lead people.

Classroom Chats

Chat 1 Bring Me to Life

"Not gonna lie, the talking paintings kind of freak me out. Their eyes follow you around and then they randomly strike up convos with you."

"Cater-senpai says they're great to talk to, but I'm not so sure…" 

"How boring it must be to have to hang on a wall all day! Still, the magic behind it is cool. They say that the Sapphire Fairy was able to do the same thing to a puppet!"

"It could walk,talk, and even wanted to go to school like a real boy!"

"Imagine just being born and wanting to go to school of all places!"

Fin

Chat 2 A Whale of a Time

"You know, the Mostro lounge got its name from this HUGE whale. It was, like, the terror of the sea for a loong time."

"He'd eat anything, even whole ships! Once, a father and son were swallowed up by him too."

"By some miracle and quick thinking, they managed to survive and escape. Talk about your near misses!"

Fin

Chat 3 The Problem Solvers

"Hmm…"

"Oh, Yuu, whassup? I was just thinking about how often we rely on magic. I heard in the Valley of Thorns they use magic for everything! Fairies used to grant wishes, bless babies, and even make children."

"Oh? Shinko and I are fairies, but we grew up around humans who don't use magic. Sometimes we used to grant their wishes but...man, it got to be too much after a while."

"Magic can't solve everyone's problems, yanno? That's what my mama taught us!"

Fin

Chat 4 Misao and Ace: The Lie Detector

♥ Misao! Hey, didn't you say you needed help with moving your gear to the music club room?

"Oh, yeah! I appreciate your help, man!"

♥ Heh, anything to help upperclassmen!~ You guys are always there for me when I need you!

"Hmm…"

♥ What? What's wrong?

"Ace, what are you REALLY helpin me for?"

♥ *sigh* You got me. Riddle is mad and I need you to talk him down from it.

"Bro, lying will only get you into more trouble than you want."

Fin

Chat 5 Misao and Deuce: School of Tools

♠ A place where boys learn to get on the straight and narrow sounds pretty awesome, actually. I wonder if it had any success in helping them?

"Considering how many of the guys here are scoundrels, maybe a class trip is in order?"

♠ Waah?! You think so?! Who would you suggest has to go??

"Ehehe, Well, a few names come to mind, but they would probably put up a fight if I said who."

♠ ...I really need to become an honor student asap!

Fin

Chat 6 Misao and Cater: An Actor's Life for Me

♦ Mimi! I'm sooo booored. Wanna skip class? There's going to be an audition for one of Vil's movies!

"Sounds fun, but I really don't think you should skip class. You never know what could happen in just one day!"

♦ Aww, come on, don't be so fussy. It's just one little break. We could end up being major starlets!

"Tell you what, I'll cheer you on when you make it big."

♦ Awwwe! You really think I have what it takes?

"Ehehe yeah. You've got superstar potential, Cay!"

Fin

Chat 7 Misao and Trey: Conscience Science 

♣ Ah, some of our underclassmen are up to trouble again...I'd better take care of it before Riddle finds out.

"You would think these boys would have a conscience to guide them. What ever happened to being a good guy?"

♣ It's easier said than done, to be honest. NRC isn't known for producing gentlemen. 

"Mmm. That's quite obvious..."

♣ Hey, why are you looking at me like that?

Fin

Chat 8 Misao and Riddle: Of Rules and Regulations 

"Do you think the Sapphire Fairy and the Queen would get along?"

🌹 Perhaps. They both had very strict moral codes. The Sapphire Fairy insisted that children should be raised to always tell the truth and follow their parent's guidance.

"She was merciful but not too hands-on either. You can't always rely on others to teach you a valuable lesson. We all have to take the training wheels off one day."

🌹 So you would prefer someone who is self-reliant? I see…

Fin

Relationships

Riddle: Misao adores Riddle and looks up to him. Riddle is hesitant to fall for her because he feels that they may be too different. She likes loud music, raving and dancing. She even has a tattoo! His mother would never approve of someone like Misao, but he's still drawn to her. She's honest with him, and she tries to reason with his leadership methods rather than becoming rebellious. Even though it appears that she takes the lead, Riddle does know how to fluster her and assert his authority as a prefect (she's more than happy to let him do it).

Trey: Misao doesn't quite like him. She has to be civil because of their mutual friendship with Riddle, but Misao thinks he's phony. He hides his worst traits and Misao would prefer him to be an honest shitty person than a restrained nice guy. Trey ignores this either for Riddle's sake or his own. Trey sometimes tries to appease her, but it usually backfires or she doesn't think he means it. They don’t really get into it, but that's because neither really have any reason to become enemies. They tolerate each other for short periods of time, which works for them.

Cater: They share a club together so they are pretty friendly. Although Cater is annoyed by his sisters, Misao actually acts like a big sister rather than a little one. Of all the seniors she could interact with, Misao likes to be around Cater the most. Maybe it's because of their star sign, but it's also because of their extroverted nature. Sometimes she feels like his mask is too tight, but there are moments where Cater accidentally opens up to her.

Ace: These two end up arguing a lot. One would think it's because of how much trouble he gets into and causes for everyone, but…it's really because he hits on her a lot. It's embarrassing. Ace doesn't care that Misao rejects him because he thinks it's fun to piss her off with his flirting. He also tries to bully her, but she has threatened to punch him if he crosses a line. He also sucks at hiding his pranks and brown nosing around her. She always catches onto him.

Deuce: Misao is pretty fond of Deuce. She finds his innocence endearing and warns him to protect himself. Deuce doesn't understand what she means yet. He secretly wants her praise because he's an only child. Sometimes he slips and calls her nee-chan. She doesn't mind since he's cute. Misao also has trouble with math so they bond over being terrible at it. She also encourages him to not be so hard on himself when he makes a mistake. 

Kalim: His sunshine personality is so cute that it's almost offensive to her. Much like Deuce, she insists that he be more careful with his generous personality. Misao also scolds Jamil for still hovering over Kalim despite 'not being friends.' She's the one who encourages him to do things on his own and teaches him how to keep track of his school supplies. She tried to gift him a notebook and planner, but he forgets to carry that too.

Lilia: Since they're both fairies, they have a kinship. Misao doesn't know much about her heritage so she often turns to Lilia for lore. He's happy to tell her stories, but ultimately she has to end up going to the library. Since they met, Lilia will sometimes give her trinkets from the Valley. He's also impressed with how well she grew up despite being one of the only fairies in her hometown. They also get into it over music tastes, and the music club has to endure their debates.

#twist OC #twisted wonderland #writing #faes ocs

[raisedbyelectronics]

"Just pick up a pencil."

I honestly disagree with this sentiment.

Let's start with the collateral damage.

There is generative art out there that isn't made through GANs or other similar methods. Reddit's r/generative is home to this kind, made without either lifted training data or a prompt-based workflow. Just math, computer wizardry, and human ingenuity. You can make beautiful fractals, flowing shapes, etc., and you can take as many liberties as you want. Yet this unrelated art form happens to share the name "generative."

Then there's procedural effects in 3D digital art, animation, VFX, and CAD. I see that form of randomness as no worse than the natural imperfections that result from a pencil or paintbrush.

Even stabilization tools on apps like ProCreate have come under fire.

People hear about "Photoshop's plagiarism algorithms" and think the whole app uses them, or that Gaussian blur algorithms use content from Google Images.

I think a lot of the "pick up a pencil" crowd are missing the point and vilifying all computer-aided art forms as soulless, or making points tangential to the overall AI debate.

I can follow the logic behind a lot of arguments over the collection of training data for "true" AI art made with GAN and stable diffusion-based models, or the skill level of prompt engineering. (But I don't agree with banning or shaming it at all, or even with the idea that it's wrong, as enforcing the copyright of images from a Google Search would inadvertently ban many memes, and stable diffusion is way more complicated than a simple collage)

But mathematical or random models, liberties left to the computer, and digital art in general, are unfairly vilified in the process.

It's okay to pick up a pencil. But you can pick up a stylus, pick up your finger and put it on whatever control is in reach, etc., or pick up your technical intuition in one way or another.

And I also would love to see more ML-based AI that gives an artist even more liberties, and that discloses, for example, what it was trained on (perhaps consensual algorithms or mass libraries of stock photography).

Hypothetically, not all "true" AI has to be based on prompt engineering, or use it as the sole means of calling up images – and prompt engineering can also be used for finer details, etc. Perhaps as a way of generating the textures of 3D polygon animation.

But the goalposts keep moving.

This AI was trained on images in the public domain/that the company has permission to use!

Well, did the artists know at the time?

Well, this AI was trained on images expressly submitted to us!

But still, you're enabling non-artists to make fake art!

How?

Well, all you're doing is typing in a paragraph!

But this system has more areas to type in what you want, not just a single box!

But still, writing isn't making art!

Okay, this system more closely resembles a drawing program that turns your basic sketches or lasso fills into whatever you want them to be – the composition is yours!

But that's too easy!

Okay, this system just uses a really good ML algo to imitate brush strokes of a paintbrush!

Well....

"Why can't we use computers to simplify the boring stuff instead of simplifying the fun stuff?"

I've heard this so many times... implying that making art with a computer isn't fun, or that using a computer to automate or randomize anything is an insult to those who "took the time."

A few people speaking about AI music seem to also criticize things like random LFOs, random note generators, etc., that influence the sound design or composition of a production in a random way, though still ultimately on the terms of the producer. It's still a craft of love, and a great way to make cool R2D2 sounds or glitchy percussion.

Or speak of live musicians as the victims of AI music – something that as an electronic musician, I've heard about my hobby in general. That quantizing and pitch correction, or any kind of post-modification of any performance, is dishonest or disrespectful to those who "took the time" to learn to "properly" play. As if music were a sport, not an artform with many ways of practice. That gridding things in or arranging stock samples (a term that has two meanings: either arranging single notes or adding stock loops, or even bits of other songs) is dishonest. A lot of people don't even know that you can program in original melodies in electronic music, or skip samples entirely and use geometric or electronically-generated waveforms.

As if we don't take the time to develop our sounds and mix and match a variety of nonstandard, yet technical, areas, even if we leave some stuff to the computer and/or a stock loop library (or not... I tend not to use the latter).

As if people making any kind of procedural medium on a computer are only doing it because they're inartistic.

As if someone's personal opinion that 3D art with procedural FX, generative mathematical art, the music of Trovarsi, or anything with some randomization is soulless... makes it so.

As if they could do better just sitting down at the tools of the "talentless hacks'" trade.

As if anyone can sit down and make anything on r/generative, or even use Photoshop's Generative Fill, effectively on the first go.

One friend of mine thought electronic music was talentless and unoriginal, and that it was all "soulless and sterile and made from stolen loops"... I offered her 10 minutes of time with my laptop and a pair of headphones... she didn't want to try it out...

Speaking of that, when GarageBand was first announced to the general public, Steve Jobs mostly focused on the stock loops, even though you could make your own loops, record performances all the way through, or just grid things in... or use third party plugins.

I can see a similar trend happening with ML-based AI.

People will take the time to make it, and people will find it worth their time to consume it.

The opposite of "electronic" isn't "real". This is the force of thunder, thought, magnetism, chemistry, and emotion itself.

The opposite of "computer" (adj.) isn't "human." Humans designed computers.

And a lot of more "computery" art and music is very appealing to me. Am I a robot? No, but I'm of the species that designed them, and can tell you first-hand that creativity is very... complicated. Not that I don't think we should have it, but that it's ultimately in the eye of the beholder.

You didn't plan out each imperfection of your pencil line.

Nor each variation in harmonic overtone content or waveform each time you slap your bass.

Nor were you the first to draw a person, photograph the LA River, or tap out a clave rhythm.

Nor do comic book artists generally spend the same time on a single frame as a realist painter does on a whole painting... but that just lets them make more and create a whole new art form. And some comic book artists do slave away on each detail – or draw stick figures and still make effective comics. Or just take pictures for a photo comic. Or use stabilization. Or generative (mathematical) backgrounds.

Not too long ago, calculators were controversial in STEM classrooms. Now, many classes outright require them.

Not too long ago, spell check was lamented by English teachers. Now, many will outright encourage its use in typed essays, or have students do assignments on Canvas with it turned on.

The general attitude for using Wikipedia for research has evolved from "never use" to "use with skepticism and don't cite directly for school, but it's a great 'springboard' to find more info".

And typing has pretty much replaced cursive's role in high schools.

It's all how you look at it.

I will not be convinced that my computer is evil or unhealthy.

[myresellerhome]

How to Start an eCommerce Business in 5 Steps (A Business Planning Guide)

Are you ready to start your eCommerce business and turn your hobby into money? In this digital age, people who want to start their own business and make it big in the online market have many options. Starting an online store can be a fun and profitable business, whether you want to sell handmade goods, niche items, or cool new gadgets. But how do you start? 

This complete guide will show you the most important things you need to do to start your eCommerce journey and help you figure out how to be an online business owner. Get a coffee, put on your work clothes, and let's start an eCommerce business in five easy steps!

1. Define eCommerce Business

Perfecting your idea is the first stage in launching any business. Selling professional services and tangible or digital goods are examples of online business concepts. 

Whichever option you decide on, you must specify your e-commerce business strategy and create a business plan that details your target market. 

You'll have many questions during this process, such as: How will you provide your goods or services to your clients? Which licenses and permits are required? How much will it cost to launch your eCommerce, and how will you pay for it? Your business plan should address these questions and offer a roadmap for the upcoming months.

2. Importance of Planning

After defining your eCommerce business, it is critical to plan it. It comprises many aspects, including the business structure, name, payment method, and shipment. 

Here's an explanation of these aspects:

Picking a way to run your business. 

While each of these company types has advantages and disadvantages, consulting with a lawyer may assist you in determining which is best for your purposes. Also, plan how your business will operate. Plan your shipping and delivery routes. Also, how are you going to track these services?

Giving your business a name. 

Choose your business name carefully because it will become your brand's name. Check the websites of your local secretary of state and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to make sure the name you want doesn't already belong to a business. Make sure that the domain name you want for your business is also available.

Applying for an employer identification number (EIN). 

An EIN is free to get from the IRS. You can do it online, by mail, fax, or phone. A business does not have to have an EIN, but having one can help you keep your personal and work finances separate.

Opening a bank account for your business. 

We suggest all business owners open a separate bank account for their company. Clients these days like to use UPI and cards to pay. You should check how people can pay if you start an online store and offer them to your customers. Also, think about how safe the payment methods are.

Getting the licenses and permits that your state or city needs. 

Where the business is located is an integral part of it. Most likely, this includes a business license. If you offer services, you may also need a professional license. Find out what the rules are in your area by visiting the website of your state or city government.

3. Market Research and Analysis

A target audience is a specific set of people to whom you want to direct your products, services, and marketing. It is typically defined by characteristics such as gender, age, hobbies, difficulties, and ambitions. 

Researching your target audience will help you understand their difficulties, pain spots, and purchasing patterns. You can then build messages, offers, and marketing and advertising campaigns that appeal to your target audience.

Draw inspiration from your competitors' efforts and build on what they're doing well. Identify their best-selling items, social media outlets, and the type of content their audience enjoys.

4. Setting Up Your Online Store

If you want to open an online business, you can hire a website developer or do it yourself. 

How to Choose the Right Domain Name

It tells people what kind of business you are and is part of your site's URL. Using your business name as your domain name is a good idea, but it's not required. 

Pick a web host and a site builder.

An e-commerce website maker is a website that lets you make and run your online store without having to know a lot about computers. 

Many website builders let you drag and drop items and have many themes you can change. Making it very simple for people who don't know how to code to set up an online store. 

Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress are all well-known website builders. Each one has its own set of features and functions.

Compare them based on how easy they are to use, how customizable they are, how many design choices they have, how good their customer service is, and so on.

Also, it would help if you chose a web host. This service lets you put your website online after you've set it up. There are a lot of website makers that also host websites. 

Choose the layout of your website.

Now is the time to create your online store, which is the heart of your business. With just a few clicks, website builders let you add a lot of free and paid styles that you can change to fit your needs.

Try out several styles to find the one that works best for you. Select the one that lets you make a lot of changes. 

This is an example: 

If you sell customized T-shirts, choose a theme that lets you code a feature that lets customers add text or pictures to make the shirt their own. You can also code a function that lets them see what their changes will look like before they buy.

Once you've chosen a theme, you can begin making the pages you need, such as

Homepage

Page for products

The "About Us" page

FAQs page 

Policy pages

Page for contact

5. Marketing and Promotion Strategies

So, you've made a product listing full of helpful information, keywords, compelling writing, and beautiful images. It's time to tell everyone about it! 

Getting as many people as possible to your listing will give you a better chance of converting them. This means you want as many people as possible to click on, view, and buy your goods. 

Online shoppers are more likely to come to you if you have a more significant online footprint. There should be at least three places where you can be found online: your e-commerce shop or landing page, social media, and online ad space. Keep your review count and scores high once you start making sales. This will make your brand seem more trustworthy. 

Make advertising plans 

When people click on ads, they buy things. And in today's e-commerce world, where competition is high, you need a strong advertising plan to stand out. 

There are many ways for online sellers to promote their goods, which is great. Amazon gives its buyers a lot of pay-per-click (PPC) ad choices and other marketing programs to help their items get more attention. You can even keep track of people who come to your post from ads you run outside of Amazon. 

Use social media 

54% of people have bought things they first learned about on social media. This means entrepreneurs who want to build brand recognition should have a social presence. 

Getting more people to follow your business on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok lets millions of people who might buy your products know about them. 

You can make it easy for customers to find your items by linking your storefront or individual product pages to your social media pages. On Facebook and Instagram, you can even sell things right away. 

You can also connect with people on social apps in more natural ways than traditional ads. You can, for instance, use Instagram or Twitter polls to find out what people think about your goods, tell people about sales and discount codes, or post "engagement prompts" to get people to comment. 

Tips for Success in E-commerce

Once you've set up your business, here are some important tips for making it successful in e-commerce:

Make your e-commerce site more likely to convert.

You can get more people to buy from your online store by making it more user-friendly. Resulting in more sales and money. 

If not, it won't matter how many people visit your website—it will be hard to turn them into buyers. 

Set up a program to reward loyal customers. 

With a customer loyalty program, you can give customers rewards to keep them coming back, build long-lasting relationships, and get more people to love and support your brand. 

The goal is to give buyers reasons and advantages that make their contacts with your brand more valuable. As a result, you'll probably be able to keep more of your customers, which means you'll make more money from return purchases. 

Run a campaign for influencer marketing.

Working with influencers is a great way to boost sales and raise awareness of your business online. You can reach their fans and use the trust they've built with their public. 

Look at Converse. Along with four top TikTok creators with 12 million fans, the shoe brand worked with them to promote the launch of its "Creative All-Star Series" in London. 

One of the influencers, Jake Sweet, made a movie with over 37,000 likes and more than 120 shares.

Create an E-commerce Market Presence

If you have an online store on an e-commerce marketplace, you can use its huge reach and good image to your advantage, which could lead to more sales and money. 

Every month, billions of people visit the websites of online stores like Walmart and Amazon. People like shopping here because the marketplaces have built trust over the years, they put the customer first, and they have a huge collection of products. 

Conclusion

Starting an online store can be a fun and profitable business if you carefully plan and carry out your steps. Aspiring business owners can succeed in the tough world of online shopping if they follow the five important steps in this guide. These steps include researching the market, making a marketing plan, opening an online store, and performing market research.

Janet Watson MyResellerHome MyResellerhome.com We offer experienced web hosting services that are customized to your specific requirements.

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#ecommerce