#i already did a couple of pw these styles

[arkos404]

fuck you *chibi-fies your blorbos*

#prohibitedwish #prismo #prismo the wishmaster #scarab #scarab the god auditor #fionna and cake #adventure time: fionna & cake #arkos draws #trying out some stuff for fun #cw eyestrain #<- ig #i already did a couple of pw these styles #such is the way of the worm #prismo stop annoying scarab so he'll get mad at you challenge (impossible)

[heartsgallery]

I agree about most substantially deliberate HSM parallels ending on s1. I feel like Josh and Sofia's chemistry as Ricky and Gina was an unexpected goldmine that fell in Tim's hands and he adjusted accordingly (possibly rewrote portions of the script or changed character backgrounds/stories or personalities) after all the screen tests with every actor! I may be in the minority, but I feel like original plans for the show were supposed to keep R*ni the whole time and will they wont they them like some annoying Ross Rachel rehash but Tim couldnt waste the potential of Rina (tested the waters with those middle eps and boy did we fishes snap at that fishing line 😂). That's why s1 sometimes feels disconnected with the pivot to Rina and the abrupt pivot back to R*ni (like 2 different stories). Season 2, he really started delving deep into Rina and you can see so clearly the groundwork he laid out for an angsty Rina will they wont they slow burn that failed with R*ni in s1. The interesting part is you can see in the narrative that Tim has written and has been writing Gina as the "Gabriella" lead since s1, even though Nini is presented as primary lead. Honestly that's why s1 has a disconnect to me sometimes too because it feels like the wrong protagonist is being followed and the wrong story being told?? if that makes sense.

Now I feel like though he's not persisting on HSM parallels, he is dropping little hints as reminders to keep viewers on track. Costuming for example, is sometimes deliberate. One of the biggest someone paralleled was the Troyella floral pink and blue, which Rina got 😮 Ricky's skate rate style imo has never been shirts like that, and though it works, the departure from his typical style just to make him wear that blue orange striped shirt seems deliberate too. It's a subtle but blatant iykyk kind of thing but if you don't, you'll blink and miss it kind of thing at the same time. The person who found that link should get applause! Cuz technically yeah, both pw and Rina have had "Troyella" moments this season, but the costuming seems like a deliberate way to subtly remind viewers that if you get baited by the pw "Troyella" HSM 2 thing, you'll miss the actual story playing out here. It's really quite brilliant that it makes me want to go back from the beginning and rewatch to find more of these interesting ways he's been foreshadowing Rina!

ahh first of all THANK YOU FOR SENDING ME THISSSSSS!!!! i loved reading all of it.

while i mostly agree about everything about this, i’d only discuss on the part that rini was set to be on and off. like i can imagine it being like that definitely, but also they were always doomed and they made it clear in the s1 finale that they will never work again like they did once (not all couples are meant to be together… sometimes people change). rini’s arc is strangely to me one of the best on the show. probably the most coherent and cohesive writing between s1 and s2. everything about it was hinted and it makes so much sense that is so hard for me to believe it wasn’t planned since day one.

i definitely think seeing the rina chemistry changed a lot in the future of the series i so agree with that. i mean, tim himself said that after they shoot the car scene he was so shook and he wanted to keep writing towards that (and did!). but like rini, s1 rina finale set up was so amazingly done that sometimes it’s just hard to believe that it wasn’t planned since the beginning. tim has always been so messy and talked about how he wanted to explore all the chemistry between the cast (and he did because why everyone dated everyone in the core four😭) and also with his rants since the very s1 about how he grew up with dawsons creek (very known for his surprising ship that ended up going down on history), so i think the possibility rina has always been the plan exists. i mean, he did write the car scene before he saw them so he was already planning something with them…

the part about how s1 felt weird because it felt like they were following the wrong protagonist is so so so true. gina having the whole moving away all the time storyline just as gabriella wasn’t a coincidence at all. also nini not having any gabriella trait besides playing her in the show😭 i mean, if you look at it know, it kinda makes sense. the show making you think nini was ricky’s troy gabriella, when at the end of the day it was always gina👩‍💻

also i love that you pointed out the costume thing because i agree with that, specially with ricky wearing that kind of stuff because it’s not really his style so it def seems on purpose. i think someone also pointed out that his spin dip shirt or the one in the clip he’s singing in the finale (they look so much alike so idk which one) were the same as troy’s in the hsm2 poster. if we’re talking about troyella real parallels that’s what we should talk about!!!

again thank u so much for dropping this here❤️❤️🫶🏻

#ricky x gina #rina #i love getting questions and analysis pls send more my way

[felassan]

Hii MJ. I was wondering what you think of the possibilities of Zevran being in DA4? Ik bioware has brought back a character from the dead (Leliana), so Idk if I’m delusional for ignoring that zev can die. But considering he (used to?) be associated with the crows and they seem to be a big part of the next game, do you think it might be possible that he could have a conditional advisor like role? Or since he isn’t a crow, he definitely won’t be?

Hi Nonnie! Some thoughts on this. This became long so it’s under a cut. TN spoilers under cut.

Initially on seeing the BtS vid I wondered if one of the Crow figures could be Zevran (gut response). I don’t think it is anymore. That figure’s outfit resembles Zevran’s “Black Shadow” attire from WoT, but lots of characters in the concept art are wearing various types of Crow uniform: the other character in that picture is also wearing Crow clothes, and so are figures here, here (Matt Rhodes’ Art Station upload of this one says that “Crow” is the title of that piece) and here. Assassin-y figures are also present in the lineup shot. I think what it means given the ‘concept art is mood-setting’ stuff is that the Crows as a faction will have a significant role to play in the upcoming game. This makes sense given the prominence of Crows in TN - no less than 3 stories, one of which introduces in-depth a new significant-feeling Crow character (Lucanis, who is currently active in Tevinter, who pinged ‘companion flags’ to me [this is subjective tho], and whose short story ends with in unresolved “unfinished business” Tevinter-heavy hook) and one of which expands at length on known Crow lore as well as being like “here’s what’s been happening with Crow leadership and here’s some setup for what’s going on with the Crows soon due to the Antaam invasion”. 

They did bring back Leliana if she was killed in DAO (demon pope!). I might be misremembering, but I seem to remember some tweets or other dev comment somewhere where they said that they’d try to avoid bringing back player-killed characters like this in the future (could def be remembering this wrong though). I also think I remember PW saying that when writing Trespasser, the Bull dying if you sided with the Qun in his DAI mission thing was something they struggled with a lot over whether to have happen or not - because having that happen would mean that in those universes, Bull is dead-dead and that could potentially have knock-on impacts if the writers ever wanted to use him again in the future. There are other cases where dead characters resurface, like Anders in DA2 (but his potential death in the expansion was an epilogue slide, and the epilogues are framed more as rumors and many chunks of them have been retconned in subsequent games) or in the extended media (e.g. Wynne popping up in Asunder if she died in DAO, but we know that the stories in the books and novels aren’t canon-canon, that being a limitation of the media-type where it’s not like you can enter or make choices, but that they are events that fit in BW’s ‘default’ canon, and that the events described therein unfolded in a different way in different universes like in ones where Alistair isn’t King).  

The explanation for Leliana’s survival was a highly specific, rare set of circumstances - the devout Andrastian woman who died in a magic mountain full of lyrium which does kooky things, who believes maybe the Maker brought her back. How many lyrium ghost spirit-imitations of dead chars are walking around Thedas, or should be implied to be? The writers can always handwave, retcon, or explain around anything that they choose to, and if they want to bring him back in all universes they will, but I lean towards preferring “player-killed characters stay dead” because of choice and consequence and enjoying that choices have weight and impact. I also think “surprise, they lived” can become overdone as a gimmick if writers aren’t careful (generally speaking, not a DA-specific comment). For me - what would be the explanation for his survival? He can also die at more than one point in DAO. I know he’s beloved and can also be still alive, but possible deaths aside, when it comes to characters returning in this franchise, especially former companions, I also always lean towards “less old, more new” and towards “a few cameos only, not lots, and such cameos should be plot-relevant, not random”. There are a couple reasons for that which I won’t really get into here as that’s a separate topic, but it’s partially due to feelings like - Thedas is a big big place with heaps of people in it, I prefer it when the world doesn’t feel small, DA is the story of the setting rather than any one PC or group, I’d rather meet and encounter mostly-new people, etc. 

Aside from that stuff, aside from Antiva, he hasn’t been positioned recently as being in the north or having ongoing plot-stuff there (this isn’t a requirement for him to come back, and it happening for a character doesn’t mean they’re a shoe-in, but compare that with Fenris in Blue Wraith, who is now in Tevinter and working with Inquisition agents). He’s appeared in 2 games already and been referenced in all 4. I really enjoy what I’ll call his ‘romanced epilogue’ as an ending to his story too - unlike the other 3 DAO LIs, he accompanied his love on their quest to the west in search of a cure for the Calling. I love that, it’s so faithful and romantic. He’s still at their side and they’re still together after all this time. He journeyed far into the dangerous unknown with them looking for a needle in a haystack so that his partner doesn’t have to die a horrible early death, as faithful in his actions as his sentiments that he’d storm the Black City at the Hero’s side if he had to implied. The last time we heard from the Hero and romanced Zevran, they were together, and they were well. Y’know? I also tend to assume, due to Lelimancing Wardens returning in the Trespasser epilogues, that all Heroes who survived DAO return from their quest. I don’t want that to be jeopardized, and those references are enough for me.

And as much as I love Zevran (and I really do), I don’t personally feel a need for him to return either, neither in terms of his arc, ‘exploredness’ as a character, or in the overarching plot. As you say, in some universes he’s not a Crow anymore. There was a cool post I saw on this recently which I’m struggling to find the link to, but the jist of it was that the Crows are a pretty shit organization in terms of their ‘recruitment’ and training practises, how they operate and everything. They abused him during his life and he has now freed himself through his experiences during the Fifth Blight with the Warden, and in this new life he’s been on a years-long endeavor to kill Crows. For Zevran’s future, I think I’d like it if it didn’t always have to involve Crow involvement or a Crow focus? Like, that he’s more than a Crow, than a former Crow, than a Crow-hunter/opposer. Separate to that, there are also other, active Antivan Crows operating in the north that we’ve not yet spent time with in a game or ever gotten to know as a PC. It’s a big if, but if a character like Lucanis or Teia etc is prominent in the game, as a companion or advisor or contact etc, it might be a bit redundant to have another. This example is flipped around, but like, we had Cullen as an advisor, and he was “the templar/former templar guy”. We didn’t then also have a templar companion. So if we had Lucanis or whoever as a companion, I’m not sure that we’d then have a Crow/former Crow in an advisor-type role too?

It’s not delusional to want to see a fav or loved character again though. :) I’m not one of the people that wants to see my favs in every new entry, I’m largely happy for them to be let be off-screen, see a reference to them here and there (like the War Table, an allusion to or a dialogue line about them), but I understand the wish and get the feeling behind it. And it’s especially not delusional given the context which is that the writers have brought back player-killed characters before!

I doubt they’d have an advisor or advisor-like person be conditional (imagine playing DAI without Leliana and Cullen if they died or had unretconned bad endings prior to the game, it wouldn’t work without Padok Wiks-style stand-ins or a lot of logistical work on the devs’ part to structure the writing around their absences in those instances). A conditional cameo of some description though I could see (something comparable to his DA2 cameo or Nate’s conditional appearance in DA2 for example). Can’t say how likely this is though, especially given that Crow business-stuff could be repped by other newer chars. Maybe if there’s an option to dismantle, sabotage or oppose the Crows he could crop up. I’d imagine any appearance in relation to the Crows would be anti-Crow or “informer on the Crows due to past experience”, not pro-Crow or “the Crow perspective guy”, in universes where he didn’t go back to them anyway. And I’m not saying Zevran was a Talon or that he’s still a Crow or that it’s him, but just while I’m on this subject it brought a semi-related thought to mind, which is that post-TN and the surviving Talons having contacting the heirs to the other houses’ Talon roles, I do wonder who the new head of House Arainai is. 

(I include the info on the ‘where I lean’ stuff because I’m sure it colors or biases my responses sometimes).

#dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #dragon age #bioware #mj replies #anonymous #video games #tevinter nights spoilers #tevinter nights spoiler #tevinter nights #spoilers #spoiler #fenris #the Fenaissance #mass effect #abuse mention #cw abuse #abuse cw #abuse for ts

[goatyuzuru]

Hello to my new followers. Let’s start with the basics. I go by the name Anna online since my name is quite long in my native language. I’m 24 and currently a working adult. I am Asian American and I have grown up watching asian entertainment. I enjoyed a little bit of everything, from Chinese dramas to K-pop, to Japanese anime. Most currently, I just enjoy watching figure skating, specifically, Yuzuru Hanyu. As you can tell, this blog is ran to mainly create gifs for Yuzu in my free time. However, because of what happened to Yuzu and his fandom over the past couple of days, I decide to casually write out my thoughts to channel my feeling somewhere. In general, I am not a very confrontational person at this point in life and I dislike conflict. So running a blog is a great way for me to keep things to myself. To anyone who decided to continue reading this, if it could help you in any way, I’d be very happy about it. 

Warning: VERY VERY VERY LONG and VERY VERY PERSONAL stream of consciousness

Years ago, I was a fan of a huge Korean pop group called SNSD. At the time, Yuna Kim was also a sensation in Korea and she performed to one of SNSD’s performances called Run Devil Run. I later found out about figure skating from watching her programs. I was instantly fascinated by the beauty of figure skating and Kim’s skating style and skills. To me, figure skating as a sport embodies everything I love, from classical/instrumental musics to the technical elements being performed competitively and artistically. However, figure skating was only something I knew about and casually liked to watch once in a very while. I was not familiar with what the sport really requires and while Kim’s skating was exquisite, I didn’t have enough motivation to dive deeply about the sport. Perhaps, I was mainly watching ladies figure skating at the time where most of the skaters I watched only executed their jumps and spins well. Then came four years ago, I became fan of another korean pop group called Exo, and I joined a Korean forum called Onehallyu. While running through some posts, I saw a gif under a poster’s banner section of an eye smiled guy. Since I have a preference for the flower boy type, I was instantly attracted. However, I was not ready to add another person to my list of attention at the time. 

Flash forward to mid 2016, I stumbled upon a video of Yuzuru Hanyu skating to Parisienne Walkway at Sochi. The moment I watched him running his hands through his hair, I realized that there’s more to figure skating. I also realized he was that same eye smiled guy I had seen before. As his performance ended, I instantly became a fan. My impression of Yuzu was he is a physically attractive man, gifted with technical excellence and unparalleled artistry. Yuzu is what the sport requires and more. (How could one not, really? I still don’t understand how people can not like him after knowing his existence. In the past, I fan-girled a lot of beautiful kpop stars, but no one came close to Yuzu in terms of the talent department.) I binge watched many of his clean skates and read about his achievements. 

Around the beginning of 2017, I was scraping by life in order to graduate university and in my isolation, I kept rewatching Yuzu’s programs: PW Sochi, Chopin 2.0 at GPF, Worlds, Hope and Legacy Worlds 2017, Seimei GPF. I liked listening to NBC, CBC, and B.ESP commentaries since they all praised Yuzu when he skated to those programs. I couldn’t appreciate most of his other past programs or any non-clean skates, even Romeo and Juliet 1.0, enough since I thought his skating was not as good. Even at this point, I was simply a casual follower and barely watched any other skater. Perhaps, it was because I only wanted to think of Yuzu as an invincible skater. Perhaps, it was because I’ve always the type of person who likes watching the best since it makes me feel like I am part of it. Because in order to escape my personal failures, I depended on Yuzu’s achievement to ‘feel happier’. Because of Yuzu, I was motivated to work out more and achieve a healthier body. I always laugh when telling others that I work out to Yuzu’s program musics. 

By mid-2017, I graduated from university and landed on a job. My life had improved around that time and unsurprisingly, I was occupied with work, social relationships, and other responsibilities as a working adult. Yet, life is always full of challenges, ups and downs, and shortly before the 2018 Winter Olympics Games, I was back to experiencing the downside of life. I experienced great challenge at work and I needed another escape. Therefore, I was back to anticipating Yuzu at the Olympics greatly. Shamefully to share, even as his fan, I did not follow him closely and did not know about his schedule, his injury, or anything until a couple of days leading up to the event when I had the time to follow the news surrounding them. When he finished his free program, I was crying in the middle of the night. I was so happy that he won his 2nd title and inspired by his story. He was also back to being this “invincible person” to me. Following those couple of days were just deep withdrawals. I’d experienced something awful. I didn’t know why but I began to compare myself to him and simply belittled myself. I hated how I was so weak and risk-adversed in comparison to Yuzu, who is a couple of months younger than I am yet achieved so much and seemed mentally strong. I hated how I was so opposite of him. I’d desired so much of him and even thought, in the future, if I ever had a child, I would love for my child to be the same as Yuzuru Hanyu. I would love for my child to achieve all of the things I couldn’t due to my ability in life. 

However, as I followed Yuzu more closely as an athlete and as a person, I realized Yuzu is not invincible. Yuzu is a human and yet, instead of loving him any less, I’ve begun to love him more and more each passing day. And yet, instead of seeing him any less, I’ve begun to see more to him each passing day. And instead of feeling upset that he is not living up to the standard and expectation I thought I’d hope he would, I am somewhat healed of my sadness. It’s as if, he’s meeting me in the middle. Don’t get me wrong, this is not to belittle Yuzu’s achievements or character/skills as an athlete/person. What I’m trying to say is, I was making a Godlike image out of Yuzu that certainly he himself is not, and I myself never will reach, that was causing both of us to suffer. I was suffering because I depended on his achievement, his happiness to be happy only to feel sadder. For whenever the more “invincible” he is with each and every achievement, the farther he appears from being relatable. While for Yuzu, because of this thinking of his fan (me) or fans (many people who have similar thinking), he was pressured to live up to it. Yes, I understand it can go both ways and the positive outlook is to think we have pushed him forward. Yet, to any extreme would be unhealthy. Yuzu as a person himself also has his own goals and motivations where fans’ expectations are outside of the equation. That itself, I believe, is good enough. 

Since he finally achieved his 2nd OG gold medals, I thought he would retire. However, because he is still so young, so talented, so fascinated to watch, and so motivated and passionated, I wanted him to keep competing and he did. He was back and while he said he just wanted to skate for himself and did not think about the scores, it did not last long. Yuzu is someone who wears his heart on his sleeves and that’s what I love about him. He is true to his feeling and whatever he feels at the moment, he would share it with us. Since our feelings change depending on our circumstances/situations, it has always been interesting to see how his competitive direction changes. This is also another way I find him relatable. Yet, there are still many foundational principles he keeps: winning resoundingly, performing with his best ability, always pushing forward no matter what stage he is at. When he came back to skating competitively this season, things had gone really smoothly and it felt like skating for himself and winning weren't necessarily mutually exclusive after all. Because Yuzu has his own idea of a perfect skate and anything less than that is still enough for him to win, it appeared to me once again, he was quite “invincible”. He broke a lot of “curses”. So I was hoping that if this was Yuzu’s last season of skating, the perfect scenario would be for him to win every competition, broke the world records over and over, land the Quad Axel, and be happy. I was already preparing to take off for all of his planned competitions this season. Since my life is now very boring and unsociable, I was looking forward to each competition.

However, what happened to Yuzu yesterday has proven that there are things that are outside of one’s hand. You do not know what will happen tomorrow. It also once again shows me that Yuzu is not “invincible”. Again, don’t get me wrong. This is not to say him not winning or competing in every event would make him any less as a skater. This is to say that everyone will get injured and every skater has their own capacity as a person. Things happen. Yuzu is a human and he would get injured like anyone else. And Yuzu’s words really hit me deeply when he said even the weak Yuzu is he, himself. When he said this, I was touched and I felt like he was very relatable. In all the angst of the event, I was happy to know he is fully aware and in acceptance that he is weak and that his fans would love him even when he is weak. Ironically, his words transmitted strength to me. While both Yuzu and I do not get the perfect scenario, we still get the happy Yuzu. I witnessed his happiness at the medal ceremony. I don’t want to romanticize anything about Yuzu, not his strength, not his weakness, not his injury, nor the story surrounding his achievements. I love the Yuzu who is real and true to himself. 

Because I am able to love Yuzu for who he is, I do not get upset about any decision he is making. Yes, I care about his health and I care about the longevity of his career. It would be great that he can skate as long as he can for ice shows, be a great coach, choreographer, anything that requires his body to be first healthy. But I don’t want to write his story for him (I can’t) or make an image out of him. There were moments prior to this, I still wanted him to win the GPF, Japanese Nationals, and Worlds one more time. But maybe because I wanted more validation? I thought he needed more validation (to an extent) since he loves competing and winning and winning would help? I wanted that perfect scenario and all the things that I think would make him happiest and make me happiest. But I know that Yuzu already has his own goal and motivations where he is running after. To think I can think for him would burden both of us. I can’t control what Yuzu thinks or wants. But I can control what I think or want. I think he is winner, regardless, and I want to respect any competitive decision he makes. (Also, to those who will never appreciate his achievement/talent to begin with, there will be nothing he can do anymore to change their opinion. He does not have to, regardless. )

Life is not perfect. By the way we deal with situations that are out of our hands is what makes us stronger and what wins us in life. Yuzu has won in life by the way he handles it, not simply by winning an event. Whether Yuzu chooses to compete or not, whether he wins or loses, hurts himself more or not, I will respect his decision as that’s probably what he feels is important to him. Since I love both the strong and weak Yuzu, the result of the competition is not as important as how I perceived before. Finally, I am learning to live each day at a time. What I learned from following Yuzu’s life is we do not know what will happen tomorrow. He might stop skating or he might skate even for Beijing 2022. But if I’m sad thinking about all of these scenarios that don’t live up to the scenario I think for him, they actually...don’t go anywhere. As a Christian, I am happy to be able to think this way. I went to church today and the message was on this and I would love to try living a day at a time. Who knows what will happen to me, Yuzu, or anyone else tomorrow. For the situation I’m in right now, I’m thankful. I’m also thankful Yuzu is still healthy. Yes, his ankle is reinjured, but there are still other things to be thankful about his health in general. Of course, praying for me helps too. I’ve been praying for his health and for my feeling to stabilize. I’m not sure to what extent the former has worked, but the latter seems to be working from first hand experience. 

#just alot of writing and i just feel happy to let it out #its okay if it doesnt make any single sense because our mind works that way sometimes #thoughts

[viplala-things]

Even if i had any wish to write down future hopes or mdnight anguishes, they are all gone by the frustrations of modern tech. This fucking security which doens’t even let you lot into your own private yournal to log your anger, to get it out of you, but instead just makes matters worse. I’m sitting, crying on my bed now. Thanks, internet.

fuck off tumnlr for not being able to send pw reset links to meself via fb. fuck off fb for rediriecting all links via you. fuck off ggoogle tracking everything everywhere. fuck ya;ll royally.

---

I wanted to write a story. After reading a good book, I always get immersed in the style and aura (for the lack of better word), and I want to record it. It is so rare these days that I have time to read. Don’t even start.

Fuck me. I promied myself to work for a year, postponed summer last summer. This summer again? Denying myself the holidays I definitely deserve and making up ghost stories about shit life and how it can get even shittier if you quit your first shit. Oh shit. I wouldn’t have quessed that this has proceeded this far already. What happened to the amazing team, the job that I loved? How, right under my nose, did it metamorfague into something gross, something unrecongnisable? Like severred body parts left into half-filled baths in detective stories.

My main problem: made myself a promise, not keeping it. Making up excuses and not willing to put the work in that it takes to tear yourself free and have a solid, confident plan ahead. Wanting to have time to enjoy nature and warmness of summer, ways to be, be home, use time to be alive, be with loved ones, live, laugh, love, run and play, read, do, be. Take a step forward towards the next adventure.

My excuses: oh that’s a long list. Having the nest here quite cozy and nice. How he will go on, have to move out as well when I’m further? Breaking up life I’ve been building hurts mentally. It’s my work in there, yo! What next, where next? My mind is able to make up scary stories of not getting anything better just to scare me to being lazy and have more excuses. Thaaaanks brain. You can use yourself elsewhere usefully and think of possibilities and ways instead of excuses. Fear of being strandled out of job again like last time. Out of money, out of hope. Although this time you’re far better positioned. You have much more experience under your belt, you’ve successfully moved to third foreign country and even more, made a life here for yourself. No wonder you are bit hesistant to pull loose, cause it took some pain to gain it. But you have more confidence. Or I would like to believe so - and that it is not just the comfortability that’s gotten into you. Comfy with the seat, sure that now it is secure, and even if you need to get off, it will be softer to stand than say, a year ago. 

But. I mean, I cannot remove my unhappyness from me just to try to think how I would be without it. yass, summer being here is a big factor. But I think it is bigger than that. I’m quite sure that I would need a couple of months every summer off to recharge, do whatever I want. Go and travel, sit in a read. I love to be in development zone as well, but crist, I’m not a machine. And even machines have downtime.

So - either a employer who accepts 3-month summer vacations in additions to few weeks here and there, or set up something on your own. Fact is, I need a source of income. It can be active, or could build a (or few) passive one(s). Without that, life is unbearably miserable based on earlier experience. So that’s something to think about. I mean, additional source of income would be welcomed in any scenario, I think. You could

write book

make few wordpress themes to sell itself

make an online course

invest in growing things

sell your skills and knowledge as a consultant (higher rates apply)

cannot even think more right now. But there has to be more.

Other than that, alternative ways to exchange your time for cash:

teach dance

teach instrument

play instrument

do leathercraft

volunteer in ...

organize an event, or better yet, a big event

read books

travel

make vids

be

Things to try

sales

teaching

leading

...

yo, I’ve reached to an end. I’m too sleepy to think of more. Or is this too a shitty excuse? You need sleep though. As well as grammar.

I love you. I’m sure you can pull it thought and come up with something, have a solution for your problem. Solve it cleverly, do it awesomely. Be it.

[celyndizon-cipm]

Section 5

Asset Production

5.1. SOURCING THE MEDIA

All media will be made myself, however some photo and videos will be used from collaborators. The content will be provided by myself which will be taken from my experience of sporting events. All photos must be of high quality to showcase the details within them, it will either be landscape or portrait depending on the display and location of the photos.

Blurb.com

In terms of publishing the magazine, I was recommended the website Blurb.com which has been used by multiple students in the past due to it’s cheap pricing for printing and displaying. Blurb outlined the prizes of the magazine, starting off with £3.99 for a premium magazine with 20 pages (+20p for extra pages). My aim was to do 24-32 pages and it worked out between £4.79 - £6.39 (Premium) and £3.39 - £4.19 (Economy).

After averaging a range between the pages I looked at the paper types and what the GSM of the paper would be when printed. Blurb was helpful in showcasing the size, measurements and the quality of the paper, it helps you compare the differences. Here are the specifications of the magazine:

Blurb inDesign Plugin

I will also be using the indesign plugin from blurb because it already has a magazine template ready for me to edit on, making it easier and quicker for me to start designing and adding necessary content.

*insert screenshot of the blurb*

Logos needed in the Magazine

As for the other medias I will be using; the UPWFC logo will be a main source considering it symbolises the club. It will be the main attraction as it will draw in attention on who the club is. Therefore, I will have to ask the designer of the logo if I’m able to use in the magazine, depending on the quality of the piece I would need to digitally enhance it in order for it to be considered professional. Very simple with a black and white scheme, keeping it easier for myself to work with. If needed, I will use photoshop to change the black to white if the background is a darker colour, so this will make it stand out.

Colour Scheme

After meeting the client I was able to cut down the suggestions of colours to minimum. They allowed me to create a survey (which included the different options) in order to get a second opinion but from the rest of the team. The colour scheme I suggested were:

Purple and White

The different shades of purple shall be discussed and experimented to see which shade would fit the body of the magazine. My client wanted a shade that is closer to their match day tops or a purple that screams UPWFC and Portsmouth Uni. The white will then compliment the strong vivid purple by allowing it to be the main colour attraction, as for the white it acts a background colour that stages other colours.

Navy Blue and White

The navy blue and white is the same as the purple and white. Navy blue has such a bold appearance that the white outlines the vividness of the colour. However, there is no correlation with the colour navy blue and the team so this did not work.

Baby Blue and Purple

This combination was a mix of the main colour and a lighter shade of blue. This did not combine well as they were not on the opposite ends of the colour wheel. The colours would cause a clash within the magazine because of the strong appearance of both colours.

White and Black

This was the most simplest and easiest colour to do considering it will save time on colour and print. It was also cheaper to print. However, this lack interest for the magazine and would merely be seen as a local newspaper rather than a magazine that showcases an interesting topic.

From the surveys, purple and white had the vast majority following with navy blue and white. In the end purple and white was simpler and more effective because it represented the club and the purple was not overpowered by another colour. The white was most effective as it presents the purple to the audience as well as using black which will darken the ambience of the magazine.

Brainstorming Content Ideas

Over the course of planning and scoping out the media, I was able to sit down and create a spider diagram that will me brainstorm different ideas for the content that is added into the magazine. As part of the researching and understanding the needs of my client, I added a suggestion box for the players to add their own suggestion of what else should be included. Then with the given feedback I was able to think more further on what I can use. I made sure that not all suggestions were considered a slot because too much content will lose the audience’s attention.

Brainstorming Content

Once I kept the brainstorming flowing I began to shortlist the contents or combine two sections together. The shortlist consists of:

Content (Compulsory)

Player Profile

This section is focused on the just players and coaches. Players had the opportunity to take part in this data collection, it will include their 1’s,2’s,3’s with a profile photo of every single player along with the coaches. It will be kept simple and clear to understand and included in the beginning of the magazine so that the audience can get a grips of who they’ll be reading about.

Picture/Quizzes about the players/Guess Who

This was suggested by a few players who thought having an interactive section would be great fun for the audience to get to know the players more. One also pitched having embarrassing stories that are anonymous which will bring out a different side that UWPFC doesn’t show.

History of UPWFC

The history of UPWFC will be included in the beginning to give a summary of who the club is. It will mainly focus on the achievements in the past years and recent league and cup results for each team. I’m not sure if I’m going to include past match reviews or create a seperate section for just football.  

Life outside of Football

Besides the life inside of football, I thought having a section that takes a break from the football side of the club. Which includes social team events e.g sober socials, dinners, time away, Tour. This will create a variety of content and not just strictly football.

Upcoming Events?

This section will most likely be added towards the end, however I’m still unsure about including it because of the upcoming events that would actually be happening. On the other hand, it will keep the audience and players up to date with what the club has in plans for the future, which may create more exposure for these events.

Pictures

A picture section just dedicated to extra match day photos, along with social photos (including Purple Wednesdays). This section would be like a gallery of all the memories created by the club as if you’re taking a trip down memory lane.

5.2. INTERFACE DESIGN - DESIGN DRAWINGS AND STORYBOARDS

During the design process and before I was able to pick what I was planning to include in the magazine, I took the shortlist and broke it down into six sections. With each sections I created a spider diagram of what I would include. I found this easier for me to get a wider look on what else could be added, however this isn’t the finalised decision, but just a draft to see what I can highlight based on what the client and their club would want to see.

The sections are also not in order, it was just a rough display on what contents I can think of.

*INSERT SPIDER DIAGRAM*

For the first section, I drawn out a quick draft on the layout of the profile pictures and where the photos would be positioned. I imagined the pictures will be in a square shaped in order for them to all fit on the page. Drafting beforehand makes it easier for myself during the production phase since I already have a pre-planned layout of what I would want to do.

*INSERT*

For the rest of the sections I also created a drawing storyboard of what the layout would look like. This will help me get a rough idea on what layout needs to be created so that when I have collected data and files I can easily import them into the magazine.

*INSERT*

As well as the player profile, I also added a committee page to let the audience know about who runs the club besides the coaches. Although I have drawn square boxes, I will in the future, change the shape so that it is recognised and different from the player profile pages. Storyboarding was a great way of planning and drafting because you can see a rough sketch of what your project would look like. And since it is a rough sketch none of the drawings have to be neat, just as long as they are clear and understandable to read.

*INSERT*

These are the other two sections which roughly drawn out.

Storyboarding or design drawing was very beneficial for me because it made it easier for me for when I begin to create the magazine. The drawings were a clear of showing what layout you would to see and then during the editing it can always be improved.

Gathering Visual Content via Media, Images

But other than those drawings I gathered visual content for the magazine via using a 1TB hard drive, containing a folder for the website only.

The files were allocated in a folder under the name of MAGAZINE. Where it had separate folders for the pictures e.g Football, Blur, Purple Wednesday (PW). Making it easier for myself to pick which photo I would need at that moment. Besides that, the inDesign files are also in there, the front and back cover with the pages. All the content and data needed for the magazine were all saved under this folder, which helped keep my stuff organised ensuring that all the materials were easy to find and access.

MAGAZINE - BLUR FOLDER

MAGAZINE - FOOTBALL FOLDER - (includes in action photos, any socials that was related to football

MAGAZINE - PW (PURPLE WEDNESDAY)

This folder includes different pictures from the student night outs. From group photos to individual photos. 

5.3. VISUAL EXAMPLES - COLOURS, FONTS, STYLES

I used a website called DaFont which allowed me access different fonts that varied depending on the style you’re looking for. I managed to download a couple which I thought was appropriate for the theme of the magazine.

The first font was bold and big which will stand out, I can use this font when I’m highlighting something in particular. This will create a sense of clarity and loudness which will help emphasise the audience in what they’re reading. It will be effective for headings or subheadings.

However, the font does come across as a cartoon effect which might effect the way the content is presented. The font is precisely too thick to use for the entire magazine, however it can be put into good use for throwing in attention on anything specific. 

The other font I found was the “Bebas Kai”. It was thinner than the other one and slimmer which will work in terms of the body text. It’s not too bold and loud but very subtle in its effect. Besides using this for the body text I can also use it for headlines, the slim effective will give the magazine a light and soft look that makes the readers intrigued. The font won’t be too flashy or too much for the human eye to handle. 

As for inspiration for my project, I researched on magazines in general but mainly focusing on sports and football. The research findings were slightly difficult considering I tried to look for some, until I was approached with a football programme of my friend’s football club. She kindly allowed me to review it and sent me a copy. The programme was my main inspiration in designing the layout of this magazine. 

The front cover was very basic and simple, which is something i’m aiming for. So I took that and tried to create something very subtle but effective. They used a full body photo of a player rather than a close-up and cropped the background. Instead they used their team colours as the background to create contrast with the player. 

Then looking further into the programme I spotted the player profile page where they’ve included the entire team, but only their photos. My idea was to add a mini biography at the bottom of the photos, so I had to consider the arrangement and sizes of the boxes in order for them to fit like theres. Also, the replacement of the team logo for a players photo is something I will take into account just in case one of the players is available for a profile picture or even so, don’t have an appropriate one that fits the aesthetic of the page layout. 

I also looked at their back page to get an idea of how to present the two teams in a smart and subtle way. The team, Chichester, used an effective font that made it simple and clear to look at. The team line up was done neatly and the team’s logo in the background creates a dynamic effect to the text.

Other than the one football programme I did manage to look at other sporting events like the world cup and Olympics 

*image of both pls* 

They both had their own unique design, but from the two I took away the olympics had a prestigious design that made it look elite. As for the world cup it was presented as an ordinary football programme. With the likes of the olympics and the theme of it, I would be using its design as inspiration when it comes to adding in my content along with the images and extra details. 

The Olympics programme showed style in subtle and neat way. The all white background with a small icon in the middle, makes the audience focus on the icon and it creates peacefulness. The main likes of this programme is the clear the front page, not too much text or big writing to put you off from opening the first page. 

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Saying Goodbye To 'The Vampire Diaries'

After eight successful seasons, CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” is closing the doors of the Salvatore mansion and saying farewell to Mystic Falls. 

The supernatural series, which starred Ian Somerhalder, Paul Wesley, Candice King, Kat Graham and Nina Dobrev, is wrapping up on March 10, leaving behind a legacy of wacky, witchy, blood-sucking, doppelgänging storylines. 

But how will it all come to an end? Below, “The Vampire Diaries” showrunner Julie Plec and stars Paul Wesley (Stefan Salvatore) and Candice King (Caroline Forbes) reflect on the show’s run with The Huffington Post, and hint at what’s to come in the series finale.

The episode is not without its share of heartbreak. Like Elena says, 'Sometimes you have to feel pain in order to know that you’re alive.' Those are some of her words from the finale and are certainly true of the finale itself. Julie Plec on death in the final episode

Bidding Farewell To The Characters  

Julie Plec: I told everybody at the read-through that we would be saying goodbye to every set, every person and every important prop along the way, up to and including, literally, the last shot of Damon’s Camaro. [Laughs] 

Candice King: I think the only time I kept getting choked up was at the mention of saying goodbye to Caroline. I’ve been lucky to play a character for so long that I kind of felt like I knew who she was. I didn’t really have to dive into it too much after eight years, and so whenever anyone asked me what it would feel like to say goodbye and put that character to rest, that’s when I started tearing up a little bit. This was my first show, it was my first significant job, and for the first couple of years I didn’t know if I was going to be lucky enough to keep my job because they killed a lot of characters off. So she just represents so much of who I became as an actor. I feel like playing Caroline prepared me for whatever happens next in my career, wherever that takes me. 

Paul Wesley: Saying goodbye to the character Stefan and the things that came along with being on the show [was hard]. Honestly, the show went on for so long that you sort of start saying goodbye by Season 6. It’s not a sudden jolt — you’re already starting to transition into a different phase in your life. So it wasn’t like I was splashed in the face with cold water and in complete shock. I’ve sort of been saying my slow goodbye to the character for about three years now, which I’m grateful for because it makes it easier to transition.

Last Day On Set 

CK: The last day on set was incredibly emotional. I knew that I needed to cry … a lot. And luckily Julie was directing and wrote the last episode and she’s a crier, so it made me feel comfortable to cry as much as I did. It felt like an important moment of closure. “The Vampire Diaries” represented the majority of my 20s. I booked the show when I was 21 and I’m about to turn 30 now, so it’s really defined a decade of my life — and a pretty significant one as far as growing up and who you become. It really did shape me, and a lot of that is because of the people I got to work with. It felt so significant to stand next to so many people that had seen me grow and change and who’ve I’ve seen grow and change. We’ve all been with each other through life and death and marriage and divorce, and to be able to all stand in the Salvatore House great room set and hold hands and put arms around each other and really say goodbye to the series was a powerful moment I’ll never forget. A lot of tears, and silly string. The silly string brought the laughs after the tears.

JP: In that last moment, we really wanted to get Paul and Ian [Somerhalder] at the same time and so I had Candice and Kat [Graham] work with the art department, props and the AD department so that they could ninja-style launch an attack with the silly string and all the poppers and the sparkling champagne and all that. So we ended up wrapping on a party note.

PW: Oh, it was really funny. It was a bit surreal. I finished my take in my final scene and literally they hadn’t even yelled cut yet and someone just sprayed silly string directly into my eye. [Laughs] I have grown up on the set of “Vampire Diaries,” and, in many ways, it’s a beautiful thing and, in many ways, I have a relatively myopic view of things because you’re on set eight months out of the year. I’m 34 and I certainly want to be able to honor some of the artistic feelings I have in terms of my taste level. “The Vampire Diaries” is a fantastic show and I am so grateful for it and I think that it’s been incredible, but it will be exciting for me to do a series or a film or a play, as an actor, that is definitely a little more focused on adult stories.

The Finale Script

JP: We wanted to accomplish both tying it in a bow and leaving it open-ended, and give a sense of the future for each character ― whether they lived or died, understand where they were heading in their lives and what they were feeling. So you get a real sense of what’s to come but also a real sense of feeling like, “OK, these people, in their own way, are each going to be fine.” And that was important, since the launch of the series for me personally, to give it “a happy ending” in the midst of heartbreak. And then being able to have Kevin [Williamson] there to shape the “the how,” “the who” and “the what,” and help make the choices with me, and say goodbye to these characters with someone else who’s loved them equally for eight years was a real pleasure. In the directing, the burden was on me not to mess anything up. I’d rather have that burden on me then put it in the hands of somebody else. [Laughs] So, I took it upon myself to make sure we got it done.

CK: I was so proud of the writers and what they accomplished in writing the finale — specifically Julie and Kevin, but the whole team, too. It really gives the fans of the series everything that they wanted. I read it and it felt so good as a fan of television knowing how much space they had to fill and all these doors they had to close. I felt like they did a really, really wonderful job.

JP: The first challenge was just figuring out the cleanest and most powerful way to wrap up Season 8. Then, we got into how we were going to wrap up the series. And when it all comes down to it, we were actually able to balance the two really nicely. The first half of the episode is the roller-coaster ride of resolution to Season 8 and the second half of the episode is the emotional roller-coaster of saying goodbye to all the characters.

Reuniting With Former Cast Members

CK: Season 3, we were still having goodbye parties for when people left, but by the time everyone started coming back as guest stars, that stopped. [Laughs] We’ve seen a lot of the characters come back and forth throughout the years, but it was so special to have everybody back for the wrap party. There are some more people making an appearance in the finale, so it was really fun. It was a walk down memory lane ... I don’t want to list people because I don’t want to get in trouble! But yeah, you’ll see a bunch of people in the finale.

JP: These are good people whom we’ve had good friendships with over the years and characters that we love and said goodbye to very early, so being able to bring them back into one spot and celebrate their existence as characters but also as actors who are a part of the family was really great.

It’s just amazing how you can take people eight years later, plop them in the exact same situation, and they’re completely different human beings. Paul Wesley on the original love triangle

Nina Dobrev’s Return

PW: It was wild. I kept having these kind of flashbacks of Season 1 on specific sets — I don’t want to give away the sets because I don’t know what I’m allowed to say — but I just remember we were like kids and our lives were completely different. Ian’s priorities and his sort of outlook, as well as mine and Nina’s, were all so radically different than what they are now. I had this surreal moment where I just looked at both of them and I just thought, “Oh, my goodness, we’re doing a very similar scene to what we did eight years ago yet the way our brains are wired and our priorities have completely shifted.” It’s just amazing how you can take people eight years later, plop them in the exact same situation, and they’re completely different human beings.

JP: They kind of slipped right back into their roles with each other and shooting scenes with the three of them was a nice nostalgia.

CK: We all knew from the beginning that Nina would be coming back, so it wasn’t a surprise for us. But yeah, it was great. It was nice to have everyone there for those final moments. We were all so young when the show started, so it was fun to be able to go back through old pictures from the pilot. Also, It was great to be a part of a show that encouraged female friendships as opposed to female backstabbing. This show actually celebrated women being friends and I think Nina, Kat and I were very proud of that.

Will True Love Win? 

CK: Stefan is still human and Caroline is a vampire — and with people coming back to Mystic Falls, we’ll see what kind of chaos they bring with them. All of your questions [concerning Stefan & Caroline, Damon & Elena and Bonnie & Enzo] will be answered, and not everyone always ends up with what they wanted, but that doesn’t mean they’re not happy with where they end up. 

PW: I’m not sure that because Elena has suddenly awoken Stefan is going to leave Caroline to jump into another woman’s arms. Stefan is very loyal. I’m not saying that it won’t be challenging, but there’s going to be a variety of different things that test their relationship. Look, I don’t want to give away too much but it’s definitely going to be emotional, that’s for sure.

JP: I think that “how” we wrapped up the love stories is a less answerable question than “we did.” I’m not sure how we managed to pull it off, but we did. Whatever form it comes in, everyone will have a sense of hope for what the rest of their existence will look like.

Death Is Upon Us

CK: “The Vampire Diaries” has never been scared of saying goodbye to characters. So as we’ll be saying hello to a lot of characters we haven’t seen in a while, we might be saying goodbye to some, as well.

PW: Look, there’s definitely a death coming, and potentially multiple. Someone is dying, I’ll tell you that right now. It is and it isn’t surprising. We’ve had people die and come back to life, but there’s no coming back [now]. This is the final episode, so whoever dies here is dead. I think that’s the difference.

JP: The episode is not without its share of heartbreak. Like Elena says, “Sometimes you have to feel pain in order to know that you’re alive.” Those are some of her words from the finale and are certainly true of the finale itself.

Spinoffs, Sequels, Revivals, Oh My! 

PW: No spinoffs. There’s no going back, which is a bigger deal in many ways.

CK: Oh man, I’m not going to mess with that answer. I have no idea. But as far as this season and this series and this version of “The Vampire Diaries,” it’s answered. You kind of see where everyone [ends up]. You’re finally not going to end the episode with a bunch of questions, you’re going to get your answers.

JP: I would never say no to continuing to explore the — somebody coined the phrase for me the other day, which I love — “TVDU,” “The Vampire Diaries Universe.” I have no desire to exploit it, but I also know that there are plenty of opportunities for stories left to be told. That being said, I don’t have that plan right now, it’s just something that’s always living in the back of my brain as a future opportunity.

The Cultural Significance Of “TVD”

JP: I remember my freshman year of college sitting in my TV room at the end of my dorm hallway with one other girl watching the premiere of “Beverly Hills, 90210.” And then, a year later, walking into a room packed with college students watching “90210,” and I thought, “I wonder what it must be like to be part of a phenomenon like that.” And when all is said and done, I think that if you look at the success of this show across all international platforms, and Netflix, and on streaming, and the run that’s it’s had on The CW, it’s been that and I’m so proud of that.

PW: I really worked pretty diligently to get onto a series that I thought was going to have an impact and I thought was going to last a long time. I really wanted it to have a pop cultural significance and I think we accomplished that. What I learned from playing Stefan is to really enjoy the process. I look back and I think about the times when I was worried about how something was going to turn out or a certain character choice when I should have been enjoying the ride a little bit. Stefan, in a synonymous sense, can be a little brooding and self-serious, and I think that is parallel to my life a little bit. So whatever I’m doing now and as I’m getting older, I learn to appreciate it and be in the moment and more present as opposed to always thinking about the future and the past.

So Long, Fake Fangs, Red Eyes and Prop Blood 

CK: I’m excited to see what happens next for me. I love television and I love working in TV, but I’m open to any medium that will have me. I might need to take a break from fake blood and prosthetics, and always being on the cusp of death or someone always being about to die. I just need to laugh instead of cry for a while. But I’m just so grateful that this has been a career that I’ve pursued and had some success in at this point, so I just want to keep working.

PW: I think saying goodbye to fake blood and fangs for a little while is kind of an understatement. [Laughs] It’s been a great chapter. I find genre can be an amazing metaphorical phase and can convey human stories on a very analogous level. But I know that unless it’s the absolute role of a lifetime, I don’t think I will ever be able to play a vampire again, that’s for sure. I mean, never say never. The original conceit of a vampire dating back to “Dracula” or “Nosferatu” or movies like “Shadow of a Vampire” with Willem Dafoe, they’re obviously great stories. So, I wouldn’t turn a blind eye to that, but I think in the near future I can’t imagine playing a vampire again.

JP: I want the fans to know that we loved this show over the years as much as they did and we wanted to honor these eight years by telling the best end to this story that we could. We have had a very emotional experience putting it together and are all collectively really proud of it, and so we hope that they can enjoy it along with us.

“The Vampire Diaries” series finale, “I Was Feeling Epic,” airs Friday at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.  

These interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.  

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