#gemcut

[luna4sart]

Guess who did a commission? This owl! For a pretty cool artist @smolsasaIt's kinda awesome that years after drawing her magic I get to draw her magic crystals too. ^^

[weirdmarsupial]

Little quartz I cut the other day, there's a couple chips in it but otherwise it turned out nice

[silverravenstudio]

✨𝘉𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘖𝘱𝘢𝘭✨

✧ On its own, Opal is well-revered. Throughout history, early humans thought of it as a mystical “night stone” that glowed in the confines of pitch-black caves. Eventually, it took on a meaning of mysticism and power. Many civilizations thought it held the remnants of spirits.

✧ Boulder Opal is unique in its own right. Miners first discovered it in 1870 in Australia. To this day, most of the Boulder Opal on the market is found in Western Queensland.

✧ Shamans & Healers believe that the overarching meaning of Boulder Opal is betterment. Its energy is about improving your life and chasing your dreams.

[knight-otu]

Toady's Devlog for 10/22/2022

Toady One, from the Dwarf Fortress Development Log:

Yeesh, well I guess the late log's less of a surprise this time since I mentioned the new state of mind last month.  Things are going very well.           Lemme go refresh my memory as to what has occurred this month...  all of the art except a few buildings and seven creatures are in, so much good stuff...  all the audio is in, including a new 7(!) minute title track...  a special alert pops up for the most important messages to make them harder to miss, including a new "no food" warning...  mouse wheel now works on all scroll bars...  got music and ambiences to stream off the disk (the amount of audio has grown so amazing that it was taking up more than a gig in memory ha ha, now it's much smaller)...   reworked the tutorial a few times...  the dwarven underwear situation vs. sieges and goblin thong rot has stabilized...  split up the volume sliders...  fixed some bits where tiles tore through the interface...   site finder can now search for sand and specific metals...  jeweler jobs are no longer weird - there are generic jobs and you can specify materials in the details...  multiple leather items tanned based on skin size...  rearranged the buttons on the main screen...  made subtabs look different...  bin storage jobs no longer stop other jobs from using the bin and they don't try to haul items to bins that aren't in the right stockpile.  I might have also mentioned at some point that mouse wheel zooming was out, but now it's back, using ctrl+mouse wheel or the brackets or two buttons near the minimap.           And a lot of bugs were created and destroyed of course, as is the natural order of things.           Here's a closer look at the current UI, showing the new button positions, the hotkeys for building a still, the nice expanding nature of the building placement UI, and a 150% zoomed play area.           Building           Building -> Workshops           Building -> Workshops -> Farming           Building -> Workshops -> Farming -> Still           Building placement (showing the UI for the new system I mentioned last month)           And here are Jacob's windmills!  Jacob also did waterwheels, screwpumps, and many other buildings.           Construction           Turning to face wind           Carolyn recently expanded the dwarven hair image catalog by two times, added bones, made all the unit status bubbles, and more.  Can you identify Carolyn's underground DF critters?           Undercritters           How about these real-world fish by Neoriceisgood?  Neoriceisgood also did many other critters.           Fish

[bottaw]

An absolutely stunning color-change pink sapphire cut in Andrew Ian Brown's "Seeds of Life" design. This gorgeous stone changes color between bright "princess peach" pink and champagne depending on if you are under natural or artificial light. This stone was a cut commission for a friend for their engagement! Congratulations James and Nina! I wish you both all the happiness in the world. :) If you would like to commission a custom gemstone for yourself or a loved one, please contact me! We will work together to build the perfect stone for you! #gemcutter #gemcutting #faceter #faceting #sapphire #pinksapphire #princesspeach #ring #engagementring #engagement #proposal #gems #gemstones #crystals #jewelry #jewellery https://www.instagram.com/p/CkEYDJaOXHP/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dragonbleps]

opens seven tabs of research to get the right description for a phrase that'll be used exactly one (1) time in this WIP

that's just how writing goes

[yaqoobgems]

15ct Mesmerising Brazilian Facet Rough Natural Green Tourmaline 💚 16.86x15.77x11.29mm unheated/untreated (clean) Available at @yaqoobgems #yaqoobgems #tourmalime #greentourmaline #FYP #gemstone #Chrome #chrometourmaline #jewellery #jewelry #TiffanyAndCo #Cartier #irishjewelry #gemcutting #gemcutter #facetrough #goldsmith #Reels #newyork #uae (at Limerick, Ireland) https://www.instagram.com/p/CmokEI7I4F6/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[satureja13]

The Boys are back home from their trip to Henford where they'd celebrated Summer Solstice. Time to return to their underground police department and send Ji Ho back ingame to investigate Jack's murder. Vlad isn't happy about this. There is a killer on the loose ingame. What if he kills Ji Ho too and Ji Ho has to endure his dying in full consciousness? Anything feels, smells, looks, sounds, tastes so real ingame. And so they are arguing back and forth. Ji Ho wants to go back. He wants to chase Jack's murderer and he needs to dig his feelings out. And he also wants to provide the Therapy Game for other creatures in need. Ji Ho and Vlad actually don't need to talk at all, they know very well how the other feels over their Bond. I guess they do this hoping the others would chime in and take their side. But they are just quietly doing their stuff and enjoy the show. Ji Ho and Vlad never talked to each other that much ^^' And even though they are arguing, that's a good sign that their relationship slowly evolves. Vlad: "Don't go." Ji Ho: "Jack is your best friend and there are creatures out there who need our help. You know I have to go. And I want to get my feelings back - I want to love you."

'Came in from the city walked into the door I turned around when I heard the sound of footsteps on the floor Said he was a killer, now I know it's true I'm dead when you walkout the door Hey babe I'm hooked on you

Can't stop now Don't you know I ain't never gonna let you go Don't go'

Yazoo - Don't Go

Eventually Vlad gave in. He also wants to arrest and punish Jack's killer. But he insisted to charge the bond before Ji Ho logs in. They are still a bit weak after teleporting the TukTuk and he wants Ji Ho in a good condition ingame, in full strength and awareness. What Ji Ho didn't expected was, that Vlad was kissing him instead of just hugging him, as usual! Poor Vlad. He must be very afraid and upset, so wants to make sure the Bond is fully charged. Otherwise he wouldn't have done this, since he always refuses any (avoidable) romantic interactions as long as Ji Ho doesn't love him.

Now Ji Ho doesn't want to leave ^^' Vlad: "Be careful. Come back to me - log out immediately if anything is odd." Ji Ho: "Don't worry. I will come back ..." and then he whispered "... for more."

Vlad wanted to watch over Ji Ho from inside the chamber but Sai didn't allow it. Vlad is so upset, he would pull out Ji Ho at the slightest disturbance and compromise their investigations. So he sat outside. Saiwa: "You gave him hell ^^' " Ji Ho: "You heard it?" Saiwa: "We all heard it." Ji Ho: "Oh."

The others were worried about Ji Ho too and wanted to watch his every move, but they continued their work to not make Vlad even more axious.

And then Princess Jihovere was back in Saarburg. Only a few minutes after she left the game. The crack was still there!

And there was still an opening! Princess Jihovere stepped closer to see what's down there.

'There's evil in the air and there's thunder in the sky And a killer's on the bloodshot streets And down in the tunnels where the deadly are rising Oh, I swear I saw a young boy down in the gutter He was starting to foam in the heat'

Bat out of Hell - Meatloaf

And then she saw him. There really was someone down there far below!

The Princess knelt on the ground to take a closer look and maybe find out who it was. And what he was doing. He was picking up the gemcut skull Greg had lost/sacrificed! Is this the crossroads demon who fulfilled Greg's imprecise 'change their hearts' wish, somehow mistook it and took Jack's heart so he died? ö.Ö' Omg and Greg said 'their hearts' - is there/will there be another corpse?

She must have made a careless noise because the demon looked up to her - and cast a spell! And he looks like Kiyoshi! (Since he's a NPC it's kind of obvious that Tiny Can chose Kiyoshi, because he really is a demon.)

The spell hit the Princess and for a few short seconds - before she blacked out - she felt everything. All her lost feelings - all at once. The pain, the loss, the sadness - but also joy and love! So much brighter than anything Ji Ho ever felt before!

Luckily Greg and The Queen still were near and heard the Princess' scream.

The Queen: "Godess! Is she dead?"

Greg carried the Princess back to Saarburg. When she regained consciousness, she looked in the lifeless eyes of a skeleton. Did the demon now kill her too?

Oh no, poor Vlad! They are monitoring everything back home, Vlad must have witnessed his death! And he felt through their bond what Ji Ho felt. He must be devastated. But Ji Ho can't log out yet. He's still ingame, not like Jack, who'd been kicked out after he found himself dead. Maybe he can ask the skeleton some questions about the demon? And maybe NPC Jack is here too? Wherever 'here' is...

to be continued...

TMI: After Vince Clarke left Depeche Mode, he and Alison Moyet formed Yazoo (they'd known each other since school days). Later Vince formed Erasure and Alison started a solo career. Alison Moyet has one of the most amazing voices I've ever heard o.o

The Therapy Game Master Post with the sessions and places so far is -> here

From the Beginning  ~  Underwater Love ~  Latest Current Chapter: 'Who killed Jack?' from the beginning ▶️ here Last Chapter: 🕹️ 'The One' from the beginning ▶️ here 📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 17-22 ~ 23-28

[dozydawn]

“thistle” hat pins. love the use of particular gemcuts to evoke the gumdrop/muffin shape of the flower

[weirdmarsupial]

Cutting a larger marble into a d20, so far it's looking really good, it should end up being about the size of a standard d20. I'm still working on a setup for numbering, but this will be a good practice piece before I move on to more expensive materials.

And speaking of expensive, here's a peek at my next project, a pear cut sapphire. I got some of this beautifully colored lab grown sapphire pretty cheap because it was cracked

[maglor-my-beloved]

Teaching

Characters: Fëanor, Mahtan

Words: 371

Warnings: None

Read on Ao3

“Watch closely, little one,” Mahtan rumbles, and Fëanáro, Crown Prince of the Noldor and nearly full grown, steps closer to peer eagerly over his teacher’s shoulder as Mahtan pulls the glowing red metal from the forge, forms it with swift, precise strokes of his hammer.

“It is not force that matters,” he explains while Fëanáro’s eyes follow the movements of his hands, “but precision. Know where you wish to strike, and do so. Do not think of anything but where your next stroke will land. Do you understand?”

“I do,” Fëanáro says.

Mahtan looks at him knowingly. “But you have difficulty applying it. Your mind is in a hundred places at once, always thinking ten steps ahead, is it not?”

“Yes,” Fëanáro whispers. “How do I make it stop?”

“You don’t.”

Fëanáro frowns, and Mahtan lays a comforting hand on his shoulder. He can see that this is an old and painful struggle for the young Prince.

“You cannot force your mind to focus when it will not,” he explains calmly. “To do so will only end in frustration, as I believe you know well.”

“So what do I do?”

“Practice,” Mahtan says simply. “Again and again, until the motions become routine and your mind settles into the familiar rhythm. It will take time, but you are talented and stubborn – more so than any other I have taught. I have no doubt that you will be deemed the greatest smith of the Noldor one day.”

Fëanáro smiles, but some of the pain lingers. “I wish it were not so difficult. It all seems so easy for everyone else, why can I not be more like them?”

“Because you are Fëanáro, and Fëanáro is nothing like anyone else. You think of your differences as nothing but a weakness, but I have seen you work for hours or days on end on a project, not even noting the passing of time, and emerging with a masterpiece, just as I have seen you undertake countless endeavours at once, not just of smithcraft but of gemcutting, of language, of lore, and excel in them all.” 

Mahtan draws his apprentice close and embraces him. “Your differences are your strength, Fëanáro. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.”

[noamuth]

Imagine Astarion biting someone and them not waking up for it (somehow), and the next day they're like "Aw god there's a VAMPIRE here somewhere!!!"

And everyone just turns to look at Dal, the drow with red eyes and mild Dracula-ass voice, in his little hood to shade him from the sun which he burns in (and his slightly sharper-than-human's teeth that I haven't expanded on)

And Dal just looks up from his gemcutting like ?????? "WHAT?"

While Astarion is sitting pretty and totally willing to let him take the blame lkjhshdfg

[bottaw]

A beautiful rainbow fluorite! Cut in Tom Herbst's Skewtube design, this stone really shows off a gorgeous color banding for which it gets its name. This stone is for sale! I'm not particularly happy with how it came out (fluorite is notoriously difficult to polish) so I'm offering it at a steep discount from what I would normally sell it for. DM or comment for pricing and options! If you would like to commission a custom gem for yourself or a loved one, please contact me! We can work together to create the perfect stone for you! #gemcutter #gemcutting #faceting #gems #gemstones #faceter #fluorite #rainbowfluorite #crystal #jewelry #jewellery https://www.instagram.com/p/CjwWJ_NOFj8/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[the-world-annealing]

The Fairy Godmother's Gift

"...good heavens! Only your foot, of all the kingdom's, fits this glass slipper! Do you know what this means?"

"...yes my prince, it's me. The woman you dan-"

"Yeah, yeah, we'll get to that, what I want to know is how you made this slipper."

"Huh?"

"I mean, obviously I had my scholars take a look at this thing the moment I found it on my doorstep, and they all told me that it was utterly beyond modern glassblowing techniques. It fits only your foot, out of millions! Even the greatest artisans can't make anything to that degree of precision! And yet you carelessly left it behind as you ran away."

"I guessed the fairy godmother could always make new ones, if I really needed them."

"Wait, a fairy godmother? You have the favor of the fairies? Why are you living in squalor?"

"All her spells wears off at midnight. It's a literal party trick, nothing more."

"I'm quite literally still holding this slipper."

"That's weird, the rest of my outfit changed back. So it doesn't automatically transform back at midnight... and she can't just unconditionally reverse all her enchantments either... Which means the midnight thing was a lie, and she has to actively focus on an item to turn it back?"

"It would explain why the sole thing to retain its new shape was the one both of you misplaced. But the particulars don't matter, the fact that her creations can stick around permanently does."

"...and that means..."

"Our struggling kingdom is saved! We'll be the microengineering capital of the region, the empire, the world! Glassblowing, goldsmithing, gemcutting... and who knows, perhaps some future technology will greatly benefit from the ability to arrange gold thread with nanometer-level precision."

"Hold on, how are you getting the fairy godmother to play along with all that? She just wants to help her charges move up in the world. Me, my mother, my grandmother..."

"..."

"Oh."

"Ella... will you marry me?"

[sihalagemzone]

Gem cutting ❤️ wth Imahashi machine 🇯🇵.

[fuckyeahdwarffortress]

Tell you what, necromancers are so much better than vampires. I have like three necromancers and they haven't even raised any corpses, let alone killed anyone. Vampires killed my tavern guy, my stock taker guy, my trader, and i interrogated one and he confessed to an entirely different nonsense plot, then attacked! That's just rude. They're not even being helpful like my necromancers who are doing all the gemcutting. Hell, if all my dorfs were necromancers they'd probably be more positive for having shared interests. This is an anti-vampire pro-necromancer blog now.

I've been reviewing your asks now that I've woken up. Apologies for a lack of responses.

I'm thrilled, of course, that you have become a Necrodwarf fan like myself, however. Necromancers have no need to eat, sleep, breathe, or drink, making them the ultimate Dwarf labourer, as they are also not eligible for targeting by Undead mobs.

I do wish the Toady One allowed Dwarfs/Necromancers that exist in-fort to pen documents. I believe you can have a Scribe and a Librarian, and if one or both are Necromancers, they might try write a book?

If they do, there's a chance they pen the Secrets of Life and Death, which will allow more Necromancers to be made should any living soul read the book in their spare time.

Failing this, you can always raid a Necromancer Tower for any book that may contain the Secret, and if you succeed in taking it, have a Necrodwarf Fortress.