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billionairebabes · 4 years ago

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Trophy Wife Aesthetics for Black Women

“Hi! What do you think are the non-negotiables of being a trophy wife? Aesthetically. For black women. I think white women have a different level up journey.”

I was asked this question in a chat but I wrote so much information that I figured I should share my response with you all as well. I’ll try to make this as concise as possible.

I’ll start by saying that aesthetically, Black women have to be more than cute. White women are considered beautiful just for being white, we don’t get that privilege, you know? However, being beautiful isn’t the end all be all. There are plenty of black trophy wives that aren’t naturally “beautiful” but they present well. Presentation is everything kind of like food. It may taste great but you may not even want to touch it if it’s presented poorly.

Here are my personal non-negotiables:

1. Keep your hair done. This doesn’t mean keep your hair in a weave or wig 24/7. You can be natural too. One of the more affluent men I dated actually preferred my natural hair over wigs. But make sure it’s well taken care of, always. Deep condition, moisturize, detangle etc. Use clips in if you need the extra volume. If you’re going to do weaves and wigs, make sure your closure is “undetectable”. Keep flyaways in order with an oil or mousse. Carry a brush and comb with everywhere to touch up every now and then but not in front of him if possible.

2. Your skin has to be pretty taken care of as well. If you’re his wife, you’re going to be waking up to him every morning. I don’t believe in waking up earlier than my man to put on light makeup and stuff. Men aren’t even worth that lol. But DO try to achieve great skin so that you still are pretty when you wake up. Doesn’t have to be perfect. Many people don’t have perfect skin. But make sure you’re washing, toning, moisturizing blah blah. I’m starting to follow the 10-step Korean skincare routine. It’s on my blog If you guys want to check it out. I’ve been investing a significant amount of time in learning what acids do what and how they can address my specific concerns. Good skin overall just makes you look wealthier too. So on “no-makeup” days, you can just do eyebrows, and lipgloss and mascara if you don’t have lash extensions and still look put together. Affluent men tend to enjoy outdoor activities, there will be times when you don’t wanna be in a full face but you can if you want to. The same goes for skin on the rest of your body as well. I shower about two times a day so I moisturize my body two times a day. To moisturize I use a mixture of oils, shea butter and regular lotion. I moisturize my hands every time I wash them too. Once or twice a week, I do a full-body exfoliation. I have a dry brush that I use and occasionally, I opt for a scrub instead.

3. Take care of your teeth - Straight white teeth against melanated skin is >>>>. Plus it makes you look prettier, more put together, and of course, wealthier. Straightening teeth is expensive but a worthy investment. If you can’t straighten now, just whiten and take good care of your teeth in the meanwhile. Brush twice daily, floss daily, and whiten throughout the week.

4. Keep your nails done. Can’t be too long or else we’re considered “ghetto” I usually go about medium length but a lot of blogs will suggest short. My man loved my medium length nails lol. I usually go for softer colors like baby pink, sometimes white. If I’m not able to go to the salon, I clean and file my nails down to an even length and paint them with a clear polish. It’s hard to make a mess of clear polish and my nails still look nice and shiny. I pop collagen pills to improve their strength because I naturally have weaker nails that break pretty easily.

5. Wardrobe. Try to build a timeless wardrobe with a lot of basics you can build on and mix and match. For example, blazers are a staple for me. I wear them with jeans but I can mix them with trousers too. Then I have hella basic bodysuits I can wear with either combo. An easy trick for me is to buy a ton of neutrals. I’m not a big color person so it’s easy for me to shop this way. However, do not let my preferences deter you. Black women own color, if this is your style, go for it full throttle but be tasteful. I usually go more colorful on vacations. There are tons of articles out there on how to build a good wardrobe though.

6. Stay in shape - I won’t say there’s a specific body type you need to have but take care of your body. I’m still working on working out consistently but because of skinny privilege I’ve been able to lack in that department and still be perceived as “fit”. Currently, I try to do flexibility stretching and exercise on Monday, Wednesday & Fridays. Stretch on weekends. If you get cosmetic surgery like a BBL, breast job etc. make sure it’s fitting for your frame.

7. Lastly, this doesn’t apply to aesthetics but I feel as though black women have to DO SOMETHING to be snatched up as trophy wives. We don’t get pulled into that position just for being pretty as often as white woman do. For example, Alexis O. Of Reddit wifed Serena Williams who is the best tennis player in the world. Not some random girl he thought was cute. Prince Harry wifed Megan Markle who was not only a successful actress but also had an outstanding educational background to match. Janet Jackson married billionaire businessman, Wissam Al Mana. Now of course, many of us aren’t that successful yet but hopefully you get the point. Men in positions of higher status want to know that you can fit into his lifestyle and don’t have beans for brains. Having something going for yourself also gives him something to invest in. Men like to feel needed or helpful but not used.

Additionally, owning a business or working in corporate greater increases your chances of mingling with men in positions to make you a trophy wife. There’s a reason why college sugar babies are so successful but for women past that stage, have a career, have a small business. Do SOMETHING. It also creates a safety net for you as well. Men can be unpredictable and can do horrible things. I read an article once about a man who hid his entire fortune in offshore shell companies when him and his wife were divorcing so that she wouldn’t be able to get anything. It took her lawyer literal years to untangle that web of shell accounts he spun. Running your own business or even having a solid set of skills saves you in the event of the worst of the worst. Your life shouldn’t crumble to pieces if this man decides to divorce you. Same goes for even being the spoiled girlfriend of a wealthy man. Having a wealthy boyfriend or husband is one thing, knowing how to use him as a resource is another. Girls who truly win at this game walk away from these relationships with more than a few handbags and a baby.

Good Luck Ladies! 🥂

#black spoiled girlfriend #Black trophy wife #hypergamy #aesthetics #wardrobe #shopping #BB Original

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marianarira · 3 years ago

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How Art Challenges Made Me a Better Artist

(Watch the YouTube video!)

There are tons of different art challenges; I think there's a popular challenge every month—Inktober, plain airpril, creatuanuary, huevember, mermay, to name a few. Usually, influencer artists start a challenge with a hashtag. And it spreads throughout the community.

Participating in art challenges has become almost a norm, especially in recent years. And there are benefits in doing so:

You become part of the artists' community.

If your work is good enough, you can have exposure and grow your audience.

You can experiment and try new things.

And last but not least, you have fun.

They are also supposed to encourage people to draw every day and become better artists by improving their skills. (I'm not sure about this one, but I'll get back to it later.)

On the opposite side, I've seen artists, even professional ones, resist participating in these hashtag art challenges. So let's look at the disadvantages:

There's pressure to draw every day, and if you skip one, then there's a feeling of failure.

There's also a direct comparison with amazing artists, and for some of us, that can be discouraging.

Another negative I've seen recently is the obsession with getting followers and growing an audience. Of course, I understand the interest in that; we all want an audience. Still, I've seen artists, beginners especially, focusing on the followers more than on their drawing skills.

I think the most significant disadvantage, and this is something that happens to me, so I know this by experience. Is that, I would prepare myself to draw daily for one month. I would accomplish the 30 or 31 drawings and be happy with my results, but then, when the challenge was over, I wouldn't draw. Instead of being constant with my practice and growth, I would grind during that particular month and never grind the same for the rest of the year. I was treating drawing as a sprint when it's a marathon.

Looking at the "improving your skills" benefit and the disadvantages. I think there are better ways to improve and be a better artist. Don't get me wrong, the act alone of drawing every day will make you progress. It's just that I don't think these particular challenges are very beginner-friendly.

Introduciiiiing the "Make Your Own Personal Challenge"... Challenge!

Anybody can create their own challenge, and you can choose to share or not your results on social media. You don't need to be a professional artist, you don't need to be popular, and your challenge can be whatever you want. For example, look at this Haikyuu themed challenge. So just like you can make a challenge to satisfy your love for an IP and draw fan-arts during a month. You can also make a personal challenge to focus on improving what you want and need.

That's what I did on my Drawing Leveling Up challenge. I don't intend for other artists to follow it. It doesn't have a theme; it's not a hashtag with prompts. When I started it, I had no idea where it was going. If you see the videos, you'll notice that I change my mind from one day to the next. I just wanted to improve my anatomy drawing, and I wanted to do it as fast as possible. Committing to a challenge was the best way I found to force myself to study daily.

I want to show you the challenge an animator did: zoray99 on Instagram. They uploaded a daily animation exercise throughout a whole year. It was rough, focused on learning and improving. Look how simple this day's animation is, they wanted to really understand what was happening here. Doing that for a whole year is impressive, and I'm guessing Zoray feels satisfied with the achievement, but more importantly, how much they learned.

So if you're a beginner artist and the well-known hashtag art challenges overwhelm you, you can create your challenge to improve at your own pace. You only have to set up doable boundaries:

The first you need is a time limit; this is important because the ending and objective are not clear without a time limit, affecting your commitment and confidence. For a daily challenge, a month would be ideal. But you can also choose to draw every other day instead of daily. You can also say something like, "I'll draw daily on this sketchbook with a 15-minute time limit until I finish it." Those boundaries are helpful because maybe you don't have a lot of time to spend on drawing.

Another useful boundary is a prompt list. Sometimes we spend more time thinking about what to draw than drawing. If you want to evolve as an artist, I recommend following a book and study from it. Or you can focus on a specific study subject you want to improve, like "sketching backgrounds for 15 days".

Another thing is that, for hashtag challenges, most of us try to make finished illustrations with ink and color and everything. So you can also determine how far you want to go with each drawing, simple sketches, ink, and painting? You decide.

My personal challenge's boundaries were: drawing daily for 30 days following the lessons and tutorials of artists on youtube. That way, I didn't have to think about what to draw, the "prompts" were their videos, and also, my sketches didn't even need to be clean. This challenge's purpose was to study.

The best part is that you control your challenge and improvement. If there are things you struggle with, you can repeat and practice them more. You can also slowly increase the difficulty. That's what I did when I implemented the animated anatomy studies.

With a personal challenge, you can focus on self-growth. And leave the hashtag challenges to have fun, experiment, and be part of the community.

Ok, but does making a personal challenge help you improve? Mine finished on May 30. Am I a better artist now?

To measure my drawing improvement, I made some life drawing exercises in "class" format, and then without a time limit, I drew some poses from my imagination. Comparing them to day 11 and day 16 of my challenge, I think I improved a little, drawing-wise speaking.

The biggest difference is not in my skills, though. It's in my mindset. I feel the challenge made me feel better while drawing. I feel less stressed and with more confidence. I am still doing the anatomy animations I started on day 21, even though the daily challenge ended. So it also gave me the boost I needed to keep grinding forward. Like a marathon, not a sprint. And that's what matters the most.

If you feel artistically stuck, or you're not enjoying drawing as much as you once did, or you want to polish your skills or learn something new, you can make a personal challenge and focus it on self-improvement. It's hugely motivating for other artists and me to see someone challenging themself, and coming out better.

#script #youtube video #art challenge #artists on tumblr #art improvement

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naniwa-archive · 2 years ago

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BAILA Vol. 67 (October'22 issue)

Nishihata Daigo

Brand New Leadership

Nishihata, the absolute ace who carried Kansai Johnny's Jr. last year, made his CD debut as Naniwa Danshi where he bore the role of a center. We will learn about the work policy of the person who believes in the idea "we want to be a group where every member simultaneously works hard and improves each other" and cherishes team work more than anything.

With the 7 of us becoming one, I want to show our ideal form of teamwork

Along with his quick-thinking ability and his ad-libs, Nishihata is highly appreciated for his polished comedy skills that he was trained in during his time in Kansai.

“Ever since I was a teenager, I was calm and collected, even in the group I am often seen as the serious one. I guess it's because during work sometimes I would get into a mode where I would be strict when I need to be. But I am not a perfectionist at all. For example, I have been entrusted with directing concerts but I keep a balance between the parts that I want to focus on and the parts I want to entrust to others. As for the costumes, since I want to respect our member Kento who is in charge of it, that's why I only convey the image for him to understand how the direction would be. I strongly believe in leaving things to people who are good at the field so that we can create something good together. If you run after perfection too much, then at times when things go wrong, you will end up blaming yourself or have conflict with those around you. My stance is quite different when being in a group or by myself at shooting sites. I feel like, instead of doing it consciously, it happens rather naturally. If I had to compare the two, with solo work I have to try extra hard to leave a mark, but if I do so I might receive backlash for it. Maintaining balance is really difficult. Since everything will eventually come back to you. In reference to that, the sense of comfortness within the group is completely different. As there are 7 people in Naniwa Danshi that's why the balance is well kept and everything is neutralized in a good way. For example, in team pursuit in speed skating, there are some people who come forward, even if the members change their position midway, the ultimate aim is to reach the goal together! It would be great if we could be in neat coordination with some of us going out of our way and some being reserved. I am a bit more cautious than most people, but just like the members, if you spend a long period of time together with me, then the walls between us will suddenly disappear and I will be all clingy."

A never seen before world conquering high school drama featuring Sengoku warlords who are full of unique and lively individuality

In the currently airing drama "Shin • Shincho Koki ~ Classmate wa Sengoku Busho ~", Nishihata plays the role of Toyotomi Hideyoshi who has a natural talent in tricking people.

“With the setting having the clones of Sengoku warlords, it alone has a different kind of point of interest to it that is different from the idea of time slip. Nobunaga has a merciless image but, the Nobunaga played by Ren is naturally stupid airhead. Since there are both characters based on historical facts, and characters different from historical facts, that's why people who are interested in history and people who aren't, both should be able to enjoy the show. It certainly is a new form of 'Sengoku Reiwa Comedy' right?".

Nishihata has been living a busy life with drama shooting and group activities. As for his true face that we are all curious about—

“I am the type who completely separates my on and off modes. In private, I become loud and sociable, also the troublemaker side to me is definitely on the stronger end….. My room is not particularly dirty, but this morning I left without washing one of the dishes (laughs). But, doing the laundry is a different issue, it's something I want to do properly. It seems like I have a strange obsession with it. Earlier today I had a little time before this shoot, so I went to look for a birthday present for one of our members Micchi. He has turned 20 so I wanted to give something memorable for the occasion. That's why I decided on getting preserved flowers. This is the first time in my life that I will be giving flowers to someone, that's why I'm kind of nervous about giving them (blush)”

#shirolations #なにわ男子 #johnny's #naniwa danshi #西畑大吾 #nishihata daigo #baila

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chixibrown · 4 years ago

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Upon finishing the Stardew Valley comic

Since the Stardew Valley comic has been released by Fangamer, I am now able to write about what I had been doing in secret for one long year.

■ Gratitude

First of all, to the original creator Eric-san who entrusted the task in my hands, to Kari-san who helped me from early development all the way to printing, to Ryan-san, to Steven-san who did the translations, to Kari-san's mother who assisted in the creation of the envelope, to Erica-san for product photography -- And last but not least, everyone at Fangamer and FangamerJP.

It's thanks to the support of many people that I was able to finish the comic, and I wish to extend my sincerest gratitude towards everyone involved.

■ Chronology

"Chihiro! Big News! Let's create a new merch together!" was a request that I received around autumn of 2018. At first I was wondering if I was going to be asked to design a T-shirt, but turned out to be an invitation to draw a comic book!

At that time, I was posting comics on Twitter at random. Not even in my wildest dreams have I thought that my little comics would be appreciated so, and thus I immediately burst into tears.

I'm very honored and thankful for the opportunity to pen Fangamer's very first comic.

■ Contents

I'll try not to spoil anything about the story in this section.

The content requested by the original creator Eric-san for the comic was: "The story before the farmer comes to the farm" "With focus on the community center and Joja" "And the protagonist should have no set characteristics"

These were really the ONLY information that we received from Eric-san throughout the whole process (whyyy).

I was definitely worried. In reality, for around six months when I did my preliminary research, I played Stardew Valley every day, took countless pictures, and absorbed myself in collecting materials.

I I ended up taking a little over 20 thousand screenshots total (lol).

I wholeheartedly agree with Eric-san's guideline not to give the protagonist any set characteristics. I think one of the keypoints of this game is that "Anyone can be the protagonist".

The story is set from a few years before the prologue of game, so I was rather careful not to show my own personal interpretation. In principle, the actions of the characters were mostly taken from their in-game dialogue where they mention having done something in the past (For example, the reason Sam got in trouble lmao).

It took a lot of effort outlining the story, which involved things such as "Which characters would be in contact with each other?" and "Which characters may not be present at the valley at the time?". This is the reason why the preliminary research took around six months.

By the way, I was the one who proposed to include a "letter" with the comic, both as a bonus and major spoiler, in a way. But uh, many fellow Japanese may not be able to read it, so... I'll secretly tell you the what's actually written on the letter:

It's the handwritten version of THE letter you receive in the English version of the game's prologue. It's in your hands now. So in conclusion, it's probably exactly what you think it was.

I was quite adamant about how the letter needs to be handwritten. And as who wrote it... I shall keep it a secret here.

The reason why the comic had little to no dialogue is because it was the style I had back from the time I was drawing Stardew Valley fan art. Since Stardew Valley is a media not originally from Japan, that style serves to fulfill my two wishes: "I want people all over the world to be able to read my work" and "I want to cherish the feelings of each individual player" -- That sort of idea, really.

To summarize,

"I want people all over the world to be able to read my work"

"I want to preserve the unique interpretations each individual player might have"

"Anyone can become a Stardew Valley protagonist"

I drew the comic with these concepts in mind.

■ About me

I would like to talk about my experiences throughout the development of the comic.

My name is Chihiro Sakaida (a.k.a. Brown Junimo), I was already working for a game company, so I took advantage of that experience to work on game design and illustration.

Of course, while I was working on the Stardew Valley comic, I was a freelancer and had other jobs to worry about as well, so I ended up spending a lot of time working on the comic at night after work. I also studied digital art for a month for the sake of the comic, and I think it helped improved my work efficiency.

Those were truly, very fun days for me. The only thing that did bother me was the fact that even though I was working on my favorite Stardew Valley content day after day, I couldn't really share it with anyone.

I didn't want to take the risk of accidentally running my mouth on Twitter, and I no longer had the time to draw and post online like I used to -- So I had to resort to posting only low-risk tweets, so to speak, and to be honest, it was quite disheartening.

As such, I felt truly supported by the trusted individuals who knew about the comic. Tori-san, Aki-san, Kari-san, and Ryan-san, thank you so, so much.

■ Those who supported me

Tori-san is my partner, and also a person I respect as a novelist and screenwriter. She kindly and carefully reviewed and summarized my messy story.

Aki-san knew about the comic existed, but also knew next to nothing about it. Because of that, I think it was more than a handful to support me. It must've been really hard on Aki-san, who didn't know the contents of the book and thus had no way to accidentally spoiling the surprise, but whom also probably held even more feelings of shame than I did in regards to social media... I'm sorry that you've had to put up with so much. I was very proud to have you be the first reader of the finished book.

Kari-san is the illustrator of the Official Stardew Valley Guide Book, and I respect her a whole lot.

Both her work are her personality are very kind and easy-going. Together with her partner Ryan-san, she's managed to assist and encourage me many, many times.

No matter what I drew, I was sure to be greeted with her "Chihiro, you're so great!" or "Chihiro, you really did your best!" (Even my own mother have never praise me this much!) Overall, she feels just like an older sister I've always longed for, and it makes me very happy.

No matter what merch was in the process of being created, she would say "Let's make a brown one!!", solely because it's my signature color. It makes me very happy, although probably a tiny bit embarrassed as well to have her value my one schtick this much. She's even came to Japan many times, and listened to me talk all day long. After all, I wouldn't have been able to get this job to begin with if it wasn't for Kari-san, so she's a real lifesaver.

I didn't get to talk directly with Eric-san, the original creator and developer of Stardew Valley. Obviously I received some feedback via Fangamer, but I was refraining from being in contact with him as much as possible. I didn't think I could convey my full sincerity towards him before the comic was completed. I strived to be able to earnestly understand the feelings he wanted to convey via his own words -- Whether it was the game dialogues, his words on the developer blog and interviews, etc.

There was, by the way, no revision whatsoever to the comic. Eric-san did, however, carefully check all of my ideas and always provided words of appreciation; which made me happier than anything else. Those words became my motivation to live, in a sense, which in turn allowed me to freely and happily work on the comic.

■ Going Forward

While I've been talking about how proud I am to have finished the comic, I also would like to talk about what's coming next. While I certainly plan to continue working with Fangamer for the foreseeable future, at the same time, I have also decided to work for another game development company, and I plan to devote my time working on game development for at least the next year.

It has been my dream for the past 15 years to work for this particular company, and I'm elated to see it come true.

However, as a result I think I will have less exposure to social media. I don't think it's going to be easy to recreate that warm and wondrous time where I could interact with people regularly, but my memory of that time is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.

I'm really sorry that I have absolutely nothing to give back, but I sincerely hope the comic has brought a smile to everyone who's read or even merely noticed it.

■ Finally

I'm such a fortunate person -- I've come this far due to everyone's support, and for that, I would also like to extend my deepest gratitude. Thank you so much, for everything, always.

It would delight me if all of you could stay with me from this point on.

As I try to polish my skills and improve myself as a whole.

PS: Thanks to my best friend Ryou-chan for translating this!

#stardew valley

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personalityarchive · 4 years ago

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Mike Morton 7w6

[[28 August 2020

Originally written as a comment thread on PDB]]

I will admit that I did a double take seeing the consensus vote on Mike’s enneatype. I had thought it rather plain to see that he is a base type 7, but apparently that is not the case. Perhaps his career as a performer is what caused the mistype, but it’s still strange to imagine a type 3 Mike. (I also got a bit of a chuckle out of seeing Mike voted as chaotic good when he’s clearly a chaotic neutral character. More on that in its own thread.)

As a character with a full set of deduction targets, several costumes, and accessories, there is an abundance of information on Mike’s character that I feel is vital in discerning his true enneatype. From his deductions alone, it’s quite obvious that he cares less about personal image or professional success than he does about trying new things and having a good time. Especially the parts of the deduction tree written from Mike’s first person perspective, it’s obvious that image and career is a secondary consideration, tied more to the 7’s desire to be entertaining than from the 3’s desire to maintain a “good image”.

Mike’s second deduction target, entitled “The Secret of Juggling”, has this description line: “Throwing isn't just an interesting skill. It's what makes a juggler successful.” Now, if this was all it had to say about him, I would agree, a 3 interpretation wouldn’t be far-fetched at all. However, the deduction conclusion is what is truly significant here, as it is in fact a diary entry from Mike himself. The deduction tagline could be interpreted as a general statement on Mike’s career, or even as an opinion from Bernard himself. Meanwhile, the conclusion has this to say:

“Diary 1: Bernard said that the size and shape of the bag, as well as the type of filling, are critical. He refused my request to fill the bag with stones, stating that it was ‘hazardous’.”

We can see here that Mike is less interested in appealing to the expectations of others, and indeed, in maintaining a polished image, than Bernard is. What Mike is interested in is in fact trying out new things, even dangerous ones — his phrasing of Bernard’s response to his proposal shows that what he finds frustrating is feeling limited in his options. Mike doesn’t seem too convinced that his idea should have been rejected, and was less concerned with the practicality of it than he was in simply exploring the possibility. This is clearly far more indicative of a 7 than of a 3.

Now, based on what Bernard told Mike — namely, that he identified certain factors as “critical” to the bags used in juggling — we can infer that it is Bernard who is concerned about keeping up appearances, or doing things the “right way” (suggesting perhaps a base 1 or 3 for him). From this, we can further conclude that the tagline of this deduction target is indeed a reflection of Bernard’s thoughts rather than Mike’s.

This flows into the next deduction, “Artistic Acts”, with the description: “Creativity is what ensures that the stage performances continue to improve.” Again, this sounds like a statement from Bernard’s perspective, and perhaps offers us some insight into why Bernard treated Mike with the kind of leniency that permitted Mike’s later experimentation with acid and nitre. Since Bernard is the one in charge of the circus, he is the one concerned with constantly improving the show; because Mike’s creativity allows him to come up with new ideas (and gives him the natural charisma that propelled him into the position of audience favorite), Bernard is willing to let Mike get away with quite a bit.

Meanwhile, the conclusion for Artistic Acts gives us a summary for one of Mike’s own writings: “Notebook: The properties of Nitre and some ‘Test Records’ were recorded in detail.” The implication here is that Mike was not very concerned with how his experiments would directly benefit his performances; in fact, the notebook’s contents give a sense of unease, communicating a message in direct opposition to the deduction target summary. Not only is nitre entirely unnecessary in improving his performance as an acrobat, but Mike’s behavior seems rather secretive in nature. So, the purpose of this deduction target is to show a disconnect between the way Bernard perceived Mike and the activities that Mike was actually engaging in. Bernard saw Mike as an invaluable member of the Hullabaloo Circus, and assumed that the experiments and ideas Mike explored all went into augmenting said performances. Of course, by advancing along the deduction tree, it becomes increasingly clear that Mike’s area of interest had little to do with his professional success.

Taking a step back and analyzing the deduction targets for Mike from a more holistic standpoint, a certain pattern emerges. We can see that the first 5 deduction targets are separated from the last 5 in tone and perspective.

1) “Family: He's like a father; an ideal one.”

2) “The Secret of Juggling: Throwing isn't just an interesting skill. It's what makes a juggler successful.”

3) “Artistic Acts: Creativity is what ensures that the stage performances continue to improve.”

4) “A New Face: The circus is where people come and go. We always welcome new faces, and obviously, the beautiful ones.”

5) “ ‘Darling’: How people call each other often reflects the degree to which the relationship has developed.”

6) “Downcast: Watching a sad face can sometimes bring us some dark pleasure.”

7) “Carnival: Carnivals usually mean chaos, and chaos means opportunity.”

8) “The End: It's all over.”

9) “Encore: Audiences often say this hoping that the performer will continue performing on the stage.”

10) “Reappearance: Call their names and make them return to the stage once again.”

Laying them out side-by-side, it’s clear that the first five have summary lines that focus more on outward appearances, professional achievement, and success — all values of the 3. Key words can be picked out from each to support this conclusion: “ideal” from Family; “successful” from The Secret of Juggling; “improve” from Artistic Acts; “beautiful” from A New Face; “reflects” from “Darling”.

Meanwhile, the second half contain sentiments that are far more self-driven, or self-referential, yet less self-aware. Rather than seeking to appear a particular way in the eyes of others, there is an endogenously-generated drive based on the assessment of the appearances of those around the speaker. This way of approaching the self and others maps to the 7’s desire to forget the self through constant absorption in the external world. For the 7, there is a lack of consideration regarding professional success — real or perceived — and a greater emphasis on living in the moment. Plans for the future all funnel into goals that may not be practical or even fully fleshed-out, since stopping to examine their own thoughts and feelings can frighten the 7.

On top of this, the deduction targets undergo an overall shift in speaking style; while the first half of the deduction targets can be a bit longer, even bordering on long-winded, the second half are far more succinct but, again, less self-reflective. This displays the 7’s style of interacting with the world more than the 3, where focus can be more scattered in the search for instant gratification, although the analytical aspects of the mind center are still present.

What we see in the second set of deduction targets is the perspective of a more active, impatient person than the previous deduction summaries. There’s only one that contains a sentence with more than a single clause, and even then it’s to quickly connect two different concepts without having to go through the trouble of further explication. While indicative of a nimble mind, this cleverness manifests as an underlying impatience. Overall, the tendency in these deduction summaries is towards a more singularly outward-focused attention, with a desire to engage with the world without having to pause for self-reflection.

This pattern in turn suggests a split in the speaker for the first set of deduction target taglines versus the second set. While deductions one through four reflect Bernard’s perspective, six through ten are Mike’s. As for the fifth deduction, that’s the bridge; it’s where the speaker switches from one to the other, segueing into Mike being the deduction’s “voice” for both the summary and conclusion of each. Even more interesting, in fact, is the particular way the fifth deduction target implies an asymmetry in the perspective of the two speakers; the summary is a reflection of both Bernard and Mike’s understanding of the other, though the angle is skewed significantly when moving between the two.

While Bernard and Mike are simultaneously experiencing a shift in their relationship to one another, the directions of perceived development are not only incongruent, they’re fundamentally incompatible. The title and speaking style of this deduction further underline this imbalance; while the tone and pacing of the summary reads as Bernard’s voice, the conclusion and the name “darling” are clearly from Mike’s perspective.

The deduction conclusion is as follows: “Diary 2: I love Nitre! As long as it's mixed with water, even a hot summer's day can become refreshing! Bernard's reaction was hilarious, and he even called me ‘Dear Mr. Mike Morton’! Oh, Bernard, I want to hear it again. Next time, I'll make sure to put my cold hands down your collar.”

This casual and playful writing style is juxtaposed against the matter-of-fact — almost distant — statement on the nature of relationships in the summary, creating further dissonance within the deduction. It is implied, then, that Bernard’s opinion of his relationship to Mike has developed from one of paternal care (see the information given by the first deduction) to one of a more professional nature; Bernard is Mike’s boss, not his caretaker. Meanwhile, Mike has developed what appears to be homoerotic feelings towards Bernard, seeing the nickname “Dear Mr. Mike Morton” as a term of endearment rather than one of separation.

Referring back to the second deduction target, the subtle shift in Mike’s understanding of his and Bernard’s roles in their relationship can be further explored. While the contents of Diary 1 suggest that Mike does still see Bernard as a superior (one that he will listen to, if a bit begrudgingly), Diary 2 shows a significantly more excited response to what can be inferred to be reprimand from Bernard. Mike, it seems, has come to view Bernard and himself as interacting on equal terms, and thus, as eligible for developing a relationship outside the bounds of their previous connection. Similarly, Bernard no longer sees the power dynamic of their relationship as being defined by “guardian” and “child”; however, contrary to Mike’s interpretation, Bernard still very much sees himself as being the superior. In a sense, elevation from “child” to “employee” does put Mike on more equal footing with Bernard, but what Mike has failed to pick up on is the paradoxical increase in distance in their relationship, even as he is elevated to the status of “fellow adult”.

In these differing sets of expectations, we can see a clear conflict between a 7’s approach to relationships and that of a 1 (or a 3 with a strong connection to 1). While Bernard is concerned with the way the relationship is “supposed” to develop (e.g. the way a boss is supposed to treat an employee), the 7 is concerned with exploring possibilities and having fun. Further, the 7 is interested in relationships that are constantly changing, as a way of staving off boredom and maintaining investment in the other person. For many 7’s, the only way to preserve dedication to a single “other” is to NOT preserve some aspect of it. In other words, if he is to be limited in the individuals available for him to form attachments to, he must seek variety in the way the attachment functions.

Bernard seems to be interested in treating Mike as a proper adult now, one who has responsibilities and ought to know the proper way of behaving. His reaction to Mike’s experimentation with explosives is one of frustration, calling him “Dear Mr. Mike Morton” as a combination middle-naming of a misbehaving child, and a more professional way of addressing another adult. So, it can be said that Bernard appears to be straddling the line between criticism for a subordinate’s “improper” behavior, and a lingering fondness for his charge.

Mike, on the other hand, seems to have simply derived great amusement from the situation, whether or not he picked up on the remaining fondness Bernard held. His excited proclamation of love for nitre and his plans to put his cold hands down Bernard’s collar read solidly as a 7’s epicurean desire for pleasure and sensual enjoyment, rather than from any influence from type 3. In fact, it’s questionable if Mike was even consciously aware that Bernard was not as amused as he by the entire affair; indeed, his spin on being scolded is exactly the sort of reaction expected of the positive outlook of the 7.

Additionally, as opposed to the 3’s efforts to maintain a good image in the eyes of others, the 7 tries to hold onto a self-image of being okay through rationalization and positive reframing. As long as they don’t have to acknowledge negativity, they can feel comfortable and happy. At the same time, the 7’s rationalization goes towards thinking of what lies ahead, escaping from the limited present to a future with boundless possibility. What we can see Mike doing in his diary entry is just that: he chooses to see Bernard’s scolding as an expression of endearment, and has already skipped forward to thinking about fun or interesting plans for “next time”. Nowhere in this diary deduction is there even a whiff of the 3’s desire to appeal to the expectations of others, or appear competent and professional.

Following this split perspective, the deduction summaries fall squarely into the realm of Mike’s internal dialogue. Deduction six, Downcast, leads with the following: “Watching a sad face can sometimes bring us some dark pleasure.” When compared to some of the earlier deductions, the contrast is jarring. While the present or implied “others” were previously referenced in terms of interaction or as a source of expectations, here they exist solely as a source of entertainment. There is an absence of people-pleasing or even the sentiment that others are tools to be used; this falls far more in line with the 7’s desire to be entertained or to be entertaining, rather than the 3’s understanding of the give and take of unspoken social contracts.

More than that, the conclusion of deduction six gives us another glimpse into the shifting dynamic between Mike and Bernard:

“Diary 3: Bernard sent his regards to my beloved little ones. He thought the wounds on Joker's face looked more like ‘corrosions’. His suspicions really hurt me! Of course, I did lose a bottle of strong acid. Maybe I'll have to get another bottle before Bernard finds out about this ‘mismanagement’.”

While I admit to being unsure who Mike is referring to as his “beloved little ones”, the rest of this diary entry is fairly straightforward. Again, we see Mike’s bubbly and enthusiastic character, brushing off what are clearly well-founded misgivings from Bernard. Like with the scolding he received in the second deduction target, Mike — in a very characteristically 7ish way — responds with a playful attitude: “His suspicions really hurt me!” is expressed in a manner completely foreign to the 3, especially one who is experiencing a threat to their image in the eyes of someone they feel close to.

While it may be true that Mike is wounded by Bernard’s ability to suspect him of such a crime, he covers it up with humor, rather than going to the 3’s tactic of trying to prove his integrity or good character. Rather than indicating a wounded ego, Mike shows an avoidance of the negative; he distracts from a situation that could be emotionally difficult by covering it up with a joke, then quickly moving onto something else.

Now, Mike does engage in willful deceit (planning to cover up anything that may further implicate him), the ego fixation of the 3. However, the tone he takes is still one of measured amusement; his cheeky admission of incriminating evidence paired with his word choice “mismanagement” indicates an almost facetious attitude towards Bernard’s accusation, and more broadly, his concern with professionalism and image. After all, “mismanagement” is a term likely employed by Bernard in the past, as previous deduction targets indicate that he is a man who takes his work seriously. By placing this word in quotation marks, Mike expresses two things: first, that he is using someone else’s word; and second, that he himself does not hold the same values.

The following deduction, Carnival, starts with: “Carnivals usually mean chaos, and chaos means opportunity.” Again, there is a clear expression of the 7’s unstructured energy, always looking for the next exciting thing, chasing that high. While a 3 takes a more structured approach to reaching their goals and seizing opportunities, it is the 7 who sees chaos itself as being opportunity. In chaos, anything is possible, and the 7 finds this stimulating, even considering it to be an ideal situation.

Of course, when figuring out one’s enneagram, it is also important to consider the lines of connection. If the core type is uncertain, figuring out just one line can be enough to create a compelling case for one enneatype over another. The final deduction targets and the rumor about Mike, therefore, offer some vital pieces of the puzzle.

Deduction 8, “The End: It's all over.” Short, sweet, to the point, but overall somewhat disappointing. There’s not enough substance to really determine much more about Mike than we already know. But, when including the slightly lengthier conclusion, necessary context is provided. The conclusion follows thusly:

“Newspaper Clipping: The carnival killer remains a mystery. The public feels that the local police did not do a good job and has called for further investigations.”

Despite not being directly from Mike’s own diary or journal, this is still following his perspective; the framing of this information is key in our understanding of its significance. Clearly, this conclusion functions to tell the audience what sort of tragedy occurred at the circus, but also to include Mike as being a member of the public who holds this belief. This hints at the start of a 7’s disintegration into 1, where the focus goes from what is “fun” to what is “right” and “wrong”, edging into the unhealthy territory of becoming critical and punitive.

When faced with the death of his circus family, Mike, in an attempt to distract himself from the painful reality, jumps into action, hoping to escape the fears nipping at his heels. After suffering such a devastating loss, he wastes no time with mourning; he immediately goes to enacting a plan to deal with the perpetrator of the crime. We see in his next deduction, Encore, the following: “Diary 4: I scoured the city's mortuary and found everyone except the strange new couple. They were scheduled for the grand finale and couldn't sneak out.”

We see immediately another massive tone shift in the speaker, though we know that rather than crossing over from one character to another, it is Mike who is undergoing the switch in tone. In stark contrast to the chipper, playful mood of his earlier entries, this one is very matter-of-fact, very controlled. The 1’s desire to be objective and principled has overshadowed the 7’s energetic distractibility. From the rumor on his page, we know that: “Mike Morton is the most popular guy in the traveling circus ‘Hullabaloo’. After surviving the disaster, Mike Morton's only goal is to find the real killer who destroyed his home."

This solidifies the interpretation of Mike disintegrating into a 1. As a 7, his natural instinct when faced with the threat of loss is to reach for more, trying to gather close that which he feels is important to his survival and comfort. Unfortunately, this option has been denied him completely; he cannot have “more” of “nothing”, which is precisely what he has now that his entire way of life, his home, his family, has been destroyed. Faced with this harsh reality, Mike has dedicated himself to the single-minded goal of hunting down the one who dared to steal everything from him. The 7’s impatience is magnified by the 1’s resentment and anger, leading to his overpowering pursuit of a quite 1ish crusade against the wrongdoings of others.

This understanding of the text is only further supported by alternate translations of the original text, which provide additional information and insight into both the tragedy itself, and Mike’s perspective:

1) “Blonde curls, a lively spirit and clear blue eyes forever full of joy, Mike Morton was the most popular guy in Hullabaloo, the travelling circus. Hullabaloo was Mike's entire world, a world where slaughter should never have existed. Having survived from the tragedy, Mike would stop at nothing until he finds the one responsible for shattering his world.”

2) “Now desperate and having lost the only things that mattered in his life, Mike's only goal in life is to find the true murderer of those he cherished.”

In all three translations, we see the overwhelming sense of loss, devastation and panic driving him over the edge. Having found the bodies of his comrades, and having discovered what in his mind is the suspicious departure of the circus’ newest members, the last hopes of employing his instinctive response (read: avoidance) are dashed. All at once, Mike is forced to contend with problems and pain he is unaccustomed to coping with. He dips immediately into the unhealthy emotions of the 1, the 1’s feeling of being the only one who is Right and Good; he alone can know the Truth.

This reading is supplemented by the correspondence we have from Mike to a man by the name of Arthur Russell. Thanks to being included as content for both Mike and Murro’s character days, we have not one but two samples of his writing post-Hullabaloo disaster. Following on the heels of the Encore deduction target, Mike’s drastic tonal shift while writing stands in stark contrast to his earlier, livelier musings. Mike’s birthday letter is as follows:

“Dear Mr. Arthur Russell,

The investigation report you've sent last time was of great assistance to me. In regard to the animal tamer Natalie, also known as Margaretha Zelle, I wish to acquire further information on her upbringing as well as her life before the circus. Starting next week, I will be out of town for a while, and your salary will be paid in the same payment method per usual. There is no need to send in your report this time. I will pick them up at your residence.

I look forward to your reply.

Yours Truly,

Mike Morton”

We can see that he has adopted a very formal voice, adhering to proper etiquette and expressing his thoughts in an impersonal, emotionally distant way. Without knowing whose signature adorns this letter, one could easily be convinced that this was penned by Bernard. In fact, my first time reading this letter caused me a moment of confusion; surely it was a mistake, a particularly egregious error similar to the mistranslation of Priestess’ name. After all, how could Mike have been the one to write in such a clipped, formal style? Yet, here is Murro’s birthday letter:

“Dear Mr. Russell,

Due to unforeseen circumstances, your mission objective has been "eliminated" prior to the engagement of your employee.

Therefore, I regret to inform you that the remaining payment is beyond my obligation, as stated in our agreement. After all, no one could possibly uncover a fully-intact cranial remains within that pile of ashes.

I wish you well.

Your loyal customer,

Mike Morton”

There is no denying it, Mike did in fact send these letters. His playful, somewhat childish persona is just that: an act. Underneath it, he is incredibly capable and self-sufficient, and the letters seem to place a great deal of emphasis on the matter of “should” or “shouldn’t”, whether something “ought to be” or not. He must do the right thing, in the right way; he expects others to do the same. To the reader, there is a feeling that beneath the carefully controlled surface lies a mass of ugly emotions. There is anger. There is resentment. There is a gradual movement towards a breaking point. It is precisely this which led people to initially believe that Mike himself could have been the circus killer. The details are obscure, the content sinister, the controlled tone reading as hiding something — some dark secret. Murro’s birthday letter seems to imply that Mike has hired a hitman to “eliminate” somebody — likely Murro — but an incident (perhaps even one of his own making) has prematurely killed that person off.

What these letters show us is the 1’s methodical approach; they bear a striking similarity to Mike’s early deduction summaries, as though Mike were subconsciously attempting to borrow from Bernard’s more structured, 1ish mannerisms. With a professionalism and formality that is unassailable in its dignity, but with the base 7’s falsely cheerful tone and the 6 wing’s suspicious nature, Mike sends letters to this “Arthur Russell” character.

Why wing 6 rather than wing 8? Especially when given his apparent embrace of violent means? Well, despite his vengeful rage, he does display the 6 wing’s avoidance of conflict, when possible; as far back as the second deduction target, this is made clear. Mike’s reaction to Bernard denying his request was not to lash out, or argue; he simply moped about it later, when he was alone. Then, when Bernard suspected Mike of disfiguring Joker’s face, Mike’s response was again one of disappointment, not aggression.

The mere fact that Mike would say that Bernard’s accusations “really hurt” falls in direct opposition to the 8’s unwillingness to display weakness of any kind. Even in jest, exposing one’s own emotional vulnerability is not something a 7 with a strong 8 wing would be comfortable doing. On the other hand, the 6 wing is far likelier to allow this; one defense mechanism of the 6, after all, is to appear vulnerable in an attempt to elicit protective feelings from an authority figure. Further evidence is supplied by Mike’s Deduction Star 2020 quotes.

Quote: "Don't think I'll trust you so easily, you cute little thing."

Here, Mike is speaking with the playfulness of his base, 7, while communicating a 6ish difficulty in trusting others. Especially when directed at someone (or something?) “little” and “cute”, this suspicion really does play to the 6’s anxiety and doubt. Where an 8 may feel powerful and confident in the presence of something that appears defenseless, a 6 will be wary; it can’t possibly be so simple, right? Surely it’s a trap?

A 7 with an 8 wing would be more likely to find this mixture of traits endearing, perhaps even themself feeling some twinge of protectiveness. The 8, in general, tends to champion the underdog, desiring to defend that which is innocent or tender. Besides which, the 7w8 is far more blunt and forceful; if there is doubt of a person’s trustworthiness, the problem will be dealt with head-on. It is the 7w6 who will communicate a lack of trust in the lighthearted manner used in the quote; after all, the 6 wing doesn’t want to escalate the situation unless it becomes absolutely necessary.

What of this Deduction Star quote: "I won't let go of the person that destroyed Hullabaloo’.”? Does this not embody the 8’s ego fixation, vengeance? Well yes, but actually no. It’s easy to mistake his actions as being driven by this, as both the 7 and the 8 share an assertive Hornevian type. However, the 8 experiences threats as a challenge, a call to battle; the 8 will make their presence known, and the subject of their wrath will be aware that they have a target painted on their back. By contrast, the 7’s aggression is more of an entitlement, and need not manifest itself overtly all of the time. The 6 wing is what allows the 7 to readily employ the dishonest, underhanded scheming that Mike happily does.

8’s “holy idea” is truth, meaning a life-long search for truth and justice. Mike does not show any interest in such a thing until after the slaughter. His 7’s harmonic pattern of optimistic outlook is twisted into the 1’s focus of attention on what’s imperfect and must be made better. His active nature is turned toward a need to do the “right thing” in the “right way”, with the 1’s ego fixation of resentment driving his actions. But what is it that separates the 8’s vengeance from the 1’s resentment, and how does Mike display one over the other?

The 8’s need for justice calls for the righting of all wrongs, notably towards those they feel protective of, while the 1’s resentment stems from needing to do the “good work” that others won’t notice, won’t care about, or won’t make a “strong enough effort” to do. Not only did Mike not feel protective of his fellow Hullabaloo performers, but we see from the newspaper clipping that “insufficient effort” on the part of law enforcement played a significant role in Mike’s outlook. His search for the “truth” behind the killings, then, is the 1ish excuse for his own actions. His goal is “noble”, therefore, his actions are “right” or “necessary”. The final deduction, “Reappearance”, further solidifies this view.

Summary: “Call their names and make them return to the stage once again.”

Conclusion: “Invitation: Enclosed is a photo of a dark-haired woman with a name on the back - Natalie.”

We find out what he was sent that brought him to Oletus: the knowledge that Natalie is at the manor. Remember, now, that he has been investigating Natalie under the suspicion that she was involved; he had no real evidence. Still, he insists that he is after the “truth”. This falls in line with the 1’s strong sense of purpose, coupled with the need to justify their actions to themselves (and sometimes others as well). He has convinced himself that he is following logic and perhaps objective truth, when in reality, he is allowing his own judgements and unsubstantiated convictions to guide his actions.

Driving this point home is one of his dislikes being listed as “violent and rude people”. Yet, somehow, Mike seemingly hired a hitman, and may have had some involvement in Murro’s death. This is the hypocrisy of the unhealthy 1: it is evil and bad when others do it, but the 1 is exempt, since they are acting for a good cause. (On the other hand, a stronger influence from the 8 would allow for the admittance of double standards, but with justification along the lines of “law of the jungle” or “the strong devour the weak”.)

Considering all of this, Mike’s childish persona seems to be a product of a 7 base with a 6 wing; his desire to enact retribution upon the circus killer comes from the 7’s disintegration to 1, not from an 8 wing. Following the tragedy at Hullabaloo, Mike undergoes a transformation: his spirited, ludic nature turns condemnatory, moralistic, and ultimately, vindictive.

#long post #character analysis #identity v #mike morton #idv acrobat #enneagram #enneatype #ennea 7 #7w6 #idv bernard #idv murro #wildling #idv wildling #the full writeup was 15 pages long #so this is just the section about the enneagram #but without the appended skins information #which will be added in a reblog #plus the chaotic neutral essay #and the tldr

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hypexion · 5 years ago

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A Pile of Fanwalkers (Part 1)

The setting of Magic: The Gathering is one where you can create as many fun fan characters as you want and it’s feasible that they’d never interact with canon characters. So here’s a bunch of them, escaping from my imagination into this post. There is probably a better way to deliver this information, but efficacy is overrated. But there’s no better time, because it’s “Fan Character February“.

The basic format for each planeswalker will be a Name/Colour Identity/Pre-Ignition Typeline/Homeplane blob of information, a quickish description of them and some “fun“ facts, and then some hits and misses for extra flavour. Also, I’m going to split this into three posts - “Heroic“, “Okay“ and “Villians“, for I believe I have the moral authority to judge my creations.

Also some of these are going to be from fanplanes, which will go undescribed beyond whatever tidbits come out the character flavour. Others will just have a ?, representing a lack of knowledge and/or sufficent worldbuilding. With that out of the way, let’s go!

Heroic

Using a somewhat loose definition of heroic, these are the planeswalkers that when presented with an injustice, will at least attempt to help. Even if it’s against their better judgement.

Alagard - UR, Human Artificer, Orpheri - As a self styled “Mirror Magus“, Alagard has turned his skill for magical analysis into a method of acquiring knowledge that others would consider out of reach. From simple cantrips, to complex feats of sorcery, there’s no spell Alagard won’t try to copy or take apart at least once. When he’s not commiting “theft of intellectual property“, as the Azorius call it, he might actually be doing his job as an Artificer, constructing various tools used to navigate between the realms of Orpheri. Or he might have found himself in a situation that requires some kind of outside intervention and impulsively intervened. It keeps happening, and once you’ve committed, you’ve got to see the problem through, right?

Alagard has white skin and short blonde hair. When working, he wears the traditional artifacer get-up - protective robes, gloves and safety accessories. Otherwise, he prefers a slightly more elaborate outfit, including a fancy blue long coat with a few too many silver frills. He also carries a Mirrorblade, an enchanted weapon capable of shifting into a multitude of other weapons. It’s pretty handy. When Alagard planeswalks, he seems to shimmer away, flaking off small, short-lived pieces of reflective material.

Hits: Finding new magic, solving problems, fancy coats. Misses: The Queen of Fate interfering with his life, mortal peril.

Heru - URW, Bird Warrior, Amonkhet - As you might guess from his homeplane, pre-ignition life for Heru could have been better. This falcon-aven always had a keen eye for detail, a talent for seeing through deception, and a tad more curiosity than was perhaps safe on Amonkhet. However, even with his growing doubt, he followed the path laid out for him by the gods. When the time came, he passed the Trials of Solidarity, Knowledge and Strength. Many from his crop did not. He might even have passed Zeal, if not for Bontu, the worse of the gods. The pointless brutality of the Trial of Ambition brought Heru’s crisis of faith to it’s peak, a thousand quiet doubts awoken by the senseless slaughter. For many, such a crisis had lead to a quick death. But Heru had a Spark, and it carried him far from Amonkhet. Now, inspired by some owl-aven he met after his first planeswalk, he seeks wisdom from across the multiverse, and wishes to create a better tomorrow.

Heru has light brown skin and brown feathers. Despite leaving his home in a less than pleasant way, he still wears the warrior’s clothing of those who take the trials. However, as he visits more planes and encounters new cultures, he has started to replace the gilded symbology of the God-Pharaoh with simpler patterns he finds appealing. Heru weilds a spear as his weapon of choice, and has recently discovered a talent for pyromancy, although he is hesitant to use it. Heru’s planeswalking effect is burst of golden flame, which occasionally leaves behind a few feathers.

Hits: Philosophy, a target from up to 100 meters, Nicol Bolas’ death, the absolute certainty that Bolas is dead, the lack of possibility that Bolas could return in any way, shape, or form. Misses: Bontu, the false God-Pharaoh knows as Nicol Bolas, large bodies of water, his own attempts at self-delusion regarding what he saw on Ravnica.

Locke - WU, Human Advisor, Noyir - Crime is a problem on many planes, and Noyir is no exception. In fact, it’s starting to get a little dire. Demons run the mob, the proliferation of magical weapons is out of control, and the serial killers seem to be especially nasty. Enter one Sebastian Locke, who has the tremendously useful ability of post-cognition, which allows him to view the recent past of places and objects. Armed with this, and a grab-bag of forensics magic, Locke is ready to take on any case, and won’t rest until the truth is discovered. He’s tangled with the Infinite Consortium, the Ozhov Syndicate, and many other sinisterly name organisations, along with a number of the multiverse’s most dangerous killers. He’s also convinced that Dack Fayden isn’t dead, but I suppose you can’t be always right all the time. (Or he knows something the rest of us don’t. Dack was in deep with the Ozhov, after all...)

Locke has black skin and black hair. He has the look of the classic detective, including the whole trench coat and fedora outfit. Since Locke is actually a detective, and visits a tailor, he looks pretty good in the whole get-up. While he keeps to the traditional drab colours on his homeplane, Locke has a rainbow’s worth of alternate outfits, for when he needs to fit in on another plane. Locke also carries a weapon that is certainly not a handgun, because it uses magic. (He’s from the gritty crime drama plane. It’s a gun.) When planewalking, Locke disappears into a swirl of grey fog, which quickly dissippates. Notably, this action takes him less than a second, making it an effective escape tactic.

Hits: Outwitting criminals, unravelling conspiracies, coffee, due process, elaborate crime boards. Misses: Serial killers, assassins, murderers and blackmailers, police corruption (of both the “taking bribes” and “magically becoming a demon” kinds).

Loxy - RW, Elephant Warrior, ? - Needless to say, Loxy’s name isn’t actually Loxy. It’s short for something. But when she points out that humans can be called Hugh, are you going to argue with the Loxodon who’s likely bigger than you, and carrying a war mace? Probably not. Of course, Loxy probably won’t smack your head clean off, provided you’re not some sort of evil-doer. She’s actually pretty nice, if a little over-enthusiastic some of the time, once you get to know her. Loxy is on a crusade against injustice, to right the wrongs of the multiverse and ensure worlds where the peaceful can live in peace. Many cruel and vile beings have met their end at Loxy’s hand, and I won’t mince words: all of them deserved it. Others have decided that reform is the greater part of not getting crushed by a Loxodon, and gone on to be nicer people.

Loxy has grey skin, because she’s a Loxodon, and whatever kind of hair Loxodon have. Loxy can generally be found wearing her armor, which she keeps polished and clean, in order to make a good first impression. As mentioned before, her primary weapon is a mace, but when you’re an almost eight foot tall elephant-person with foot long tusks, you never need to rely on a primary weapon. When not dressed up for battle, Loxy prefers to wear simple robes, just in case a fight breaks out. Somewhat surprisingly, Loxy’s planewalking aura is fairly subtle. She glows for a moment, before disappearing, leaving behind small balls of light.

Hits: Justice, stopping evil, can-do attitudes, the general concept of the Gatewatch. Misses: Injustice, the unrepentant, those who accept an unjust world as “natural“ and so refuse to seek improvement.

Velos - GU, Elf Shapeshifter Wizard, Ravnica - Have you ever head the story of Velos the wise? No? I thought not. It’s not a story the Conclave would tell you - he’s a Simic Legend. Velos has the power to manipulate biomancy to take on any form he wishes, even ones that are “decidedly male”. His ultimate goal was to be able to mantain a form indefinitely, which eventually, he achieved. Now Velos mentors promising biomancers in the ways of shapeshifting. He’s also taken up cataloguing some of the multiverse’s most adaptive species, which rather worryingly includes Slivers. Additionally, he has also pioneered several shapeshifting based treatments, to help those who need their bodies reworked. Velos is, at heart, a healer, and will offer help to anyone he encounters who may need it. He believes that everyone should be able to live their lives in good health, in the form that they find best fits them. On occation, this has brought him into conflict with some Simic factions, especially those who ignore the rather important factor of “informed consent.“

Velos’ prefered form is that of an elf, with pale skin and equally pale blonde hair. Many have noted that this gives him a strong resemblance to the elves of the Selesnya Conclave, although few really care. Those attempting to investigate his background do not get far, as the Combine wishes to focus on the future, and the Conclave would never admit that someone may have left them. Velos does not carry weapons, preferring to save carrying capacity for a portable laboratory, since he can’t take samples back to Ravnica from other planes. He also doesn’t really need any, since he’s long since mastered the art of transforming himself claws, spines, chitinous plating and other offensive and defensive body parts. While he hasn’t reached the fluidity of a naturally born shapeshifter yet, Velos is still capable of rearranging himself to multitude of forms, with very little delay. When planeswalking, he disappears into double-helix of blue-green light.

Hits: Discovering new species, the endless convience of your hand being a multi-tool, trans rights, a kind of tea that only grows on Kamigawa. Misses: Not being able to grow that tea on Ravnica, the concept of a “true form“, walking into things because he shapeshifted in a weird way.

Look at all these nice people. All of them would probably be into Gatewatching except maybe Velos. He’s more into providing medical care, as opposed to the Gatewatch’s more active form of heroism. Next up will be people who are still ‘nice‘, but in a generally more passive or distracted way.

#fanwalker #magic the gathering #fan character february

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namephone76-blog · 4 years ago

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Python Tutor.

Java Tester Jobs, Employment

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Content

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comicteaparty · 5 years ago

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April 4th-April 10th, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from April 4th, 2020 to April 10th, 2020. The chat focused on the following question:

What is something you’ve improved with in regards to writing or comic creation thanks to working on your story?

carcarchu

Oh this one i can answer definitively. it's 100% lineart. forcing myself to have to do lineart for hours everyday is definitely a way to force yourself to get better at it while i still don't like it it's something that i can do now without being scared about it

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Colouring. I had to get really creative in expressing emotion and hinting plot devices with colour. Also got much better with drawing gesture drawings due to looking at a lot of references!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Either writing dialogue or drawing/painting backgrounds... I used to be particularly awful at writing dialogue. It was too stiff and formal, and sounded a lot like old prose. Now, because of writing a comic and going through several scripts, the dialogue is a lot more natural, and the pacing is more realistic to actual conversations. And the other: backgrounds. I really used to not even draw them at all, and doing a comic forced me to have to think about environments in scenes. So I went from drawing floating characters to having to consider where they are and how it affects the story/mood.(edited)

Feather J. Fern

Paneling! That was my main focus to figure out how to do good paneling to have clearer pages

Deo101 [Millennium]

Honestly? Everything. It's all gotten better and I've learned so much. I would say my biggest improvement is probably in my time management, and art wise is probably composition and layouts. But it's hard to pick because I've grown so much in every aspect!

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

Biggest thing I learned was to keep the story small and focused - and that the smaller, more human struggles are much better in creating tension than the whole default "the world's gonna end!" thing. Mind you, I still love a good "world's ending" story, but you gotta make people CARE about the people in that world first!

Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS

ohohohoooo I have done more drawing in photoshop in this short time I have worked on Wayfinders, than the rest of my life! That has given me some skills for sure! Coloring is another one, and generally just efficiency and flow in a comic

Nutty (Court of Roses)

For me it's been my use of color, and getting more confident in experimenting with it to really drive home a scene's mood!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

The clearest improvement I always notice is my layouts - I’ve gotten more adventurous with panel shapes and placement as time has gone on, experimenting with more interesting designs for the whole page. Some of those experiments haven’t been totally successful but it always feels like a worthwhile try. I’ve gotten some really, REALLY cool layouts out of these experiments, and I love seeing how dynamic the panels have become compared to my first chapter. Also speed. I’m so much faster now. Thank gooooooodness (edited)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

@LadyLazuli (Phantomarine) I've definitely noticed the experimental panel layouts! They're really cool.

AntiBunny

Planning. Book 2 is when I started using sketchbook thumbnails to plan ahead. The luxury of that first draft meant I could rethink panel layouts and how to best express the events happening if I first had an idea of what was happening laid out.

Also digital art by necessity since I switched to digital during the current arc. I was decent at lineart already, but other aspects have really challenged me to grow as an artist. I had to totally rethink the way I create backgrounds for instance. During this time the background quality actually declined a little while I got used to a new method, but experience has improved my skills greatly as I force myself into new methods.

DanitheCarutor

Hmmm maybe paneling, speechbubbles and backgrounds? My current project is my second real attempt at doing a comic, but I have learned a lot of stuff from the community and general art and story tutorials. Backgrounds and bubbles were the worst for me when first starting out, I only read manga before starting so the speechbubble shapes did not fit with how English is written. Plus I've only drawn wooded fantasy settings before making my comic, so using a ruler, figuring out perspective points and drawing buildings was very new to me. I still hate drawing cities and such, but I've gotten a lot better at it and it is easier to do now. Since I mostly stuck with B&W before my current project, coloring also kind of improved? Depending on who's looking at it. Lmao If I were to think about story/characters/dialogue, I have no idea if I've improved. Honestly, I don't pay much attention to the quality. Also my brain kinda says it's all bad regardless of what I make.(edited)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

For my Improvements: I'm getting better at my comic panels, as I adjust to the vertical style. Before I've always drawn the standard format. It's more than just boxes, I try to keep a variety of sizes. I'm picking up roughly how much 'gutter space' I need per 2-3 panels.etc I'm also improving on choosing colors that fits my love of detailed linework.(edited)

OH! I'm also learning about Clip studio shortcuts, how to use the assets they provide which makes the process, abit easier on me. Things I need to change, is I want to get a good speedy coloring style, without referring to my usual coloring.(edited)

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

the more I worked on the comic, the more I feel ambitious in making different angles and perspective. So it's really hitting me out of my comfort zone which is good! lol Though I'm trying to keep in mind of my speed, what I feel like I've improved a bit is trying to keep in mind of paneling and dialogue.

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

Process! Space and i have definitely figured out the most productive way to produce content at the rate and quality that also provides us with time for our own projects. Comics are a useful tool that helps you discover ways to better organize your creative workflow for sure!

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I think probably scenery. I used to dread drawing inanimate objects but now I feel more confident in filling in a scene & even look forward to it sometimes. Maybe also page composition and paneling but I still have a lot to learn there

eli [a winged tale]

One of the reasons I embarked on the webcomic journey is to push myself to improve not only storytelling but also utilizing art to create a reader experience that would be difficult to replicate with just words. I’d like to think that 9 months into making A Winged Tale, I’ve improved on deciding when is a good opportunity to invest more into backgrounds vs character dynamics and when should be focused more on sequences of panels and composition. While the comic is written in a four panel format, more and more I’m finding areas where the story could be told by breaking those rules (attached pic). It’s a balance and I hope going forward I will improve more in pushing the limits of panels and find ways to express the story in fun and interesting ways.(edited)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Wow that's a very good description @eli [a winged tale] I look forward to reading more of your story journey

eli [a winged tale]

Thanks so much Joichi! I’m eager to keep learning~

Capitania do Azar

I'm gonna go with planning and actually getting it done. I'm so much faster because now the process is much more streamlined to me

kayotics

My whole comic was started s an exercise to just get better at comics generally so I’d probably say every part I’ve improved at? The biggest things are probably colors and the upfront planning process

Phin (Heirs of the Veil)

Ooof hard question. I think my main improvement lies with page and speechballoon layouts and writing natural feeling dialouge. I'd say maybe also character acting?

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I'm slowly learning how to create more engaging comic narrative. I read and research in the polished prem webcomics to see what makes them engaging? Like I'm going to challenge myself by creating a series of short stories with a reoccurring set of characters. Every new comic series I create is an experience, trial and error. Sometimes I skip the writeup and just go in blind, trust my own instincts. I'm glad to reach out and talk about it than in my own head. I hope by this year, I'll have at least 2 chapters of Hybrid Dolls out.(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I've definitely gotten better at planning/ outlining multiple chapters ahead of time. I did not even do this when I was doing the first 10 something chapters. (I did attempt an outline before I began the comic, but the story changed significantly from the outline by the time I started the comic, and I did not try to do it again for a long while.) I can't remember when I started, but I do recall having a lot of trouble the first time I tried to do it. It's gotten a little easier each time, though. In fact, I just spent the past few days outlining the next few very important chapters, de-tangling some big tangles. I'm really glad my outlining (and overall writing) skills had leveled up, because HOO boy, I don't think my 2014-2015 self could have done this!

I also became friends with enviros. I had already become somewhat comfortable drawing perspective when HoK started, but I had a sort of mechanical approach to it, like "oh I need some enviro for these establishing shots, guess I'll draw them." But now I LOVE drawing enviros! (some types anyway...) It's my comfort activity, something I treat myself to after a long day! In the thumbnails for my next few pages, there's a few enviro-heavy panels that I have to remove, because I drew too many of them (and the pacing got too slow as a result). I have to stop myself from drawing too many of these.

My biggest improvement is probably I've come to understand my characters and my themes much better, but that's more of a "I got better at making HoK" than a "I got better at making comics." There's definitely a difference between the two.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

@keii’ii (Heart of Keol) ah I totally understand I tried the outline method before I start but my story changed alot after I drew it. So it start to feel like a waste of time for me, but I'll still write an outline to make sure to plan where my story heads(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah! I needed to draw those first few chapters to understand the direction of my own story.

The drawing part is an essential part of self-reflection, to try to understand what it is that I want out of the story. The answer has always been there in my heart, but I'm not able to see it clearly from the get-go.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I end up breaking scenes and put them in for future episodes, since I want to get a certain flow in the story.

It could be tricky to see what it is you want out of the story until you are in at least 3 chapters in?

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I needed way more than 3 chapters -- though granted, my chapters are short, so that could be a part of it

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I see the early first script as testing the water. like a test to figure out the characters personalities. Unless you are bringing in old characters which you knew before?(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Even if the characters have been with you for a while, unless I have made a comic with them, there is a big chance that the characters will completely change, too.

DanitheCarutor

You know, I was thinking about about this, mostly about how I wouldn't have been happy if I was able to finish my comic the day I started. Then I realized I'm happy that I didn't. The first chapter wasn't the best, I was just learning how to coloring a comic, still fleshing out my characters and was still brainstorming small kinks in the story. I also still didn't have as much of an understanding of perspective, or panel and bubble layout. Even though I still have a lot I need to work on, I've gotten a lot better in all those aspects. Even though my use of color is weird, I've definitely gotten much more confident in it, enough so that I experiment and take a lot more risks with style. Even though my panelling can be boring, I have a much better understanding of how I want a page to look. I've improved a lot with my planning as well, like even though my thumbnailing/storyboarding only takes maybe 30, I've learned to step away for a bit if I don't like a layout, or analyzing why I don't like it and brainstorming ways to make it better. If I had magically finished the comic all at once, it would look really bad and may have been less readable.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

That is inspiring to hear about your improvement @DanitheCarutor

Natsu-no-Hikari

Chiming in! Just this week, Miko (my co-creator) and I were discussing how far we've come from when we started our first comic (https://liarsgotoparadise.com/) vs. where we are now. I think there have been a lot of learn experiences, such as art, dialogue, general editing - but especially with pacing and character interaction. We regret that we didn't stop to focus more on that interaction, as we wanted to move ahead in the story...and now we can't change that, except to start now and not allow ourselves to grow impatient. Take our time and enjoy the journey - that's our new motto. There's a time to rush ahead in perilous moments, but there's also definitely a time to catch our breaths and let the characters mingle and speak. It's an improvement that will become more noticeable going forward in Liars and our second comic as well.

#ctarchive #comic #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #creator interview #comic creator interview #creator babble #comic tea party #ctp

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dmsden · 6 years ago

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Off the Hook – How to plan for when your players don’t follow your plots

This week’s Question from a Denizen comes to a Michael from Facebook who says, “Hi Andrew, my name (obviously) is Michael and I just wanted to know if there was any way to prep for when my players don’t take the bait of my plot hook. I already have a couple back up dungeons and a town or two, but I was wondering if there was anything else I could do for when that happens. Thanks for reading this and I hope you have a great rest of your day.”

First, Michael, you can totally call me Andy. We don’t stand on ceremony or formal names around here. ;)

We’ve all had this one, haven’t we, folks? You spend ages crafting a plot, polishing it like a precious ruby, and then your players latch on to something you said and go running off in another direction. I remember when I was running a Call of Cthulhu adventure. My players asked some questions about the play they’d seen, The King in Yellow, and my answers prompted half of them to suddenly run off from London to Paris. I hadn’t set anything in Paris, and they were splitting the party. What to do?

So to answer your question Michael, there are absolutely some things you can prepare. It sounds like you’ve already got some of them in mind. If you have a spare dungeon or two, some towns that seem intriguing, etc., then you’re already ahead of the curve. I also strongly recommend having some fleshed out NPCs that you can drop in, or at least a list of names prepared.

This is actually one of my best pieces of advice to all DMs. Especially if the different regions or peoples of your campaign have specific sounds to their names, prep a name list as the PCs are heading into any given area. Players love to ask the names of people they meet. If you have a list, you can pick quickly from it and say, “The gold dragonborn says, ‘I am Varakesh Aurumvale.” Just make sure you jot down which names you’ve used so that you’ll remember when your players what to go back and talk to Varakesh again.

The most important thing when your players go off in some unexpected direction is not to panic. Only you know what you had planned, so you can still use your material if you wish. Let’s say you created a dungeon crawling with undead. The players have totally ignored your plot hook and have decided to go check out that ancient ruin that they passed a day or two back, or to explore a rumor about monsters in the city sewers. There is absolutely no reason you can’t take your dungeon, reskin it with a bit of improvisation, and use it as the source of your game anyway. The players will never know the difference, and your hard work won’t go to waste.

While winging it can be a little scary, if you know your source material and your system well, you can make it work. In the instance of my Cthulhu game where my players went to Paris, I completely improved a whole new chapter of the game involving an abandoned theater that they had to break into (since one of my players was playing a criminal, he was happy to use his skills). They found dangerous terrain, a few weird happenings, and a symbol that had burned into the back wall of the theater during a fire. I borrowed a few notes from Lovecraft’s story, The Music of Erich Zann, since it’s set in Paris, so the Theatre de la Rue d’Ausseil disappeared the next time they tried to return. They were creeped out sufficiently, and they soon headed back to London to rejoin their party members, none the wiser that none of it had been planned.

An important thing to note is that, short of literally saying, “Guys, this is nothing important,” it’s impossible to make players give up on something that’s got their interest. Worse, doing that shatters some of the verisimilitude of your game, and the players will resent that. Instead, use their interest to your advantage. If they’re ignoring the fact that the king needs adventurers because they’ve gotten fascinated by the strange hooded figure who sits in the tavern every night, make that hooded figure your plot hook instead. Make what they’ve gotten interested in important, even if it wasn’t before.

When in doubt, bluff and stall for time. Excuse yourself to use the restroom and think over what the PCs are doing. Use your iPhone or some paper to jot down a handful of notes, and run with it until the end of the night. Once you have time before the next game, you can flesh things out more sufficiently, but it’s rare that I can’t entertain a group of players until the end of a session with little more than a hastily sketched map, a few monster combos, and/or an interesting NPC or terrain feature.

So there you go, Michael. Have NPCs or at least name lists ready, as these are some of the key elements you’ll want to remember down the road. Feel free to reskin and reuse your ideas. Wing it like a pro. Make what they’ve been hooked by the important element of the story. And/or bluff until the end of the night and then use the time until the next session to flesh things out. Keep these rules in mind, and you’ll never mind it when your players head off on a crazy tangent.

#d&d #D&D #d&d 5e #dnd #DnD stuff #dnd shenanigans #DnD 5e #dungeons & dragons #Dungeons and Dragons #dungeon master #DM advice #GM Advice

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docholligay · 6 years ago

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Aino’s 8--Chapter 5: The Cast

Please enjoy this EXTREMELY long update to Aino’s 8, sponsored by @yamadara87. I kept trying to end this and there just kept being more to say, so here we are ahaha. I hope you enjoy! 4600 words. All of Aino’s 8 is here.

Minako Aino was never nervous. How could she be? She’d been involved in dozens of heists and tricks, from the time she and Haruka had lifted bags of potato chips from the convenience store as girls (Haruka had gotten beat pretty good for that one), to the copper wiring they’d stolen out of the back of shipping containers at the docks (Haruka’d been in juvi for eight months), to the great supercar heist of 2010 (She was beginning to see why Haruka refused to work with her since then).

She leaned back in the seat, putting her feet on the dash and thoughtfully playing with the edge of her hair.

It wasn’t as if she were any stranger to prison herself. She’d been free for 6 months, in fact, and the one time that she had not managed to slip the leash had been when she had found herself in the crosshairs of Michiru Kaioh, the woman she was meeting with again today. The one Mina knew never to turn her back on, now. The only human being Mina had ever met who just might best her in the avenue of sheer con.

If she hadn’t hated Michiru so much, it might have been a turn-on.

But nervous wasn’t the word for it, because Minako Aino was never nervous, especially not when there were millions to be made on the backs of a bunch of people who had no idea what it was like to split a Cup Noodle with the girl down the hall.

Attentive. She was attentive.

Haruka stretched over to the rear view mirror and studied her tousled blonde hair, fluffing it this way and that with a look of general dissatisfaction, and straightening the collar of the turquoise and pink plaid shirt she had picked, finally, after deciding that out of all the shirts she owned, this one best reflected that she had sides to her that were not simply rough and capable, but was also sensitive and a woman of taste.

Or something like that. Mina hadn’t really been listening.

In her defense, it had been two hours and twenty shirts by that time.

“Do I look dumb?” She glanced over at Mina.

“Buddy, you don’t have to look dumb, you just exude it through your soul.”

Haruka scowled and slammed her hand down on Mina calf, dragging her feet down. “Get your feet off my dash.” She opened the dashboard and took out a wet wipe, rubbing at the dirt Mina had left.

Mina sighed. “You look fine, Haruka. Also, can we talk for a minute? This is the woman who sent me to prison, and while I’m delighted to work with her because she’s an underhanded and terrible cunt,” Haruka winced at the insult, too rough for her sensibilities, “and, admittedly, that makes us a perfect pair, but I sort of have to put my foot down about you trying to romance the sea snake.” Haruka looked at her for a moment. “You know. Beautiful. Poisonous.”

“Mina you’re the reason I’ve been to prison.”

“But in a FRIENDLY WAY, Ruka.” She crossed her arms. “Besides, I never sold you out, I just didn’t get caught and you were too good a friend to snitch on me. Which,” She touched Haruka’s arm, “I truly appreciate, you should know. Anyway, I’m nothing like her, and you should stay away from her because she’ll chew you up and spit you out.”

If Minako Aino had admitted to being nervous about anything, it was the way that Haruka looked at Michiru. It had all seemed funny, standing there in the garage with Haruka making goo-goo eyes at the pretty and exotic thing Mina had brought to her doorstep. Like an edible arrangement made of starfruit and pomelos. Haruka may not have known what she was, but she wanted her, she knew that much.

But it seemed less of a joke when Haruka was neatening herself, scrubbing carefully in the shower to try and get the smell of oil off her body, checking shirts over and over again to pick the exact right one, washing her car before they went to meet up with Michiru and Rei, polishing it until it shone like a skyscraper.

Mina had to admit to herself that she was a little nervous, if she could feel such a thing, that Michiru would hurt Haruka. Would betray her and leave her and get her thrown in jail again. Haruka had been the bruiser of their childhood gang, and she was still given to throw a punch or two when she was frustrated, but Mina had always known about the deep line of sensitivity than ran underneath it all. With a few years of therapy under her belt, she was a bit less given to spark a fight, but unfortunately it hadn’t improved her taste in women or her ability to see danger at all.

Haruka shrugged. “I’ll be fine, Mina.”

‘I’ll be fine’ was generally Haruka’s way of saying, ‘I’m done talking about this right now’ and so Mina tabled the conversation for a later date, looking out the window with a sidelong glance. She wasn’t entirely sure if Rei knew that she was going to be here, and she wasn’t certain she wanted Rei to know that she was going to be here.

The element of surprise was always thrilling. And, to that end, she had planned accordingly, in a deep blue dress that Rei would remember very well, the one she had called ‘the devil dress’ as they had stripped it off her body in that hotel in Singapore. Oh, she’d remember, and before she thought too much about how much she hated Mina she might remember how well Mina had loved her.

Haruka turned off the car and put on a pair of aviator sunglasses that Mina was sure she thought looked to be the epitome of cool.

“We should go in,” she nodded over to Mina, “We don’t want to keep them waiting.”

Mina wanted to roll her eyes and give some comment over Haruka’s need to be the most gallant of all, but she simply nodded, and opened the car door.

---

Michiru Kaioh was not given to impatience, and did not mind waiting. Oh, she knew those society girls in their power games, who made people wait for them, who thought it made them seem special that someone might. Michiru knew better. Making someone wait on you was a false sort of power, for it depended on the largesse of the waiter.

There was so much more power in waiting a perfunctory ten minutes past the appointed time, leaving, and telling your would-be companion that you simply did not have time to wait, your schedule was ever so busy. To feel their faces fall, knowing all their self-imagined importance was false, and some people truly did have better places to be.

And so Michiru had become very good at waiting, and often staked out a space fifteen minutes or better prior to any meeting. This allowed her to purchase a glass of wine a la carte and be quite finished before the late coming debutante had any chance to make a late appearance.

She had no intention of leaving today, however, and it mattered little how late the assembled parties intended to be.

Michiru examined the floral arrangement at the rear of the long, narrow room she had rented in the back of the restaurant. It was acceptable, she supposed, delicate sprays of jasmine and wide magnolias, and it would frame her face in such a way to allow everyone to know that she and Mina may be at opposite ends of the table, but hers was the head and Mina’s was the foot. Both important, but only one true leader.

She walked along the table, checking the pressed white linens and the elegant gilt changers, the polished silverware gleaming in the lights of the crystal chandelier overhead. Everything seemed according to plan, everything arranged as a set piece in the scene she would ultimately come to create and to direct.

Michiru had chosen this restaurant for a number of reasons that did not extend from the menu, however excellent and well-regarded it was. The staff were known for not only their attention to detail but their discretion, and if she told them to erase her name out of the book of reservations, or to simply say Michiru had held one of her society lunches, they would do so without hesitation.

As it turned out, she had told them it was a leadership lunch of underprivileged women she was mentoring, so it would not even need to be a lie, if only they were intelligent enough to believe it.

She smiled as she looked at the name cards set on the table. She knew better than not to seat Rei at her right hand, for fear that Rei might upend the entire assignment if she received a place she saw as beneath her, crowing about equality and round tables all the while. Ami would be somewhat down the table, attempting to stab Michiru using only the power of her own gaze and yet knowing that the two of them were bound together by complimentary skills the other could not hope to acquire.

Oh, and Mina. Sitting at the other end of the table, her back to those great wooden doors, just as she would absolutely hate. Where she would be forced to look down the table at Michiru, know that she Mina’s match and maybe her better in every way. It would throw her off guard immediately, and put her in the position of having to pretend that she was utterly unbothered. How delightful.

Her finger lingered over the card next to Mina’s, her eyes running over the elegant calligraphy. Haruka. She had told Rei dozens of times not to allow the romantic to become bound up in the occupational, and never been tempted to do so herself. But there was something about Haruka...something in her eyes, perhaps, or the way her hair stuck up at the edges like the down of a gosling. The way she smelled of oil and earth and something sweet, just beyond that, in that hazy place she could barely touch.

Michiru laughed at herself, and walked back to the end of the table where her own card sat. She was no stranger to lust, and yet here she was, acting like a teenager for the love of some mechanic. She’d simply have her brought up to the room the night before the job, and leave immediately after. No complications. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Her head turned to the sound of an opening door, and the familiar tones of a woman grumbling that she knew where she was going, and didn’t need anyone to open the door or help her, and the tell-tale ripple of a unionization brochure being shoved into a gloved hand.

“Ah, Rei,” MIchiru smiled at her as she entered the room, Rei shaking off her umbrella as she entered the room, ignoring the flecks of rainwater it threw upon the fine china, “I should have known you would be timely, you rarely disappoint in this regard.”

Rei, satisfied enough with the dryness of her umbrella, looked back to Michiru. They were a study in contrasts, Rei and Michiru. Michiru’s blouse was soft and barely shimmering silk, the trim tweed skirt etching out curves on her body, her hair in rolling curls about her face, rounded high heels pointed elegantly toward Rei. Rei had selected a boxed blazer with a rough cotton button up underneath, high waisted pants with a crisp crease at the front creating a nearly starlike effect for all the points, hair tied up in a tight bun.

It was rather a miracle of the world that they worked together as well as they did, but Michiru was not in the business of questioning any slight miracle she might have the opportunity to receive, and so allowed it to slip from her mind as a bit of lingerie to the floor.

Rei scowled at the setting.

“Did we really have to do, she gestured at the table, “all this?”

Michiru tilted her head with a bit of a smirk. “Ah yes, the indiscretions of some...bar would have been a much finer place to launch our scheme, I daresay the people coming and going, picking up snippets of our conversation here and there, would have been a marvelous choice.”

“Yeah well, people in a dive are less likely to snitch to the police,” Rei walked over to her appointed place, barely having to read the cards to know where she would be seated, “Everyone’s coming?”

“No, I’m afraid not,” Michiru moved to sit at the head of the table, “or rather, not everyone is needed. The low associations at the casino hardly need be privy to our greater plans. You know what they say, Rei,” she sat down at the table, “Two can keep a secret, if one of them is dead.”

Rei’s eyebrow flicked, and Michiru felt a rise of pleasure within her. Rei was afraid of her, only the slightest, smallest bit, but afraid of her all the same, which ranked Michiru above most people that graced the planet.

Rei did not respond, but lowered, simmering, into her seat.

___

Usagi pulled at the pink dress, wobbling slightly in the high heels Michiru had purchased. She had loved both of them so well, when she had seen them in the department store, and Michiru had given a smile that seemed to signify charm when she’d done so. The dress was bright and thick and beautiful, the pattern enveloping her, like its little hearts were kissing her whole body. The heels were glossy with patent, the leather inside smooth and shaped like nothing that had ever been on Usagi’s foot.

She had felt so beautiful in the dressing room. But here, she felt foolish.

She wondered, for a moment, if they would even let her walk into a place like the restaurant, where men in jackets held doors and parked cars that Usagi didn’t know the name of, but knew she could never afford.

Usagi watched as a yellow car with a high spoiler rumbled across the lot, the driver waving off the valet and going to park it themselves, the shine from it hurting Usagi’s eyes as they passed.

She gripped her little turquoise clutch all the more tightly, and tried to gather her thoughts.

Michiru wouldn’t have invited her if she didn’t think she belonged here. Michiru was smart, and Rei was smart, and if they didn’t think she could do it they would have said so. Michiru wouldn’t have bought her all those clothes, the ones Usagi had hidden in the back of her closet, if she didn’t think Usagi was smart enough to do this.

Usagi was smart, usagi was classy, and Usagi could do all these things, and she let each beat of her heels on the pavement be an occasion for her to tell herself one more way she was going to be great at this.

The doorman did not give her a staring glance, but simply bowed as he opened the door, a simple ‘good afternoon, ma’am’ the only sign that Usagi had passed through at all, not the interrogation at the gate she had imagined, but a gentle stroll into this thickly laid world she had never imagined.

Everything looked expensive. But expensive in the way Usagi thought only really rich people could be, where you could tell it was expensive because there was so little of it. The floors were just plain marble, and there was no decoration on the deep woods that crept up the side of the walls, reaching toward the ceiling in perfect blocks, as if forests had been trimmed like grass. A woman in a clean crisp white shirt and a spotless black pencil skirt smiled at her.

“How may I help you, Miss?”

“I..” her voice faltered a bit, and then her mind swept back to Michiru, telling her to never take the power out of her voice for other people. Make them tell you that you are not enough, never do it for them.

She cleared her throat. “I’m here for the Kaioh meeting.”

Usagi gave a shift of her shoulders and a raise of her nose in what she thought might be a little too much of a show, but the woman gave her smile that might be patronizing, but at the very least, was conciliatory, and motioned for her to please follow.

Usagi tried to keep her eyes straight as they walked through the restaurant. This was practice. She had to be like Michiru, unimpressed, no matter how beautiful the dessert cart, with little metal shells over the top of each one, waiting to be revealed as the maitre’d explained each, and no matter how the crystal glasses glittered as champagne poured into them, and certainly no matter how the scents of rich women’s perfumes danced around her, each revealing something new, a dance of the seven veils for her very nose.

The woman stopped at a great wooden door and immediately opened it. MIchiru was sitting at the far end of the table, sipping a glass of something and radiating confidence and power from behind the wide expanse of mahogany. Usagi gave a sharp intake of breath, but relaxed to see Rei sitting beside her, who could be counted on to be appropriately grumpy but who could also be counted on not to let Usagi get thrown out without being forcibly ejected herself.

“Rei!” She smiled brightly and went to rush to Rei’s side before remembering herself and slowing, straightening her shoulders, “It’s so pleasant to see you.”

Michiru gave a low chuckle, and Usagi blushed heavily.

“Oh no, darling, it is precisely that sort of unpretentious effort I desire,” Michiru took a sip of the wine in front of her and smiled at Usagi, “You are absolutely perfect, just as you are.”

Michiru indicated with a wave of her hand that she was meant to sit beside Michiru, and not beside Rei. The notion filled Usagi with more than a small sense of anxiety. Michiru had been kind to her, but to be Michiru’s presence felt like being in a royal court, where there were so many rules that you could never know all of them, and messing up any one of them might lead to disaster.

She sat as delicately as she could next to Michiru, tucking her napkin into her lap and folding her hands. The waiter came into the room and swiftly stood behind her chair, handing her a cocktail menu but never making eye contact.

“Oh, she will have the bellini,” Michiru’s voice was clear and cool, “not with the house white, mind you, something with a touch more sophistication.”

Usagi didn’t know what a bellini was, but she knew she didn’t want to question Michiru’s knowledge on the subject of anything that involved this much decorum and money, and besides, Michiru hadn’t been wrong about things she might enjoy so far. No reason to fight about it.

Other than, of course, Rei being Rei.

“Why don’t you ask Usagi what she wants?” Rei said, her voice voice snapping like wire cutters through tin.

Michiru barely paid any mind to her tone, simply arched an eyebrow at Rei and shook her head.

“No I think that’s looks good!” Usagi didn’t know what it would look like to see Rei and Michiru fight, but she’d seen Rei fight with people in the noodle shop, and she felt like Michiru was a very elegant stone wall, and whatever it might look like, she didn’t want to see it.

Rei looked over the table at Usagi. ‘Oh, you didn’t even read--”

THey were all saved by the clicking open of the door, and a tiny girl? Woman? It was hard to tell, built delicate and compact, dressed as a teenager trying to seem adult, her juniors’ jacket slipping off her shoulder.

The three of them stared at her, and she stared back, and for one moment the hostess sense tension, Michiru snapping it up right before she could fully register that none of them knew this girl.

“Why, hello!” Michiru rose to her feet, “Do pardon us, we were so deep in conversation that it hardly registered that you’d entered the room and we were all quite startled for a moment.” She took the girl’s hand in hers and smiled, “Mina told me you would be coming, but I dared not hope.”

The hostess nodded and clicked out of the room on her high heels, Michiru’s eyes following her until she was out of earshot.

“I am Michiru Kaioh. This is my associate Rei, and our good mutual friend Usagi,” Rei bristled, though whether it was at being called Michiru’s associate or at MIchiru climaing to also be Usagi’s friend, Usagi wasn’t sure, “you must be the gymnast.”

The girl’s hair and eyes were so dark Usagi thought the entire room might fall into them, but after a moment of consideration, she simply returned the shake. “Hotaru Tomoe.”

Michiru nodded and indicated to a chair at the end of the table. “I am certain they will be along to collect a drink order shortly.”

Hotaru had barely sat down when a small blonde woman in a low cut velvet dress swanned through the door as if she had been in this establishment dozens of times, though there was something in her demeanor that made Usagi wonder if she wasn’t playing the same game as Usagi.

“Michiru!” She called across the room, “Rei.” She winked, and Usagi realized that she couldn’t be playing the same game (If she was, she’d been doing badly) but was just as much a part of this as Rei or Michiru.

“Mina.” MIchiru nodded toward her end of the table.

Rei glowered, arms crossed and lips tightly pressed together, looking away from Mina as if her drink was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world. Usagi did not know much about Rei’s employment, and never had, but she did know when Rei was mad, and she was pretty sure she could get a soft-boiled egg in four minutes or less off the steam coming from Rei’s forehead.

Behind Mina was a man, Usagi thought strangely, and then the hesitation of her movement and the soft way she ran a hand through her hair brought a blush to Usagi’s cheeks as she realized it wasn’t a man at all, but a tall, lean woman in a soft grey sweater, a pink and turquoise collar popping out at the top.

“Haruka,” She did not say this in the matter of fact way she had introduced Mina to the room, but purred richly, her voice falling like gravy around a slice of meat, “That color is terribly flattering on you. Brings out the color of your eyes.”

Haruka laid a hand on her chest and smiled. “Uh, thanks, I had it laying around--”

“Bullshit. You drug me to Dillard’s in a panic last week--”

“Minako!” She hissed, bending down to scowl into her face.

“Oh whatever,” MIna rolled her eyes and began to walk down the line of the table until her eyes fluttered to the handwritten cards at each seat. She flicked her head to look at MIchiru and worked her way back down the table, then looked at the door behind her. “Hmpf. Have it your way, Princess Grace.”

She sat down at the end of the table as Michiru smiled and arched her fingers in front of her, Haruka settling in beside her and paging through the list of cocktails.

The waiter entered quickly, bringing a small lunch menu as Michiru told him there was still one more to be seated before ordering, but drink orders, were, of course, always welcome to be taken.

He set down a glass of some white and pink drink in front of Usagi, and she could smell the peach coming off of it. Trusting Michiru had been a good idea. She looked back down the table at the two blonde women, conspiring over the menu. MIna looked up at the waiter.

“I’ll have a negroni.” She said, without a hint of worry or ceremony.

Haruka turned the page again. “I, uh, what, what do you have on tap?”

“Water, miss.” the waiter said stiffly.

“Don’t get smart, Francois.” Mina’s chipper good nature turned quickly. “Do you have a beer or not?”

He tugged at the edge of his jacket, thoroughly chastened. “No, miss, we do not.”

Usagi could not quite figure out the nature of Mina and Haruka’s relationship, and she wasn’t sure it mattered, but whatever it was, it was serious enough that she was happy to bite a waiter’s head off. Maybe Mina was the Rei, and Haruka was her Usagi. Maybe she and Usagi would be friends, then. Maybe Usagi would just come away from this with a pile of money and a pile of friends.

Ideal, really.

“There is a lovely 18 year scotch on the menu,” Michiru cooed down the table, “As your hostess, I would be happy to treat you, of course.”

Haruka ruffled her hand through her hair and tried to sit up straight. “No thanks, I don’t really drink uh, the hard stuff anymore.” She rolled her shoulders back and looked up at the waiter, jaw straight. “A hot tea with sugar will be fine, thank you.”

A woman with shaggily cut hair in a faded blue walked in behind the waiter and waved him off without so much as a question.

“Miss Mizuno.” Michiru leaned back in her chair, “So nice of you to join us. Worry not,” She laid a lunch menu in front of the last empty spot. “We haven’t been too inconvenienced by your show of self-importance.”

“You’re the one framed by flowers and crystal, Miss Kaioh.”

Everyone in the room held their breath for a moment, looking at each other nervously, but the storm seemed to pass as quickly as it had begun, and she took her seat, the quiet murmuring of people speaking to each other and themselves beginning anew.

Michiru rose to her feet.

“Ladies.” She smiled about the room, her eyes lingering on Haruka a moment, “I am so pleased to have you join me today. My name is Michiru Kaioh, and the reason you may have my full name, is that if you should try to cross me, please rest assured that I will bury you. If you doubt me, please ask Mina how she enjoyed her most recent stay in the government hotel.”

Mina raised her glass. “To the truest scorpion I know.” She slugged back a drink.

“It is irrelevant that any of us like each other. In fact, it may ultimately be helpful if we do not.” Usagi’s face fell a little as Michiru said it, “But it is of utmost important that we realize each other’s worth. You are all here, because you are a tool in the box. A hammer may be blunt, and a saw may be sharp, and a screwdriver bone-thin, but none can do the work of the others. So it is with this room.”

Mina gave a chuckle. “We’re a bunch of tools, is right.”

Michiru ignored her, simply stood behind her chair and smiled.

“This shall be the greatest gamble, with the greatest payoff, Las Vegas has ever seen.”

#Aino's 8

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moonanagames · 6 years ago

Text

Good and bad news, CHECK THIS OUT PLZ

(are... are you ready)

Haro my fellow earthlings and interplanetarian folks!

Today I bring good and bad news altogether, so please bear with me for a bit! Firstly, I wanted to talk about how development has been going since the very beginning, so let us go to our nice time capsule :D

This is a timeline of the development up until now, I tried to be the most accurate as I could, but it can be a bit difficult when I don’t remember many things anymore lol

The game is in development since January 2017. The timeline goes like this:

2017

From January to May, 20, I developed on my own my first public demo of Virgo Vs The Zodiac. It took longer as I was all by myself.

Then my Grandma said she wouldn’t be able to support me anymore if I was going to quit college to develop games. From May to August, I prepared the Crowdfunding Campaign to help me fund the project and my EXISTENCE. The Campaign was launched in September 2017, I think.

After the campaign ended, I could finally get Anglerman onboard! Ay! He does animations for enemies and some party members animations too and is also the greatest deity of our lives. A legend. He helped me a lot with the Game Design Document I was working on because new people would join and I needed to make the things in my head to be a bit more concrete.

From the end of the Campaign until October we were working with a another programmer, but that didn’t work too well since they had another big project they were working on at the time. We had to change the programmer. It was when I found Ben here on Tumblr, current lead programmer. Our lord and savior.

After that I was browsing tumblr randomly and I found Veyerals among asks sent to this tumblr and thought his work with menus was pretty cool (and I liked his game as well, played a lot of that back then). Veyerals joined the project too as the UI programmer and would also be working with the SHMUP mini games, which he had experience with. Bless the UI G.O.D.

From that point on we had to basically rebuild the game from scratch from the moment we got the new programmers. Not only develop the game from scratch, but doing everything RPG Maker already had built in for us into the new engine because that was the only thing I knew in terms of “programming”. That and adding everything new I thought for the project. It was a huge amount of work, and we only had a battle system working fine in December, where we started developing a new build.

(concept art of lady nurse)

2018

In this year things got a bit complicated!

At first, when the battle system was mainly “complete”, as we thought back then, we delivered a 15 mins build for ID@XBOX to be shown at the Game Developers Conference, on January 2018.

We had billions of problems from january to august with the development and also unrelated to the development, like dealing with US taxes. A lot of things weren't working as we wanted them to be, this time was mostly spent on making the timed hits to feel nice, rebuilding the base systems and trying to make the game to have the same feeling as the RPG Maker build had of it being challenging. Also, overall asset production. That was demanding as heck. In RPG Maker the enemies didn't move, while in Game Maker they were animated. I had never worked with Game Maker before, so me and Anglerman (the animator and fellow game designer) had to learn the engine from scratch while developing the game, that resulted in a lot of set backs, but lead us to where we are now. We're confident with the overall game's scaling, difficulty, battles and systems. In Game Maker the maps are also bigger and have way more polishing, so that took a lot of time to get used to on the new engine.

(a really weird, but solved, bug)

From that point on we built Capricorn, and started working on Taurus and other realms at the same time. After some time we determined that doing several realms at the same time, even though we knew which level the player would be wouldn't work well, and we decided to finish the realms before heading to other realm.

Billion lines of code later, in october we started development of the first 2 hours and a half of Taurus. All of it took one month and a half. It was a significant improvement from the previous 5 months to develop the same amount of gameplay! We determined that we can finish the game on the first half on 2019 upon seeing the progress of the development in Taurus. Now we have a stable work flow, as our lead programmer only has to work on random tiny things, for example, "I would like for Virgo to throw Alpacas for an event, can you add that?". Those are small details that Ben can do easily. Everything that was promised on the campaign, like SHMUP minigames and the crafting system is also all working nicely and well.

That brings us to the bad news: The release will be delayed, for all the reasons exposed before. At first we thought of keeping with the date announced in the Crowdfunding Campaign of December 4th and release the game in Early Access. However it all seemed unfair to the Beta Backers who donated first to get access to early builds of the game. Other than that, a save system of something like a RPG such as Virgo Vs The Zodiac wouldn’t work well with the early access system of Steam. Just imagine your save messing up every time the game is updated. That would be just bad. xD Unfortunately I didn’t know that back then when I announced the date, and I didn’t know the amount of hassle I would go through to learn the engine while developing the game. I can only blame my naiveness, honestly. Other than that, December isn’t a good time to release games because of the Steam Sale that makes it harder for new games to be noticed with so many games on sale.

With that being clarified, I can say now that the game would most likely be released in the first half of 2019, around Q2. I apologize deeply and am extremely sad, I was even avoiding saying this here and avoiding social medias in general due to anxiety attacks <_< I’m sorry for that as well! For anyone who said their birthday was in the same day as the game’s release, I apologize immensely, and please send me a message and I’ll send you a card of Sagittarius wishing you a happy birthday. It’s the only thing I can do now, to be honest. S O R R Y =(

O U T R A G E O U S

New possible release date: Q2 2019.

As for the good news now:

Taurus Realm Build For Backers

The Taurus build I was talking about will be sent to backers this week! :D You can expect a bossfight with a Zodiac, millions of new characters, around 1800 new lines of dialogues, new equipment to check, new fellows to beat or spare, quests and the SHMUP minigame, now implemented on the game! Also, as seen on the trailer, you can throw enemies off screen now :3

Kinda Funny Games Showcase

We’ll also be participating on Kinda Funny’s Games Showcase that’ll be happening in December 8th! You’ll be able to see a new trailer of Virgo Vs The Zodiac on the stream that’ll be happening on Kinda Funny’s Twitch. That’s a really cool opportunity for us, so eternal thanks to Greg Miller for chosing VvtZ. That got me by surprise! xD

Date: Saturday, December 8th

Time: 10am PT

I think that’s it! Basically we had a lot of setbacks, but we’re in the right path again now and I can say doing anything is faster as is! The game’s quality improved and the development became more demanding of our skills, but it’s also a nice challenge for everyone. I’m glad to have started this project, my life was pretty dull back then, I had lost many important things before and VvtZ brought sparkle back to my life. That’s important, as even in the most difficult times I can remember I’m creating something I have so much fun with. I’m blessed to have all the people who support me on Virgo Vs The Zodiac discord, who supported me in the campaign and everyone around social medias. It’s what makes my days happier, tbh.

Ever since I began development I lost contact with many of my friends from the other city I lived in, but I also made many other precious friends who helped me along the way! All the good and bad memories on my life shaped this place I created for myself in the world. I like this place, it’s comfy :3 Again, I’m sorry for ruining your expectations to have the game up on Steam this year, it’s a first delaying the development like this. As a Taurus I can say it pains the most to not have things done when I need them to be despite the hard work going behind this game. Damned Bugs. I want the bugs to die. Gotta work even harder from now on to extinguish bugs the maximum we can!

#virgovsthezodiac #gamedev #indiedev #pixelart #devlog #big ass devlog #long post is long #S O R R Y AND B I G T H A N K S

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shepherds-of-haven · 6 years ago

Note

I'm the anon that's asked you the last few writing questions and I wanted to say thank you for all the fantastic insights!! I'm working up the nerve to post my own demo on the forums, but I keep thinking I dont have enough written, or written *well enough* even though I have like 15k words that I've gone over dozens of times. Where do you feel is a good line between 'ready for peer editing' and 'not embarrassingly bad'

Hi again! Thank you for sending in such great questions: I’ve had so much fun answering them! To answer your question–

Post your work as soon as you’re able. 15,000 words is plenty, and if you’ve gotten to the point where you’ve read it over and over and know every word by heart and are thoroughly sick of the same passages–it’s time to give it over to fresher eyes! I say this as a former creative writing professor as well as a writer. Once you’re comfortable with it, I encourage you to share your work if you’re passionate about it and its improvement. Don’t immobilize yourself with doubts and worries, trying to make the end product perfect before it’s ever seen. It’s not possible, and it defeats the purpose of seeking feedback at all! Just take a breath and then take the plunge: I think you won’t regret it!

In my experience, there is no line between ‘ready for peer editing’ and ‘not embarrassingly bad.’ You, as writer, may always feel that your writing isn’t adequate enough, or ‘perfect’ enough, so you may never reach that milestone. The goalposts are always shifting, especially if you’re exposed to other books and IF and start playing the comparison game. I do it too! (This is why I won’t read any popular Hosted Games or WIPs until my own project is done.) When I first posted ShoH, I’d been reworking and rewriting that demo for half a year. Eventually I just got so sick of it that I was nauseated by looking at it and just had to toss it someone else’s way, by posting it online–and even now I’d say it’s far from perfect! But the reception to it has been great, and it’s what’s been spurring me on to write more.

Part of being a writer is not only have the skill to create something, but also the courage to share it: despite its perceived flaws, despite your potential embarrassment, and despite your own doubts and fears. Most published writers I know never read their own books after publication, because they alone look at the final product and still see the flaws in it! You may never reach the point where you think your writing is perfect, or even “good enough” to share. It’s a vulnerable and scary thing, opening up the most intimate part of yourself for others’ examination, perusal, and even criticism. But it’s the only way to become a better writer and polish your work. Don’t tell yourself that what you have isn’t written well-enough. It is–and posting it will only improve it, not make it worse! :) I look forward to seeing it on the forum sometime: you can do it! And good luck!

#meta #writing #IF #WIPs #writing advice #sorry for the long-winded response #thanks for sharing!

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so-shiny-so-chrome · 6 years ago

Text

Witness: Owlship

Creator name (AO3): Owlship

Creator name (Tumblr): v8roadworrier

Link to creator works: https://www.archiveofourown.org/users/owlship

Q: Why the Mad Max Fandom?

A: i am still asking myself this question! something about fury road grabbed me at just the right point in my life to interest me, and the people & community i found have been just wonderful at keeping me feeling interested & connected. i love that the world presented is clearly well thought-out and cohesive, while at the same time allowing for a huge variety of explorations even while staying strictly within the bounds of canon.

Q: What do you think are some defining aspects of your work? Do you have a style? Recurrent themes?

A: well, it's pretty clear that i adore the relationship between max & furiosa, since they star in 90% of my fics, and au's are kind of my thing. i don't consciously have a style that i write in- i just try and write more-or-less what i think could reasonably happen, i suppose, and to be honest i think of my actual writing as pretty utilitarian, rather than anything with a nice artistic style. probably the most frequent recurring theme in my fics is pining leading up to a happy ending, and i like to think i flirt with miller's idea of "engage to heal" pretty frequently as well.

Q: Which of your works was the most fun to create? The most difficult? Which is your most popular? Most successful? Your favourite overall?

A: i have fun with all my fics, or else they don't get written! i'm not good at making myself do things i don't want to do, especially if the only reason to be writing fic is to have fun in the first place. most difficult would probably be "birds in last year's nest" (the omega!max fic) because i really wanted to handle the issues in it well, while the easiest to get written was "out of the bag" (cat!furiosa) despite its length because it basically just wrote itself. my most popular is definitely "around the corner" (petshop au), which has a very dear place in my heart even if it's not the most polished of my fics. my favorite is usually whichever i've published most recently :)

Q: How do you like your wasteland? Gritty? Hopeful? Campy? Soft? Why?

A: hopeful above all, with a good balance of gritty and soft, depending on the particular fic. i like to explore the realistic effects of things, but i'm also happy to gloss over the tricky details in favor of fluff. i've only written one fic with an unhappy ending so far and i don't see myself adding to that number anytime soon, and i am just not great at humor so i avoid trying to be funny.

Q: Walk us through your creative process from idea to finished product. What's your prefered environment for creating? How do you get through rough patches?

A: my writing process is simple: i get an idea (usually i steal it), i bundle myself up in bed, and then i do other things while writing a sentence or two every few hours. sometimes i get into the groove and can bash out a few thousand words in a day, other times i flounder for weeks without anything holding my interest. when i do write i always work chronologically, which means finding the actual start of the fic can take a few tries, and figuring out the end can be difficult if i haven't really filled in the details in my head yet. for rough patches i put my head down and try to force words out, but if it doesn't want to happen i just let it go and move on, unless it's for a gift, or something like nanowrimo where i want those bragging rights. i don't use written outlines or keep notes of anything, which is a bad habit but one i can't shake. if it's not important enough for me to remember, how important was it really in the first place?

Q: What is your biggest challenge as a creator?

A: right now it's finding the motivation to write when i've got other stuff going on in my life, especially on days when i am tired out even on my days off. other than that- staying focused on a project long enough to get it finished! i also struggle with juggling multiple characters especially in the same scene, making sure that everyone gets their turn and sounds authentic.

Q: How have you grown as a creator through your participation in the Mad Max Fandom? How has your work changed? Have you learned anything about yourself?

A: my writing, both in terms of technical skills and how i compose a story, has just improved leaps and bounds since i started writing fics, thanks in large part to the feedback i'm lucky enough to get, as well as the sheer volume i've been able to put out. i've definitely learned a lot about what kinds of ideas interest me to write, which is not necessarily the same things i want as a reader.

Q: Which character do you relate to the most, and how does that affect your approach to that character? Is someone else your favourite to portray? How has your understanding of these characters grown through portraying them?

A: i probably relate to max the most, or at least the version of him that lives in my head- it's easy for me to get inside his pov, but that means i have to stop myself from making *every* fic his pov! furiosa is a close runner up in terms of how much i like writing her, which is lucky because she's the other 50% of my fics, but it's a lot harder for me to get inside her head, so i have to pay attention more to what i'm doing when i write her.

Q: Do you ever self-insert, even accidentally?

A: i probably do, but not intentionally. of course i use my own experiences and feelings when writing, but i always try to translate them to the mindset of whoever i am writing. it's just been drilled into my head too many times that writing yourself as a character is not what you are supposed to do, i think.

Q: Do you have any favourite relationships to portray? What interests you about them?

A: max & furiosa, 100%. platonic, romantic, as soulmates, as enemies- i love every possible permutation of how they can interact with each other since they're so similar but still very distinct. i love how much of their relationship is unspoken but perfectly understood- or not, and how that can set up their interactions.

Q: How does your work for the fandom change how you look at the source material?

A: i pay a hell of a lot more attention to what's happening in canon, and pick apart even minor gestures or bits of speech to really drill down into the character's heads. if i was just watching the movie(s) to enjoy them, i'd stay a lot more surface level instead of analyzing details like what the interior of the war rig says about furiosa, or what's in max's kit at the beginning of the movie vs the middle, etc.

Q: Do you prefer to create in one defined chronology or do your works stand alone? Why or why not?

A: nearly all of my works are unrelated. i love coming up with little tweaks that don't really effect anything but might contradict each other (which of the wives takes on what role post-canon, how long it takes before max comes back for the first time, etc), and writing in a single series would mean i'd have to address those differences. short fluff or pwp pieces where the entire fic is just a single scene tend to share enough similarities that you could imagine they take place in the same 'verse, but to be honest, that's just me being lazy ;b

Q: To break or not to break canon? Why?

A: canon is fake and the author is dead! that said, i do actually try and stick as close to the canon facts as possible unless it's something i'm deliberately changing, because after all without canon there wouldn't be any shared understanding of the characters that makes fanfic possible. this is one of the trickiest parts about writing an au, because i have to find the right balance of familiarity to canon with what's different about each au in order to have the changes i make to the characters/setting/etc make sense to the reader.

Q: Where do you get your ideas for your AUs?

A: all sorts of places! some of them are given to me- i love prompts- others i steal from other fandoms, like bodyswap or wings or turning furiosa into a cat, some i search out via idea generators, and at this point i honestly can't watch/read any new stories without going "but how can i turn this into an au??" i also like to say "what if" almost *constantly* and sometimes that leads to full fics, other times i just make a post on tumblr with some half-baked ideas of how it could work out. what if furiosa's mother didn't die before the movie? what if max had a pet dragon? what if it started raining and didn't stop? it's honestly harder for me to write a strictly canon fic at this point :)

Q: Share some headcanons.

A: i actually don't have a ton that apply to every fic, because i like switching things up- but here's some ones taken for granted in 99.99% of my canonverse fics: furiosa lives after the end of the movie without any major complications, max comes back to the citadel at some point, furiosa has her own room with not much more than a bed, a workbench, and a window, the war boys are willing to accept the wives as the new rulers (and that the wives form a council rather than a dictatorship), and somehow the bullet farm & gastown fall into line with the citadel's new way of thinking. also, max has a sweet tooth and furiosa doesn't remember most of her dreams.

Q: What advice can you give someone who is struggling to make their own works more interesting, compelling, cohesive, etc.?

A: something i try to keep in mind at all times is: write for yourself and not your audience. does your heart of hearts want to ship those two characters? hell yeah make 'em kiss. have a scene that is super cliche or over the top but you can't stop thinking about? write it! your stories need to be interesting to you first and foremost, because a reader absolutely can sniff out the difference between a scene you thought would be "good" and one you had fun with. you can always edit later to shape your fic into a different direction if you feel like you need to.

Q: Have you visited or do you plan to visit Australia, Wasteland Weekend, or other Mad Max place?

A: i've been to wasteland weekend twice now and hope to visit many more times in the future! it's a super fun experience in general, and it's also helped me get a feel for what a mad max world would really be like, rather than just relying on my imagination. i'd love to visit australia some day, both for mad max and other reasons, but ideally not while there's an apocalypse going on.

Q: Tell us about a current WIP or planned project.

A: *throws dart at gdocs* let's see.... i've got a fic started where furiosa is a viking, and after a raid gone wrong she ends up injured at max's farm where she has to learn the language and customs and come to terms with being his slave (until they fall in love, obviously). haven't worked on that one since july but hey, it's not going anywhere.

Thank you @v8roadworrier

#mad max fanfic #mad max fandom #Mad Max Fandom Spotlight #Mad Max Fandom Creator Spotlight #mad max fanfic author spotlight #fury road fanfic #fury road fandom #owlship #v8roadworrier

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