#That´s the first new art on this account that I didn’t already had uploaded on my earlier account „Pentragon pictures“ 🙌

[pentragonart]

A watchful eye and a loving professor

[hyperch1ptune]

yk i’ve talked about spooky month on here before,,once I think showcasing my first gadgetini art of the year (or since 2022)

it’s actually the webseries that had me reminded of gatg from it having a duo I felt were similar 2 the main robo-twins

THE THIEVES 💪💪

These guys have been my favorite since 2020, and it wasn’t until the beginning of the year where I felt I was improving on both my art & writing skills where I’d interfere without feeling i’m mischaracterizing the 2

(I actually uploaded some of my recent SM thief stuff 2 tumblr one time,,,buut that was before I decided to restart & delete the 5 year old blog entirety)

(cuz my old stuff from them,,,additionally from 2021 & 2022 where I had a really bad “edgy” phase was NOT good i’ll say that)

most of the headcanons I have written for them are archived somewhere in my now fidget-focused rp account, but I can try & paraphrase most of what I have to present other than roleplay

—

Barton “Barry” Gómez (Fat Thief), and Eugene “Euan” Gómez (Thin Thief) are the duo thieves of the neighborhood; Barry being 32 and Eugene being 34. They’re both brothers, close ones at that. Even with the 2 year difference it’s always been as if they were the closest friends they could have.

They both were the previous son’s of Richard, 20 years before Roy came along (more than likely in his 50’s now). Richard had another partner before Carmen, but they never got along as well as he hoped..he took it upon himself to take care of both of the boys whenever him & his old girlfriend partner. Barton doesn’t remember much of his mother besides playing with her whenever he was young; Euan only remembers her consistent fighting with Richard most of the time now.

The thieves are unaware of Richard’s new life, having both moving out for collage (and independency mostly) at that early adult age (18/20 respectively for the both of them) they’re both been they’re only source of family sense, being roomies for as long as they can remember with each house/area they move/hide into. The only thing that is known is that Richard’s been having a better life with his new wife..additionally with them not knowing it’s Carmen (more than likely they’ve tried robbing her before) AND not knowing that makes them related to some kid named “Roy” in some way.

It was Eugene who first got into the habit of thievery; with him thinking it would be good financial help for the 2 of them, and just liking the thrill in general. With Barry being the youngest, he ended up picking up that habit alongside him. With how long they’ve been doing it around the neighborhood, it was surprising to hear them both getting relatively popular under local news reports..only having full realization after someone deliberately order a heist for them to hit off. AKA: the RUMORED CULT hiring them to rummage through the attic of a house they’ve already failed stealing from. They already had good enough of a grip of how dangerous the group could be; given how they escaped jail in the first place with help from famous Bob Velseb; the reanimated cannibal that was ALIVE because of the cult (they didn’t have that great of a relationship with him in-and-out of the prison..) Barry was more unsure on the deal, not wanting to be wrapped deep under more garbage for the future. Eugene? They were paying good, he couldn’t let go of that offer (it would’ve payed off they’re apartment bills🎉🎉) Alongside the duo they were hired with the Candydealer, him acting more as some information giver-mentor hybrid for the two. Trying to keep them in order from fear or hesitation so they don’t “run out of luck”

Barton is a Gay man, & Euan is Bisexual as well btw 🫡🫡

ADDITIONALLY THEYRE BOTH MEXICAN WHICH MAKES RICHARD MEXICAN WHICH MAKES ROY MIXED HEHEJAHAHAHA I LOVE SELF INDULGENT HEADCANONS 🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽

—

thank u 4 ur time I just wanted 2 get on here & say i’ve loved these guys 4 so long & they mean so much 2 me and with the power of tumblr & how much words u can write on here I can announce that 2 everyone else

anyways here’s the full art dump I have w them ur welcome chat

[cleverangelwasteland]

The story of X and social media

X loved to draw since they were a child . X bought pencils , coloring books when they were young and they did everything they can to draw everyday. X was happy . Also X was proud and showed people their work .

X’s work was far from good but still they were content . Then in 2012 a platform called amino was created. X was sharing their work and getting feedback . X was still happy. Later on that year an app called Instagram launched .X was skeptical but at the same time excited to use this new platform . X posted everyday , and even though they started with 10-15 likes they were improving . Fast forward to the end  2015, X is no longer very young and have a message they want to convey in art .X started to get criticism about anatomy which they took well and asked for help in anatomy . X and X’s sensei ( the helper they met online ) had body drawing lessons daily for the entirety of 2016 and 2017 . X drew poses , shapes , studied the anatomy of the body , the muscles , read books and watched many many videos . X even posed for the drawings to see if the pose works . X was happy they were learning something . Also X would repeat the same pose many times and would split the body to shapes and boxes and would practice along late hours along with schoolwork so basically X’s day was full with little time to sleep.  X also memorized the muscles and read many anatomy books like the anatomy for sculptors . They also learned loomis method for faces and these 2 years were just practice to the point that x drew 300 drawings in a month between poses and copied work so X can get a better learning perspective.

Opposite to X’ s sensei’s opinion , X decided to recheck on their Instagram which they haven’t done in 2 years . Not even once. X drew something and posted it while being proud of their improvement but they got way less engagement than what they had before .X was still not discouraged and decided to try again so they did a drawing that shows everything they learned , using a full body pose with an angle and shading . basically everything they could do and spend a long time working on what they thought was their masterpiece .

X uploaded and got a comment , which they hastily checked . The comment said the following : “ You suck , I’ll go away to clean my eyes , your drawings should be used as memes .”

X was heartbroken , ofc they were sad and they discussed it with sensei who said that is why they were against reopening X’s instagram account . But X is so used to not getting their way in life , that they decided to go on with it . X posted a few things and some comments were “ your anatomy sucks , study anatomy .”X felt like someone punched them and said to themselves “ But this is what I have been doing for the past 2 years .” X thought : “ I quit here , I quit what I already had just to study anatomy and that is the result?!” Still one of X’s work was featured by a big page and got 1K likes.

Nonetheless X still got back to drawing . Sensei suggested that X draws more real life drawings so X started drawing from a show that was starting called “ game of thrones “ X drew women , men , creatures , objects , perspective and would still repeat it until it looks right and would ask their old art circle to fix-doodle on their work .  X felt like they have a huge bag of knowledge and a 3D camera in their head . If X focuses and closed their eyes they could see the human body from different angle realistically . Sometimes that sumo wrestler X drew to broaden their knowledge on body types would haunt them in their nightmares.

X stayed like this till 2019 .   Forgot to say X was bullied (  back in 2014 )at school , made fun of and always alone. X wasn’t liked and that is where X’s habit of pleasing everybody triggered . X did whatever everyone else wanted eventhough they weren’t included in their activities and was a cast out. 

X cleaned the gym area. X picked up stray balls in sports class . X made sure to please the teachers . X signed up to everything just to feel a sense of achievement . X was unhappy and no longer had the time to draw. X then bought a digital drawing tablet as they can no longer carry their art supplies around when they were in college .

X drew everywhere . In the breaks , lunch break , just name it and they’ll be drawing. X even met someone who took a course in the art department and offered to do their art homework as the other party was struggling. The other party got  a 96/100 and came back thanking X . X felt a bit of validation like maybe their work is worth something debunking X’s thought about maybe being delusional . X suddenly grew quicker on social media , Not so big but since 2012 to 2018 they only had 400 followers so less than a follower a week . X suddenly jumped to 600 affirmating to them that at least they are doing something right . Previously X joined a drawing circle in their local community . And they were treated as non existent so the notion of building an audience was something new to X . They never had friends or any kind of support and they didn;t believe someone would take   the time to comment on their work . Still X was still getting more and more comments about anatomy making X wonder where did they go wrong , so they decided to go back to square one and have a new anatomy study month .X went to youtube , discord servers and reddit s well as more anatomy tutorials by established artists and more books . 

X would get a skeleton and lower its opacity then draw above it all the muscles shapes ( not their name really ) from memory . X compared it with the scientific schematic and found it very similar . Later on that year and after 7 years +of actively drawing , X got their first commission , at first they refused to be paid as if they weren’t open for commissions but the commissioner insisted . later on X did a few commissioned work and a customer was so happy they paid extra . This kind of boosted X’s self esteem as they were having a hard time . Forward to 2020 X did many commissions but it is the year where everyone keeps commenting on X’s work  “ Go study anatomy , you lack in the basics , you look like you just started “ . X felt a big stab in the back as during those 8 years they have been active in , X studied anatomy solely for a total of 2 years and a year in short term practices . X went back and forth to the basics so many times and didn’t skip a day of practice. 

X’s mental health and self esteem quickly deteriorated as they would leave social media then realize they need it to make money and come back to it . X haven’t had a commission in a while which is another blow to their self esteem.

Also X refused a job offer to draw for an animation which will be broadcasted due to the blow to their self esteem.

Also X saw online many artists making so much money by selling art where there are clear anatomical flaws and they get all the love and positive comments unlike X . X started doubting their eyes , thinking “ maybe I am really delusional “ ... Some of those artists have edgy scribbled lines in their lineart , really high eyes leaving no space for the cranium , drawing side views without thinking of the thickness of the body and drawing ears way below the ear zone . sometimes far eyes so the eyes reach the “ forbidden ear zone” necks starting from after or before the ears , people not taking into consideration the the deltoid muscle is like a “ cap “ above the biceps and so on .  But these people were more popular than X  and made more money/ were very successful .

X didn’t understand why they were getting the anatomy comments and why these other people were not.  X felt that they cannot use their knowledge anywhere but still felt that they know a lot .X feels like their knowledge deserves more and that all the pride they felt knowing this much doesn’t deserve this . X changed their style and anatomy 20 times this year and experimented with everything but they couldn’t please everyone and more and more people tell X their improvement looks  a day old not years old when they post redraws.

X lost pride in their work and the joy in drawing because of how social media and the unfairness of its algorithms affect them , instead of making really good artists popular it made a message that you need to have luck and not really the basic skills and that you could get away by tracing or copying.

Now X sent this to this account as they are asking for help , they deactivated everything and are sitting there just with knowledge and 8 years of efficient hard work betraying them .X lost their friends , their family and all support they could have .  X asked the mod  to share their story so others are aware how social media functions for artists and how many people are quitting because of it . Send us your story so we could feature yours too for awareness.

[bluesfortheredj]

Modern Romance Pt. 17

It’s an agonising four hour wait until I receive a reply, and I can’t even bring myself to look at it because I completely freaked out when I saw her username pop up. It’s 6am over here which means it’s 9pm the previous day back home, so she must have had a busy day if she’s only just seen it, and I really do need to know if I’m a dead man or not for uploading that photo… I open up the app with trembling fingers and press on notifications to see two from her when I scroll down the noticeably shorter list than would be on the other account, and focus straight on the comment.

Miss you x

That’s good, right? I don’t have long to think about it too much as a message from her interrupts my spiralling trail of thought.

-Are you awake? I googled what time it would be over there but didn’t know if you’d be up yet or not… Are you looking forward to your first interview and premiere? X

I start typing immediately, desperate to keep a conversation going for as long as possible between us, and I smile as I look up in the top left hand corner on whatsapp to see that she’s changed her picture to the one of me at the Tate Modern on the first day we met. It’s the gesture I need to stop worrying so much, at least for now anyway.

-Yes I am, 5 or 6 will be my usual wake up, just so you know ;) yeah, I’m nervous but excited for what’s to come. How was work? A late one I take it? How’s the instagram thing going? Xx

-Noted! You’ll have to let me know when the interviews are on youtube so I can see them :) everything will be fine, you have such a confident air about you when put in front of a camera, I noticed it at the Arts event, you’re a complete natural! Hmm, less said about work, the better… Requests seem to have died down a little thank god, luckily didn’t decline your brother though ha x

-You really don’t have to watch them, you know! Thank you, that’s really helped actually. How do you know exactly what I need to hear? I’m always on the other end of a phone if you do want to talk about it, please don’t hesitate to vent as much as you want. I think he should have been one of the people you did reject! ;) xx

-I want to, though. I’ve purposely avoided watching any interviews of yours so these will be my first… No pressure though ;) Ha, it’s a gift, I just know exactly what to say! Thank you, that really means a lot. Well I can always wait a couple of weeks and then delete him :P x

I don’t even realise that I haven’t stopped smiling since our conversation began until my cheeks begin to ache, and I move my jaw up and down to try and relieve the feeling as I think of an appropriate reply before I have to actually go and do some work.

-Can we video soon? I miss your face, and it’ll be unfair if you keep seeing mine in interviews yet I don’t see yours! I’ll always be here for you. Fuck it, delete him now ha xx

-Of course we can, but I think a break from my face isn’t anything but good! :P good luck today, I’m off to bed for a much needed sleep xx

-Your face is beautiful, hush. Sleep well darling xx

It’s difficult to concentrate as I sit opposite the interviewer and Miranda has to subtly nudge me when I miss my cue to speak.

“Have you taken any tips from the film for your own weddings?” the guy asks, and I can’t even remember his name.

“I actually married soon after we filmed this, so it was too late for me as everything was already planned out!” Miranda laughs.

“Not to be late, mostly,” I chuckle, “and to embrace everything about your other half.”

“Wise words!” the interviewer smiles; I really wish I could remember his bloody name, “and will your partners be joining you this evening for the premiere?”

“Yes, mine will,” Miranda beams, then they both face me as they wait for my answer.

“My girlfriend is back home unfortunately, but when it’s shown in London I’ll be sure to take her,” I grin, mainly at the word ‘girlfriend’ coming from my lips.

Is it childish that I want another question to be asked that would require me to mention ‘my girlfriend’ again? I sit through the rest of the interview with a silly smile on my face until we’re free to go and get ready for the premiere that evening, and I shoot off a text to let her know the first interview will be uploaded soon.

-

The next thing I hear from her is two days later, two days of no communication. That feeling that something is going on has come flooding back to me when her short reply finally pops up on my phone, and I’m only just going into the second week of being away. I reply straight away like last time but the conversation doesn’t flow like it did before, and the message hasn’t even been read. Is this cause for concern? What do I even do? I could ask Ben to check on her, or maybe even Owen, but would that be too invasive? Am I worrying for no reason? Being on the other side of the world is really not in my favour right now.

- I can see you enjoyed saying the word girlfriend ;) xx

I read it over and over again, but no matter how many times my eyes scan over the phone screen, a reply to my message still doesn’t appear. Just as I lock the device and turn it face down on the bed it begins to ring and I hope that her name is going to greet me when I lift it, but instead it’s Owen.

“Morning,” I answer.

“Evening,” he replies.

“How’s everything?”

“Not too bad, the kids are fine, Kelly’s great, can’t complain can I? How is everything over there?”

“Yeah, it’s going well,” I sigh.

“Doesn’t sound like it...”

“It is, it’s just (Y/N). I hadn’t heard from her for a couple days then get a message today and now nothing again. It’s so difficult being this far away so soon after getting together, I’m worrying about ridiculous stuff and feel like I’m completely overthinking everything.”

“That’s natural for a new relationship, right? I was the same with Kelly. If she didn’t get back to me within an hour I thought she’d completely gone off me. She’s worrying just as much as you are, trust me. I actually rang because of (Y/N)...”

“What? Is she okay?” I ask as panic starts to rise inside me.

“Yeah, I just reached out to check in with her. She’s got loads of stuff going on with work at the minute, and-”

“You’ve never been a very good liar Owen. Is she okay?”

“Yes.”

“What did she say? What’s going on? Why the hell is she talking to you but not to me?”

“Like I said, I reached out to check in with her. Kelly’s planning a lunch with her at some point while you’re away. Now listen, she’s alright-”

“Owen!” I snap harshly, “I’m sorry. I just… This is killing me, it’s driving me to distraction.”

“Gwilym, do you trust me?” he asks with a sigh.

“Of course I do.”

“Then calm down. Everything is okay. The only reason she’s talking to me is because she doesn’t want to interrupt your tour, okay? If she drops in and out of contact then please just know that she’s alright.”

“And you’re not going to tell me what’s going on?”

“I can’t, I’m sorry. She’s being very well looked after though, so you have nothing to worry about.”

“Very well looked after? What do you mean? Has she had an accident? What the fuck is happening over there?!”

“Admittedly, that sounded a lot more comforting in my head… She hasn’t had an accident, she’s just being looked after. That’s it, I can’t say any more because Kelly’s giving me a look that says she’s going to kill me if I give anything more away. The bottom line is stop worrying, (Y/N)’s okay, and get on with your tour so you can get back here and we can all celebrate, alright?”

“Does (Y/N) know you were going to tell me this?”

“No, so please don’t set her on me as well!” Owen chuckles.

“Right,” I exhale, “fine. I give in. Just get Kelly to message me after she’s seen (Y/N) please.”

“Will do. (Y/N) will be in touch soon, I promise.”

“Sure. Thanks.”

“I’m only doing this because I love you, you know that right?” Owen asks.

“I know, I really do know that. Thank you, I appreciate it. I’m sure I’ll appreciate it more when I’m back and know the full story though...”

“She just wants you to focus on your work. Everything’s in hand over here, you go and show the world your talent.”

“She cares that much, huh?”

“’Course she bloody does mate! She didn’t even want to tell me, it was flipping hard work convincing her that sharing everything with me would put you at ease.”

“Hmm. Right, I’d better go anyway, need to get suited and booted again,” I sigh.

“Okay, we’ll speak soon.”

I hang up the phone and go into my photos where I find the one of me and her outside the Royal Academy, and I close my eyes as an overwhelming feeling of sadness overcomes me when I wish that I could go back to that moment; that perfect little moment where we were together and she confided in me, and I didn’t feel a million miles away. As I dress my mind begins to fire questions at me: how ill is she? Is this something that can be sorted? When did this happen? Is she in hospital or at home? Will I hear from her soon?

@painthatiusedto @winnielinleigh @queenslandlover-93 @excellentbecca @peachllobotomy @lovemarvelousfics @lovemelikeyou1997 @readinghorn @godohammers @timeandpixiedust @lv7867 @fuckyou-imspiderman @aynsleywalker @captainxholmes @the-baby-bookworm @leah-halliwell92 @chlobo6 @tenement-funstah @rogmeddows

[cindylouwho-2]

RECENT NEWS, RESOURCES & STUDIES, June 28 2020

Welcome to my latest summary of recent ecommerce news, resources & studies including search, analytics, content marketing, social media & Etsy! This covers articles, podcasts, videos and infographics I came across since the late May report, although some may be older than that.

I am currently working on Etsy search testing and a few new blog posts and pages for my website, so it may be a few more weeks before I get a new report out. In the meantime, if you have an questions, comments or suggestions, please contact me here or on my website.  

TOP NEWS & ARTICLES 

Ecommerce sales are way up, but so are many costs, and delays in shipping are part of the problem. “...many of our merchants start preparing mid-year for peak-season volume, holidays. We’ve seen many merchants hitting and even exceeding their normal Black Friday and Cyber Monday volumes consistently through April, forcing them to adapt quickly for greater capacity.” UPS is charging high-volume customers a surcharge based on how much more they are shipping compared to normal times, and also for an increase in oversized packages. 

Mail delivery is still slow in many countries. Canada Post hit an all-time delivery record with 2.1 million parcels on May 19, but may finally be getting caught up. [article in French] Shipping between countries can also be substantially delayed, in part due to the lack of air traffic right now. USPS is using sea transport for packages to some European countries. And USPS rates are going up for international shipping in July, due to the new Universal Postal Union deal. "Anyone who is a bulk shipper, your rates are going up".

A reminder that the US economy isn't suddenly going to stabilize in the fall; it’s likely to crash. The US is now officially in a recession. Many people are not going to have money for a lot of discretionary spending. Furthermore, some categories of items will likely drop in price due to company closures, supply chain issues and bankruptcies. That will increase competition at the same time there are fewer buyers for many types of items. Ecommerce sales in the US are projected to rise 18% this year, but it won’t be enough to make up for the loss of brick & mortar retail sales. “The apparel and accessories category is typically the second-largest in e-commerce, for example, but will only grow 8.6% as consumers shift spending away from discretionary, non-essential purchases.”  Retail in the US is expected to be down more than 10% in 2020.

ETSY NEWS 

Etsy has released an addition to the iOS app that will allow shoppers to use augmented reality to see wall art on their home’s walls. The Verge was critical of how long it took for Etsy to catch up with the competition, and the fact that it is not available for Android yet. TechCrunch went into more detail. 

As mentioned last time, you can now add short, no-audio videos to your listings. Etsy is so big on this, they are offering listing credits and ad credits to sellers who upload 5 or more videos by July 6. As always, make sure you read the legal policies before you participate in this offer. 

The Etsy Design Awards are back, with submissions due by July 15th. Note that they are only open to 38 countries, for some reason. There is a forum discussion thread with tips, and a podcast [audio & transcript] with previous winners.

If you sell any items for kids, you will find this trending items article from Etsy useful. Searches including “kid,” “child,” or “baby” didn’t go up as much in April as one might have expected, given the pandemic shopping bump, but puzzles were popular. They include some search terms: for example, there was a “250% YoY increase in searches on Etsy containing “jump rope” in April. Also, “while school may look different this fall, we’re already seeing an increase for school-related searches compared to the same time last year.”

Face mask seller ZhenLinen was interviewed on NPR [text and audio] about mask selling, and was even asked about the offsite ads fees near the end. They sold 31,000 masks while their event-supply business was in pandemic limbo; most of those sales were through Etsy. The good news articles about mask sales, & suggesting Etsy as a source of masks, are continuing, although some do mention slow delivery times and even undelivered orders. By the way, if any mask sellers are looking for new places to sell, Facebook finally caught up and is now allowing mask sales, ads and other promotions. 

According to analysis of Etsy’s API data, May 2020 was Etsy’s best month ever. Remember that the API data misses things like sales of multiples, so it is not the most accurate source, but I don’t have any reason to doubt the statement is true. 

Etsy stock went over $100 for the first time, before dropping as the rest of the market went down. 

You have probably already seen Etsy’s statement on race issues after the recent murder in the US. “That’s why today we are announcing donations of $500,000 to the Equal Justice Initiative and $500,000 to Borealis Philanthropy’s Black-Led Movement Fund, as well as matching employee donations. We encourage our community to join us in supporting these important organizations.  Etsy is built on a belief that communities have the power to change the status quo. Change is hard-fought, and we are committed to this fight.“

If you have your real name on your Etsy account, don’t attract any attention from the police. 

SEO: GOOGLE & OTHER SEARCH ENGINES 

If you don’t really understand what algorithms are and how they work for search engines, you will want to get caught up here. Key to understanding: “An algorithm is not a formula.”

This is a bit advanced, but it’s a good explanation of how to figure out searcher intent in Google results, and then fulfill it with new content. [video, transcript, and downloadable form]

Linking from one page on your website to another can be an important part of SEO. It can also help you get more page views, if you link to new pages from your most popular pages. Creating internal site links on the same page through a table of contents [advanced, coding info] can even get you more links in Google search results. 

Speed on mobile devices is also a big part of SEO as well as conversions. “a 0.1 second improvement in site speed resulted in Retail conversions increases of 8.4% and average order value increases of 9.2%.”

Bing made changes to its backlink tool, including the ability to see your competition’s backlinks. The option is part of Bing’s Webmaster tools, & allows you to analyze “similar sites”. Their Webmaster Tools now can also analyze your site for SEO errors. 

A former Google employee is starting a new search engine, called Neeva. 

Some SEOs recommend removing “low-quality” pages from your site to improve your overall rankings, but low-quality doesn’t necessarily mean pages that few people visit [text & video]. And short posts are not necessarily “low-quality”. If your page is mostly duplicate content, it is like low quality, but just repeating a few lines on each page is not duplicate content. 

Google missed a few episodes of its Google search news YouTube post during the pandemic, but they were back on May 26 with an update. They’ve also finally released their webspam report for 2019. “we observed that more than 25 Billion pages we discover each day are spammy.”

Advanced content [video with multi-language subtitles, & text summary in English]: Google, JavaScript, & links. 

Shopify sites have built-in blogs,and those blogs can help you get sales through SEO. And while we are on Shopify SEO, here is some advice on fixing technical SEO issues on Shopify sites. [the second is advanced content unless you know some coding]

While having an author page isn’t a requirement on any news/blog site, it might be a good idea anyway [text and video]. Content that is useful for readers is ultimately good for your site’s SEO. 

Here is a history of Google’s PageRank, and what it still does for ranking. 

Did the Google May core update really mess up organic search relevance? Some people think so. [I had noticed the Wikipedia drop but thought it was just for a particular search.] There may be more ranking updates underway right now. 

Google plans on introducing user experience as part of the ranking algorithm, although it won’t happen before next year, and we will get 6 months warning. Search Engine Land lists the following elements: “whether the page loads quickly, if it’s mobile-friendly, runs on HTTPS, the presence of intrusive ads and if content jumps around as the page loads.” They add a bunch of technical advice, and the tools to follow up on it. 

Do you find SEO confusing? Don’t worry - even the pros working for big companies make huge errors. 

(CONTENT) MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA (includes blogging & emails) 

Updated infographic with the common social media image sizes used today. (Several of these get published yearly, because there are always changes.)

Is blogging still relevant? [TL;DR - yes] And if you want to write more interactive posts, here are some tools for that. 

Video app TikTok made a lot of money in April, but is seeing competition from a new short video app called Zynn, which allows users to make money by watching videos and bringing in new users. However, Zynn has already been removed from Google Play store amid accusations of content theft. Instagram has a challenger called “Reels”, and even YouTube wants some of that TikTok traffic, so they are introducing 15 second videos. Meanwhile, TikTok is coming under closer scrutiny for its invasive tracking. 

Every social network apparently needs to have their own version of Stories these days, so Pinterest has introduced a new version of Story Pins in the US. “Unlike Stories on other platforms, which are often self-focused snippets from someone’s life, Pinterest Stories Pins are designed as clickable content focused on sharing ideas. For example, Story Pins could offer a step-by-step guide to cooking a recipe or creating a craft project. A Story Pin could also offer ideas around how to reorganize your home office, keeping the kids entertained, beauty tutorials and more.”

Google appears to be imitating Pinterest with their new release, called “Keen”. You add items yourself but Google then attempts to find more things you are interested in, using AI. 

If you are looking for some new tools to help with Instagram, Social Media Today compiled a list of 5 recent ones. They include image processing, templates, and analytics. 

Twitter is beta-testing the ability to tweet sound files directly from the platform, instead of embedding links to other sites. The article notes that these may be more difficult to moderate than text tweets would be. 

Two of the three parts of this article cover local businesses, but the middle part has some promotional ideas that mostly involve content marketing & social media. Nothing groundbreaking, but a decent list if you are looking for new free ways to advertise.

ONLINE ADVERTISING (SEARCH ENGINES, SOCIAL MEDIA, & OTHERS) 

Semi-advanced - how to improve your Google Ads optimization score. 

GCLID is short for “Google Click Identifier” to help track ads and conversions. You can learn more here. [Understanding this is useful for both your own ad campaigns and understanding other ads, such as the Etsy Offsite Ads program.)

Money coming in from social media video ads has increased from the lows in April. Facebook ads have improved the most. 

New advertisers on Instagram will not necessarily have to link their accounts to Facebook any more. It may be linked to a campaign to “stop hate for profit” that calls for people to stop buying Facebook & Instagram ads during July, and which has attracted several big players such as Unilever and Verizon. Some companies are leaving all social media ads, or are extending the Facebook boycott until the end of the year. But as the first article points out, Zuckerberg’s complete control of voting means he can’t be turfed by a board just to protect profit, so a short boycott may not be the best way to get change. 

Facebook published a new explanation of how ads work on the platform. 

STATS, DATA, OTHER TRACKING 

For people who are new to Google Analytics: here are some things you should be tracking, as well as these, and some tips on finding source info for SEO work. If you want to improve your customers’ experience with the site, check out these tips. [There is some crossover between the 4 articles, but I think that those of you trying to learn more detailed examples of how GA works will find everything useful.]

What is a “session” in Google Analytics? This article includes screenshots & tips on changing their length. 

You can get great keyword data from the Google Search Console - here’s how. 

ECOMMERCE NEWS, IDEAS, TRENDS 

Online shopping has received a huge boost from the pandemic lockdowns, and big online marketplaces are now competing for new small businesses to fill the growing demand. Walmart outsold eBay in May, for the first time ever. Things are slowing down a bit, though: “buy-online-pick-up-in-store (BOPIS) had begun to “plateau.” BOPIS growth in May was 195% year over year, which was down from its April peak of more than 200%.”

Amazon is being criticized for allowing many prohibited items to be sold on the site, even through “fulfilled by Amazon”, so the items are stored in its warehouses. “Graham did not respond directly to many of our specific questions, including how many of the banned items that The Markup found had been sold, why the company had not noticed some of them for months, why some were listed as Amazon’s Choice, and why many were stored in Amazon’s warehouses for shipment. He did not respond at all to questions about why Amazon itself had offered banned items for sale. Most of the banned listings we reported to Amazon have been removed, although at least three have popped back up.” [emphasis added]

Amazon is now offering multi-channel fulfillment in the US; you don’t even need to use Fulfillment by Amazon to sign up. They’ve also introduced lines of credit for sellers, through a partnership with Goldman Sachs. 

eBay is rallying sellers to object to a proposed Louisiana law that would force marketplace sites to verify the identities of higher-volume sellers in the state. The law was passed anyway, and takes effect July 1. Here are the highlights of the new law.

Now-fired eBay employees harassed and stalked the EcommerceBytes owner and her husband for months after eBay’s CEO at the time said eBay needed to “take down” the site & its owner.

Walmart now has ThredUp as one of its third-party sellers on the Walmart website. They sell second-hand clothing and accessories for women & kids, often famous labels. Sales are all online but buyers will be able to return things to Walmart stores. 

Walmart has also partnered with Shopify, allowing small businesses to list directly on Walmart’s website through Shopify. This appears to be a limited initiative, as they only plan on including 1200 Shopify sellers by the end of 2020. Most analysts think this is a plan to compete with Amazon more directly. 

In addition to its existing website, Target is now offering items on Instagram Checkout. 

Shopify has been getting great media coverage lately, including this article suggesting them as an alternative to Amazon third-party selling, once the new “Shop” app gets some traction. 

BigCommerce has introduced drag-and-drop design tools for its website builder. 

Square has begun using rolling reserves to reduce its risk with some sellers. “In one instance, Legal Knock, a company that builds websites for law firms, told the Times that it never had a customer demand a refund for their work and yet Square kept $4,000 in reserve in May. Sean Weber, the owner, said he had trouble contacting the company and wasn't satisfied with its explanation. He even said Square blocked him on Twitter.”

Upcoming PayPal changes for US users include seller protection for some digital items, and not necessarily requiring buyers to return items to win a significantly not as described case. Remember that many PayPal changes start with the US and then expand to other countries; Canadian changes are here. 

BUSINESS & CONSUMER STUDIES, STATS & REPORTS; SOCIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY, CUSTOMER SERVICE 

When thinking about customer returns, remember that a lower-than-average return rate is not necessarily your top goal. “You may ask, “why would a merchant want to increase returns?” It’s because they’re using returns as a growth driver. They’ve figured out, for their respective businesses, that a higher rate of returns actually nets out to an increase in sales and repeat purchasing. So much so, that the overall uptick in business far outweighs the increased costs of more frequent returns.”

Consumers are reading reviews more than ever, but half of this study’s respondents said that “‘too many companies’ are creating fake reviews online.”

Many people are tired of the “things are different” ads that have predominated, & want to see more ads showing people getting back to normal. “The U.S., U.K. and the Netherlands are primed for a jump in fashion purchases, with significant percentages of consumers in those countries planning clothing purchases in the next 30 days. The finding suggests that fashion marketers may increase their marketing efforts to reach consumers who are ready to buy apparel as lockdowns are lifted.”

We don’t know what the holiday shopping season will look like this year, so ecommerce businesses should be planning for many different scenarios. 

Here’s an interesting overview of how some searches changed in the first few months of the pandemic. [infographic] And some of the shopping changes people made, especially Gen Z, may be permanent. “...younger consumers are shifting their habits faster than their older counterparts.” That report also states that “33% of these consumers have increased their online spending, for a net increase of 6%, versus 23% of consumers in older generations, or a net increase of 1%.”

Here’s more on the second-hand clothing trend that is hitting its boom years. “According to the report, secondhand goods are expected to make up 17% of a person’s share of closet space by 2029, up from just 3% in 2009.” Gen Z is a big user of Depop, which has a lot of altered and enhanced vintage clothing available. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

This article has inspired me to completely redo my website’s About page. Not yet, of course, but some day soon…

Speaking of websites, here’s a good list of dos & don’ts for a contact form.

eBay may be probing your computer when you visit, and that is not always legal. 

Free Zoom accounts can’t set up encrypted calls/meetings, because “the firm wants to keep this feature away from free users to work with law enforcement in case of the app’s misuse.”

Finally in privacy news, Google is being sued for still tracking you in various ways when you use Chrome’s incognito mode. 

[theonyxpath]

This week, we continue our trend of unusual Monday Meeting posts. Last week it was because we didn’t have a Monday Meeting, so Rich talked about covers because that’s what you do on Labor Day, I guess? This week we did have a meeting, but Rich isn’t writing the blog.

No, Rich hasn’t decided to start talking about himself in the third person. Instead it is I, “Fast” Eddy Webb, writing the Monday Meeting blog chat up top while Rich and Lisa rush off to handle a family emergency. Further, Matt McElroy is wrapping things up to take a well-deserved break for a week. So I got nominated because the biggest emergency I have right now is that I got a new tattoo on my forearm last week, and it itches like the Dickens. (It’s a Sherlock Holmes-themed tattoo, which is not a surprise to anyone who knows me.)

M20 Book of the Fallen art by Sam Denmark

This seems like a good time to talk about schedules and delays.

One thing we mention a lot around here is that we don’t do release dates for our games. There are a lot of reasons for that, but the big one is that we’re never sure what can cause a project to get delayed. Sometimes, it’s something out of our control, like when we learned this week that the printer had an accident on one of our covers and has to reprint the entire run.

Other times it’s something that impacts one of us, like Rich’s family emergency or finding out that a freelancer has to drop off a project suddenly. And once in a while it’s because we choose to take a bit longer and do something right, like the meeting we had today with the TC:Aberrant team to go over the playtest feedback we got during the Kickstarter.

Obviously, we do our best to take problems into account. It’s why we have really long lead times on our Kickstarters these days, for example — all of my Realms of Pugmire Kickstarters have delivered their main project on or earlier than the anticipated deadlines, but a couple times it got close because of unforeseen problems like me having to move to another country.

Spilled Blood art by Andrea Payne

When I pitch new projects to Rich, I try to estimate how long each phase is going to be, and then add some more time on to account for problems. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t, but we’re always learning. One of the things we’ve learned is that, in addition to our weekly Monday Meetings, it’s good to have quarterly Production meetings as well (which, by sheer coincidence, we’re also having this month).

This is where Rich, Mike, and Matt sit with us in-house developers and we go over every single project. It gives us a chance to think about all the projects as a whole, allowing us to think about which ones need to hustle and which ones we can ease up on for a bit. Ideally, this kind of planning allows us to do things like hold up on greenlighting new books while existing ones are making their way through the process. But it’s not an exact science for us, as you’ll note this week no less than three Scion books have all hit approval simultaneously, leaving poor Rich and Neall to review hundreds of pages of manuscripts. (Sorry guys!)

M20 Book of the Fallen art by Vince Locke

Obviously, we would love to make perfect, beautiful books for all of you as quickly as possible. But we’d rather make good products instead of fast ones where we can, and we’d rather not grind our freelancers down just to meet an arbitrary deadline. So when things happen that are out of our control, we try to help each other out where we can, and put things on the back burner if something more urgent happens.

That’s why I’m writing the blog for Rich today, and why Matt McElroy, our tireless Operations Manager, is taking a well-deserved vacation this week. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll leave you to our usual wonderful updates while I find new ways to ignore the fact that my arm really, really itches. Also:

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!

Kickstarter!

Starting this week – I’m told on Thursday the 12th at 12noon Eastern US time – is the Kickstarter for the Creature Collection for Scarred Lands 5e! This book was designed with amazing art by our friends at Handiwork Games, and they’ll be running the Kickstarter for us on our brand-new Onyx Path Kickstarter page! Here’s a teaser video:

Scarred Lands Creature Collection

Launching this week on Kickstarter! The Scarred Lands Creature Collection for 5th Edition!

Posted by Handiwork Games on Monday, September 9, 2019

And, of course, our next Kickstarter is:

Keep an eye out in this space as well as on our social media for the Deviant: The Renegades Kickstarter that will be launching later this month!

Onyx Path Media!

This Friday’s Onyx Pathcast features the Terrific Trio regaling us with stories and ideas of going to conventions solo (since all three of them have actually done that recently)! Go to https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/ or to your favorite podcast venue!

The Onyx Path News had another live broadcast today, where Matthew spoke about Night Horrors: Shunned by the Moon, Canis Minor, the Slarecian Vault, the Storypath Nexus, all our games on Backerkit, V5 Cults of the Blood Gods, and more, right here: https://youtu.be/mehFIKpd3ts

Now’s the time to follow our Twitch channel if you haven’t already done so! Our schedule is jam-packed with games including Vampire, Scarred Lands, TC: Aberrant, Pugmire, Scion, Mage: The Awakening, and Hunter: The Vigil! Visit www.twitch.tv/theonyxpath and give us a follow, and if you have an Amazon Prime membership and haven’t already subscribed to a Twitch channel for free using it, just type Amazon Prime Twitch into Google and please use it on our channel!

Remember, if you miss any content on our Twitch channel, some of it finds its way to our YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com/user/theonyxpath Don’t forget though, that some of that content is Twitch exclusive or belongs to the Storytellers running their games, so don’t miss out and remember to follow us!

Red Moon Roleplaying have commenced with uploading their actual play of The Sacrifice, from V5 Chicago by Night, and the first part can be found here: https://youtu.be/omRiK6a_Ans If you’re interested in the ENnie award winning Red Moon Roleplaying‘s other shows, please check them out on www.redmoonroleplaying.com

The Botch Pit are definitely worth checking out if you’re interested in Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2E, with their chronicle “Twice Shy” listenable right here: http://thebotchpit.com/

Occultists Anonymous appears on our Twitch channel with their Mage: The Awakening 2E chronicle, but if you’re after a breakdown of episodes, here’s 41 and 42:

Episode 41: A Troupe and Trip Wyrd the Seer continues the construction of her nascent Labyrinth and uses it to develop the run-down Leaf Theater. The cabal travels to Philadelphia in pursuit of the missing Adamantine Arrow grimoire.https://youtu.be/eH3Kvockqv8

Episode 42: Stake Me Out Tonight The cabal works with the largest cabal in Philadelphia, the Founding Fathers led by Benjamin Franklin, to locate the grimoire within Philly and recon the area!https://youtu.be/2HXN4l_3C1E

Caffeinated Conquests continue their bizarre sojourn into The Sacrifice (unlike any other actual play of the chronicle) over here on their YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/MOZpIOFzjos

Finally, Matthew asked the YouTube channel viewers what kinds of games from Onyx Path they’re most looking forward to, and there have been some interesting answers: https://youtu.be/CumFV-XiWMc

Drop Matthew a message via the contact button on matthewdawkins.com if you have actual plays, reviews, or game overviews you want us to profile on the blog!

Please check any of these out and let us know if you find or produce any actual plays of our games!

Electronic Gaming!

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is awesome! (Seriously, you need to roll 100 dice for Exalted? This app has you covered.)

On Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue from which you bought it. Reviews really, really help us get folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these fiction books:

Our Sales Partners!

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

We’ve added Prince’s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game

Now, we’ve added Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost

Scarred Lands (Pathfinder) books are also on sale at Studio2, and they have the 5e version, supplements, and dice as well!: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/scarred-lands

Scion 2e books and other products are available now at Studio2: https://studio2publishing.com/blogs/new-releases/scion-second-edition-book-one-origin-now-available-at-your-local-retailer-or-online

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

And you can order Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Cavaliers of Mars, and Changeling: The Lost 2e at the same link! And NOW Scion Origin and Scion Hero are available to order!

As always, you can find most of Onyx Path’s titles at DriveThruRPG.com!

On Sale This Week!

This Wednesday, the compiled Trinity Continuum: Aberrant webcomic You Are Not Alone will be available in PDF and physical book PoD versions on DTRPG!

Conventions!

Save Against Fear: October 12th – 14th GameHoleCon: October 31st – November 3rd PAX Unplugged: December 6th – 8th 2020: Midwinter: January 9th – 12th

And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM EDDY WEBB (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)

Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Many-Faced Strangers – Lunars Companion (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Contagion Chronicle: Global Outbreaks (Chronicles of Darkness)

Player’s Guide to the Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Contagion Chronicle Jumpstart (Chronicles of Darkness)

N!ternational Wrestling Entertainment (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Creating in the Realms of Pugmire (Realms of Pugmire)

Redlines

Tales of Aquatic Terror (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)

Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Lunars Novella (Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Yugman’s Guide to Ghelspad (Scarred Lands)

Vigil Watch (Scarred Lands)

Pirates of Pugmire KS-Added Adventure (Realms of Pugmire)

Second Draft

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

Dragon-Blooded Novella #1 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)

One Foot in the Grave Jumpstart (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2e)

Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum Core)

Terra Firma (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Monsters of the Deep (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Wraith20 Fiction Anthology (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)

Development

M20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Creatures of the World Bestiary (Scion 2nd Edition)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

TC: Aeon Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)

Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)

TC: Aberrant Reference Screen (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Titanomachy (Scion 2nd Edition)

Manuscript Approval

Creatures of the World Bestiary (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)

Legendlore core book (Legendlore)

Post-Approval Development

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

V5 Chicago Screen (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Scion LARP Rules (Scion)

Cults of the Blood Gods (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Editing

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

TC: Aeon Ready-Made Characters (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Hunter: The Vigil 2e core (Hunter: The Vigil 2nd Edition)

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

Let the Streets Run Red (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

W20 Shattered Dreams Gift Cards (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th)

W20 Art Book (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th)

Geist 2e Fiction Anthology (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Oak, Ash, and Thorn: Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

Post-Editing Development

Chicago Folio/Dossier (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Indexing

Geist 2e (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Dystopia Rising: Evolution core (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

ART DIRECTION FROM MIKE CHANEY!

In Art Direction

Contagion Chronicle – getting Gaydos, Trabbold, and Vince on this.

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant

Hunter: The Vigil 2e – Sam on the fulls.

Ex3 Lunars – Contracted. Sketches rolling in.

TCfBtS!: Heroic Land Dwellers – LeBlanc on this.

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed

Ex3 Monthly Stuff

Deviant (KS) – Art in and approved. Putting together KS graphics.

Trinity RMCs – Contracted.

Cults of the Blood God (KS) – Contracted.

Chicago Folio

Mummy 2 (KS) – Characters being worked on, fulls next.

Memento Mori – Notes out this week to artists.

In Layout

They Came from Beneath the Sea!

Dark Eras 2 – Files with Aileen

Trinity Continuum Aeon: Distant Worlds

VtR Spilled Blood – With Josh.

DR:E Threat Guide – Helnau’s Guide to Wasteland Beasties

Aeon Aexpansion – Need to do cover.

Proofing

C20 Cup of Dreams

Signs of Sorcery – Inputting changes.

M20 Book of the Fallen – With Satyr Phil for proofing.

DR:E Jumpstart – Sending Eschaton for proofing.

CoM – Witch Queen of the Shadowed Citadel – Inputting Rose’s comments.

At Press

Trinity Core Screen – At Studio2.

TC Aeon Screen – At Studio2.

Trinity: In Media Res – PoD proofs coming.

Trinity Core – Printing. PoD proofs ordered.

Trinity Aeon – Printing. PoD proofs ordered.

V5: Chicago – Prepping files for press.

You Are Not Alone (TC: Aberrant Comic) – PDF and PoD physical book versions available this Wed. at DTRPG!

Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

Not today, because today has not been such that I feel celebrating is appropriate, but tomorrow. Tomorrow we start a whole series of palindrome dates! 9/10/19 – 9/19/19! Dunno why, but those dates like that make me grin!

[nagichi-boop]

Welcome back home. I do hope its not as bad as you feel it will be..and if it is then I hope things get better as soon as possible:(

I haven't been that active lately cuz i was/still am, stuck in a hyperfixation loop lol.

🪀Anon

Hey anon! It’s been a hot minute - hope you’re doing okay. I’m now curious what hyperfixation loop you’re stuck in but I also don’t wanna pry.

Thank you. I honestly hope so too. It just kinda sucks that I managed to find myself in a scenario even worse than I imagined. (I’ll write more about it under the read more.)

Oh also, I’m still kinda working on that art thing you sent. Sorry it’s taking so long. ;;

tw // s*lf harm & su*cidal ideation

I’ll do my best to explain why this sucks, but I’m guessing it’ll sound completely unreasonable and underwhelming.

So I’m currently on a benefits schemed called Universal Credit (which I’ll call UC), which is essentially a service the government has to give you money while you are unemployed and looking for work, with the expectations you’ll do everything you can to look for work. As a baseline, you’re expecting to do “job seeking activities” for 35 hours a week. This includes things like writing cover letters, applying for jobs, attending interviews - basically anything that’s related to looking for work. This also includes attending appointments for UC (this’ll become important later). The 35 hours a week is also the expectation of the hours of work you’ll look for/accept.

If you need other accommodations because of a health condition, you need something called a fit note. This is a medical sign off from the doctor to say that the person either needs accommodations (e.g. reduced hours for work search/working) or a complete sign off from working (aka not doing any work search/working). The problem is that these fit notes only usually cover about a month and you’re not allowed any gaps in the fit notes or else the UC system will see you as fit to work again. So for example, my last fit note ended on 3rd September, but I got my new fit note starting 1st September to make sure there were no gaps.

When you declare a fit note, initially you’re just asked to say what date it covers from/to and what medical centre/doctor provided the fit note. But until your work coach asks for it, there’s no way to upload the document of your fit note. So I had declared my fit notes and that was that. Easy enough, right? Haha.

So midway through September I’m just minding my own business and suddenly I get a notification to say that I had an appointment booked with my work coach (who was someone I’d never heard of). And I freaked out because I wasn’t expecting to have appointments while I had a fit note. I hadn’t been looking for work because of that and so I would have had nothing to report to my work coach. The other problem was the appointment was booked for when I was on holiday, so I couldn’t have attended. I got so anxious that I cut myself.

I’d also like to quickly mention a flaw with UC. They don’t seem to account for people having holidays. If it wasn’t for me having a fit note, I’d have been expected to continue the 35 hours a week of job hunting. It’s stupid but that’s how the system works. :/

I then checked my account again, wondering why I was booked for an appointment while I had a fit note and I realised something. For some reason, someone had accepted the first fit note like a week after it had expired, but then rejected the second one. No reasons given.

I entered a message in my journal, mentioning I’d be away. The work coach rather bluntly told me I’d be expected to attend and then asked why I wouldn’t be around, so I said I was on holiday. I also asked why my fit note had been rejected, then they asked me to upload this. Why they couldn’t have done this to begin with is beyond me, but I uploaded my document and waited.

I hear nothing. Thursday 17th rolls around, the day of my expected appointment, and I’ve not been told what is happening. I had no idea if they had switched the appointment to a phone appointment, moved the appointment or cancelled it. 30 minutes before my appointment my fit note is accepted.

10 minutes before my appointment, I am marked as “failed to attend”. This sucks because it means if I miss another appointment, I will have reduced pay. The auto message on the notification said that I needed to say why I didn’t show and to rebook my appointment.

But here’s the thing. My work coach had already rebooked the appointment for the beginning of October AND they know why I didn’t attend. But they didn’t tell me anything? Like I had no idea whether I still needed to do those two things? So my dad told me to leave it until after my holiday.

I thought this was bad enough, but my parents told me that according to their research, I could only have 2 sick periods, which meant I couldn’t claim a third month of sick leave. I’m not entirely sure what would happen if I tried to claim another month - idk if they’d send me to a work capability assessment (where they figure out whether you’re capable of working or you need adjustments to work), accept the fit note, deny the fit note or stop paying me.

…so I wrote the above a few days ago and now I have more to add. I’ll try and keep it short and sweet cuz I’ve already written a lot. I was on holiday until yesterday and today is my first day back. At 11am I get a message from my dad about work and literally every time he sees me he is either asking if I’ve applied to the jobs he sent or telling me how perfect it would be for me. I actually cut myself cuz I felt so anxious and stress. Anyways tonight I ended up having a chat with my parents and it seems their solution to all of my problems is work. Like they think I was more social and happier while I was at work. I got angry so I threw the coaster I was playing with, yelled a bit and then left the room crying. So.

I have no idea what to do anymore. I’m pretty hopeless but it is what it is I guess. Honestly I feel like I either have to suck it up or die.

[joie-university-rp]

Dear JESSE ST. JAMES,

It is with great pleasure we invite you admission to Joie University! Welcome to the Thunderclap family!

-

Congratulations, ROG! Please be sure to check the New Members’ Checklist and send in your character’s account within 24 hours from now. We cannot wait to see all that you will bring to this roleplay! We love you already!

OOC INFORMATION:

Name/Alias; pronouns: Rog; they/them

Age, Timezone: 21; EST

Activity, short explanation: I’m very active, and I’ll try to be on as much as I can :D

Ships: Anything with chemistry

Anti-Ships: Forced

Triggers: RFP

Preferred photo for Character’s ID (please give a link): http://wamu.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/t185592953__jonathangroff-545x600.jpg

Anything else: Hit me up!

IC INFORMATION:

Full Name (First, Middle, Last): Jesse St. James

FC: Jonathan Groff

Age/Year at University (Freshman [1st Year], Sophomore, Junior, Senior, or Graduate Student): Graduate Student

Birth date (MONTH DAY, YEAR): June 4th, 1992

Hometown (please be sure to check the hometowns listed for characters your muse is related to!): Akron, Ohio

Gender/Pronouns: Cis male; he/him

Sexuality: Bisexual

Major(s): Theatre

Minor(s) [optional]: Music

Housing request (remember, only the president of a Greek Organization is required to live at a Greek House to be in it!): Beiste Dormitory, single

Extracurriculars (Click here for the list. Be sure to specify any executive board positions [i.e. president, secretary, etc.] If something isn’t listed, please put it here and we will add it to the masterlist!): Drama Club, Glee Club

Greek Life Affiliation [optional] (Please be sure to specify any executive board positions [i.e. president, pledge educator, etc.] or if your character is not yet a member, but plans to rush): -

CHARACTER PROFILE:

•Jesse was born into a very talented and wealthy family, every single relative was involved in the arts in one way or another. His mother was a costume designer for many well-known stars, and came from a famous line of Broadway and Hollywood stars, while his father was a successful film director, so Jesse was definitely expected to become prominent in the arts as well.

•He was told multiple times by his parents that he was their favourite, they didn’t bother keeping it a secret. This lead to some of his siblings to struggle with self-esteem and other problems. He is proud of knowing that his parents thought him most likely to succeed and become somebody important, but he still feels like the guilty one sometimes.

•Jesse had his first role in Broadway at the age of four as a minor character in a play. This was the moment in which he decided what he wanted to do with his life: dedicate it to the stage fully. Since then, he participated in plenty of productions and projects for the acting industry, and hasn’t stopped.

•His parents paid for every single thing he ever wanted, which included a lot of arts lessons. He took classes in singing, dancing, acting, and every similar thing he could find. Even though the lessons noticeably helped him, he was a natural-born performer, a fact that didn’t do much to help with his rapidly-growing ego.

•He didn’t have a lot of friends growing up. Obviously, kids didn’t want to spend recess sitting down with Jesse while he rambled on and on about his latest Broadway show, or about Queen, or just sharing what his mother had told him about how promising his future was. But he didn’t need them, or so he thought. All he needed was his own voice and a tune to sing during recess while he strolled around the playground by himself.

•Jesse comes off as an overconfident, arrogant, dismissive jerk, and while that’s not exactly a lie, he can also be caring and loving to the people close to him. His rude and conceited persona is just a facade he uses. Confidence is the key to success, those are the words he lives by, and he completely agrees with them, even if he unknowingly exaggerates sometimes.

•He can be a very good manipulator when he wants to, and he makes good use of that gift. He has used it before, and he won’t hesitate to use it when necessary.

•While Jesse is fantastic at performing, the same can’t be said about his academic skill. While his parents forced him to keep up with his schoolwork when he was a child, the habit didn’t stick to him, and that caused him to fail out of his scholarship at UCLA.

•He still keeps the care bear Rachel got him. He went back to get it and it now sits on his bed. It’s one of his best kept secrets, and he’ll be dead before he lets anyone find out about it, it’s embarrassing to him.

•His first celebrity crush wasn’t on a woman, but rather on Freddie Mercury. He had always been in awe at the man, and he reluctantly admitted his deep admiration was more of a childish crush.

•Jesse did manage to mature a bit after graduating high school. Failing at UCLA helped him get slightly humbler, as he realised that he wasn’t perfect, after all. Regardless, he is still more arrogant than average, but he’s willing to improve.

STUDENT CENSUS SURVEY:

(Please answer the following questions IN CHARACTER. Responses can be as long or short as you see fit!)

1. What made you want to attend Joie University?

Plan B. It’s definitely not UCLA, but I guess it’s good enough as a second option.

2. What are at least 3 positive or neutral and at least 3 negative traits that you believe you possess?

•I’m extremely talented and superior.

•Not to brag, but I’m probably better looking than every single one of you here.

•Is this a serious question? I’m basically a walking positive trait! Have you even seen me? Anyway, I’m pretty determined, I guess.

3. Which of your traits do you value most?

All of them. I can’t pick just one, but if I had to, it would probably be my dedication.

4. How can that trait benefit the University (or its student body) as a whole?

I can assure I won’t let anyone down. You guys need me.

5. What do you hope to gain from your experience at JU?

Well, our latest Broadway show needs some extras, so if I could make some connections with a few people, that would be great.

6. What is a quote or song lyric that describes you?

“Confidence comes naturally with success; but, success comes only to those who are confident.”

[theundergroundarchives]

Rap Beast: Reminiscing the yesteryear with Malaysian’s hip hop future, Quai

The Underground Archives sits down with the up-and-coming rap personality, Quai to talk about his musical beginnings and the close friendship between him and his other artiste friends including with that of the breakout rap star, Gard.

Words by Ainaa Amirrah

Self-taught rapper, Quai proves to our local rap scene of his ability to ace as a full-time musician despite having kick-started his move independently since the very start. Having been actively surfing the scene since 2017, the man has been compared and tallied to the American rap artiste, Travis Scott, particularly for the nature of his sonic direction.

Always attempting fates, Quai tells that he never had any plan in continuing studies or even producing music right away after graduating from high school. The initial idea of producing music came from his close friends, when they had an epiphany in wanting to write and produce their own songs. Having heartily moved with the decision, he started with recording his voice by using the phone while he still had no YouTube channel or any other social media accounts to share his music with at the time. During his early days of becoming a rap artiste and being involved with the underground rap scene, he tells that he would usually his recorded music with his circle of friends for them to have a listen to it to which they would then embolden him to upload his songs on the YouTube. This was also the time when he would meet and start hanging out with the kids from tastas classofpoets, where he had met Kloud$, who had taught him all the he needed to know about English.

Consequently, the friendship that has been forged through art would see him coming out with the infectiously catchy, hook-minded track published in October 2018, “Wa Cau Lu”, and joined by two other dynamic rappers from tastas classofpoets, Heidi (formerly known as Hades) and Kloud$. Having been compared to that of Travis Scott’s potent highlights “Stargazing” and “Butterfly Effect” off the multi-platinum album Astroworld which was released during August of the same year, Quai shares that “Wa Cau Lu” was first made using the instrumental music that he found from YouTube to which, a fellow producer, Puffie Top later decided to remake the beat and reproduce the existing track, with the same vibe.

A realist such as Quai admits to having splurged his personality through his music. In the process of producing tracks, his concept has been stoned as; one had to be honest and put intention as first out of all things. His first rap was produced with beat he found on YouTube. With time, DMent Si Lain advised him to start producing his own music, enabling him as a ‘legit’ independent artiste. Working milliseconds after he got inspired, Quai is the kind of guy that will never let any drip of inspirations goes by. He admits to spending eight hours to produce his first beat. With time, it got shorter as he learned the process, step by step, carefully curated. First year in producing music, he learned how to write bars, and then mixing and making beats, and subsequently mastering.

DMent Si Lain or what Quai would call as “don” is the individual who’s responsible in teaching him the writing skills since the age of 17. Growing up, Quai listened to 5forty2, a long-standing rap group that DMent’s part of, since he was 11-year-old. “5forty2’s presence in the underground rap scene was like in the middle of the era. This makes their music and songs relevant for us to listen to even until now. The unfiltered, explicit ‘bahasa pasar’ rap, that’s the real thing! Imagine the 11-year-old me was listening to those kind of songs which really inspired me even until now,”

“It’s irony to think because when I grew up, I listened to DMent but eventually, when I’m finally a grown-up, I ended up being part of Akatsuki, a rap group that actually includes DMent. DMent is like a big brother to me; I remember being a fan of him when I were in Standard 5. I messaged him on Facebook saying “I’ve just listened to his song, I like him so much” and he humbly replied saying thank you,” he says, continuing: “I used to ask him if he still remembers the kid version of me. Funnily, he said he’s already forgotten about it because it’s been a long time.”

Quai opens up about his struggles with money management during his early days of starting out in this scene. “One of the privations I had to face with what I’m doing was budget. I had no money in the first place. I did it all by myself. I started saving up and doing part-time jobs. I started recording by using only my phone and earphones that had a mic on it.”

The first song he ever recorded using his phone and uploaded on the YouTube was “Anti”. “When I thought of its quality again, I decided to upgrade it. I studied more about mics and stuff and eventually bought the proper equipment in order to make music. For me, the most important thing is to set a standard quality on your music then the good lyrics. Essentially, both needs to be in a balance check.”

Starting off, he experienced all the things at once; from learning to make beats, being taught by his generous friends and also getting the invitations to perform at gigs. This marked the starting point of him making connections with people within the scene. He remembers his first hip hop show at Uptown Puchong. “I overcome my stage fright with the help from the OGs. They told me to chill and tell myself that I got this. Honestly, my stage fright is still somewhere around, waiting to jump on me whenever I’m performing live.”

Touching on his close friendship with a fellow breakout rap star, Gard, it is revealed that the two first found each other through Instagram where they talked and became instantly clicked; recently, the two got together rendering the heart-wrenching piece, “Mesin Masa” in Gard’s collaborative breakthrough studio effort, GARD WUZGUT’s CPR (Club Perenang Rohani). Being asked about the story leading up to his verses in “Mesin Masa”. “Untuk jiwa-jiwa 3 AM,” incepts him briefly before he would tell the whole story behind his part in “Mesin Masa”.

Having taken from GARD WUZGUT’s breakthrough extended play, CPR (Club Perenang Rohani), the track features Quai who wrote the verses while he was still in his past relationship. During the process of writing the lyrics, he confides to having locked himself in a dark room to listen to the beat of “Mesin Masa” as he had the melody felt directly right into his heart. It was as if the music knew what he had felt at the moment, heartbroken. Ironically, Quai admits that he broke up during the process of recording, which eventually assisted him to feel every word that he sung in the song.

Prior to having another collaborative breakthrough in “Mesin Masa” after that of “Wa Cau Lu” with Heidi and Kloud$, Quai and Gard have previously actively banded together including that for a 2017’s track, “Hell’O” and 2018’s track, “CREWS ONLY”. Shares him, “Hell’O” is his first trap-infused track where he eventually transitioned from producing the usual boom bap beats to trap beats, due to his personal observation towards the crowd’s interest in local music. He had experimented with such beats three years back to which he eventually realised that he had a humongous potential in producing trap music. “Honestly, I’ve been a lost man, but I slowly found myself in trap music. Trust that you got to just give yourself time and never stop learning.”

Being asked to share his piece of mind about CPR (Club Perenang Rohani), Quai expresses his amusement, where he even highlights “Wonderland” as a groovy track that you cannot not dance to it. Amused and inspired by Gard’s mixed talent of randomness and coolness, Quai tells, initially, he didn’t really get the gist of Gard’s way of expressing himself through his lyrics. But after a few times of having himself visited Gard’s bodies of work, he became immediately influenced and absorbed with the latter’s music. “I believe that Gard is the one who started to influence trap music in Malaysia. He was the one who first recognized my sound as Travis’ and he has always been the one who would motivate me to keep going even to this day.”

He describes Gard as a humble man, and the fact that Gard was under a record label at the time, made him excited when the latter had asked him to collaborate in producing songs. “Despite having already established himself as a record artiste at the time, he understood that I was still very new in this scene and he was very patient with my learning process.”

The original article was first published in The Underground Archives (Print Edition) Volume 2.

[twatkcox]

[The Keihancarl Diaries: January 25, 2020]

Gong Xi Fa Cai! Kung Hei Fat Choi! As promised, I decided to go on a trip to see the dragon dance (hopefully), but I don't think the weather will cooperate just like three years ago. I hope I can manage to make it through a crowd of people once I got to my intended destination. And I need to have the surgical mask ready, just in case.

I'm off to Rockwell Center, Circuit Makati and Binondo areas for this trip. I decided on a red and black outfit, the usual black fleece coat and the red anime shirt. As for the mask, I'll explain that one later.

I was really hoping to leave the house early so I can spend a little more time at the Circuit Makati rooftop park. Anyway, traffic is light so I don't have to worry about possible time constraints... until the UV Express decided to pass by North Avenue. Traffic is incredibly heavy there.

Upon reaching MRT North Avenue station, I immediately load up my Beep card. I managed to get inside the train, a couple of minutes before leaving. I then got off at Guadalupe Station and walk to my first stop for this trip, Rockwell Center. It started raining halfway just as I was about to reach Estrella Street.

And I reached the Power Plant Mall. The Christmas tree is still there, even though the holiday season ended weeks ago.

Anyway, I checked a few shops, including Fully Booked. At the other end of the mall, there are Chinese lanterns as well as the pink tree which is decorated with red envelopes (ang pao).

At the Fully Booked branch, I try to figure out what music are they playing this time, however, it is barely audible. I assume that it was pop or jazz music, but it could be something else.

They had some awesome manga on the dedicated shelves. I just noticed that they separate the light novels from the manga books, to avoid possible confusion.

There were no bargain books in that branch, unfortunately. But then again, I won't be seeing any manga books in their bargain bin(s) anyway.

I visited a few more shops and checked the expansion area (formerly the Archaeology wing). On the lower ground floor, there were stalls selling fruits and Filipino delicacies.

There's an art gallery in the expansion area as well. Not sure if it's a temporary set up.

Heading to my next stop, the rain stopped. I took a jeep to Circuit Makati and got off at a street nearest to the mall area.

I checked Biblio first and tried to search for a manga book (which is commonly placed among the children's books). I found one, a shojo manga, but the spine is damaged. I only checked some of the manga's pages before I went off and check the other books there.

Aside from that, there were vintage books on sale.

I immediately check parts of the airconditioned area and made my way to the rooftop park. Since it rained not too long ago, the fake grass is drenched so I can't sit down right now.

There were a few people in the area as well, taking pictures and selfies. Of course, I took a moment to enjoy the view of the Makati skyline, and even see the office buildings (Pacific Star and BPI Buendia Center buildings) where my previous workplaces are.

I had lunch at Andoks and ordered a budget-friendly chicken pops meal. After that, I stayed at Macao Imperial Tea for a cup of cream cheese jasmine green tea (there were fewer people inside at that time). I began uploading the first set of pics to my Instagram accounts. Regarding the drink, it was okay though there were sediments at the bottom which irritated my throat a little. Must be the undissolved cream cheese.

I then checked the rest of the mall area (Circuit Walk) and visited the open park area.

The sun finally shines after a few hours of rain and dark clouds.

And it's time to head to Binondo. I rode the LRT to Carriedo Station and I had to deal with the extremely crowded train. Nothing compared to MRT-3, I suppose.

Getting off, I just noticed that Carriedo Street is somewhat cleared of vendors. Well, not actually cleared, but the number of vendors has been greatly reduced. It certainly looked better that way.

I put on my disposable surgical mask before making my way to Binondo as a preventive measure. It had something to do with the possible spread of the Novel coronavirus coming from Wuhan, China, mainly from Chinese tourists. But then, I might inhale some smoke from the firecrackers in addition to the smoke coming from the vehicles, so I decided to put it on. It took me a while before I figure out the correct way of wearing it, as the mask keeps hitting my eyes, making it difficult for me to see where I’m walking.

I passed by the art deco buildings along Escolta, though a couple of buildings are in disrepair (one of them, the Capitol Theater, is already demolished). Reaching the Jones Bridge area, a lot of people passed by the area, some of them are wearing red clothing.

Going further, I saw more people along the way. Upon reaching the Binondo Church, there were street performances and a lot of people passing by, some of them stopping to take pictures.

Ongpin Street is crowded with a lot of people, with some of the policemen guarding the area. I somehow managed to pass by without having to squeeze in. Fifteen minutes later, I did get to see a dragon dance. I managed to take a few pics, but I wasn't able to get a perfect shot. Well, that should do.

There's another dragon dance in front of a hotpot restaurant, complete with firecrackers. Traffic is ongoing, and I can actually hear the honking of the horns as the dragon dance went on.

Feeling a little exhausted, I then head to 999 Mall and checked the stalls selling anime shirts. Nothing much, as they still have the same stock.

I also check a couple of stalls in 168 Mall as well, but I only see a lot of K-pop merch and probably some anime posters. Both malls aren't that crowded at the moment, but I find it frustrating to get around the narrow hallways and make it outside. Well, I managed to do just that and I felt a little relieved as soon as I got out.

And finally, Lucky Chinatown Mall. There's a Chinese New Year performance by Ely Buendia, IV of Spades, and a few others. I head to the cinema level to relax and upload more pics to Instagram.

I managed to take a few more selfies at the City Walk area. After that, I decided to go home as it is already past 7:00 PM. I decided to skip the early dinner since I'll probably eat dinner at home anyway.

I took an e-tricycle to Doroteo Jose Street, passed by the bus stop, and rode the LRT-2 to Araneta Cubao Station. Of course, LRT-2 remains operational, but from Recto to Araneta Cubao stations only and vice versa. I managed to see the awfully tacky station signage at Gilmore and Betty Go-Belmonte stations. Getting off, the escalators at Araneta Cubao stations are being replaced.

I passed by a couple of bookstores (Fully Booked and Booksale) and rode the Beep minibus to SM Fairview. Traffic is incredibly light in most parts of Commonwealth Avenue. I'll probably get home a little earlier than usual.

All right, so I managed to make it through this awesome but exhausting trip. And I didn't have to rant on the traffic in some areas, hence I'm extremely pleased.

Well, how about it? The Bay Area for February sounds like fun since I'll finally get to visit a newly-opened mall at the Entertainment City complex.

And that's how my day went. Until next time!

Most of the pics are uploaded to my private Instagram account, @kcox105. The pics of the MRT/LRT trains, milk tea, and the dragon dance (the first one) are from my official Instagram account, @kcox_105.

[saikkunen]

Since people are sharing their TF2 stories to celebrate the anniversary

I initially got into TF2 in the summer of 2010 when an internet friend linked a video to a group chat about someone talking like Hank Hill in a TF2 game server and I was like “oh yeah this is that game people talk about every now and then and that has this different style to it and I also see that bald guy a lot” and then I started clicking on the related videos on the side that were those silly Gmod videos. I had a very good time with them since I already loved YTP’s and the humour in the videos were kinda similiar. (Through the Gmod videos I also got into the other Valve games too but that’s an entirely different story for another time.) I also naturally stumbled upon the Meet The -shorts eventually and I was 100% sold to the characters. I’ve read the comics too since Loose Canon/Bidwell’s Big Plan but back then I was mostly confused by them.

I had never really played an online multiplayer before and FPS’s generally very little so I thought that I’d be okay just being a fan who doesn’t play and just consume the stuff the community/fandom makes instead. But on August of the same year I think an another then-internet friend offered their Steam account to try out and play the game. I had no idea what Steam even was so I had to figure that out first too... I had some problems with the installation and all but when I eventually got everything to work and got in the game, well... I don’t actually remember what I did first, I think I messed around in the training for a while but I think I just hopped on some servers almost instantly and I guess it was a mistake really. I was so fucking bad people thought I was a bot, people yelled at me in the chat and in the mic so it did discourage me but I kept playing anyway out of spite, getting a bit better slowly. Looking back to it I’m happy I played my first ~70 hours with someone else’s name than my own... :’D

I made my own Steam account on the New Year’s of the same year I think and bought the Orange Box on February 2011 and started playing TF2 as myself. This was partially because the internet friend I borrowed the account from before had faded away so I didn’t know how long until they’d change the password and lock me out. (Before they did that I totally “stole” everything I had gained while playing with their account, thanks to the trading system that was implemented into the game later that year.) I played a lot, mostly by myself but sometimes with a friend/s. Eventually I played less and less, mostly playing when there was a new update or someone asked to play with them which is the case today too. Sometimes I can play it daily for a long time and then there’s months or almost a year before I even touch it again. But even if I don’t play it that much I still love it and like to go a few rounds every now and then. I’m still not good at it at all, but I don’t care as long as I’m having fun. Online multiplayers still aren’t my thing and I prefer to play them on shorter bursts when I do play. That’s why I don’t have more than 500 hours on the game to this day.

I don’t think I’m going anywhere special with this and I think I’m forgetting something but yeah. Basically this game and it’s fandom pretty much changed me and also gave me a massive push on my art. I was super inspired by it in many ways. I still hear people saying sometimes that my art reminds them of TF2, I can’t see it myself but I always take it as a compliment :D It has also been fun pushing other people into this hell and seeing them enjoy it too in their own ways. So basically

thanks volvo for my life and congrats for 10 years 🎉🎊

Another uh... interesting thing: The original uploader had deleted the original but this was one of my favourite Gmod-videos and also weirdly enough is one of the reasons why Engie was my first favourite of the characters. And because deviantArt was basically my main source for, well. Everything back then I went to search fan art related to the video and I found this and that’s the story how I found that artist ssdfds

[zeldacourage]

I was tagged by @mew-poo . I don’t usually do these kinda things cause they make me anxious, but I’m feeling bored and brave lol

Rules: Answer the questions in a new post and tag 20 blogs you would like to get to know better.

Name: Megan, but my username is always ZeldaCourage and I love it when people refer to me as Zelda lol

Family Name: Nah

Gender: Female

Star Sign: Libra

Height: 5′2

Age: 22

Hogwarts House: Gryffindor

Favorite Color: Red probably

Time rn: 10:05 PM

Hours of Sleep: idk like 10 or something. I sleep a lot.

Lucky Number(s): 59

Last Thing I Googled: “List of Steven Universe episodes.” 

Favorite Fictional Character: This one’s pretty difficult. Probably Ganondorf?

Blankets I Sleep With: One.

Favorite Artists: The Living Tombstone is my favorite music artist. My favorite drawing artist (uhh... visual artist I think it’s called?) is @toonimated . I can’t get enough of that style my dudes.

Dream Trip: I don’t really want to go anywhere. Leaving makes me anxious lol.

Dream Job: Editing.

What I’m Wearing rn: My “Feel the Bern” shirt. Yeah, I still wear it. 

Follower Count: 306

Posts: 20,725

What Do I Post About: Zelda, DBZ, Pokemon, Steven Universe, Overwatch, a lot of different stuff. Mostly video games.

Most Active Followers: I’m really bad at paying attention to this kinda stuff lol. Looking at my activity, these guys tend to show up a lot I guess: @captainesc @emeiandstuff @earthy-artist​ @vason-silversword 

When Did Your Blog Reach Its Peak: If “its peak” means when I got a lot of activity, it was probably when I used  to make a lot of MLP shipping fanart.

Why Did You Make Your Blog: My sister wanted me to post my MLP fanart. Was originally a blog strictly for my art, but then I stopped making art and there was a lot of cool art and stuff made by other people that I just couldn’t resist not reblogging anymore.

Do You Get Asks on a Daily Basis: No, thank God. I have such bad anxiety, I tend to panic whenever I have any notifications.

Why Did You Choose Your URL: So I would have the same username I have everywhere else. First time I used the name “ZeldaCourage” was when I was a kid making my first, and current, e-mail account. Everything I wanted to put in was already taken, so I used that instead. It’s nice to have a name easy to remember and with no numbers or weird-spellings.

Countries You’ve Lived In: Only the US of A.

Favorite Fandom: I have no idea tbh. I don’t really participate in fandom, I mostly just watch things from the outside. Most fandoms for my favorite things have annoying shit like headcanon and ship wars. The Pokemon fandom seems really chill, though. So, that, I guess.

Languages You Speak: Only English.

Favorite Film: Wreck-it-Ralph!

Last Article You Read: Can’t remember. It was probably something about Breath of the Wild.

Last Thing I Bought Online: Does DLC for Mass Effect 2 count? Just started playing it on PC cause I got it for free, and I don’t have ME1 to upload my save with. But I didn’t wanna deal with the default decisions, so I bought the Genesis interactive comic DLC so I could make my own decisions.  

Last Person I Dreamt Of: I don’t remember my dreams very often, but the last one I had was about Breath of the Wild. You could choose what you wanted Link to look like with a character creation thing. It was funny, cause Nintendo would NEVER do that, although I personally think it would be cool.

A Recurring Dream: Don’t really have one.

Phobias/Fears: Spiders. Social interaction. Embarrassment.

How Would My Friends Describe Me: Quiet. Sarcastic. Maybe funny? I really don’t know. 

If I Had $$$ to Spend, What Would I Buy First: A Nintendo Switch and the Breath of the Wild Master Edition. I’m really looking forward to that game in case you couldn’t tell lol.

I don’t really wanna tag a bunch of people. I’m gonna steal Danny’s idea and say if you got tagged in this, you can do it if you want. Or, don’t. You know, whatever you feel like. @minazukii , I choose you. If you didn’t get tagged, you can still do it. If you want. You know, no pressure.

[newyorktheater]

Paul McGill, a Broadway veteran since the age of 17, kicks up his heel on 45th Street, as part of a terrific video (see below) by the cast of “A Chorus Line” 2006 Broadway revival. This is just one of the many steps that members of the theater community are taking to raise morale, keep busy, and kick start a whole new era of theater-making in the face of devastating challenges.

Free Shakespeare in the Park has been canceled, for the first time in its 58 years – news that hits hard, and the sharpest sign that New York theater is unlikely to reopen until the Fall at the earliest.

  The Public Works musical adaptation of “As You Like It,” one of the two productions planned for Shakespeare in the Park that the Public Theater has canceled. “This is something I mightily resisted,” said artistic director Oskar Eustis. But the timing just didn’t work.

This includes Broadway, which even the head of the Broadway League now concedes. In an interview this past week, the trade association’s Charlotte St. Martin said: “As late as two weeks ago we were thinking that with any luck we might be up by July and that a worst case scenario might be September. Now the best guesses are that unless there’s serious testing and information that we don’t currently have, we’re probably looking at September or later.”

Once theater officially returns, the question becomes: Will audiences?

A survey of DC-area theatergoers found that “around half (49 percent) suggest they will probably wait a few months or more before returning while only a quarter (25 percent) think they will attend right away.”

“Constraint Breeds Creativity”

In the meantime, theaters are responding in creative ways. A survey of 168 theaters across the country conducted by TCG, found that 67 percent are “exploring performance alternatives and virtual programming,” which helps explain the explosion of online theater. (See my Where To Get Your Theater Fix Online and Calendar of April “Openings”)

Other findings from the survey:

Cancellations: 88 percent had cancelled performances that had already been scheduled (It’s surprising that 12 percent had not; perhaps they didn’t have any scheduled in the Spring?)

Compensation: “56 percent had committed to some kind of compensation for artists, production staff, etc. involved with cancelled performances; 18 percent had committed to full compensation, and 38 percent had committed to partial compensation. Thirty percent of respondents expressed a desire to provide compensation but were not sure they would be able to do so in light of revenue losses, and 13 percent expressed a desire to provide compensation but knew they would not be able to do so.”

One of those answering the survey was quoted as saying: “There’s a strong feeling that we’re all in this together. And I do believe that some creative solutions for how we make and share art will emerge out of this. Constraint breeds creativity.”

Another way to look at it: “We’re all in intermission right now….everybody loves a second act,” Lin-Manuel Miranda says in a radio spot sponsored by the Broadway League. “If there’s one thing we can be sure of, Broadway will be back, and New York City will be back and the world will be back.”

In the meantime, to donate money, supplies or time — Coronavirus.health.ny.gov

To help theater people in need, Broadwaycares.org

https://www.theproducersperspective.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Only-Intermission-Video.mp4

Awards Season Begins

New York Drama Critics Circle Awards:Heroes of the Fourth Turning. Strange Loop. The entire theater community for perseveranceThe

Lucille Lortel Award Nominations 2020, Off-Broadway’s Best: “A Strange Loop” NS “Heroes of the Fourth Turning” lead nominations

The nominations for the 65th annual Drama Desk Award will be announced on Tuesday and for the Drama Leagues’ newly named Gratitude Awards on Thursday.

Despite a truncated season, more than half the major theater awards are going ahead in one form or another. Check out my guide to New York Theater Awards 2020

Fighting the Virus

Danny Burstein as the impresario Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge

Broadway star Danny Burstein on his harrowing experience with COVID-19, which he recounts straightforwardly, and with lots of humor. (He’s now out of the hospital, recuperating) https://t.co/UR3YSPTGNE pic.twitter.com/BPh4IM76xv

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) April 13, 2020

Nick Cordero

Nick Cordero’s fight against COVID-19 has been more up and down, as his wife has recounted on her Instagram account over the last several weeks. More than 6,000 people have donated a total of more than $350,000 to the  Cordero’ family‘s GoFundMe account.

Nick was without question the best thing about “Bullets Over Broadway.” Here is in 2014 re-creating “Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do” for Broadway in Bryant Park:

  A Dissident Company Celebrates 15 Years Underground The Belarus Free Theater had ambitious plans for its anniversary. The coronavirus stopped them, but the troupe is used to finding ways to keep going in tough times.

For Kicks

A Chorus Line in Quarantine

Broadway Alphabet Series continues

Happy 150th birthday, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Thanks for the 5,000 years of artwork about actors and the theater., by Picasso, Renoir, Degas, and by artists whose names are lost to history

Broadway Night 1929 by John Marin

Spanish Music Hall by Everett Shinn, 1902

Kabuki actor around 1849

The Old Actress 1926 by Max Beckmann

One World Together At Home Highlights: Watch Paul McCartney. Elton John. Stevie Wonder. Lizzo. Taylor Swift. Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello

Top 10 Pandemic Parody Song Videos

Rest in Peace

  Dennehy, with Elizabeth Franz, in Death of A Salesman 1999

Dennehy in Long Day’s Journey Into Night on Broadway, 2003

Dennehy with Nathan Lane in The Iceman Cometh directed by Robert Falls at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre

Inherit the Wind in Chicago

with Mia Farrow in Love Letters

Brian Dennehy, 81, a versatile performer on stage and stage, winning Tony Awards for “Death of a Salesman” in 1999 and “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” in 2003.

I saw four of the six productions in which Brian Dennehy performed on Broadway, the last “Love Letters” in 2014 with Mia Farrow. He was always so… solid is the word, I think.

  Wynn Handman, 97, co-founder of the American Place Theatre, and revered acting teacher. “The list of theater artists who worked at the American Place or were students in Handman’s classes (or, more often, both) is a Who’s Who of the American theater. Actors in the company roster included Dustin Hoffman, Morgan Freeman, Rául Juliá, Michael Douglas, Olympia Dukakis, Faye Dunaway, Mary Alice, Richard Gere, Marian Seldes, Robert de Niro, James Caan, Joanne Woodward and Joel Grey. Bill Irwin, Eric Bogosian, Cynthia Heimel, Roger Rosenblatt, Aasif Mandvi and John Leguizamo all developed and performed in early shows there… “A celebration of Handman’s life will take place when groups of people are again allowed to gather in theaters and other American places.”

  Faith Dane, 96, who “starred for many years in a stage show that spanned burlesque, jazz, dance, calypso, comedy and performance art. She hit it big in the Broadway and film productions of “Gypsy,” for which the lyricist Stephen Sondheim created a role based on her long-standing cabaret act. She went on to run for mayor of D.C. nine times

Louis Johnson, 90, genre-crossing dancer and choreographer, whose career spanned Broadway (“Damn Yankees”), film (“The Wiz”), opera (“Aida”) and the stages of the Alvin Ailey and Dance Theater of Harlem companies.

Shakespeare in the Park Canceled. See You in September…or Later. Awards Season Kicks In. #Stageworthy News of the Week Free Shakespeare in the Park has been canceled, for the first time in its 58 years – news that hits hard, and the sharpest sign that New York theater is unlikely to reopen until the Fall at the earliest.

[femmesfollesnebraska]

Ye Funa, artist

Ye Funa is an artist represented by Klein Sun Gallery in New York. She shares with LFF about her current film project, paying tribute to her favorite female artist, creating political art and more...

Where are you from? How did you get into creative work and what is your impetus for creating? 

I am from Kunming, a city in the southwest of China. To pursue my college education, I came to Beijing. In fact, I grew up in an artist family and both of my parents are artists. So as for me, art is real and authentic. I used to joke that I was sustained by art throughout my childhood. Because of art, my parents had the ability to raise me. In the School of Experimental Art, China Central Academy of Fine Arts, I learned a lot about art. Later on, I went to Central Saint Martins in London as a graduate student. I gradually started to see a clearer picture of what I want to do in the field of art in the future. I think these experiences had important impacts on my work.

Ye Funa Legend of the Wellknowns, 2014 Digital video on 3 screens 10 minutes © Ye Funa, Courtesy Klein Sun Gallery

Tell me about your current project and why it is important to you. What do you hope people get out of your work?

Recently, I’ve been working on a project called “one second film festival” with k11 Foundation, collecting films from around the world that are less than 3 seconds.

Contemporary society can be characterized by the incessant stream of information we encounter on a daily basis; with every single post, information is communicated in the blink of an eye. We live in a time where time itself is a commodity, where 24 frames can sufficiently express a creator’s message. Stitching together series of sequential still images, films create powerful auditory and visual illusions. Popular cinema is now the culture of the masses, and from comedy to drama, the medium unites different realms of the arts.

We invite all visitors to send in film clips of one to three seconds. Upload your video(s) to your personal Instagram account (which must be set as public) and hashtag #1secff; OR upload your video(s) to Weibo and tag @一秒电影节; OR email your video(s) to 1secff@gmail.com or exhibitionist@qq.com.

In the beginning of July, I exhibited 300 one-second films I received in Metro Picture Gallery in New York. Among them, there are some interesting works. Next, I moved forward to select nominations and awards for the “one second film festival”. The film showcases will be held the latter half of this year and the next year successively. Aside from that, I still have a series of films in making. This series is called “Self Fiction”, and I play some controversial female roles in these films. The first film “Flying Dance” has already been exhibited in New York and Beijing.

 Does collaboration play a role in your work--whether with your community, artists or others? How so and how does this impact your work?

Collaboration is very important for me. Aside from my personal works, filmmaking needs collaborative effort, for example, shooting, actors, sound engineers. Some of my works actually require people’s participation. Under a subject initiated by me, different people propose their ideas to develop the work. For example, for “Curated Nail”, I use fingernails as exhibition space, inviting people to be the curators. The same for “One Second Film Festival;” everybody can freely create their one-second films. Some of the people I’ve been collaborating with are professional artists, some are amateurs artists and have full time jobs in other industries, some are my friends and some are just strangers. If we were not living in the Internet era, this type of art wouldn’t be launched, spread, and developed so easily. I’m very willing to get involved in the community, getting to know everybody. In my project, every single person is the collaborator and the creator. This is something that interests me.  

Ye Funa Ophelia, 2013 Single channel digital video 8 minutes 27 seconds © Ye Funa, Courtesy Klein Sun Gallery

Considering the political climate, how do you think the temperature is for the arts right now, what/how do you hope it may change or make a difference?

Art must be political. But I don’t think any artwork can change the status of the politics. I think art should not aim at a certain current situation, neither be the trigger of the propaganda nor an attack. That is a point of view, not artwork. What I’m more interested in is studying what causes a certain situation, and the influence it will bring in the future. 

Artist Wanda Ewing, who curated and titled the original LFF exhibit, examined the perspective of femininity and race in her work, and spoke positively of feminism, saying “yes, it is still relevant to have exhibits and forums for women in art;” does feminism play a role in your work? 

I didn’t intentionally think about this question while working on my project. Without a doubt, I’m concerned with topics regarding feminism. As I grow up, almost all my idols are female. Their anecdotes, talents, and attitudes influence me in different ways. My former work “Practice 13: After Dinner Party” is a tribute to my female idol. “Curated Nail” is also a project that relates to female body, self-expression, democracy, and rights.

Funa The Supper of Goddess, 2015 C-print 20 3/8 x 59 inches (51.7 x 150 cm) © Ye Funa, Courtesy Klein Sun Gallery

Ewing’s advice to aspiring artists was, “you’ve got to develop the skill of when to listen and when not to;” and “Leave. Gain perspective.” What is your favorite advice you have received or given?

My high school deskmate once told me, “Girls should curse less; it doesn’t sound good.” I think that makes a lot of sense.

-

To learn more about Ye Funa visit http://www.kleinsungallery.com/artists/ye-funa.

~

Les Femmes Folles is a volunteer organization founded in 2011 with the mission to support and promote women in all forms, styles and levels of art from around the world with the online journal, print annuals, exhibitions and events; originally inspired by artist Wanda Ewing and her curated exhibit by the name Les Femmes Folles (Wild Women). LFF was created and is curated by Sally Deskins.  LFF Books is a micro-feminist press that publishes 1-2 books per year by the creators of Les Femmes Folles including the award-winning Intimates & Fools (Laura Madeline Wiseman, 2014), The Hunger of the Cheeky Sisters: Ten Tales (Laura Madeline Wiseman/Lauren Rinaldi, 2015), BARED: contemporary art and writing on bras and breasts (2017, edited by Laura Madeline Wiseman) and Mes Predices (catalog of art/writing by Marie Peter Toltz, 2017). Other titles include Les Femmes Folles: The Women 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 available on blurb.com, including art, poetry and interview excerpts from women artists. See the latest call for work on the Submissions page!

[siouxempirepodcast]

Film Review of The Circle

I’m going to confess that I’ve never seen Emma Watson in a movie before. I haven’t seen the new live-action “Beauty and The Beast.” Hadn’t seen Aronofsky’s “Noah” or the indie films “The Bling Ring” or “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” I have also never seen any of the “Harry Potter” films. I was already in my thirties when those books came out and had no children to motivate me to get interested in the topic of adolescent magicians. I just never got around to reading the books or seeing the films and probably never will. Wait – I just realized upon inspecting Watson’s IMDb page I have seen her in one movie: 2012’s “My Week with Marilyn” and I literally can’t conjure up a single memory of her from that film. So, I don’t know her as an actress, but I am certainly aware of who she is. I know that she’s known to be a very thoughtful and intelligent young woman who is inspiring others with her literary campaign “Our Shared Shelf.” I appreciate that Watson is an admitted feminist with a bright, creative future who wants to inspire other young women. But I’m going to admit that I don’t think she’s a movie star. That probably sounds cruel and petty as if I were bashing her, woman-to-woman. My criticism of her, however, isn’t about her looks or her intelligence. I’ll explain in a bit. In “The Circle” Watson stars as Mae Holland, a mid-twenties gal living with her parents in the San Francisco Bay area. She works a meaningless temp job for the Water Department, likes to kayak alone and perhaps relies a little too much on her handy neighbor Mercer. Mercer and Mae have grown up together, and when her car breaks down, she gives trusty old Mercer a call despite the fact that she kinda knows that he cares for her and she’s using him. Except this exchange which happens in the first scene of the movie, we know nothing more about Mae or her interests or beliefs.

Film Review of The Circle

Mae’s parents, Bonnie and Vinnie (Glenne Headley and the late Bill Paxton in his final big-screen release) are clearly just getting by. You know this because their house is dirty. I don’t mean messy but dirty – you see dirt and grime and fingerprints on their walls and light switches which are something you never see in a typical Hollywood movie unless it’s intentional. Vinnie has Multiple Sclerosis, and Bonnie spends her life in a kind of servitude to her husband who clearly isn’t being proactive with his health since he likes to drink canned beer. Suddenly Mae receives a phone call from a friend who works for a social media company called The Circle, and she’s just gotten her friend an interview. Mae is elated and eager because she’s clearly been hearing good things about The Circle for a long time. Even her parents are over the moon because they’re telling all their friends about her salary and amazing dental plan. Mae takes a simple customer service position. She gets a tour of the campus from her friend Annie, played by Scottish actress Karen Gillan (a “Dr. Who” veteran) who quite literally bounces as she excitedly shows Annie the bocce court and coffee bar and play yards of The Circle’s campus. What Annie’s job is isn’t exactly known, but clearly, she has some real responsibility at this firm and shares access to some top-secret stuff with Mae. Mae heads home one weekend to spend some quality time with family and friends, and her old buddy Mercer comes by. Mercer (Ellar Coltrane of “Boyhood”) has that scruffy-but-sensitive look on his face like you just know that he has read “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” while working on an actual motorcycle. Mae learns that Mercer is making antler chandeliers. They chat and spar, Mercer and Mae, but then she heads back to work on Monday morning. There, curiously, a duo never named come up to her to inquire about her weekend. They’re not just making idle chit-chat, mind you. They want to know why she went home for the weekend. (It isn’t explained to the audience at the inception of Mae’s career that she will live on campus). Why didn’t she tell anyone where she was going? Why didn’t she post all about the experience on social media and why, in fact, is she not in The Circle? The Circle is a social media site, clearly modeled on Facebook. It’s important, they tell Mae, that she become a part of this family. That she does not just work here but share her life with the rest of the team. Why Mae is the only human being on the planet who clearly isn’t already in The Circle is not explained, but of course, the two magpies hovering at her desk quickly sign her up for an account. Now, Mae wanders the hallways of The Circle’s campus while text bubbles appear on the screen showing her likes and comments and communications. Once, feeling particularly effusive after a video chat with her mom, she uploads a photo of one of Mercer’s antler chandeliers so everyone online can enjoy it. Except, they don’t. In fact, in this ooh-so-sensitive world that Mae inhabits, her social circle is in fact horrified. Does Mercer, like, kill the deer to get those antlers!? Understandably, Mercer cuts himself off from Mae. Meanwhile, she also submits to a rigorous and invasive health screening. She discloses information about her family including her father’s health status and is elated to discover that The Circle would like to add her parents to her health plan. She doesn’t ask any questions about this. Does she think this is a good thing? Bad thing? She continues on her merry way, ingratiating herself into the group at The Circle. She meets a thoughtful young man, (John Boyega from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”) who seems to know a lot about what happens behind the scenes at The Circle. And of course, Mae is just one of many hyper-enthused employees who is inspired by the work being done by Bailey, the CEO of the company. Tom Hanks plays Bailey as a nod to Steve Jobs, walking casually out on the stage with his ever-present cup of regular-guy coffee to introduce new ideas and technologies to the team. Like the idea of teeny, tiny cameras installed on the beaches to ensure the safety of swimmers. Or those same tiny cameras scattered throughout a city block somewhere in the Middle East, trained to watch for a high-level terrorist. Backing up Bailey is his trusty COO, Stenton (a sadly under-used Patton Oswalt who does little in the film beyond lurking). Does Mae think installing cameras everywhere is a good idea? Maybe, although we don’t know her thoughts. But she’s smiling and happy and gives no outward appearance of her inner thoughts. And that’s my complaint, or issue with Emma Watson as a leading actress. She is a fine thespian, a remarkable young woman, a talent and a mover and shaker in the world of conscientious youth but her inner workings never come across on the screen. The greatest actors are not celebrated for their demeanor or their looks or their ability to emote. They are noted for their ability to bring us into their world, and that starts with their thoughts. The greatest actors of any generation are known for capturing the experience and making it universal. If they can’t, they’re usually relegated to supporting or character roles. Which is fine. When Mae takes the kayak out at night, unprepared and for an unexplained reason, she sets off a chain of events that will put her front and center into the issues of personal and professional privacy. She is recorded for all waking hours, with the exception of some bathroom time, so that the world will see everything she does – an idea that The Circle and Bailey/Stenton are trying to get political support for. But despite the hyper-visibility, I know nothing of what is inside Mae’s brain. The whole time I was watching this movie I kept wondering “What is she thinking?” Does she truly believe that transparency is the answer? Does she have any feelings for Mercer? Why is she going kayaking at night? What does she think is going on with Annie’s behavior? Etcetera. I hadn’t read David Eggers’ novel “The Circle” upon which this film was based but while the film does pose some truly thought-provoking ideas about social media and the privacy line between work and personal lives and the issues of global manhunts and consumer transparency, “The Circle” not only didn’t tell us what we might think of these notions – it also didn’t really explain how the so-called protagonist felt. All in all, a dud of a film. A rare miss for an actor like Tom Hanks. And personally, I think that Emma Watson should stick to rom-coms and the light, fanciful film work that she began her career with. Again, I know that sounds mean but acting is as much about the inner work as how it appears on screen, and both this film and its leading lady never take us beyond the surface.

The post Film Review of The Circle appeared first on TheSiouxEmpire.com.

from Film Review of The Circle

[joie-university-rp]

Dear, ROSIE ALLEN-DANVERS,

It is with great pleasure we invite you admission to Joie University! Welcome to the Thunderclap family!

–

Congratulations, RY! Please be sure to check the New Members’ Checklistand send in your character’s account within 24 hours from now. We cannot wait to see all that you will bring to this roleplay! We love you already!

OOC INFORMATION:

Name/Alias; preferred pronouns: Ry, She/her

Age, Timezone: 25, EST

Activity, short explanation: 7/10

Ships: Rosie/Chemistry

Anti-Ships: Rosie/forced

Triggers: RFP

Preferred photo for Character’s ID (please give a link): https://scbuz.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/d6d4244f438abeac1a725c2e314f50bd-271x365.jpg

Anything else:

IC INFORMATION:

Full Name: Rosie Alexandra Allen-Danvers

FC: Willa Holland

Age/Year at University: Senior, 21 years old

Birth date: September 22nd, 1997

Hometown: LA, California

Gender/Pronouns: Female, she/her

Sexuality: Pansexual

Major(s): Nursing

Minor(s): Psychology.  

Housing request: Apartment

Extracurriculars: Joie Psych Research Lab, Yearbook Committee, Volleyball

Greek Life Affiliation: None

CHARACTER PROFILE:

Rosie was the only child of Alex Allen-Danvers and Jason Danvers. Alex was a famous actress in LA when she met and married Jason. However, once Jason found out he was going to be a father he left the family, saying he was no ready to be a parent. Alex was left to raise Rosie alone but did managed to balance her family and career by hiring a nanny for Rosie. Much of the time Rosie resented her mother for choosing her career but she did find a loving mentor in the woman who raised her for 13 years, her nanny Ellen was more a parent than Rosie’s mother or father had ever been. In fact, Rosie didn’t even meet her father until she was out of High School.

At first, High School was a great time for Rosie. She was popular and had many close friends but little did she know it was all for her name, she was the daughter of a famous actress after all. The boys made bets over who could sleep with the innocent little Allen first and all the girls wanted her closet not her friendship. It took Rosie until junior year to realize the truth when the quarterback of the football team, her so-called best friends boyfriend, tried to have sex with her at a house party. When Rosie tried to protest to honor her friend all he said was she would be proud he was the first one to get her in bed. Rosie left the party without another word and as soon as she was home she begged her Mom to send her to a dedicated performing arts boarding school in New York City.

After graduating High School Rosie decided to stay in New York, she wanted a new life where she could open up again and be her loving self not return to the city where everyone knew her name. In New York nobody knew who Alex Allen was so she could make a name for herself and that’s what she did. Rosie successfully made a name for herself as a Broadway dancer.

The fall after graduating high school Rosie released her first album and did a small tour of the USA, she was living the dream. Rosie couldn’t have imagined things would turn out so well for her on her own. She finally felt like she was out from under her mothers shadow and the pain of never knowing her father.

Rosie, so pleased with her accomplishments, signed a contract without a second thought. But in her hurry to make her own name Rosie did not fully understand what she was signing on for and found herself doing things she would never have done of her own free will, and she was not the only young girl being taken advantage of.  Panicking Rosie got back in touch with her mother only to discover her father was a lawyer and he was able to fight for her.

These were awful circumstances for Rosie to meet her father under but she was secretly hoping this meant they could finally have the relationship she had always dreamed of, and so they did, until the trial was over and Jason walked away again once he had his handful of cash. Rosie was left heartbroken and decided to apply to a quiet Ohio college to escape.

Rosie is now majoring in Nursing to get her bachelors degree, and eventually her masters. Rosie wants to escape the limelight for good and help other people. She hopes to specialize in women health as a nurse to help women like herself.

STUDENT CENSUS SURVEY:

What made you want to attend Joie University?

I wanted to get away from New York City and California and so I looked for highly rated universities in quiet towns and found Joie, it seemed like the perfect fit. I also recently found out I have a half sister from my father and I’d like to meet her.

What are at least 3 positive or neutral and at least 3 negative traits that you believe you possess?

Three of my positive traits would be that I am passionate, creative, and empathetic. I think my negative traits would be I am too forgiving and I can be impulsive or foolish, I am working on these things right now after some hard things have happened in my life, which in turn has actually made me a workaholic in a bad way by pushing myself I sometimes become too caught up in my learning it can be detrimental to my happiness.

Which of your traits do you value most?

I believe my empathy is my most valuable trait. I am studying nursing and I think having the ability to empathize will be very valuable when I am trying to work with people. I will be able to see their side of the problems and come up with a solution with them.

How can that trait benefit the University (or its student body) as a whole?

I think my empathy could benefit the student body and University because I could support my fellow students like a mentor, I want to be able to help them with any problems they may have.

What do you hope to gain from your experience at JU?

Apart from getting my degree I want to live a normal life, I want to be able to go out and make real friends and have fun. Joie seems like a great place to meet honest people.

What is a quote or song lyric that describes you?

She found herself and somehow that was everything