#for tracking life projects notes on things etc etc etc and time tracking and more
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
Falling down the beautiful bujo rabbit hole yet again.
But this time it is all about physical journals rather than my (existing) electronic one.
As much I love the combination of electronic connivence and very exceedingly Aesthetic(TM) electronic journal pages (in a massive PDF full of a zillion hyperlinks) -- something I can load into the GoodNotes app and scribble on to my heart's content (handwrite on ipad, type on my keyboard, collage images from anywhere, etc etc) -- as much as I like this... there are things I don't like.
Files on the computer always feel a little to cramped for me. Fighting with the limitations of tools. No tactile sense of anything. Harder to flip back and forth between pages. Requires being on the computer (or ipad) thus always feels a little awkward for anything that isn't TYPING.
Keeping a purely functional minimalistic bullet journal or similar style thing on paper is something I have repeated done in the past, continued with for some period of time (sometimes lengthy, sometimes brief) but discarded bc the VISUAL MESS OF IT ALL turned me off.
I ... have weird sensitivities around issues of design -- information design, text design, graphic design, user interface design, product design, process design, etc etc etc.
Weird sensitivities and frustrations.
When things aren't beautifully designed my brain either recoils hard or just sort of starts screeeaaaaaammming and then, idk.... 😒
... I either need to DEAL with the fact that I'm willing to live with a yucky looking thing or I abandon the thing for something else that isn't yuck/recoil or brain-scream-inducing.
Honestly, I can live with the yucky looking thing. For instance, most of my fandom presence is a fucking mess, like my history of free broken tumblr themes (makes it harder for anyone to find anything on my tumblr-- is that really a negative? Hmmm...... 😏). Whenever my brain SCREAMS when looking at my tumblr or DW, I put it on my to do list but never get around to it because mostly it isn't really my problem -- ahahaha, sorry followers. I do try to keep my active sideblogs in visually good shape/info-design though, although all of my sideblogs are quiet right now.
Anyhow, the reasons why I have abandoned so many PAPER-BASED planners is because they were either designed entirely wrong to begin with (back in the day, prior to things like an iPad, I designed and printed my own planners!) or because I didn't like how messy they became.
Thus digital planners. Which I have been using for a few years but with so many issues because, deep down, they lack the affordances of paper that I want.
So.
(Long sad sigh of resignation)
I have spent much of yesterday evening and absolutely all of today (so far) researching ideas and planning out a beautifully design, hand-illustrated bujo that will go in my brand new (purchased yesterday at one of my fave bookstores) Leuchttrum A5 grid-page notebook with nice(!!) 120g paper which means it should be just thick enough to not have YUCKY BLEED THROUGH.
Idk about me sometimes
#at least my weird sensitivities and frustrations around Everything Design#fueled oh so very much of my career during the pre-pandemic years/decades#that said--- at least once per year#if not once per idk 9 months or so#i go through a MASSIVE ARRRRRGGGHGHHHH regarding all of my tools#for tracking life projects notes on things etc etc etc and time tracking and more#and then i spent too much time optimizing my life planners/schedulers/trackers/notesystems#idk#that's me#(my resume predicts all of this)
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
Good morning 🌄 In case you missed the news, I wanted to remind everyone that The Baudelaires are starting fresh. But I'd like to make note of a few things.
I have moved the old Baudelaire content to this blog for organizing purposes (still need to pick a theme and tag everything though). Their posts will still be here but I wanted to free up their tags but still make it available to read chronologically if desired. So I figured this would be the easiest way to do that.
The Baudelaires will still feature poses and whatnot. Like I'm not going to only be doing gameplay and this is still a story after all. But, unlike in the past, I'm going to try and use the game to determine the personalities, interests, hobbies, etc. and roll with some of the randomness it throws at me, and use the challenge rules to determine their fates where it calls for it.
We will be doing away with realistic aging. I went back and forth on this a ton and have decided that for the sake of gameplay, and my busy schedule, this is the easiest way for me to play and keep track of things. I also feel it won't get me sucked in too deep / heavy into exclusively posing and keep me interested in actually playing my pixels. I also really want to be able to enjoy each decade for longer and lean into tropes from the decades and feel this is the best way for me to do that.
Sadly, I'm also going to do away with telling an Irish history perspective. It was really hard to make that decision and it's still a hyper fixation of mine, but it feels like a larger project than I can handle right now. In the future, I think it could be really cool to explore that with a realistic timeline but, for now, we will put that to rest and save it for another day.
I really hope people aren't too disappointed with this choice and still feel connected to my story regardless, even if it's a bit less realistic. I'm feeling a little insecure about this decision solely for the fact most decades challenges use a realistic aging / time progression system and really like to lean into the realism aspect of it all. However, I know at the end of the day, this is supposed to be for me and this is what is best for where I'm at in life right now.
I also would like to add that I admire whatever way people choose to play their game and my decision is not a reflection of me not liking or enjoying the content that exists in this space. I adore the stories, and the dedication people have for telling a story that means something to them, regardless if they consider themselves more storytelling, gameplay or a mixture of both.
And to end on a happier note, I've been on my last vacation for the year so I have a lot in the queue and will be doing daily posts Monday - Friday, otherwise I'm going to get too far ahead of where you guys are in the story. If the queue starts to run out, I'll switch to Monday, Wednesdays, and Friday again. Baudelaires return starting on Monday morning @ 10:00 am cst! :3 Be there or be square 🫵🏻
#blarg why am i feeling so nervous :(#also i always feel like i sound like a celebrity or something when i make posts like this?? lol#like AH why is communicating so embarrassing LOL
28 notes
·
View notes
Text
Thought Week: Papyrus
Ahh, Papyrus... I'm not surprised that he was in the top 3. Honestly, I thought he would be number 1, but hey! Life can surprise you!
My honest thoughts about this amazing skeleton below:
(BTW, if you have anything to say about Papyrus, please share your own thoughts in the notes!)
First Impressions
The first time I remembered encountering Papyrus was in Minecraft animated music videos, funnily enough. And it wasn't even me watching them! It was my little sister, who was about 8 at the time? I think it was during lockdown, actually... Anyhoo, they were music videos of Undertale fan songs like "Down To The Bone" and "Way Deeper Down". Papyrus just seemed like a goofy goober who wants to capture a human, you know the drill. He was pleasant.
Those music videos set the stage for my special interest in Undertale, and when I got into the fandom, Papyrus was the very first character I latched onto. He was just adorable, being so egotistical and silly while also being so darn kind. Although back then, I only had a surface-level understanding of Papyrus, I still found that I related to him on a personal level. His hyperactive energy and deep desire for friendship just hit me because I have those traits as well. I remember searching for Papyrus fanfic after Papyrus fanfic, I just wanted to read about him, see him, etc. all the time! He ended up becoming my favourite character, and he still is to this day, although nowadays, he shares the top spot with Sans, who I will cover tomorrow.
My Impressions Now
He's still my favourite, but he shares the top spot with Sans. It just doesn't feel right having one without the other, you know?
Being in the fandom made me realise a few things about Papyrus that aren't noticeable at first glance. But I'm sure everyone has realised how mysterious he is now, even more mysterious than Sans, actually! At least Sans gave us some hints! Papyrus gave us zilch!
But I'm not mad about that. If anything, it makes him more appealing to me. Why? Because it's flexible. That's one of the main reasons why I love Papyrus. He's mysterious enough that you can take creative liberties in his (and Sans') backstory. And that's what I've seen the fandom do, all the time! Remember Handplates? Babybones? The Dadster comics? All of those AUs were made by creators who took liberty in his mysterious nature and filled in the gaps of his mysterious past. And I love it. I do it too. It's fun to think about. And to be honest, I hope the brothers' backstory never gets revealed in canon. Not in full, anyway. I dunno, I just feel like some of their appeal would be lost, to be honest. I like that they're so mysterious.
He's still by far the most relatable character to me though. That's the reason why I enjoy writing him so much. It might just be because of his autism swag, though. I remember reading this post about Papyrus being autistic pretty early on during my time in the fandom, and I've pretty much been subscribed to it ever since. It just makes way too much sense to me I can't!
Also, I just wanna bring this up.
PAPYRUS. WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT. PAPYRUS.
Ah, he was probably being sarcastic.
Hell, I love his sarcasm! That's one of my favourite things about him actually! He's WITTY! He's SARCASTIC! And NO ONE FREAKING NOTICES!
That's just way too relatable to me, as a tone-deaf (but not when it comes to singing) autistic person who is frequently misunderstood because sometimes my tone sounds sarcastic when I really wasn't trying to be and sounds sincere when I was actually trying to be sarcastic. I wonder if Papyrus legitimately has that problem too, and just goes with it, or if I'm just projecting because I relate to him that much.
I really love this exchange because it highlights that aspect of him.
(I found this on a website that listed all of Papyrus' phone calls. And Undyne too, I guess.)
I lost track of how many times I've had to clarify what tone I meant to convey because people kept misunderstanding me. It's like being on the Internet, but in real life lol. (Okay, it's more like being on Twitter, but I don't have Twitter, and no, I will never stop calling it Twitter!)
I also just enjoy Papyrus' goofy nature in general. He has always been such a fun character, and his date is hilarious! I love this man and his autistic little antics so much! Do you think he'd like it if we all came together and met him in real life? Because considering his desire for popularity, I think that would be something Papyrus would definitely get behind! Personally, I would give him a hug.
The Mascot of Monsters!
Have you guys ever noticed how Toby Fox seems to really lean towards Papyrus in content outside of Undertale? Heck, even IN Undertale?!
Think about it. Who gets the special song in the kickstarter? Papyrus. Who gets the interview in the newsletter? Papyrus. Who does Toby Fox's avatar character set its sights on and targets the most? You guessed it! Alphys!
...Oh, wait no, it's Papyrus.
It makes me wonder what Toby Fox is planning with him. Unless Papyrus is just his favourite, which is understandable.
Seriously, though, besides the narrator, Papyrus gets the most lines in the game! I mean, cut your favouritism back a little bit, alright, guy? /j
I could theorise about this if I wanted to, but I'm just gonna do something different instead.
Papyrus is certainly the best mascot, lol!
The Narrative
At first glance, Papyrus doesn't seem to be that important to the narrative besides being the second boss. But as I've explained before, he's kind of the reason why the merciful ending even exists? To be brief, befriending him means you can befriend Undyne, and befriending Undyne means she will join Papyrus in the phone calls, which means Papyrus could convince her to make that love letter to Alphys, which means you can befriend Alphys, which means you get to see the True Lab (sharp inhale), and also he's the one who rounded everyone up and brought them to the castle, which meant that Flowey could complete his plan and- Well, you get the gist. Papyrus is the reason the best ending is possible.
I should also mention that Papyrus is literally the embodiment of the concept of MERCY in general. I wouldn't call him a pacifist. Not by a long shot. But he IS merciful. He literally does a variant of the same thing you do when you beat monsters up until they're at low health and then you spare them. He LITERALLY does that to you.
And then there's the more pacifistic approach in the murder route that everyone knows about. You know, the moment that solidified him as 'best boy'? The moment that genuinely made hundreds of people quit murdering everyone because he was just THAT kind?!
He basically teaches us mercy in the world of Undertale. Both ways, actually. Sure, Toriel gave the verbal version of it, but Papyrus showed us what it actually looks like. And that is awesome.
Conclusion
Papyrus is my favourite, no bones about it! The first character I got attached to, and I'm still attached to this day. He'll always have a special place in my heart. Also, he's just so adorkable.
Look at his dramatic numbnuts pretending he got shot when you eat his spaghetti. Look at him go. Consider this a BONE-us.
Anyway, that's all for now! Remember, please share your thoughts about Papyrus in the notes! Replies, reblogs, whatever, as long as you get your voice out there! Well, less voice, more text, but the principle is the same!
25 notes
·
View notes
Text
Nebula devblog, July '24
Sneaking in this month's update two days before August due to Nova Lands eating an entire week of dev time and Warframe eating another 2 days. It's a hard life. This one will probably be a bit patchy or sparse as I have genuinely lost track of what was new this month due to leaving it this late. I am a highly trained and competent professional.
Nebula SS13 is an open source project based on the Baystation 12 version of Space Station 13. SS13 is a topdown multiplayer simulation game where you play the crew of a ship, station, colony, etc. depending on your fork and map, with the Nebula and Bay forks having a focus on roleplaying and simulation interactions.
Notable changes
The first phase of a major AI rewrite has gone in, separating AI behavior from mob type so human-type mobs can be given AI. This is mostly to support undead and skeletons on Pyrelight at the moment, but will be much more flexible in general going forward.
Simple wall-based windows/shutters have been added for low tech maps that need airflow and light. Penny's genius idea of having them cast a light cone towards the darker side of the shutter makes for some very aesthetic medieval interiors.
Spacefarers, a ship-based fork, has a new ship, and the painfully tricky shuttle rotation PR Penny has been working on is slowly progressing towards a mergable state. When it goes in, manual ship landing will be greatly expanded as shuttles will be able to rotate to match docking ports, instead of having to strictly dock in the same direction every time.
The atom temperature system has been disabled in several cases due to a lot of weird edge cases and bugs in the simulation. It needs more time in the oven. The disabled interactions include things like all of your blood congealing into black pudding if you stand on a stove, being able to instantly heat a beaker of beer to 5000K with a cigarette lighter, or all of your clothes melting off in a fire.
Penny has also put a bunch of work in to moving most of the 'classic' Baystation SS13 game modes into modpacks. This allows forks to pick and choose which are available, since as funny as it could have been, having high tech spacer mercenaries landing on Middle-Earth wouldn't fit the vibes.
Lots of small changes and features have been coming out of the Pyrelight fantasy map testing. Little things like honey being usable for wound disinfection, various crafting tweaks, and things like flooded turfs not putting out your lamp unless it's deeper than your waist.
Automated movement that previously relied on BYOND's inbuilt walk_to() procs now use a dedicated subsystem that calls the appropriate MayMove()/DoMove() proc chains. This essentially just means AI-driven mobs no longer completely ignore little things like pain, having working legs, or being dead or unconscious when chasing you.
Bugs of note
Trout were completely invisible because their main texture was accidentally named world-trout instead of world. This definitely impacted the trout population.
Undead on Pyrelight don't know how to pick up their weapons if they drop them, so disarming them literally or figuratively makes it turn into a slapfight.
Prosthetic limbs, like cybernetics or peglegs, were getting itchy or developing rashes. Maybe it's psychosomatic.
Simple animals like deer were dying en masse on the wilderness maps due to hail. We didn't intend for hail to be the size of hen eggs and covered in spikes, so deer and such are now unhurt by weather.
Current priorities
Personally my focus has been on getting through the Pyrelight feedback list after each test. Lots of small things come out of each test round and my limited time after my real-world job has cut into my space feature time. The Neb general issue list has been getting a bit long so I'll probably put a weekend into getting that cut down again this month.
Otherwise, I have three big PRs open waiting for me to find the focus to finish them: the floor rewrite (aiee), a wizard modpack and ability rework (needed for Pyrelight, eventually, but augh), and a bee rewrite (beewrite) to make bees and other insect nests available outside of one specific machine on space maps.
NataKillar has an amazing PR in the works that sounds quite mundane: separating liquid and solid reagents in reagent containers like beakers. However, this opens up a buttload of interesting chemical interactions down the track, not the least of which is finally getting ice cubes to not require a dedicated ice material.
23 notes
·
View notes
Note
i think i followed you Back In The Day, seven years and seven blogs ago, for something related to mass effect (zaeed? maybe? who could say) and it's wild to come back to this site years later and find you thriving, surviving, growing-- playing ffxiv! love that game. curious how you'll feel about some side characters in shadowbringers, but i won't spoil which ones.
i do have real questions, though; writing tools. not pens or software, but personal structure tools and/or guidance. what does a beat sheet look like, for you? do you have a favored way of outlining or note-taking on your own thoughts when putting a story together?
and... i'm really curious how you hold a big story together in your head while you work on it in pieces, especially for something like dangerous crowns. there's this larger story i've been chasing around for a while, and I can't quite wrap my head around how to write the political/espionage plot for it without feeling like i've actually written a children's pantomime. the best i've got so far is "research real life events and use those as my outline" but after a point it becomes hard to keep track of all the variables of who knows what about whom, who is planning x when y, etc, etc. the characters don't need to know all that-- and may never know some things-- but i feel like /I/ need to understand what's happening on the macro level so i can move the world around them appropriately.
short version: how do YOU wrap your head around writing complex plots?
hey, anon! i started endwalker this week after a long... uh... glamour detour, so don't worry about spoiling things. i spoil myself for a lot of stories on purpose anyway. let's just say i've been attached to one too many characters who got killed.
anyway. writing. i've always handled plots the same way: clear documentation. if i don't note it down, i'm not going to remember it. i've used the same table outline since around 2014. it varies in detail for different projects, but the core format stays. i know it's kicking around in my blog archive somewhere, but it's worth reposting once in a while because people like to ask about it. here's what it looks like, featuring plot points cribbed from an endeavour episode:
i used this format for an outline at work a while back, and the team found it easy to follow, which was a big day for my ego. keeping track of plot structure is even more chaotic at work because we have multiple writers who all need to stay on the same page. we have very meticulous notes on what the player should know at which point, when we're introducing new information, and what we know, but shouldn't tell. we're also not above leaving notes like "this character has to convey X," "this character has to learn Y here," or "this is a clue that they're planning Z." it can be super on-the-nose. all that matters is that it makes sense to you. because you're right - if you get too lost, you can write yourself into logic holes of tremendous proportions. ask me how i know!
[as a sidenote, researching real-life events as a starting point has really grown on me in the past few years. my lead on coh3 had me do it. he said we were dealing with real people's history, so we couldn't be cheap or play fastball - we had to be accurate to pay it respect. even if you're not writing historical fiction, it just gives you insight into how people behave.]
i would argue that the plot of dangerous crowns is actually not that complicated, maybe to its detriment. there's kind of a genre struggle going on. at voltage, we were taught romance fans came for the relationship beats and valued them above all else. in fact, leadership told us players got irritated - which meant less sales - when the plot was too complex and took time away from the making out. political thriller fans, by contrast, expect relentless twists, high stakes, and harsh consequences, and sometimes see the relationships as superfluous.
but whatever. the point is, when you look at dangerous crowns' structure, it's a pearl necklace: a chain of anchoring events. the "pearl" scenes are where Big Plot happens. they're the reason you want to write the story, and probably the ones you have the most vivid daydreams about. the scenes in between are the string. not flashy, but important because they connect the pearls. they build tension and add logic, cohesion, and context. take the opera and hector's failed assassination. those are pearl scenes. that's a burst of drama i really wanted the story to build up to. i also had other flashbulb visions. livia by the fountain questioning herself, marcus' macbeth moment, the temple riot, things like that. so the question was, how could i believably travel between these pearl scenes? how could i make these big showcase moments connect smoothly?
if you're having trouble holding the story together in your head, i would ask, "what are your pearls?" what are the anchor points? outline those. it might not look like a necklace yet, but you'll sort of see it taking shape. and then, once you can see where your heart's-desire milestones are, you'll have a clearer idea of what can't fire until you set it up first. two other neat things can happen here. you could find the rhythm of your pacing, or realize you have a lot more plot meat than you thought you did. even if you don't, you have some road. and if you can't think of the string, sometimes you just have to start writing the pearls and see what comes to you.
good luck!!
89 notes
·
View notes
Note
This may be a strange question, but as someone who has never gotten the hang of using notebooks in my day to day life (unless it's once in a while to outline something specific like a project for work), what are the kinds of things you write down in them?
for journaling, that's complicated. youtube always recommends me these "journaling will improve your life!" videos and i think they're very funny because i've kept a journal for 20 years and it has made me a worse and more miserable person. so i will not be writing any "how to journal" posts any time soon.
my commonplace notebook, however, is where i keep everything. every morning i write down the date, the hours i slept, and my weight. occasionally i track my mood and mental state, because when i meet with my psychiatrist i like to have cold hard data to give her. then beneath that, i write out my to do list for the day.
it's kind of a reverse bullet journal in that you fill it up with all the random ephemera of your life and then label the important bits with a highlighter and index it later.
more specifically i keep:
the books/movies/shows/etc that are recommended to me.
notes i take at the doctor's office, or when i do my taxes, or get my oil changed. i'm a compulsive note-taker. in fact i started a commonplace notebook because it calms me to have something to write on and with even in situations where that's weird. i'd rather look weird than be anxious.
ideas for fanfic, original work, newsletters, craft thoughts, workshop models, etc.
brainstorming/planning/prewriting stories.
tracking my WIP cleanout and annual goals.
doodling!
i think sometimes we get caught up in building spaces for things to keep them organized, like that's the whole point of bujo. you create a page layout to do a specific function and then you fill it out. but that doesn't account for the stuff you haven't made a page for, stuff that would be blight in a bujo. we also think that a whole page needs to be devoted to a specific thing, or a notebook needs to be devoted to its subject. but you an also just...not do that.
it's a lot of work to setting up a bujo. work i would love to have the energy and aesthetic inclinations to do. but i don't. so i do the next best thing which is fill up every page in the most chaotic way possible.
poorly scanned example pages under the cut:
these are notes i took during my rewatch of Mockingjay in preparation of writing Wind of the New World.
notes about leveling my Genshin team, and notes about a story i was working on. and a to do list.
working through a plot knot in Skinless.
Stardew Valley farm planning. and a grocery list i think.
i don't recommend this method for everyone. i think if i were to have read this post 2 years ago my thought would be, "what the fuck is wrong with you." but it works for me and makes me happy, and as long as all the important information is safely indexed and retrievable, it doesn't matter how messy the pages get.
47 notes
·
View notes
Text
Writer Questionnaire~
Thank you @the-golden-comet , @kaylinalexanderbooks and @the-letterbox-archives for the tag!
how long have you had your writing tumblr/writeblr? a fast and loose estimate is fine!
I think a couple of months.
what led you to create it?
I wanted to find a place to share and talk about my stories and OCs and meet other creative minds.
what’s your favourite thing about the writeblr community?
The support. The overflowing creativity that inspires me to keep writing and the lovely people I've met so far.
what’s one thing you’d like your mutuals to know about you?
That I appreciate every type of interaction, really. Even if you want to reach out to ramble about your stories, I always welcome it. ( Although I won't do the first step because I'm socially anxious and awkward)
is there anything you’d like to see more of on your dash?
I like my dash how it is, but I would love more positivity, any kind of positivity. People need to know that they are loved and appreciated, because everyone is.
which wips or writing projects are you noodling about, lately?
I'm currently writing on a WIP called "Daisy." It's a werewolf romance story with some drama sprinkled in.
how long have you been working on them?
God, I don't know. Long? I often forget because I work on others in between so I lose track on when I started what.
do you remember what inspired them/what got you started?
It was born in my "Wattpad-werewolf-story" era. (I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I basically inhaled those type of stories)
how much time, in your best estimation, do you spend thinking about them?
A lot.
when someone asks the dreaded, “what do you write about,” question, what do you usually say?
I usually say I write fantasy-romance, which is just the tip of the iceberg. I don't usually talk about what I write outside of Tumblr, other than my family, and they know exactly what I write about. (I basically force it down their throat)
name any characters you created. side characters, protagonists, antagonists, characters who’ve never been written, the first original abomination you ever pulled from your ass; whomever you’d like!
Oof, my OC list is way too long for this. I'm just going to mention the ones I mentioned here more often:
Leon Martens - Kilian - Margaret Robins - Kiki - Azul - Sophie
who’s the most unhinged?
Okay, I think it would be Atlas. I never, ever, mentioned him, but he is bat shit crazy. One of the first scenes of his story, he jumps from one moving car to another, laughing like a maniac. But right after him comes Azul.
who comes the most naturally for you to write?
I think Azul.
do you ever cringe at them?
Yeah, sometimes I write some cheesy sentences and cringe a bit, but I love it~
how much control do you feel you have over your characters? do they ever “write themselves,” refuse to cooperate, or do things you didn’t expect? to what degree? are some less cooperative than others?
NONE. These bastards don't care what I have planned for them, they just do what they please.
do you enjoy people asking questions about your characters? and do you have a preferred means of receiving said questions? for example, as asks, as replies, as reblogs, as tag notes, as comments on ao3, etc.
I love, love, love, love getting questions about my babies. In any shape or form.
what makes you want to follow another writeblr account? do you follow ‘em as you see ‘em, or take time scoping out the blog to make sure you align with its content? do you follow based on wips, or vibes?
I follow based on vibes, I think. But mostly because I'm very much interested in the stories.
what makes you decide against following?
Easy, if I feel like they are a bad person or if our morals don't align.
do you interact with non-mutuals often?
Not that often.
do your mutuals’ characters occupy space in your noodle?
YES! A LOT! Some honorable mentions: Dr. Tievis, brought to life by the lovely @finickyfelix (he is a little meow meow. I know he wants to fuck monsters, but nobody is perfect.) Vesperine by another lovely person @theink-stainedfolk (she is beauty, she is grace) Marsh by yet another lovely person @paeliae-occasionally (I know he kills a lot, but I don't judge a man by his hobbies) and recently I've wanted to adopt Tenshi by the lovely @the-golden-comet (but I was told someone was faster)
This is just the top, there are so many more because you lovely people have such a beautiful and creative minds that you always amaze me with your creations.
~~~`
Thank you for reading this far. I love you~ (very platonically but very affectionately)
Tagging for this with no pressure @theink-stainedfolk , @finickyfelix , @thecomfywriter , @paeliae-occasionally , @davycoquette , @oliolioxenfreewrites open tag~
19 notes
·
View notes
Text
zombabe - Smallidarity Zombie Apocalypse AU Fanfic
Rating: Teen
Relationship: M/M
Archive Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Status: Completed Oneshot
Word Count: 3,406
Summary: Joel hadn’t ever thought he would be stabbing a zombie with the sharpened end of his baseball bat (he got bored and carved things) on a random Wednesday afternoon (was it Wednesday?), yet here he was, living after the collapse of civilization... at least he had Jimmy by his side.
Full fanfic underneath the cut! Please reblog, leave kudos on the AO3 fic slash notes/likes here on Tumblr, comment either place, and etc if you enjoy the story :D
People always talked about preparing for the zombie apocalypse, but most rarely did. Why would they? It was just a thing made up for entertainment, nothing more. If anything, Joel just wished he had binge-watched more zombie movies to prepare.
Joel was one of those people who thought the whole thing was stupid. Buying canned goods in bulk, solar panels on roofs to power generators, elaborate underground bunkers… all of it, rubbish! It was just rubbish until the zombies (actual brain-dead, flesh-eating zombies) started to take over.
At least he no longer had to work, though he had quite liked his job, watching youtube videos, having more than one friend, take-out meals, reliable running water, art shows, and so much more from his life before… not that it mattered anymore. Life from before meant nothing. All that mattered was survival now, and he wasn’t going to go down without a fight.
Joel hadn’t ever thought he would be stabbing a zombie with the sharpened end of his baseball bat (he got bored and carved things) on a random Wednesday afternoon (was it Wednesday?), yet here he was. He pulled out his pocket knife with his free hand and flipped it open before slicing it across the zombie’s neck. When it fell to the ground, he puffed out his chest with a sneer. Another one of those dreadful things down, countless more still out in the world.
“What do you think they are? Werewolves?” Jimmy joked, drawing Joel’s attention to him.
Jimmy was wiping off the zombie guts from the large kitchen knife he claimed from the ruins early that week. Joel was pretty sure it was a week, but he wasn’t positive about it. Considering they were facing societal collapse and having to scavenge to stay alive, keeping time wasn’t something he tended to cross off on his itinerary.
“Those are vampires, Jim. Not blummin’ werewolves,” Joel scoffed, turning to his companion throughout this whole thing. “Werewolves are killed with silver. Vampires are killed by things like wooden stakes and garlic.”
“Oh, right, right,” Jimmy chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. He glanced behind him before starting to survey the general area. Joel assumed he was checking to make sure there weren’t more zombies, meaning he didn’t need to, meaning he could stare at Jimmy. They’ve always been friends, yeah, but after spending all this time together, Joel wasn’t exactly sure where they stood. Talking about his emotions wasn’t exactly his strong suit, so he never brought it up.
Jimmy had always been rather fit since he’d been on track in secondary school and then ran every other morning from then on. He ran more frequently than that now, just less as a hobby to relieve stress and more as a way to get away from human-eating monsters. Joel considered himself to be extremely strong, buff, handsome, and sexy, but he couldn’t deny that Jimmy could run laps around him. They evened each other out in that way.
“What do you think we should have for lunch, babe?” Joel shrugged off his beat-up backpack. “Canned beans or canned beans?”
“Canned beans again?” Jimmy wrinkled his nose at the lack of options. “Wow, you really know how to treat a girl.”
“As much as I would love to wine and dine you properly, we are kinda in the blummin’ apocalypse.” Joel tossed a can toward him, ignoring the rumbling of his stomach. “Eat up. We can scavenge for something else later.”
Jimmy fumbled to catch it, but he did manage to do so. Joel was mildly proud at his improved catching skills, but not enough to show it. Instead, they settled down on makeshift chairs (they were tipped over trash cans) as they ate their cans of beans.
“Your jacket has a new cut on the sleeve,” Jimmy pointed out.
Joel twisted his arm to get a better look at what Jimmy was referring to and groaned, “Ugh, not another one. Blummin’ thing wasn’t made for the apocalypse, I guess.”
“It’s lasted this long,” Jimmy shrugged. “I think we got our money’s worth.”
Both Jimmy and Joel had on their leather jackets with a badass, perhaps sort of cringey design on the back that they bought together. There was a sale at one of the shops, they had recently gotten paid, and they may or may not have been a teensy bit tipsy. Joel didn’t regret it though, still thinking it was rather cool. Besides, it acted as protection from the elements, loose screws, and overgrown zombie nails.
“The store owner did gave us a good deal on Grian’s since we already bought two from ‘em,” Joel reminisced.
Grian, Jimmy’s cousin, always acted like they were dumb, but Joel insisted he was just jealous. Taking a bet that he was right, he and Jimmy worked together to get one for him as well. Lo and behold, Grian loved it more than he would have ever admitted to their faces and they became self-proclaimed Bad Boys.
They hadn’t seen Grian since before this whole thing started.
Joel regretted bringing him up as he watched Jimmy’s expression shift from a smile to a grimace. He cleared his throat awkwardly and wracked his brain for something to lighten the mood again.
“I think I spotted a pet shop a bit down. You wanna see if they have some bird seed?” Joel was aware that going out to get bird seed to feed some blummin’ birds of all things was a waste of time, energy, and carrying space, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret it when he saw the way that Jimmy’s eyes lit up.
Joel would trade away everything he had just to see Jimmy look so excited and full of life. He would do anything if it meant that he could see Jimmy look like Jimmy again. The grim atmosphere that came with the end of their civilization and the loss of their loved ones stomped out a lot of Jimmy’s light, but it wasn’t gone completely. Whenever Joel could do something to bring one of his dumb, crooked smiles to his face, he would.
He would never admit that though. Jimmy didn’t need to get a big head; that was Joel’s job, thank you very much.
“Really?” Jimmy squeaked as he started to bounce in his spot. If he had a tail, Joel was sure it would be wagging enthusiastically. Since he didn’t, Jimmy shook his arms instead. Joel got on him sometimes for being loud (he could attract zombies!), but it was hard to stay mad when he was simply displaying joy. Joy was already so rare and Joel couldn’t bring himself to ruin it.
Ruffling Jimmy’s hair, Joel huffed and said, “A’course! Would I ever lie to you, Jim?”
“Are you joking?” Jimmy deadpanned. “Oi, it’s not my fault you’re gullible.” Joel tossed the empty can aside, having no use for it. It wasn’t like they had a trash system anymore so why bother throwing it away? “Now do you want to go feed your bird friends or not?”
“I do, I do, hold on,” Jimmy’s words were muffled as he spoke around the beans he stuffed into his mouth. He chewed quickly, swallowed, and pushed himself up to his feet. “Okay, done, let’s go!”
Joel rolled his eyes fondly. He slung his arm over his friend’s shoulder and started to drag him down the street.
The pet store wasn’t too far away nor was it hard to get into. The windows had been shattered open and half of the products were on the floor, but it was still intact to some extent. Joel ran his baseball bat against the floor, the nails hammered into it making an awful scratching noise as it ran against the laminate tiles. If he was going to live in a real life scary movie, he may as well have a spiked baseball bat!
“Babe, that is driving me insane,” Jimmy lightly smacked Joel’s hip with the side of his kitchen knife. “Hold it the right way or we’re switching weapons.” “You have no sense of showmanship,” Joel huffed, but did as he was told. He tossed it up so it rested against his shoulder, ready to swing if any zombies decided to jump out at them.
Jimmy was about to retort when he got side tracked by the bird seed. Joel tried to listen, he really did, but he could only pay attention to Jimmy ramble about the different kinds of bird seed and what would be the best for the birds that stuck around in this area for so long. He wandered off through the store to browse the shelves and see if anything else would be useful.
Joel may have zoned out just a tad (a dangerous thing to do during times like this) because he didn’t register anything when Jimmy slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. “Blummin’ hell! Can’t you watch where you’re going?”
Jimmy ignored him, the only semblance of a response being a gasp as he scrambled off of Joel. Before Joel could see what happened, he heard the slashing of Jimmy’s kitchen knife against fabric and the grunts of a zombie.
Fuck. Joel snatched his spiked baseball bat and bolted towards the sounds of commotion. Another zombie grunted behind him, so he spun on his heel and swung at it. When did the zombies close in on them? Joel hadn’t seen any earlier!
Joel tried to swing strategically, but that only lasted so long before he started to blindly throw the bat around. No matter what he tried, the zombies just kept coming back.
“Jim, I think we gotta make a run for it. These smelly zombies aren’t backing off,” Joel warned.
He didn’t get a response and concern started to gnaw at him. Only after he managed to knock down the zombies around him again did he spare a glance over his shoulder.
Jimmy wasn’t there.
Joel paled as fear gripped him tight. His throat closed up and his heart seemed to stop beating. He’d already lost so much– he couldn’t lose Jimmy too. Not now, not when he’d never gotten to tell Jimmy how much he meant to him.
Not when he’d been in love with him for so long..
Joel loved Jimmy. He loved him more than a friend.
Fuck, fuck, fuck—
“Jimmy!” Joel called out, breaking out into a sprint.
His crush. Ha! Crush sounded like such a silly word for what Joel felt for Jimmy. Crush made it sound like it was some stupid primary school infatuation. Crush made it sound like they weren’t in the middle of the end of the world. The end of the world with no one else but each other.
Joel wasn’t sure how long it had been when he heard his name be called. He stopped in his tracks and frantically looked around. “Jimmy?”
“Joel, I’m here.” When they made eye contact, Jimmy gave him a weak smile, though it was more like a grimace. He was standing, at least, so that was a good sign… right?
“Jimmy, what the hell?” Joel exclaimed as he ran to Jimmy’s side and threw his arms around him for a hug. He didn’t stay there long, pulling away but keeping his hands firmly around Jimmy’s shoulders. “What happened? Why did you run off? You know better than to stray that far away! That was stupid. Such a stupid thing for you to do. Do I need to put you on a lead?”
Maybe he came off a bit too harsh because Jimmy stayed silent, allowing his gaze to drop down to his feet. Joel bit down on the inside of his cheek harshly, a tinge of copper setting off his taste buds.
Now that Joel’s racing heart was allowed to calm down, he could make up for not protecting him like he should. His eyes ran over Jimmy, ignoring the blush he could feel burning on his face. He hoped Jimmy would just take it as being flushed from running a lot.
Joel’s gaze lingered on Jimmy’s torso and arms for longer than he should before finally trailing down his legs. That’s when he saw part of Jimmy’s trousers soaked a dark crimson color. “Jimmy, are you bleeding?” Jimmy winced, still avoiding Joel’s eyes. “Yeah, it got my leg.” Joel turned his sight down, now inspecting it more carefully. Now that he was paying attention, Joel could tell that Jimmy was putting all his weight on his right leg– his trousers were torn around his left leg. He cursed again, moving to Jimmy’s left to help support him walking. “Let’s get somewhere safe and I’ll look at it.” Jimmy only nodded, not saying anything else. He was uncharacteristically quiet, which only made guilt and fear burrow deep in Joel’s gut. The journey to an abandoned building was a silent one, apart from the pained hisses, grunts, and groans from Jimmy.
Joel pulled out his pocket knife once he got Jimmy sat down to remove the remaining fabric just below Jimmy’s knee. This way, Joel could properly see what he was working with.
“Did I get bit?” Jimmy whispered weakly, his voice cracking. His hands were held tightly into fists, fingernails digging into his palms.
Joel didn’t answer nor did he breathe as his eyes ran over Jimmy’s leg to find the answer. He let out a shaky sigh of relief and shook his head. “No, it’s just a bunch of scratches. I got some disinfectant and bandages from that one store we raided a bit back, so I’m going to do that, okay? It’s going to sting.” A stuttering laugh escaped Jimmy’s lips as the tears pooling in his eyes started to fall. “Just do it.”
Joel gave him a brief nod before getting to work. He pulled the disinfectant and bandages out of his bag, dosing the long and rather deep scratches with the disinfectant. Joel wasn’t going to take any risks; he would use every supply he could muster to help Jimmy if he was able to. He tried his best to ignore the pained noises Jimmy made, but he couldn’t. Each whimper made Joel feel more guilty for snapping at him.
“We can stay here a bit for you to rest your leg,” Joel murmured as he finished wrapping Jimmy’s leg. He put the supplies back in his bag and pushed himself to his feet. “Can’t do much if walking hurts too much.” “Okay.” Jimmy nodded simply, staring off at nothing.
Silence stayed between them for several moments before Joel broke it. “I’m going to go check the perimeter. Stay here and maybe rest a bit.” Just as Joel turned to walk away, Jimmy reached out and grabbed his wrist. Joel stopped moving, turning back toward Jimmy and raising an eyebrow in question.
“Can you stay with me?” Jimmy asked with shaky desperation in his voice. He peered up at Joel through his eyelashes, looking rather small despite him being noticeably taller than Joel. “Please.” The tension in Joel’s shoulders didn’t necessarily relax, but they did soften, just like his guarded expression. He swallowed back his emotions as he carefully moved to sit down besides Jimmy. “Okay.”
Jimmy leaned into Joel, squeezing his eyes shut as his body started to contract some with his sobs. The weight of everything was undoubtedly hitting Jimmy again. It wasn’t the first time and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. Joel knew well how he felt, for he’d also had his fair share of breakdowns. He tended to do it in private, or he would shove the emotions down to convert it into energy and anger at the zombies. It made him reckless, but he’d never been one to live his life curled up in bubble wrap.
They gradually shifted until Jimmy’s face was partly pressed against Joel’s chest and Joel had both of his arms wrapped snugly around Jimmy. Joel idly ran his nails up and down Jimmy’s arm. Despite all that happened, Joel felt strangely at peace. It was like they had been placed into a timeless bubble, safe from everything outside that would try to hurt them.
“I love you, Joel,” Jimmy admitted, tone infused with genuine care and a bit of fear. “I don’t think we say it enough, especially now. Especially with everything going on.”
Joel didn’t respond at first, sucking in his lips for only a moment. “I would die for you.” Jimmy snorted, partly baffled and partly unsurprised. “What, is ‘I love you’ too hard to say? What more do you have to lose?” “You.” Joel surprised himself with how vulnerable a singular word could sound.
Jimmy shifted his position only enough so he could look at Joel properly. They were touching each other previously and still were, but their faces hadn’t been this close before. Joel got an up-close view of the freckles peppered across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, as well as the warmth in his brown eyes.
“If I didn’t know better, I would say that sounded romantic,” Jimmy murmured.
Joel huffed out a cross between a scoff and a snort. “Ever consider that you may not know better?” Before Joel could fully process what happened, Jimmy’s lips were on his. The kiss was greedy and desperate, forcing him to forget about the world outside of them. It caught Joel off guard, but he certainly couldn’t complain. He pushed back into the kiss, giving Jimmy the same energy he had given Joel.
Their hands wandered each other's body, hands finding their way under shirts and fingers getting tangled in each other's hair. They were desperate for the physical contact they had previously left to minimum touches and the occasional cuddling for warmth. Maybe they had both been idiots, dancing around the topic out of fear the other would leave. Out of fear that they would lose their last connection to life from before, out of fear that they would be alone.
With each kiss and caring touch, that fear drained away, leaving a bond stronger than any zombie they may have to face. It may be the end of the world, but at least they were facing it together.
#deity writes#smallidarity#trafficfic#trafficblr#trafficshipping#trafficshipblr#life series joel#life series jimmy#life series fanfic#traffic life fanfic#zombie apocalypse#zombie apocolypse au#fanfic#fanfiction#the bad boys#traffic light series#traffic life#life series#limited life#post apocalyptic#post apocalypse#post apocalypse au
15 notes
·
View notes
Text
Writing Advice For Those Who Struggle With Getting The Story Down 🦋🔏
📚 Know Your Writing / Creative Process .
This may seem so simple but it’s taken me YEARS to find or even acknowledge mine . I am more of a short burst writer , I write a lot better when writing for a minute to less then half and hour , unless I have another person / group to collaborate with . I am also a plotter , I write better when I have information about who my characters are , what the story is about , the conflicts , etc etc ; because I am a very forgetful person and tend to get off of track . There are about four to six types of writing processes that I know of : Plotters and Pantsers ( or both ) , and Short Burst Writers and Long Burst Writers ( or both , in some cases ) . As you write , I encourage you to notice if you work in short bursts or long bursts of time and if you create better when planning what you’re going to do or just winging it . None of them are bad , if anything , they reveal how you function and the path to creating that story you love .
📒 Keep A Journal / Document Of Every Idea You Have , Even If You Don’t Use The Majority Them
You know those times where you’ve been tired all day , can’t think properly throughout , and finally when you have time to nap or sleep , your brain suddenly decides it’s time to show you a detailed outline of your story in its entirety ? . . . Just me ? Anyways , by the time it comes it your mind , for some of us , it almost slips away as soon as it arrives . I recommend keeping a small journal on your person at all / most times and - or have an app on your phone ( ex. Google Docs , Notes , etc ) where when that idea decides to show itself to you , put it down . If you have neither , find a way to keep it in your mind until you can write it down or find a pen and paper of any kind and write it down . And , VERY IMPORTANT REMINDER. . . Not every idea you have may not work for a single story or the project you are currently working on , you don’t need to use every idea that comes to mind .
💜 Remember To Take Breaks
I know for myself that life of a creative is fulfilling and fun . Even if I start to feel burnt out and apathetic towards my own creations , I push myself to continue its work because. . . My stories are my life . They give me purpose . They make me happy and fulfilled . And when those feelings of burn out and apathy start to peek through , I genuinely panic because I don’t ever want to feel that way towards my own stories so I work harder . Turns out those feelings arise and end up creating writers block BECAUSE I’m overwhelmed and pushing myself . I admit , when I do take breaks , even for a day or two , I become sorrowful and depressed because I’m not working on my stories ; but during those moments of a much - needed break , I end up coming to an epiphany with something I didn’t know about the stories , finding new ways to drive the story in the direction I need , discovering fun or disturbing facts about the characters , and-or more things . It also helps in taking breaks so you have fresher eyes and processing when you return to your creative projects . You can see typos more , the clarity of how something is written , what needs improvement or what you like about it . So. . . In conclusion , go touch grass or something , especially drinking that clear splashy thing we call water .
#writer blog#artist blog#creative blog#writers on tumblr#artists on tumblr#creatives on tumblr#writer community#artist community#creative community#writer stuff#writers#writerslife#writer things#writer problems#artist#small artist#traditional art#art#create#creative advice#creative#creative process#creativity#writing advice#advice#tips and tricks#keep writing#today is now
12 notes
·
View notes
Note
explain the diane alter theory :-)
Gets scared . (The return spoilers)
Okay ooookay so. we’ll start with the basics. So DID stands for dissociative identity disorder, aka MPD (multiple personality disorder) though that term is incorrect and outdated. We have DID! We are a system, this is why we use “we/us” for ourself, we’re very passionate about this and enjoy projecting it! We feel we hold the world in a very different way due to this nd often like analyzing things through our lens of life. Twin peaks and more specifically the character Dale Cooper was scarily accurate to a genuine depiction of plurality we’ve seen that’s not like, a canonical DID character. (This tracks as Lynch allegedly is inspired by dissociation). Throughout the original air of twin peaks, the book covering Dale’s character, and The Return there’s countless moments which draw to Dale being plural/dissociative. All this leads us to this specific conclusion that the character Diane is in fact an alter. Diane is a character originally only shown as somebody Dale dedicates all his tapes to, theres little chance an actual person is listening to these tapes, he’d have to mail them out almost every day, etc etc . In the book it even notes Dale does just address tapes to Diane whether or not she’s ever listening. The idea of Diane being just a made up person / alter doesn’t become that far fetched, also, the way in which Dale communicates to Diane is a commonly used trope in media to signify alters communicating with each other (ie: some kind of way to talk to one’s self in public that doesn’t Look Weird). Dale repeats stuff he sees and his feelings to Diane, similar to how alters may share memories. Fire Walk With Me is the first time Diane is referred to as a real person Technically, she’s never shown on camera. Then we get to The Return where Diane is introduced as her own character, this is where the territory becomes rocky and well, metaphorical. The Return introduces the concepts of Tulpas which is an old Tibetan practice, today people who usually report having tulpas are actually experiencing some form of DID (usually developing introjects of fictional characters) this is junk we don’t feel majorly equipped to talk about so our words on that ends here, but hopefully you can see why this concept being brought up is alarming. First tulpa introduced is Dougie Jones, which due to . Junk . We’ll call Dougie Jones one, so this one is replaced by Dougie Jones two which is an amnesiac alter. This isn’t really important besides establishing Dale Has Something Plural Going on. Dougie exists as a separate person but is established to be a tulpa, we think the practice is taken the most literally here, as is all forms of plurality going forward. Where essentially: alters are their own people somehow because well it’s David lynch what’d you expect. Back to Diane: towards the end of The Return we find out Diane herself was a tulpa. Which, well. Given Dougie this sorta makes things line up more. Diane and Dougie are even related in some way through family. Then the finale of the show, Diane comes back though now seemingly as a different Diane, given there’s already been multiples of alters we don’t doubt that there’s two of her as well. (Alters splintering into multiple different people is very common! So much so there’s even a term for it: polyfrag!). Dale completes the last of whatever his mission is with Diane and they hook up nd she promptly disappears the next morning, to us this solidifies that Dale is probably completely whole again, or at least all the alters aren’t well, individual people anymore. (Before anybody asks, in system dating is also normal and common, alters can have romantic feelings for each other!) we think that goes over most stuff, only other thing we’d like to bring up is one of the Diane’s states Doppledale assaulted her, to us if you overlay the lens of plurality this is very easily explained as Doppledale (or, “Mr. C”) being a prosecutor alter, aka an alter which exists to hurt and retraumatize the other alters. DID is a trauma based disorder, based in PTSD, and develops due to extreme childhood trauma.
#WE HIT THE TEXT LIMIT AUUUGHHHH#hopefully this all makes sense uhmmuhmmm anybody wanna talk or comment heh 😎#or tell us this makes sense. runs away#if people want we can write wayyyy more going over a bunch of other junk but uhm well#we. hit post text limit on this one 😭😭😭😭#ask#writing#did tag#meringuejellyfish#THANK YOU ALLISTER
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
Writing Notes! Plus Sweet Child Next Chapter Preview.
"Speaking of which," Vee handed Hunter a folded up piece of paper. "I took your Jedi robe to the cleaners and they found this in the pocket."
Vee handed him the paper. He unfolded it slowly. It was ripped at an angle, giving it the look of a misshapen triangle with ragged edges at the bottom. There was something scribbled in black ink across the middle.
"Were you experimenting with turning lyrics into spell work again?" Vee cocked her head to one side. "The paper is covered in complicated magic but I couldn't figure out what it was for exactly?"
"This is a poem, isn't it?" Hunter whispered. "American author. Turn of the 19th century."
Vee nodded, "Ah! You remember! Ryan and I were pretty obsessed with it. We studied it in 12th grade English Lit at Gravesfield High. We must have read it to you and Luz like a hundred times."
In the Lumity Wedding Flashback, we finally see the first big argument between Vee and Hunter regarding the Boiling Isles and why she won't step foot back across the portal -- and why Vee is particularly concerned for Hunter's safety.
This is one of the "keystone" scenes that I have been planning since I began this project. It was also alluded to during Hunter's hallucination after he and the others were drugged post fight with the Keepers.
Yes. He has combat skils and magical abilities via the power of Flapjack and Glyphs, but that doesn't mean that he wouldn't be in danger if those around him saw him as a lesser being, or if he lost the protection of his friends.
Vee can also take care of herself, but she finds it more comfortable to "pass" for human in Gravesfield. The one time she agreed to cross Realms, it is for her sister's wedding, and she is reminded as to why she doesn't feel safe there -- and also is given a front row seat to how her brother is viewed... by one of his friend's mothers no less.
Masha had wanted to visit the Boiling Isles with Vee, but never went on their own our of respect for their girlfriend. Unfortunately, this trip was cut short abruptly.
There's a bit more Lumity wedding flashback on the way, but I enjoyed writing the sweet parts of the flashback! The idea of the Emerald Entrails riding their staves through the forest two hours before the wedding came from a real life thing that happened when one of my husband's friends was getting married and the wedding party thought it would be fun to ride their bikes through their favorite trail two hours before the wedding, leaving the bride to freak out that they were going to be late.
Let me know your thoughts, questions, etc!
Thanks for all the reading and support!
Possible track for next chapter. Might change though!
#hunter noceda#willow x hunter#spotify#toh fanfic#willow park#toh hunter#a03 fanfic#fanfiction#huntlow#the owl house#veesha#toh masha#vee noceda#toh vee#the owl house vee#hunter toh#lumity#hexsquad#amity blight#luz noceda#toh eda#alador x darius#hunter and vee are siblings#hunter and willow#hunter and luz are siblings#luz and hunter are siblings#luz and vee are siblings#luz x amity#Spotify
48 notes
·
View notes
Text
Unhatched Observations: Parks and Recreation
After I started to figure out that I was autistic/ADHD, I realized just how many of "my" movies/shows/etc. have Big Neurodivergent Energy. Lately, I've been looking through old posts on my blog about some of these stories, and it's been fun to revisit what I wrote about them as an "unhatched" AuDHDer. They're basically wall-to-wall "I love everything autistic and/or ADHD about you," even if I didn't have the words to articulate that at the time. Something else to file under How Did It Take Me So Long to Realize???
Anyway, here's some of what I wrote about Parks and Rec! (Side note: Leslie and Ben are far from the only ND-coded characters on the show. But they're my favorites, so they're the ones I was mainly writing about.)
Favorite Characters: Leslie Knope
Whether it’s overseeing a crazy-making public forum, raising money for an ambitious new park project, or searching for a rogue possum spotted in the vicinity of the golf course, she consistently puts in 125%. Leslie thrives on solving crises, and she never met an issue she couldn’t tackle head-on, usually armed with a fastidiously-assembled binder on the subject and an increasingly-complex multi-point plan.
***
She puts her head for obsessively-detailed minutiae into furthering these goals, and she fights tenaciously to see those goals realized.
***
Among her friends/significant others, she’s known for her thoughtful gifts, her love of scrapbooking fond memories, and the irritating degree to which she believes in people and pushes them to be their best. Not to say that work never gets in the way of a relationship or vice versa, but it’s never because Leslie is consciously letting something fall by the wayside. It’s just that she cares about so much that she inevitably loses track of something or someone every now and then, if only for a short while.
***
Like many people, her best qualities can just as easily become her worst ones under particular circumstances. She’s very confident and take-charge, and that means she sometimes “steamrolls” over people under the assumption that she knows what’s best. She cares deeply about what she does, but when she inflates the importance of a situation too far beyond what it warrants, the whole thing can spiral out of control and turn into an even bigger mishap. She’s honest to a fault, and she’s been known to unintentionally hinder herself in her refusal to be crafty or diplomatic.
Favorite Characters: Ben Wyatt
While Chris is the chipper good cop ready to approve everything, Ben is the spreadsheet junkie who makes the tough calls and the hard cuts. But that doesn’t mean Ben is the heartless villain Leslie imagines, a la Ebenezer Scrooge or Mr. Potter from It’s a Wonderful Life. Rather, he’s exceedingly practical and doesn’t mince words about it—when cities are bankrupt, hard decisions have to be made, and he’s prepared to do it.
***
The man named his calculator, bless him.
***
He’s not a player like Tom or a “man’s man” like Ron, but Ben is very self-assured. He knows who he is, and he doesn’t mind. So he takes it when others tease him about being nerdy or liking calzones (Pawnee is relentlessly anti-calzone.) When he gets flustered or overwhelmed, he doesn’t play it off or pretend he’s more confident than he is. He openly admits to being afraid of cops, and roller skates are a turn-on for him.
Relationship Spotlight: Ben Wyatt & Leslie Knope
While Leslie comes in hot, determined to crusade against Ben the evil budget-slasher that she believes is champing at the bit to fire everyone, Ben is just a guy doing his job, one who demonstrates a surprisingly-high tolerance for her manic steamroller tendencies from the jump. It isn’t long before they start to get to know each other and immediately develop a friendlier relationship.
***
Leslie and Ben, delightfully, are simpatico and complementary at the same time. They’re both hardworking policy wonks with a devotion to government who pay great attention to detail. With Ben, we see that come out in his love for budget minutiae, and nothing makes Leslie happier than filling an enormous binder with every last scrap of information about a planned project. They also share a similar dorky glee for a job well done, a tendency to spiral out when they’re stressed, and a fondness for Model UN. Meanwhile, Leslie is a sunshiny dreamer who uses hyperbole like it’s going out of style and brings an Energizer-Bunny-like determination to the proceedings, while Ben thrives on logic and pragmatism, responding dryly to Leslie’s over-the-top enthusiasm.
***
We see how they get along, and what’s more, we really see how they like and admire each other. Yes, they’re both physically-attractive people and that’s part of their attraction to one another (over time, we learn how much Leslie loves Ben’s butt,) but that’s never presented as the reason why they like each other. Instead, first and foremost, they like one another as people, and the love is born out of that.
#fallenrocket#autistic#adhd#neurodivergent#autistic hc#adhd hc#parks and rec#leslie knope#ben wyatt#unhatched observations
3 notes
·
View notes
Note
hellooo! 👋
i hope it as okay to tag you in the WIP game!!! 😅😅 you have so many cool projects underway!!
I would love to hear more about your Defiance series! Side stories and spin offs?! What a world you must be creating! 🤩
thanks and have a lovely day !!☀️
Certainly! :D I don't always respond to tag games, but I do always appreciate being tagged in them. This one especially makes for a nice excuse to ramble about projects, and I'm delighted to talk about Defiance~
I'm pretty sure Defiance (the main fic) is the second fanfiction I've ever worked on in earnest and also my first and only longfic (not counting some sort of journal thing for Pokemon X I think I started many years ago, as I quickly lost interest in that project; otherwise, I hadn't really tried my hand at writing fic until 2020, despite reading it for much longer). Back in early 2021, with far too much time on my hands and having recently finished binge-watching all of The Clone Wars TV show, I felt very strongly that Fives needed to live and everyone deserved a happier ending, so I started planning a fix-it (actually the idea may have begun cooking back even before I finished the show, but February 2021 is apparently when I created the first doc).
It, uh, spiraled a little.
The planning/notes document is currently sitting at 102 pages (~46k words) of loose outline, worldbuilding notes, character notes, media notes, etc. The fic document itself is at 127 pages (~49k words) of stuff ranging from rough outline to fully written chapters and outtakes. There is also a Sheets file with timelines so I can track who is where, and when. The Sidestories doc is for ideas that would probably take place during Defiance but not be part of the more central plot, like bonus side chapters, and the Spin-offs doc is for other fic ideas that would take place in the same universe—some of which have graduated to their own documents. Though I've not been making consistent progress in the actual writing and have a very long way to go, I am lost in this sauce.
Anyway, the general plot of Defiance is as follows: unbeknownst to Palpatine and the general public, a timely intervention saves Fives' life. This allows him to actually explain himself to the Jedi, who along with the clones investigate the chips further and work behind the scenes to prevent Order 66 from happening while trying to figure out how to take down who's behind it. Critically, despite their suspicions they do not have hard evidence of Palpatine's involvement, so most events parallel canon up through ROTS with the investigation/preparation taking place discreetly, until the train hops off the rails to avoid sailing off the cliff.
If you'd like a sneak peak snippet, here's the first page or so of the main fic below the cut!
Something is wrong. The Force is muddled with a constant and indistinct unease, as it has been for years now—moreso on Coruscant than anywhere else, to Shaak Ti's perceptions. Its warnings are difficult to discern with any specificity. Even so, it murmurs them now. And Shaak possesses her own instincts, enhanced by the Force but extant outside her connection to it; these, too, whisper to her that something is wrong, as she watches Knight Skywalker leave the Jedi Temple conference room to find Captain Rex and investigate the situation with Fives. They are the best fit to track him down and the most likely to confront the rogue clone without further violence. Shaak warned Skywalker that Fives has been acting differently without his chip, that he may not be the man they knew—though she herself is reluctant to believe it—and the Knight and Captain are plenty capable of handling themselves. They will be all right. Still, something is wrong in a way she cannot yet define, and so Shaak Ti decides to join the hunt. Since the Jedi have not been asked to search for Fives, she does not contact the Coruscant Guard when she leaves the Temple. Instead she steps out of the building, pulls up the hood of her cloak, and makes for one of the speeder bikes kept at the Temple for general use. It whirs to life under her hands, and she rides to the nearest transportation portal leading down into the undercity. As she descends, passing speeders of all makes and sizes, Shaak Ti considers what she knows. She is well aware of her own struggles in becoming emotionally attached to the clones; her role on Kamino requires her to balance her care for them as people with the need to defend the galaxy. But many of them, such as Domino Squad, inevitably leave an impression. She watched Echo and Fives grow from bickering cadets to determined protectors, some of the best of their brothers. Her belief in their character during their final tests had not been misplaced. And yet, over these past few days Fives repeatedly defied the Kaminoan doctors, removed his chip, claimed something about a conspiracy, then attacked the Chancellor and fled. Shaak cannot deny these facts, and she must not allow personal feelings to cloud the truth. Then there are the Kaminoans. Shaak clashes frequently with their attitudes toward the clones, the way they view them as products rather than sentients. Nala Se’s arguments for terminating Tup and assurance that the chips are not a problem fall in line with her position as a manufacturer. And Shaak is well aware that the Kaminoans have not shared all of their secrets with her, as she is not owed them. But the medical scientist's resistance had been… spirited. None of this paints a clear picture. As they concluded in the meeting back at the Temple, the Jedi need more information. The familiar sound of a military engine hums past, and Shaak turns her head to watch a pair of gunships heading down the portal through one of the military lanes. She swerves out of the civilian traffic and dives after them, further and further below the surface of the city.
#Thanks for asking! :D#I'm really excited about this 'verse even though it's quite far from getting published#I want to finish at least the first draft of the whole thing before starting to post but that's gonna take quite some time#It'll probably be somewhere between 35 and 50 chapters#Out of which I have...maybe 10-ish written (and around 20 more vaguely outlined). So. Long way to go.#But by golly we're gonna get there!#Patchy Babbles#Patchy Writes#Tag Games
4 notes
·
View notes
Note
What app do you use to manage your life and your long term projects?
I have adhd and god I can't find anything that suits me. I'm so exhausted.
Hi!
It's complicated as each project has its own "method". I'm going to cover both work projects and personal ones and studying.
My problems with projects are:
Since, for the most part, I cannot see a "finished result" I feel no satisfaction in doing them;
I have a terrible perception of time regarding days;
I tend to have issues if I leave a project for more than a couple of days.
Also, I'm using David Allen definition of projects, which is "Activity that needs two or more actions to be completed". I really like the getting things done method to organise my works stuff. I wouldn't recommend it for studying because it's not calendar based.
I also use Notion for... Everything. I like Notion because it's free and it's an incredibly powerful software. I use it to take notes, archive stuff... Check it out.
That being said, let's start with work.
I do a monitoring job, so I don't have to plan a lot for it - mostly I just take notes on what happened. Which is a very important part, still.
In this case if I have a project I delegate my main job (monitoring) and I do my project immediately, because chances are the client wants the thing done immediately. If the project needs two or more people to be done I tend to take the project manager role in this case and I assign everyone a part of the project, I tell them what the results I expect are and what is the deadline (usually the end of my shift).
I use an A5 size planner (I use hobonichi, because planners are a hobby for me, but you can use whatever daily planner for this). That planner never leaves my desk - I'm under a NDA and if I lose it it's going to be Big Trouble.
Home life (chores etc).
I do a monitoring job, but I also work on shifts. When you work in shifts you get what I call "the curse of the shift worker", because you kind of stop thinking in Mon-Sun and start thinking according to the hours you work. But my boyfriend, family and friends are 9-5 workers so it's difficult.
In this case I did two things:
Ended up delegating chores to a third person (hiring an housekeeper);
I asked chatGPT (but you can do it on your own, I used it as a test) to make me a chore list divided for one shift worker (and I gave it my shifts) and one "regular worker".
The latter in particular was an interesting experiment, that worked, mostly. ChatGPT( that's also regressing) suggested me to do chores at like 4 am before my shift, which I discarded.
I can suggest you an app though: Sweepy. It's free for one person,and 15€/year for a household if you live with other people, which is a good price for what's being offered. The main feature is that it reminds you to do things like cleaning the windows, fridge... Basically the monthly basis stuff.
I have a common calendar in the kitchen where everyone puts in their appointments and stuff, my shifts etc. I also use a personal planner to write on the stuff I need to do on a specific day, take notes on what needs to be done (eventually lol) and what I want to do.
Personal projects pt. 1 volunteering/semi-professional activities.
This is complicated because the projects are not under my control (they have their own coordinator) and full of people that are as busy as me.
We generally do a meeting every couple of weeks until the project is done. My parts generally can be done in one hour or two/weeks. I tend to do it right after work and I generally avoid the commitment to organise everything - I will let others do it. For the deepfake project i will see in September how to fit it in my schedule because that's MY PROJECT.
My notes are in my personal planner in this case.
Personal projects pt. 2 - Hobbies
For my hobbies I don't have a project planned out. Like I like to learn languages but I don't really keep track of it and I don't plan for it. I go with inertia by habit. I do 30 minutes of languages everyday. Also Duolingo keeps everything for me. There are better apps for sure but Duolingo is free.
For my writing, I also don't have a real plan. I have a writing notebook where I take notes (go look for Helen Redfern if you're interested). I use 4thewords (4,5€/month) because it's fun. If I don't want to actually write new stuff I pick up a writing exercise and do that instead. There is a commitment of 444 words/days, which for some days are a lot.
Gym? Well, I go when I'm home from work during the week and when I have the afternoon shift. No need to plan for it.
In this case I prefer to do things as they come to me, because there isn't a deadline or something. These are things I do because I want to do them, not because I have to and if I actually planned for them... I don't want to reduce my hobbies to another chore.
Studying
My job, which can be demanding on its own, has the feature that I need to constantly study. I have certifications, courses to take... I'm currently doing courses for red teaming for example.
I'm not going to lie, I hate studying. I'm slow, it's boring, I literally prefer to clean my cats litter boxes than studying. But I need to suck it up.
I'm experimenting with a Kanban board - someone suggested it to me on a Discord server I'm in,(Heart Breathings is a writer that has few videos on the subject). I divide it in "needs to be done", "doing", "done" and "needs to be reviewed" (if it's something I'm not sure if I actually know or not).
I have a home office so I have the space to implement such things.
I take 4 projects at time at most, regardless of difficulties etc. When I will start university again I will do 3 uni courses + 1 certification(I'm doing my degree in 4 years instead of three because I'm a worker). And it's A LOT. I don't recommend doing this unless you are forced by other situations in your life.
Conclusions
I know I seem like this super organised person but the truth is that I lose a lot. Things sometimes don't get done, I still forget to refill my meds, I still forget to do stuff I've promised myself to do. Just this week I lost a very important deadline for university for example.
I tell myself I'm satisfied when I hit 75% of what needed to be done that day, regardless if it was big or small. Due to my circumstances now I'm 50% - my dad's situation lives rent free in my head and I spend the day off work travelling to see him in another region and I get no free time.
Also, delegating is not bad. Delegating is essential. I understand the need to have control on the things so they get done the way you want it, but it cannot work. A household is not a one person project, like my Security Operations Center isn't. And while I know that if I do X I will be done the way I like it, but at the end of the day there is only 24 hours/day.
And yes, you will need to drop a few things here and there. There are things you can't delegate (such as doing that course you wanted to do), but you also can't fit in your schedule, and in that case you need to review the activities you do.
I also tend to spend a lot of time just... Doing nothing. It's fine. I need time to just stare at the wall.
I hope this helped. I know it's a lot of process, it took me years to get to a working system btw, it's not an overnight thing and it will always end up getting tweaked. I never was a "multiple planner gal", but I've decided to use two because taking my work planner around when I go to the doctor and losing it is a risk I don't want to take.
A lot of these things also overlap. I can study at work if there isn't anything better to do for example.
I really hope this is understandable to humans. I'm a professional time waster so I definitely don't feel all the 16 hours I'm awake, don't be fooled by how much commitment I have. I'm scrambling as everyone else!
10 notes
·
View notes
Text
Nebula vedlbog June '24
This devblog has been crossposted from cohost.
Hello, hello. This one's a bit late because there were a few bits and pieces pending merge. As a bonus, I moved back to Linux from Windows this month after Win10 pushed Copilot once too often, so that has taken up a bit of my time and effort. My workflow is a bit horrifying, but so far works well enough to be getting on with. Now if I could get Vulkan to stop crashing when I play Warframe...
Nebula SS13 is an open source project based on the Baystation 12 version of Space Station 13. SS13 is a topdown multiplayer simulation game where you play the crew of a ship, station, colony, etc. depending on your fork and map, with the Nebula and Bay forks having a focus on roleplaying and simulation interactions.
Notable changes
Melting has been disabled on dev due to the UX impacts of having all your clothes melt off if you step onto a fire for a few seconds.
Drakes have been merged! Big stupid lizards are now live on the dev branch. This has come along with stance and dexterity refactors to support non-human behaviors.
Bows have been reworked to have slightly nicer UX and to support multiple ammo types. Crossbows, regular bows and slings are now available in the crafting menu.
Penny has been busily moving all of the SS13-specific game modes into modpacks, to allow them to be dropped from maps where they wouldn't make sense. While it would be funny for a meteor storm to land on Shaded Hills, it probably wouldn't be a lot of fun to play through. A nuclear mercenary ship landing on Middle-Earth might be more fun.
A swathe of fixes to the atmospherics system have been authored by NataKillar, and should help resolve some of the weird edge cases that have been cropping up during testing.
We have finally, FINALLY removed /carbon from the /human mobtype. This means that the majority of life code like breathing or equipment handling are available to all /mob/living subtypes, not just humans (and diona nymphs). It also basically guarantees all map or code ports involving humans will need extra work, but them's the breaks.
We have replaced /datum/dna with a new mob_snapshot datum, generated on demand. This was a big job due to how entangled DNA was with mob code, and cleaning up like this allows for us more flexibility when implementing new things like a reworked changeling or new genetic conditions/superpowers.
I finished dismantling /under, which is a minor victory. Originally this was going to support adding a lower body/pants equipment slot, but in practice with accessory stacking the pants slot seems like unnecessary complexity; maybe something to consider down the track(pants).
Shaded Hills has had quite a lot of work done, most recently adding beggar knights and shrine attendants to the job roster. We are down to 6 items on the Shaded Hills MVP list, one of which is lobby art, which I have been putting off for something like four successive weekends.
Penny directed me through some adventures in updating the scripts we use for running headless Linux servers to support BYOND 515. I am still not sure where she finds the information, other than some kind of communion with nightmare gods.
Just recently I added a bunch of skeleton icons for kobolds, tajara and drakes, mainly to support zombies and skellymans downstream.
Bugs of note
We have an annoying issue on ScavStation where some quirk of the server scripts and the Linux setup is resulting in a round end looping the round end sound effects and warning message until the server finishes rebuild and restarts. It's not great to get bombarded with 50 YOU WANNA PUT A BANGING DONK ON IT out of nowhere.
Until a recent dexteruty tweak, drakes were fully capable of cocking aiming and firing a combat shotgun using nothing but their mouths. They could also arm grenades and perform surgery with scalpels. Thankfully they have been nerfed before they could seize power.
Current priorities
With the PR list in single digits, I'd like to take the opportunity to work through our backlog of fiddly issues. Getting that down to zero (or at least getting through some of the old issues and any new dev issues) would be nice.
r5 has been merged to stable, and r6 will be staged soon. One of the big remaining PRs is a flooring rewrite that I have been working on off and on for months. It's now blocking the next staging period, so hopefully that will put some pressure on me to finish it.
Just recently, the Shaded Hills map and the fantasy modpack have been spun into a fork server called Pyrelight. A lot of the content I'd like to make using the Shaded Hills map and Neb systems is a bit too magicy-fantasy for Neb main, so I'm going to point it at this fork.
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
(1-15 albums etc that I've listened to this year, copied from twitter) (now with art.) (media version) Jan [1] Feb [2] [3] Mar [4] [5] [6] Apr [7] [8] May [9] [10] [11] Jun [12] [13] [14] Jul [15] Aug [16] [17] [18] [19] Sep [20] [21] [22] Oct [23] [24] Nov [25] [26] Dec [27] [28]
names and thoughts below cut
1/ Ken Ishii - Flatspin (2000) this dude has a really lovely synth style that feels just right every time.
---
2/ (every Dream Wave Project release from 2001) golly, I don't like trance, especially from around the turn of the century! anyway I wonder if this y2k trance netlabel will have anything good. (<- clueless) somehow there were a few bangers tho. Link-D innerflux? top notch.
---
3/ DJ Technorch & 九十九音夢 – Strong Anthropic Principle (2016) holy shit tracks 1 and 3 immediately jumped into my fav of all time list EZ. the m1dy remix is ace too but wow tough competition.
---
4/ maj7jam - cover ring III (2023) wall to wall slappers. (I'm on here too!) its a variety thing so i cant rly summarize it but... big favs: "Dear Siren" "dissociate for frogs" "blank disquette" how did a remix of my tune turn into the funkiest thing here? hot damn
---
5/ かたぎり – かたぎりは電気狐の夢を見るか? (2021) feels like its been a while since ive chewed on some breakcore. this one's delicious. I love that rapidly changing textural stuff. "Code Name: Romeo" and "Stray Cat Syndrome". is there a name for that technique? good stuff
---
6/ Nav Katze - Never Mind The Distortion (1996) ive been thinking about checking out the original albums that afx's "26 mixes for cash" were pulled from. idk if i'll continue the trend, but this one was well worth the listen. lovely late-era bleep sound all around
---
7/ Paradigm Shift - Paradigm Shift (1995) from a rabbit hole of recommendations: "it's good i promise". and yep. it's GOOD. slightly chilled chemical breaks. considering the date and long-lasting freshness I'm kinda surprised this isn't more highly acclaimed.
---
8/ Faith Massive - Drum & Bass for the Masses (1998) more from the rabbit hole. I have a soft spot for mid-to-late 90s liquid dnb, and this hits that spot for me. the synths in "Downtreader" especially.
---
9/ Todd Edwards - Full On, Vol. 1 (2001) endless high quality chops. it's one of those styles that still sounds futuristic in a way.
---
10/ Orbital - The Altogether (2001) i wonder why i skipped this when i was digging through orbital's stuff. (listens) oh. because it doesn't click with me. [some of] the remixes on the associated singles are a bit better tho.
---
11/ DJ Krush - Reload (The Remix Collection) (2001) kinda a mixed bag, which is to be expected for a collection (of remixes) "Maiden Voyage" hits just right tho
---
12/ Capitol K - Notes From Life On The Wire With A Wrecking Ball (2008) i love Capitol K's soundscapes but I'm very particular about vocals. these vocals DO NOT vibe with me :( there are a few instrumental tracks, luckily for me
---
13/ Wevie Stonder - Drawing On Other People's Heads (2001) feels like a turntablism thing but... drum machine? akai? idk. a little different. i do kinda think the vocal samples are excessive, but not enough to throw out the entire album yknow?
---
14/ Hol Bauman - Human (2008) surprisingly haunting.
--- February ---
15/ VA - We Are Friends, Vol. 11 (2023) this year, im planning to [try 2] keep up with new releases from artists/labels i like. this is the first one that really hit me tho. which is cool bc mau5trap is... usually so-so imo. highlights: "Another Day", "I Like Math", "11:11"
---
12 notes
·
View notes