#may add more to this later. there is so much.

[gordonengineswifenirmal]

I was physically healthier in grade school, but I had a lot going on emotionally. I had ppl calling me trans n lesbian before it was acceptable. Im cisgender n thought I was straight at the time. (I turned out to be very asexual). I started missing school because the emotional torment was too much.

The principal n teachers thought I was hearing voices - because I could not identify the harassers. They were in a younger grade, they harassed me for years in another school before they were old enough to attend this one. I didn’t know their names. I could pick out what they looked like if I’d seen them, but they would whisper it and run away.

I have never heard voices or seen things except when I was on some bad meds for depression that really didn’t agree. Never before or after. This particular incident was long after I’d been off those meds, n hadn’t been hearing voices at all. Never heard anything at home, on the high street. Also, this was before cell phones were a thing, so I couldn’t just snap a picture of them in the hall n b like here - these ruddy bastards did it.

I nearly quit school because of it. It still triggers things to this day. This is also why I’m extreme sensitive to being misgendered. It goes far beyond JUST being proud to b who u r n whatnot. The backstory is emotionally painful. Luckily, I was able to get home schooling after a real fight for it with the district. I probably fought for that shite more than most did for an education. I then went on to get 2 degrees, n help others get theirs.

The point is -

People need to listen. Actually listen. Don’t make arrogant assumptions. Instead of snide remarks n accusations, ask questions, try to help find solutions, try to better understand the situation. That kid who is in pain n missing school, or that kid who is traumatised by school probably has a reason. They’ve been ignored n shot down so many times, they’re probably afraid to speak up. Don’t add to that. Be the difference. Believe me, it can affect them later. You can honestly b part of the problem or part of the solution. You may be able to help more than one person, n it doesn’t take much.

Sadly though, people treat older folks the way they do kids. Have the same approach - and understand that writing them off is offensive for a reason. Just like a kid wants to genuinely be heard, so do we older folks. We have life experience. You don’t want to be insulted, talked down to, patronised, n made of? Neither do we. How do u avoid this? Don’t do it. Learn to communicate better, appropriately. You want to be valued too? U won’t be by treating others like shite. And for the younger lot - one day, u will get older. You might b in a position where u r mistreated by younger folks. Just remember that.

When I say “school should be disability accessible”, I don’t just mean we need handicap rails and EAs. Kids should be able to miss a day without failing out of school. You shouldn’t be dismissed from clubs because your attendance record is “spotty” (true story). I once missed an entire week of school because of a terrible, unending migraine. I was expected to keep up with my studies despite the blinding pain that came with working on my computer. When I heard my teachers say that you couldn’t miss exams, I asked what I would have to do to be excused from them. Their response? “Either get a doctor’s note an hour before the exam or death of an immediate family member.”

I cannot express how rigid this expectation was. First of all, with my condition, I wouldn’t have enough warning about my sickness to go to the doctor and request a note. For many people, this is exceptionally difficult, especially with the current shortage of medical professionals. Next, it ignores the fact that my schedule may not line with theirs because of my medical needs. Once, I had to visit a hospital a province away (which I was on the waiting list of for over a year) on the same day as an exam. I begged my mother not to take me because I was so nervous that I would be marked as an automatic fail. I was lucky enough to make it work, but that’s only because of my spectacular support system consisting of family members and wonderful doctors.

Disabilities aren’t always about needing a bus that can accommodate wheelchairs. It’s already difficult enough for many of us to maintain school attendance without the harsh punishments involved for skipping a day. We need to be able to miss school without being punished. Only than can you claim that the school is “accessible”

[newttxt]

hi quip! i really like your one piece comics and i am curious how you do them! i'm not good at comics and want to be better at drawing them! how do you learn how to make comics?

thank you!

uh oh... im afraid u have caught me at the perfect crossroad of "bored at work" and "unrelated task ive been meaning to do but keep putting off."

this is long. i hope you like reading (and grayscale progress pics). and of course!!! disclaimer before we begin that this is just how I, personally draw comics. there is no "right way."

quip's comic-making process!

Switching my typing to make this more legible...

My process can kinda be broken down into 6 steps:

Brainstorming

Thumbnailing

Sketching

Panels & Text

Lines

Tones/Colors

1. Brainstorming

My brain is a leaky sieve on a good day, so I sloppily jot down ideas in my phone notes the moment I have them. This helps me when it's time to draw too, because if I feel art blocked, I can look through old concepts and see what catches my interest.

Otherwise, I love drawing for other people's writing. :) And if worst comes to worst, doing manga/comic page redraws in my style teaches me new things every time.

Once I have my idea, I'll usually make a bulletpoint list of "plot points" or "story beats" I want. Then I plan the comic with this format that I've adapted from a tutorial I read once. I'm going to use my most recent comic (original comic post) as an example.

I start in the third column, writing notes of what I'd want to see in each panel. I also include the dialogue (in this case, I didn't have to write the dialogue! it's from the fanfic linked in the original comic post!). I usually write the whole name like [Luffy:], but at this point I've drawn so much of these guys, just the first letter works.

I like to handwrite these notes to get an idea for how much text I'm putting in a single panel.

After I describe all the panels, I go back and separate them into pages. I can't tell you how to know how many panels to a page. It's whatever works for you. I just kinda know about how big each panel will be, and so I can feel when I'm probably running out of space. (Also. You can change things later. I don't in this example, but I add/drop pages/panels all the time.)

2. Thumbnailing

Thumbnailing—as the name suggests—should be done tiny. Too tiny to accidentally get sucked into details.

This is about marking down blobs where items/characters go, and figuring out the paneling. I'll draw and redraw these a bunch of times too.

This is also the most time-consuming/brain-working part for me. If I were in a zine that did progress percentage, I'd try to finish thumbnailing around the 50% mark (but I'm also a moderately fast artist, so your mileage may vary).

I think the terrible quality makes them charming, actually. I really like how silly they look. :')))

I will add, when you draw your "page" rectangle, make sure it's the same proportions as your actual canvas for the final image. You want an accurate idea of how much space each panel will take up, especially if you have a lot of text.

3. Sketching

This is my most recent change to my usual workflow, and it's saving me a lot of time. I make my thumbnails a bit bigger (each one about half the size of the final canvas), and I sketch these basic body forms right over them.

It just helps give me placement for my actual lines!

I usually draw these in a paleish color so I can lower the opacity and not get distracted by them while lining. The random darker parts are to either help keep two forms separate (like when two characters have their limbs all over) or to better define sections that were too sloppy/poorly proportioned.

I also think this helps my poses stay looser, because I have more dramatic/wriggly shapes that aren't too bogged down by proportions yet.

Sidenote: I CANNOT show this here, but sometimes this is when I take videos. Of myself. I prop my phone camera up and shoot a video of me acting each panel. :/// It looks really dumb, but it also shows me fun body language ideas like hand gestures, expressions, weight distribution, etc. Just pretend you're an overdramatic cartoon character, and try not to worry about your roommates or mother walking in on you doing odd things. (You can also use the video for anatomy reference later, but I usually just capture the vibe and don't try to copy the actual video frame.)

4. Panels & Text

Oh, boy. So, the panels are usually just straight lines (though it's fun to make creative exceptions, like a round panel to mimic looking through a spyglass), but there are some fancy rules that I don't strictly adhere to.

I believe (I have no technical training in this. Take everything I say with a grain of salt) the vertical gaps (between two side-by-side panels) should all be a consistent width and the horizontal gaps (between two panels on top of each other) should be another. The vertical ones? Should be thinner? Because you want the eye to easily glide between them, whereas the horizontal gaps should be a visual barrier to keep you from jumping ahead. Just something I've vaguely noticed.

There are lots of fun "default layouts" you can look up. Or keep it a consistent grid. I think it's fun to sometimes have characters/objects sticking out of panels and overlapping others. This is just a matter of taste, creativity, and inspiration. (Read Witch Hat Atelier... It has some of my favorite paneling...)

You may also notice I have already done the speech bubbles. This is, to me, a crucial step. This helps me catch early if I don't have enough room for all the words. It also lets me plan the art in each panel with the speech bubbles in mind. There's nothing worse than working really hard on a panel, and then you realize there's no room for the bubbles.

I also try to lay them out in a way that guides the eye! Even without art, can people tell where to go next? Better yet, if I want people to look at panels out of order (aka not left to right, in my case), can I use the speech bubble path to make them? Here's just a vague example of what I mean.

As an added bonus, doing speech bubbles early also allows me to be lazy! :) Ignore the comic; I'm not supposed to post it yet oops,, There's a whole lot of drawing to do on each comic page, and I am not wasting my time on stuff that will be covered up. So yes, if I hide my bubbles, there are a lot of unfinished lines trailing off into nothing. (As a bonus, if there's a part of a character you're struggling with—and it won't look weird to do so—you can move speech bubbles to just hide the problem area yayyy)

Making the actual bubbles could be their own whole tutorial, tbh, but there are some general guidelines I use.

Zoom out when you choose your font size. You want to know how it will look to the average reader, so it isn't super teeny tiny or way too big. You generally want to keep the same text size for all your pages/bubbles.

When I draw bubbles, I try to size them about one vertical letter height (and some change) around the words [left side]. This isn't always the case though, because humorously large or funny shaped text bubbles can convey different feelings [right side].

On Procreate, I set my bubble lines to Reference and just drag-and-drop the white fill on a separate layer below the lines. (Remember to turn Reference back off again when you're done, or your fill bucket won't work right when you're drawing.)

To get the white outlines I use to keep the bubbles from cluttering up the art, I literally just Gaussian blur an all-white copy of the lines + fills... and then I copy and merge it 5 times until it's opaque enough. This is a terrible way to do it, but it works for me. :')

5. Lines

This is the part that I can't tell you how to do. I literally just. Draw right over my wacky sketched body forms. Boom. Comic drawn.

I'll make three suggestions:

Don't focus on making every panel perfect. Give a little extra love to big ones or ones you want people to linger on. Otherwise, know that people are typically speeding through the art. It's way more important to focus on storytelling than art technique. In my opinion, a good story that's told well will always be better than a beautiful one told poorly. (Some comics are beautiful AND well-written... Alas, I am just a hobbyist who needs to get the ideas out of my head at top speed.)

Put your background lines on a different layer. Put your foreground lines on a different layer too, if you have those. Basically, I try to keep the main part of each panel (usually a character or object) on my lines layer so I can erase background/foreground/etc lines to ensure clarity/focus.

You can make background lines lighter colors too. I have too many numbers sorry. (1) Background. The stuff that's farthest away. Lightest lines. Few details; more focused on shapes and the suggestion of a background (I'm not good at backgrounds). (2) Midground. Same distance away as the characters are. Lines can be black. (3) Also midground, and also the same distance away. But they're very detailed, so I lighten them so they aren't so distracting. (4) The characters. Black lines for focus. For people who haven't seen the comic, I swear they are just hugging. This is SFW. D:

6. Tones/Colors

Do not. Do NOT ask me. I don't understand colors. I hate working with them, but I try because I want to improve. I hate doing anything beyond the simplest grayscale shading. Please go elsewhere for your coloring/tone advice. This is how my color picker looks 95% of the time. I have pre-set "percentages" of black that I got by lowering the opacity of a black layer and just color picking it. I don't even know the exact percentages I used. Good luck out there. Be better than me.

7. Sharing

This is a bonus step that I didn't mention earlier, but it's actually the most important of all of them.

You need a friend. Or maybe a groupchat or discord. A family member or coworker if you're really close like that. I don't know.

Find SOMEWHERE you can spam wips and be cheered on. Drawing comics takes a while, especially if you're trying to tell longer stories than I'd dare to attempt. If I don't force someone to praise me for every line I draw, I shrivel up and die.

Also if and when you post online, add alt text. I'll admit I'm the first person to complain and drag my feet on this, and I literally use a screenreader myself when my eyes hurt (strong prescription glasses wearer). Comics should be accessible, because stories are fun and everyone should be able to enjoy them.

***

Learning???

And I guess lastly, how do you learn to make comics? Two steps: 1) read them and 2) make them. This is the tragedy of creating things.

1) Reading them: I grew up reading comic strips, western serialized comics, and webcomics. I've always loved graphic novels too. Then in late middle school, I started reading manga (Death Note and Haikyuu were my first two), and now I'm trying to read more webtoons (sorry im so slow bree)!

I also... mass-consume doujinshi, thanks to proxy mailing services and bilingual friends/Google Translate/knowing some Korean. (I have an entire bookshelf of doujin, actually,,)

The thing is, it's not usually enough to just read comics. You also need to be thinking. :/ I notice paneling, comic devices, clever comedic timing, etc. as I go. It's just a lot of studying/learning while also enjoying the story.

2) Making them: You just have to start. :( Even if you think they're "bad." My first comics were actually just drawings placed randomly all over the page, connected by speech bubbles (yay... I was already practicing how to place bubbles to lead the eye around the page...). I was going to post a pic here, but I'm a coward. Backscroll my account and you can find some older ones though.

I also know my art in general improved dramatically when I did ten comics in ten weeks for my friend's fic. Don't do this. It hurt my hands/wrists. But do practice in moderation.

***

If you actually read all that... I hope it made even a modicum of sense. And maybe it was even helpful? Just know at the end of the day, there is literally no right way to draw a comic.

And if you aren't ready to go for it yet, you can start by just adding a couple speech bubbles to your illustrations or doodles! It's a way to add storytelling and dialogue writing to things you may already be making.

Yay. I love comics. :))))

[herotome]

[2024] ALL EXPRESSIONS... so far!

Hi-ho, Wudge here. I've got something a bit different today.

Herotome's Super Demo was released in December 2023. While I was proud of my writing and code, I chose to temporarily abstain from tje herculean task of expressions for the love interests, mainly to cut down on scope (and save my sanity), but with plans to add expressions in a later demo/patch.

I then held special dedications on Ko-Fi to raise money for these expressions, and now, one year later, I'm thrilled to show off how much we've accomplished…!

Herotome creates unique expressions using a combination of layers - in other words, layered images.

Brows, eyes, and mouths are saved in separate files, then later combined in code.

This allows a greater range of expressions to be created. Unless you're Smokescreen. Not much range to be had if you refuse to take off your helmet.

With the support I received from Ko-Fi thus far, I've been able to create all of theeeeese!

You may notice there's nothing new for Dart in this document. Don't freak out! It's because he spends most of the Super Demo wearing a helmet, and I already finished drawing the expressions he makes when he DOES show his face. 

Of course, he'll be getting more expressions further along in development as he gets more in-game screentime. Same goes for Jade's flying sprite - limited screentime means it wasn't too demanding to draw expressions for her in the Super Demo.

The main sprite poses for Warden, Mia, Griffin, and Jade should only need a handful more expressions. 

I'll also be drawing expressions for CGs and NPCs (and ofcourse - performing the mortifying ordeal of coding them all in… haha…)

[alicedrawslesmis]

it seems to me pretty obvious that Tempest Within A Brain and Javert Derailed are mirrors of each other. One thing we notice about Valjean that may consist a flaw is that he's too introspective

These two thoughts [to escape men and to return to God] were so closely intertwined in his mind that they formed but a single one there; both were equally absorbing and imperative and ruled his slightest actions. In general, they conspired to regulate the conduct of his life; they turned him towards the gloom; they rendered him kindly and simple; they counselled him to the same things. Sometimes, however, they conflicted.

while Javert (we'll find this out later so no quotes yet) is a man who has trouble seeing below the surface. He abhors thinking and reflection and more practically in the end, he has trouble literally feeling Marius's pulse and understanding the things that can happen inside of a house? This is a genuinely incredible detail about him and about the concept of buildings in Hugolandia that building interiors sometimes physically manifest people's interiors. Javert does not know what happens inside of a home. Rather tragically I may add, because he never really had a "proper" one.

In Déraillé he is forced to look inwards and see he has a soul and a heart and is capable of kindness and of love and isn't just a pure representative of real world mundane law. He isn't made of stone no matter how much he may want to.

Here's from Fantine's arrest:

Javert up to that moment had remained erect, motionless, with his eyes fixed on the ground, cast athwart this scene like some displaced statue, which is waiting to be put away somewhere.[...] From time to time she paused, and tenderly kissed the police agent’s coat. She would have softened a heart of granite; but a heart of wood cannot be softened.

And here is from Derailed:

Terrible situation! to be moved. To be made of granite, and doubt! To be the statue of punishment cast all of one piece in the mould of the law, and suddenly to perceive that you have under your bronze bosom something absurd and disobedient, which almost resembles a heart!

Now for Valjean: He is faced here with a question impossible to be resolved kindly. Valjean represents divine goodness in the same way Javert represents the law. On the one hand, ignoring Champmathieu means saving the people of the town, maybe even Cosette, on the other, Champathieu will endure the 'artificial hell' in Valjean's place. There is no possible answer that leads to universal good. So Valjean makes the choice to sacrifice himself, suffer a symbolic (and later a false) death by turning himself in and then jumping onto the sea.

Like I said, it's important to understand that Les Mis is interested in symmetries. Beginnings that mirror endings, people who go toward evil and people who go toward good. Miners that work to change society and miners that work to undermine it. Paris above, the sewers below. "justice" and Justice. Hougoumont at Waterloo and the Barricade during the june rebellion.

This also got me thinking that the reason there's a certain kinship between Javert and Éponine is because they form an opposing pair with Valjean-Cosette. Valjean interacting with Montparnasse like Javert interacts with Marius, you know what I mean? It is absolutely no wonder a book full of cycles and mirrors has exactly 365 chapters, starts on a short little paragraph foreword and ends on a poem with the verse "Comme la nuit se fait lorsque le jour s'en va."

[roancowgirl]

I live in a deep red state, in a small, very red town. My gf and I are out and proud. We both work in blue collar jobs, in male dominated environments.

We’ve met some shitty people, but we’ve met SO many nice people as well. They may not be the most educated, but they’re genuine and they try hard to get along if you try to get along with them.

My favorite was a coworker, who called me a slur. It was a mild one, and there isn’t much one can say that would genuinely offend me. But I cracked a joke about this other guy being mad at me for existing(he can be a bit hot under the collar because the wind changed) and my buddy looked at me, so concerned, and said “do you think it’s because you’re a dyke?” He was so genuine and concerned that it didn’t register what he said until an hour later, and now it’s a running joke.

I would rather have someone like that, someone that’s uneducated but trying, than someone that knows all the terminology but doesn’t really give a shit about me. These people are genuine, and I can list off multiple people in my life like this.

I’ve had prior bosses and friends tell me that if anyone makes me uncomfortable or makes a comment, let them know and they’ll handle it. I can hold my own and never had to take them up on it, but they’re behind me if I need them. That goes for both as a queer person and as an afab person.

I think there’s a massive gap in outreach and fighting for rights, and that’s meeting people where they are. Obviously being called a slur shouldn’t be the expectation and that shouldn’t be the norm that we need to be ok with, but I think it’s important to acknowledge when someone is trying and gently educating goes a long way.

I know for me, with some people I run into I might be the only lesbian they’ve ever met. If they’re willing to work with me and treat me like a person and not make my day harder, I’ll meet them where they’re at and we can all get along. They leave more educated and with a worldview that’s a bit bigger than the town they’ve lived in for three generations, and I might have a new buddy or resource.

Media consumption is another thing that has an affect, most of these people don’t have access to a wide array of media, or even think to seek it out because why would you seek out something you’ve never seen or heard of? That’s been discussed in the democratic circles in my area, people were pro democrat and voting for Kamala but largely uneducated about other candidates on the ballot. Media consumption and the effect it has on worldviews, especially in places that are for all intents and purposes somewhat isolated is its own conversation though.

This is turning into an essay and there’s more I can add, but to try to sum this up I don’t think it’s as simple as city/educated folk are your friend, and rural/uneducated/blue collar folk are your enemy. It’s not that black and white. There’s allies and enemies in every community, and using the level of education or terminology someone uses shouldn’t be the bar. Their actions and their try should be,

"The trannies should be able to piss in whatever toilet they want and change their bodies however they want. Why is it my business if some chick has a dick or a guy has a pie? I'm not a trannie or a fag so I don't care, just give 'em the medicine they need."

"This is an LGBT safe space. Of COURSE I fully support individuals who identify as transgender and their right to self-determination! I just think that transitioning is a very serious choice and should be heavily regulated. And there could be a lot of harm in exposing cis children to such topics, so we should be really careful about when it is appropriate to mention trans issues or have too much trans visibility."

One of the above statements is Problematic and the other is slightly annoying. If we disagree on which is which then working together for a better future is going to get really fucking difficult.

[notetakers-blog-of-holding]

Writing Your D&D Character Backstory

Creating your D&D character can seem a bit overwhelming, especially if you're new to the game. You have to remember the numbers and abilities that tie into other numbers and your characters species- On top of that, you have to write a story for them? I'll admit, it gets to be a little much.

You can choose to not have a fully fleshed out backstory for your character, and build them with the world you're playing in. (Utilizing amnesia, forgetfulness spells, or curses are always good) Open ended backstories can become a great way for you and the DM to "Yes and-" your way into new plot hooks.

However daunting it might seem, writing your D&D character backstory can be one of the most fun things about the game. 

No matter how you play your game, backstories can come in useful, for both role playing your character, and for the DM to write more interesting plot hooks surrounding specific character arcs. It can provide you with contacts in certain cities, allied factions that can help you out in a pinch, or recurring rivals that seek to undo your best-laid plans. 

Without further ado, let's get into these tips and tricks I hope will help you through the process of writing your backstory.

1. Who are you?

The most important thing your backstory needs to cover is who exactly your character is. This is essentially what the whole backstory should be about; Building a fleshy cover for that skeleton you made on your character sheet.

A few major essential things your backstory should cover are: 

Your name, age, and a physical description of your character.

Where you came from

Does this character have a family? Do they know who they are?

At least one character belief and/or goal.

Simple, right? Your backstory doesn't have to be a 60 page epic about how you went from your hometown to the town over and found a sword along the way. 

Getting these things into a backstory is generally enough to begin role playing at a very basic level. It also provides you with a really good basis for adding more to the backstory at a later date, with your DM's approval. 

2. Add a bit of Drama

Once you have a good understanding of who your character is, writing drama into your backstory will add depth to your character. 

Does your character have love interest that was killed, breaking their heart? Or, maybe your barbarian resents her tribe for choosing a new leader above her? 

Whatever the drama is, it's important to have some be open-ended. Unresolved trauma/dramatic events can be an early present for any DM, and gleefully they may unfold your characters story arc in front of you. (Some DM's are not as excited as I am about backstory integration, so make sure to talk to your DM before adding them in.)

Having a few dramatic events in your backstory can help tie your character to the world. Maybe they can't go back to a certain tavern since they got caught cheating at dice, or maybe they need to get to the church several months ride away as quickly as possible to stop their true love from getting married. 

Your characters drama is what makes them more 'real'. Having talks with their new-found allies about their lives around campfires, or while in a lull traveling through hyperspace, these stories form unbreakable bonds between characters and will strengthen your own love of your character. 

3. Play to your weaknesses

You are flawed, and so is your character. Every character should have at least one major flaw, and a handful of minor ones. When creating your character (unless you are particularly lucky) you should have an ability score in the minuses: Utilize It!

A character with a minus in charisma could be a lovely fool that always manages to say the wrong thing, or a grumpy teenager unable to express themselves properly. 

Starting at level 1, your character is going to be inherently weak, whether that be due to lack of experience (EXP) or by some tragic mishap of having all of your powers and abilities stripped away. Writing for the situation is vital, you probably won't have achieved world peace, killed an evil demon, and reinvented the wheel before the campaign starts. 

Whatever your character flaws are, there are some simple guidelines that I tend to follow when writing weakness into my character: 

Don't go overboard. 

Use your character sheet and stats to help.

Don't be a god when you're level 1.

Tie your flaws to your dramatic/traumatic section.

Remember, your flaws are what makes your character interesting, but don't have so many it intrudes on other players fun. 

4. Work with your DM

It helps to ask your DM for help when it comes to writing your backstory, since they know how the world works. 

With their input you can develop secrets to keep from the other players, write in rivals to challenge you at every turn, write additional characters that can help you out when you need a place to stay in the middle of nowhere. 

Any DM worth their salt will help a player develop a character that they enjoy playing. After all, it is a game that we're playing for fun. Don't be afraid to do something weird and off the wall, characters that stray outside of the conventional character stereotypes are often really fun and interesting. That being said, character conventions are nothing to be scared of, adding a twist to the expected can be just as fun.

5. Do multiple drafts

Doing multiple drafts of a backstory is both a luxury and a necessity. 

I know I've made many MANY drafts for my PC's, it's fun to scribble down little ideas throughout the day or add in cool details you find in books or on the internet

Sometimes, you simply do not have the time to do multiple drafts, asking your DM if you can change and add certain things once the story starts should not be a problem. If you are unable to do multiple drafts prior to starting, an evolving backstory in this way is a great way to compensate, so long as your DM is game and you don't just make up game breaking character changes midway through a vital encounter. 

If you do have the time to do multiple drafts however, this is a vital thing to do. Drafting a characters backstory allows you to take a break, come back and adapt things, change the way some things are written, rethink and rework some of those weirder plot lines. 

Making sure that you wrote things in a clear cut, simplistic way so that ambiguity doesn't end up leading to a big misunderstanding in the plot line is very important. More-so, the more drafts you do, the better you end up knowing your character, which, helps those who are new or not confident at role playing.

6. Write in the first person

This one should be obvious, it really helps to get into character. 

Writing from your characters perspective allows you to make out-of-character notes within the backstory that clarify situations for anyone reading. Plus your character may have a skewed view of what happened in certain events. 

Checklist

Here is a small checklist of things that you might want to consider putting into your backstory, some that I've written about above and some I will leave until a later post. Feel free to pick and choose what you put in and what you leave out.

Description of your character

Information on their hometown and family

The story of how they got their powers/abilities

A good friend that you've lost contact with

A rival 

A major flaw

A few minor flaws

A secret

A mystery

An unresolved bit of trauma

A love interest

An object they need to get their hands on

Ties to a particular town / city / faction

A vice

A morally questionable belief or ideal

Odd quirks

I hope this post helped you to write your character backstory in some way, I will be doing a part 2 and further posts in my tricks and tips series, for players and DMs alike.

Thanks for reading my first ever post!

[ninthprime]

various palisade thoughts through 42 that do not necessitate an entire post (spoilers)

had an actual pog moment when i realized that "moon river" is the description song for this episode because it has a cover by frank ocean, indicating that we're moving from outside to inside the mirage. i see your tricks austin walker

also had another pog moment when i realized that brnine and jesset were the two people who had the "sacrificing yourself is for idiots" argument with SI in partizan and now they're both desperately trying to sacrifice themselves. we talk about valence haunting this season but we were also being haunted by that weird old man (positive)...

brnine/jesset is real and i'd like to see them make out. also i think they might be a little bad for each other right now. jesset i need you on a month of medical leave and also to have a friend who doesn't brush it off when you say you're thinking about how you will be remembered when you die.

i know he's been mostly offscreen this season but i do need us to imagine being kalar rn. your friend phrygian died and before you can even get over to the blue channel to help arrange a funeral your other friend figure dies and his god gets so upset that the planet becomes part of the twilight mirage and now your children that you have been separated from for five years are aging even faster before you can see them. Okay

unfortunately my actual first thought about the outside time jump was "oh no what if leap is making out with somebody new by the time eclectic gets back!!"

i'm actually really thrilled about eclectic traumatized and accidentally famous arc. he's coming together as a character really quickly. i think if he reached out to perennial it would be fun

cori should get the day's eye also

i actually predicted that cor'rina and miseri would get promoted to work with cas'alear but i would like to hear every detail about how cas'alear decided the guy that worked with kalvin brnine, who killed their sibling, should be one of their bodyguards. are you good cas'alear. it doesn't sound like things are good. hey do you think there's less ego death if four people pilot commitment instead of two

that said we have fun here but if i was routine, and i nearly died saving the sun and was deprived of medical treatment for a while, and then got accidentally abandoned while my captain killed the emperor, and then said emperor's younger sibling allowed me to become their bodyguard in some sort of weird joint reward/hostage treatment, i would spend the next couple of years or so losing my mind a little

janine's reaction to "concrete hamburger seatbelt" being something she came up with years ago is maybe the most upset i've heard her on this podcast

he wasn't in this episode but isn't it fucked up that gur is stuffed in the back of the mind of the entity that inhabited his corpse and is now controlling his friend's corpse also. cool. normal

i am holding perennial's hand very gently

[awakeskydoesntdraw]

Posting in this blog after an eternity because I feel like I'm going insane here and my friends are asleep so I need to dump my brainstorm SOMEWHERE (SPOILERS FOR ARLECCHINO'S BACKSTORY/SHORT ANIMATION!!)

The TLDR is basically I think that the whole story with Arlecchino and Clervie is foreshadowing for Lyney and Lynette's future

I think the parallels between Lyney and Arle don't need to be too explained for the most part. Pyro Visions, Arle wants him to be the next "king" while he doesn't seem to be too into that idea just like her younger self didn't want it, both are associated with Rainbow Roses (they both use them as ascension materials)

Plus, I'd argue they look kinda similar here. I'm not sure exactly what is that makes the resemblance, maybe a bit of the hair, bowtie and shorts and you could say it's something she has with the others too (her kid design resembles Freminet, current one Lynette) but I thought it was good to mention anyways

Meanwhile, Lynette and Clervie are the two closest companions to their respective pair

Lynette's has Lumidouce Bells as an ascension material. Clervie is very clearly represented with the same flower (if her necklace wasn't enough, there's this)

Plus, a bit of a smaller connection, but they both have clear sweet tooths

(Lyney saying "we talked about this" implies this is a frequent event. The animation showing Clervie with cake twice while it only had 7 minutes to tell the whole story has a similar effect)

So, if Lyney is a parallel to Arle while Lynette is a parallel to Clervie, where does this leave us?

Well... Not exactly in a good spot-

To be fair, I don't think Genshin would actually kill a playable character (or at least, so I hope), but it's very possible Lynette gets really hurt, either directly by Lyney or by being close to him

Arlecchino swore to be nothing like her mother, but in the end, the way she's acting towards Lyney by wanting to make him the next king may be very similar to it

Once upon a story quest, Lyney said similar words to a woman who claimed he'd end up all alone. I can only pray that the writers will have mercy at my soul and that they wouldn't go that low with a playable character

If I were to make a mildly self indulgent guess, as the Freminet main I am, I'd say that he may be the key that's going to make things turn out different for the twins. His presence is the biggest difference between the twins vs Arle and Clervie, who seemed to have no one else that was even mildly close to them. From the 4.6 trailer we know that he's the one that has been hiding stuff and we do see him blocking out Arle's attack, so I don't think it's a stretch to say he'll have a really important role in this whole thing

So yeah! If you read all my rambling, thanks I guess, hope you enjoyed it. In the end, all I can hope is that the Fontaine siblings all turn out fine for the sake of my own mental wellness because God knows these 3 stay all day spinning in my head as if it was a microwave

Also, for the record: No, I don't have a clue about what the hell is going on with Freminet apparently finding "Clervie" (ghost?? Illusion??) and hiding her from Arle. Until this short my best shot was that she was some sort of mermaid creature, but that idea is out the window so it could be anything really

[agriocnemis]

Listen to me, what you're gonna do is get some sort of ground meat (red meat is preferred tho) and get ready to have a fucking ball of a time. DO NOT stir that bitch up when you start cooking the patty later on, trust me. you want a good ball, okay? a tight lil fuck mixed with some of your favourite type of seasonings for that type of meat. personally I would add a lil bit of some sort of sauce in the ball that way it mixes in with the patty. know when you may add too much seasoning too, as that can cause it to all collapse upon your burger dreams.

You can just use a pan if you don't have a grill, just watch out for how much grease there may be if it's a concern. especially if your stove has gas as grease fires suck. but as you are putting it down squish that fuck to however you wish long as it is no longer a ball. You can cook it further from there.

BUT remember to season it a lil more, and know how cooked you want it (if it's a meat that you can do that with). spatulas should be used to flip them so they cook evenly.

YOU WANT A MELTY CHEESE THAT MELTS WELL BUT ISN'T TEXTURED LIKE CHALK MOST TIMES!!! GET A GOOD PATTY!! PICKLES, AND WHATEVER ELSE YOU WANT. YOU CAN HAVE GOOD ASS BURGERS ANYWHERE. YOU TOO CAN MAKE A BANGER OF A BURGER.

I need... cheese bruger..

[watermelonstick]

hutch appreciation post his smile is so damn cute

[deadbeandrop]

ah yes, my favorite characters from camp lazlo, how come no one talks about them uhhh (checks notes) slinkman's parents from a family portrait in one episode

they met at slugfest ❤️

[basicallyjaywalker]

Wanna ramble about a moment/character in ninjago you think people need to talk about more?

I don't know who you are anon, but I'm glad you asked!

I am desperate for people to character-analyze Wu. I'm desperate for a lot of character analysis including Nya but since I got a lot of my Nya feelings out with some lovely folks the other night (edit: the other night was a month ago dw about it. this took a minute) I'm going with Wu this time

Master Wu to me is such an interesting case of a character who it is so easy to ignore the bits of the show that hint at his wider issues and traumas. He is a man defined heavily by his family and by his past. A lot of criticism he gets, I think, is due in part to that.

I've mentioned before that I've been rewatching S1 with a friend of mine and intermittently pausing to infodump on them about interesting character things I notice from that season. A lot of that has been Wu-focused because despite having seen RotS dozens of times throughout my life (watching it on CN, watching it on Netflix when only it and Legacy were around, rewatching it with friends) I have only just started noticing the seeds of character written in.

I might also just be reading too much into things, but hear me out

In S1 (and by extension, the pilots), Wu is characterized as your typical old wise teacher. In the first few minutes of EP1: Rise of the Snakes, he is chewing out the Ninja for playing video games instead of training. The line he uses? "Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today."

It's a line that gets repeated throughout the series. In fact, it gets repeated that very episode when the ninja go (pun not intended) to fight the Hypnobrai and a literal pre-teen. At first, it seems to just be a piece of wisdom. Some old proverb Wu's picked up over the years, possibly one he even coined himself. However, in EP7: Tick Tock, Wu tells the story of who, possibly, first told him this.

(Source: Tick Tock/Transcript | Ninjago Wiki | Fandom, highlight added.)

It was Garmadon. Now, I'm not gonna dwell too long on Garmadon, if you spend five minutes talking to me you'll learn he was the first character whose story I obsessed over and I want this essay to be about Wu, but I think he plays a role in Wu's overall story, as does Wu's family as a whole.

Prior to this, Wu and Garmadon's relationship has been more of a sibling rivalry taken to a good vs. evil extreme. We didn't know why Garmadon was evil and we didn't know about Wu and his relationship as kids. However, this scene establishes the backstory. They were, as Wu puts it, "the best of friends." That is, until Garmadon gets bit by the Devourer going to get the katana Wu lost.

Now, I know the Devourer bite was destined to happen because of the Overlord or some shit, but Wu doesn't. As far as he's concerned, Garmadon getting bit was a direct consequence of both his mistake and his cowardice. He lost the katana. He was too scared to get it. Garmadon went over instead. Garmadon got bit.

The scene goes on to show the FSM tending to Garmadon in the aftermath. Wu is watching from behind the door, likely told to stay back, but concerned. And in his POV, we get this intense moment, where Garmadon turns, looks directly at him (his eyes turning bright red for the first time), and says "It's all Wu's fault!"

(This clip should begin at the start of Wu eavesdropping. If it doesn't, skip to 0:58. I highly recommend also paying attention to Wu's body language during this scene.)

The camerawork does a great job of showing how this probably felt for Wu. It zooms in, Garmadon's voice echoes, and the background blurs. We see in the flashback that this is a moment Wu has etched into his memory. Not to mention, he was likely a very young child when this happened. LEGO characters' ages are weird, but Wu in this scene has the Big Eyes, which always seem to be used for characters under 12. We don't know exactly how much older Garmadon is to my knowledge, but he doesn't have the Big Eyes, so he's probably closer to 12 and a few years older than Wu for sure.

Imagine that. Being in elementary school and your older siblings gets hurt. They're acting strange. They're lashing out at your father. Then, they blame it all on you. They're hurt because of you. Wouldn't you internalize that?

I could go on about Wu's relationship with Garmadon, but again, I think I've spent enough time on it and I don't want to only focus on that. It's an important part, but there are others.

Let's talk about Wu's relationship with his dad.

Now, I have not yet read the Spinjitzu Brothers series. I cannot speak to any development of Wu and the FSM's relationship in there. I have, however, read The Book of Spinjitzu and blogged some of my thoughts on it here, including some of what it says about Wu.

For those who haven't read it, first, there is a Google Drive folder floating around with all of the canon spinoff books/graphic novels in it. Here's the link if you wanna read them!

The FSM is an... intriguing figure. I mean, in the series he's basically god? He made the entire world. That's already a very high bar to live up to. Then, in Book of Spinjitzu, there's a few specific parts that, when I read them, signaled that Wu internalized a specific message when he was young.

(Source: The Book of Spinjitzu, Page 3).

Wu does not want to disappoint his father. It is up to him (and Garmadon until he turns evil) to "uphold the legacy of Spinjitzu" and, by extension, his family. He says he was "very young" when this was explained to him. Considering he seems to already be training at an elementary age, "very young" means VERY young.

(Source: The Book of Spinjitzu, Page 16).

Here, we again see Wu being very aware that he has some large burden to carry. Something else interesting here is that the thought of the Green Ninja Prophecy is already weighing on him too. His considering if he might be the Green Ninja is of extra interest because of how the Green Ninja Prophecy and the--I wouldn't call it obsession, possibly fixation?--with who it is factors into his later actions, but we'll get to that later.

(Source: The Book of Spinjitzu, Page 19).

This one in particular gets me because it comes after Wu mentions Garmadon becoming more evil. It is a statement of power. Wu knows that the legacy of Spinjitzu now rests in his hands alone. He cannot let himself fall the way Garmadon did. He cannot disappoint his father. Whether or not the FSM intended it, Wu always knew the fate of the world rested, at least in part, upon his shoulder. He knew this from the time he was a young boy and it remains in his mind to this day.

Now, these quotes are indirect, but they all point to one clear idea: As a child, Wu internalized the idea that he alone is responsible for keeping Ninjago safe. He will play a pivotal role in its history.

There's not evidence in this book that the FSM's was a bad father, per se. However, just because one doesn't set out to harm their children, doesn't mean they won't. I often say Wu has an "Atlas complex," which I have no idea if it is an actual concept but use it to refer to this idea. Wu feels as though he is responsible for holding up the world, much like Atlas. He must keep the balance, he must solve the Green Ninja prophecy, he must make his father proud.

(Source: The Book of Spinjitzu, page 61).

I'm going to get further into what this means for Wu as a teacher to the current Ninja Team, but for now let's look at Wu's first foray into teaching.

Morro. Wu's Biggest Mistake.

That might seem like an overstatement, but it's not.

(Source: Ghost Story/Transcript | Ninjago Wiki | Fandom)

Okay he says regret, not mistake, but I was paraphrasing.

Let's turn back to his quote about his destiny. Wu writes, "Is my life's mission to be the Green Ninja? Or maybe it will be to find the Green Ninja and protect him (or her)??"

From a very young age, Wu was not only aware of the Green Ninja but prophecy but also thinking about his place in it. We see this again when he takes Morro in and trains him.

(Source: Ghost Story/Transcript | Ninjago Wiki | Fandom, highlight added)

A big thing Wu is criticized for here is making Morro believe he is meant to be more. That he is the Chosen One. And Morro, being a young homeless orphan just now given some semblance of power and protection, latches onto that. And I can see it, but when you take into account the above that he was trained from (likely) a younger age than Morro and given a similar level of responsibility, it becomes more understandable. Wu is just doing what he was taught. He doesn't believe that he is harming Morro until it is too late.

This is the entire story, but I'm specifically going to be discussing 1:36 onwards here. I also wanted to add that rewatching this scene made me lay down on the floor! What the fuck! But I digress.

There's a lot going on in this scene. For one, Wu washing his hands of Morro in some ways, but not others. He turns his back on Morro when he tells him that destiny has decided, but looks at him again when Morro storms out. He goes to save Morro from the Grundal, but decides that he cannot "teach those who would not listen." Most importantly, when Morro leaves to go find the Tomb of the FSM, Wu leaves the door open. He waits for Morro to return, but never goes after him. And Morro never comes back.

Wu gives Morro's fate a dismissive response at the end of his ghost story ("I am saddened he was banished to the Cursed Realm") but it's clear he still cares deeply about him in the finale of the season.

Wu's VA in this is phenomenal btw. That "Please Morro!" and "MORRO!" make my heart ache.

Morro believed Wu stopped caring, but he didn't. Even after all he's done, even after trying to destroy all of Ninjago--destroying what Wu had spent his life trying to protect--Wu tries to save him. He begs for Morro to come with him. Morro refuses, Wu watches him perish.

Someone else Wu is close to is gone. Wu again considers himself responsible. Everything is his fault.

And finally, we reach Wu today. A cautious, secretive man. He loves his students, this much is clear. Even as early as the pilots, he drops his wise teacher persona to joke around with them.

As with Morro, he trains them like his father did him. He even uses the same methods his father used when he trains them.

(Source: The Book of Spinjitzu, page 32)

While he is hard on the Ninja, wanting them to succeed and training them to help defend the Realm, he lets his guard down more than it seems he did with Morro. He also learned a valuable message from his experience with Morro when he hides the Green Ninja Prophecy from the Ninja, getting angry when they start to push themselves in the same way Morro did upon learning about it. It's clear he doesn't want a repeat.

Now, I can't speak for later seasons (I will eventually) but this fear of repeats, his students going down a dark path because they're tempted by power or greatness, losing someone else, likely drives Wu not telling them other important information. That is just a passing thought though.

Final notes:

I'm currently in the process of rewatching S7: Hands of Time. I actually got this ask right after finishing EP68: Scavengers, which opens with Wu having a nightmare. In it, he and Misako are walking outside of Yang's temple. While walking, Misako delivers this line in response to Wu reminiscing about the time they've spent together:

(Source: Scavengers/Transcript | Ninjago Wiki | Fandom)

This line, to me, is Wu's subconscious trying to tell him something he needs to hear. It's hinting at what might be his greatest flaw. Wu is haunted by his past, by his mistakes. He finds it difficult to tell others because of both his guilt and his desire to not put that worry upon them. In this very season, he makes the mistake of trying to face his past on his own, and he nearly dies for it.

In the same episode, you see Wu trying to make sure Lloyd doesn't make the same mistakes.

(Source: Prev)

Wu stresses the important of the team. It's as if he sees Lloyd blaming himself for what happened to Wu, sees him doing the same thing Wu has, and is trying to prevent him from doing the same thing. This is further emphasized when, after Wu falls asleep (well, fakes falling asleep), Lloyd says "Wu's mistake was going in alone. So was mine."

Master Wu is, like many characters in this show, someone who is more complex than meets the eye. He is not just a wise, old teacher. He is a man who, throughout his life, has made mistakes and carries the weight of each of them on his shoulders. He is a man who tasks himself with making up for those every day. He is a man who wants better for his students, his family.

Until the day he dies, he will guide and protect his students. And possibly? Even after death too.

[scribefindegil]

Absolutely!

Natural fibers are much easier to dye. They make special dyes for synthetics but they smell awful and are more fiddly to use, so I don't find them as fun to play with

If your fabric/garment is a mix of fibers, they'll take dye differently. If it's a fabric that's a blend, you'll get variations between individual threads (which can look cool!); if you have eg a cotton dress with polyester lace edging, the different parts will be different colors.

Biggest pot you can find. Look for big stockpots and water-bath canners at thrift stores (and use them for dye only).

Do test swatches! If you're dyeing fabric, use a scrap of the same fabric. If you're dying finished clothes, use a scrap of a similar fabric. In a pinch, you can use a paper towel to test all-purpose dye. Make sure you dry your test swatches to see what the final color will look like! I squeeze out as much water as possible and then iron the swatch on low.

The Rit website has a lot of dye formulas which are very helpful, and you can even plug in which dyes you have and it'll show you which colors you can mix from them. I love this tool, but don't expect the colors to match exactly. Fabrics can take dye differently, and I often need to tweak color ratios. This is why swatching is good!

Wet out your fabric/garment completely before you put it in the dye pot! For most fabrics this is easy, but wool repels water so if you want to dye wool you need to let it soak until it is completely saturated which can take a while. If you rush your dye job will end up patchy.

Dyeing works because the dye molecules bond to the fibers of the fabric. This means that if you use the same dye pot for multiple items, the things you add later have fewer dye molecules to work with so it will take longer in the dye bath to reach a similar saturation. You might also get a subtle shift in tone. Important if you want things to match!

You can use your washing machine to dye large items and it won't stain as long as you follow the cleanup instructions. This is very hands-off and good for things that won't fit in a pot, but the downside is that you have less control.

Ombre dyeing is easier than it appears and looks SUPER cool!

Hope this helps! May all your clothes be colorful :)

i love u Rit dye

[thoughtfulchaos773]

Women checking in on each other.

Now diving deep, Nat requests this from Carmy(you never ask me how I'm doing) and Nat wants to do it with Donna but she rejects it with such bitterness I wonder why that is..

[cait-sith]

Poppy dreamer

[mercless]

🗡 mad cowboy disease....