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cubanground84 · 2 years

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Recommendations On Advertising Your Loyalty Program By Way Of E Mail

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#seo

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illfoandillfie · 4 years

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Anyone who has been following me for a while has probably seen me talk about a project I’ve been hoping to get started - creating a Queen themed tarot deck. Well, good news, I’ve finished basic planning stuff and I’m ready to start actually making the cards!

BUT I am definitely not up to creating 78 individual artworks, so that’s where this post comes in.

I’m looking for artists who would like to create a piece or two which will be used in this tarot deck. I’ve organised general ideas of what each card will feature so that we get a good range of images and theres a connection to the meanings of each card.

For the moment I’m going to focus on the Major Arcana of which there are 22. So, if you are an artist in the Queen fandom and would be interested in participating please follow the link below to a short survey I’ve created where you’ll be asked to rank the cards in order of which you’d be most interested in creating art for.

LINK

Below the cut I have included the list of cards and the prompts for each one, as well as some other info about the project. If you have any questions that weren’t covered below please send me a message (via ask box or dm)!

If you see this and aren’t artistically inclined please give it a reblog. I’d love this post to reach as many artists as possible and I can’t rely on tumblr to show it in the tags or anything so I would love some extra help spreading the world.

Why A Tarot Deck?

I’m honestly not even sure where exactly this idea came from. All I remember is that one day I thought it would be a fun idea and then I started thinking about it more and realised just how much work it would be. In an effort to learn about the meanings of the tarot cards I started learning to read tarot (something I’ve been curious about for many years now anyway) and it all sort of snowballed from there.

Why Multiple Artists?

Because I’m not confident or capable enough of pulling this off on my own lmao. I enjoy making art but I struggle big time with drawing people and faces and I know I would give up after a handful of cards if I was doing this on my own. But multi-artist decks are very much a thing in the tarot community and theres some really cool ones out there.

What Sort of Art?

Anything. Whatever medium you enjoy using - digital, watercolour, acrylics, charcoal, etc - and whatever your style is! As long as you can send me a clean copy that can fit into the card template, then you can do what you like. The prompts I’ve chosen for each card are also fairly loose because I didn’t want to limit anyone’s creativity. Part of the joy of a collaborative deck is everyone’s individual interpretations of the cards and the imagery on them.

The only times I may say you can’t depict a particular outfit or moment is if I’ve already planned it to be on one of the minor arcana cards but otherwise you’ll have free reign.

I Don’t Know Anything About Tarot, Does That Matter?

NOPE! After the survey responses have been collected I will deal out the cards to everyone (hopefully in a way where everyone gets to work on something they really want to 🤞) and part of that will include a PDF with some information about the card - keywords associated with it, examples of other decks, why that prompt was chosen for it, etc - to help you get started if you need it. I am also always available to ask questions or bounce ideas off of.

Distribution?

This is the part I’m still looking into. I am wary of putting these up for sale anywhere because obviously there are copyright things and using people’s likenesses and all of that and the last thing I want is for my favourite band to take me to court lmao. Currently I am investigating a site called Make Playing Cards which basically lets you design your own card decks (one of the specific options being tarot cards) and print them off without having to bulk order anything. I’m just not entirely sure if they let you upload and share a design for free or if you have to put them up for sale. I’ll also create a PDF version that people can print themselves at home if they like. If anyone has any other suggestions for this I am all ears!

Of course something like Kickstarter is also an option I guess but, again, I’m still looking into all of this.

Time frame?

I definitely do not want to rush this. The loose timeline I’ve been working off of gives you three or four months to create your card after which time I can start finding people for the minor arcana cards. But, this can be adjusted depending on how many people sign up and y’know if everyone submits their pieces earlier than that then we can bump the next stage up. But I want to give everyone ample time to create something they are proud of. And I am very aware that the current global situation is affecting people’s creative energies and on top of that some of you may be participating in Inktober or similar things around this time of year, so I am also happy to extend the timeline.

What Happens If Not Enough People Sign Up?

Look, I guess it depends on how few artists are interested. Ideally I’d get enough people to do the major arcana but I’m not getting my hopes up. There is a question in the survey asking if you’d be willing to create multiple pieces so if there are left over cards I can hand them out to anyone who says they want them. I can also do a couple myself I just can’t do all 78 cards on my own.

What Happens If Too Many People Sign Up?

I am surprisingly prepared for this scenario. Firstly there were a few ideas I was throwing around that didn’t end up being used in the final list so potentially we can create some alternate cards.

Secondly, there is still the minor arcana to do as well. The minors will work a bit differently though. The minor arcana is similar to a deck of playing cards with four suits (wands, cups, pentacles, swords) and the numbers ace through ten plus four court cards (king, queen, knight, page). I was thinking the same artist could pick a number or court position and create the four cards for it so that they all match, if that makes sense. That way all of the Fours will look the similar and all of the kings will look similar etc. SO if anyone doesn’t get to do a major arcana I’ll check if they’d be interested in tacking a minor instead.

You Said There Would Be A List Where’s The List?

The Fool/s - Smile

The Magician/s - Queen

The High Priestess - Freddie in The Great Pretender

The Empress - Roger in The Great Pretender

The Emperor - Miami

The Hierophant - The Prophets Song

The Lovers - Freddie and Jim

The Chariot - Tour Bus

Justice - Present Day Bri

The Hermit - Older John

Wheel of Fortune - A Night At The Opera/Bohemian Rhapsody record

Strength - Ben Hardy

The Hanged Man - Highlander (or any of the queen songs featured in it)

Death - Bri in the Hard Life video

Temperance - Naked bicycle race

The Devil - Death on Two Legs

The Tower - Frank from News of the World

The Star - Rami Malek

The Moon - Gwilym Lee

The Sun - Joe Mazzello

Judgement - Adam Lambert/Q+AL?

The World - Made In Heaven/Tribute Concert

As you can see there’s a mix of Queen themselves, other people associated with them, objects associated with the band, and songs. I know some of these are sightly out there or unusual but please have a think about them and see if any spark your interest or get the creative juices flowing. I am also open to discussing potential other images to use instead if you’ve got an idea. As long as they can be tied to the meaning of the cards.

#queen #queen band #queen art #freddie mercury #freddie mercury art #brian may #brian may art #roger taylor #roger taylor art #john deacon #john deacon art #please god don't let this flop #also please ignore the rushed graphic #i just thought more people would stop and look if there was an image lmao

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build-a-hood · 3 years

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these are the playables for the main town so far, suggested by various simmers over at the build-a-hood discord. these are mainly templates, most of these households’ small details (like how many exact sims or how old) have yet to be decided, so if you wanna send your ideas our ask box is open (and so is the discord invite). i’m mainly posting these to serve as guidelines for the building template i’ll be posting next. :)

1) the contrarian / last sim standing against gentrification. funky patterns on the walls, lawn flamingos, mismatched furniture. this household sits in a otherwise completely boring, cookie-cutter suburban neighborhood, and despite getting the stink eye from their neighbors they refuse to sell or comply with any homeowners’ association demands.

2) the karen next door, our previous household’s mortal enemy. her house is spotless, her lawn the greenest. when she isn’t driving her kids to soccer practice she can be found all over other people’s business, or maybe asking to speak to the manager of the local cafe. you know the type. :) we are planning on having a few other little karens running around the neighborhood as townies.

3) the struggling single mom that had her kids taken from her. a “failed” family sim working hard to get back on track. her kids will be put up for adoption when building the hood; you’ll see them roaming as townies and you’ll be able to get them back (or even have them adopted by another household). up to you how many kids that is!

4) the mayor and her supportive partner. think leslie knope and ben wyatt! feel free to give them any pets or children you may want (if you want). their gender is also completely up to you. :)

5) the supernatural family. a powerful witch, her cheerful vampire husband and their two (seemingly) normal kids.

the witch is neutral aligned and the vampire is pretty benevolent. very friendly household, they try their best to mingle with the other suburban families even though they stand out a bit. :) they have two kids, a female teen and a male child. you can give them whatever personality and style you want. check out their house here.

6) the hip librarian that recently arrived to modernize the town’s library. any potential pets, children, partner, family etc all up to you!

as a reminder, this can all be changed! edit it to your heart’s content, suggestions are always welcome. it’s a collective effort after all. :)

#build-a-hood #storytelling #main hood

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the-mandalorian-clone-lover · 4 years

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Aces in Spaces Chapter 3

Hey everyone! I think my plan going forward will be to post new chapters on Mondays so in light of that, here’s the next one!

Summary: Roman gives Butcher the run down and explanation of Asexuality and how it pertains to Erica, warning for excessive cuteness from both. This takes place within a week of the last chapter.

(Chapter 2 can be found here and Chapter 1 here)

Tags: @princessxkenobi @sunshinepascal @rentskenobi @maybege @obaby-wan

If anyone else would like to be tagged let me know?

“Butcher, Erica is an Asexual”. The other man blinks at him and he realizes this may not be an easy fix. “It means, she doesn’t experience sexual attraction.” He takes the moment that the other man spends in confusion to turn on the projector on the table and stands so he can see the slides and Butch in the same space. The first slide is the only opening template that Microsoft power point had that didn’t make him want to roll his eyes so hard they rolled back into his skull, but now that he’s standing in front of Butch he’s convinced it really was just as bad as the others. ‘Asexuality, what it means, what it’s like, and what our response should be’ is written across it in big bolded letters and he takes comfort in the fact that Butch has always been a good listener before, and certainly seems to like Erica, so he should have his attention. He clicks to the next slide, intent on making sure not a single detail is missed, he starts to read the definition he’d gotten of the internet before turning to Butch.

“Did you read the title? I suppose since it’s the two of us this could be more of a discussion, it’ll have to be a briefing when I give it to the boys.”

Butch’s thoughtful face hasn’t uncrumpled itself, nor have his eyes left the screen but Roman’s patient, this is important and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to help Erica.

Butcher closes his mouth to purse his lips before speaking. “So, she likes you for your personality?”

Roman shrugs “I know. I was surprised too.” He says it casually and Butch huffs a laugh, Roman pauses before joining him, it is a funny thought, for how many people have told him he’s incredibly disagreeable. Assuming Butch has absorbed the definition on the screen he continues. “I’ve known for a little while now, but I wanted to be sure she was comfortable coming out before I briefed everyone.”

Butcher nods again. “How do we, is she like a nun?” he leans forward to emphasize the question and Roman turns back to the screen taking a breath.

“Well, that’s the thing. Asexuality is a spectrum, there’s a lot of different types.”

“Like a box of chocolates.” Butch says sagely, and Roman considers it before nodding

“Yes, well. I suppose so. The common denominator is that they don’t experience sexual attraction. Some still enjoy sex, some only with certain people, and some not at all, those are sex-repulsed.” He clicks the button to switch slides again, “Let’s outline the different types of attraction quickly.”

Butch is nodding again, “Yeah, that’s a good start”

“Sexual attraction is wanting to have sex with someone” Roman says it despite how crass it sounds and carries on “Platonic attraction, is wanting to be friends with someone. Aesthetic attraction is thinking something is pretty, wanting to look at it, a painting maybe.” He pauses, having gone through a slide for each definition that featured the pictures he thought best explained each and a few that Erica had suggested in her edits. He turns to Butch “I’d like to add this isn’t all inclusive by any means, I’m still learning, which is why I found a support group that I’d like to start going to, I don’t think I’ll need a guard but you do like to be aware of my schedule.” He turns back to the screen to resume before Butch cuts in, eyes never leaving the slide. “I’ll be along with you then, can’t let you wander around the city alone.”

Roman almost wants to ask if Butch heard what he said but the man says it with such a finality that he doesn’t see the point in arguing. “Well, in general, since Aces, that’s another name for them, don’t experience this attraction, it’s quite common for things that allude to it to go over their heads. The car ride earlier this week for example, Erica hadn’t meant to approach me in that way and was incredibly confused when you left.”

Butcher now looks horrified “Oh, Boss, I never meant—”

Roman shakes his head “She took no offense, it’s just not a place her mind goes.”

The sentiment obviously does little to comfort Butcher and he says as much before adding “I feel like I called her, a, well a whore Boss. I never ever would do a thing like that—” Butcher’s gentle upbringing where women are concerned is making itself known and Roman really needs to send his mother a ‘thank you’ card because it really does help them work well together. “She didn’t feel that way about it at all, I’m mostly telling you this so you can watch for if others try to suggest things to her.” Butcher’s face clears a little in understanding before Roman goes on “She’s handled herself extremely well before knowing me, we both know that, but, well, if someone is getting, well you know, and she isn’t understanding then just get rid of them, yes?”

Butcher’s face is now completely serious and even a little threatening “Consider it done Boss.”

Roman maintains his business demeanor but inside he’s positively thrilled, this is going even better than he thought. “Now I want to talk about Erica specifically, she told me a bit about how she fits into the ace spectrum and its vital for our forward plan.” He hopes Butcher is appreciating that he’s using the same format they do when they discuss upcoming business meetings and the protocols necessary for each one (location, parties involved, and prior contact, etc.) because this really is just as important to him as business. This next part is going to be the hardest though, he spent a whole night on it, because how exactly do you talk about someone’s sex life (or lack thereof) and not make it seem demeaning or judgmental or any other terrible thing? In the end he’d thrown himself on Erica’s mercy and asked how she’d prefer it to be done. He’d even offered to let her come talk to Butch herself, but she had told him she was certain Butch wouldn’t judge her.

“Now, without invading her privacy, she is an ace; so, I want to keep sex related things away from her as best we can. No dirty jokes, no crude gestures, no crass people if we can help it.”

Butch is nodding along with each condition and Roman wants to breathe a sigh of relief because being vague was the best way he knew to keep her dignity. “Any questions?” Butch pauses and shakes his head before pausing again and opening his mouth “Are there, slurs, we should know? Like, if someone calls her a nun, do we get to hit them?”

Roman beams. “That’s my next topic.” He clicks the remote again and he’s suddenly realizing he missed clicking buttons, Butcher usually gives these briefings as the head of security, have to file that away for later. “Some responses aces get when they come out is that they just haven’t met the right person, they’re a later bloomer, or that they haven’t had sex with the right people. Obviously, all of these are incredibly insensitive and downright rude. If someone says these things, feel free to immediately remove them from the premises.” Now its Butcher’s turn to beam, and Roman clicks the remote again “On a lighter note, some aces really prefer food to sex and this definitely applies to Erica. She has said, and I quote, ‘sex may be great but have people ever tried beefy 5-layer burritos?’. Aces also seem to have claimed dragons as their mascot, big ones, little ones, all colors, wings or not, dragons are where it’s at.” The slide for this section is a collage of dragons and when he’d seen Erica light up at viewing it, he’s so glad he included it.

Butcher interrupts his daydreaming with a raised hand “Are stuffed dragons acceptable?”

Roman smiles, “Yes, Erica loves small soft things. I, however, am an outlier and should not be counted.”

Butch snorts at this but Roman decides to ignore him. “As always, it’s no one’s business what she and I do together, but if someone does start giving her a hard time about this, I want you to step in. Only if she gives you a direct signal not to, should you wait.” Roman pauses then, giving an amused hum “but, if she does do that, that means she’s already got a plan to absolutely destroy the person herself so stick around for the fun because that gorgeous woman knows her way around a good insult.”

Butcher furrows his brow at this, “Are you allowed to say that? Can you, say things about her, physical, ness?”

Roman pauses before answering because this was a conversation he’d had with Erica after she came out. He had called her sexy once before and noticed the small bit of hesitation before she had smiled and changed the subject. When he brought it up in light of coming out, she had said she didn’t want to lead him on. She knew her body fit under society’s definition of ‘sexy’, but she didn’t have any intentions of performing the action, so she shied away from the designation. He’d tried to compensate afterward, only complementing her personality or intelligence before Erica had once again set him down and said she didn’t mind being told she was pretty, he’d taken the moment to ask if this meant he could compliment her aesthetically instead of sexually? She had grabbed in him in a hug. He learned this was one of her favorite words and that yes, she would be thrilled to receive compliments on her aesthetic. It’s this sentiment that he conveys to Butch, though he isn’t sure he likes the idea of Butch complimenting her. He swallows the jealousy though, he’s an adult and so is she, he trusts Butch, and Erica, and that extends to conversations they may have.

“I don’t plan to butter her up boss, just looking to make sure I understand all the circumstances that warrant the use of force.” Butch affirms calmly and Roman knows it’s the truth, he scolds himself for thinking otherwise.

“I want to move on to something else that I think is important to mention. There is another sexuality called Aromantic. It means that someone doesn’t experience romantic attraction. Erica defined romantic attraction as ‘I would slow dance in the kitchen with that person in my pajamas as we wait for coffee in the morning’. While it is possible for someone to be both Aromantic and Asexual, aro/ace is the abbreviation, Erica is not. She has said she does experience romantic attraction. Albeit very rarely.” Roman softens a bit picturing himself and Erica in the scenario he’s just described, it’s warm, easy, and while it’s probably too soon to ask her to move in so they can share their mornings, he’s definitely jotting slow dancing down for a date idea. He forces himself back to the present again and fixes Butch with a look “Any questions?”

Butch leans back in his chair and folds his massive arms across his chest as much as his jacket allows before pursing his lips and narrowing his eyes again. “This support group you mentioned, where’s that at?”

Roman clicks the remote again, this slide has a map of about five city blocks as well as the floor plan of the local library that is adjoined to the community center (he may find some of the security briefings a little too detailed but he knows what essentials Butch likes to have by now). “it’s at the local community center, heard about it on the internet” He leaves out that he spent four hours looking for one before he found a random Facebook post about it on the fourth page of chrome results but he figures his dedication is obvious either way at this point. Butch is already typing on his phone, no doubt tasking someone with retrieving more information about the whole affair.

“Do you want a scout to go in first?”

“No” Roman has already thought about this, the likelihood of it being a setup is pretty slim, and he wants to keep the business part of his life out of this as much as he can, for the sake of the other attendees. “I think it’s safe enough to go ahead.”

“Date? Time?”

“Fridays, noon, and its usually about an hour but I’d like to clear the whole afternoon indefinitely”

Butch nods along to the sentence, still typing on his phone before finishing and putting it back into his coat. “Anything else I should know?”

“Yes, I want you to schedule a meeting with the rest of the team, anyone who’ll interact with Erica, I don’t intend for there to be any misunderstandings.”

Butcher grimaces at that, “I really didn’t mean to upset her about that boss, any chance I can apologize for that?”

Roman knows Erica would say it was unnecessary, maybe even brush Butcher off, but he also wants her to know he’s taking the utmost care (Butch is too) to make sure she’s comfortable; so he nods before answering “I know she isn’t offended, but I wouldn’t mind if you did”. It has the potential to build trust between them if nothing else, and if Erica decides she wants to stick around, trusting Butcher will be integral to that process.

#ewan mcgregor #asexual #ace talk #ace character #original characters #new chapter #aces in spaces

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starkey · 4 years

Text

If you, like me, are a British person who wants to do something useful in aid of the BLM movement can I suggest writing to your MP?

The website WriteToThem allows you to easily input your post code, find your representative, and send them a letter without ever leaving the site.

I’ve pasted my letter underneath incase people are uncertain about how to word something like this. I’d recommend not blindly copy-pasting my letter into the box because, primarily, I identify myself as a doctor and it might be awkward if you’re asked to produce a degree—but feel free to use it as a rough template. My MP is a member of the SNP, so my letter is essentially just asking them to put these points to the government, but if your MP is a Tory, by all means, let them fucking have it.

Dear [Your MP],

I'm writing to you to express my disappointment in the British government's silence with regards to the actions of the United States government, particularly President Trump's use of violence against his own citizens, his support of police brutality and white supremist actions, and his claims that he is going to have anti-fascist ideologies brought under the banner of 'domestic terrorism'. These actions are not in keeping with the priciples of justice or democracy, and it is imperative that the UK codemn them.

Given the shocking images currently in circulation of the US police and national guard exercising excessive force against Black Lives Matter protesters, I was dissapointed to learn that we are still providing small arms and security equipment such as teargas, rubber bullets and riot shields to the United States. I would like to reiterate Amnesty International UK's appeal that the UK government immediately freeze all policing and security equipment export licences to the US, as there is a clear risk of ruther misuse. The UK has a legal responsibilty under the consolidated criteria risk assessment framework to not turn a blind eye to such a flagrant misuse of UK arms and security equipment. Banning international sales of small arms to the US would also not be a move without precedent—for the past decade the UK and EU have banned the export of drugs used in lethal injections to the United States, which has helped mitigate some of the excesses of the American capital punishment system.

In a seperate but related issue, I would like to express my deepest concerns regarding the newly-released report into BAME Covid deaths in the United Kingdom. It appears that, with all other factors controlled for, Covid patients who are BAME have a 10-50% increased risk of death, with people of Bangladeshi ethnicity being twice as likely to die from the disease as white british people. It is, frankly, reprehensible that the British government has failed so thoroughly in protecting vulnerable minority communities from this virus. As an NHS doctor myself, I have been horrified by how little the British government has done to protect the NHS staff on the frontlines—from inadequate PPE and PPE shortages to unsafe working environments, the government has reiterated its disdain for the medical professionals in this country again and again, through its actions and words. BAME medical staff comprise a significant percentage of NHS staff and they have been repayed for their contribution to this medical instition by being pressured to work in unsafe environments and having the highest death rates of any NHS staff population. I would like to echo the British Medical Association is their pleas that this devastating disparity in our health sector be redressed to ensure that our BAME colleagues are protected.

Yours Sincerely,

[Your Name]

#blm #racism #uk politics #us politics #long post #antifa #covid #bame

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phoenixfell · 4 years

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Protecting Yourself & Creating a Good Experience

An unfortunate post necessitated by recent events. The unfortunate truth of reality is that we, as non-psychic human beings, are unable to determine with certainty the motives of other humans around us. If someone claims to have good intentions but are hurting you, are they simply presenting themselves poorly or are they lying entirely? This is a question you can never truly answer, but here I will guide you through some ways to protect yourself while being kind to yourself and others.

You may reblog this if you’d like.

Although this post was created specifically in response to the turmoil in the Avatar: The Last Airbender fandom, it’s not specific to this exact situation and the purpose is not to take a side. The purpose is to encourage everyone to do their part in ending hateful behavior and crafting a good community.

Contents:

0. Don’t send mean asks to people 1. Install an IP Tracker on your blog. 1.a (How to) Install an IP Blocker on your blog. 2. Curating your Experience 3. Making First Contact 4. Analyzing a Message 5. Fiction as Fiction VS Fiction as Reality 6. The Author’s Duty 7. Echo Chambers & Lateral Thinking 8. Accepting Differing Opinions 9. Good Intentions (Pave the Road to Hell) 10. Being Mean is Fun (so do it in non-harmful ways) 11. Morality (Personal, Community, and Legal)

0. Don’t send mean asks to people.

You know, I saw a post some time ago on the internet that basically said: Why do we see so many posts teaching people how to avoid being raped and virtually nothing telling people not to rape others? So, as obvious as this may sound, I’m going to give you a gentle reminder to not send mean asks to people.

Perhaps you are angry. Perhaps something else is bothering you. Perhaps you honestly feel like you are doing the right thing. These feelings are entirely valid and I understand. However, being mean to someone else on the internet is not going to solve anything. At best, it’s going to get you ignored and at worst, it’s going to actively escalate things.

If you feel down, depressed, or upset, consider this service: https://www.crisistextline.org/

US and Canada: text 741741 UK: text 85258 | Ireland: text 50808

It’s a confidential service that will help support you.

On the other hand, if you feel like you genuinely have a bone to pick with someone, take a step back. Get a cup of coffee, or tea; watch a YouTube video, and later on in this post we’ll discuss cooperative problem solving, the importance of word choice, and how to deescalate a situation.

1. Install an IP Tracker on your blog.

This is a very simple and completely legal process. The easiest way to do so is to sign up for Statcounter. This is a website for market and visitor analysis, but it does IP tracking for free, which is what we’re looking for. The site will even guide you through installing it. However--do not post it into the description. In my experiences, this does not work. Instead, click Edit HTML, search for <body>, and paste it directly underneath that.

For this to work most effectively, make sure that you have the Timestamps extension enabled within the inbox in XKit. If you do not have XKit installed, you can find directions on their Tumblr page, here: https://new-xkit-extension.tumblr.com/

1.a. (How to) Install an IP Blocker on your blog.

Although Tumblr claims to give you the ability to IP Block through the inbox by blocking anonymous asks, many people have expressed doubts that it actually works. Therefore, here’s an explanation showing you how to do it yourself. There are three steps to this, all taking place in the Edit HTML section we’ve left off in last section.

Directly below where the web analytics code above ends, paste this:

Directly below the previous command, paste this:

function ipBlock() { var ip = userip; //example: "0.0.0.0", "5.5.5.5", "3.3.3.3", var bannedips=[ "155.555.55.55" ]; var handleips=bannedips.join("|"); handleips=new RegExp(handleips, "i"); if (ip.search(handleips)!=-1){

window.location.replace("http://www.tumblr.com"); }

} </script>

You can customize this script in a few ways. First, bannedips needs to be the ip(s) you wish to block. You can add more by separating them by commas and enclosing them in quotes, as the example shows. Secondly, in the window.location.replace line, you can insert any valid address. Here are some suggestions I give people:

Tumblr homepage. Basic and effective.

A link to a Google search of something, e.g. How to not send mean asks on the internet

Your own tumblr blog, so they get stuck in a refresh loop

A similarly spelled but nonexistent blog, to give the illusion you deleted/moved

Finally, add onload=“ipBlock()” to your body tag:

That should be everything to get it working. If you want to test it, click the link in step two, copy and paste the IP address that is displayed into the bannedips, save, and visit your blog. If it’s working right, you should get thrown off.

If you don’t want your IP Block active, just remove step three and return your tag to <body>.

2. Curating Your Experience

Although Tumblr itself does not allow the functionality, there are ways to ensure that certain words do not appear on your dashboard. XKit has a blacklist feature which will hide posts containing certain words. Also of note is the wildcard feature, which is accessed by adding an asterisk after the word, ex.

nsfw -> Only blocks exactly that word and that tag nsfw* -> Will block any word or tag containing that phrase

However, I would like to gently notify you that there is significant research that actively avoiding content does more harm than good! Only you can know what is best for you, but there is a such thing as excessive avoidance.

3. Making First Contact

If there’s anything you take from this post, please let it be this one thing:

Always be kind. At first. Then tear them a new one if necessary.

The inevitable happens. As far as you can tell, you’re minding your own business on your blog. Your ask box lights up and you perk up, wondering which of your friends is reaching out to you.

Instead, the message is nasty, condemning you for your support of your favorite ship and the theme of your blog.

You’re upset, of course! And you have every right to be! You put a lot of time and effort into this blog and your ship, and to have someone so coldly butt in--you can feel the frustration mounting! Tears are glistening and your body trembles as you type up a strongly worded essay and--

Stop.

It’s okay.

Take a deep breath and step away from your emotions for a minute. Your emotions are valid-- but so are the sender’s.

Instead of starting a fight, be kind. It may hurt. You may not want to be, but I promise you it’s worth it. Here’s a template response:

Hi, anon. I’m really sorry that you feel this way about [thing] and will gladly take it into consideration in the future. Could you please tell me more about why you dislike [thing]? If you’d like to take some time to gather your thoughts, I’d be happy to discuss this issue with you.

Let me confess something. I don’t suggest this out of pure kindness. I suggest this because their response will tell you what you need to know. Remember how the intro talked about how people’s intentions are incredibly hard to figure out? This is a little trick I like to use to get them to play their cards.

There are three possible responses: They respond angrily, they respond kindly and respectfully, or they don’t respond at all.

In the first case, you may get something that resorts to expletives. They may call you names. They may tell you to delete your blog or any other amount of nasty things. It’s very likely that your very attempt at kindness will anger this person! This is a troll/bully whose sole interest is to get you upset and get themselves attention. At this point, you can safely delete and ignore the messages without any guilt.

In the second case, you have a person with a genuine grievance who just happened to address it poorly. Both of you have a duty to humanity to resolve the problem respectfully and politely. You’ve avoided escalating the conflict, you may learn something new and you may even make a new friend!

This also applies to reaching out to someone for the first time. You see someone doing something you don’t like. Oh, it just makes you blind with rage!

Again. I’m going to advise you to stop. Take a deep breath. No one responds well to name-calling and being condemned. There’s a few techniques you can use (see if you can spot them in the template message):

Listen to their opinions

Actively ask to hear their opinion

Ask for clarification

Validate the way they feel

Avoid casting blame

(These techniques work a lot in real life, too!)

Again, there are some genuinely scummy people in life! But, there are many, many more ignorant people. A gentle pointer goes much further than yelling and screaming.

4. Analyzing a Message

We’ve all been there. We’ve gotten a message and we’ve panicked--do they hate me now?! Is this a troll message or genuine criticism?!

Again. Relax. Push aside your emotions and focus on the logical words as they appear before you. Ask yourself if you are reading a tone that doesn’t exist. For example, not everyone puts active thought into choosing between “ok”, “Ok”, “okay”, “Okay”, “ok.” etc. Sometimes an ok is just that. An ok.

Break the message into parts. Find the logical structures and decipher them piece by piece. Someone who throws some very hurtful words into a message may indeed have a point, despite coming off as very crude. Accept that different parts of a message may mean different things. The world is very complicated and multifaceted. Try to avoid sticking labels to things.

5. Fiction as Fiction VS Fiction as Reality

I’ve seen a lot of arguments floating around recently that seem to think that these two ideas exist in a vacuum. It’s simply not true. The ideas are entwined intrinsically--Fiction is both fiction and reality. Fiction was created to mimic reality yet extend it far beyond what can happen in the confines of reality. What happens in reality impacts fiction and what happens in fiction impacts reality.

This is undeniable.

Both of these ideas exist, and as the author it is your duty to figure out what that means for you.

You cannot hide behind Fiction as Fiction to ignore your responsibilities as an author.

You cannot hide behind Fiction as Reality to promote censorship.

Both of these ideas are far too simple for the complicated world we live in. A complicated concept requires complicated solutions.

Every word you write has an impact on the people that reads it. This is the very definition of writing. We use writing as a tool to share emotions. Extend empathy. We use writing to make people cry, to make people laugh, to make people angry.

To deny that this impact exists is to deny what writing is.

But censorship is not an option. Censorship prevents these stories from being told, and quite frankly, no one should have the right to decide what story should and shouldn’t be told, regardless of what is in that story.

What is the solution then? There is no easy answer.

6. The Author’s Duty

When you put words before another human being, it becomes your responsibility as a moral individual to give your best effort into ensuring that those words have a positive impact on the individual.

This doesn’t mean not making them cry. Or not making them upset. It means ensuring that the morals you impart on them are sound and logical.

How one achieves this is up to you.

In general, tone makes all the difference. Writing murder in a positive light versus writing murder in a negative light can drastically alter how the audience perceives your scene.

Empathy, too, can help sway your audience. If your writing must involve racist police officers stopping a young black man, make sure you delve into how unfair this is, how terrifying it is, how this needs to change. Do not normalize it. Do not let it go by without a somber note indicating your awareness of the topic.

Sometimes, the solution is to simply avoid the issue. There are certain topics that only some individuals should write about, and that’s just how it is. This isn’t to say that you can’t write about it, but keep that writing private.

Most importantly, do your research, and ask for help and keep an open mind. It’s a grave responsibility and you may not do it right and that’s okay! Everyone is capable of learning. Everyone is capable of changing.

7. Echo Chambers & Lateral Thinking

An echo chamber is a phenomenon where an individual’s exposure to certain topics becomes self-enforcing because they don’t see, or actively avoid, differing opinions.

Echo chambers are also exactly what happens when a rift this massive opens in a small community.

When Orange blocks Green and starts posting about it, all of Orange’s friends decide whether they agree or not. The overwhelming majority, due to peer pressure, will agree. Many of them will then block Green and the users directly associated with them. In retaliation, Green will defend themselves. Because Orange’s group had already blocked Green, Green’s friends only seen Green’s point of view and will rise in response to the perceived slight.

What results are two heavily biased groups of users that refuse to communicate with one another and many individuals swept into the mess because they don’t wish to be isolated.

Even worse, it turns a complicated and multi-faceted issue into a binary issue. Either you agree with Orange or you agree with Green. The world is not this simple.

Instead, I would encourage everyone to practice lateral thinking of their own accord. I would encourage you to make your own decisions, rather than blindly supporting or condemning the people around you. Everyone has their own opinions about what is or isn’t okay, and that’s perfectly fine. Even your closest friends will have different opinions than you.

8. Accepting Differing Opinions

Once you’ve accepted these different opinions (good on you!) what do you do now? Simply put, the choice is on you! There’s a few options:

Quietly accept it

Respectfully debate it

Avoid it

Escalate it

The first two are pretty obvious, and the third one is where blocking people and the blacklist comes in.

The fourth one is extreme and only recommended for activities causing active, known, measurable harm to other people.

This involves actively seeking a legal entity to handle the issue.

Being mean to people on Tumblr is not a solution. Tumblr is not a place to pursue a justice agenda. There are bigger issues in the world, and I encourage you to find ways to make a difference that will actually be fruitful. Donate to charities. Extend yourself as support to victims. Contribute to research.

Changing the mind of strangers on the internet is not a good use of your time.

9. Good Intentions (Pave the Road To Hell)

This has been a phrase for a very long time.

What does it mean?

Well, I’ll offer my own interpretation.

It means that people often become absorbed with the idea that they are doing the right thing and forget to be mindful of the true consequences of their actions.

It doesn’t mean to not do good things. It means that good is relative and not everyone will find your actions good. It’s important to keep an open mind and realize that just because you think something is good, doesn’t mean everyone agrees.

10. Being Mean is Fun (so do it in non-harmful ways)

Yeah.

It’s okay. You can admit it.

Being mean is fun!

If it wasn’t fun, people wouldn’t do it! In fact, this very blog was created because I found that writing the character being mean was very enjoyable and cathartic!

So, if you find yourself tempted to be mean to people in your life, maybe find another way to get those emotions out. Hell, people on tumblr just might appreciate you taking up a nasty, villainous character that’ll tear their character up...

People love angst. You can take this bad thing and twist it into something good.

11. Morality (Personal, Community, and Legal)

Bringing this long post to a close, I would like you all to end by thinking about what morality really is. In particular, I’d like you to think about morality on three different scales: Your personal morality, the morality of the community you’re in, and morals as described by laws.

You’ll find that these morals don’t overlap.

Or, at least they shouldn’t. Please revisit section 7.

Being aware of morality in these three ways may help you determine how to proceed when going forward.

Do I personally agree with this? Does the community I’m in agree with this? Do the laws have anything to say about this?

None of these are right. Everything has different morals, and it’s up to you to find the exact opinions that fit you.

Don’t let people blindly tell you how you should and shouldn’t feel about a topic, and don’t let people bully you into changing your morals to fit into their perceived moral high ground.

But at the same time, be open. Extend yourself to new ideas. If enough people tell you that something is wrong, it just may be time to listen.

Be you.

Be unique.

Be safe.

And above all, be kind.

Have a nice night, everyone. I hope we can all work to a brighter future.

#{}.{{ OUT OF CHARACTER }}.{}#{}.{{ IMPORTANT }}.{}#ok to reblog. }}.{}

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mechaspirit · 4 years

Photo

Finally manage to get my Dragon Raja MC’s (Mika) profile down. The template is credited to @schedelroma so thank you for that! ❤️🌙

In addition to that, I also added some relationship status and more details below since I can’t fit them all in the template. I might make more headcanons about Mika later, so feel free to ask me more about her if you like! Ask box or DM sounds good!❤️

Relationship status:

Allies: Luminous (Best Male friend/little brother figure), Caesar (Senior/Leader), Nono (Senior/Big Sister figure/2nd best female friend), Johann(Senior/Mentor/Romantic Crush), Finger (Friend at times), Eri (Friend/little sister figure), Renata(1st best female friend/foster sister), Chisei Gen, Colby (Pet dragon?…idk).

Enemies: Herzog (former foster father), Bonderev

Neutral: Chime Gen, Z(foster brother), Ming Z Lu, Mai Sakatoku.

Fun facts:

Mika’s family was killed when she was still a baby, by some group of people who are targeting hybrids. Her parents managed to send her to a safe place in a transportable pod before their last breath. Fortunately and unfortunately for Mika, Herzog found her in a pod and then raised her in the Black Swan Bay orphanage in Siberia, where she met Renata and Z.

The mark on her left eye is her birthmark. It sometimes glows along with her eyes when she activates her Talents/EX skills. Outside of Cassell College, she applies makeup to conceal it.

She has a high passion for music. Her main instruments are piano and violin.

She easily gets annoyed when people make fun of her height.

In training sessions or on missions, Mika is usually partnered up with Luminous. Johann is the one mentoring them.

Luminous is the one who introduces Mika to gaming and anime. Imagine his reaction when he first finds out that Mika doesn’t even know what anime is (well, she lives in a secluded part of Siberia. Can you blame her?).

On top of that, she doesn’t know what a host/hostess club is. You can tell that the guys really have a field day trying to explain that to her at Takamagahara.

Nono is the one who did Mika’s hair and took the latter to shopping. In addition to that, she adores her and sometimes hugs Mika, mostly when no one’s around.

Mika’s favorite spot was at the balcony outside of the Cassell Library where you can see the mountains, buildings, and the huge sky. She usually goes out there at night to watch some stars and it helps her calm her down when she’s feeling stressed or crestfallen. Perhaps the only other person who knew about her secret place is Johann, since he usually goes to the library to study and oftentimes saw Mika passing by over there.

Mika adores Erii mainly because of her cute personality.

One time when Luminous suggested leaving Erii at the palace behind since Death Servitors won’t attack her, Mika pulled out her gun, aimed it at him, and said “I will literally drill this bullet into your head before that happens.”

There’s some bad blood between Mika and Mai Sakatoku.

Colby is some sort of secret pet no one knows about yet.

Mika did start out as a GunSlinger, but as time has pass, she eventually requires magical powers that allow her to become a Reaper. I’ll probably create a fanfic of how Mika manages to acquire that power when I have time. But she switches these two classes back and forth, since being a Reaper requires too much of her energy. The spiritual Raven is named “Kuro”, while the Spiritual Cat is named “Luna”.

#dragon raja #dragon raja mc #profile #character profile #mika tsukishima #luminous #dragon raja luminous #johann chu #caesar gattuso #chen montag/nono #nono #chisei gen #chime gen #z #renata #lu mingfei

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thelonesgroup · 3 years

Text

Do YOU Have a Buyer?

Of course you have a buyer! It seems about everyone has a buyer these days who is searching diligently for a property. Often these buyers have missed out at least a couple of times in a multiple offer situation, are disappointed, deflated, and the agent has provided a glimmer of hope that they might be able to secure a home by sending a letter to local homeowners.

Before you do that, however, I highly suggest you have a plan, some rules around how that plan will be rolled out, and have a general buyer letter template ready to go that you can customize as your buyers' needs change.

Has the Buyer Really Stepped Up to the Challenge?

If the buyer hasn't been thoroughly vetted and approved, isn't being realistic about what financially it is going to take to buy a property, is going after properties that they really can't afford in this market and won't expand their search parameters, then the buyer HASN'T done their part. If they haven't, why are you spending your time and hard-earned money to send out a letter?

In my rulebook, Buyer not ready? Buyer not realistic? No letter!

Have a Strategy Session

If you have determined the buyer has indeed and will indeed do their part, before sending a letter, have a strategy meeting with the buyer about their expectations and targets, and then have a discussion that asks the “what if”s. What if you have a homeowner that is willing to sell off-market but they want to negotiate a price? What if the kitchen is in need of updates? What if during the inspection you learn that the roof needs to be replaced?

Starting the conversation with a homeowner who doesn't have their property on the market and with no photos to go by can be a challenge and you don't know what you are going to get. Having some good conversation ahead of time to make sure your buyer is prepared to complete a transaction in a non-orthodox way will save everyone time and money down the road. Some buyers may mistakenly think that because the seller is willing to work with them off-market they have a leg-up. However, I have heard of many a seller who decided that working with a demanding buyer just wasn't worth it but already had it in their mind to sell and decided to list on the open market, leaving the buyer standing there with their mouth open in surprise wondering what just happened.

No Throwing Mud

I have heard of agents sending out thousands of letters to homeowners all over the area. And then, who gets the calls? The agent! Who has to go meet with the homeowner to see if the home is even a contender? The agent! Who has to field the phone calls? The agent! And who has spent their hard-earned money? The agent!

Don't let the buyer dictate how this process is going to go. Indicate how many letters you are willing to send out at once and then give the buyer some homework to do. You can either get a list of properties that meet the criteria from a title company or your company or MLS may provide a service that allows for list generation and then have the buyers eliminate any houses they have no intention of buying. That may include entire streets or individual houses, but get them eliminating so you don't waste your time or money.

Don't Just Send a White Envelope

I literally just had one of my favorite agents, Rae Anne Catron, say this week that she got a listing because she sent a letter in a branded envelope. It was compelling enough for an investor owner to open, read, and make contact. If you have a brand, it begins to make a personal connection as soon as the mail is picked up. The chance you run by sending a non-branded envelope is that it isn't interesting enough to open and if they don't recognize you name, they may think you are trying to sell them an extended warranty to their car and toss it. Every letter you send is a marketing opportunity!

Get Specific!

The most successful letters don't just say, I have a buyer who is interested in a house like yours. Call me. The most effective letters offer some sort of proof that this buyer exists and may actually be a buyer prospect for that particular property. Something like:

"My buyer has recently moved here from Texas and her mother lives on 34th St. Her mother is aging but would like to stay independent in her home with her daughter living nearby. The buyer is looking for a single-story home, with at least two bedrooms on the main level. The buyer also needs a two-car garage. Public records show that your property checks all these boxes. However, the buyer is also looking for a home with mature landscaping, and from what we see from the street, it has."

In addition to indicating you have an actual buyer, these details also engage people's natural desire to help. Some agents who have used this letter have indicated that homeowner recipients actually reach out with suggestions of homeowners to contact and some pass the letter onto others.

Close Strong

It is important to keep to the topic at hand and not be tempted to throw in if you are interested in listing, give me a call. That negates the buyer's need and can turn the letter into a negative! Instead, focus the call-to-action back to the buyers:

"If you have thought of selling and would be open to allowing my buyers to walk-through your home and start the conversation around buying and selling, please give me a call or send an email. I would be happy to talk with you first to answer your questions as I realize this may be a different approach than what you are used to in a real estate transaction."

Letter-writing sounds like old-school marketing, but with homeowners being inundated with new-school marketing, old-school may be just what you need to stand out and get your buyer into a property.

Learn more about how reverse offers work with Denise Live! Reverse Offers - available only to Club Zebra Pro members. Not a member? Join this week and get your first month free!

What does a reverse offer look like in a seller's market? Rather than waiting for a seller to offer a listing, your buyers are ready to make offers on homes that aren't even on the market. Learn how it works, how to make a compelling offer, and how to protect your buyer when taking this alternative approach to finding listings at this week's Denise Live.

May 4th at 9:00 am Pacific

Open to Club Zebra PRO Members! Not a member? Join today and get a month for FREE!

CLICK HERE AND JOIN TODAY

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By Denise Lones CSP, M.I.R.M., CDEI - The founding partner of The Lones Group, Denise Lones, brings nearly three decades of experience in the real estate industry. With agent/broker coaching, expertise in branding, lead generation, strategic marketing, business analysis, new home project planning, product development, Denise is nationally recognized as the source for all things real estate. With a passion for improvement, Denise has helped thousands of real estate agents, brokers, and managers build their business to unprecedented levels of success, while helping them maintain balance and quality of life.

#buyers letter #buyer strategies #byers #creating a home listing #finding a home #letters #sellers market #real estate coach #Denise Lones #the Lones Group #Zebra Report #real estate #home buyers #working with home buyers

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ohshcfanficrandr · 4 years

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Welcome everyone to the OHSHC Fanfiction Recs and Reviews!

First off, I would like to thank anyone who interacts with this blog! This has been an idea that I have been toying around with for probably two months and decided to finally pull the trigger. And I would like to explain the reasons behind the conception of this blog.

Did you know that on FF.Net there are over 22k posted fics under the OHSHC tab and AO3 is almost up to 3k fics? That is a lot of love given to such a tiny fandom!

The more time I spend on Tumblr I have noticed that there was not a blog specifically giving fic recs and saw a gap that needed to be filled. Basically an online book club but for fanfiction! Neat, huh?

I’m not sure about most of you but I have made and met some pretty interesting and wonderful people who are keeping this fandom alive! And I want to be a part of those people! I want to share my love and appreciation for those who are pouring into and partaking in this beloved fandom. I want to be your friend and chat about all things OHSHC!

IRL I can bet most of us do not have people we can openly talk and gush about something we read or saw on Tumblr/FF/AO3 without feeling weird. But here on this blog I want this to be a safe space. I have sifted hours to find/save/read all types of OHSHC Fics!

Here’s the thing...we all have preferences and have a bias towards ships/character traits/AUs/story lengths/etc. Not every story recommendation is going to be my cup of tea nor yours. I do admit that I might not have enjoyed it but that is my opinion. There are certain things that I want to see in a story as well. But there are people out there who will enjoy the rec and this is for you!

Something that I don’t do is straight-up bash a story.

Why? Cause that is rude. In the review portion of each post, I include things that I liked, favorite lines or quotes, and things that I didn’t care for. Why, again? Because I think it is important to give you a reason why I did or didn’t like something. Positives and negatives. Each story was made with some level of love for the fandom and I appreciate that people were/are bold enough to post their work online. If it is a WIP, I suggest what I would like to see come next or any constructive criticism. Above all I just want to share my opinion and have a conversation with fellow readers!

Here is the template I use for every story.

Fic Recommendation:

Story:

Author:

Website: AO3 or FF.Net

Word Count:

Status: Complete or WIP

Last Updated:

Rating:

Author Summary:

Relationship:

Applicable Tags:

Review (Contains Spoilers):

Things That I Loved:

Things I Didn’t Care For:

Favorite Lines or Quotes From Story:

Would I Read Again?

I will include links to the author’s page and the first chapter of the story. Go! And Read it! Then come back and give me your own opinion! Tell me my opinion was trash! Agree with me? Let’s be critical thinkers!

Want me to read one of your favorites? Want to share some love with your favorite author/story and want others to know about it? Want me to rec and review something you wrote?

Send them to me!

My ask box will be open to your recommendations! All I ask is that you use this format.

Story Title:

Author:

Website Location: AO3, FF.Net, Tumblr

That way if they pile up I will be able to find your rec quickly and post!

But I will warn you now. I am really not a fan of crossovers and will probably not do a review on a fic if I do not have a good understanding of the other story that it is crossed with. You have been warned. (Sorry Recs is a OHSHC Purist)

I am so excited to interact with everyone!

I have created accounts on both FF.Net and AO3 so you can follow along with each story I review! I will Favorite (FF.net) or Bookmark (AO3) each story as a master list for each website. Give them a follow!

#ohshc #fanfic rec #recs #tamaki #haruhi #kyoya #hikaru #kaoru #mori #hunny #ouran hshc #ouran high school host club #OHSHCFanficRandR #Recs and Reviews

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akindoftarot · 4 years

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ATTENTION QUEEN FANDOM ARTISTS

I’m organising a fandom wide collaborative art project - creating a Queen themed tarot deck! I’ve organised general ideas of what each card will feature so that we get a good range of images and theres a connection to the meanings of each card but I can’t create all 78 art pieces on my own.

LINK

If you see this and aren’t artistically inclined please give it a reblog or share it with any artists you know. I’d love this post to reach as many artists as possible and I can’t rely on tumblr to show it in the tags or anything so I would love some extra help spreading the world.

Why A Tarot Deck?

Why Multiple Artists?

What Sort of Art?

The only times I may say you can’t depict a particular outfit or moment is if I’ve already planned it to be on one of the minor arcana cards but otherwise you’ll have free reign.

I Don’t Know Anything About Tarot, Does That Matter?

Distribution?

Of course something like Kickstarter is also an option I guess but, again, I’m still looking into all of this.

Time frame?

What Happens If Not Enough People Sign Up?

What Happens If Too Many People Sign Up?

I am surprisingly prepared for this scenario. Firstly there were a few ideas I was throwing around that didn’t end up being used in the final list so potentially we can create some alternate cards.

You Said There Would Be A List Where’s The List?

The Fool/s - Smile

The Magician/s - Queen

The High Priestess - Freddie in The Great Pretender

The Empress - Roger in The Great Pretender

The Emperor - Miami

The Hierophant - The Prophets Song

The Lovers - Freddie and Jim

The Chariot - Tour Bus

Justice - Present Day Bri

The Hermit - Older John

Wheel of Fortune - A Night At The Opera/Bohemian Rhapsody record

Strength - Ben Hardy

The Hanged Man - Highlander (or any of the queen songs featured in it)

Death - Bri in the Hard Life video

Temperance - Naked bicycle race

The Devil - Death on Two Legs

The Tower - Frank from News of the World

The Star - Rami Malek

The Moon - Gwilym Lee

The Sun - Joe Mazzello

Judgement - Adam Lambert/Q+AL?

The World - Made In Heaven/Tribute Concert

#queen #queen band #queen band art #queen fanart #freddie mercury #freddie mercury art #roger taylor #roger taylor art #brian may #brian may art #john deacon #john deacon art #adam lambert art #bohemian rhapsody #borhap #borhap cast #borhap art

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