#it's difficult to find a font that shows that a character only learned to read and write like. a year ago

[invinciblerodent]

why am i like this

why am i the type of person who'll sit down to finally answer a very sweet ask about My Guys, and instead of doing that, or anything that's of any interest to anyone else, spend an hour just picking through fonts to see what could be fitting for each of their handwritings.

i'm still wearing my streetclothes, and i've bespoke fonts chosen for 11 of my characters now

......... at least now i could write fake notes and stuff in their name if i wanted, that's something

[butchdazai]

Books I finished reading in September

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

I have finally read this, and I'm glad I did. It's a great book! The characters, while confusing at first due to the large cast, are very interesting and unique. You continue to learn stuff about some them that recontextualizes everything you knew about them throughout the book, right up to the end. The universe that Muir created is also very intriguing and keeps you wanting to know more. Perhaps other sci-fi books would be better if they included more mentally unwell lesbians like Muir did.

Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson

This book sucks so bad. The only good part is that its less than 100 pages long and the font is huge so you don't have to read it for long. This book is like if someone made a cute children's story and then decided to pretend that the very simple lesson it taught applied to absolutely everyone in every situation ever and also sandwiched it within the most awkward dialogue known to mankind. Sorry for the run-on sentence but there's no other way to express how bad this book is.

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Harrow the Ninth is even better than Gideon the Ninth. It has everything that GtN has plus a huge puzzle that you, as the reader, have to untangle while you read. However, Harrow is a very unreliable narrator, which is an additional hurdle to untangling this puzzle (although one I quite enjoy, I maintain that I would be an unreliable narrator if I were a character in a book). Additionally, a large part of this book uses second person perspective, which I really like and yet is rare to find in literature.

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Another book that confuses you from the very beginning, hoping you solve the puzzle within; that puzzle being, who is Nona?, which is a surprisingly difficult question to answer. Overall a solid continuation to HtN with new, interesting characters and showing other sides of old characters we had previously not seen.

[tamaradoubraomonibeke]

MP - Translate and Transform Presentation

Explanation

Goodday whoever is reading this,

I know this presentation looks disjointed but let me try and explain all my ideas (it's unfortunate we only had 3 minutes because I like to talk ALLLLOT)

Initially, as displayed in my previous tumblr posts, I wanted to create a monochromatic color set of meals. I'd take pictures of these meals and create an editorial. My target audience for this was working or middle class food enthusiast interested in following trend of monochromatic meals.

I chose red, green and yellow as they are natural colors often seen in meals. Other meals with different colors use food coloring. The food will appear artificial and my goal is to be as natural as possible. The only time I changed the color of an ingredient was rice with tomato to create jellof rice (African delicacy). I planned to make the meals not only aesthetically pleasing but edible. What's the point of cooking food people can't taste?

Unfortunately, due to making it edible, I cooked with a lot of spices and fat (oil). This changed the color in some ways and struggled consuming the pasta (This is an experiment and not a reflect of my cooking skills).

If it was edible and appeared beautiful, I'd call in friends to be tasters. During the tutorial, Dot questioned me "I like the idea of synesthesia but it's not reflected in your final outcome. The illustration cards appear to be used in the case of Covid 19 to educate kids if they lost their taste. Have you spoken to anyone who has synesthesia? Did you consider using a blind taster (blind fold taster) and ask them what colors they think the peppers are? " Obviously, Rich added to that conversation too and in the same direction.

I was also questioned about my rationale. Due to things not working out, I made illustrations as I'm talented in that aspect. I created human persona illustrations because this translate and transform. Thus, I wanted my outcome to be metaphoric but can be understood easily. Finding a typeface for my illustration style was difficult and I envisioned it as a comic type. However, there's no way I'll use comic sans for this project, it didn't sit right with the illustrations and presentation of idea. Thus, I chose Nobel (a basic sans serif). To display taste of fonts (another difficult feat, I admire food brands now but that's why they probably use basic fonts at times), there was coincidently a font pack made by Sarah Hydman (Thank God!). This showed how the colors would taste. The other type, 8 is also an interesting typeface. The counters and eye of the eye is small and makes the type bold. This shows that the flavours are confident in themselves even if they are not the strongest or spicest. The typeface also has a lot of personality and works as a display font but is not legible as body copy unfortunately.

Now, the presentation was near so I didn't fully explore my idea and basically showed the characters educating people how they’ll feel rather than showing them how they’ll feel.

However, I’m proud of myself for doing something unique. Also, I wanted to have fun with it, this why red= spicy/fun, yellow = quirky/energetic, green = super serious but has a soft spot (can be seen in his full image where he is smiling). The correct term to giving human traits to this non-human objects is anthropomorphism.

Learning outcomes reached

Presentation of an idea (not cookie-cut but nonetheless) (LO3 & 4)

[kiragecko]

Oh yeah, Classical Ch'olti' was not only gone by the point of the Conquest, it was probably never a single language.

The Maya script is a bit like Hanzi (Chinese characters), in that it is based around characters that stand in for full words. This means it can be mutually intelligible in multiple languages. When writing in a different dialect or language, scribes would add characters before/ after the word characters to indicate the first (or last, or all) sounds for words whose pronunciation differed from the prestige dialect.

(If English worked this way, we might have a word for 'lorry', and Americans would write it [tru-LORRY-uck] and pronounce it 'truck'. Brits would still be able to see it was 'lorry' even in an American text.)

The post-Classical writing of the remaining codices is noticeably different from the Classical writing of the carvings and murals. The writing in the Yucatan is different from that of what is now Guatemala. Modern dictionaries often mix all of these together and call it Classical Ch'olti', just like some Latin or Sanskrit dictionaries include entries for the entire length of time Latin or Sanskrit was used, even though Vedic Sanskrit and Early Latin are VERY different from the languages used in the Middle Ages.

-

Speaking on Maya fonts -

Well, first a disclaimer. I'm white, and an amateur linguist. I'm not speaking from the perspective of someone denied my language, but as an outsider who thinks the language is really cool. This is infodumping, and might sound lecture-y, but that's only because communication is hard. I don't think I know more than any specific person, just want to share what I've learned over the last 15 years of study.

-

There is at least one real font (by George Douros), though it's only semi-usable until we get full Unicode support, and almost impossible to find. Unicode now has support for Maya numerals. There is also at least one big project that's working towards providing a comprehensive set of glyphs and their variants to Unicode. (The Unicode Maya Hieroglyph Project, starting in 2020. Which I think IS using AI to scan texts and recognize characters!) But even though Unicode is interested in supporting Maya, it's a bit more difficult than it might seem.

-

While an input method like Japanese has would work for adding characters, the final result wouldn't look like the Maya script. Classical Maya, at least, is supposed to be in blocks. Characters have a huge number of shapes, sizes, and orientations, based on where they are in a block, and how many other characters are with them. (And that's ignoring ACTUAL variants!)

Korean Hangul is composed using a method that could possibly be adapted for Maya, but it has far fewer construction possibilities. (Hangul has around 9, Maya ... I don't think all the possibilities have even been documented yet. You'd almost NEED to limit it to common constructions, which would make the font less useful for actual documentation of Maya texts.)

Also, even if we add in complex characters, Hangul's 31 characters is a LOT less than the 300 needed for any one community of Maya scribes (every community and period had a slightly different set of characters, and some characters changed appearance over time.)

And finally, there's reading order! Maya is most commonly written in paired vertical columns, but text can be based on single bocks, and both types can go top to bottom, left to right, right to left, L shaped, and more!

-

If the main goal is language revitalization, that simplifies a lot. Maya speakers can choose what limitations they're willing to trade for a script that's usable in a reasonable time.

Right now, the main people with the resources to work on this seem to be historical linguists, and a simplified system that doesn't actually let them document the full complexities of the historical languages doesn't really help them.

(The Unicode proposal system includes demonstrating a need. A main part of that is showing documents that have the characters being requested, and showing enough of them to convince people it's a priority. Most of the current published writing that includes the Maya script is research papers. We need more poetry and stories written in Maya, to help document desire!)

-

The last time I looked into it, the Maya script was one of the stated reasons that Unicode was working on a much more robust character composition system. (It will also help for things like the various Mongolian scripts, and Egyptian hieroglyphs.) They want to design something that makes it easier to add a variety of new scripts, rather than having to create something unique for each new situation.

It's frustratingly slow. I first started looking for font support around 2010. The font I have is clunky, ugly, and incapable of writing anything but the most simple texts in Latin character order. Unicode added Maya numeral support in 2018, and there's still almost no fonts for them. Who knows how long the The Unicode Maya Hieroglyph Project will take to start publishing their results, and even after they do, a proposal needs to be created, Unicode needs to implement it, and someone needs to design actual fonts for people to use.

But it isn't that nobody cares. There are people who are trying to make this happen!

Once again I am pissed that most of the Maya manuscripts are gone. So tantalizingly close to getting a look at a culture that developed genuinely in the absence of influence from Old World civilization. A fully independent data point on the development of literary culture—the kind that we know wrote philosophy, history, mathematics! And yet we barely have any of it. Can you imagine how much we might learn about humanity, about cultural universals and cultural particularities, about the history of Mesoamerica, from being able to read that work and compare it to what we know?

But it's gone. It's gone because the Spanish burned it and made learning the Maya script illegal. And it's gone because codices rot in the tropical heat and humidity, so unless you've got a continuous scribal tradition it's all going to disappear. We can't even read Maya cursive; we know there was Maya cursive, and it's likely what most codices were composed in, but it's almost all gone!

And of course this is worst for the remaining Maya themselves, who in addition to being deprived economically and legally by Spain and its colonial legacy, have been deprived of the dignity and respect that comes (for better or worse) from being part of a cultural tradition that produced great and widely respected works.

I just, you know, I just wish it wasn't gone!

But as I always say on this topic, a point of optimism: the jungles of southern Mexico and Guatemala are barely explored, they're dense and they almost certainly hide many things yet. Maybe, one day, some hidden cache will be discovered, a scribal workshop collapsed perfectly to protect the codices within from the damp. We can only hope.

[gaymerasmus]

If you’re still doing matchups can I have one? Akdkdkdkjd

Ok so basically

I’m a neuroscience/pre-medical student in college. I’m autistic and medical science has been my special interest since before I could read and I still have medical textbooks that were given to me when I was like 6.

I love to sing and record music and shit and I can get pretty obsessive about working on it after I get an idea.

I LOVEE cockatiels. Cockatiels are everything, cockatiel is best birb. I just, I really love parrots lol

I’m 5’3 and I am small and round, we love being insecure

My hair irl is pretty much exactly how I draw it on my pope Neuro character, it’s dyed purple and I got a lot of it on my head

I also keep a sheep brain in a jar. I also just bought a glass jar that’s shaped like a skull so I’m gonna put the brain in there, cause it’ll be funny lol

I promise I’m not crazy I just really like neuroscience😭

I HAVE BRAINS IN JARS TOO YAY

Anyways I match you with...

Medic!!

This was a totally difficult decision to make (it wasn't) but I think I picked right! (I did)

How you meet: Work!! You somehow managed to worm your way into an apprenticeship with him. congrats! He's your problem now.

Dynamic tropes: Friends to lovers, evil scientist/ pre-med student just trying to get some work experience, overworked student/ overworked corporate slave, crazy in two different fonts, tired birb parents

Nicknames: Nurse, doc, birdy, Schnucki (sweetie), Schatz (treasure), Vogelchen (little bird)

Confession: This man is denser than my mom's pound cake, baby. You make the first, second, and third move only for him to respond in oddly vague and questionably platonic ways. He only gets it when you grab his face and kiss him for the first time. After that, expect a very nervous and flustered Medic.

At first he was a bit weary of you, but only because he's already so busy. What makes Mann Co think he has time to take in an apprentice, anyway? The unease doesn't last long, though. Especially once he starts learning about your interests! He's absolutely estatic to have someone around with a passion for neuroscience, and allows you to practice on parts he brings to the lab (as long as you leave the hearts and ask no questions).

He really does try to teach you something, but it only works about 60% of the time. The rest of your time together is spent discussing your shared interests. You tend to bring out the conversationalist in him, so expect a very talkative man when you're around. Despite your schedules, you'll both end up sitting in the lab and talking till the early hours of the morning.

Feelings don't start to develop until you show him the medical textbooks you've kept since you were little. The intense passion and bond you have that bloomed in early childhood resonates deeply with him, and he can't help but see you differently after that. Him finding your height and build cute definitely adds to it too. If he had his way, he'd pluck you from the ground and never put you down again. He unashamedly describes you as fun-sized and loves picking you up for hugs.

[book-o-scams]

Ed, Edd n Eddy Series Bible (1996) -Analysis-

You can all finally read/download Ed, Edd n Eddy's official Series Bible right here! Thanks again to Chuckletons for sharing this with me and to Joey/Kongiscool0518 for sharing it in the first place, the Holy Grail of lost Ed, Edd n Eddy trivia!

One of the first posts I made for this blog was the Series Bible page. It was a composite of every source we had ever seen reference the series bible so far-- storyboarders in interviews, CN's old character guides, and the biggest source, an old CN UK posting about the show. Well, I figure now that we have the official source, I better update the old page (so everyone knows it's out of date), and make this new Series Bible post using the official source! Not much new information, but I was intrigued to finally learn the true phrasings of some things we had only heard paraphrased, as well as at least one detail from the movie that I couldn't believe came up this early in conception...

Unfortunately, Tumblr has apparently updated its post system to only let me add 10 images? Gonna try and only use images for what I need since you can read the actual document above, I guess I'll transcribe it too for easier reference and so we don't ever lose some archive of this.

Quickly, let's review what a series bible is:

A series bible is how creators pitch shows to networks. They can be called “pitch bibles” as well. Bibles do not usually get posted publicly, because they are initially under a strict Non-Disclosure Agreement by the network; also the creator may simply not wish to share it because it reflects the earliest stages of development.

The pitch materials typically include early concepts for characters, locations and episodes. Sometimes it exposes secrets, in this case, Ed and Eddy’s home lives, and sometimes the stuff in it is completely abandoned because it’s so early in production, in this case, casual references to school and adults.

Alright, everybody, it's time to gather 'round and read the Ed, Edd n Eddy Bible!

THE YEAR IS 1996.

YOUR NAME IS LINDA SIMENSKY. YOU WORK AT CARTOON NETWORK. A FRIEND OF YOURS, DANNY ANTONUCCI, IS WRAPPING UP A SHOW ON MTV. YOU GET THIS FAX.

Linda Simensky immediately fell in love with this concept because as a child, she was best friends with 2 other Lindas for seemingly no reason other than the shared name.

I love how Danny decided last second to pencil in the correct names over each Ed, since they're arranged out of title-order.

"They're friends because they have the same name."

-the Logline for the series.

Fun fact: one storyboard artist for the movie observed that the movie is essentially all about challenging the series' original notion that the Eds are friends ONLY because of their name.

"A Danny Antonucci Cartuna"

-the label Danny used to use under announcements of new productions.

PAGE 1:

Ed, Edd n Eddy

They're best friends because they have the same name.

A gag laden, beat generated CARTOON bumper car ride of 3 misfit youths on a cul-de-sac in the suburbs of America.

Through summer vacation, part-time jobs, or just hang'n out at the corner mail box, they want to belong....but CAN'T.

From home chores, helping neighbors or eating jaw breakers, they want to fit in...but CAN'T.

Ed is into "B" monster movies, model kits and is quick to break out into rashes.

Lots of luck...

Edd is into chemistry, biology and prone to crushes.

Later...

Eddy is into pranks, is stylish and flaunts himself to the world.

Ya Right...

Ed, Edd n Eddy is a show about confusion and contradiction, that awkward part of youth, pimples, big feet, oily hair and... girls???.

Puberty is unforgiving.

I was fascinated by the lack of art on this page, it makes the pitch feel very focused. AKA logo in the corner, the title logo again up top, then the logline appears again below.

I really love the breakdown of Danny's vision of the show. "Gag-laden, beat-generated, CARTOON bumper ride." Very accurate, and I think "beat-generated" is the phrase that interests me the most. I typically think of "animation beats" as sort of a give-in-- technically all things fit a rhythm, so all stories are essentially just a montage of beats. But this does make me realize how important the strength of the beats and their rhythm are to the pacing of a cartoon and making you feel like "that was a good one." I feel like the "seasonal rot" viewers feel over the course of a show, and the way that perception differs from person to person, depends on the type of beats you want. Even though I am very into the experimental beats of a show in its later seasons, I can definitely see how season 1's beats are more typically appealing to a wide-audience, and how important a focus on that is to the longevity of a show.

I found it really interesting how the scams are initially conceived of here as "summer jobs." It adds to the sense that adults were originally meant to be present. Honestly a little surprised nobody with access to this bible had ever thought to mention that-- scams are not referenced ANYWHERE. Their image in the Series Bible is that they have summer jobs and help neighbors, which is certainly a much cleaner reputation than the Eds ended up with in the show. Makes me realize though, were some of the early scams, like Ed's Hive Bee Gone and their newspaper routes, supposed to be leaning into this early idea of them with almost legit jobs for unseen adults?

I was very amused by the repeated phrase that the Eds simply CAN'T fit in.

Loved to finally see the official phrasing for the confirmation that Peach Creek is in America. Not much different than I was led to believe, but still nice to have the true quote.

Also love Eddy being described as "stylish and flaunting himself to the world." The bold-print reactions to each micro-description is a cute idea too, I truly wonder who we were meant to picture saying those things in reaction. Each Ed? Kevin?

The "corner mail box" is an oddly specific phrase-- the Eds do hang around mailboxes throughout the series, especially seasons 1-3, and I believe the canon map does have a corner mailbox, but the idea that the Eds hang out at one specific mailbox went the way of Bro's supposed secret treehouses.

PAGE 2:

Ed, Edd n Eddy

Show Description

Gag laden. True cartoon style, inventive, non parody, fast paced, stretch and squash

Beat driven. (even when characters stop they hold with a bounce cycle. Adults never bounce. Music can play important part, not just fill.) But not a musical.

Cartoon surrealism. (viewers see the show as Ed, Edd n Eddy would, less important things tend to blend into the background, while objects of Ed, Edd n Eddy's desires are focused. Premise driven.)

The school year's over, (yeah!!!!) and the long HOT summer vacation begins (gulp). What to do?

Stuck on a cul-de-sac in the suburbs of America is the last place you want to spend summer break, especially when you find life confusing and contradicting.

Ed, Edd n Eddy is about friendship, and serves to remind us that they're no "good ole days," just smelly runners.

You can tackle anything, when your with your pals.

Their days are spent, for knowledge, acceptance and some cash for jaw breakers. Armed with pimples, big feet and oily hair the three amigos trek into the unknown.

Ed, Edd n Eddy are dying to be grown-ups, but they're kids, and attack adulthood as only kids would. Simple situations turn into a manic rollercoaster ride. (Don't forget your barf bag).

They just want to belong, and they're willing to pull off any insane stunt to prove it. First they need to figure out what it is they want to belong to.

Found it interesting that on this page, the show's logo is replaced with the title written in a jumbled font. Seems like the font from the show's end credits.

Hehe, the continued reactions to the descriptions. Allow me to be Double D for a moment and point out the increased use of parentheticals on this page, as well as one wrong "your".

I love Danny's insight that season 1 is framed by the context of how hyped everyone still is just to be out of school, but also the sense of pressure to make use of their break.

I really appreciate Danny getting further into the details of his summary of the show's style on the previous page. It only makes sense that he had this much of a vision that early.

A second confirmation of the cul-de-sac being in America! I'm also really into the repeated focus on the Eds finding the world "contradicting." I always loved how EEnE's inexplicable cartoon antics supported that sense that the Eds are highly aware of contradictions in both societal things and the actual characters.

WOW, so I'm fascinated by this dual reveal. Before the wiggling outlines, which Danny usually calls a "boiling line" and describes as a tribute to wiggling inking in early animation, the series bible instead refers to him wanting the characters to do the iconic Fleischer "bounce," which is a much more commonly recognized rubberhose animation technique. Very interesting that Danny decided not to stick to that. Did it feel too out of place? Or was the overseas team not willing to animate a weight-shifting for every single held pose? Haha, guess I can see why boiling was an easier compromise. I wonder if he had any other ideas for how to make it more of a 1930s cartoon.

The other reveal to me here is that the movie's choice, that adults don't always wiggle in the show, was an idea from the very beginning! I guess I can better understand now why it's just too difficult to communicate a stylistic choice like that overseas-- no point making Bro not wiggle, that'd just create confusion.

Also, really disappointed that my wish for a musical is officially squashed in the series bible itself. That's a tragedy. The show's over, ya couldn't let me dream, Danny!? Conversely, I love Danny's forethought to say "non parody," I definitely noticed and appreciated EEnE's avoidance of derivative parody humor.

My spouse had to point out to me that Danny probably means sneakers here, lol. Canadianisms!

The comments about the Eds wanting to grow up but needing to figure out what they want to belong to are so great and relate to the movie so well. I've heard those comments before, but the correct phrasing was cool to see.

PAGE 3:

Ed, Edd n Eddy (image of Ed in right corner)

Character Description

Ed

Attention deficiency syndrome.

He has trouble...

He can't....um...

OK, he draws all day in class.

When Eddy gets a bright idea...Ed's in.

Ed is easily talked into doing Eddy's "hard work". He has great physical strength.

Ed's happiest with his Model kits and B-monster movies. He draws his knowledge from his movies.

Ed smells. Flies are attracted to him.

Ed has sayings for all situations

ED: "you can change your shirt, and Bingo was his name..."

Ed's perpetually a slave to his younger sister's whims and whines.

Ed may have to baby-sit his sister, or let her watch whatever she wants on TV, or let her dress him up in mom's clothes.

Ed breaks out in Rashes. He's allergic to practically everything, especially Guinea Pigs.

Ed's Mom xerox's his sketches and doodles for her therapist.

Ed's Dad hopes to pass on to his son, his knowledge on "pre-owned" auto sales.

Very cute bit wasting the space at the top of the page. Danny seems very invested in Ed's personality already. The old sources we used to have definitely tried to condense these down to simpler blurbs.

Weird how Danny wants to essentially diagnose Ed with ADHD here (phrasing it very poorly, but it was the 90s and... Canada?). I don't know enough on the subject to debate it, but I still gotta point out Ed's canonical cracked skull!

Interested in the comment about Ed being most allergic to Guinea Pigs. I don't think that animal was ever even mentioned in the show. Eddy mentioned an old gerbil once....

Neat to finally have the real phrasing of the official word on Ed's parents! I saw someone comment earlier that this seems to be hinting Ed's Dad is selling stolen cars. I've never thought to question the legality of his apparent second-hand-car dealership (I imagined he works with Eddy's dad, who has received a legitimate award for his salesmanship), but those quotation marks are certainly making Mr. Ed's practices questionable! Best case scenario, Danny meant that more like italics or something, but maybe Ed's dad IS up to no good...

PAGES 4 & 5 (Ed's turn sheet and expression sheet)

PAGE 6:

Ed, Edd n Eddy (image of Edd in right corner)

Character Description

Edd

is really smart.

is really quiet.

Edd is unnaturally-- polite.

Edd hasn't been allowed to take gym ever since the Dodge ball incident. He's been excused to free study time in the library.

Edd doesn't like it when people touch his things.

EDD: "You may enter in my room, but don't touch my Lego robot. Thank you."

Edd's learning to play Peddle steel guitar. (his Mom makes him)

Edd's prone to "crushes". Girls in School, in his neighborhood, TV, anatomy books. He mails "true loves" his socks.

Edd is always ready for action, even though he can calculate the implications.

Edd constantly mumbles.

No one ever sees Edd's parents. They both work nights. They communicate to their son solely through Post-it notes. Edd's not allowed to touch anything in the house while they're gone. Anything.

Interesting how Danny slightly differentiates the barely-used space at the top here from Ed's description, to characterize Edd as more quiet and mumbly, adding an awkward "--" mid-sentence, perhaps to create the impression that Edd halts to choose words carefully.

Everything on this page feels familiar, from the character guides and other old sources. The most interesting thing to me here is that Edd's Mom forcing him to practice Pedal Steel Guitar is established this early, don't think I knew that, but I had noticed that it existed in his room from ep 1.

I love how the explanation in the beginning for why Edd goes along with their dumb schemes even though he's smart is basically just "he's always ready for action." ?!? I guess in a way???

That weirdly phrased Edd quote amuses me because it references Lego, just like the original concept background for his room before somebody nixed the copyright-namedrop.

Edd's prone to crushes thing has been reaffirmed over and over in character bios even though it really doesn't come up outside of the cupid magic in HPH and the pilot-episode heart eyes at Sarah that are barely canon. Still, I've always loved the truly disturbing statement that he mails "his true loves his socks" and how that managed to make it into canon with a comic book example, a cel animation example and a digital era example.

PAGES 7 & 8 (Edd's turn sheet and expression sheet)

PAGE 9:

Ed, Edd n Eddy (image of Eddy in right corner)

Character Description

Eddy

Exhibitionist.

Megalomaniac. (quote from his report card)

Eddy is the unofficial leader of the trio.

He's always got a plan, a stunt or a weird noise.

Eddy's the "class clown". He loves showing off. He loves being the centre of attention-- no matter how stupid the reason is.

Eddy is the only kid in his grade to have been expelled for aw hole week from school. It was his turn to set up the video for science class. He switched "Our Friend Yeast", for a video he "borrowed" from his parent's room.

Before Eddy's brother went....away, he enlightened Eddy with the "legends" of the neighbourhood. Eddy knows where all the abandoned tree houses are, which sewer pipers are safe to spelunk, and the secret recipe for the "El Mongo Stink Bomb" (it's been in the family for years).

He is the one who is most able to pretend that he knows it all... and doesn't care what anyone else thinks about him.

His genes are working the fastest.

Eddy's Dad is constantly concerned that Eddy may grow up to be a ...figure skater.

Eddy's Mom never believes his little darling was involved in such a heinous act.

Funny choice that Eddy's wasted-top-space is just two one-word descriptions, and allegedly lazily swiped from his negative report card.

Wow, we knew the report card quote and the "Our Friend Yeast" story from the UK show guide, but now we also know Ed's page says that Ed draws in class, and now I realize that Ed and Eddy have series bible school blurbs to match Edd's classic dodgeball incident blurb. Anyway, it's great that Eddy's showed his entire school some sort of sex video his parents have.

Very interested that the phrasing for the Bro/El Mongo Stink Bomb blurb even seems to suggest it's a family recipe. Eddy's Dad did have prankster stuff in his closet in JJJ... did Bro learn his prankster ways from Dad?? The neighborhood's secret tree houses have come up in other descriptions (at best, I'd say this could be related to that creepy shack the Eds found in the woods), but I think it's new info that Eddy personally learned the sewer routes from Bro. Interesting...

Thankfully, I had already heard about the Bible's awkward reference to Eddy being the most pubescent as "his genes are working the fastest," lmao.

Once again the Double D in me comes out to point out that the description of Eddy's Mom seems to switch to the Dad's pronouns.

PAGES 10 & 11 (Eddy's turn sheet and expression sheet)

PAGES 12-14 (Sarah, Jimmy, Rolf, Jonny, Nazz, and Kevin lineup of all 6, then 2 zoomed in lineups of the first 3 kids and last 3 kids)

(Funfact: the kids' designs were allegedly freelanced to an outside studio, hence why their refined later-season designs are so different from these lizardy starting places, lmao)

PAGE 15: (images of Sarah and Jimmy next to their blurbs)

SARAH

Ed's baby Sister.

It's her way or the Highway.

She has everything done for her, if NOT she'll "make" them do it.

She can be quick to judge.

Whinney.

A tatrum for every occasion.

More than a handful for Ed...or Edd and Eddy.

Thinks Edd is kinda cute.

Wants Eddy to MOVE...to another planet.

JIMMY

Sarah's best friend

He is always playing with girls, boys are just too tough.

He is accident prone, when ever we see him he has a different affliction, ie: band-aids, patches, casts, lumps...etc.

He is very clean.

The Ed's frighten him, "They're such brutes".

I'm surprised how much of the UK guide was accurate to what was really in the bible for them! Also surprised Danny misspelled "whiney" and "tantrum," one right after the other. Is this how Sarah spells them? ...Sorry, Danny, I yam what I yam.

PAGE 16: (images of Rolf and Jonny next to their blurbs)

ROLF

First generation of a landed immigrant family.

Nationality not important.

He's proud of his heritage.

He has peculiar traditions and/or customs.

He eats "weird" things.

He has hair on his back..... "yuck".

He confuses the Ed's to no end.

He confuses the other kids to no end.

JONNY 2x4

He is a wanderer and very inquisitive

From early morning to supper time, he is always outside playing, with his buddy, "Plank".

"Plank" is a wooden board that Jonny drew a face on with a crayon.

Jonny has wonderful conversations with Plank. ...Plank is a piece of wood.

Jonny makes himself very "accessible" to the Ed's.

Found it interesting that Rolf's bio is less clearly phrased than the UK bio set it up to be-- there they made it sound more like he mixes up who the Eds/kids are, here it's unclear whether it means that or (more likely) just means the obvious statement that everyone finds him confusing. If it's that, what a lame hollow bio Rolf got. This kid's based on you Danny, show some of that personal side!

Always loved Jonny's description, his life sounds so cute. Playing outside literally all day. Interesting to have it confirmed that Jonny drew Plank's face, I preferred to think the Eds drew him and sold him to Jonny, but whatever.

"Accessible" has always been an important vague description of Jonny to me. It really only applies to how chummy they could be with him in season 1, but it still sorta applies to his personality throughout the series as well.

PAGE 17: (images of Nazz and Kevin next to their blurbs)

NAZZ

She's cool, calm and assertive.

She is the most matured of the kids, or so she thinks.

She's into make-up and fashion magazines and Boys.

Sarah thinks she's awesome, wants to be just like her when she grows up.

When she enters a scene, all activity stops... boys freeze, they sweat, their hearts beat faster and faster. They lose their ability to talk. When she leaves, they recover and conclude it was something They ate.

She thinks the Ed's are funny.

KEVIN

He is cynical and sarcastic.

He thinks he knows the "routine". That's because he watches "60 Minutes".

It got a big laugh out of me that Kevin's description is only 2 sentences long. Nazz even has a more detailed character description from inception than Kevin. Love this for them.

Who's the Eds' rival? Well, he's cynical, sarcastic and he watches 60 Minutes, doesn't that tell you enough!?

I love the "mature... or so she thinks" remark about Nazz, a grounded flaw for her to have, being a little overcommitted to being mature like Eddy. It also perhaps suggests naiveté that makes it a little more reasonable that they didn't notice they were dumbing her down at the end of the series, but I do think the movie version of her better reflects the Bible's concept.

PAGE 18:

The Other Neighborhood Kids

Lineup of May, Lee and Marie.

The Kanker Sisters

These gals are tough. They bother, bully, provoke and bewilder everyone.

They live in a motor home park on the other side of the Cul-de-sac. The other kids have never been there.

They are proud of their Tammy Faye Baker memorabilia.

Their project "Cooking with Ketchup" closed down their school for a whole week.

No one likes them, especially the Eds.

They are determined to marry the Eds. They want them to do their dishes.

Amused that the Kankers are essentially being labeled backgrounds characters here, the role they mostly fell into in season 5. "Other" neighborhood kids...

I love that the Kankers have a school blurb to match each of the Eds', and that theirs has similar destructive-intentions to Eddy's video premiere story.

I believe all of this was all known from the UK guide as well, but still, neat stuff!

PAGES 19 & 20 (zoomed in Kanker lineup and their height chart with the Eds)

PAGES 21 & 22 (early promo art that used to be on CN's old Eds webpage, the art of the Eds eating jawbreakers at the end of ep 1 with the overhead text "Ed, Edd n Eddy love JAWBREAKERS!!!", and the art of the Eds all running with overhead text "Ed, Edd n Eddy see something shiny...."Jiggers." That weird "jiggers" statement at the end was normally edited out and I don't know what it means. Looked it up and it seems to be Chinook jargon (like when Ed said he was "skookum at X's and O's") usually said in the same sense as "CHEESE IT!")

PAGES 23+:

The rest of the pages in that bible download are from a 2004 storyboard test. The storyboard sample "It's Raining Eds," which we've seen some submitted samples of before, interpretations with Ed attempting to fly or chew gum and Edd making radioactive gum, I was surprised to find out the outline is just the original outline for the opening sequence to season 3's 'For Your Eds Only', seemingly Jonny was not written into the original outline (or was excised for easier testing purposes) but Kevin's brief cameo was. Now I wonder if they knew this would be used for a test when they wrote it, and if they would've come up with a less random way to include him if weren't forced to be a concise bit for testing's sake. (Your limit is typically 40 storyboard pages in my experience.)

I also noticed that in the included background references, the anonymous adult neighbor house next door to Ed's is officially just referred to as a "generic house."

My analysis ends here, but be sure to download that sometime and enjoy all the raw storyboard sketches at the end of the document!

[sprnklersplashes]

songwriter!janis fic (unrequited crush, no-very-happy-ending) 

also on ao3

It all started because she loved Taylor Swift when she was in middle school. Who is she kidding, she still loves Taylor Swift, but that’s where all this began. A middle school girl’s obsession with Taylor Swift. A confused, sad girl with a broken heart and smudged black eyeliner, finding refuge in lyrics about loneliness and anger and revenge. They became anthems for her, mantras to mutter when the warzone of middle school became too much for her.

“Someday, I’ll be living in a big old city, and all you’re ever gonna be is mean.”

“Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in.”

“I can still see you, this ain’t the best view.”

It amazes her. It’s honestly as if Taylor Swift has managed to look into her life and given her a bundle of songs for whatever she needs. For when Regina has thrown her one too many snide looks, for when she’s standing at the door of North Shore High on her first day, for when she eats lunch alone, for when her mom is the best mom she could have asked for, for when she and Damian are lying on the grass in her backyard, staring up at the sky, laughing at absolutely nothing. The songs become the soundtrack to her life, the chords and those raw, honest lyrics an emotional outlet she so desperately craves. Taylor, and her songs, become a confidant, almost a close friend who always knows what to say.

With all that in mind, perhaps it was only a matter of time before she asks for a guitar for Christmas. She’s fourteen, braces and a slight lisp, and jumps up and down like a mad woman when she sees it under the tree.

She practices for three days straight, until her fingers bleed, but Should’ve Said No is the first song she learns off by heart. She yells the lyrics with maybe a little too much passion, but her parents applaud her nonetheless.

Like she said, that’s how it all started.

Because that same Christmas, she realises that screaming her feelings while playing guitar actually feels pretty cathartic. And that if it worked for Taylor Swift, it could work for her. So she writes stuff down, plays around with chords and strumming until the beat on the guitar matches the one in her head. She grabs a page and a pencil and writes and re-writes her innermost thoughts and feelings on the page until they sound the way she wants them to. She plays around with rhyme schemes and structure and everything she’s been taught about in English class, and a thrill runs through her as she does so. It’s the same breathless high she feels when she paints or draws, the rush that comes from creating something.

Her parents sit on the other side of her bedroom door, no doubt exchanging worried glances as she repeats the same verse, same chorus, with only a word changed. She watches them when they think she can’t see, peering through the crack in her door. The conclusion they seem to come to is ‘well, as coping mechanisms go, it’s pretty good, and she’s happy, so who are we to stop it?’.

It takes her four days to finish her first song. And it sucks. But she keeps it, writes down the lyrics and chords in one of the few empty notebooks she has, and there’s no going back from it now. She writes, and she writes, and she writes, near enough every day. She likes to think she gets better with each one. She learns more chords, buys a cheap ukulele the summer after freshman year, tries her hand at piano during a particularly difficult few weeks. She doesn’t plan on doing anything with them. They’re just her little pieces to hold on to. Her therapy sessions outside the carpeted office.

No-one knows about it. She has a reputation to keep up, after all. The loner-by-choice, too-cool-for-school, aloof art freak. Everyone has their roles to play in the ecosystem that is high school and, much as she hates the entire system, that is hers to play. And she plays it well, if she may say so. The fact that hardly anyone knows her past that facade suits her just fine. After all, if people think she doesn’t care, she can’t get hurt. No-one needs to know that Janis Sarkisian actually has feelings.

Even less need to know that she writes songs about said feelings.

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By the time she reaches her junior year, she’s onto her third notebook. She keeps them tucked away in her sock drawer, expertly hidden so only she can find them. Damian teases her about it, calling her “the protagonist of a Disney Channel Original Movie”. She just rolls her eyes and reminds him that “if either of us is gonna be Disney’s first openly gay character, it’ll be you”. He can’t argue with that.

It should be noted that when Janis said that no-one knows about her songwriting, Damian was the obvious exception. He found out just weeks after she started. There’s no keeping secrets from him.

Between all her notebooks, she’s written around forty songs.

Then she meets Cady Heron one day. The human embodiment of a labrador puppy, complete with wide, lost eyes. She likes her instantly, decides to take her under her wing because Lord knows the girl needs it. Cady’s smile is infectious, her laugh like a summer breeze. She has dimples and caramel-coloured hair and really likes maths.

She meets Cady on a Monday.

By that Saturday, song number 41-titled “Dimples and Curls” is more or less complete.

She plays it for Damian, hands only slightly shaking as she changes chords, the strumming short and upbeat, the melody strangely happy for such a bittersweet song.

He applauds her, but the subject of the song hangs in the air even after she’s played the last chord and the music fades. Unsaid, but not unknown. Just like her songwriting, Janis couldn’t keep a crush from Damian if she tried.

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“Hey, check it out.”

Cady drops onto the seat across from Janis, the whole table shaking as she does so. Like a small meteor just hit Earth. Janis looks up from her lunch, pretending like she had been doing her own thing and not watching the door until Cady came in. Pretending like her stomach doesn’t do little flips at the sight of her crossing the cafeteria. She pulls the flyer towards her and hums in amusement.

“The winter talent show,” she reads before chomping off a carrot stick. “Oh, is it that time of year already?”

“Seems like only yesterday we was welcoming the young’uns into this brave new world during the harvest season,” Damian sighs, putting on a delightfully over the top Southern Belle accent, no doubt influenced by their reading of Streetcar Named Desire in English class. Janis cackles, and nearly chokes on her lunch as she does.

“And now the cold winds of winter are descending upon us,” she replies, her accent equally heavy. She bats her eyes for good measure, because she can and because it makes Cady laugh. “Oh but I pray the children will survive this season, it is often rough for them.”

“I am never showing you two anything winter related ever again,” Cady says.

Janis just shrugs and runs her hand through her hair before her eyes go back to the flyer. Clearly, whatever sophomore they got to design it this year did their best; found the prettiest looking snowflakes on Google Images to put on the cartoon stage, decided to write in some swirling, slanted font rather than the start-studded block lettering they usually went for. It’s still the same as it is every year, meaning just as mockable, but she’ll give them points for tying.

“Well, anyone here going for it?” she asks. She looks from Damian to Cady and back again, a teasing smirk on her lips. “Last year and all that.”

“Not sure I can,” Damian sighs. “I mean, I’m booked up with Spelling Bee rehearsals and spring cabaret auditions happening next semester.” He drums his fingers against his throat. “Gotta give the little vocal chords some rest, you know?”

Janis’ response is to sing the lowest note she possibly can before turning to Cady and giving her a pointed look, the corner of her mouth quirked up.

“Who? Me?” Cady’s cheeks turned crimson and she shakes her head so much that the caramel curls bounced around her shoulders. “No way. Damian can take the stage, I’m fine with my calculators and textbooks.”

“You could always solve equations in front of everyone,” Janis says. “I could call out college-level questions from the audience and you solve them in under 30 seconds.”

“I think I’ll pass,” she giggles. She leans forward slightly, eyes glittering, and Janis does her best not to squirm. The effect Cady Heron’s eyes have on her should be studied by scientists. “What about you, Janis?”

“I don’t know.” She thinks back to when she helped on stage crew last year, as well as helping out (or taking over) with the set design. It had been fun, the kind of challenge she needed to keep her mind off the slowly-going-off-the-rails plan. And she was told it looked good on her college applications, because all people can think about apparently is college, college, college. “Maybe. They might need another genius stage manager.”

“And you’ll step in if they can’t find one?” She digs Damian in the ribs for that comment.

“But not performing?” Cady asks, and Janis freezes. Performing had never even crossed her mind before. She’s used to backstage, hell, she likes backstage. It’s not that she has stage fright or anything, and if she had, her stunt at Ms Norbury’s little healing session would have squished it. She had just never thought about it.

But Cady had, apparently.

“I-No, I-I don’t think so,” she stammers out. “Um, I might do backstage again, but not actually doing something, you know, talent related.” She bites her tongue and clamps her lips shut before anything else can come out.

“Okay then,” Cady replies slowly. She gets up from the table, her little empty water bottle in her hands. “I’m going to go for a refill, save my seat.”

“No problem,” Janis says, but Cady’s already jogging away.

She doesn’t know if it’s good or bad that Cady’s known her too long to think of her as cool, and so this kind of awkward babbling isn’t really surprising to her. Instead of thinking about it, she just sets her head on the table and lets Damian rub her back.

“You were nowhere near as bad as you think you were,” he assures her.

“Title of your sex tape,” comes her murmured reply. Damian chuckles and runs his fingers through her hair, like she’s his pet cat. It helps.

“So you’re definitely not going for the talent show then?” he asks.

Her first instinct is to say no, because of course she isn’t, because she never has before and she sees no point in breaking a three-year streak, but the answer catches in her throat. At the same time, something begins forming in her brain, pieces of a melody she’s already known, words filling in blank spots in her brain, and her fingers twitch involuntarily, playing the chords on an invisible guitar. Without a word, she grabs a notepad and pen from her bag and scribbles the words down before she forgets them, quickly becoming breathless just by sitting there. She forgets, for a moment, everything else, the talent show, Cady, even Damian next to her, and just revels in the task and the quick buzz she gets just from writing. Just like that she has one eye on the clock, itching to get home and put her notes into the rest of the song.

But with those notes came an idea, an idea so completely out of left field she almost laughs at it.

“Janis?” Damian asks, just slightly unnerved by her. If anyone else were at this table, even Cady (especially Cady), she would have had to excuse herself and run to the bathroom, or just hope the words stayed in her head long enough for her to get a quiet moment. “Did the Goddess of Music just possess you again?”

“Maybe,” is her response. He doesn’t know it, but she answered both the questions he asked in the past minute.

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She sits on her bed that night, her homework half-done and strewn across the desk, abandoned in favour of the guitar sitting in her lap and notebook open on her bed. She’s been working on his song for the better part of a week, inspiration and motivation seemingly striking and then fading whenever she gets a free moment. Abandoning it has crossed her mind-she’s no stranger to abandoning things that aren’t working-but for some reason she hasn’t quite been able to shake this particular song off.

Maybe it is Euterpe, the Goddess of Music, descending upon her because this song has to be finished, it has to be, Olympus willing it so.

Or maybe it’s because this song is one of the most personal things she’s ever written, a love letter she’ll never send, and the idea of it sitting unfinished drives her crazy.

She plays another chord and sings the line again, changing the ending slightly, and makes the adjustment in her notes.

She’s crazy. This is already crazy, her secret double life as a wannabe T-Swift, but now she’s gone beyond that. Thinking of actually playing it. On a stage. In front of people. She doesn’t care what people think of her, she stopped caring about that a long, long time ago, but holy shit what will people think of her after she does this? Life isn’t like the movies, she knows that much. It won’t be some pretty, softly-lit moment where the crowd sits with teary eyes, Cady runs onstage and kisses her and she’s offered a deal by some big shot producer, and they all live happily ever after the end. What could happen is people think she’s even more of a weirdo than they do now.

Or she gets tomatoes thrown at her head and she’s booed off the stage. That’s a possibility.

She calls Damian, because that’s the only way she sees out of her little thought cul-de-sac. She puts the phone on speaker and props it up against a pillow, keeping her hands free for her guitar and her pen. He picks up on the third ring, just as she’s strumming out a G chord.

“Oh, is someone prepping for her Grammy?” he asks. “You’re still taking me as your date, right?”

“Only if my dog can’t go,” she replies. She taps her nails against the wood, the rhythm too fast and frantic to just be a habit. Yes, she can tell Damian anything, and being nervous in front of him is laughable, but sometimes her body forgets that. “So, I was thinking about the talent show.”

“Oh? You’re going for stage crew again? Cool.”

“No-not exactly.” She knows he can’t see the smile creeping across her face, but she’d wager he can hear it through the phone. A small swarm of butterflies flutters in her chest, leaving her just slightly out of breath. “I… I. think I’m going to try performing in it.”

A burst of laughter comes through the phone, slightly tinged with static, and Janis wishes he were here so she could slap him. Even if it’s not malicious in intent at all, and she’s laughing right along with him. Slapping is kind of a love language for them.

“Okay, okay cool. What’re you going to do?”

“I’ll give you a hint,” she says, and then she plays the opening chords to her latest experiment. She doesn’t add in the lyrics, not yet. Still, she sits back and basks in his applause when she finishes, cackling into her hand. He might be one person, but he’s got enough enthusiasm to match a packed auditorium. “What do you think?”

“I’m into it,” he tells her. “So… that’s the one you’re doing?”

“Think so.” She tosses the pick between her fingers. Like he could feel her smile, she can feel his raised eyebrow through the phone, the elephant in the room poking her with its trunk. “Yes, I know.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You thought it,” she tells him, and he doesn’t deny it. She looks back over the lyrics she’s written and re-written. Despite some adjustments, it’s still in essence the same. Still about a girl with pretty hair who smells like vanilla and cinnamon, who has a boyfriend and is unknowingly breaking the heart of a girl with black eyeliner and paint stained fingers. Because her boyfriend is pretty and clean and smells like soap and can do math, and how is the poor art girl even meant to compare to that?

“Yes,” she says after a while. “It is about Cady.”

“Aw, my poor lovestruck songstress,” he sighs. He shifts then, and the air shifts with him. “You sure that’s the one you want to sing? I mean you have dozens of other non-Cady related songs. I’m sure Mr Duvall would love to hear Angry Teenage Lesbian Anthem.”

“First off, I gave that one a title, it’s called Shattered,” she reminds him. “And-” She freezes, the rest of her sentence catching in her throat. He’s right. She could perform one of her other songs, that are already finished and therefore removing the pressure to have this one finished, polished and stage-ready. And of course, it would mean she wouldn’t be standing in front of her entire grade and telling them all how badly she’s in love with her best friend. Showing her deepest secret to the people who have already driven her out of school once. It’s a far safer, potentially less traumatic option for her.

But…

“No,” she says. “I know it sounds crazy but I feel like… I feel like I need to do this.” She swallows thickly and picks softly at the guitar strings. “It’s like… like this way at least I’m telling her, you know? Even if she doesn’t know it.”

Of course, Damian gets it.

“That’s beautiful, babe,” he tells her. “So you’re actually doing this?”

“I’m actually doing this,” she replies firmly. “And tomorrow, I need you to make sure I don’t chicken out before I sign up.”

“Got it. I’ll just order you to do it as Senior Co-Chair of the Student Activities Committee.”

“That’s an abuse of power.”

“Then consider yourself abused baby.” He laughs and she laughs with him, and then she hears something on Damian’s end. “I have to go. A certain little sister of mine has a princess costume that needs attending to. See you later.”

“See you later,” she replies before he clicks off the call. She looks down at her paper, then at her guitar, and thinks about what she just committed to. “I’ve got some work to do.”

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The song goes through four rewrites in the weeks leading up to the talent show. The whole first verse is changed, the chorus scrapped and replaced with a new one, then that one is scrapped and she goes back to the old one. She sits hunched on her floor with a pencil in her mouth, wondering if what she’s written is too personal or not personal enough. If it’s too obvious that Cady, smart cookie that she is, will work it out and that’ll lead them down a new, scary path. She cuts some lyrics that give the game away, opting to replace one about love for numbers with love for learning, because that opens up the pool to half their grade. She writes about Cady’s blue eyes rather than specifically those double dimples that make her melt. Maybe she’s compromising her artistic vision, but it might be worth it if it’ll keep her crush a secret. She keeps the old lyrics tucked in the back of her notebook, just to have them.

Meanwhile, she’s also dealing with the fact that people know she has signed up for the talent show. That Miss Too Cool For School Loner Art Freak Janis is actually performing at a school event. And she doesn’t even get extra credit for it. They’re surprised, and curious, and none more so than Cady. The other girl appears at her side almost instantly after first period, skinny little arms wrapped around her bicep and blue eyes alight.

Oh, the things those eyes do to her.

“Janis!” she squeaks. “I saw-on the sign up sheet-your name! Oh my God, is this a joke? Did Damian put you up to it?”

“No, no, I signed up of my own accord,” Janis tells her. That only makes Cady bounce more, ponytail bobbing up and down.

“Oh wow, that’s amazing!” she says. She stops then, her mouth freezing in its place and her cheeks turning pink. Slowly, she comes down to Earth, like a balloon that had the air let out of it. Janis can almost hear the wheeze. “I mean um, it’s pretty cool, I guess.”

“It’s pretty grool,” Janis replies, and just like that Cady bounces back up again.

“Oh my gosh, what are you going to do?” she asks. “Or do you want it to be a surprise?”

“You think I have some secret knife-throwing talent?” she grins. She hesitates for a moment, looking down at Cady’s excited face, because even if this isn’t telling her… it’s telling her. “I’m… I’m going to sing.” She pulls on the strap of her backpack and avoids Cady’s eyes. “Something I wrote.”

“Okay,” Cady says. “Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?”

“Hey!” she laughs. “I can write stuff. I can be deep.”

“Oh, I have no doubt about it,” Cady says, bumping her arm against Janis’. “But for real, Janis, I can’t wait to see it. I know you’ll be amazing.”

Warmth spreads across her pale cheeks, a pink blush no doubt colouring her face, and she somehow manages to choke out a “thanks” as her brain turns to static. Her only thought is ‘Cady thinks I’m going to be good’, and it’s written in glitter pen across her brain.

“This is going to be great,” she goes on. “Oh, wait until I tell Aaron. He’s got a break in his schedule that week so he’s coming up to see the talent show! Isn’t that great?”

And just like that, Janis’ good mood falls. Her face stays the same, because she’s trained to do it, but everything behind it crumbles.

“Yeah, that’s great,” she replies. Cady squeezes her hand, oblivious, and drags her along the hallway, chatting away about some lion documentary she had watched last night.

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She finishes the song that night. She arrives home with a heavy chest, so full of complicated, messy feelings, and her conversation with Cady still so fresh in her mind, her ears still ringing from the emotional whiplash. Her parents barely get a ‘hello’ as she enters and bolts up to her room, her hands shaking, the thoughts swirling around her brain desperate to be let out.

And let them out she does. She writes so quickly they look more like smudges than words, her fingers flying over rapidly changing chords, her voice broken and panting as she sings. The words almost write themselves, like the song has taken on a life of its own and she’s just along for the ride. She barely remembers to pause, to breathe, so wrapped up in the storm she’s created with just her guitar and pen.

It’s only when she finishes and falls back on her bed that she notices the tears in her eyes. She blinks them away and pulls herself up, her notebook in her hand. It’s done. The perfect blend of her own honest feelings and just enough smokescreen to keep people from knowing who it’s really about.

There’s no backing out now, she thinks. Her stomach drops, like she’s on the top of a roller coaster about to go down. A laugh bubbles up in her throat and leaves her breathless, her head spinning while she’s still laying there.

If holy shit were am adjective, she'd use it to describe how she feels. Because holy shit.

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Being backstage when she’s not on crew is a strange experience. She stands with her guitar slung around her body, in the middle of a current of students moving around her, half with the clunky microphones and walkie-talkies she’s used so many times before. She asks five of them if she can do anything to help-because they’re her people and she needs to do something to occupy her time-until she finally takes the hint and leaves them to it. Stagehands are the most efficient parts of any production, as she told Damian once. They’re a well-oiled machine at this point.

“Yo!” For a second, Janis thinks she imagined the whisper, just one in a jumble of backstage noises, until Damian appears at her side. A tiny ‘shit’ escapes her mouth, her body jerking. Barely anyone bats an eye at her, except him. “Sorry, didn’t mean to spook you.”

“Don’t worry. I think at this point a small breeze could knock into me and I’d crumble.”

“The great Janis Sarkisian gets nervous?” he asks, eyebrow raised.

“Only when she’s doing something incredibly personal and scary in front of her entire grade,” she whispers back. She swallows past the lump in her throat. “Aside from that I’m a beacon of confidence and unshakable will.”

“Hey.” He taps his knuckles against hers. “Remember how scared you were at Norbury’s assembly?”

“You mean after I had my picture all over the school with the d-slur written underneath it?” she mutters. “Yeah, I was shitting myself.”

“And yet, look what you did there,” he reminds her. “You were amazing. And you’re going to be amazing here too. Once you get on that stage, all those butterflies are going to make you fly, kid.”

She smiles, her heart warm, and pressed her face into the crook of Damian’s neck.

She doesn’t know how she got so lucky to have him, but she knows better than to tempt fate.

“Janis Sarkisian?” She lifts her head to find a freshman girl with a headset around her neck looking at her. “You’re up next.”

“Okay.” It’s only now she becomes aware that the last minute of Fairytale Of New York is playing, the notes will soon fade out, and that’s her cue. She turns to Damian and lets him straighten her black cardigan and fiddle with the collar of her shirt. “Wish me luck.”

“You don’t need it.” He drops a whisper of a kiss to her nose. “But good luck.”

She holds her half-heart necklace as he goes, the twin to the one around his neck. It’s as close as she can get to having him with her. Her chest tightens as she makes her way to the stage and she tries to breathe through it, because the next thign she knows, Mr Duvall is announcing her name, and she’s being greeted by a blinding spotlight that thankfully obscures most of her peers’ faces.

“Uh, hi,” she says into the microphone placed out for her. It’s just people , she reminds herself. Somewhere in that crowd, second row, seat 14, is Damian, and she breathes easier. And next to him is Cady, the girl this song is about, and for some reason that straightens her spine and irons out the shaking in her voice. She takes the pick out of its holder and tosses her hair back. “This is a song I wrote about being in love with someone who doesn’t love you back.” She blinks and hopes no-one sees the tears in her eyes. “So sing along if you get into it, because we all know it’s a shitty ass feeling.”

She plays the first chord, and then any and all doubts she had about this flee her. As cliche as it sounds, the song takes over her, and she blows through the nerves in the first verse. The experience becomes cathartic instead, like releasing a pressure valve on her soul. Even with the little diversions she threw in, she hasn’t felt this open and god damn free since last year, paraded on her peers’ shoulders with both middle fingers up. Except now she’s not flipping anyone off, or proving a point, she’s just finally telling someone how she feels, and holy shit, it’s amazing. Whatever the aftermath of this is, she won’t care, it’s worth it just for this feeling.

As she sings the last word, and that final note rings in the auditorium, her hands are shaking, her cheeks wet with tears and her hair sticky with sweat. She touches beneath her eye and her fingers come away stained black.  She hasn’t cried in front of people since middle school. She doesn’t care.

The cheers of her classmates ring in her ears, Damian’s whooping the loudest of all, and as she takes her bow, she hopes she’ll remember this moment for a long time.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oh my God!” she’s barely into the auditorium when Cady launches herself at her, arms wrapped around her neck and legs circling her waist. Janis nearly topples over, digging her back leg into the ground just in time, and hugs Cady with the same ferocity. “You were amazing!” she yells into her shoulder, the sound muffled by Janis’ hair.

“Really?”

“Absolutely.” She sets Cady down, but the other girl keeps a tight grip on both her arms. Janis wonders if it’s to keep herself from flying away, given the amount of bouncing up and down she’s doing. “I can’t believe you wrote that! It was so good! You need to record it, Jan. Do you have any other songs?”

“Just a few,” she says. “And I don’t know if I’m in the business of making an album any time soon.” She swings her guitar case a little. “This might have been a one-time thing.”

“Well, even if it was, it was awesome,” she says.

“Thank you, Caddy,” Janis replies. “That means a lot.”

Her mouth runs dry as Cady smiles, all baby pink lipgloss and sparkling eyes and full cheeks. If this were a movie, she thinks, this would be the part where they kiss. No need for talking, or an explanation. Because Cady would have just known. The music would turn soft and twinkly, and the lighting would match it and it would look like they’re in a dream and they’d just kiss, and it will fix all of Janis’ problems. Maybe a single tear will run down her cheek. And then they’ll run off into their new lives as the end credits roll.

How sweet that would be.

But her life isn’t a movie. If she wants anything, she has to go for it herself.

And that includes-

“Caddy.” Her name is delicate on her lips, handled with care. Cady looks at her, giving a simple ‘mm-hm’ in response, and Janis’ heart beats out of control. “That song I just sang, it-”

“Hey, guys.”

Also if this was a movie, Cady’s sweet, lovely, nice boyfriend would not be barging in right now. He’d either be a douchebag who she doesn’t feel bad about hurting, or he’d be nonexistent.

Unfortunately, this is not a movie, and Aaron Samuels exists and is the human equivalent of a squishmallow.

“Hey Aaron.” He slings his arm around Cady’s shoulders, and she leans into his touch almost instinctively. “Janis, you were great up there. I didn’t know you wrote songs.”

“It’s a bit of a new hobby,” she says, her voice hoarse. She clears her throat, and finds a bottle of water being handed to-thrown at-her.

“Hydrate those chords,” is Damian’s greeting.

“This is what I get for being friends with a theatre kid,” she sighs before she takes a drink. She hadn’t realised how dry her throat was until now.

“Okay, so we’re all going for pancakes,” Aaron says. “I take it you two are coming?”

“How can I say no to pancakes?” Janis asks. “Uh, you guys go ahead, I have to get my stuff from the green room.”

“Okay, we’ll wait for you,” Cady says. “Aaron brought his car so he can drive us.”

“Grool.” Cady and Aaron turn around together, Aaron spinning his eyes around his finger and Cady lacing her fingers through his, talking about something she can’t hear. It’s like watching them through a sheet of glass.

Not a movie. Not unless it’s one of those really, really sad movies. Sad homophobic movies.

“You okay?” Damian asks. She snorts at the question. Nothing has changed, so of course she’s okay. But then, nothing has changed, so she’s not really okay.

“I did it,” she sighs. “It’s out there. I told her, unofficially. Whether or not she works it out…” She runs her hand through her tangled hair. “That’s something else entirely.” Damian hums in agreement, a sympathetic look on his face that soon morphs into a grin.

“Hey,” he says. “I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks Mom.” They snort, Janis caught between a laugh and a sob, and squeezes Damian’s hand. She’s not optimistic about any romance in her future, at least where Cady is concerned. She and Aaron are still rock-solid and she’s happy for them, whenever she isn’t angsting about it. It’s a weird combination to have.

And at least she’s done this now. Despite a future for her and Cady not being in the cards for now, she’s glad she did it. The secret isn’t out, not entirely. Just written on the walls in invisible ink.

“Come on,” she tells Damian. “I actually do have to get my bag, and you can use this as an opportunity to double check the ghost light is on.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cady and Aaron keep their promise and wait for them, waving off their apologies as they jog across the parking lot. Cady lets Damian take the front seat with Aaron and slides into the back with Janis instead. Janis frowns, confused as to why she isn’t taking her normal seat up front, and Cady rolls her eyes.

“There was a draw on the way here, and we lost,” she explains. “And now Damian has control of the aux chord,” She gestures with her head to the passenger seat, and Janis turns just in time to see him open his Spotify and scroll through his playlists. As the opening notes to Waving Through A Window fill the car, it’s met with three loud groans. Damian only turns it up louder, and adds in his own backing vocals.

“So, that song you sang,” Cady asks, leaning back in the seat. “Was it about anyone in particular?”

Janis looks down, her hands pressed together in her lap. If this is the moment the universe decided to give her, it’s a really terrible moment. Not only is Cady’s whole boyfriend sitting an arm’s length away from her, but she left her nerve back in the auditorium. Clearly, her and fate aren’t on each other’s wavelength.

“You wouldn’t know her,” she says. “She doesn't even go here.”

“Oh,” Cady replies. Her face falls, but she’s not too put out by it. Why would she be? She nudges Janis’ shoulder, a proud smile on her face, and squeezes Janis’ hand. “Well, if she has someone like you into her and she hasn’t taken the chance yet, then she doesn’t know what she’s missing.”

Janis only thanks her, and quickly changes the subject.

Someday she might tell her for real, but for now she'll stick to the songs.

[partywithgyu]

TXT AS WRITERS ON TUMBLR.

Choi Yeonjun.

Theme of blog: changes all the time. Mostly, dark.

Genre of work: Romance. He is a romantic boy who loves writing down his thoughts about it. Also, smut. 

🌹His posts will leave the readers feeling like they have been in love even if they haven't.

🌹Probably, ends up explaining his perspective of love very well. 

🌹Might make a lot of typos. 

🌹Also, ends up getting competitive. 

🌹Thinks his posts aren't good enough if he doesn't get a lot of likes. Even if they aren't as much as his previous posts, he thinks he can do better. 

🌹Never gets bitter about it though. Not here to hate on anyone. 

🌹Hypes up his friends in the asks. 

🌹Would drop by your ask box and leave the weirdest comments to hype up your work. 

🌹Always supports new accounts. Will also reblog posts. 

🌹Will even give life advice to his readers. 

🌹Like the older sibling of tumblr.  Talks like a wise old man who has seen a lot in life.

🌹Will try his best to mix in with the younger writers but can't succeed all the time. 

🌹Talks about his interests often too. 

🌹Will probably have to ask another writer what some terms mean. 

🌹He always learns new phrases on Huening Kai's page. 

🌹Probably the only one who didn't hesitate before messaging Taehyun, who might have come off as closed off to some. 

🌹Always encourages Beomgyu to continue talking about his feelings and checks in on him. 

🌹Also, he might come off as a flirt.

🌹At some point, Soobin would get confused if he is still joking around or flirting for real.

🌹Just a simple minded fool. 

🌹Everyone loves this fool though. 

Choi Soobin. 

Theme of blog: Neural colors like light blue or dull pinks and beige. 

Genre of work: Angst. 

🌸Loves to write angst because he believes it's the most emotional. Likes stuff with sad endings. 

🌸He thinks movies with sad endings are the most memorable. So, he'd try to write stuff with sad endings. He wants the readers to remember his work. 

🌸Has to ask some of his friends to check out his English at times. Gets confused. The posts are still adored even if he makes a few mistakes. 

🌸Also, he would use the most aesthetic fonts. 

🌸Would be so shy when he's new but then eventually ends up getting adopted by the more extroverted writers on tumblr. 

🌸Yeonjun approached him first. 

🌸Now, he's found in Soobin's asks using the cheesiest pick up lines on him. If not flirting, they're debating about mint chocolate ice cream.

🌸Loves Taehyun's blog because he loves to read the long, well written posts. 

🌸Always thanks people for requesting stuff. Anticipates feedback.

🌸Is lowkey shy to take part in loud conversations amongst writers he doesn't talk to often. Would just read it and laugh. 

🌸Would always tease his friends in the ask box. Probably by talking to them like they're babies. Loves teasing Huening Kai.

🌸He would love to add cute anime gifs in the posts. The cherry blossom gifs mostly. 

🌸Definitely reblogs anime food gifs.

🌸Loves discussing food on his blog with his moots.

🌸Will never let them forget he loves bread. 

🌸' Hiii. I ate yummy bread today. Feeling happy. :) ' 

Choi Beomgyu. 

Theme of blog: A sophisticated match of color and patterns. Somewhere in between dark and light. 

Genre of work: Angst and fluff.

🍂His posts would acknowledge sadness and tough feelings. He would write stuff that would make the reader feel comforted. 

🍂Often talks about these thoughts that he thinks aren't acknowledged enough. 

🍂Sometimes posts about his days and talks about his thoughts and emotions. 

🍂You bet he would try to guess the real profiles of his anons. 

🍂Makes guesses, messages the real profile and then learns that he was wrong. Always ends up getting embarrassed.

🍂He would always admire other writer's work. He'd leave thoughtful comments too. 

🍂Always look at them with heart eyes and tell them that they are amazing.

🍂Probably gets confused about stuff all the time and will pick one reader he likes and ask them about it. Mainly, Huening Kai. He doesn't want to seem too much like a fool that's why.

🍂Huening Kai wouldn't judge him, he knows.

🍂Would love to chit chat about the most random stuff. Always, wants to know people's opinions on books, shows and movies.

🍂Will always try to be part of the conversation. 

🍂Sometimes becomes a little shy, wondering if he's coming off as too talkative. 

🍂Loves talking to Huening Kai because he makes him laugh. The conversations are super hilarious to him. 

🍂Says the most adorable stuff sometimes making everyone go, "Aww."

🍂He's adorable.

Kang Taehyun. 

Theme of blog: Beautiful scenery and complimentary colored accent. Probably the most beautiful picture of the sky or the beach. 

Genre of work: Fantasy. Sometimes, simple romantic posts too. 

🌙He writes for fun, just like everyone. It only makes it more fun to challenge himself and try to write different stuff. So, he finds himself drawn to genre like fantasy. 

🌙Does his research about the different type of characters and ends up writing the most interesting stuff. 

🌙Puts time and efforts. Won't write it in one go. So, he wouldn't post as often. 

🌙He also tries to learn new words and add them. Whatever he writes would be sophisticated and interesting to read. 

🌙Naturally intimidating. 

🌙Some writers would be so happy if he likes any of their posts because his work would be impressive. Beomgyu would be. 

🌙Tries to make friends but doesn't know how to. So, he's probably an anon on all pages and talks the weirdest stuff. 

🌙And when he reveals his real profile to the writers, they would be surprised. 

🌙Overall, here for a fun time and tries his best to blend in. 

🌙Would talk a lot once he starts talking. 

🌙Soobin and Taehyun would have such deep conversations on their blogs with each other. 

🌙He would also compliment Beomgyu's work because he would like how expressive his writings are. 

🌙Loves having debates with Huening Kai. They always have different answers. Plus, he's funny.

🌙Taehyun's jokes are difficult to understand through texts so he'd have to clarify and explain the meanings often.

🌙Always here for gossip. 

🌙"You know whaaattt."

Huening Kai. 

Theme of blog: Beautiful colours. Light green and lavender purple like combinations. 

Genre of posts: Crack. At first he'd write simple stuff to figure out what genre he likes best. But since crack makes him laugh a lot, he ends up enjoying writing that. 

🌞Tumblr besties with Taehyun. 

🌞He's here to be a living meme. Replies to asks with meme pictures. That's how him and Taehyun communicate.

🌞Uses all the popular American slangs. Yes, this is the blog that is educating Yeonjun about all this. 

🌞Has the funniest posts. 

🌞Always adds the most unexpected plot twists to his writings.  

🌞Readers find them amusing. Who wouldn't want to have a good laugh while reading tumblr posts? 

🌞Isn't scared to make his posts silly. 

🌞Says the funniest things while conversing with the anons. Doesn't hesitate before roasting himself even. 

🌞Always talks about his interests too. 

🌞Reblogs boy band posts too. 

🌞Loves talking about boy bands with Beomgyu. Total fanboy. It's the cutest thing. 

🌞Would love to discuss food with Soobin too. 

🌞He's here to chill and have a good time with his friends. 

🌞Totally owns the crack genre.

To head to my masterpiece click here.

[jtrokujo]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐒

pairing: Shoto Todoroki x fem!Reader

word count: 2.1 k

warnings: none

genre: fluff

summary: the bad relationship in the past mixed feelings of him until his heart beat faster and faster for a certain person. Because of his nervousness and fear, he didn't even dare to have a dialogue with her and therefore decided to use the old-fashioned way of confessing his feelings.

—

The rain, which kept beating on the window panes, saw the young girl see her prospect.

The weather was once again not pleasant.

It should probably stop tomorrow, let's hope, because it has been raining almost continuously for about 3 days.

In addition, the wind blows very strongly from time to time, which doesn't really make the situation any better.

With the heater turned on, she also put on cuddly clothes plus a towel on her hair, as she comes from school and the hair has gotten wet from the weather.

The girl quickly remembered something specific, which is why she reached for her bag.

Rummaging through, she searched for something specific, but she did not find it at first glance, which almost increased her panic.

She took her bag and shook it out.

It came down like in slow motion.

Grabbing it quickly, she took it and made herself comfortable on her bed.

The young girl has been receiving one and the other letter from a mysterious person for weeks.

In addition, every time she opens the letter, a white flower shines out, but it's not just a white flower, but that of a white rose.

How they love this.

The font; clean and orderly.

The Rose; soft and pleasantly scented.

And this notation; the new butterflies that dance in her every time.

Actually, she has no eye on anyone or has the feeling that someone has an eye for her.

Maybe it's because she doesn't pay attention to everyone.

Because she goes to a hero school to become a heroine and not to make new friends.

Still, she has friends with whom she spends most of her time.

The only person who knows is Mina, but sometimes the (H / C) hairy one wishes to have the quirk that other voices take from her.

Example; when they want their books for the next subject and open their locker, the letter falls like every time the letter falls, Mina screeches now and then like a madwoman and sometimes watches the boys, but one thing is clear, it is not a member of the BakuSquad.

With a pounding heart, she finally began to read the letter she had delivered.

As reluctantly as I like to talk about my feelings, or in this case write, I know easily too acceptably that I can do it with you.

Every day I see your smile, your smile that lets butterflies fly into my stomach, your radiance, which gives me protection, your trustworthiness, which makes me cheer up from the difficult days that I have behind me, your jokes that make my heart laugh and that although some of them are also pretty bad or your character itself, everything is perfect, as if you were a handmade doll that does not show a thread.

Everything about you is perfect, your mind, your warmth, your body and infinitely much more.

I want to tell you every day how optimal you are, nonetheless that is also the problem.

You are effortlessly too impeccable to me, in the course of giving almost everyone the cold shoulder, you are pleasant to everyone, for yourself to a few you do not particularly like.

I love getting up every morning just to see you.

It is already funny to master that you talk to me without knowing that it is me.

That this very cowardly person who has the courage to talk to everyone in the way I want, in spite of all this, cannot tell the person that I designed for those feelings.

We talk this way many times, we also spend our free time together and I like to listen to you, but you don't recognize me, the person who wrote you these and other letters every evening with a sad expression on his face.

However, it makes me happy that you read it and also that you hide it as quickly as you can.

I wonder how we were in our previous lifetimes, if you understand what I mean, if not I will explain it to you immediately.

For example, in the 18th century we were lovers who were not allowed to be together and therefore fled.

Or in ancient Romans, for example, when I fought a lion for you.

Or when we spent most of the time together in the Ice Age, just so as not to have to end up as huge insights.

Or will we see each other again in our subsequent lifetime?

I sincerely hope that it is clear to you that there are enough of people out there who love you in the way you are, please do not forget that alone.

And if you should be hungry, do not ignore your stomach and eat as much as you can, nevertheless not too pronounced is not healthy!

See you tomorrow.

As always, she folded her letter again, united as she had previously.

Immediately afterwards she knelt in front of her bed to be able to get at an old shoebox.

She slowly opened it and put her letter there.

Since she receives a newfangled letter almost every independent day, her shoebox is still bursting, as it is obviously not too big.

So far she has received at least 20 letters from her Mysterious Admirers, but she hoped that he should not come to school one day so that she can control who is behind all this.

Especially when the (H / C) wanted to lie down, she noticed that she still had to do her homework for tomorrow.

Sighing, she got up from her bed and did her homework equally.

TIME SKIP

In the morning with no dream whatsoever, her alarm clock woke her up from her sleep.

As much as she wanted to sleep, she gave up regardless of that and got up after slowing down several times.

Yawning, she did her 'morning trial' as if continuously.

After she put on the last pair of her, she said goodbye and was long gone.

After a few minutes she finally arrived, but as always earlier than the others, that Iida and Momo are at school earlier than some teachers, it ultimately doesn't surprise anyone.

From minute to minute the students enter, some talking to each other, some in turn sit quietly in their place and wait for the school bell to ring.

Hitting the floor with her foot, she looked out the window and saw some students entering the school grounds.

Some themselves, some with friends.

By the time anyone entered the classroom, she turned and saw him.

Shoto Todoroki.

Even when they were very small they learned to control themselves, nevertheless they were not like you can see during the films or series from the beginning buddies, no more precisely old acquaintances.

Of course they talked to each other, but they were too different.

It is already clear that they are having the same dreams, however a voice keeps saying again and again at any given moment; You do not belong together.

Anyway, she just doesn't like remembering her old days with Shoto.l

Of course, right now, in some ways, she understands why he was this way, that it hurt her.

There was that one moment when she finally had the courage to talk to him, but it all tended to be a failure instead of what she had planned.

ABOUT 9 YEARS BEFORE

It was the beginning of summer, the sun was shining continuously, the ice was melting on your hands, the long day and the short night, going swimming in combination with relatives and much more.

A real season for people who love warmth endlessly or for those who never get bored.

However, the summer vacation does not initiate for 3 days.

Will Shoto still manage?

At home, things were by no means exceptionally acceptable.

Why no human soul knows except for the people who are to blame.

Even the educators had already asked his parents or his father whether everything was okay at home, he laughed heartily and said that Shoto had been constantly in this way for a long time and that everything was okay at home.

They are currently on a break, which is why all the children are outside and enjoying the weather these days.

The marginal girl saw him watching, 'You will do it, (Y / N), ask him without a hitch if he would like to play with you.'

Of course she could have asked the other one if she had been given a little consideration.

Every time she tries to talk to her fellow human beings, ignore them, they or they walk away without saying a word and since no one soul wants to talk to Shoto, she saw this as her chance to talk to him and who knows, they might Be friends.

"Oi, Shoto." slowly turned, the tiny boy around whence the voice came anyway.

"Do we want to play UNO together?" she asked kindly and shows him the cards.

"I want to be to myself and please don't bother me." he said softly and turned away from her.

Since the little one was a bit sensitive, it had hurt her for a long time, as he had long since turned her away.

Sometimes he said coldly 'Don't nerve' or 'Please get out of here'.

Sighing, she sat a little further away beside him, in silence until the pause passed.

PRESENCE

"Good morning, (Y / N)." she heard his voice.

Turning to his direction, she explained it to him in exactly the same way and, just like the other students before, gave her consideration from the window.

The half-white haired man hung his head sadly and hoped that any second the school bell would explain.

Since one day of school at the UA, they had mutually unusual aura.

Because since the beginning of elementary school you have had no more 'contact' because you go to the selected schools and immediately?

Now they are behaving strangely and already speaking only one sentence in one sentence, they have by no means had a real dialogue together.

Nevertheless, it may also be better that way.

Suddenly the school bell explained and all the students took their seats.

"Good morning, students."

"Good morning Aizawa-sensei!" said the students in chorus, with which the lessons began from now on.

TIME SKIP

"Finally, I had the feeling that this lesson would never end, because this time the lesson with the present mic was pretty bad, he had scared me so much that I forgot what my name was in English." Mina pouted to herself, while her friend, (Y / N), laughed at her heartily.

"Hey, that's not funny!" she said indignantly and finally opened it.

"Yes, please forgive me, Alien Queen."

"Hey, my name was clearly better than yours!"

"Oh yes?" said the (H / C) amused and opened her locker and like every time her letter landed on the floor.

In a few seconds Minas beamed with joy and quickly picked it up for her friend, "Do you have any idea who that might be?" she asked excitedly.

"No, unfortunately not." her friend sighed and put it in her pocket.

"Doesn't matter now, let me escort you home." she said and left without waiting for her.

"Hey, (Y / N), please wait for me!"

On arrival at home (Y / N) did her daily routine, sitting comfortably on the bed with her letter in her hand, she slowly opened it and noticed at first glance that it seemed a little different from the others.

It was short, quite a bit.

Not like the others in that the last sentence on the sheet should be so small that everything fits.

Tomorrow, at the cherry blossom place.

Right after school.

So short and dry?

Well, I had a choice, but I can defend myself at any time and why should I, it's clear that he goes to the UA just like me.

It doesn't matter now either, I should get ready for bed now.

TIME SKIP

"Are you sure you want to go there alone?" Mina asked uncertainly and meanwhile put on her street shoes.

"Yes, but if you want you can send you my location."

"Ok ... but tell me who this person is, understand ?!" Mina giggled to herself.

"Naturally." (Y / N) took a look at her cell phone and saw that she was spending a little longer time with Mina than expected.

"I think I should go!" and jogged out of school, Mina shouting after her "Send me your location!"

"Will I!"

Except for breathing, she has arrived at the meeting point, but she does not know whether she came too early or too late.

While walking in the park, she saw friends talking to each other, couples sitting on a bench and talking about different topics or older seniors taking a little walk.

"I'm very happy that you came, (Y / N)." she heard his voice behind her out of nowhere.

Slowly, as if in slow motion, she turned around and said quietly, with a grin, his name "Shoto?"

TIME SKIP

"Finally, I had the feeling that this lesson would never end, because this time the lesson with the present mic was pretty bad, he had scared me so much that I forgot what my name was in English." Mina pouted to herself, while her friend, (Y / N), laughed at her heartily.

"Hey, that's not funny!" she said indignantly and finally opened it.

"Yes, please forgive me, Alien Queen."

"Hey, my name was clearly better than yours!"

"Oh yes?" said the (H / C) amused and opened her locker and like every time her letter landed on the floor.

In a few seconds Minas beamed with joy and quickly picked it up for her friend, "Do you have any idea who that might be?" she asked excitedly.

"No, unfortunately not." her friend sighed and put it in her pocket.

"Doesn't matter now, let me escort you home." she said and left without waiting for her.

"Hey, (Y / N), please wait for me!"

On arrival at home (Y / N) did her daily routine, sitting comfortably on the bed with her letter in her hand, she slowly opened it and noticed at first glance that it seemed a little different from the others.

It was short, quite a bit.

Not like the others in that the last sentence on the sheet should be so small that everything fits.

Tomorrow, at the cherry blossom place.

Right after school.

So short and dry?

Well, I had a choice, but I can defend myself at any time and why should I, it's clear that he goes to the UA just like me.

It doesn't matter now either, I should get ready for bed now.

TIME SKIP

"Are you sure you want to go there alone?" Mina asked uncertainly and meanwhile put on her street shoes.

"Yes, but if you want you can send you my location."

"Ok ... but tell me who this person is, understand ?!" Mina giggled to herself.

"Naturally." (Y / N) took a look at her cell phone and saw that she was spending a little longer time with Mina than expected.

"I think I should go!" and jogged out of school, Mina shouting after her "Send me your location!"

"Will I!"

Except for breathing, she has arrived at the meeting point, but she does not know whether she came too early or too late.

While walking in the park, she saw friends talking to each other, couples sitting on a bench and talking about different topics or older seniors taking a little walk.

"I'm very happy that you came, (Y / N)." she heard his voice behind her out of nowhere.

Slowly, as if in slow motion, she turned around and said quietly, with a grin, his name "Shoto?"

[richincolor]

Group Discussion: Fat Chance, Charlie Vega

*As is usual with our discussions, there may be a few spoilers ahead so beware.*

We were all eager to read something fun as we were getting to the one year mark in this very challenging time. Fat Chance, Charlie Vega seemed like a promising pick - and it proved to be exactly what we were seeking. I'm thankful that author Crystal Maldonado shared Charlie with the world. To find out more about Crystal, hop over to the interview here. It was great to hear directly from her about her writing.

Publisher summary: Coming of age as a Fat brown girl in a white Connecticut suburb is hard. Harder when your whole life is on fire, though.

Charlie Vega is a lot of things. Smart. Funny. Artistic. Ambitious. Fat.

People sometimes have a problem with that last one. Especially her mom. Charlie wants a good relationship with her body, but it's hard, and her mom leaving a billion weight loss shakes on her dresser doesn't help. The world and everyone in it have ideas about what she should look like: thinner, lighter, slimmer-faced, straighter-haired. Be smaller. Be whiter. Be quieter.

But there's one person who's always in Charlie's corner: her best friend Amelia. Slim. Popular. Athletic. Totally dope. So when Charlie starts a tentative relationship with cute classmate Brian, the first worthwhile guy to notice her, everything is perfect until she learns one thing—he asked Amelia out first. So is she his second choice or what? Does he even really see her?

Because it's time people did.

A sensitive, funny, and painful coming-of-age story with a wry voice and tons of chisme, Fat Chance, Charlie Vega tackles our relationships to our parents, our bodies, our cultures, and ourselves.

Let the discussion begin...

Crystal: Fat Chance, Charlie Vega made me smile just when I needed plenty of smiles. Over the past twelve months, I’ve found myself picking up many more rom-coms than usual. Even with the difficulties that the main character might face, readers still get to hope for at least a partially happy or hopeful ending and that is what I’ve been craving. Stories that deliver some joy can sure make a day brighter and Charlie’s story, totally did that for me.

K. Imani: I so agree. I’ve been doing the same over the past year and I really needed this sweet story. Like you Charlie’s story made me smile so many times. I loved how much she grew in this story and how she had such a loving heart.

Jessica: Ditto! There were so many times I looked up from reading and realized I was actually, physically smiling. I can’t get enough of YA romance right now.

Audrey: Fat Chance, Charlie Vega had some incredibly sweet and genuinely happy moments, and I was really glad we all agreed on this one for our first book discussion this year. That’s not to say there aren’t hard parts in this book--there are some that hit incredibly close to home--but it was so very nice to settle down with a book that had promised us an uplifting ending. I plowed through it in just two days and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Crystal: I found the cover to be simply lovely. Charlie is gorgeous and looks like she’s feeling beautiful in the midst of the flowers and warm colors. And she’s wearing glasses. I’ve worn glasses for most of my life, but when I was young, I thought nobody sophisticated or beautiful wore them if they could help it. Ruse by Cindy Pon, When Dimple Met Rishi (back of cover) and Slay by Brittney Morris are really the only other YA book covers I can think of that feature a main character with glasses. Mei in American Panda references her nearsightedness, but her mother says that “no woman is attractive in glasses” so Mei doesn’t wear them. Maybe there are other books, but there certainly aren’t many so it was fun to see Charlie rocking her glasses.

K. Imani: Fellow glasses wearer here too and I loved that the cover had Charlie wearing her glasses and that throughout the book she would fiddle with her glasses. It was such a small thing, but I loved how Maldonado wrote the little habits glass wearers do that are tied to how we’re feeling, use as a distraction, etc, that our glasses are really an extension of our being.

Jessica: Fat Chance, Charlie Vega definitely was one of my favorite YA covers to come out in recent years. The colors, the character, the font! Everything about the cover was just so gorgeous.

Audrey: I adore the cover. Not just because Charlie is a fat, glasses-wearing Latina like me but also because it reminded me a lot of Charlie’s references to the body positivity and fat fashion movements. The cover could be an Instagram post--Charlie front and center, looking right at the camera, all dressed up and with a gorgeous background behind her. Ericka Lugo, the Puerto Rican illustrator who designed the cover, did a phenomenal job.

Crystal: Charlie is delightful, but her relationships are seriously complicated. She has some work to do in her relationships with her mom, food, her best friend, her crushes, and most importantly with herself. This is the messiness that makes Charlie’s story feel real. The book did make me smile, but there are some struggles here too and I appreciated that Maldonado let us see Charlie do some hard work.

K. Imani: I feel like all the messiness from Charlie’s relationships is what really connected me to her. No one is perfect 100% of the time and sometimes we get into our own heads and can sabotage ourselves with our relationships. The thing with Charlie is that she learned from it, told people how she felt and made amends. Such great personal growth that is a tough journey to go on, but one we humans do on a constant basis.

Jessica: I loved that the book didn’t shy away from the messiness and complicated aspects of Charlie’s relationships, particularly with her best friend and her mother. I especially loved how Charlie’s relationships tangibly changed and grew as the book progressed -- she called out her mother on her mother’s toxic behavior, and got to a better place with Amelia. So many complex relationships were in play, and the nuance given to each relationship was really incredible.

Audrey: I think some of the most honest parts in this book were when Charlie knew--intellectually--that there was absolutely nothing wrong with being fat, that being fat doesn’t mean unhealthy or unloveable, but she was still affected by those messages and ideas. She still bought into some of them even while acknowledging they were wrong and unfair. It was rough to see her deal with those things and how they affected her own self-esteem and her relationships with others, but it was also incredibly genuine.

Crystal: Many of the issues with relationships are tangled up in how Charlie sees her body. She’s fat and is working hard to have a good and positive relationship with her body, but this is a journey that has ups and downs especially since it seems that some people aren’t willing to accept Charlie as she is. Her own mother seems to think Charlie’s body is not beautiful at the present size and thinks losing weight is essential for Charlie’s happiness. The U.S. culture strongly equates worth with our beauty standards and many of us don’t see how damaging this can be for ourselves and others. Readers can even see this in the relationship Charlie’s mother has with her own body.

K. Imani: Charlie’s relationship with her mother bothered me so much and showed how toxic our society is towards women’s bodies that her mother didn’t even realize she was hurting her child. I’m glad that Charlie sought out the body positive movement and referenced it a number of times throughout the book so folks could see how seeing yourself represented living a fully happy life, despite your size, is life affirming. It definitely was a nice juxtaposition to the messages she was receiving from her mother. On a side note, I really enjoyed how Charlie was a secret clothes hoarder and that she had a great sense of fashion.

Jessica: I sound like a broken record now, but I’m seriously in awe of how Charlie’s relationships -- particularly with her mother -- are portrayed. It’s messy, and tough, and I absolutely cheered when Charlie really told her mother how she felt. I also loved how the story depicted Charlie’s own not-so-linear journey when it came to her self-esteem, and the role that online communities played in that. Sometimes it’s easy to think of the internet as just a place of toxicity and trolls, but the truth is that there are so many wonderful communities online.

Audrey: Charlie’s relationship with her mom was so difficult and complicated, especially with her mother having put so much effort into losing weight and being able to keep it off. At one point Charlie acknowledges that her mom probably doesn’t even realize she’s being cruel. It was such a relief when Charlie was finally able to express her feelings about her mom’s behavior and comments. It didn’t magically make things better, but Charlie was able to say what she really thought and tell her mother that she was hurting her. There were a lot of painful conversations in this book, but in the end they helped Charlie sort out her important relationships and her feelings about herself.

Crystal: I agree with Brian and Charlie that Valentine’s Day isn't always great for everyone. The heart-meltingly sweet way that Brian dealt with that made me smile. To later find out that Crystal Maldonado experienced something very similar with her husband when they were younger made it even sweeter.

K. Imani: I loved what Brian did for Charlie, and their classmates, on Valentine’s day. It was so sweet and moving and definitely endeared me to his character.

Jessica: Regarding the valentines: Gasp. I did not know that! That’s so sweet. Wow.

Audrey: That’s so sweet! I really liked reading about Brian and Charlie’s relationship. The Valentine’s Day scene was incredibly endearing, and their bookstore date was also lovely. There were several great moments between them as their romance developed. I especially appreciated that Charlie--a fat character!--got to want and enjoy things like hand holding and kissing and being attracted to someone and feeling attractive. I loved all of that.

Crystal: I think we can all agree that reading this book was a delight. We recommend it especially if you’re looking for something to give you a little joy. If you’ve read it, please share your thoughts on the blogpost or on our Twitter account. We’d love to hear from you.

[boopernatural]

Brooklyn Nine Nine: Season 1 Episode 10 “Thanksgiving”

This episode will always have a special place in my heart, and there are a few reasons why.

1. Amy’s fight for a mentor

It’s no secret that throughout the earlier seasons Amy is constantly fighting for Holt’s approval and willingness to shepherd her. She has big aspirations and consistently fulfills the role of a “teachers pet” in the hopes this will help her achieve her goals. For the most part, Holt is fairly unresponsive to her advances and generally focuses on Jake, who is much more in need of guidance that the already independent Amy (whether she knows it or not.) However, in this episode we get to see some of Amy’s networking finally pay off. The entire episode she is trying to read Holt a lengthy, convoluted thanksgiving essay that essentials tells him how much she respects and values him. She is unable to read it to him, but Gina gives it to Holt without telling Amy. After their night is ruined and Amy has finally given up, Holt takes a moment to tell her what he liked about the essay. He is a pragmatic man, so he compliments the grammar and font usage, but also gives her advice on diction. This is exactly what Amy has been looking for: approval with a little side of wisdom. It’s a nice moment to see her finally get a little bit of the mentoring she so eagerly craves.

2. Charles saves Thanksgiving

Though the episode begins with the entire squad making fun of him (using Boyle Bingo to predict his mannerisms and phrasing for the holiday) Charles stays positive and excited to celebrate Thanksgiving with the team. This is a character who is constantly the voice of optimism and kindess in the group, the one who reminds the others that even in their difficult world, compassion is always an option. The audience gets to see that really shine in this episode, as he spends the whole arc trying to keep everyone’s spirits up, and eventually putting together a huge feast for the entire squad at the precinct. It was a nice, refreshing reminder of genuine goodness and a very uplifting moment for Charles as a person. The squad is lucky to have him.

3. Jake’s dynamic storyline

Right off the bat, Jake is quick to express a dislike for Thanksgiving. His mother worked on the holiday (since we learn later that she is a teacher, it’s safe to assume she picked up multiple jobs to pay bills) and his father had left. He stayed home alone, watching football and eating spoonfuls of mayo and peanuts, a delicacy only a six year old could create. Jake is resistant to submitting to new traditions other than ones he’s familiar with, or views as safe. Staying home on Thanksgiving alone and doing what he’s done his whole life is, at first, more preferable to him than admitting he’s found a new family in his squad. He spends the entire episode working a case with Holt, trying to prolong it as much as possible to avoid going to Amy’s dinner. There are several great moments of bonding between the two, whether it’s Holt playing along with Jake’s goofy undercover characters, or sharing details of his own childhood and reminding Jake that he has a new family now in the nine nine. After they solve the case (Jake’s impressive detective skills are also subtlety highlighted several times throughout the episode: discovering their perp during a food fight and taking down a lookout at a gambling venue) Holt returns to the precinct to find the whole squad there. Charles kicks off their feast, but before they start, Jake shows up, dressed fancier than we’ve ever seen him. He simply says that Amy told them to dress up, and sits down to enjoy the feast with his found family. It’s a fulfilling and wholesome moment that shows the audience how capable he is of adapting and growing, especially with people in his life like Holt and the team. Jake’s development continues far past small moments like these, but in it’s earliest season, B99 does an incredible job of peppering in life lessons and slow building growth for Jake Peralta.

Each cast member has their own moments to shine in this episode, but I was most moved by these storylines. This show certainly has a skill for balancing a large team and progressing it’s main characters in an organic, moving way.

[mimzy-writing-online]

Writing A Blind of Visually Impaired Character: Mannerisms

This post is part of a multi-step guide to writing blind characters, and it’s master post to all parts is linked here: https://mimzy-writing-online.tumblr.com/post/185122795699/writing-a-blind-or-visually-impaired-character

All posts on writing blind characters will be tagged #blindcharacter for you to search on my blog for.

Follow this blog for more writing advice

Disclaimer: I am a very real visually impaired person who has been living with my disability for two years and these are little things I specifically do, little mannerisms that developed because of my blindness

Part Five: Blindisms or Mannerisms that Breathe Life into Your Characters

Biological Things

-My eyes get tired so easily, and when I say tired I mean they start aching and my vision gets even worse as the day progresses. The muscles start to ache and I’ll press or pinch the area around my eyes because of the pain

-Eye strain will cause headaches. When I get eyestrain I have to take off my glasses, stop looking at screens, and just relax for a while in bed until my eyes feel a little better.

-Weather has a huge impact on how I see, and any light sensitive person with a fair amount of remaining vision will probably have the same problem. Light sensitive people will find sunny days much harder, but overcast days can be a little difficult too because the sun tends to diffuse all across the sky through the clouds and the entire sky is bright

-Snow. This isn’t a me thing because I don’t live in this climate and never have to deal with it, but snow days are incredibly disorientating to people with vision issues. It covers any ground land marks you might use to know where you are (sidewalk versus grass versus street)

-Rain puddles are difficult to see and obnoxious to walk through, and your cane just sloshes through them (my mom usually warns me in advance and tells me how to avoid them)

Hobbies and Interests

-We’re actually not bared from many hobbies and activities. There are some very athletic blind people out there who play sports. Molly Burke used to rock climb and teach at a rock climbing gym when she was younger, she also learned to surf at one point. She’s gone bungee jumping and sky diving. There are lots of athletic blind people out there.

-Martial arts is very possible for blind people and certain organizations for the blind teach self defense classes. So, in case any of you were mad at me for saying you shouldn’t write Daredevil, my point is that you shouldn’t give your blind character unrealistic super senses. Your blind character can still kick some ass when needed.

-I play video games. It’s not impossible, although it is very hard for me. I still love it. I personally play Overwatch on PC and I’ve been playing Sims for years

-Reading is something a lot of blind people enjoy, and it’s sometimes described as the blind person’s version of TV, a way for them to see in their minds eyes what they can’t see with TV. So for this reason I have and will continue to tell you to keep your blind readers in mind and not traumatize, kill, assault, or victimize your blind characters for plot.

-We read in different ways. Some only read through audio books, some read through screen readers, some read on their tablets or laptops because they can enlarge font, some read printed books with magnifiers. It all heavily depends on how much sight your character has left and where they like to get their reading material. For example, if you read fanfiction a lot you will probably have to rely on screen readers on your laptops to read to you, but if you like reading published books then you will rely more on audio books.

-We do watch TV and movies, even if we can’t see the screen at all. Some movies and tv shows come with audio description for the blind, and they describe visual details on screen. You have access to lots of examples of this, because Netflix does have audio description for a lot of their shows and movies. Check audio description on your favorite Netflix Original and minimize your browser window to the background to experience movie going the blind way

-We can cook, and sometimes amazingly. Christine Hà is a blind chef who won the third season of master chef and she is amazing. She published her own cookbook too. Some schools for the blind will offer cooking classes as part of their rehabilitation services

-Art. I recommend hopping on google and checking out some blind artists out there. I’m sure you’ll be surprised by a few. There are painters, sculptors, pottery makers, photographers, and many more. My second blind character is learning to draw in school and will over time develop his own cartoonish style of drawing.

-Music. Yeah, I know I said I didn’t want to see the blind music prodigy again, but that’s because I wanted to see you guys come up with your own stories and your own unique characters. There are some wonderful blind musicians and your blind character deciding to learn to play an instrument for the first time during the course of your story would actually be pretty cool.

Theatre. It would be really cool to see some acting blind characters. Doctor Who had Ellie Wallwork, a blind actress play a blind character on their eleventh season. She was amazing and I really loved that episode, it was my favorite in the whole season. (I also adore Jodie Whittaker)

There are so many more hobbies that you can have, even with vision loss. Some might require you to adjust how you do that hobby, but with the right accommodations you can do just about anything really. (Except drive. Please don’t drive.)

Little Enjoyable Things

-Interesting textures. The less your characters see, the more obsessed they get with interesting textures. Hard ceramic mugs with decorative bumps, soft and fluffy blankets, crochet blankets and pillows, tile lines and patterns, any raised surface like slightly raised letters on a book cover, rocks with interesting but not too sharp textures. The more vision loss you have, the more you rely on your hands and your hands become a way of seeing for you.

-I have bought bumpy mugs and soft blankets and textured pillows for exactly this reason. My fingers touched them and just enjoyed the hell out of it.

-Your hands becoming a way for you to see makes you want to touch everything (except faces) Shopping in stores is especially bad because I’m touching everything even though I have quite a bit of sight left.

-There are favorite outfits, purely because what you’re wearing has the comfiest texture

-Soothing sounds and music. I’m not big into ASMR but some people might be. I like quiet background music

-Sometimes I tap my cane on pavement or other hard surfaces just to hear the way it sounds. I can’t echo-locate, most people can’t, but it’s a weird form of sensory

-Loud environments where sounds seem to come from all directions is overwhelming and not enjoyable

Cane Safety Things

-Bring your cane everywhere

-Have a backup cane when travelling long distance in case something goes wrong

-Don’t ever touch my cane. I mean it, don’t! My cane is an extra limb, it is part of my body and I get incredibly nervous when people touch it, especially if I don’t know them well. I only trust a few people to hold my cane with them for even a minute (my mom, maybe my best friend if I’m trying to put on a sweater and can’t hold it the whole time)

-Cane height: your character’s cane should be as tall as their shoulder, at least, or maybe a few inches taller to their chin.

-Because of this I like to lean forward and rest my chin on my cane when I’m bored and waiting for something (like a line)

-In general I just fidget with my cane so much

-You can actually get custom canes. I have a cane with a royal purple tip instead of red. You can get a cane that’s entirely pink or blue or black or whatever. You can add reflective tape to make you more visible.

-Some people prefer long canes that don’t fold, some people prefer folding canes. It’s really a personal decision. I’ve heard long canes are better for tactile feedback because the vibrations when they hit an object or tap the ground are more accurate. I like folding canes because I like storing it away when I don’t need it right away (in class, sitting at a booth in a restaurant, in my backpack) My preference for folding canes goes back to my paranoia of people touching it when I’m not paying attention

-Long canes that don’t fold are not easy to fit into cars and you need to get creative.

Guide Dog Things / Animal Things

-I will include a more serious list about guide dogs in my Part Four about tools and things blind people use to survive (canes, guide dogs, accessibility tools, braille) but for now this is more of a fun list

-I can’t say this from personal experience because I have never had a guide dog, but I’ve had pets and let me tell you, everyone loves spoiling their pets with gifts and hugs and pets

-Soft animals are so fun to pet

-Please tell me when there’s a cat nearby, even if I can’t pet it. I love cats? Wild bunnies too? (I’m super allergic to bunnies, I should never pet them, but I love their existence, they’re so cute)

-Some blind people are not dog people and will not get a guide dog for this reason. They are still valid. People who aren’t dog people are still valid, regardless of ability or disability.

General Safety Things

-Depending on the orientation and mobility skills of your character, they may not feel super comfortable walking out alone, and this comes down to how much training they have, how independent they are, and if they’re generally and anxious person or a self-assured person. Some blind people are great at inner city travel and can do so confidently, others feel less confident (I’m personally not great at crossing busy streets by myself and parking lots are scary to me)

-They may not like bars or nightclubs- this comes down to who your character is. Bars and nightclubs are loud, it’s hard to talk, they’re crowded so using a cane or guide dog isn’t easy or sometimes possible. They’re also poorly lit and if your character has some remaining vision but is night blind, this is especially bad. Because of how preyed upon women are, especially disabled women, your character probably won’t feel safe in a bar or nightclub because they know creeps might target them because they can’t see

-Being blind, you develop this awareness that there are predators out there in the world who see your blindness as something to exploit, that will make you easy to assault or abuse.

NOTE: please don’t use this as an excuse to write a rape as part of your plot. The general consensus of readers has come to the conclusion that using rape as something to further your plot is a terrible thing to do, it is cheap and unoriginal plot development and that you shouldn’t do it. You especially shouldn’t put your blind characters through something traumatic like this. Seriously guys, blind people are coming to your stories because they want to see themselves represented. Seeing themselves victimized will only hurt them. DON’T hurt your readers like that

-Because of this awareness of how vulnerable you can be, you learn to walk in groups and avoid places where predators frequent (bars and nightclubs)

God, this thing is getting long and there are so many other little blindisms that I’ve probably not thought of yet. I will probably make more posts in the future about blindness, including little stories or things I experience.

Follow this blog for more writing advice (and posts about experiencing the blind life)

[arteducation]

Powtoon: ITEC Tool Time Showcase

By Erika Folk

· Tool Name:

POWTOON

· Tool Creator/Company:

o Ilya Spitalnik, Daniel Zaturansky

· Cost:

o Basic Subscription (Free), Pro Subscription ($19/mo or $2228/year), Pro+ ($49/mo or $588/year), Agency ($89/mo or $1068/year)

· Platform (iOS, Android, Mac, PC, etc.…):

o Windows, Mac, PC, Android, iOS

· Target audience

o Teachers, students, Company: Human Resources, Internal Communication (employees), Marketing

· Features

o Allows users to make professional-grade videos and animations.

· Details: PowToon allows users, with easy to follow guides and access to a variety of assets and resources, even at the basic level, to make videos and animations to present information. You can use the PowerPoint extension to recreate your PowerPoints into videos. You can also use the Adobe extension to incorporate Photoshop aspects into your work as well.

· Usability

o The basic form of PowToon is quite easy to use, only requiring an email or simple login in information. All the individual needs are access to some form of Wi-Fi or internet source. Once the account is made, the video-making can begin through the use of tutorials to walk you through the process.

· Aesthetics

o PowToon is an organized tool, breaking down the aspects of its site by the workspace, the different resources for different clients, the prices, other resources for the site itself, and so forth. The color scheme of the website itself is white and a bold blue to help it stand out. The font is clean and forward, and everything is easy to read and follow along with.

· Technical issues/concerns

o Some technical issues that may arise would be having a device that is stable enough to be able to work on creating the video properly. Different devices and applications may present the screen differently which may change the aspects of what tools are easily presented. The saving process may also be different compared to other video editing programs so some users may find saving their work to their account and on their desktop difficult.

· Value

o I do think that this website is worth the money is that they yearly plans are not only saving you between nearly seventy to eighty percent sale off versus the month pay out but with the plans, you immediately gain access to more resources. With the different per package, you get increased storage, more access, unlimited premium exports, you get the opportunity to build your characters with certain packages and you even gain third party seller rights, something to which can be proved beneficial in the chance that others may want to use your assets.

· Emotional Reaction

o I was quite shocked to come across this tool because of its easy usage and guidelines along with its accessibility. I always felt as though animating videos and creating them were so difficult to do. It also felt like there was nobody to teach me how to use it. With PowToon however, it is so much easier to understand and take part in and be a part of the experience of making those fun, memorable infographics a lot of my teachers and professors like to share with us.

· Recommendations for educational usage

o I would recommend this outlet to teachers and students being that many businesses use this when it comes to human resourcing and animation. I feel it should be first introduced to the teachers, not only as a way of learning themselves how to make their videos to present their information in a new and exciting way with their visuals but also learn it that way when it is the students time to use it, they can help the students learn how to use it if they are having difficulty following along with them. This tool can be used, from my perspective as an art teacher, a news outlet and experience for students to use as video making/ editing/ animation is a genre of art in its own and I would like for my students to have that opportunity to be able to see if maybe that is the outlet for them to express.

· ASSURE

· A — Analyze learners-->

o This tool can help in analyzing one’s ability to retain visual and auditory information through a series of digital media presentations. This can also help analyze students via the different styles and methods to which they create their content and then see how the students are understanding the program, liking the process, see where they do and don’t understand, having ease and difficulties.

· S — State standards & objectives-->

o This tool has the capability of meeting learning objectives in the art classroom as it is not only able to be used as a method of interaction and presentation of their activities and information, but it can also help students develop their skills and create their presentations to show what they have learned from the standards through creative visuals.

· S — Select strategies, technology, media & materials-->

o PowToon allows students to interact with the new forms of learning materials as well as an artistic digital platform for the students to be able to try with and experiment with. They also get the opportunity to learn about other platforms such as PowerPoint and Photoshop to add to their repertoire of digital skills that they can then use towards presenting information in their other classes.

· U — Utilize technology, media & materials-->

O Students can no only have a new way of having information presented to teachers in a more personalized matter as we, the educators, can begin to make our content and personalize it towards the broader learning capacity of the classrooms. The students also can then take that interest in that personalized learning experience and put it into the won work that they can then use to re-install the information.

· R — Require learner participation-->

o Powtoon has the chance to increase learner participation because the information and animations can be personalized to the students and the classroom for easier understandability.

· E — Evaluate & revise-->

o I believe that this tool can be highly meaningful in revising instruction because of that personalization in expressing information as well as personal student expression. The art classroom has many mediums to which the children use to learn as the curriculum changes and grows more advanced and requiring the students to learn more skills, I feel as though this multi-dimensional outlet can help to make instruction meaningful and easier to retain.

[makerofrunevests]

Author Interview with Hazel B. West, author of The New Emperor’s Concerto

Hello, Hazel! Could you introduce yourself?

Sure! I’m Hazel West, indie author, all around bookish person, addicted to coffee, probably a hobbit, or sometimes just an eldricth horror.

Who are your favorite fictional characters whom you have not created?

Such a difficult question. I mean, I love a lot of the characters from LotR, Bilbo and Aragorn being at the top of the list, but there’s a lot of other characters. Sherlock Holmes is also a favorite. Have to say Dean Winchester too, because he just is. Too many others to count…

And what is your current favorite non-literary hobby?

Well, I actually just started getting into journal making and book binding which I am quite enjoying. I find it a very relaxing and rewarding hobby, and I am always using journals and notebooks anyway, and now I can make my own! I have also started to learn more comic style drawing, which I have found to be very fun.

What inspired The New Emperor’s Concerto?

Partly the fact that I have always wanted to write a story where a hero and a villain have to work together. It didn’t end up being the way I expected that story to go. It was also because I have become very disillusioned by super hero stories, which is why it was originally supposed to be a super hero story—which it isn’t anymore. At the end of the day, it’s a conglomeration of multiple things, one of which is Good Omens, which you’ll realize gets referenced in the book actually.  

Do you have a favorite character in it?

I have to say it’s Eidolon, or Oliver Flynn which is his non-codename. I knew I was going to love him as soon as I started writing this book, and that opinion hasn’t changed. Because how can you not love an anarchist who really only cares about reading books with his cat?

What were the best and worst parts of writing it?

Honestly, and I don’t get to say this often, I didn’t have a lot of bad parts writing this book. The story came to me pretty much finished and I wrote it so quickly, it didn’t feel like there was a lot of grief at all. This was one of those books where the characters kind of run the show and as they talked to me almost constantly while I was in the process of writing this one, it went pretty quickly. I finished it within a month and a half.

What are its most important themes?

I think probably the biggest theme is staying true to yourself before anything and fighting for what it right, no matter what side you’re on. And that sometimes you may have to make the difficult decisions for the good of many.

Whom would you recommend The New Emperor’s Concerto for?

Anyone who enjoys just a good action adventure story, or a buddy story, that plays with clichés and drops them on their head a lot. This book also has a lot of literary and pop culture references so I think readers with that inclination would probably enjoy this one.

And a random question, mostly of interest to writers: What are your prefered drafting tool (such as Google Docs or Word) and your preferred drafting font?

I always use Word, and will typically use Cambria for drafting, as I find it easy to read both on the computer and printed. Synopsis and outlines are all written by hand though.

Thanks for having me!

Links:

The New Emperor’s Concerto on Goodreads Hazel’s Goodreads Author page Hazel’s Twitter Hazel’s Instagram Ko-fi (anyone who donates or subscribes to Hazel’s ko-fi this month will be able to see an exclusive sneak peek of the next book in the Concerto universe, Requiem in Red.)

You can buy The New Emperor’s Concerto here:

Amazon Kindle Paperback Smashwords

[atmperson61]

Api Testing As Well As How To Do It

Java Online Examination

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Content

Qualified Software Application Test Automation Engineer.

Automation Testing Resources.

Test Automation With Selenium Webdriver.

Leading Tips For Knowing Java Programming.

Create A Junit Test Course

Is Java a dying language?

Python is recognized as an official language at Google, it is one of the key languages at Google today, alongside with C++ and Java. Some of the key Python contributors are Googlers and they continue to use, promote, and support the language actively.

Usage different sorts of Varieties, Course String, and also normal expression. Know how to utilize various modules to solve various obstacles. Register currently to obtain once a week automation, efficiency, and protection testing from a few of the leading professionals in the industry. Kuldeep is the founder as well as lead author of ArtOfTesting.

After that this training can assist, if you don't believe of them as collections. Do you mix Cucumber with JUnit, or are all your tests composed utilizing Cucumber?

Licensed Software Program Examination Automation Architect.

Yes, it works on a several systems such as UNIX, Windows, Mac OS. The Java language's shows is based on the idea of OOP. We will see this thoroughly in later part of this Java Tutorial. Do you think of Selenium WebDriver, RestAssured as well as Cucumber as tools or as libraries that you make use of to support your automating?

Automation Testing Resources.

What happens if you only learn to code with libraries, instead of finding out exactly how to code the fundamentals well. Demos of real-time coding and completing a few of the exercises to demonstrate how to make use of the IDE and follow a TDD coding design from the beginning. For unskilled attendees this is useful since it shows what is feasible and also provides a begin on the answers.

Computer is a course which has 2 qualities particularly Version and Cost. Apple as well as Lenovo are the objects of the class Computer. To comprehend what is a class and also object carefully, allow me offer you a fundamental example related to a computer system. Java is a high-level programs language originally established by Sun Microsystems in 1995.

Lees verder With Selenium Webdriver.

Is Java in high demand?

9, found that Java lost popularity in September, with an estimated 17.9 percent of developers using it as opposed to 18.8 percent in the previous month's index. Java still finished as the top language, but if the downward trend continues, the C language, ranked second with 17.7 percent of users, will be No.

For more skilled attendees they can see the distinction in coding strategy from other languages as well as will find coding nuances that much less experience attendees are not quite prepared to take on yet. Employing good testers who can code, is difficult - it might be far better to 'expand' them, in which case they require excellent training.

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For instance, the character 'w' on its own will be interpreted as 'match the personality w', but utilizing '\ w' signifies 'match an alpha-numeric character consisting of highlight'.

\ Utilized to show that the following personality should NOT be analyzed essentially.

For example, the '.' metacharacter implies 'match any kind of single personality however a new line', yet if we prefer to match a dot personality rather, we would certainly utilize '\.'.

Leading Tips For Knowing Java Programs.

Declaring an approach in youngster course which is already present in the parent class is called Approach Overriding. At bezoek deze pagina , Java knows which technique to conjure up by examining the technique signatures. So this is called assemble time polymorphism or fixed binding.

Can I learn Java in 6 months?

You can learn the basic in two months if you put the time into doing so. However, learning how to design and implement a real world Java application correctly based on a detailed design doc will take more experience.

Should I learn Java or JavaScript?

Even with competition from new languages, the demand for Java developers remains strong. In fact, Java is among the most in-demand programming languages on the job market, depending on whose numbers you look at. Today, Java is the most popular choice for writing Android apps.

We produce an Item by invoking the producer of a course with the brand-new key phrase. Computer is a class name followed by the name of the recommendation laptop. After that there is a "new" key phrase which is used to allocate memory. Finally, there is a contact us to constructor "Computer()". This phone call initializes the brand-new object "brand-new Computer()".

This allows the handling of various runtime exceptions using shot, catch, finally key words. OOPS ideas-- In this tutorial, we will find out about the OOPS or the Object-Oriented Programming idea in Java. After that, we will research the 4 columns of OOPS-- Inheritance, Encapsulation, Polymorphism, and also Abstraction carefully with the help of instances and also code snippets. The Java programs language utilizes exemptions to deal with mistakes and various other extraordinary occasions. In order to use an abstract method, you need to bypass that technique in below class.

He is competent in examination automation, performance testing, large data, as well as CI-CD. He brings his years of experience to his existing function where he is committed to informing the QA professionals. Exception Handling in Java-- In this tutorial, we will discover Exception handling which is one of the most essential functions of Java programs.

Hands-on-- Operators, Conditionals, Loops to fix difficulties. Practical usage of Techniques, Class, as well as Things for solutions. Read and also compose data from the Console, Text data, Excel, and also Database.

Hope you have actually heard a phrase "Instantiating a class". The expression "Instantiating a course" suggests the exact same point as "Producing an Object" which we carried out in the above program. Whenever you develop an Item, it implies you are producing a circumstances of a course, consequently "instantiating a course". Customer defined approaches accept any kind of names which a programmer assigns.

[sugar-petals]

Fic Research 101

A general guideline with various tips and tricks.

What for?

Even if you’re the type who can construct giant fantasy worlds out of thin literary air, research makes the difference and can bring you a lot of enjoyment once the story becomes its own universe. Expanding the horizon is 100% worth it. For beginners, advanced writers, and experts equally. Readers always notice and cherish that level of detail. Even Terry Pratchett preoccupied himself with geography, history, art, or science books. And anything else that would catch his eye, not worrying about whether it was considered cheesy, odd, or stale bread. It was simply for the sake of interest and passion. What I found noteworthy: He actually preferred it over reading stories of his genre (!) as not to reiterate things subconsciously, i.e., what other authors researched and repurposed. We saw the result: He built believable, unique worlds. It doesn’t mean that you have to eschew reading entirely or need to create a groundbreaking universe. It’s just important to be aware how habitual input shapes what knowledge we believe is possible to cover in our stories.

Where/How

Sometimes, it does depend on how you search, not where. The — often grammatical — quality of your search engine request determines the character of what you receive. My favorite trick is to look for “types of [research subject]”. That gives me a wide array of what exists, how it looks like, and also possible substitutions should something not work out. It’s also easy on non-native speakers because definitions will come your way like that. 

Mentality also matters. You can approach it like an academic looking for data or a creator of imaginary worlds curious about what people do. It will reflect in your story, big time. So it’s important to keep your style in mind even when you look up menial things, either can work.

When

It can be fun to figure out what kind of researcher you are. Either the one taking in all information first. As in, watching a documentary and then creating a spin-off in your AU. Or the one researching while writing. The advanced form for those with a lot of time on their hands is doing both. It will boil down to how good your long-term VS short-term memory is.

Alienating VS Involving The Audience

A tricky question remains what readers will understand and how they can ease into stories with extensive research. In my eyes, even if there is something they are unfamiliar with, the appeal of the story is times higher when the author goes some extra miles or has notable immersive details as the cherry on top. 

The real bad guy that you have to watch out for are complex highbrow words for embellishment that a) nobody has ever heard of b) can’t be logically understood by looking at the situation. 

"The family prepared the gallimaufry” will deter readers times more than “Catherine the Great died aged 67″. Because Catherine the Great is self-explanatory and well-known, but nobody has an idea that gallimaufry is a fancy old synonym for ‘stew’. So rather go for Catherine the Great even if the gallimaufry might be period-typical and sounds hilarious. The rule of thumb is: If you give enough context so the reader doesn’t have to research endlessly themselves, you can pull it off, particularly with readers who are native speakers. It’s more difficult with non-native speakers, but I would trust them to look something up if the vocabulary is entirely foreign to them. If you’re in doubt about that, simply provide more background information and describe things viscerally, maybe with a simile or metaphor. 

So, unless you put it in the title (that’s a different topic), peppering your story with super fancy words from 200 AD that only you know can make you come across as a show-off trying to be way above the audience, while appropriate research and context makes you look like an artist who loves making stories and gives their readers an experience. I know, long fancy words are tempting, but try to keep them at a minimum if possible. Particularly when your AU is not historical or doesn’t feature fantasy elements. If you do write fantasy and drop something like say Latin as in Harry Potter (the spells), it helps to have a character who inquires about the word from another person in the fic. You give the reader a self-insert for that situation to learn about it. The same goes for new terms you come up with.

About Learning

This one is a big deal. Definitely figure out what type of learner you are (visual, auditory, etc), and what types of intelligence you are good at (logical, musical, linguistic, etc). Once you know how you retain information best, the world is easier. Many authors see research as an unwanted chore just because they take in useful information the wrong way. We all are curious creatures, it just depends on how things are presented to us. Once we find our forte, research loses much of its exhaustion, fear, and pressure.

Beware of comparison with other writers here. E.g. spatial-logical talents will be good at worldbuilding, while kinesthetic-literary talents will write authentic eroticism and action. We all have our niche and modes of brain function, sometimes it’s good to stick to your gifts instead of competing out of envy — which brings us back to Terry Pratchett and reiteration. Mind you, do experiment, do consider various ways of learning, what I mean is that you can make a story work faster knowing your potential in several areas.

Research Topic Masterposts

Perhaps you’ve seen them, the ones helping you construct a realistic XYZ scene. I know the hype around them, the effort is impressive, definitely keep it on your radar. Still, a word of caution. It’s often something you reblog for reference because you see all the options in one place but never go back to it. It can derail your research process immensely, too. The reason: It appears randomly, not when you need it. Heading out to research via browser in the right moment often yields more fitting results and options. After all, the person making the masterpost linked you guides to topics of their preference, often their stories’ research process, which can be far away from yours. I’ve often run into linked articles that are either too advanced or straightforward, it’s a bit of a Russian roulette to find the right insight. Which the masterpost creator obviously can’t and doesn’t have to anticipate, by all means — the same principle applies to this post, you have to cherrypick what resonates. 

The problem is that you can’t know how useful to you personally the links are at first glance when you just reblog for later reference. Combing through the links and visiting a bunch to see if it is any good takes forever compared to a 10 sec google search. Ironically, you’d think someone else, maybe a more experienced author, doing the work for you spares you effort and it’s convenient, but the opposite can be the case. Sometimes, you have to research from scratch and rely on your own gut. Should you still find a solid masterpost giving you precisely what you’re looking for, and you remember to go back to it — installing XKit helps with that, it has an archive function: Check the timestamp (also via XKit). If the post has been around for longer, many links might be dead so keep an eye on this. 

Wikipedia

Staring at black font against white forever can be frustrating and repetitive. Hyperlinks can distract, it consumes time. In some cases, infographics give you a quicker, more colorful outline with equal amounts of sources. Important: Remember the mentality bit. For some, inspiration comes first. In that regard, infographics can help you out further by providing a visual idea in terms of worldbuilding. If you are the data type and do juggle references, it might be a better idea trying Google scholar to find journals. Tip: Read their abstracts (the summary at the start) to get a quick overview. And then you’re ready to go. 

Handy Shortcuts

Disclaimer: Those are for Mac. For Windows: Use Ctrl instead of Cmd.

Cmd + F (search) finds the needle in a stack of hay. This one is essential. 

Cmd + T (open new tab) saves time.

Cmd + Z (undo) — every writer’s lifesaver, oh my god.

Cmd + A (select all) helps for copy paste. Mind you, don’t plagiarize.

Cmd + N (open new web page) for a blank slate, all other tabs stay open.

Cmd + down arrow brings you to the bottom of the page.

1) Cmd + Shift + 3 gives you a fast screenshot of the whole screen. 2) Cmd + Shift + 4 lets you select a rectangular/square area to screenshot. 

the screenshots will be saved on your desktop.

Windows doesn’t have 2) but uses “Print Screen” for 1).