#i just edited the original post for ease of access

[riverianepondsims]

The Sims 4 to The Sims 3 | target retail collection

Hey all, happy holidays ☃️! Here's a new conversion set from simkoos to introduce your Sims to shopping where you go for one thing, but spend §200 somehow...

Important info and download 💾 under the cut:

I have so many WIPs and so many already converted sets I haven't posted but this one has been on my to-do list for a while! Target is a trendy, quiet, and very red department store chain here in the US, and now in SimNation too. So, here's what is included in this set: Target Checkout Counter - Deco, has lots of slots (works great w/ATS3's counter base for registers). Original mesh by Severinka. Target Shopping Cart - Deco, has lots of slots. Original mesh by Severinka. Has been decimated somewhat to reduce polycount. Target Self Checkout Machine - 3 versions Mesh by ScodeeYodee - I decimated this mesh significantly (by 50% for HLOD, 70% for MLOD). It's still a little high poly, as the original was over 16k. I also edited the texures a bit (smoothed out). Version 1 - Deco only, has lots of slots. Version 2 - Savvy Seller Register (TS3 Store), retains deco slots. Version 3 - Savvier Seller Register (Ani's mod), retains deco slots. Retail Display Table - 3 versions (all have a lot of slots) Version 1 - Deco only Version 2 - Savvy Seller Pedestal (TS3 Store) Version 3 - Savvier Seller Shelf (Ani's Mod) Retail 1x1 Shelf - 3 versions (all have slots) Version 1 - Deco only Version 2 - Savvy Seller Pedestal (TS3 Store) Version 3 - Savvier Seller Shelf (Ani's Mod)

Retail 2x1 Shelf - 3 versions (all have slots) Version 1 - Deco only Version 2 - Savvy Seller Pedestal (TS3 Store) Version 3 - Savvier Seller Shelf (Ani's Mod) Target Unfolded Shopping Bag - 2 versions Version 1 - Deco only, mesh by ATS4 Version 2 - Acts as WA storage chest, requires WA EP Target Folded Shopping Bag - Deco, mesh by ATS4 Target Small Sale Signs - Wall Deco Target Large Sale Signs - Wall Deco Target Wall Ads - Wall Deco Simple Modern Tumbler - Deco H2.0 Quencher Tumbler - Deco Simlish Target Store Sign - Wall Deco Target Logo Sign - Wall Deco Target Outdoor Sculpture - Deco Target Outdoor Bollards - Deco EfficientJet Mop - Wall Deco Bonus Item: Gift Card Display - 2 versions This item is by TheGoldSim! Version 1 - Deco only Version 2 - Works as a Greeting Card Display (PhoebeJay's mod) Collection File - This goes in your Collections > User folder, is simply a folder that has all of the items together in-game for ease of access. The versions of items that require either WA, the Savvy Seller TS3 Store Set, Ani's Savvier Seller Mod, or PhoebeJay's mod will not work without having those items/packs downloaded and installed separately - I just added the script to them so they will function as such if you already have them! If you don't have them, they will function just like the deco versions. Additionally, some of the shelves may or may not require the Generations EP as they were cloned from the GEN shelves. Ani's Savvier Seller Mod: https://www.nraas.net/community/The-Savvier-Seller PhoebeJay's Greeting Card Mod: https://modthesims.info/d/664311/send-greeting-cards.html

🔍 Search: You can search for riverianepondsims, simkoos, target, retail, or 2023 to locate the items conveniently using a catalog search mod. Credits for this set again (thank you!): Simkoos Severinka ScodeeYodee GoldSim ATS4 (Sandy) Ani PhoebeJaySims Special shoutout goes to @tangledhelix, who is building an awesome Target lot! I can't wait to see the finished version :)

- You can find all of my previous uploads conveniently by clicking “Navigation” on my blog and going to “Downloads” or visiting riverianepondsims downloads

My downloads will always be free, but if you would like to say thank you: Ko-fi ☕ 💾 Download: SFS - Individual items | SFS - Archive file

🛍️💳🛒

#ts3cc #s3cc #sims 3 cc #ts3 #ts3 decor #cc download #ts3 cc download #my cc

[ceilidho]

Sorry to dump this here, but no one in my immediate and/or accessible circle reads as much as I do and this conversation came up at the right time.

I don't read a lot of romance and I started reading some popular ones last year to ease my way into it. I feel like such a snob to say this, but the plot and writing are never fully fleshed out nor are the characters. None of the romantic actions I see people swoon over are ever explained well enough for me to understand the hype. A scene in which there should be an emotional inner monologue is shorted to a paragraph and if the character is toxic (I understand a lot of people enjoy toxic/dark men, but romance books never write them well enough) and destroys the other character's life/says a relationship-ending lie/any other cliche, there is never enough explanation, justification, groveling, or any thought process behind the reconciliation.

It's always just one half-written and half-baked trope after the other.

Again, apologies for dumping it here, but I think there are such damning consequences for women (the main demographic of romance readers) who read things like this and don't give constructive criticism or thought when facing these problems.

no but you're 100% right. i mean, this is one annoying bitch's opinion (mine LMAO) but trad publishing is in the absolute pits right now. that's not to say that there aren't still some good books coming out because of course, every now and then you're going to get a gem. but i think the environment has become outwardly hostile to good writing.

i mean, i know this has been discussed a ton, but the "fast fashionization" of books has become a huge problem. every time there's a new microtrend or whatever, every author rushes to push out a book to meet the demand (see: the hockey romance trend). this, obviously, means that the editing time is severely compressed and you get books published by like harper collins and penguin with typos, grammar issues, and more.

i got some flack for this when i posted about it on twitter ahah but i honestly do not understand why the sequel to "fourth wing" came out so soon (not even getting into the messy qualities of the first book). sequels used to take a year or more to come out to allow for the book to go through several rounds of editing and fine tuning! what happened??!!

i think authors now feel compelled to get their books out as soon as possible out of fear that booktok/readers will simply move on after the initial hype and they'll lose their reader base. there's like an anxiety about being left behind in the current publishing world.

this is kind of in line with what i was talking about the other day with Bo actually - writing romance and smut is actually way harder than people think. you can't just use the same 5 recycled porn dialogue lines and call it a day. you have to care a little about the story you're trying to tell, not just churning it out to make a buck or to make people pay attention to you. i'm not saying belabour every single action and decision made by your main character or go crazy on description (i still think the sweet spot for a published book is between 250-300 pages, and maybe more if you're writing a genre specific book that involves a lot of worldbuilding), but as a writer you need to want to be writing that book in the first place.

no one who's legitimately excited about what they're writing is going to resort to cliches and overused tropes - they might lean on tropes they like, but there's inevitably going to be something original and exciting there.

also my lil controversial opinion about the state of trad publishing lately is that i think it's 100% influenced by this weird pervasive strain of purity culture that's on booktok where people feel like any enjoyment they get from reading a particular thing has a direct reflection on them as a person and their values. rather than it just being a book.

(by the way i actually completely agree with you that even dark romances are as bad as everything else we've been talking about - that's another conversation lol. i also kind of agree with the idea of more romance books coming with content warnings on the front page - this hasn't really caught on yet except with some dark romance authors but i think it's a really good idea)

i don't think there's anything wrong about people getting excited about books on tiktok and instagram and youtube btw. i think it's a fun way to share recommendations, commentary, and interests. what i think is the big problem is that the publishing industry has almost become beholden to trends and online perception because they've seen how much profit they can generate by catering to it, and i think that's why books now just feel bland and soulless. they're tapping into a FOMO on both the authors' and writers' side, of either being left behind and not being able to make a living, or missing out on what everyone else is reading and talking about.

#today is the day that i cannot stfu apparently

[equinista]

***FIXED*** PLEASE RE-DL! [NOTICE/UPDATE 2/28/24 ]Running Braid! By Equinista (aka Equestrianista) <3 <3 <3 IT HAS BEEN FIXED! PLEASE REMOVE OLD FILE AND DOWNLOAD NEW FILE on my Patreon or SimsFileShare, linked below!  Just want to let everyone know my Running Braid Mane has been updated to have the Shadow issue removed! Please re-download the fixed version (and remove the old version-the new version has the world "update" in the name so you know for sure it's the fixed version) (HUGE thank you to CK for bringing the shadow issue to my attention AND fixing it for me since I am unable to access Sims4Studio due to an error that the dev's need to fix due to the revent update but CK was able to still access their S4S thankfully!) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~~~vVvVvV DOWNLOAD LINKS AT BOTTOM OF POST vVvVvVv~~~ This is a Running Braid I created via editing the mesh of Schrodcat's Scalloped Braid from their SSO Mane Conversions (I just removed the "scalloped" braids part of the mesh)! (With Schrodcat's permission, of course! Here is a link to Schrodcat's Patreon to their Original SSO mane conversions! https://www.patreon.com/posts/94029558 ************************************************************************ *There are all EA swatches plus more for a total of around 40 Swatches! *Includes Custom Thumbnail for ease of locating. *Allowed for Random! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -TOU- --Credit me (as either Equestrianista or Equinista, I go by/use both so either is fine to use!) --Link back to either my Tumblr or my Patreon. --Recolors are fine, again just be sure to credit me (and credit Schrodcat as being the original creator of the original mesh!) --Do not put behind ANY paywall, ever, including Early Access. --Not required but I'd love to be tagged in any pics using any of my CC as I love to see people using and enjoying my CC! --Enjoy <3 <3 <3 *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+* v DOWNLOAD LINKS v -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- SFS- https://simfileshare.net/download/4484727/ PATREON(FREE-Always!)- https://www.patreon.com/posts/running-braid-2-98948297

#sims 4 equestrian #sims 4 horses #sims 4 #equus sims #ts4 equestrian #ts4 horses #equestrian #sims 4 horse cc #the sims 4 #horses #ts4 horse cc #ts4 horse ranch #simblr #horse simblr #equestrian sims #TES discord #the equestrian sims #ts4 #ts4 cc #ts4 cc finds #TS4 horse cc finds #horse cc finds #horsey sims #updated #fixed #please redownload

[s1ndle]

The lost Sims of The Sims (for Console)

The Sims for Console has always been a particularly fascinating game, to me at least, for how well it captures the gameplay and feel of the original PC Version. After reading through Drew1440’s exploits with looking through the data and managing to convert aspects of the original console version with ease, I decided to take a look for myself!

And to spare people from an (un)necessarily long post, the rest of it is below the cut!

After some trial and error and lots of searching, I managed to find out that they were using files that originate from the GameCube version of Bustin’ Out (something that they never mentioned, mind you!). Which somehow contains nearly everything from the original console version! The original freeplay neighborhood, the neighborhood used for Get a Life, the neighborhood used for the 2-Player PVP minigames, even the .IFF files for the objects! It was all present within the files of Bustin’ Out, and easily accessible too!

I poked around the UserData folder, which contained the lots and sims for the freeplay neighborhood from the original console version, and saw that there was a total of 23 User files, but the neighborhood only had 12 playable sims by default, which of course begged the question of: Who are these 11 extra sims?

I opened each of the User files one by one in IFFPencil2, a program that lets you open and edit .IFF files from The Sims 1. By looking at their OBJD and their CTSS entries, I was able to determine exactly who was who, and charted them out using a very professional looking spreadsheet, featuring comic sans:

Now I had a list of all the sims in the neighborhood, I could easily tell who was likely to be unused because in the original console version, sims could only have their names WRITTEN IN ALL CAPS. Sadly two of the User files were completely blank and had no extant information, but that still left exactly 9 sims with extant information.

The thing about these sims is that we don’t have any information as to what their purpose was exactly, they could have been created as a cast of original sims to populate the freeplay neighborhood before Edge of Reality ultimately ported the population of the PC neighborhood over. They could have also been created as a means of testing the new Create-A-Sim system. They could have even been created purely for fun with no intention of including them in the game to begin with. We may never know the answer behind why they are present, but nevertheless, they are here.

Another interesting note about these User files, they are otherwise blank! With no careers, personality, skills, or interests to speak of! They also don’t have any family assigned to them either, meaning that their family names are also unknown.

One of the files that eventually piqued my interest was ALLCHARACTERS.rsp (the caps are important!). This file contains the data that determines what a sim looks like in-game by defining the upper and lower bodies that they use, along with face type, hair, skin tone, among other things. And this file just so happens to contain a lot of entries for sims from the original console version, including the freeplay sims. In fact this file is almost made up entirely of entries for sims from the original console version.

But one of the most interesting aspects of this file is that there are entries for sims that don’t exist in the final game, including 8 of the 9 unused sims from the freeplay neighborhood! So not only was there further information on their existence, but also the exact data needed to recreate their appearances, so that is exactly what I have done!

Alicia

Ariel

Ol' Joe

Jeffy

Laurie

Fred

Dez

Danielle

Sadly Michael (not to be confused with MICHAEL BACHELOR, who is present in normal gameplay and playable) did not have an entry in ALLCHARACTERS.rsp to facilitate a recreation. :(

The process of doing this was actually pretty straight-forward once I had everything laid out. By looking at the freeplay sims in-game alongside their entries in ALLCHARACTERS.rsp, I was able to determine the the mesh indexes (upper body, lower body, face style, etc.) started at 0, while anything to do with color, except for skin tones, started at 1. Using that information and just counting along as I scrolled through items in Create-A-Sim, I could chart out exactly which items corresponded with their respective mesh index, which I double-checked against existing in-game sims for the sake of accuracy.

There are plenty of other sims with entries in ALLCHARCTERS.rsp who seem to be leftover from the original console game and also seemingly unused, and I do want to recreate them as well, but for right now at least, it’s just the sims from the freeplay neighborhood.

#ts1 #ts1 console #sims 1 #sims 1 console #research

[shdwtouch]

While I absolutely agree with the sentiment and think oc positivity is sorely needed, comparing writing canon muses to fast fashion sounds a bit icky to me. I know you don't mean it in a bad way, but it does kinda sound like you're implying that people writing canon characters are putting less love, effort and creativity into their portrayals. Just because there are multiple people writing the same character doesn't cheapen their value, so I'd personally look for some other metaphor.

firstly, just want to say: I have so much anxiety about this message. like I know you're coming from a good place but its confrontation and alarm bells in my head so let me see if I can articulate. ; ; also, I'm posting this from mobile so I apologize for any weird formatting etc owo;

I'm going to stand by my statement (tho I deleted the tags [edit: I did take a screenshot for context sake]) honestly because I definitely was not implying that canon portrayals have less value, in fact I specifically stated that both canon and original characters have value, just like fast fashion and couture have their own values.

let me explain my thought process.

you walk into, say, Walmart and pick up a pair of Levi's. why ? because you've probably worn them before and like them, or heard of them from others and want to try them out. or because you're simply browsing and like the style and color and they're in the right size so why not ? canon muses have that ease of access, whether it be knowing the fandom or simply having a range of content and reviews to go off of as a "consumer".

original characters don't have that luxury; I don't know about other people, but for me sometimes engaging with original characters - and this is coming from someone who writes predominantly fandomless original characters and agonizes over how accessible their lore is - is, well, bottlenecked by my own energy and willingness to engage with the information and content the creator had provided. it's much easier for me, energy wise, to play a video game and then gravitate to muses from it because I'm already familiar with them, so I already have a foot in the door so to speak.

I fucking love reading original lore tho ! I also FUCKING LOVE canon divergence and headcanons ! but it isn't always easy to engage with or incorporate, and I think that's something that impacts a lot of people in how they view ocs compared to canons. original characters just often take more effort to engage with and understand, and that's not a bad thing ! but in a busy life it's understandable that folks want to go to what is comfortable and what they know, so they pick up a pair of Levi's instead of going to get a tailored pair of pants.

next, I should clarify that the characters are clothes, and we, as writers, are the ones who wear those clothes. which is to say, our own personal style and actions play into the overall appearance and feel of our portrayals. two people can take the same shirt and make completely different outfits with it ! maybe one of them decides to crop it, or bleach it, or cut it up and sew it into something new. and all of these things are valid ! and they all have value. you may be wearing the same shirt as someone else, but you still style it the way you want to. you still look different, still unique, still beautiful. there is nothing bad about liking fast fashion or canon characters. fast fashion is convenient, so are canon characters. some canon characters are poorly written and need to be dressed up or fixed to be worn, while others are quality and wonderfully made ! just like clothes ! and honestly, the same applies to original characters too !

the pants I'm wearing right now ? my favorite pair of pants. I've had them for like... four years. and they're still going strong. fast fashion isn't necessarily cheap, just like couture isn't necessarily haute. but again, it's about how you wear it. and everyone in the BG3 rpc wears their clothes, whether they be canon or original, in their own unique, beautiful way ! we all have our own style, and that style provides value to what we're trying to portray. neither canon nor original characters are better than the other, they BOTH have pros and cons. just like fast fashion and couture. they both have value, and their mode or means doesn't detract or add to the value of the final product.

I apologize if it seemed I was implying canon writers aren't as valuable as original writers, or somehow cheaper due to volume, in my tags. I definitely see where you are coming from and that's a valid perspective. However, that was not my intention and I hope I've managed to clarify my stance and explain myself a bit better. thank you for your message, I hope you're well ! sending lots of good vibes ♡

also, in case anyone was curious, my pants:

they are incredibly soft and flowy, very nice. I sleep in them and wear them out. I know they're winter themed but I think they're subtle enough to be worn outside the season, plus they have polar bears on them and I love polar bears !

also, if it's of any value, I have written my fair share of canon characters. I wrote extensively for assassins creed and marvel, in fact that's where I got my start in the rpc ! if I had to carry the metaphor, my "fast fashion" would be my (canon divergent) cli.nt bar.ton. I may have gotten him from marvel but I have since sliced him up and incorporated the pieces of my portrayal into my original projects ♡

#《 ° inbox 》 we just got a letter ! i wonder who its from ? #《 ° puffin.exe 》 im a puffin ! i dont do much #° mobile post ! #and now ? now we hide. *scurries away* pls be gentle with me ; A ; i swear i have no bad intentions and never wanted to start discourse #ive just been watching crafting videos and the metaphor jumped out at me idk but yeah i love both oc and canons #i know how much love and effort goes into both writing canon and original characters ♡ they are both valuable #and if you ever feel devalued in the rpc because of what kind of character youre writing im sorry and you deserve better

[trilobi-te]

Chipspeech Twitter Archive Update

Hi I should have done this months ago.. I do not know when (or if) I am going to finish that website lmao. So I am just going to share my notes from Google Docs. Should be easier to read than the original posts and helpful as a starting point if anyone else decides to make a website :3

The documents are all on commenting mode so feel free to make comments to bookmark things for yourself or write your thoughts or whatever. Under the cut I have put some formatting notes.

It's a folder, each year of Twitter posts is its own document (I tried to compile them into one but it lagged too much). There is also a document with all of the original Tumblr posts (from the accounts I could find, no tags yet but I will go back and get them eventually, also no dates but they're all from 2015), and one with the bios from the official website for ease of access.

The formatting is a little (a lot) weird and there are probably pictures that need resizing/transcription but I figured it's better to give people access now. The text is small (to keep the page count as low as possible) so you will have to zoom in.

It goes by day, organized with a bulleted list. The top level bullets are each character that tweeted that day. The second level bullets are original tweets/retweets by that character. The third+ level bullets are comment threads under that tweet, the organization here is inconsistent but imo still readable (if you think something needs an edit for clarity let me know and I'll fix it).

For each character's section of the list, normal text is that character's tweets/comments. Italicized text is anyone who is not that character. If it is labeled with unitalicized text, it is that character/important account (e.g. the official Chipspeech account), otherwise it is a fan. I also included some labels and/or clarifying comments for Vocaloid producers I like, they're not central to the story though

I got rid of the line breaks within the tweets when copying them down because it was easier to format. Sorry about that. Idk how to fix it other than going through everything again but it doesn't take away from the story so I'm leaving it for now.

If something came from a website other than Twitter, I tried to provide the link (unless its content was deleted). I did my best to transcribe the Clyp posts that were not deleted.

If something is a text-only retweet, it is marked with [retweet]. If it includes an image, it's probably a screenshot of the whole thing. I only included retweets that felt story-relevant (so no miscellaneous cat pictures, Apple-related aesthetic images, etc.), but if people really want it I can go back and add the rest.

Deleted tweets are noted with [deleted tweet], with the characters they came from if applicable. Idk how Twitter works but it the person in the thread is replying to the username of a certain character, I assumed it was that character's tweet that had been deleted. If something says [deleted Dandy thread], assume there is a deleted Dandy tweet in between each of the listed tweets (or another character, but it's usually Dandy). That was meant to be a temporary time-saver and I've gone back and fixed the ones I've found, but there's probably more I accidentally skipped.

Anything not in English is translated in a comment. Except the X-Sampa (I will fix that sometime but there's not much of it). Also it was done with the built-in Google Translate feature so it may be a little incorrect. Unclear pictures and whatnot also have clarifying comments. I can add more clarifying comments (or image IDs) if anyone needs them.

I tried not to include any unattributed fanart but there are some that I forgot to copy the handle for (I am also fixing these when I find them).

As for any future updates to this folder as a whole, I kind of want to go back through each account's liked tweets to see if there's anything funny in there but idk when that will be. That would probably be its own document.

Honestly I should have given everyone access back in June.. oops. If you have any questions you can put them in a comment on this post (or reach out to me another way, idk). As I mentioned before, feel free to use all of this as a starting point if you're making your own website.

I'll pin this post so it's findable in the future. Also sorry for disappearing for several months (it will happen again).

#chipspeech #chipspeech archive #posts by the bug

[blindedguilt]

Apparently the dialogue in Japanese during the "Leonard's lament/hunger" is a lot more explicit about his inclinations, would you know anything about this? I've heard that the fairy explicitly tells him to do the nasty to the fallen child soldiers but I've seen no confirmation of this

What WAS Changed from Leonard's Hunger to Leonard's Regret - Drakengard Analysis

//Hey anon! I assume you're talking about the game, right? Because I actually DID translate the full script from the World Inside 10th Anni box for the Leonard's Regret/Hunger chapter a while back (It was the only translated part of an unfinished project to do the WHOLE script that likely won't be finished), but that has in-game comparisons between the NTSC-J and NTSC versions as well! I'll link it here if you're interested. Note: This covers only the EVENTS in the game, and not actual in-game dialogue, as I haven't translated that. Sorry! For ease of access, I'll also provide a hopefully adequate summary below the cut detailing the differences between the original script (Later edited into what would be the NTSC-J version of the game), the Japanese version of the game, and the English localisation! Believe it or not, there was actually more cut content between the script and the Japanese version of the game than the Japanese and the English (Which certainly does have it's blunders, but nowhere near as steep.) And of course, if you have any other questions about this, feel free to reach out to my Discord at barnabism or just send another ask! :) Here's the info, strap in for a LONG post ahead:

So to start with the first scene in Leonard's Hunger, there's a couple points of interest right off the bat, actually!

Pointing Out Leonard's Survival

While it was toned down in the Japanese and toned down even further in English, when the Faerie points out the conscripts in the script it was actually an intended jab towards Leonard's absence "Hiding under the trees" which led to his unintentional survival!

(NTSC) "Hark you, hark! Look in the shadows of the trees. The ones hiding away are probably fine." "......" (NTSC-J) "Hey, hey, look carefully through the shadows of the trees. The ones who hide beneath them might be alive and well! Ahahaha!" "...Kgh!" (SCRIPT) "Hey, hey! Look carefully through the shadows of the trees. The one who does that might survive alive and well! Ahahaha!" "...Kgh!"

I wouldn't chalk this up to "censorship", however (At least not in the case of the English), it honestly kinda reads like a bad game of Telephone which is something you'll see a LOT with the English translation. Where the Japanese seemed deliberately toned down to give more "Insinuations" at best or just to outright write around it at worst, the English seems like its trying its best to pick up on that nuance without... Actually knowing where it's coming from? Without that base point of reference (The script), it seems like there was a lot of grappling around in the dark for those poor English localisers to do. :( *That said, there are some instances where things are explicitly written in Japanese but unable to be fluently translated, like Furiae's confession scene, or sometimes... They ARE just outright changed, like the infamous "You smell very nice" line from Ending D. The Drakengard fanbase DOES commonly assume that the latter is the case all-around, but there's a lot more to it than that! Moving on, here's an example of something that was VERY intentionally taken out from the NTSC-J release to the NTSC release.

"Something Else" - Deleted Snippets From Changed Lines

(NTSC) "Oh, it smells fishy. What will you do? Doesn’t it feel dangerous? Are you shaking? Over here! Here! Here!" (NTSC-J) "It smells fishy. What will you do? Can’t you sense it? Isn’t it dangerous? Hahah! Oh? Are you trembling because you’re scared? Or is it something else…? Ahahahahaha! Here! Here! Look here!" (SCRIPT) Faerie (Maliciously): "You can’t see them, but you can smell them, can’t you? Can’t you? That lively scent is your favouriiite~! Right? A large army of smooth, pallid, soft legs is here!"

So as you can see here, the bit from the Japanese - "Oh? Are you trembling because you're scared? Or is it something else...?" was taken out in the English release, but this original Japanese line that appears in the game is COMPLETELY different from what was written in the script!

And if that edited line in the NTSC-J edition of DOD wasn't clear enough as to what the Faerie was hinting at, here's something that's DEFINITELY more explicit. But unlike the English completely removing it over concerns to content, here it seems toned down as a result of differences in writing systems.

"Inexperience" - Pay Attention to the NTSC-J Line

(NTSC) "Right, right! Young soldiers right out of training, gutted like fish!" (NTSC-J) "Right right, ahaha! Still just sweet little things, lacking and inexperienced!" (SCRIPT) "Right, right, ahaha! Boys, boys, beautiful boys! How appetising~!"

Putting aside the Script's description of the young conscripts as "Beautiful" and "Appetising" (Hard, I know lmao), the edited NTSC-J version VERY cleverly used Katakana to it's advantage to make a point that... Honestly, if you ask me, is even more direct than the Script counterpart. Here's a look at what I'm talking about:

(NTSC-J Original) 「そっ、そっ、ウキャキャ! まだまだケツの青い甘チャンばかりだぜ! 」

I've bolded and coloured the Katakana referenced here with the whole article bolded itself, "Ketsu no Aoi", which as a whole can mean "Inexperienced" or "Lacking in x" (Skill, in this case). The interesting thing here is the use of Katakana on "ケツ" here, which, typically when written like that, is used to refer to someone's bottom. So it CAN be taken as "young and inexperienced" or quite literally, "Their ass is inexperienced" which... *Cough* Yeah. This, of course, is a VERY particular use of Katakana, so I honestly can't blame the English localisers just going "Fuck it" and making it their own.

Scrapped Ideas

An added note before we go onto the next scene, which I believe isn't EXACTLY what you're looking for but something I thought you or anyone else reading this would be interested in. There's also something interesting to mention about the "Garrison" that was brought up here ("If the garrison is here, then the prisoners should be, too."), and that's three things:

This WAS originally going to be a type of "Side-quest" where you go save your Union allies from the garrison and defeating the "Monsters" (I believe subhumans) guarding them, and THEN the conscripts begin to attack you in desperation. Unfortunately, it looks like this sidequest was scrapped, though I question what circumstances led to such a specific line pertaining to the quest still remaining.

At one point, it actually WAS thought that items could be used and included - Particularly "Crystals" and "Smokebombs", though looking back, I wonder if these "Crystals" mentioned here were later saved for the crystals you use to find your path in Drakengard 2....

Remember that one conscript that summoned a ghost at the end of the chapter? All conscripts were originally planned to do that. For better or for worse, it didn't go through.

Necrophilia Jokes

As the title suggests, when you mentioned the faerie explicitly goading him on to do it with the dying/dead conscripts, there actually IS something like that not in the NTSC and certainly not the NTSC-J games, but in the script! You'll find a pretty clear example in the very first line!

(NTSC) "Hey, hey! What’ll you do about the bodies? Stab them again?" (NTSC-J) "Hey, hey! What will you do with the bodies? Hahah! Is your torment growing?" (SCRIPT) "Hey, hey! Are you even lusting after corpses? Ahahah! Aren’t you pent up!"

Which of course is it's own can of worms, but shines MUCH more brightly paired with the Faerie's next line, after Leonard states his commitment to give the fallen conscripts a proper bruial:

(NTSC) "You have time for such luxuries? Well, do you? Do you? Do you?" (NTSC-J) "Hahahah! Is this the time for such a deliberate process? Hey, are you listening to me-? Hey, hey!" (SCRIPT) "Ahahaha! This isn’t the time to be toying with corpses. Hey, are you listening to me-? Hey, hey!"

Of course, the Faerie teasing Leonard about necrophilia can and WILL go even worse into the active goading of "Do it, buddy, I dare you" it will give later on, but I want to intercept that with something the Conscript here does in the scripts that really caught my attention - The Conscript, under the influence of Red-Eye, using the weakness of his inclinations to their own advantage.

The Conscripts "Manipulation"

I'm not gonna lie, when I first detail it really brought me back to this fucked up little fanfiction I saw on Pixiv where this conscript ends up seducing and subsequently disemboweling poor Leonard. As you might be able to tell by my mentioning, it's kinda stuck with me. Pixiv is a fascinating place.

(NTSC) "I’m afraid." (NTSC-J) "I’m… I’m afraid…" (SCRIPT) CONSCRIPT (Alluringly): I’m… I’m afraid…

Through the script, there are different dialogue tags to denote the tone in which that particular line is spoken. While this tidbit in itself isn't much, I figured it very worth mentioning just for its role in the general topic of "More controversial things that were snipped out of either the NTSC-J or NTSC versions of Leonard's Regret/Hunger", not to mention the implications it has on the wider nature of Red Eye Disease as a whole! Think about it - Taking into consideration that the script implies the Conscript "Knew" about his inclinations enough to use them to his advantage, Leonard mentioning that this conscript share's his brother's voice is a detail that definitely catches my attention now. I wonder if it was just tragic coincidence, Leonard being unable to judge correctly in his grief, or perhaps RED allowing the conscript to mimic his brothers? Which is an actually TERRIFYING thought, but hey, I absolutely adore it. There is a plethora of writing material and silly thoughts to have from that alone, which, as an RPer, is probably among the best things I can have. XD

The Faerie's Goading

Back to the faerie, there's a final detail in its teasing for this scene:

(NTSC) "Oh? Oh-oh-oh-oh? Feeling pity? For the enemy? Can’t start wavering now!" (NTSC-J) "Oh? Oh-hoh-hoh-hoh-hoh? Are you just happening to feel sympathy right now? For the enemy? Now’s no time to tremble. Hey!" (SCRIPT) "Oh? Oh-hoh-hoh-hoh-hoh? Are you getting ideas already? For the enemy? I wonder if you’ll go all the way? Just as I thought! Ahah!"

As is the recurring theme here, the script is MUCH more explicit than either, where the NTSC opts for snipping out a couple more details, which in this case is the line "Now's no time to tremble". There's nothing special I have to say about this outside of jesus fuck, of course so we'll wrap it up with the final event scene in Leonard's Regret/Hunger real quick!

Another Note

Just to add, Beholders and Gargoyles were among some of the enemies planned to be put into this level, along with... Treants! It's a popular bit of folklore across Germany, particularly in regard to the Black Forest (Though it came from France) that scared the crap out of me as a kid, so I was pleased to see them here and VERY upset they didn't make the final cut :(

The Final Scene - Leonard's Botched Confession

GOD, from the first time I saw this scene, I was so disappointed. All that tension, all those hints and build-up for Leonard to finally break and be asked "What's going on here? Why are you acting like this?" You'd think you'd get something better than "It's a secret." You just know that this was a scene that got rewritten last second, and it turns out that in the NTSC-J version, it's the same exact case - but in the script? We finally get to see what was intended to be put there (And my years long grudge against that scene was finally, kinda, put to rest.)

So, when Leonard falls to his knees and asks for forgiveness, and Angelus asks (Or perhaps Caim) asks "Why this wasted pity?", the faerie responds for him (Which, keep in mind, Leonard responds to this by immediately begging for Caim to kill him right then and there):

(NTSC) "He won’t say! He’ll never say the truth! It’s a SECRET!" (NTSC-J) "He won’t say! Haha! He’ll never talk about that. It’s! A! Secret! Heehee. Ahahahaha!" (SCRIPT) "He won't say! Haha! That boy was too cute for him to say. He wanted to hold him, among other such things. Heehee. Ahahahaha!"

To add to the bit "He wanted to hold him", the exact word used is "抱きたい", and while it DOES typically mean "To hold, to embrace" among other things in certain ~contexts~ (Like Furiae's confession scene, where the same word is used) it can also mean "To have sex with". The rest of the scene actually doesn't have next to anything changed outside of a tiny added "...You can't." when the Faerie addresses his wish for death that got trimmed from the script, though I will add for context an interesting thing in the same quote a detail added that wasn't originally in the script, similar to a couple other things we've seen so far, is a distinction that can only be seen in Japanese:

(NTSC) "Huh? What did you say? Helloo! You couldn’t die, could you? Just gave yourself a little nick. So sad. Didn’t you make a promise to live with me, big brother? I can’t survive alone anymore, you know. A pact. We made a pact. Don’t forget." (NTSC-J) "Haah-? What are you saying? Helloo? You couldn’t die then, could you? Just gave yourself a small little scar! …You can’t. Didn’t you make a promise to live with me, big brother? I can’t live alone by myself anymore, you know. The pact, the pact! Ahahaha! Take care to remember!" (SCRIPT) "Haah-? What are you saying? Helloo? You couldn’t die then, could you? Just gave yourself a small little scar! …You can’t. Didn’t you make a promise to live with me, big brother? I can’t live alone by myself anymore, you know. The pact, the pact! Ahahaha! Take care to remember!"

It's actually indistinguishable in either translation, so I'll highlight the Japanese text here:

(NTSC-J Original) 「はあ?　何言ってんのお?　もしもーし?　アナタ死ねなかったんですよねー?　ためらい傷バリバリ!　……やだなぁ。俺といっしょに生きてくれるって約束したじゃないですか、お兄さん。俺、もうひとりじゃ生きられない身体なんですよ。契約ね、契約。フヒャヒャヒャ。 おねがいしマッス。」 (SCRIPT Original) 「はあ?　何言ってんのお?　もしもし?　アナタ死ねなかったんですよねー?　ためらいバリバリ!　……やだなぁ。俺といっしょに生きてくれるって約束したじゃないですか、お兄さん。俺、もうひとりじゃ生きられない身体なんですよ。契約ね、契約。フヒャヒャヒャ。 おねがいしマッス。」

Again, it'll be hard to find a difference through all that, but you'll see the game actually added a term to the script's "ためらいバリバリ" - "A hesitant nick", with "ためらい" meaning hesitant and "バリバリ" standing for a small little cut or scar! Together it really is it's own term meaning "A shallow (hesitant) scar" The game, however, added a character - 傷 - which on the surface, doesn't seem to add much, as by itself the character quite literally just means "Wound". HOWEVER, put together with ためらい this creates a very specific term, ためらい傷 (Tameraikizu) which quick literally means "Hesitation wound", and stands as an exact term for the wounds left over when someone who attempts suicide fails and is left with lasting (Usually permanent) scars because of it. And recalling Leonard's failed attempt to slit his throat in his introductory scene... You know, I honestly wondered how permanent that scar was. Either way, I hope this post has the answers you're looking for! I really enjoyed writing it, and of course, if you have any questions, feel free to message me (Via asks, DMs, or Discord!) and I'll be happy to get back to you! Thanks so much for sending this in, just being able to talk about our boy is a treat, so again, I really enjoyed it~ :3> Again, thank you, and I hope you enjoy! :)

#||OOC|| #Drakengard #Leonard #Leonard Drakengard #DOD1 #drag on dragoon #translations #drag-on dragoon

[luciferstit]

Luciferstit Post Links

Since Tumblr wants to play games and shadowban my main so the search function doesn’t work anymore (¬_¬). This post will contain links to important posts on this blog (my main) and on my sideblog, @exilepurify (and my abandoned sideblog @exxaltioras) just for ease of access, because otherwise I’ll be scrolling forever trying to find stuff.

Examples of posts linked here are AMVs/edits, metanalyses, translations, my art, and reference posts.

Links under the cut!

Reference:

- MP100 Omake List (with Summaries)

- Omitted-from-anime omakes with pictures

- Mysterious, did-I-dream-this omake (found)

MP100 AMVs + edits:

- Super Freaky Reigen | Reigen AMV - Super Freaky Girl

- Flowers by the Street | MP100 tribute/Teru AMV - FULTON STREET 1 by La Dispute

- No! He shouldn’t be held down by trauma! | Mob trauma AMV - Sleep by My Chemical Romance

I don’t wanna die… | Shigeo AMV - Bohemian Rhapsody

- Even the iron still fears the rot | S3E10 AMV - Ptolomaea by Ethel Cain

- Flightless Birds/飛べない鳥 | TeruMob AMV - Flightless Bird, American Mouth

- S3E12 Reigen running sequence but with Exist instead of 99

- I’m losing myself… | Mob and Reigen S3E12 AMV - Remember You

If you care for that kid at all, call him back! | Reigen always saving Mob — Undertale by Toby Fox

MP100 Translation Posts:

- Shigeo and Mob Omitted Dialogue Translation

- “Shut Up and Eat” Omake Translation

- Reigen’s Confession Scene Translation

- Teru’s real text message

- Translating the first page of Emi’s short story

MP100 Manga vs Anime Scene Comparisons

- Season 3 Episode 9

- Season 3 Episode 11

- Season 3 Episode 12 (pt. 1)

- Season 3 Episode 12 (pt. 2)

MP100 Metas/Analyses:

- MP100’s three main themes and how they’re reflected in the final arc

- Shigeo’s ugly emotions and how glad I am that they’re here

- ???%/Shigeo and fear of rejection (originally by mob-choir.

- MP100 and platonic love

- ???% is Not A Villain!

- Mob already knew Reigen didn’t have powers

- Dimple’s last words to Mob

- Oldest trope in the book (Divine Tree arc Teru fight)

- The Obligatory Reigen’s Shoes Post

- Toichiro fight symbolism

- Shigeo Bad Taste Truthers Unite

- Reigen gives dad side-hugs almost exclusively

- Reason for 20,000 frames in S3E8

- Shigeo lovingly cradling Mob’s face in his hands subtext

- Subtext of Teru’s “Kageyama! Don’t leave me behind!”

My Art:

You poor thing… | Shigeo and ???% confession artwork (blood cw)

No one will save me… | Mob breaking apart panel redraw

I’ll never have to buy adjacent plots of earth | Reigen holding post-car accident Mob (blood cw)

Enigmatic… | Limp-wristed Shigeo Kageyama

#pinned post #just a place to keep links for quick reference #and so others can navigate my blog easier in light of the circumstances

[altraviolet]

Writing Advice & Resources

[This post was originally posted to my pillowfort April 29, 2022. It is being cross-posted here for ease of access for tumblr users. It is very long.]

I've had folks approach me privately asking for advice on writing. I asked twitter if people would like to see a post about it and they said yes. So! I present to you my advice and some resources =)

A couple of caveats:

1) I'm not a professional writer. I've written for a long time, but I write for fun. My advice is neither exhaustive nor perfect for every situation.

2) You can break the rules if you understand what the rules are and how to break them in a way that serves your story rather than detracts from it.

3) I'm honestly not sure whether to write this out as advice for people who want to write fiction, or fanfiction, because I think advice for one does not necessarily apply to both. For that reason, I'll make a separate fanfiction advice section.

3b) Implied in the fanfiction-specific advice section is “I know you're writing for fun.” No, you don't need to do any of these things. Yes, I do still advise them. If you don't like the advice or don't think it applies to you, that's okay. Learn what you can from it, add it to your toolbox, and keep writing.

MY ADVICE:

General advice for beginners:

-read a lot, with your eyes or your ears. Absorbing properly edited written work will familiarize you with grammar and punctuation, flow, dialog, pacing, characterization, etc. 

-as you're reading, jot down phrases or words you like. Why do you like them? Is there something about their construction you can identify and use in your own writing?

-if you read something and you don't like it, why? Once you identify why, you can be sure not to do it in your own writing.

-write. A lot. The first bunch of stuff you write will probably not be good. That's okay. Keep going.

Common writing issues for beginners:

-tense switching. “I sit down to write my story. I thought about what to do. I ran to the store to get a drink. I'm drinking it.” Besides the fact that that is an atrocious story, lol, the verb tenses keep changing. If you're writing in present tense, make sure all the verbs are in present tense. If you're writing in past tense, make sure all the verbs are in past tense.

-mixing up homophones. Their/there/they're, pouring/poring, reign/rein, etc. English is a silly language.

-“definitely” and “defiantly” are different words. The second one is definitely not the first one. Once you see this, you will never unsee it.

-“a lot” is two words

-use strong verbs instead of weak verbs + adverbs. If someone argues with you that it's a stylistic choice, ask them if they'd rather “walk quickly” or “run” from a tsunami. English is a silly language, but it has a lot of verbs. Use the strong ones. Your prose deserves them.

-look up filter words. Eliminate as many of them as possible.

-avoid run on sentences. If a sentence is really long or awkward or just doesn't feel right, rework it. Having a hard time telling if a sentence is awkward? Read it out loud.

-point of view switches/“head swapping”/”head hopping.” Generally, you should stick to one character's point of view per writing chunk (chapter, book, whatever). Jumping around from character to character is disorienting for the reader. If the scene is being written from Rodimus's point of view, he should not know what another character is thinking. He can intuit it from their stance, their expression, their words. But unless he has a direct line into their brain, he does not know their thoughts.

General advice for intermediate:

-I like to visualize the scene in my mind to help keep track of everything that's going on. I let it play out like a movie, then try to transcribe it. However, movies are restricted to images and sound. We are not! Make your scenes come alive by including sensory information. We often get visual details, and sometimes audial details, in a scene. But touch? Smell? Taste? If any of these are applicable, they will help ground your reader into the scene. 

-if you put a tiny but very specific detail amongst general statements, it will stick out.

-know where your characters are in relation to other characters/objects in the scene. If your character is in front of a window in one paragraph, then teleports to the door on the other side of the room in the next (and doesn't have teleportation powers), that will be disorienting. Note- you don't have to write every mundane detail of movement, but make sure that as characters move and interact, their movements and interactions make sense. This is especially important for action scenes/fight scenes.

-body language and reactions can be powerful ways to have a character state something without saying it. 

-I don't know what the word for this is, but I try to make sure that actions flow across paragraphs and sentences. I write out a paragraph which contains all the action/information I want it to contain. Then I reread all the sentences to make sure they're in the order that makes the most sense. Don't be afraid to switch sentences around

-Also regarding flow: if you think of a movie or comic page, there is often an establishing shot of the setting. Then you zoom in on characters and the specific part of the setting the scene takes place in. I do the same thing in writing. Either start zoomed in and pull out, or start zoomed out and go in.

-if you need to set a scene or describe a building or something quickly, take a listen to how Matt Mercer of Critical Role sets his scenes. You don't need to go on and on about the glistening columns of blah blah blah. “A short, squat building with columns,” is enough if what the building looks like is not very important but you still need to establish that it exists.

-if you find you're writing characters meeting up in the same places over and over, try putting the scene in a new location.

-bedrooms/personal spaces are really easy and fun ways to show what a character values and who they are. Imagine a bedroom crammed full of musical instruments and succulents with poster-covered walls. Imagine a bedroom with alphabetized bookshelves and curios kept under polished glass. Which bedroom's occupant do you think makes their bed every morning? Why? What gave you that clue? Whatever that thought process you just used was, use it all the time.

-use present tense to give your writing a more immediate, fast, or dire feel. I like to use present tense for horror or action.

Fanfiction-specific advice:

-the easier your story is to read, the more likely you are to attract an audience and get those sweet, validating comments. Check for grammar/spelling mistakes. Every time a new character speaks, make a new paragraph. Do not put dialog from more than one character in the same paragraph. Make sure everything is spaced correctly. Walls of text will turn away readers really fast. Use the Preview function before posting so you can check your formatting.

-if there's something about canon or fanon you don't understand, ask about it! I've asked people to explain why they like a certain pairing, or what they think Character X's character arc is. If there's a character I'm not familiar with, but that a friend of mine loves, I'll ask them, “Tell me about your fav!” and take notes. Always be respectful when asking! Especially about ships.

-write what you love and/or what you want to see. Fanfiction is limitless. You don't need to appeal to the market, or find an agent or a publisher. You don't need to get anyone's permission to write what you want to write. The only onus on you is tagging the fic correctly.

-tag your fic correctly. Save yourself and the community from having to deal with the issues that arise when things are not tagged correctly.

-if you're not sure how a character will react, or even how to quantify their characterization, go back and reread/rewatch the source material. Don't be afraid to reference! (advice for artists and writers)

Personal rules I write by:

These rules are absolutely style-related. These are NOT hard and fast rules.

-if the characters are not speaking English in-universe, but the story is written in English, it is understood that that's because English is the language the author knows. Therefore, culturally English-specific puns, idioms, etc are avoided because the characters would not know them. Rodimus will never say he's “mad as a wet hen” in my fics because he does not know what a hen is, let alone a wet one.

-I personally dislike overly flowery/purple prose. I try to find a balance between functional description and abstract wordage. Clarity is the most important thing.

-for TF fic, I prefer using hand, eye, hour instead of servo, optic, breem (or whatever the hell the temporal unit is xD). Again, this is a stylistic choice. Some people find the “human” terms pull them out of the fic. I find the breem terms pull me out of the fic. Do what keeps you in the fic!

RESOURCES

YOUTUBE CHANNELS

A list of youtube channels I like to listen to for writing-related topics. I usually listen at work, when I'm doing things that keep hands and eyes busy, but ears free. At home I'll take notes, either on paper or in a word processor, and then put them in a binder I'm slowly filling. Taking notes helps me to both focus on what's happening and to remember it. I can pause the video as needed, take screenshots of stuff. I always enjoyed lectures in school (if I enjoyed the topic xD) so this is the funnest way for me to learn. This list is absolutely not exhaustive. There are MANY channels out there.

Give the following youtubers' channels a glance and see if their videos interest you. Listen casually or take notes. Either way you'll probably absorb something. I'll put a video or two under each one. In alphabetical order:

Abbie Emmons

Gives advice on writing. Uses very structured techniques to build stories. If you like having character worksheets and in depth explanations of story construction, you'll like these videos. Kind of a relaxed but informative vibe.

“How to Find Your Character's Misbelief (or Fatal Flaw)” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij39HSbLCXo

Alexa Donne

Gives advice on writing and traditional publishing (note though that since Covid, the landscape has changed quite a bit). Very accessible and friendly and strives to be upbeat and encouraging. Came from fanfic and doesn't disparage it. Encourages people who want to write professionally to learn and grow from fanfic.

“Worst Amateur Writing Mistakes” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOQqxHKO-0w

“Bad Fanfic Writing Habits You Need To Break” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmbUAKi-ovY

Diane Callahan

Gives advice on writing. More focused than conversational, pulling from experience in pro writer world. Really interesting and thoughtful examples and topic choices.

“Writing Subtext in Dialogue” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMMpmlraoDo

“Writing Fiction with Emotional Honesty” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psL8BEqEm-M

Hello Future Me

Gives advice on writing and critiques/dissects pop media, mostly fantasy-based. Approaches difficult topics with empathy and respect. Check out “On Writing” and “On Worldbuilding” videos for topics specific to writing.

On Writing: Redemption Arcs! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB_3LF7uoNc

On Writing: Killing Characters! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=treB4kuyMHk

SINGLE VIDEOS/OTHER TIDBITS

Margaret Atwood's Top 5 Writing Tips

Here's the list, but watch the video for elaboration:

1 get a notebook

2 read a lot and read critically

3 pay attention to your posture

4 if writer's blocked: go for a walk or go to sleep

5 don't be afraid to throw things out

Ia-Con Online: Exploring Writing, Race & More in Transformers with Brandon Easton

Ia-Con's interview with writer Brandon Easton.

Brandon's advice:

1 read Stephen King's “On Writing”

2 finish what you start

Watch interviews of authors you like... or don't like but don't mind? Or maybe are not familiar with at all, you just know their name?

I once spent a month listening to every Stephen King interview I could find on youtube. Why? I don't know. I'm not a particular fan of his. I've only read a few of his books and overall they weren't my thing. But! He's well-known, well-loved, and an entertaining speaker. I didn't know much about him, so it was very interesting to listen to interviews from different decades. Overall, I guess I'd advise you listen to interviews of authors you like, lol. There's usually a “What advice would you give your fans/aspiring writers?” question at the end of the interview. See what your favs say. Jot down some notes and quotes to look at later.

I wrote out this quote from George RR Martin, whose books I've never read and whose show I never watched, because I liked it. I never would've heard it if I hadn't been listening to Stephen King interviews.

From: “George RR Martin with Stephen King at the Kiva Auditorium, Albuquerque, NM June 2016”

“Good and evil is a great subject for fiction but in my view the battle between good and evil is waged in the individual human heart. And it's our decisions. We're all partly good and partly evil. And we make decisions every day and we may do a good thing on Wednesday and an evil thing on Thursday or a selfish thing. It's all very complicated.”

This quote does not seem to be about writing- it's not explaining functions like character arcs or foreshadowing. It's about the fundamental nature of humanity, however, which is a handy thing to understand and apply to your characters.

Follow writers you like on social media.

Avoid developing weird parasocial relationships. Absorb the advice/anecdotes they give out for free. If they have a patreon and you like them a lot, consider joining. There's probably helpful writing advice/bonus material there.

The library is your friend.

Free books! Free knowledge! You can get books on writing and language, or books in your target genre.

Beta readers/critique/asking for advice.

If you want someone to look critically at your work (especially if it's fanfiction), ask yourself, what is it you really want? Do you want someone to check for grammar? Characterization? Or are you feeling uncertain and only want positive feedback? Explaining exactly what you'd like feedback on will help the reader focus their efforts.

I don't know how to advise finding beta readers. Just make sure the people you approach have the time and energy to read your work. If they decline to assist, respect that and move on.

ETA: Guide to Beta Reading for Authors and Betas (reddit post)

Fanfiction subreddit

Recently found this. I side eye a couple of the rules but overall it's a fun place. Vent, find resources, celebrate your milestones.

There's a ton of other places, too.

Podcasts, textbooks, fellow fans. The interweb gives us access to unlimited resources. Take advantage of our modern marvel.

Okay to be honest there was more I wanted to do but I'm tired and I saw this quote on r/fanfiction: (post has been deleted possibly? but I had screencapped it)

“Read it with a gentle eye.”

And you know what? That's true. Or can be true. My advice is aimed towards people looking to write their love but also improve on it, I guess, xD And don't worry, I very much count myself in that group.

If you have any specific questions or would like to see anything in particular explained further, please let me know. Hope this helped =)

#writing advice #resources #writing related #violet's posts #Youtube

[army-of-bee-assassins]

back with more questions regarding image descriptions!!

let's say there is an artwork for a fandom that is specific to one country mostly. (Czechia in this example) since the thing the fandom is based on is in Czech. should I write the image description in English or in Czech?

also I've heard somewhere that proper writing should be used in them, is that true? like if the original text is caps lock I should put it to regular. or when no punctuation is used, I should add it.

i hope these aren't stupid, questions. I'm thinking of adding descriptions to all pictures on my art sideblog and I want to do it right :)!!

hi there! sorry for the late response on this one!

so for your first question, i would write the image description in czech in that case! generally speaking, i would write in the language that most of the post's audience will be using. or perhaps whatever language the op was using. you can also do the image description in more than one language (like english and czech for example) if you want. but one language will generally be sufficient.

in terms of proper grammar in image descriptions, i am not sure that it is vital (tho people are welcome to correct me on this), but i believe that it is preferred by some people. i usually use proper capitalization and punctuation in my ids. but again, any id is better than none.

as for correcting punctuation and capitalization when transcribing text, usually the rule of thumb is to transcribe the text as-is, without editing anything. the main exception would be for an honest-to-god typo (like fully a mistake, not a misspelling that was added for comedic effect) that may affect the post's legibility. in that case, you can usually correct the spelling. but otherwise i wouldn't edit the capitalization, spelling, or punctuation. if something would be truly incomprehensible for a screen reader (like something with a lot of words intentionally misspelled), then you might transcribe it as-is, followed by a "translation"/plain text of what it's meant to say.

when it comes to things that are in all caps - there are some mixed thoughts on this. i think these days most screen readers will read all caps just normally, but certain words may instead be read as an acronym. for example, "it" in all caps might be read as "I-T", like the acronym for "information technology." another thing to note is that no screen reader (as far as i'm aware) will make any note of something being in all caps. this means that when all caps are used for emphasis, a screen reader user has no way of knowing that the emphasis was there. lastly - and maybe this is just a personal preference and doesn't extend to other people - i find it kind of difficult to read a long stretch of text (like, more than a few sentences) that is in all caps. for all of these reasons listed, i often like to transcribe all caps with normal capitalization, just with a note that indicates that it was in all caps. for example: "The sign reads: [in all caps] 'do not enter'". these sorts of notes can also be added when all caps are used for emphasis. however - i'm honestly not sure if there's an agreed best practice on the transcription of all caps text. or if there is, i still need to learn about it.

just as a general note for alt text and image descriptions - a great way to learn a bit more about how screen readers work is to try out the screen reader on your phone! pretty much all modern phones have a screen reader in the accessibility settings, and you can set up a quick shortcut to turn it on and off with ease. for my phone, i just hold down both volume keys for a few seconds to turn it on. once the screen reader is on, swipe left or right to change what is highlighted and being read, and double tap to select what is highlighted. there are more settings than that, but that's what you need for just basic navigation. once you've figured out how to use your screen reader, try it out on different tumblr posts to see what it's like, and try it out on alt text or image descriptions that you write to see if they read well.

thanks for the thoughtful questions again!

#i'm hoping the basic screen reader instructions work across most phones? #i know they apply for voiceover (iphone) and talkback (android) #long post #again sorry i can't be concise to save my fucking life #j.txt

[saintlethanavir]

✨ The Results are in!✨

My husband and I have decided to undertake making a visual novel in the setting of our original universe filled with all sorts of supernatural creatures and weird cosmic horror -- it's called Beyond Blood!

This is where you'll find the results to the form we sent out to existing patrons on our patreon and the form we sent out to the public. More info can be found on the original form which I will keep up until tomorrow (June 27th) after that you'll be able to find a link to it on the edited version of this post!

✨Archetype Results✨

We'll be going with:

The Entity (23)

Sweet and Stupid (21)

Mysterious One (18)

Anti Hero/Redeemable Villain (30)

Dilf/Milf (23)

We will be picking two characters for each archetype and have patrons/supporters vote on who we go with! We won't be telling you what the Archetype for each character is though, we'll see if you can guess it 😉

✨Content Distribution ✨

It was a pretty close tie honestly with a discrepancy of like 1 or so between all the options when putting them together so we'll probably go with 50/50 or what best flows. Let us know if you have any questions though!

✨Interest in Supernatural Creatures✨

Y'all really love werewolves LOL which I wasn't surprised by! We'll be going with all and giving you a nice swathe of cool cryptids 😜

✨ Broad Spectrum or MLM/ENBY/LM✨

It was a landslide win of Broad Spectrum! While we have a big interest in MLM romances we have dedicated this project to have lots of choice for y'all, so there will be at LEAST one sapphic romance and mostly Bisexual RO's and the option to be with someone that's Nonbinary!

✨ What do you love and hate about Visual Novels?✨

We've heard your questions and concerns! While this is a horror project the main storyline will have nothing to do with real world issues (Bigotry, Racism, Queer/Transphobia, SA, etc) and we will do our best to provide content warnings if there are mentions of any of these subjects in a RO background. There will also be an option to run the romance as an asexual person and at least one potential RO is in the ace spectrum as well! You will NOT be locked out of a romance if you decide to not sleep with someone.

Sprites will be drawn by one of us and then everything else will be drawn by the both of us collaboratively! There will definitely be at least a Good and Bad ending for each romance, your options WILL matter (within reason), and there will be pretty tough choices too. But also we'll try not to bend your mind or heart TOO much lol.

✨Patreon Results✨

While we understand not everyone can support we will be putting out early access art and writing plus bonus content on Kofi and patreon! Both will be an option just for ease of access to people, everything we do will be on either platform, but Kofi will ONLY be Beyond Blood content. If you'd like to be in the Sticker Club or get any of the normal patreon content PLUS Beyond Blood content you can join the discord or join the main patreon! Note: there is no need to join both, just one!

#beyond blood #visual novel #thank yall!!

[theodorevg923]

Your werecreature au has been on my mind, so I figured I’d let you know that these guys have been fully developed! They were only really speculated about by me, but after that, I didn’t want to miss the chance of making some established characters in this universe. Enjoy!

⭐️The Rockstars⭐️

General Information

They were originally meant to serve as backups to more popular predecessors. Over time, as the other bands split off or dwindled, they finally became relevant.

Could they even call themselves a band? They were just a group of young weres in a desperate situation. They’d all claim they bonded against their wills, but they lie.

When each of them realized they were getting more than they signed up for, they all tried to run. Unfortunately, most didn’t find any hope of escape…

Some of their species may not line up with the famous characters they were meant to resemble. However, they are just similar enough to work.

Rockstar Freddy

Age: 19

Bitten at: 18

Species: Spectacled Bear

He was an ambitious young entrepreneur who was left broke and desperate when his ideas got rejected. Then he received an undeniable offer…

It looked like volunteering for a study on the surface, which was easy money in his book. Next thing he knew, he was a were, and had to adjust to his new life.

Despite being the youngest and least experienced, he is the self proclaimed leader of the band. The others really only let him have that title to make him feel better.

Rockstar Chica

Age: 30

Bitten at: 24

Species: Buff Brahma

When she was human, she was a ring girl in an underground fighting ring, but also served as the referee. She had taken down weres twice her size with ease for years.

Being bitten always had an appeal to her, as a way to take her MMA skills to the next level. The transformation only made her bigger, stronger, and deadlier.

She’s a kind soul, but that comes out as fierce protectiveness. If you mess with those she cares about, there’s very little besides death that can save you.

Rockstar Bonnie

Age: 27

Bitten at: 22

Species: Blacktailed Jackrabbit

He used to be the young underboss of a coveted criminal organization, until they convinced him to undergo a test to prove himself worthy, which left him like this.

While he loves his vintage music, the cheap guitars are also good for bashing in skulls. He is careless with these guitars, knowing his real gem is safely tucked in its case.

This is one of those people who believes he was born in the wrong decade. He’s a total Greaser style wise, and has the New Yorker accent to fit.

Rockstar Foxy

Age: 28

Bitten at: 25

Species: Maned Wolf

As a man, he was a drug dealer in the black market, known for his lax attitude and lack of affiliation. When he got roped into a bad deal, he met the same fate as the others.

He’s taught his green macaw named First Mate all sorts of tricks to steal, spy, and infiltrate. The two have never gotten caught, and are thick as thieves…literally.

Determined to keep following his own moral compass, he secretly goes against orders if they don’t align with his values. Nobody can tell him what to do.

Lefty

Age: 22

Bitten at: ???

Species: Sun Bear

They were bitten young, and tried to escape whenever they could. They ended up losing their right eye while transforming due to lack of access to medical care.

The moment they finally managed to get out after so many attempts, they didn’t look back…until they heard more people were falling victim to this scheme…

All they are to the rest of the band is a mysterious whispering voice on the other end of a phone. Shrouded in secrecy, they try to help from the outside.

I'll edit this later with my own HCs later-

Posting earlier for ya @my-makeshift-masquerade

#submission #theodore923 #fnaf #fnaf security breach #fnaf headcanons

[ghooostzone]

i wrote again 😁🫶

2 new characters are in the docs now but i'll post them here so you don't necessarily have to scroll thru (bc i haven't finished designing them yet so they're not on toyhouse) + i'll list the other things

Sycamore ??? ?? He/him

Was Orval’s professional partner and best friend in the past. He died in an accident but came back through unknown means. He seemed strangely possessive over Orval, though Orval believed he was just being caring in his own way. Other hunters started complaining about him getting increasingly aggressive. Eventually this escalated into a situation where he was caught slaughtering a group of people during work. What was he like before he died?

Abilities: Weapon - Mr. Delicious (living weapon) Scythe that can (seemingly) be summoned out of thin air. Its other abilities are unknown.

Original cause of death: Disembowelment (monster attack)

Reported cause of death: Disintegration (slayed by a monster hunter)

Tyrrin Human ?? (Middle-aged) He/him

Was a suave detective with a monster hunter license. He was well-liked – and seen as annoying by some. Best known for his big smile. Apparently he found and raised Ty for several years in relative secrecy. What was he doing before he died?

Abilities: Weapon - Gold Tooth (living weapon)

Cause of death: Head burst (reportedly attacked during a breach accident)

/

i edited the episode list again, this time adding a 'post-main story' section along with some more bookmarks for better ease of access

i wanna do some short (like 2 page max each) comics so i started actually writing out the dialogue ideas i get. the doc i do this in isn't shared but i might post some screenshots after the comics are already done just to show my process

#sweven #swvn lore #sycamore #tyrrin #orval #ty #death n murder mentioned in here #sweven: wyrd #thoughts

[2024idpgroup14]

Developing the Experience 

Angelique Shelley (MA Concept Art)

Blog Post #7

Sound

As production in After Effects continued, it became clear that it would make more sense for me to add and composite together the audio. The main reason for this is that the After Effects project file, complete with image sequences from Unreal added up to over 60GB so syncing that between team members could be problematic, especially since I am remote. There was also quite a lot of sickness in the group which I was fortunate enough to avoid.

Ana selected and shared some excellent sounds throughout the project for us to use.

We also received feedback from staff on how we should avoid just sticking sounds straight on but should pay attention to blend them together carefully.

I found that Premiere Pro was far more capable in the sound department than After Effects so exported the final composition from After Effects as an mp4 with a manageable file size that could render in real time in Premiere Pro. To avoid double-compression by encoding to mp4 twice though I decided to edit the sounds over the pre-rendered mp4 and then bring in the processor-intensive after effects file directly into Premiere Pro with the dynamic link at the very end and render that instead. This ensures maximum video quality and ease of editing along the way. 

While it could be argued that our visuals may seem disconnected throughout the video I hoped that the sound could help tie it together with more cohesion. 

After adding the first sounds of rocks banging down and slate grinding and stone chips falling, I noticed that the sound effects seemed laughably ‘small’ compared to the size of the giant heads rotating into position. I found that adding a Bass effect made the sounds sound larger and a Studio Reverb with the equalizer set to custom>great hall with some extra tweaks made it more echoey in between the pillars of the first scene (see fig. 1). 

Fig. 1 A screenshot showing the application of Studio Reverb.

The echoes unfortunately did not extend beyond the audio clip length so although echoing through the clip, ended abruptly. If this was After Effects I would assume that a precomposition of the audio layer would allow the software to echo even where there is no actual audio clip. I found that the premiere version of precompose is called ‘nest’. Indeed this worked as I intended. Duplicating a small audio file, adding it beyond the end of the composition and nesting that too allowed the final audio clip to echo as well.

The sounds now matched the scene far better. The sound links below show the originals and how small they sound in comparison.

I added the sound of wind and calm water to connect the viewer to the scene more as well.

The sound of the clock increasing in speed was a challenge as the speed ramp effect only worked on video instead of audio but I found that I could increase the speed of the whole layer linearly so just duplicated the audio layers, speeding each one up with a fade between them all.

I applied similar effects to all of the above for the wormhole and final scenes, but layering the sounds for the wormhole effect was both fun and challenging (see fig.2).

Fig. 2 A screenshot showing some of the final layers of sound for the wormhole effect.

The music we chose had an ethereal, mysterious and slightly unsettling feel and worked well as a more ambient track that did not draw too much attention to itself and did not overpower the direct environmental sounds such as the rocks or wormhole. I feel that the overarching music helps tie everything together and make it a more harmonious experience.

Fig. 3 Screenshot of final sound composition. 

The Final Composite

References:

allthingssound (2018). de rottende veerboot. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/allthingssound/sounds/425183/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

carmsie (2012). PB It is time.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/carmsie/sounds/168303/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

carmsie (2012). PB Remember Remember v2.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/carmsie/sounds/168305/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

DylanTheFish (2018). Warp Speed.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/DylanTheFish/sounds/454683/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

felix.blume (2023). River bank, waterfall distant loud, lapping water, close recording, bird, subtle cicada in indigenous village Salto Hacha in Amazon rainforest. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/felix.blume/sounds/674104/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

f-r-a-g-i-l-e (2019). Buttery Breakbeat Synth, octave playthrough. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/f-r-a-g-i-l-e/sounds/500662/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

het_HCKM_DS_... (2022). Mortality Boring Death Dying clock tick tock klok tik tak incl 20 Hertz sometimes. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/het_HCKM_DS_huis/sounds/661499/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

Jovica (2008). Pad 006 - Whispering Ears - D4.flac. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/Jovica/sounds/52489/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

kernschall (2018). SFX_Stone_Calcit_DeadSea_Avalacne_foot #3-178.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/kernschall/sounds/425017/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

klankbleed (2017). wind gap indoors 001 170305_1100.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/klankbeeld/sounds/383139/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

Robinhood76 (2021). 10105 big stone crush impact.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/Robinhood76/sounds/567840/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

X3nus (2020). Ardanbanapolis Interstellar Hub.flac. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/X3nus/sounds/513487/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

Zimbot (2011). Portal_Continuous_Rumble.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/zimbot/sounds/122972/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

#angelique shelley

[techminds256]

How to Create a New Post in WordPress

Ever thought about diving into the blogging world or perhaps managing a website? Chances are, you've heard of WordPress. But how exactly does one go about creating a new post in WordPress? Let's dive in!

Create a New Post in WordPress: Image By Christopher Kidobi What is WordPress? WordPress is a popular content management system (CMS) that allows users to build and manage their websites with ease. It's like the Swiss army knife of the web world - versatile, efficient, and user-friendly. Originally built for bloggers, WordPress now powers nearly 40% of all websites globally. Why use WordPress? If you're asking this question, here's a quick analogy. Imagine building a house. WordPress is like the foundation and the basic structure, and from there, you get to design and decorate it any way you wish. It's user-friendly, flexible, and with its vast array of plugins and themes, there's almost nothing you can't do.

The WordPress Dashboard

The WordPress Dashboard: Image By Christopher Kidobi Exploring the Dashboard Once you're logged into your WordPress site, you'll be greeted by the Dashboard. Think of it as the control center of your website. From here, you can navigate to different sections, manage content, and customize your site. Key Features of the Dashboard - Posts: This is where the magic happens! You can create, edit, or delete articles here. - Media: Store images, videos, and audio clips. - Pages: Manage static pages like 'About Us' or 'Contact.' - Comments: Engage with your audience by managing and replying to comments.

Step-by-Step Guide: Creating a Post

Step 1: Accessing the Editor On the left side panel of the Dashboard, click on 'Posts' and then 'Add New'. Ready to pour out those thoughts? Step 2: Writing the Post At the top, you'll see a space for your post title. Below that, a larger area awaits the body of your content. Write as you speak – isn't that the most genuine way to communicate? Step 3: Adding Media Want to add some flair? Click on the 'Add Media' button to insert images or videos. A picture's worth a thousand words, right?

Step 4: Categorizing & Tagging Group your post into a category or add tags. Think of categories as the table of contents and tags as the index in a book.

Step 5: Preview & Publish Always preview before publishing. When satisfied, hit that 'Publish' button. Congrats, you've just added a new post!

Tips for Optimizing Your Post

SEO Best Practices Make your post search-engine friendly by using keywords naturally, adding meta descriptions, and using quality links. Engaging Content Creation Remember the golden rule: content is king. Write for your audience. Ask yourself, would I read this? Using Plugins There are numerous plugins to enhance your post's functionality. From SEO to social sharing, there's a plugin for almost everything. Using Themes Themes dictate how your post looks. Choose one that aligns with your brand and message. Why It Matters Being able to create a post on WordPress is more than just putting words online; it's about sharing, connecting, and engaging. By mastering this, you open doors to vast opportunities in the digital world. Also Read: How to Customize your WordPress site’s appearance?

Futures:

- Artificial Intelligence Integration: We're heading towards a future where artificial intelligence (AI) will be seamlessly integrated into our daily tasks. Whether it's through chatbots in customer service or AI-driven diagnostic tools in healthcare, the applications are vast. - Virtual Reality (VR) & Augmented Reality (AR): Immersive experiences will become commonplace. Virtual tours, AR-based education, and interactive gaming are just the tip of the iceberg. - Internet of Things (IoT): The day isn't far when your fridge might notify you about low milk supplies or your car schedules its own service appointment. - Quantum Computing: As we approach the limits of classical computing, quantum computing will redefine problem-solving capacities, making previously impossible tasks achievable. - Green Technologies: As the world grapples with climate change, the future will see a surge in clean and sustainable technologies. Also Read: How to install Plugins in your WordPress site?

Benefits:

- Efficiency & Productivity: Automation and AI-driven tools will enhance productivity in various sectors, reducing manual labor and errors. - Personalized Experiences: Technologies like AI and machine learning will offer personalized user experiences, be it in shopping, entertainment, or education. - Global Connectivity: Advanced communication tools will bring the world closer, making it easier to connect, collaborate, and share knowledge. - Empowering Creativity: With tools like AR and VR, artists, educators, and creators will have new mediums to express their ideas and stories. - Sustainable Living: With the rise of green technologies, we will move towards a more sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle. Also Read: What Are WordPress Plugins? FAQs - Is WordPress free? - Yes, the basic version of WordPress is free. However, there are premium themes and plugins that may come at a cost. - How often should I update my posts? - Regularly! Search engines love fresh content. Plus, keeping your posts up-to-date ensures accuracy for your readers. - Can I schedule posts in WordPress? - Absolutely. Instead of 'Publish', click 'Schedule' and choose a date and time. - How can I improve the speed of my WordPress site? - Optimize images, use caching plugins, and consider a reliable hosting provider. - Is WordPress mobile-friendly? - WordPress themes are typically responsive, meaning they adjust to different screen sizes, including mobiles. Read the full article

#blogging #contentmanagement #contentstrategy #DataAnalysis #featuredimage #howto #multimediaintegration #Plugins #postcreation #SEO #SEOoptimization #socialmediaintegration #Technology #themecustomization #websitedevelopment #WordPress #WordPressupdates #YoastSEO

[huesofstories]

Hi, you can call me Hughes! I’m a writer/artist looking to get his original work out there!

I would like to start by mentioning; this is a side blog. I do not follow from this blog, and while I may be an artist as well I may not post my art here (I might post cover art for my writing) I wish to keep my blogs separate. However, if you recognize the characters and connect the dots yourself I don’t mind. I just will not be explicitly saying it myself.

Feel free to ask me questions, send prompts, requests, or even your own writing to share. I’d be happy to see them! Just know I may not write them all, or if I do choose to sometimes I take a while to write as I only do it when inspired. (I try not to push myself.)

Tags I use: #hughesofstories, #MyWriting, #OC, #Fandom, #Prompts/Requests, #AskHughes tags added to pinned post for ease of access / this list may be edited/updated

#hughesofstories #pinned post #pinned #MyWriting #OC #Fandom #Prompts/Requests #AskHughes