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baeddel · 2 years

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@bireaucracy

how do you use anki?as in how do your formats your notes on there and review them? im curious

i talk about it a bit at the end of this post. up until now i’ve mostly been using it for language, and my process was like this: my class handout is divided into a grammar and a vocab sheet, so early on i’d make a double-sided card (called a Basic Reverse in the program; i put the Old English on one side, Modern English on the other) of the vocab with the definite article (sē mona, ‘the moon’; thanks @fall-doll for suggesting that approach!). this is a good way to start because OE is an inflected language, so the article carries a lot of information about the word. sē is masculine and singular, so i’m also learning that mona is masculine and singular, without actually trying to remember ‘what is mona’s case, gender, number, and so forth?’ on one card (which would be too much). later on when i had a bit of vocabulary i switched to short phrases either containing a new word or grammar concept (like hīe ālīesað þec, ‘they release you’—i’m learning the verb ālīesan, and contextualizing the nominative ‘they’ and accusative ‘you’ i already know). i try and keep phrases to three or four words; any longer and it was hard to learn, and then i’d just learn to recognize the sentence instead of thinking about the words and their inflections. the ‘minimum information principle.’

that’s all in one deck named Vocabulary. there’s another deck for OE named Grammar, which is where i put grammar rules i’d like to memorize. when i was learning adjectives for example i made Cloze cards for all the ending morpheme rules. the Cloze will present a sentence with a part of your choosing deleted. to differentiate the adjective rules from other sorts of rules i’d begin the card with the word ‘adjective’, then write the rule. for example, ‘adjective, the {{feminine}} {{accusative}} {{singular}} ends in {{-e}}.’ this makes four cards, each asking me to fill in one blank. this might be excessive, but each card takes a fraction of a second (since, unlike w/ the OE cards, i’m not also trying to pronounce them), so the cost of making cards isn’t very high.

philosophy is a lot like learning grammar. i’m not trying to pronounce anything, so the cards fly by... i’ll start every card with a citation of the book it’s from, so right now its Clatterbaugh 1999—this is so i’ll hopefully remember it not as a pure fact but as something one guy said, since after all i’ll probably memorize another guy who disagrees later on. i’ll normally use Cloze, but if the answer is enumerated i’ll use Basic (not reverse). my questions look like this: ‘Clatterbaugh 1999, Aristotle: {{form}} must preexist the efficient cause. [pg 13]’ this makes one card, and what i’m trying to remember is that (Clatterbaugh says that (Aristotle says that (Form has to preexest efficient cause))). why do i ankify that fact? it’s not that i think its so important; it just 1. forces me to remember Aristotle in connection w/ the book, 2. forces me to contextualize Aristotle’s four causes, stuff like that. the page number in box brackets is there incase i need to reference the book someday, i’m not memorizing page numbers. cards with enumerated answers look like this: ‘Clatterbaugh 1999, Scholastics: 3 causal accounts of God.’ answer: ‘1. deism, 2. occasionalism, 3. concurrentism. [pg 17]’ hope that’s useful!

edit: oh, and i use this guy’s settings. its a very minor change, which gives you a week to actually ‘learn’ a card (before it applies ‘ease’, the difficulty modifier) and spaces learned cards out a bit more. this is a minor change that i’ve found helpful. but all the studies on spaced reptition showing how effective it is are using out-of-the-box anki, so i don’t mess with it a lot. you can do some crazy stuff with customization though.

edit 2: oh yeah, also important—all of those decks are subdecks of a single deck called Overall. so i’m getting them all at the same time, which i think helps.

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keichanz · 4 years

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Koi no Yokan | 10

please note: in this particular au, the age when one is considered an adult is 20, not 18.

another note: after rereading this and making some minor edits, i realize some people might think that kagome opening up so soon after meeting him is frowned upon, but considering this particular notion a bit further, i have decided that i don’t give a fuck and i’m too lazy to change it a;dfjaijfhuliffc

AO3

She flashed him a quick, grateful smile before she scurried away, leaving the room to retrieve the necessary supplies and Inuyasha was stuck with that image in his head until she returned.

He had to concede that the wench was even prettier when she smiled, which brought about the question of just how the hell she’d managed to remain pure when living in a place like this. His guess was she couldn’t have been here for very long. He remembered Sen and how she seemed panicked when Miroku had been dragging her away, how she’d silently apologized while looking absolutely wretched and it didn’t take long to put two and two together. The other woman had been clearly protecting her from the lust of men, and he had to wonder why since it was inevitable.

Unless… Fuck, unless it wasn’t by choice—

The door opened and Inuyasha looked up to watch the woman close the door then pad back over to him, a basin of water in one hand and a basket of what looked like medical supplies in the other. She paused before him, bit her lip, and blushed.

“Could…could you move to the bed, please?” Her flush deepened. “S-so I can sit beside you and—um—”

Inuyasha tried not to grin at how easily flustered she got and wordlessly stood up before doing as she bade. Two strides and he sank down onto the mattress. It was hard and lumpy and he grimaced. God, she had to sleep on this every night? How the fuck did she get up every morning without doubling over in pain? Better yet, how the hell does she even get any sleep?

She saw his expression and smiled a little wryly.

“It helps if I fold a blanket beneath me,” she supplied, answering his silent questions as she sat beside him. “Though most of the time I still wake up feeling like a cripple.”

He snorted and her smile became a bit more genuine as she set down her supplies and dunked a cloth into the water she set beside her. The mattress was stiff enough that she wasn’t worried it would spill as she gently tugged his arm into her lap and began carefully cleaning it of blood, old and new.

They lapsed into silence, Kagome feeling strangely comfortable around this man she’d just met, and Inuyasha lost in thought as he quietly watched her work. Her touch was so gentle he barely felt any pain at all. By the time she’d finished cleaning and was ready to apply some kind of smelly concoction he could only assume was some kind of antiseptic, he couldn’t contain it any longer.

He had to know.

“Why are you here?” he asked lowly, staring at the top of her head with a slight frown.

She froze, her hands pausing and he saw her tense, her shoulders hunching. Her fingers twitched against his arm and he heard her suck in a sharp breath, but otherwise remained still.

He inwardly cursed. Shit, he’d made her uncomfortable again. The hanyou prince’s ears pinned and he sighed.

“Forget it,” he muttered, shaking his head. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t—”

“M-my parents,” she whispered and Inuyasha went very, very still. “…They died. About two years ago.”

She finished with the medicine and washed her hands with the water before grabbing a white square of cloth. She carefully pressed it over the cut, muttering an apology when he winced.

“They had both developed an illness of the lungs,” she continued and grabbed a roll of bandage. “And their decline in health was…it was terrifyingly rapid. My grandfather had died the year before of the same ailment, though he passed much quicker because of his age and preexisting conditions.”

Slowly she began wrapping his arm, aware of his gaze on her head, but she kept her own focused on his arm. Her hands were deft as she passed the bandage over and under again and again.

“Anyway.” She sighed and started securing the bandage with a knot. “My parents knew they were going to die. Before they passed, they asked my mother’s sister, my aunt, if she and her husband could take my younger brother and I into their home and care for us since I was eighteen and my brother only twelve. My aunt and uncle are bitter people with no children of their own and they never bothered to hide their disgust whenever Souta and I were in the room. Knowing that, I never understood why they’d agreed to take us in, at least until the day after my parents died and they came to collect us. They didn’t even give us any time to grieve before putting us to work on their farm.”

“They sound like uncaring assholes,” Inuyasha put in, unable to stay silent any longer as she told her story. “Not even giving you time to mourn your own goddamn parents? Callous and selfish.”

Satisfied with her handiwork, Kagome smiled dryly and started organizing the supplies to keep her hands busy. This next part was never easy to recall and she had to fight to keep from crying.

“I didn’t mind the work,” she went on, eyes on her hands as she fiddled with the damp cloth. “It distracted me and kept me from thinking too much about…things. Souta, on the other hand, wasn’t used to such arduous work and he messed up often. He was only twelve and wasn’t as strong as me, and he cried a lot. He missed our parents. H-he…ah…”

“You can stop,” Inuyasha reminded her. It was obvious this was difficult and he didn’t want her thinking she had to explain.

Kagome sucked in a breath and shook her head. “N-no, it’s okay. I’m okay.”

Inuyasha frowned, but didn’t object.

“A week passed before my aunt and uncle got tired of his constant slip ups and his crying, so they sold one of their cows and sent him off to some boys home in another town far away. I didn’t even get to say good bye. The people just showed up one day, bundled him into this fancy carriage, and took off. I tried to run after him, but my uncle held me back. I could hear him screaming for me, crying my name…”

She pressed a hand to her mouth and closed her eyes, trying to collect herself, feeling her eyes grow hot with unshed tears. She hadn’t forgiven her relatives for that and she knew she never would.

“Jesus,” the man next to her muttered and she glanced up to find him shaking his head in disgust. “That’s…fuck, I’m sorry.”

Kagome sniffled and tried to smile in thanks, but gave up.

“I have no idea where he is,” she confessed, her voice raspy. “They wouldn’t tell me what town, or what the home was called. I tried finding it myself, but…”

She sighed and shrugged, then lifted a hand to rub her eyes, wiping away any evidence of tears.

“I stayed with them for the next two years, working every day with hardly any rest. Then, on my twentieth birthday one week ago, before the sun had even risen, they came into my room and told me we were going on a trip. I’d learned by then not to question them so I said nothing and followed them out to the carriage. We traveled to the next town over, about a five-hour ride, and with no explanation whatsoever, they dumped me in front of this place and left without a backwards glance. Madam Kirina was the one that explained they’d sold me to the brothel, to her, and that’s…”

Kagome sighed, opened her eyes, and locked gazes with intense amber.

“That’s why I’m here,” she finished in a murmur and Inuyasha’s chest ached.

<<Prev || Next>>

Chapter Index

#koi no yokan #10 #inukag #inuyasha #inuyasha fanfiction #inukag fanfiction #keizfanfiction

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eddiethehead-uwu · 4 years

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✨My jojo ocs for a possible fan part I might actually write but I'm intrudicing them to you in a tag yourself style template✨

(warning: long post)

(warning: I know cringe culture is dead, but it might get cringy)

So basically the main gang is an upcoming metal band going on their first world tour, weird shit happens and this fan part's Jojo finds out things about her past she would have much rather not known, like her real lineage and all that, and, you know, more stuff happens

This part is set in the future, in a universe very similar to the original one, except for a few things like the uhhh reset not happening and some things going differently in part 5, in Morioh. Some of the characters below are related to preexisting characters, some are not

Ok I'm done here's the squad

🌟JOUKO HIGASHIKATA🌟

-the lion, the witch, and the audacity of this bitch

-can be super annoying and quite manipulative like 80% of the time

-super determined, will cut a bitch to get what she wants

-"danger is my middle name 😎"

-wants to be a rockstar but needs to calm the f down like where the hell do you think you're going with that attitude?

-stand: Motorhead (aka punchy ghost n. Uhhh I lost count)

🌺MOMOE NIJIMURA🌺

-shady and sly af ngl probably invented the 300iq impostor strategy for among us

-a freaking beast when it comes to guitars (shares Jouko's same dream)

-looks always upbeat and happy but has a pretty mischievous personality

-*crushes on basically anyone*

-gets distracted pretty easily

-stand: Judas Priest (aka Chomp Ghost)

👿REJ ANSELMO👿

-A N GE R Y

-will fight you if you disagree with her

-pretty careless, doesn't really care about others

-gets pissed off super easily

-like, my God, chill dude wtf

-can't say what happens to her next bc it would be a spoiler if I actually end up writing this fucking story

-stand: iron maiden (fkn shape-shifting metal object thing hehehhe knife girl)

💕YOKO SHISHIDO💕

-an actual angel

-definetly stoned 24/7

-super friendly, will help you with everything and will hug you if you need support

-just the chillest person ever

-druggie mom friend

-rip srr i had to

✨MIYAKO KAWAJIRI✨

-shy 👉👈😔

-always anxious of messing things up or hitting the wrong note on the keyboard while performing with the band

-basic math? Idk her

-only wears black and red

-never gets angry, bottles all of her frustration up and when she lashes out it's usually when her second personality (kameko) is dominant

-stand: digital love (LAZERZ GHOST)

🦇HIDEAKI KAWAKITA🦇

-annoying bitch 2: simp edition

-"you spilled lipstick in my black Valentino bag!?"

-loves Halloween a bit too much

-did I already mention he's a simp?

-can't shut his mouth for 2 seconds

-who even made him part of the band? Ah yeah right he's the only one with a driving licence

🔪ROCHELLE P. 🔪

-CEO of tragic backstories

-doesn't display any emotion and doesn't display any eyebrows either

-has definetly killed someone with no regrets

-2 stands!?? Nah mate

-"you have beautiful eyes" "thanks. They don't work."

-stand: Nightwish (W A T E R G H O ST)

-bonus: also gets followed around by Chariot Re- AHEM ALESTORM YES SHE NAMED HIM ALESTORM because she doesn't know his real name nor who the user is/was

-he just,, follows her. When she was 5 she gave him a feather and he kept it ever since lol ok I'll stop

🔥SANTANA🔥

-bruh he still alive

-R E VE N G E

-got tired of being left out of his master's shenanigans and being treated like dog shit

-if it wasn't obvious he holds grudges for looooooong times

-will kill you just with slurs

-wants to annihilate into oblivion his old master

-still undecided whether to give him a stand or not

Ok I'm done, this is the main cast, some of them are not gonna make it through, sorry already.

I want to start writing something for them because I have a long ass list of things that could happen and how the story could jnfold, but I'm not sure where to write it. Sooo idk

#jjba fan character #jjba oc #jjba ocs #jjba #jojo oc #jojo #jojo fan character

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corvidry · 4 years

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All About RP Icons For Beginners by Birdy

Hi OP, I’m not sure how experienced you are with all the nonsense surrounding the making and using of RP icons, so I’m gonna come at it as though you don’t have any experience with it at all and I’m sorry if that’s too simplified for you, but also if I’m gonna write many paragraphs about one topic I may as well make it accessible for as many people as possible ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This post goes into what tools are out there for the popular methods of finding/making RP icons in the first half and my personal methodology for choosing and using them in my RP for the second half. This is a very surface level answer to the question and is not meant to be an in depth tutorial for the more labor intensive aspects of the process, but if you guys want more information and can’t find it elsewhere, please ask and I'll know what I should be talking about next.

Also I’m also contractually obligated to mention to the masses that I do take commissions both for the drawing of RP icons and the service of capping, cutting, recoloring, and framing canon icons. Sometimes I even post batches of canon character icons for free on this blog so like,,,,, hit me up if you want. But!! You don’t need me, you can absolutely do all of it yourself!! I go into the broad strokes below.

Question 1: “How do you get icons?”

This is kind of a broad question and the answer depends on what your needs are. The right answer for you is gonna live in one of two camps

Find some that already exist that are free to use

Make them yourself / commission somebody else to make them for you.

What you'll choose is gonna depend a lot on your character first and foremost. The big determining factor in most cases is whether or not the face you want has been in anything you can take pictures of.

If you have a canon character who exists in visible media--

--you're in luck! The chances of you finding some resources that exist already is higher when you have a canon character who is in at least a few pieces of media. OP asked about Pearl from Steven Universe, and she's a great example of a character with a lot of resources. Searching for rp icons of a popular character will often yield packs of icons on Tumblr, Dreamwidth, Livejournal, etc. Most of these will be completely free to use or have very reasonable conditions for use (like credit the person who made them for example.) It's often a good first step to see what preexisting resources are available to you even if you still plan on making your own icons.

If you have an OC or a character that's not all that popular--

--you're gonna fall into the second camp. If you want icons, you have to have them made. So what are your options?

Help! My character appears in no media! What are my options?

If your character appears in no media you're in a tough spot. Different people approach this problem in different ways.

Face Claims

One option you have is to choose a face claim to represent your character. In roleplay a face claim or ‘FC’ is a person or character whose appearance you use for the physical description of your character. I personally am not big on doing this, I prefer drawn icons and I tend to RP as animated characters, but some people really like using celebrities and stuff to represent their characters. When I was playing Angus McDonald he hadn't appeared in any visual media yet, so I sometimes used Bryce Clyde Jenkins as the face claim for certain types of threads.

If you're somebody who likes to use face claims there are loads of resources out there for finding the perfect one, including here on tumblr. Try searching up RP Faceclaim Directory and playing around with some of the ones that pop up.

DIY RP Icons

The other option you have is to create those icons from scratch. Draw them yourself based on icons you like or commission an artist to draw some for you. If you can't draw yourself, I've seen some people get really creative with this. Some people create their character in the sims, dollmakers, or their favorite RPG and then take screenshots of that to use for icons. There's also no law that says every icon you use has to be your character's face. When I was writing a trashy mermaid AU I got a lot of mileage out of icons that depicted harbor and oceanic scenes with no actual faces. Get creative, go nuts, have fun.

Icons Aren’t That Important

The other thing to remember that icons are not a must in many RP circles. It's perfectly possible to have a great time and write cool stuff without any pictures at all. Depending on your platform of choice there are probably also other interesting ways you can make your posts unique to you by formatting the text or using symbols or emojis or otherwise denoting your personal style in text.

Help! My character appears in lots of media! How do I make icons?

Again, there are a million and one answers to this question and it really depends on what tools are available to you and what your preferences are. This section is not a tutorial but it will outline some of the options you can look into.

The icon making process is typically in 2 stages-- stage 1: get all your images of your character, and stage 2: edit all of those images into icons.

If you have access to the source material, any version of Photoshop, and software that automates the collection screencaps from video (KM Player, VLC, etc) you're pretty much gucci. You're gonna have no problem getting loads of nice icons in a reasonably short amount of time and there are a million different tutorials on how to use those things whichever way you prefer.

If you don't have access to those things you still have options.

You can still screencap things manually, and you can screencap in batches by holding down the windows key and pressing PrtSc any time you want to save an image. They should be saving to >pictures>screenshots unless you’ve set things up differently. It’s a good way to take a lot of screenshots without stopping in between.

( EDIT / UPDATE: to say that if you use automation for taking screencaps remember to turn that shit off when you’re not using because it oh mylanta it WILL continue to take images without you realizing. Figured out where all my disk space has been going with this rookie mistake, thanks OP)

Additionally, PhotoScape X is a really great little tool for windows and mac that I've never seen anybody talk about, but I use it sometimes and it's totally free with the exception of a few paid features I’ve never once needed or wanted. This program is not as efficient as using Photoshop but it has presets for cropping images easily as well as batch editing options for some basic borders and color retouching. While it’s not as powerful as Photoshop, you can get a lot done with it reasonably quickly compared to other choices. You can also take and edit snips of anything on your screen with it, which is really really useful if you don’t have access to the video or image files you would need on your hard drive for other version of this process. The program looks like this:

Also, not to be like a minimalist about it, but you can also just fucken use Microsoft Paint or whatever you have. Like, whatever, there’s no law. You graphics dont have to be comlpex or deep fried. Half of my icons have been made or edited in paint at some point. It wont be as fast as some of these other methods but a lot of us aren't out here making icons in batches of 100 at a time.

Anything that you can use to make smallish images of your characters face will work to make icons.

If you want more information about any of these methods of icon creation let me know and I’ll talk about them.

Question 2: “How do you make your icons ‘work’ in posts?”

I'm a little confused on what you mean by "make them work" so I'm gonna cover my bases here. I'm assuming what you're getting at is a sort of sense of cohesion in the icons I use, or having the "right" expression for the scene I'm writing. Either that or them not stretching and looking weird thanks to tumblr. I’ll get to both of those.

And before I go into my own rationale for icon choices I feel I should point out that a lot of people who aren't me do successfully manufacture cohesion out of their images by doing fun stylistic things like recoloring their images all the same way or putting cute borders and stuff around them or making them fun shapes, and that's totally something you can learn how to do if it interests you. I do this for icons commissioned by other people and I’m not against talking about how to do those things, but I don’t really bother with them for my own icons all that much. That stuff is all fun and it’s a neat thing you could get into that can make your icons all look really nice together.

BUT ANYWAY --

Since the character you asked about is Pearl, I’m going to focus on her. Nearly all of my Pearl icons are completely unedited and a lot of the credit I would have to give regarding icon quality goes to Pearl herself and the consistently good lighting that the show uses. I don’t have a huge need for editing or color retouching beyond making memes or whatever other goofy things I might be getting up to. Pearl is extremely expressive compared to other characters I have written and since she's in nearly every episode, I've managed to collect…

...oh god, that’s too many icons.

Pearl is a main character and I've been RPing as her for over 6 years now so I have a fuckload of images to choose from and I'm not gonna pretend that doesn't help when I wanna “make things work”. She gives me a lot of options.

That said, you absolutely don't need 3000 images to make a good post. The way I've collected and organized these images may be of use to you even if you dont have as many icons. I've done a lot with my setup to make finding the right icon very easy.

For starters, a minor subset of my Pearl icons are grouped by a particular defining feature. I have one large Pearly folder full of icons and then a few smaller folders inside for icons I thought worth grouping separately. For example, all icons of SUF Pearl in her new jacket are in the same folder. All icons of Pearl in short term alternate outfits are in the same folder. Anything I sourced from Attack the Light is in its own folder. I do this with anything that has a very specific use, such as writing AU content or flashbacks to specific time periods. If I can picture an icon in my head, I usually know where in my ridiculous hell collection to go to find it.

This folder was originally just for her pre-canon outfit but now all of her outfits that only appeared temporarily are in there.

Perhaps more important for the sake of cohesion is that nearly all of my icons that aren’t squirreled away in some smaller folder are loosely arranged by episode. What that means is that most of the time I have icons from the same scene right next to one another. It makes it incredibly easy to make my RP replies appear as though it's all one cohesive scene even if I use more than one icon. When you do it this way it becomes very easy to choose icons that have the same lighting or that appear to lead from one expression seamlessly into another. Exhibit A:

While the vast majority of my icons are numbered, I do take the time to name ones I find myself using a lot or that have particularly unique expressions. Usually I'll choose names that I'll find descriptive or easy to remember based on the context of the icon. You can have a lot of fun with that and never lose your favorites.

Also don't be afraid to lean on icons you got from weird places if you like them. The icons of Pearl from the official comics run don’t look like most of what I have. I think them being different would turn a lot of RPers off, but I use them a lot because I like the style and I almost never see other Pearl RPers using them. It either makes me stand out or it makes me tacky, one of the two, haven’t figured out which, but also I’m not stopping.

And just to reiterate, you can use icons that aren’t your character if they’re thematically relevant or vague enough to look like them. When I’m capping I’ve started saving a folder of miscellaneous environments of interests, hands, and other everyday types of scenery that appear in the thing I’m taking screencaps of.

You can use any size you want for RP icons but the most common is 100x100 or 150x150 pixels. Any smaller than that and the image gets to be difficult to read and work with in my opinion. That doesn’t stop people, of course, but I’m elderly and need glasses now, so no tiny icons for me. On that note, I rarely see RP icons larger than 300x300. Any larger than that it tends to get bulky and be in the way of other people’s comfortable internet browsing experience, especially on mobile. Of course, these are just my suggestions. What you choose will ultimately be up to you, but somewhere in that 100 to 300 px range is pretty safe.

A very tumblr specific thing to know is that any image that is wider than 300 pixels will be stretched to hell, so you probably want to keep it smaller than that.

Thanks, Tumblr, I hate it!

Also, don’t be afraid to make trash images for fun if you’re so inclined. People love that, or at least I do. Not having the right icon can be fun and lead to a very silly solution. Lean into being a shitposter if that’s what you’re called to do.

So yeah, that’s basically what my suggestions are. Collect your images in a way that helps cohesion and ease of use. Keep them a good size. Don’t be afraid to get unconventional with your choices or make memes or whatever. It’s all for a fun time.

Anyway, that’s all I can think of right now, but more info on any of this can be obtained at the price of one ask, I know it was a lot of different moving parts.

#rp #rp icons #birdy answers #my graphics #my icons #long post

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whumping-every-day · 5 years

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Gabriel: Nightmare

I could work on my preexisting projects, you say?? I could finish my unfinished drabbles? Nah. Let’s have a new thing I threw together with no planning or editing instead, bc in this house we die like men.

My eternal thanks to the Gabriel Gang, y’all have been so patient with me!

@robinshouseofwhump @pepperonyscience @angelsuperwholock @pennsss @silver-sparrow-462 @silverinkgoldenquill @kestrelsparverius @learningtowhump @shameless-whumper @latenightcupsofcoffee @what-huh-imconfused @vickytokio @captivity-whump @pink-and-purple-flowers @gonna-feel-that-tomorrow @adventuresofacreesty @kyra-plays @whumpywhumper @blue-flare10 @whumptywhumpdump @whumpywhumper @maybeawhumpblog @fallingstormphoenix @thingsthatgo-whump-inthenight @infreidel @shadowicepuma @justanothermaltesegirl @whump-in-the-night @theawesomeawkward @promptnations @ whumpity--whump--whump @maraudersmarvelwhump @haro-whumps @whumposaurus @deluxewhump @nervous-writer @thebluejayswhump @cagefreebirds @doublebubblebitchqueen @promptnations

Masterlist

Gabriel doesn’t know where he is.

The world feels fuzzy at the edges, like he’s seeing everything through a fog. Then abruptly, he’s on his knees – had he been pushed? Where is he? Gabriel’s head lolls against his chest, but he lifts it with difficulty, whining his confusion.

He’s outside. There’s the smell of pavement, motor oil, cigarette smoke. It’s cold; he’s shivering.

Gabriel squints up at the person above him, and his heart leaps when he sees his Master – not the first two men to own him, not the ones who had beat him and tormented him with no purpose. This is his Master, and beside him is Gabriel’s Mistress. Her jaw is set and her eyes are cold.

Tires sound on gravel, and the realization starts to sink in that something is wrong.

“Is this him?”

The words ring with memory, but they’re in the wrong voice, and they don’t bring him a sense of comfort, but of fear.

“This is him,” Stefan answers, and Gabriel’s heart sinks.

There’s a stranger approaching from the parked car, and his face is difficult to distinguish. He’s tall, and frightening, and Gabriel shrinks down against his Master’s legs. Master will protect him, surely--?

“God, that’s disgusting.” His Mistress’s voice is so full of disdain, it’s almost unrecognizable. “Look at it, clinging like that. Come on, Stefan, shake it off so we can go home.”

What?

Gabriel’s breath is starting to come faster, panic and terror overloading his senses.

They couldn’t be – they wouldn’t.

Were they selling him?

“Hand over the money, then,” Master says, and Gabriel lets out a terrified sob.

“Please, no, no, Mast-nng-!” Stefan silences his begging with a vicious backhand, and Gabriel reels, tasting blood.

“I’ve got the money right here,” the stranger says, as if nothing had happened. Something gets passed across over his head, and then Mistress lays a hand on his head. Gabriel looks up to her with a piteous whine, begging wordlessly for any scrap of her usual gentleness. But she only purses her lips and shakes her head.

“Go on now,” she tells him. “Go be good for him. We’re done with you.”

When Gabriel whimpers and hesitates, he gets a kick to the ribs with one of Mistress’s sharp heels.

He goes sprawling in the gravel, and the stranger bends down and reaches for him, a sharp grin painted across his features.

“No!” Everyone looks as surprised as Gabriel feels, but his throat stings with how loudly he’d screamed it, and even the stranger has halted his approach.

Gabriel flings himself away, and then claws his way back to Mistress and Master’s feet.

“P-please, please,” he whimpers. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, don’t make me go with him, please – I’ll do better! I’ll do, I’ll do anything you want, please, Master, a-and, and – Mistress, I’m sorry, I’ll be better, I’ll be, please keep me, please-!”

Something slams down on Gabriel’s fingers, and it takes a long moment for the pain to register.

When it does, his keen of pain is nearly drowned out by the stranger’s laughter.

“Well, boy, I gotta say, that was real pretty.” The man crouches over him. “But we’ll be getting to that on our own time.” Mistress removes her heel from Gabriel’s hand, and his stomach twists viciously at the sight of his broken, twisted fingers.

The stranger grabs him by the collar and hauls him upright, and Gabriel chokes on his cry of pain.

“Please,” he mouths, but only the first half gets air. His eyes are turned pleadingly to his Masters – the only Masters he’s ever loved, even if he feared them too. Please, he tries again, but their faces are impassive. Mistress just shakes her head, and Master holds Gabriel’s eyes for a long, cold moment, before they both turn away.

“NO!” Gabriel shrieks, and he goes wild in the stranger’s arms. “No! Master! Please, no- Mistress, don’t leave me here, Mistress-! Please, don’t leave me here-”

He’s screaming his voice raw, and it hurts, in a way that everything up until then hasn’t. It’s strange enough to give him pause – his fingers hurt too, but it’s muted, far away. But he’s screaming, loud and hard, and he can feel that, tearing out of his throat like something living.

He’s being shaken, Gabriel realizes. The stranger, the man they’d sold him to, he’s shaking him – but Gabriel blinks, and suddenly the surroundings have changed.

“Gabriel? Gabriel, sweetheart, you’ve got to wake up. Wake up, honey, it’s just a dream.” Gabriel blinks again, utterly bewildered. That’s Mistress’s voice, but he’d just seen her turn him away… his side still hurts from her heel. “Come on, sweet boy. You’re dreaming. You’re right here with Stefan and I, you’re safe.”

Gabriel scrunches up his face in a frown, and everything dissolves around him.

The hands shaking him seem to change, somehow, and then it’s his Mistress gripping his shoulder, features drawn in concern.

“Gabe? Buddy?” Gabriel turns his head, and there’s Master, hovering beside the bed.

The bed? Where—what?

“You had a nightmare, sweetheart,” Mistress is murmuring. “It wasn’t real, none of it.”

Gabriel tries to pull in a breath, and it turns into a hiccuping sob.

“Please,” he cries. It’s so easy to keep begging, because even if he’s awake the terror hasn’t gone away, the dream seems so real, so close, and one of these days they might decide they’ve had enough of him—“Please, I d-don’t, I don’t want to go,” he sobs. “I’ll be better, I p-promise, please, please, l-let me stay.” He’s crying, and it comes in big, ugly gasps.

“Hey, hey,” Master says softly. “Easy, sweetheart, it wasn’t real…”

And then Mistress; “We’re not sending you away, little one. But you’ve got to breathe.”

Is he not breathing? The words barely penetrate the fog, but everything gets a little clearer when he drags a breath into his lungs and then lets it out. He’s trembling, and he takes in another breath, trying to still the shaking in his core.

“Please,” he whimpers one last time. His head feels like it’s spinning, and the dream is lurking so nearby, hanging over his head like it could rise from the shadows of the room. It would be so easy for his Masters to get rid of him – and they have so little reason to keep him. What has Gabriel even done since they’d bought him to deserve to stay?

A weight settles on the bed next to him, and then he’s being gently guided into Master’s arms. Gabriel folds into it like paper, and he whimpers and clings back when he feels Mistress take his hand. The mattress dips as she joins them, and she pets through his hair and rubs his back as he cries into Master’s shoulder.

“Please, I’ll be good,” he sobs, over and over. “Please k-keep me, please.”

It’s late; the clock on the nightstand reads three in the morning, and Gabriel’s tears come faster when he realizes that he must have woken them both up. But their touch is gentle while they soothe him, and Gabriel latches onto it selfishly.

It’s another fifteen minutes before he’s calm enough to articulate the source of his distress.

“Oh, sweet boy,” Mistress says sadly after he tells them about his dream. Gabriel sniffles and doesn’t meet her eyes. He feels so small in Master’s arms, and he doesn’t want to lose this feeling of safety. He’s so tired of being afraid… and he’s so tired of not knowing if he’s been good enough, not knowing if he’s been well-behaved enough to stay.

“We would never do that to you,” Master mutters, and there’s conviction in his voice. The man gently brushes a bit of hair out of Gabriel’s eyes, then cups the boy’s cheek, and Gabriel leans into it shamelessly. There’s still so much fear in his eyes, and Stefan knows that it may never fully go away. There’s too much pain there, too much trauma. But this, at least, is something the two of them can help with.

“You’re not going anywhere, sweetheart,” Maria murmurs. To anyone else, the words could easily be threatening – but Gabriel has a way of showing raw gratitude with just his eyes.

“Tha-ank you Mistress,” he whispers wetly. “I want, want to be g-good, please…” The boy is tired; it’s obvious in the bags under his eyes, and the way he struggles to remain present in the moment. “Want to be good so, s-so you’ll keep me…”

The two siblings exchange a look over his head, and they both carry the same sadness.

“We’re always going to keep you, little one,” Maria murmurs, and Gabriel whimpers softly and clings to her.

They settle down on the bed after that, Mistress on one side and Master on the other, and Gabriel half on top of Master’s lap, leaning against his Mistress’s side. Everything is warm and sleepy and soft, but Gabriel can’t sleep yet, not with the memory of his dream so close. He’s still holding on too tight, like if he lets go, all the kindness will be ripped away.

He sniffles again at the thought, and Mistress presses a kiss to the top of his head.

“You’ve been such a good boy, sweetheart.” Master’s voice is quiet, but it still rumbles under Gabriel’s ear, and he can feel it all the way in his bones. He draws in a quavery breath.

“We know this is a lot,” Mistress adds softly. “But you’re doing wonderfully.” She gives him a gentle squeeze, and something fragile and terrified stirs in Gabriel’s chest.

He wants to believe them. He wants to stay.

“Nnn, hnm, n-not gonna, not gonna s-send me away…?” It’s timid, like asking the question might be enough to decide the answer. Gabriel’s eyes are big and scared when he lifts them to Maria’s, then over to Stefan’s, and the naked desperation there is like a kick to the gut. “ ’m still, still yours?”

There’s hope in his eyes now, too, fragile as glass.

“Yeah, bud,” Master murmurs, after just a beat’s hesitation. “Still ours.”

It’s vaguely reassuring, but Gabriel seeks out his Mistress too, waiting for her answer.

“Of course, sweetheart.” There’s sadness in her expression again, but Mistress smiles at him and kisses his cheek, pets her fingers through his hair. “You’re our good boy,” she murmurs. She gently wipes a stray tear away with her thumb, holds his eyes for a moment. “I want you to feel safe and secure with us,” she says firmly. “So if you need to… if you need to know that you’re ours. To feel safe.” Her hand settles on the side of Gabriel’s neck, traces her thumb over the fluttering of his pulse. “If you need that, then we can remind you.” She gives the gentlest little squeeze, and Gabriel whines softly and slumps against Stefan.

“Thank you,” he whispers, and his expression is awed. “Th-thank you, Mistress, and, and Master, thank you.” It’s for more than just the comfort, and he hopes that they understand. Gabriel’s not good, he’s never been good - but they are so patient with him, so gentle... and he wonders if maybe this time he could be.

The space around his throat still feels empty, like it has ever since his former Master cut the collar off. His new owners haven’t given him one of their own yet, and Gabriel wonders if that should frighten him. But the memory of Mistress’s palm covering that same skin is fresh in his memory, and oddly enough it settles him.

He was never good enough for his former masters. But maybe this time, if they help him, maybe he can be.

Gabriel drifts off to sleep like that, curled up in their arms, and the nightmares do not return.

#whump #begging #crying #nightmares #fear #conditioning #gabriel whump series

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solacefruit · 5 years

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Coucou, get well soon! As for a distraction—What is your preferred method for creating and fleshing out characters? Do you write bios and edit them throughout your writing process as you "discover" protagonists & their crew? Do you just get to know your characters in situ? Do you answer Meyers & Briggs tests for characters, despite their unreliability? Hope this 'age-old' question is broad enough for you to be sufficiently entertained. ;)

Hello there! Thank you for the well-wishes. I’m thankfully over the worst of it now and coherent enough to attempt answering this question!

At Ailuronymy, I used to give feedback on people’s character bios--and I hated it. It took me a long while to figure out exactly why, but in the end I realised: they feel artificial and I don’t think they’re useful. I’m fine with a reference sheet--i.e., that bit of paper that has eye colour, family tree, whatever facts you need to keep straight to stop from accidentally giving your character a changing eye colour, or gender (Erin Hunter, looking at you)--but I get funny about the concept of a bio, and I think that’s because people often try to describe personality in-depth there. And that just doesn’t sit well with me. I’m fine with “chipper, self-conscious” or “quick-tempered but loyal,” but once you go more detailed than that, I start feeling skeptical.

The thing is, I have this sort of weird little belief that I don’t actually get to decide my characters’ personality. Not really. I can go into a piece with a collection of traits and historical facts and personal choices in mind, and write those, and I can be satisfied with the results and think, “Nice, I wrote someone smart and kind”, but who a character is I think is ultimately decided by who reads them and not by who writes them. It’s that old thing of show, don’t tell: you know Sherlock Holmes is clever because you watch him solve a robbery, not because John Watson tells you he’s clever. I feel like the logical conclusion of that is that I will write a character and then, to find out who they are, the right thing to do is ask the reader. I can say, “My character is clever” as many times as I want, on the page and in my own head, but unless my reader is convinced by the story I’ve told, my character isn’t clever. I have no idea if this makes any sense, but I hope it does!

As you can imagine, with that kind of outlook, Myers-Briggs doesn’t do much for me: I don’t find it helpful as a tool for making fiction. I think personality (on the page and in real life) is too fluid and too determined by perspective to be labelled like that. But, like everyone, I’ve taken the test a few times in my life and every time I get INTJ, which is apparently “hyper-nerd, oh my god, for once in your life shut up shut up” and that seems right apart from the whole not-social thing (I am very gregarious as a person) so I don’t know. Anyway!

My absolute all-time favourite method of making characters is actually through conversation with friends. Literally talking them into being with another person, bouncing questions and making suggestions, testing things out and then at the end you have this wonderful, vibrant character who feels weighty and real. Unfortunately, this isn’t something I get an opportunity to do all that much (at least at the moment), so my usual solitary method is a lot more... [hand-wave-y]. I find creating characters in isolation pretty challenging, because I’m at an awkward stage in my writing trajectory where my taste has outranked my ability, so I tend to shoot down ideas before they’re even half-formed. When goofing with someone else, the casual atmosphere and fun of it means the inner editor tends to take the day off.

The rest of the time, depending on what I’m doing, a character will either start coming to me in fits and bursts while I’m writing and some moments or ideas will just click and I’ll keep those or I’ll come up with a very loose, janky Frankenstein’s monster of character concepts and vibes and feel around in that space--sort of a mental, emotional moodboard, I guess you could say. Sometimes both! Recently, I’ve tended to steal a lot from preexisting characters I already love and then roughly stitch them together and hope eventually once they’re set loose in the story, they’ll gain a life of their own for real and no-one will ever know the truth.

Discovering a character through writing has been the most successful approach for me so far as far as fleshing someone out, though, regardless of how I created them in the first place. I’ve found it pretty liberating to let go of the illusion of control when is comes to characters’ personalities and instead I try to focus my time and effort on creating satisfying moments between characters.

So yeah! At the end of the day, I feel there’s only two pieces of paperwork you need for a character: the cheat-sheet so you remember their mum’s name, and the story itself. Everything else is... frippery, basically.

#reply #personal #thoughts #i don't think there's anything wrong with writing out a ton of behind-the-scenes stuff and world-building and character history #but i'm always very wary of the line between 'legitimate useful work' and 'creative procrastinating because it's easier than writing'#i think it can be way too easy to mistake one for the other and spend your time not working on your story and going nowhere.#i am probably on the more spartan side of things these days because of that. world-building is a whole warren of distractions.

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catrector · 5 years

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Character Creation Tag

Thanks to @gloria-russell for tagging me! It makes for a perfect distraction from other responsibilites ;D And also Cara sounds awesome! I can’t wait to hear more! I’m going to do Sigyn, because she’s one of the few characters that were created from scratch. 1. What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.?

The Why. Sigyn exists in surviving Norse Mythology as a bit of a trope. She serves a single purpose in a single myth, to hold a bowl over Loki’s head and prevent him from suffering. But why? She’s his wife, but we don’t know if it’s a good marriage or bad, or why she’s willing to suffer with him. I started writing because I needed to know more about her. 2. Did you design them with any other characters/OCs from their universe in mind? I had to. Almost every other character has preexisting character traits because it’s based on mythology. She couldn’t overlap too much with other characters or fit the stereotypes of other Gods. She had to be a realistic match for Loki in some way while still being an autonomous character that wasn’t built to just serve a relationship role.

3. How did you choose their name?

I didn’t :D

4. In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?

I ran through different versions of Sigyn through the drafts but the most consistent thing is that she’s always in the shadow of this Pantheon of Gods. How do you leave a mark next to the might of Thor and Freya? How do you carve out some glory for yourself?

5. Is there any significance behind their hair colour?

Not really, but also yes? In the Viking era, people used to wash their hair with soap that had lye in it, which would slowly bleach their hair blonde. Many of the Goddesses were/are imagined as blonde, so I wanted to go in another direction. There’s a whole tiny backstory about Sigyn’s mother being from ancient Egypt, so I’ve built her appearance around that.

6. Is there any significance behind their eye colour?

Same as above

7. Is there any significance behind their height?

Nope

8. What (if anything) do you relate to within their character/story?

Her need to carve out something that’s hers, something that she earned.

9. Are they based off of you, in some way?

I think all my characters take a trait of mine in some way. Sigyn probably has one or two XD 10. Did you know what the OC’s sexuality would be at the time of their creation?

I did. Loki could never be defined as straight and I wanted Sigyn to be able to understand that part of him. So she’s not straight either ;) 11. What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: Writing, drawing, edits, etc.)?

What I find most difficult is that Sigyn is hard to write compared to the rest. Loki and Thor and Freya are somewhat prebuilt, while Sigyn is all my creation. Sometimes she doesn’t feel as fleshed out for the reason, or maybe that’s my inner critique talking.

12. How far past the canon events that take place in their world have you extended their story, if at all?

Somewhat on either side. I know what happens before and what happens after, to a degree. But I also don’t know what her favourite meal was when she was five, so *shrug*

13. If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be?

1. Be consistent! The story takes place over years and Sigyn of Day 1 is not Sigyn of Ragnarok.

2. Sigyn is not a plot point to move the rest of the characters along. It can be difficult when at least 50% of the plot is myths that need to occur in a certain way. But it’s also first novel issues I think, making sure the plot doesn’t drag her along kicking and screaming XD

14. What is something about your OC that can make you laugh?

Sigyn definitely isn’t the comic relief in this story, since she’s got Loki for that. But I get a chuckle out of her ability to deny herself things. Like girl just stop and let that wall down instead of running circles to avoid admiting it.

15. What is something about your OC can make you cry? Her circumstances by the end of things. Phew.

16. Is there some element you regret adding to your OC or their story?

There are lots of elements I’ve added or removed over this long process. Ask me again when it’s published haha

17. What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

That she’s probably a bit too serious for her own good ;)

18. What is your favourite fact about your OC?

I love her tenacity. No matter what happens, she sticks with things. She’s been chasing her dream for much longer than I would have. Though whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing... who knows.

I’ll tag @therska @cometworks @bookishdiplodocus and whoever else wants to do it!

#Writeblr #tag games #Goddess of Nothing At All #Writing

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ryukyuan-sunflower · 6 years

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Edit: So amazingtoysha asked me advice for writing in a message which I posted a little while ago...and responding to the question gave me limited space apparently. So here is the full post of all the advice I wanted to give!

“Hiya! Thank you very much for reading Finding the Four Eyed Samurai. I am glad you enjoyed it thus far. Oh! Well...I’m far from a professional. My fanfiction, if it were a story unaffiliated with Samurai Champloo, would still break so many guidelines of professional published work. Perspective switching between Mugen and Fuu, purple prose, grammar, info dumping... My sins are extensive. This story is more like spewing out my heart onto the internet for fans that enjoy it :) You probably have seen the improvement over my 6 year period on fanfiction. I too am learning. However, if you are talking about just creatively writing for fun, practice, to send a message or even to just fulfill an inner fan, maybe I can give some advice. Some of the things I write will most definitely be things you already know but I’ll list them anyway. Since you mentioned you have trouble putting things into words, rather than plot points or characters, I’ll focus on that. 1. Start with small details and build up slowly. My writing process is actually very disjointed. I can not for the life of me write a story in order. I write all character dialogue first and fill in around it. When I first write a scene, I will simply start with something like: “She walked through the marketplace.” That’s it. Boring right? I will leave it for a bit if I’m stuck and move along to continue the scene in simple terms. When i come back, I start to imagine more if I were in that environment. This is where I think of the five senses. What would she smell, see, hear, touch or even...taste(?) lol. But when writing a scene, I also try to think about the mood it sets. If the character is feeling happy, the crowds will be rambunctious, the lights bright and the sights they see are fascinating. If they are hungry, it would be the smell of food that would command their attention. If the character is tired, the clamor and loud voices would grate on their nerves and the lights would be blinding. In the chapter I’m currently writing, Kyoto is much like Edo in that it is crowded and always lively. But because of the last chapter’s events...she can’t take notice of this energy. Without Mugen beside her, the crowds only make her feel more alone. So not only does the atmosphere set the mood, but a character’s mood can help you pinpoint what you should be describing in the environment. 2. Study! Read and read and read some more. This is advice I should listen to... Published novels, and sometimes even fanfiction can help you get a grasp on the flow of a story. You’ll also pick up words or descriptions that you wouldn’t have used otherwise. You’ll start to notice how the sound of a word in English can hold great weight. Think of how it comes off in the sentence: She scratched off the wallpaper until she could see the wood beneath it. She clawed at the wallpaper until she could see the wood beneath it. “Scratched” can be used in so many contexts. Is she redecorating? Is she curious what is underneath? “Clawed at” makes it feel frantic, like she is searching for something in a frenzy or perhaps is furious and clawed it off out of anger. It applies an uneasy feeling without stating it outright. There is a common phrase among writers. “Show, don’t tell.” Show the character is upset through the clenching of their fists, the quiver of their lips. Dont just say “She was upset.” Personally, I am a HUGE HUGE breaker of this >.< But it is a very important rule if you wish to get better at describing. 3. More studying!!! As much as every writer will tell you to read, I think it is good to look at visual forms of entertainment too. For example, if I had only watched Samurai Champloo as my basis for Tokugawa culture, my view would’ve been severely limited. If you want to write a samurai drama: watch black and white chanbara films, watch modern day shows about Japan, documentaries, look at photographs or paintings, read comics, and even play video games like Tenchu or Onimusha that will give that vibe of the time period. Reading is good for molding thoughts into words. But if you’re writing about an environment you are unfamiliar with, you need to SEE it before you can describe something believable. I had watched a lot of Japanese movies and played a lot of Japanese videogames before writing my fanfic. It helped so much. 4. Take notes. A lot of friggin’ notes.

Sometimes the right wording just won’t come to you when you put time aside to sit in front of your laptop or a notebook trying to write it all in one go. Like I said before, I don’t write in order at all. Some people can. And some can’t. I keep a notebook and pencil by my bed in case I have any dreams. I even carry one in my purse wherever I go. Sometimes a sentence or a really good word will just hit you all of a sudden. If you are writing a very long story, you will make tons of notes and will find you won’t even use half of them until you’re in way later chapters. An example for me was in the last posted chapter. I was writing chapter 28 or so when parts of this line popped into my head out of nowhere: “To him, she smelled of fresh rain and sweet spring flowers. To her, he reeked of sake and the cheap perfume from the whore he’d bought.”

At the time, I had gotten caught in rainstorm. And I always liked the scent of rain a lot. This made me think of how much I hate the scent of perfume since it makes my nose hurt. This contrast unveils both of their feelings. Intoxicated Mugen adores her while Fuu is disgusted by his recent behavior. One little thought and bam! Jotted it on paper and then put it into Chapter 34. An idea can come from literally anywhere. So write it down and save it for later! 5. Keep an open mind. It is good to know where your story is going by the end or you’ll wind up lost halfway through. Despite that, don’t reject new ideas that come to you. My story was originally going to be 26 chapters. If I had pushed out all the crazy side stories my mind concocted, then it would’ve lost so much of what readers enjoy about it. Don’t be afraid to make your characters go through and overcome struggle. If there is a sweet scene that will help further a relationship, put it in. Build up ideas and cut out extraneous things later. 6. Know that it will not be perfect. It will be far from perfect. Story might be decent. Description might even be bad. Maybe it’s the reverse. But that is okay. If you’re a beginner writer, Fanfiction is a great way to start, in my opinion. While you are writing preexisting characters, it is like a studying exercise. You can build around them, and try to understand why the characters are the way that they are or what drives them. This can help in the future when designing your own characters and world in which they inhabit. 7. Share your story! Don’t hide it! Some will compliment you and others will criticize you. Sure, almost everyone on fanfiction isn’t some paid professional. But the feedback will really help. It will push you. A nice compliment will make your day. A bad one will push you to do better. When publishing a book, you have to write a whole manuscript and pay for editors. And if you’re beginning, you probably won’t even want to start that process. That’s why writing fanfiction as a form of practice can allow you to share what you put your heart into instead of locking away your story to a forgotten file on your computer. 8. All that matters is that you are trying, learning and will gradually get better. Almost everything in life does not come easy. The idea you have for a story is 10% of the work, while sculpting that idea through words is 90% of it. My Samcham fanfic when I started was...god...ughhhhhhh. Sometimes I still cringe XD However, I know that it helped me learn so much, not just about vocabulary, storytelling and history, but also about myself. 9. Don’t stop writing. You will get days, weeks, maybe months where you might not feel like continuing it. You might even drop the story altogether. But if you stop, so does your journey in learning. Press forward. If you post the beginning chapter and get only a few comments or barely any views, and it feels like not enough, know that people will only come to read the story you put so much effort into if you continue writing it! 10. Be proud when you look back on your previous work. As you discover your own voice and your storytelling evolves, it might be painful to look back at your earlier writing. Instead of punching yourself, laugh it off and realize how far you have come. All it takes is one step. Don’t give up :) Hope at least one thing I said can help you a little on your journey of creative writing ^^ ~RyukyuanxSunflower AKA Fenrir’s Lockhart P.S: If you need help with description or plot points, there are many beta readers on fanfiction willing to help. And although I tend to disappear often, shoot me a message on fanfiction about your story or something you’re stuck on and I’ll try my best to help!

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aschenink · 6 years

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Project Updates | May ‘18

↢ April ‘18 update

I’m going to start posting these monthly! Unfortunately the past month has been pretty rough for my writing, as the writer’s block I was staving off hit hard. Personally though, this month is really exciting in that I’m coming up on finals to round out my fourth year of college and--I’m moving!! So while I may not get as much writing done this month, I’m hoping to make up for it this summer when I have a nicer place to work.

Projects are listed in order of priority. Warning for a very long post under the cut.

EOSOPHOBIA

novel | goal: 110K-130K | current: 20K | about

I haven’t mentioned this much, but Eos is intended to be four separate stories that are woven together to create a dynamic, deep novel. This translates to me writing a short novel (Jackal’s PoV), two novellas (Magenta’s PoV; Oswald’s PoV) and a novelette (Onyx’s PoV) while trying very, very hard to keep them intertwined in surprising ways--the end effect is that each of them is the antagonist of another’s story. It’s super fucking cool, but also a total headache.

Not much drafting has occurred since the last update, but there have been some significant changes to the plot.

Now trying to save as many of my characters’ lives as I can (proving difficult) and am making their lives that much worse in return.

At least three major character deaths (out of a 10 major character cast) are confirmed to die. Two minor characters confirmed to die as well.

Onyx has a much improved character arc that features something resembling a personality and not just a steep decline into psychosis.

Amaryllis’s arc is much more shocking, sudden, and emotional.

Onyx/Amaryllis (Amarynx) is confirmed to be the second romantic relationship, joining Iris/Magenta. Amarynx is now a much healthier relationship thanks to changes in Onyx’s arc.

Jackal now has a much deeper character motivation but is causing unreliable narration difficulties. Jackal is arguably even more of an asshole now, but with much better intentions.

Viktor is changing his physique and thus his faceclaim is no longer Jason Momoa. Due to a strong likeness to a preexisting character, Viktor is now paler, has lost a slight bit of musculature, has darker hair, and is also somehow more of an asshole (?? I blame Jackal for this development)

Started writing a modern casino AU bc I like to procrastinate, but didn’t get very far. Made a moodboard for it, though.

CONSIDERING: changing Jackal’s PoV to Viktor’s PoV due to problems with unreliable narration; changing Oswald’s PoV to Peni’s PoV due to not knowing how to write Death’s PoV; may be dropping focus on four horsemen subplots; may be increasing the age of both Jackal and Viktor.

NEXT FOCUS: developing outlines for all four PoV’s; resuming drafting.

GONE ARE THE GODS: A COLLECTION

story collection | goal: 80-90K | current: 10K | about Infra.Red

My collection of Greco-Roman mythology retellings with a dystopic/cyberpunk twist. I’ve been really loving this collection, even though it is experimental for me. I’m currently planning to self publish this collection when it’s ready, but that’s subject to change.

Currently in collection, in order:

Viral (short story) | Medusa retelling of a technological apocalypse

When Love Crumbled (poem) | Orpheus retelling

Where the Gods Don’t Venture (flash fiction) | Nymph-based

Infra.Red (novella) | Hades + Persephone retelling in an urban dystopia

Updates:

Collection is organized by chronological order--Viral is the opening story as it tells the story of society’s dissolution into dystopia, and Infra.Red is the feature story at the end in which the dystopia is dissolved.

When Love Crumbled is added to the collection, which is a piece related to the flash fiction piece Where The Gods Don’t Venture

I’ve really enjoyed working on Viral, as even though it’s a cyberpunk piece it allows me to weasel in some biological metaphors and that makes me really ridiculously fucking happy (I’m a biology major, so)

NEXT FOCUS: plot/outline Infra.red; edit When Love Crumbled; continue developing stories to add to collection

ASSORTED WORKS

I literally can’t sit down and focus on just one thing, so lately I’ve been bouncing around with a lot of short stories etc... I just need to prove to myself that I can actually finish a story and still enjoy it, and I’d like to publish a few short works while I’m at it!

Currently working on:

The Rotted Rose | short story | fantasy/romance | currently drafting

Female Robbery | prose poem | contemporary fiction | currently editing

Invisible Stitching | flash fiction | fantasy/magical realism | currently drafting

A Shotgun Named Love | short story | fantasy/literary | currently drafting

Pendulum Heart | short story | fantasy/clockpunk(?) | currently drafting

Clementine | flash fiction | scifi/lunarpunk | currently drafting

Updates:

Organized WIP flash fiction and short stories

Plotted, developed 6 short WIPs

Female Robbery finished drafting, currently taking a break before editing it. Not sure what I’m gonna do with it when it’s done, since I don’t really like it.

Spent a lot of time hovering over the SFWA qualifying markets page and daydreaming about publishing. Not productive but it was fun, 10/10 would recommend.

ALIGHT IN ASHES / THE MORTAL CONSTELLATION TRILOGY

novel | goal: 80-100K | current: outlining | about

Still working on redoing the characters and possibly adding more PoV characters, though not to the extent of Eosophobia’s bullshit. No update.

EVEN GOD IS ENTERTAINED BY MY SINS

novel | goal: 60-70K | current: 30K | about?

Starting to edit sections of the first draft whenever the mood strikes me. No update.

#project update #aschenink #may 18 project update #eosophobia #gonegods

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empowercbcgl · 5 years

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Trust

This post is by Brandyn Tse, who recently graduated from Gordon College and holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature. His hobbies include poetry, badminton, and nature walks. He also has developed considerable interest in: 1) not becoming a manchild and 2) shorting oil ETFs on the stock market. Fortunately, the subject of this entry will pertain to the former interest.

It’s quite easy to compare yourself to others, these days. Around forty-five percent of the world’s population is engaged in social media. That means selfies and status updates flooding feeds in an endless parade of personal achievements. Some have contended that high exposure to platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, have had a detrimental effect on the well-being of their users. Depression, and the “fear of missing out” (FOMO) are among the most commonly cited side-effects of a social media overdose.

Now: am I writing a pretentious “editorial” with the sole purpose of vilifying Facebook? Absolutely not. There are many positive ways you can use social media to connect with people, and I’m not suggesting that it’s the root of all depressive disorders. However, the current internet milieu exacerbates a preexisting condition that I’ve struggled with for some time.

At first, I pinned my shortcomings on my glowingly successful friends. And with childhood friends like mine, it was pretty easy to play the blame game. One went to Princeton, and now works for google; another got a job at Apple after college; yet another still started working for Raytheon right out of highschool. Me? Still at home with the fam, clacking on the keyboard, editing cringey fanfiction for less than minimum wage; the fam, understandably, is not too thrilled about this current setup, either.

With social media and the return to my hometown after college, I began to receive daily notifications, or reminders, of the disparity between my own achievements and those of my peers. This was coupled with constant rejections from prospective employers. At the end of the day, after looking at an inbox filled to the brim with emails “thanking me for my interest,” I felt like a loser. It all came spiraling down to this one question: where do I find my self-worth?

Let me just say that I am so grateful to be a church member at CBCGL. The church body has been a comfort and a blessing to me. And whenever I am confronted by the allure of worldly success, my own materialistic incompetency, or bitter envy, the fragrance of Christ wafts towards me from my brothers and sisters to lovingly redirect my sight to nobler things, to the things of God, not men. When I know that I am loved, and that my love is cherished, the contest of vanity fades from view. It is this love of God that gives my life value.

With this perspective adopted, I begin to regard the misfits of the Bible with adoration. The minor prophets, who strove in earnest to bring God to the people, failed miserably, and continued to serve in weeping and heartfelt prayer; the outcasts and the disparate who followed David in the midst of his persecution; most significantly, the sacrifice of Jesus unto death. For all of these who suffered, who lost repute in the eyes of people, God completed his work in them. I try to cling to this truth, day by day, as said by the apostle Paul, “...I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." (Philippians 1:8).

Yes, I am having trouble landing reliable work. Yes, some have thought of me as a loser. But God is using me, and God will complete his work in me, manchild or not. Knowing this is all I need.

#trust #goodwork #truth

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luvdsc · 3 years

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hello miss cat! omg yes i'm SO glad they're over they took up so much of my time and were so prolonged for no reason? i never understand how colleges keep 2-3 exams a day, give a long break, then keep 2 exams a day AND STILL have the entire thing go on for two weeks esp when it's online :/ the burn out 😔 aah i had a few research papers for my ergonomics class and econometrics which is always so hard to trudge through esp right after giving papers. but they're my chosen subjects after all

so i can't complain omg what have you been baking? does it turn out well? facetiming friends is always fun 💗 and 10 minute paintings sounds like such a stress buster! how is work? i've been working towards preparing for my drama exam coming up and i'm also teaching speech and drama to kids those younger than me :D and have also been researching for debates that i moderate with my friends from school. and YES i watched their dance practice it was sooo fun to watch i thought the winderella

i thought the entire escape room idea was so cool and the entire episode was just super fun to watch plus taeyong eating chocolate when everyone was solving the mystery!! 10/10!! i even liked the last episode I WAS ROLLING WHEN KAI JUST KEPT PULLING NOTES FROM THE BOX 😂😂 which was your favorite episode miss cat? hsbdkas i haven't watched the enquete episode entirely yet but i should now that sicheng said that LOL and YEAH OMG i thought it was kind of a red flag when he didn't tell her anything

hey that's so exciting! what do you want your space to look like?? being an artist as a profession is actually really cool! but it wasn't the most..what can i say now, stable? when it came to the economic standpoint so my mother didn't go with it :") ooo ok so from what i know when she's working on her cityscapes she's always like "the bigger the better" and she always works with knives on those so there's a lot of place to experiment with that! but otherwise when she has little time on hand she

prefers smaller canvases! omg yes a lot of her art was hung up at home (tbh it was more like storage before it went to exhibitions 😅) but she took them down because when my brother and i were younger we used to run around the house with darts and toy guns with ink rubber bullets which always ended up hitting the paintings rip and now she has her own studio so most of them are kept there! but yes she painted a family portrait so we have that up :") and a few more scenic paintings too!

dskcsjd i don't really think i enjoy interior designing that much mainly because i'm too lazy to start and move things around but yes conceptually it sounds like so much fun and i have sooo much respect for everyone interested in it. omigosh miss cat i could talk a lot about this but mainly since i teach speech and drama along with studying i love to experiment with different ways the characters can be portrayed when the younger students are performing! i love planning out play moves and

various voice modulation techniques! after all, there's no such thing as a bad molly weasley dramatization now is there? i looove performing arts and the feeling of being on stage is unparalleled for me with acting and dance :") i also used to write and edit but that was in school i don't think i've got it anymore rip. how about you? would you consider yourself creative? you've got a way with words so that's surely down for you 💗 it's so cool that you enjoy museums! do you have any favorites?

oooo yayoi kusama!! wasn't she the artist behind the fireflies room? (or was it something like that i'm sorry i don't remember what it was called jdbnsd) and monet is such a classic! oh wow, do you often incorporate impressionism into your artwork? (if that kind can be applied rip i'm sorry i'm not that knowledgeable about this stuff aah) 3d design!! ooo what materials do you use there? hndjxjdk oil paints take such a long time to dry don't they? awww doinf 10 min paintings sounds so cute!

what are they like, if you don't mind me asking? my weekend was good! i went to the park and fractured myself rip but otherwise i enjoyed by eating and sleeping well! did you have a good weekend? i hope you're having a super week and continue to do so! oh oh also, thank you for taking the time out to respond to me this is really sweet of you <333

also im sorry to randomly pop this in but i saw you got the album signed by our lord and savior our knight in shining armor our light at the end of a dark tunnel the woman herself QUEEN JISOO??!?!11/!?1 AAAAAAAH IM SO HAPPY FOR YOU MISS CAT YOU ACTUALLY MANAGED TO SNAG ONE WOW SJSNDJKNSKJ (maybe now you'll have luck with pulling her i hopeee ahaha)

✿ ✿ ✿

hello, sweetpea!!! 💕 oh my god, i feel- i had like 3 exams in one day many times before and i just wished they spread the exams out over two weeks instead of cramming all of them into one ): it’s such a terrible class structure /: also hate when teachers still teach new material when it’s supposed to be dead week ugh asdfkaljshdfkl i heard economy and i’m that spongebob aight i’m out meme 😬 econ was my least favorite business subject rip. do you like what you’re learning in ergonomics and econometrics? is it interesting for you? 💓

i’ve been baking bread!! my mom and i like making little french baguettes or the japanese milk bread :’) and they come out really nicely!!! we have fresh bread for the week, and i love making breakfast styled sandwiches with it 💖 work is going well! i managed to finish work early on friday and got off at 7 pm :D so that made me very happy, and i’ve been relaxing over the weekend 💕 omg a drama exam! what do you have to do for it? will you be reciting a monologue or performing or is there an actual written exam too? :o and you’re teaching little kids and moderating debates too omg you’re so busy!! is it difficult managing all of that? 😦 and winderella is soo pretty like wow visuals 🤩💝

omg YES i love love love the escape room episode too!!!! it’s also my favorite! and LOL yeah, i noticed that too and laughed when i saw taeyong more interested in the chocolate than the game aksjhflaksjd also lucas is so smart?? he figured out the clues so quickly in the most simplest ways, and i wished they had acknowledged that ): watching mtopia made me more interested in ten too, like wow, he’s really quick witted too 💕 sicheng is whipped for lucas and lucas only. lucas won the life lottery, he received sicheng’s affection and their feelings are mutual 🤧💗

i would want it to look like how i decorated my dorm!! i pinned up all the art postcards i collected from different art museums around the world in a sort of mosaic collage on my walls and hung up my paintings too :’) and i had my paintbrushes and paints stored in these jars on my desk along with a bunch of my books stacked here and there. it was like a bright organized chaos in my dorm room in a sense? i had large sketchpads and blank canvas shoved behind my desks and bed and paintings drying in various areas, but i knew exactly where everything was placed ✨and i totally get it!! it’s why i didn’t choose to major in art too because i wanted financial stability

ooooh my gosh, your mom does palette knife paintings??? those are so gorgeous!!!! 🤩🤩 i looove seeing those being painted and i wish i was skilled enough to do those :o AND SHE HAS EXHIBITIONS?? SHE’S LITERALLY LIVING THE DREAM 💘💘 aksdjfahjlks i hope none of her paintings got hit 😅aaaah it’s great that she still has some of them up though :’) my mom hung up all my paintings too and it made me so happy when i saw 🤧

akjlshfdlja omg i feel that, like it’s fun to just think about it but actually moving furrniture around is hard work rip. once i move in somewhere, the furniture is gonna stay like that until i move again LOL oooo so do you teach different ways to portray a single character? do you create your own characters or do you use a preexisting one? have you ever created your own original play before? :o omg i have so much respect for actors and performing arts honestly, like memorizing all those lines and then having to add emotion to it plus remembering where you’re supposed to stand and go amongst a million other things?? i would completely fail. the only times i participated in performing arts are for piano recitals :’)

ooo yes, i would consider myself creative!! i love making things, like whether that be through building robots, drawing, painting, soft sculpting, 3d designing, graphic designing, baking, cooking, writing, etc. it’s just so much fun to be able to create. there’s something magical about being able to bring something from your imagination to life ✨ also, thank you so much 🥺💗 i looove moma!!! both the sf one and the nyc one! i also really love the louvre and museo thyssen-bornemisza 💜 i also really really want to visit the monet museum in france one day because i wasn’t able when i traveled there in the past, and i imagine that one will become my favorite if i do get the chance to 🌷

omg yes, you’re correct, she is indeed the one who made that!!!!! she made all those pretty mirror rooms with lights ✨ i absolutely adore her work 💟 and yes, i do!!! I try to incorporate monet’s style into my own paintings by doing a lot of short strokes and studying how sunlight hits nature. and rather than trying to be perfectly accurate, i go with my intuition. it’s kinda like how cher describes it in clueless, like from far away, it looks ok but up close it’s a mess LOL and omg it’s ok, you don’t need to apologize!!! thank you for taking an interest in my art :’) for 3d design, i used foam, cardboard, newspaper, wax, and metal wires!! and yeah, oil painting takes days, even weeks, to fully dry rip but it’s so much easier to blend and paint with because of the slow dry!

i do small paintings of flowers in ten minutes! i included some of them in my letters here 💛 oh my god, you fractured yourself??? how did that happen 😭 did you go see a doctor and get a cast? does it hurt now? pls be careful ): i did have a good weekend, thank you! 💞 i slept in and ate lots of good food :’) and thank you so so much, my week went well too 💟💟 and omg of course, you don’t have to thank me, lovebug, i enjoy talking to you!! 💓 💓

AND YES I DID!!!! I’M SO HAPPY 😭💜💜💜 I HAVE IT DISPLAYED IN MY ROOM AND IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL 🤩 THANK YOU SO MUCH 🥺💟 omg i actually just bought all her pcs 🤧💗 jisoo is an expensive woman, but i have most of her pcs now :’) and yes, hopefully when the next album comes out in two years hopefully, i’ll be lucky enough to pull her pc 💞💞

how have you been, sweetpea? how’s your weekend going? 💚

#asks #shawtythatsyou

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yeskraim · 4 years

Text

Dungeons & Dragons had fallen on ‘troubled times.’ The role-playing game’s fifth edition changed everything

Nathan Stewart had a tall task ahead of him when he and others first looked to revamp Dungeons & Dragons. A tarrasque-sized challenge, indeed.

Nearly eight years ago, the game’s accessibility had come into question ahead of the release of the fifth edition, its current iteration. When Stewart joined D&D publisher Wizards of the Coast, the strategy was to “reinvigorate the tabletop game.”

Their efforts have paid off in almost unimaginable ways. D&D’s fifth edition, released in 2014, isn’t just a success. It’s revivified the franchise, with 2018 and 2019 – the 45th anniversary of the game – consecutively marking the best years for D&D sales.

That’s not all.

“Beyond the sales, there’s a lot of other ways to look at it, too,” Stewart told USA TODAY. “I think we’re seeing more players than ever. We’re seeing more mainstream mentions and more exposure, impressions, if you will, in terms of the number of references and times D&D comes up in a pop culture TV show or movie, or even just someone’s Twitter.

“It used to be, ‘Oh hey, cool, D&D got mentioned.’ Now it’s like, ‘Yeah. It’s a weekday.’”

In an age where screen time is synonymous with free time, tabletop gaming surrounded by friends is making a comeback.

At the forefront is D&D. Thanks to live-streaming services, celebrity endorsements, frequent pop culture references and – above all else – an accessible game, the D&D community is thriving and eager to roll initiative again.

Dungeons & Dragons: Go on an adventure in a ‘safe, controlled space’

Dungeons & Dragons certainly isn’t new. The game’s first edition launched in 1974, and groups of friends have been led through adventures by storytelling Dungeon Masters (DMs) ever since.

At its heart, D&D is simple. DMs create and guide players through worlds filled with monsters, treasure and intrigue, with dice rolls deciding key outcomes.

Some tables take on psychic fish-monsters from the dawn of time. Others prefer political debates.

Coming in 2020: ‘Dark Alliance’ video game features iconic Dungeons & Dragons characters, location

But, at its core, D&D is about collaborative storytelling with friends. That spirit was captured in the creation of the fifth edition following a slump brought on by previous editions that led to in-community fighting, Stewart said.

This time, he said, the team focused on cutting out “complexity for complexity’s sake.”

“I think everybody who works here at Dungeons and Dragons take the role of steward really seriously,” Stewart said. “It was such an old, beloved brand at the time, and it was kind of falling on some troubled times.”

Rules were added and scrapped and tweaked to make sure the game was approachable for newcomers but also engaging for longtime players.

“Every time you put in a rule that took away from friends getting together and telling stories, we were kind of going against the core ethos,” Stewart said. “We play-tested the hell out of it and, also, when we were looking at things, we said, ‘Is this really making it more fun for everybody or this just for one group?’

“Whenever it was just for one group, we tried to find a better way to do it.”

D&D’s principal story designer Chris Perkins said D&D allows people to tap into the “human need to escape the confines of our reality and experience other worlds in a safe, controlled space.” D&D’s universe is vast, with pantheons of gods, devils and demons, established villains and heroes.

And there are always DMs willing to create their own worlds while taking cues from D&D’s preexisting library.

“The game allows us to be ourselves and someone else at the same time,” Perkins said in an email. “D&D is also a great creative outlet, allowing us to craft our own fictional characters, worlds, and adventures, and that’s very appealing when the real world is quickly burning to a cinder.”

Still, despite streamlining, D&D can be intimidating for new players. It’s not easy to pick up the fifth edition’s “Monster Manual” – a book that has a monstrous floating eye with teeth on its cover – and simply dive into the game. Not everyone can pick up the Player’s Handbook and immediately choose if they’re going to be a barbarian or a sorcerer, either.

That’s where the established community comes in.

A ‘diverse’ community of players bolsters Dungeons & Dragons

D&D’s community is multifaceted.

There are new players and players who grew up with the game. Young players and old players. Parents teaching their children. Children teaching their classes. The list is endless.

Satine Phoenix, a storytelling consultant and founder of collaborative art studio Gilding Light in Los Angeles and a host of a popular series that provided tips for Dungeon Masters, said the community is more diverse than ever. She’s been playing D&D since 1988, when she found a beginner’s box in her parents’ basement at 8 years old.

Phoenix is writing a book about how D&D helped her through PTSD and childhood trauma.

“Throughout that trauma, I held on to my character, I held on to these stories, so D&D is in my veins,” Phoenix said. “It helps me understand the world differently. It helps me escape. It helps me attack problems.”

From Barbie to Matchbox cars: Here’s every toy in the Museum of Play’s Toy Hall of Fame

Eventually, Phoenix started a D&D group at Meltdown Comics, an iconic L.A. comic shop that closed in 2018.

“People came out that I didn’t expect,” she said. “There were women and there were professionals. The fascinating thing was they thanked me for providing a space. Suddenly, we had Sundays with six tables and six to 10 people at each table. There wasn’t a space and, suddenly, there were people like me in all the major cities going, ‘I’m going to make a space,’ and people just flocked to it.”

Humans are social creatures, Stewart said. D&D just provides an excuse to come together – like a poker game or a movie night, only with dice and maybe a few kobolds.

“These stories are the ones that stick with us,” Stewart said. “When you think about some of your best friends, at least in my world, half the people tell the story about their best friend and they met them playing D&D.”

David Price, store manager at Game Theory in Raleigh, North Carolina, told USA TODAY that D&D’s popularity has surged in the five years he’s been managing the store. There was a time when there are only two tables reserved each week for D&D.

Now, he said, there are “at least 15 to 20.”

“If I had to pick a community that is the most diverse, it’s the role-playing community in general, and the D&D community specifically,” said Price, 47. “We have kids 10 years old and up, all the way to people who are close to retirement age – actually, we probably do have a few retirees.”

The digital age has helped ‘demystify’ Dungeons & Dragons for new players

Some of the most recognizable players in D&D put their faces alongside the game on a regular basis.

According to a D&D fact sheet, more than 7,500 unique broadcasters streamed live games for more than 475,000,000 minutes watched in 2017. And, D&D’s official Twitch channel streamed about 50 hours of content weekly.

Shows like “Critical Role” – which recently raised more than $11 million on Kickstarter to back an animated television show – draw thousands of viewers per week.

“What all of those are showing people is this game is for you,” Stewart said. “I look like you. My group is made up like you.”

The online shows – and in some cases, live shows played in front of sold-out theaters – lower the barrier of entry for D&D, Stewart said. Interested viewers get a chance to see what a game is like in real time – a table of friends goofing around – instead of worrying about the game’s complexities.

“Technology has helped demystify the game by showing that you don’t need to be a rules expert to have a good time,” Perkins said, and added, “All you need are some dice, a good imagination and some friends.”

Outside of live broadcasts, the digital age has provided new ways for players to get involved with D&D. Meetup.com is a good place to start for anyone looking to join a game. DND Beyond is D&D’s web-based service that provides digital rulebooks and can even create a character for free. Looking for new content? Try the Dungeon Master’s Guild.

What’s next for Dungeon & Dragons?

So, after back-to-back years of top-tier sales, what comes next? How does the D&D franchise build on its momentum?

“I think if you just ask people what they want, you’re never going to get an answer that leads to the next product or the next popularity wave,” Stewart said.

“But, if you’re asking all of the people and you’re really listening and you’re really triangulating in terms of the different ways they’re getting their opinions out there, whether it be on Reddit or Twitter or different surveys … then you can kind of stay ahead of the curve that way.”

“Dark Alliance,” a video game featuring one of the series’ most popular characters that’s set to launch this year on PC and consoles, is one project deemed integral to D&D’s future strategy.

Why?

“When someone comes in through a film or a video game or through a YA novel, they’re getting an experience of D&D, that whets their appetite and then they want to go search out more of the gaming experiences we have,” Stewart said.

This week, D&D also announced a new sourcebook in collaboration with “Critical Role,” which is set to release in March.

“Dungeons & Dragons has had such a massive, positive impact on nearly my entire life, and I am ever inspired by the endless creativity I see it spark in so many others across the world,” Matt Mercer, DM for “Critical Role,” said in a press release.

Whatever comes next, the storytelling consultant Phoenix is excited for it.

“Over the past 10 years, America has just embraced Dungeons & Dragons,” she said. “Over the past couple years, Europe has and so has Asia-Pacific, and it’s really going to make a huge difference when we can get all over the world playing together.

“That’s going to be one of the next big, positive changes, is going global and going global together.”

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notjustbacon · 7 years

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Auckland and Birkenhead

Hallo!

Now comes the phase of this blog where I post tons of pics, short stories and answer a few questions... Our first stop from PDX to Auckland, NZ was Los Angelos. You will see pics from a couple fellow travelers who charge phones, chat, rest and stretch before boarding flights to the rest of their lives.

Longly after our flight from PDX to LAX, we landed in Auckland, NZ where we needed to hail a cab to get to our hotel (only about 45 minutes away). Among several readily available cab companies to chose from there was also a helpful chart showing rates - upfront rates, how helpful! My husband intuitively felt called to a certain cab (for the cheap rates), we loaded our bags in the back, and we're on our way. Vicky, our cab guy, was a pretty friendly guy. He answered our questions about driving on the other side of the road and didn't banter us with any questions of his own. In fact, he was very quiet... but not intimidatingly scary or anything. To make a long story short, Vicky really left us with a memory when he decided to make a u-turn in the middle of an intersection, during a red light, then proceeded to drop us off at the side of a non-parking zone. I didn't really know anything was that weird about this - I just thought cab drivers do weird things. Alex paid him and I started to unload the cab when a construction worker started to yell out at me, "Ma'am! You can't get out of the car there. Back in you go, back in you go." I was not frightened by this, but rather embarrassed as I did not realize I had been led into this faux pas. There were some words exchanged via Vicky and the construction worker, but all in all, it went over with no problem. No tickets, no tears, and we made it safely to our hotel.

Tip: Make sure to tell your cab driver that you are going to the CBD (Central Business District) rather than your hotel address to ensure that you get the flat rate versus a timed rate - you'll save some cash!

We made it to our hotel at 9:30am. Unfortunately, check-in was not until 3pm. Fortunately, the hotel clerk was very accommodating. He let us know that we could check our bags in and call the front desk at noon to see if our room was ready. He then gave us a cafe recommendation and took our bags. Sunflower cafe (his rec) was everything and more than we had expected: fresh food, delicious smells, and free wi-fi. After breakfast, we started walking around town and toward the Sky Tower. We splurged for a $40 for a day pass and made our way up 50 floors to the Sky Lounge. It was phenomenal! We saw lots of families, photographers and even spotted a couple people ready to bungy jump from the tower itself!

Note: The Sky Tower is 1,076 ft tall - making it the tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere and the 25th tallest tower in the world! I'm slowly building myself up for a major overcoming in fear of heights... I will have video when that day comes.

I could see all of Auckland from the top and really enjoyed taking a few portraits as well. Birkenhead is in the first picture (just over da bridge). That's Rangitoto Island out there in the second picture (Auckland's most iconic natural landmark - it's a VOLCANO). You can get a pretty rad view of the (pink) Nelson Street Cycleway in the third pic. It is just over 1 years old - Happy belated birthday NSC!

TBH, that pretty much sums up our first day in Auckland, because I mostly slept on and off once we got to the hotel. The next day, Thursday, we headed off to Birkenhead to see our new hosts Catherine and Greig via Ferry. We had no idea the amazing week in store for us. Here are a few photos from the ferry through their beautiful home!

We arrived, Greig picked us up from the ferry, drove us around Birkenhead, gave us the layout of the house (and town), then made us a feast for lunch. After a couple hours, Greig and Catherine were off for the weekend - leaving Alex and me to get settled in. Yep, that meant they let us have the whole house to ourselves as a welcoming present - WOW! It really allowed us to explore the town, catch up on some more sleep, and get ready with ease. That Monday morning, we were ready to hit the soil hard and get onto it - Our first WorkAway job!

Day 1 work: Mediterranean garden - consisting of digging out a garden bed, placing the soil on a tarp, wheelbarrowing up some clay, sculpting the clay into 8 foundation pieces for 8 cement stepping stones to lay on top (making sure the stones would not move if stepped on), mixing the soil with compost and pumice gravel, and finishing everything off with shoveling the mix into the rest of the garden bed. It was a lot of work, but we got a coffee (and cake) break, and after 4 and a half hours we did it - we are freakin' artists of the soil land my friends! Alex even got some awesome tunes hooked up. Check it out:

Day 2 Work: Photos - The rain started to make it's way over from Cyclone Debbie (in Australia). So we had an inside workday of taking apart old frames, putting what they held aside, sanding the frames, and then painting the frames black. We listened to Bob Ross Remixed and Rolling Stones Paint it Black along with a little Coffee Table Jazz.

Day 3 Work: Weeding the front garden beds, placing compost on them, and finishing up the picture frames. Woot.

Day 4 Work: Weeding around the bee hive box and installing the copper chain. Thank god Alex is a physics mastermind... working with copper in artsy ways can prove challenging. Also, I was overcoming fear and becoming one with nature by weeding around the bee hive box. I wasn't going to let allergies get in my way - I just kept whispering, "I love you bees... and I think you'll like me too!"

Day 5 Work: Weeding the back garden, putting on the copper tops, fixing the hammock hook, hanging the pictures, and taking pictures of the room. AND CHECK OUT that awesome Kaka bird! The Kaka bird is beautiful, but the Tui bird make the best noises. It sounds like R2D2 among other things... very chatty.

For fun we've been to many places around Auckland and Birkenhead. We plan to make several other stops during our stay as well. Here are a few of the places I've photographed:

Le Roy Bush Trail(s):

Le Roy Bush Trails are like a Forest Park trail of wonder. One entrance to the trails starts just at the end of our host's driveway. You can see a waterfall, jungle fauna, glow worms and even sea eels! The trails are very well maintained because the community pulls together to take care of it: spraying the bottoms of their shoes to ward off weeds and brushes to scrape off any preexisting soil or any soil that tries to hitch a ride out of the area. The trail connects you with different parts of the town. One minute you're in the bush and the next your in the city! Crazy cool man.

Also check out Alex's pics here

Auckland War Memorial Museum:

When Alex told me he wanted to go to a war museum, I was a little less than cheerful. I walked in with a tude and was quickly surprised to find some pretty spectacular finds. When they say war museum, there is of course war stuff, but they mean to show the history of how New Zealand has become and who it has become with in all of the people in Oceana History. Pretty wonderous.

(Oh yeah, they had a Volume: Making Music in Aotearoa music special exhibitions hall)

Maori Ancestoral Houses... hand carved, hand woven... WOW!

Rad boats

Dinosaurs, Birds and a Frog - Oh MY!

(The frog is for you grandma)

The Winter House, Fernz Fernery, and The Cool House:

We almost passed this by! We were walking down the hill away from the museum and happened to cross the Winter House on our way to catch the bus. I sort of just wandered in and found this secret garden place. It was really magical.

Ponsonby Street:

Birkenhead has some pretty tasty eats, but Ponsonby Street gets the name for it in the Auckland area. We took a bus over to check it out and let our tastebuds decide. It was a really cool spot with sights of the Sky Tower and cityscape in the background. The food was also pretty decent and places started to really come alive after 7pm. Alex got some of the best drunken noodles ever!! They were willing to make them vegeterian style and did not skimp on any vegetables.

Western Park:

This park was really incredible. The place was hilly, relaxing and then thrilling when we found the playground. The playground has a zipline, dueling ~30 feet slides, a ~50 foot slide, a ground level merry-go-round, and so much more. We could not resist playing here for a little bit... Oh and I won the race... just for reference.

So, that's almost it as far as places we've been and visited... except, we went to the grocery store and learned that you cannot buy adult bevvies unless you have your passport on you... and you can find hummus in the "cold dips" section of the store. I'm entirely jealous that they have a "cold dips" section with SO many types of dips!! Anywho, that is what we have been up to!!! It is that time. I need to end this for now. I've spent several hours editing and preparing this... and we need to go to bed for our big day tomorrow. Alex is giving me the big loud sighs every two minutes now trying to get me to stop typing and just be done... But, I do promise to post again next week when we are in Queenstown.

P.S. Our hosts are fricken amazing! I cannot believe that the food they make does not just come straight from a 5 star $100 per a plate restaurant and that it is cooked for us every night with the only expense being that we clean dishes. I cannot believe how generous and at home we have been made to feel by both Greig and Catherine. They are unbelievable and will always have a place in our hearts and a place to sleep (should we ever have a place of our own).

Toot-a-loo!

Alice

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