#Getting started

[fixyourwritinghabits]

How do I start writing if I've never written anything, ever?

There's lots of ways to get started! Prompt generators can help you generate some ideas. Writing exercises can help you get a start on flexing those muscles. Trying out poetry is a fun way to work out how to fit words together. Fanfiction's also a great way to dip your toes into storytelling. It doesn't have to be good! You don't ever have to share it with anyone! Just getting into the habit of writing can really help you figure out where to go with it.

Some solid classic books I recommend are:

Anne Lamott's BIRD BY BIRD (read this book if you want to write anything, it's a staple for a reason.)

Natalie Goldberg's WRITING DOWN THE BONES (also a classic, well worth reading)

Austin Kleon's SHOW YOUR WORK (great for getting out of your head)

Some other recommendations I have are Lisa Cron's STORY GENIUS (great for working out character-focused stories), and Stephen King's ON WRITING has some of the best examples of how to approach editing that I've ever read. However, don't go all in from the beginning. Pick one book that appeals from you or whatever your local library has, and go from there.

On that note, prompt generators can also get overwhelming, so while I'll list a couple, try to tackle them one at a time. Writing prompts, much like writing advice, are highly subjective, so what works for someone else might not be what you need.

Creative Prompts for Writing

Prompts-For-Every-Need

Daily-Prompts

Writing Exercises

Magetsu Generator

Spinny Spinning Thing

Your library might have some writing prompt books too, so feel free to check that out as a resource. Once you're comfortable, I'd check out writing groups in your local area. You might find some good ones, or you might just want to show up at readings to get the feel for what other people are doing. There's no wrong way to go about it!

[bisexualbaker]

Finding friends and things to do on Dreamwidth

I made a different post about this at an earlier time, but honestly, I think I can do better now.

Anyway! One of the things that sucks about moving social media and/or blogging platforms is not knowing if there will be enough activity for you at the new place. Be it from old friends, new friends, or interactive communities, there's a lot of ways you could find activity at a new place, but finding at least two of those categories can be tricky in itself.

Luckily, Dreamwidth has a few shortcuts for you already!

Adding new people to your reading page and finding new friends:

addme: Straight up a place to find new "mutuals" on Dreamwidth, with no particular focus; a good place to start!

addme_fandom: Same as above, but with a specific fandom focus! Interested in a particular fandom right now and want more people to talk about it with? Here's a good place to find fellow fans!

fandomcalendar: This is a community dedicated to announcing fandom events, which can include fandom-specific friending memes. (I'll be linking this one again later, as well.)

Getting started on Dreamwidth:

newcomers: A community dedicated specifically to helping Dreamwdth newcomers find their way around on a new site! I believe it was launched around the time Cohost was being shut down, so a lot of the people there now are Cohost "refugees", but it's still a good place to start.

dw_news: The official Dreamwidth news community. I highly recommend following this one and the next one, which will help you keep up with what's going on around Dreamwidth. DW News typically only posts a few times a year, but maybe that'll change if a bunch of new users come by...

dw_maintenance: Keep up with the mechanical goings-on at Dreamwidth! If there's a planned site outage or if DW is updating code, you can find out more here; if there's something funky going on at Dreamwidth but the site is generally still usable, it's also a good place to check.

Things to do on Dreamwidth:

dw_community_promo: The official Dreamwidth community for promoting Dreamwidth communities! People will promote new communities here, as well as events going on in established communities. A good place to find out about new things in general.

followfriday: A place to share links to check out once a week. Did you find a cool community that you want more people to know about? Link it in the comments here!

justcreate: A place where you can talk about things you're working on. There's a weekly check-in/reporting post, but sometimes people also organize body doubling sessions and other productivity-boosting things.

queerly_beloved: An anti-exclusionist queer space to get together and talk about all things queer, including intersectional matters. Hosts a weekly recommendations thread, but more and other content is very welcome!

Fandom things to do on Dreamwidth:

fandomcalendar: I linked this above, and I'm linking it again: Want to know about fandom events that are going on at Dreamwidth? This is a good place to do it! It'll also fill up your reading page in a hurry; you might be surprised at how many events are going on at Dreamwidth, or are at least connected there!

fictional_fans: A community for all fans and fandoms. If you've got a post you want to make about fandom in general, or a specific fandom that doesn't have its own community, this might be a good place to check out.

fandom_on_dw: Pretty much the same as above, honestly, but it's good that there's more than one place that hosts this kind of thing!

Anything else?

Search Interests: Individuals and communities can have lists of things they're "interested in". If more than one person has that thing listed, it may turn into a hyperlink that you can click to find other accounts with! You can also use the Search Interests function pretty much the same way. Simply type "cats" into the search bar, hit enter, and a bunch of accounts that have "cats" listed as an interest will pop up!

The Latest Things Page: Literally the latest things posted publicly anywhere on Dreamwidth. There's a list of commonly used tags at the top, if you want to narrow things down at all, but in the mean time, it can be pretty neat to see what J. Random Dreamwidth User just posted about!

The Explore Tab: Useful links for Dreamwidth in general. In addition to linking to the Latest Things Page, it can take you to a random account, the FAQ page, and more! Worth checking out if you're feeling lost.

And that's all I can think of at the moment! This should help you get started at least, and help fill out your reading page a bit.

If you still have questions or want to do more, you can check out my Dreamwidth 101 tag; I'm also happy to at least try to answer any questions myself. I'm pretty sure I've got a few "Dreamwidth for Tumblrites" guides linked in my Dreamwidth 101 section, if nothing else...

[the-crafty-vamp]

I was at the doctors and there was this little dude that kept poking his head around the corner to look at me so next time he poked his head around I drew them this, I think they liked it 🥰

[ashs-nerd-den]

A basic ADHD study kit

Snacks and a bottled drink. Something like dried bananas will have a consistent texture, only need one hand so you can keep working while you eat and provide stim, are nice and has is good for your brain. Caffeine relaxes ADHD brains making it easier to study, but please be careful of your caffeine intake, caffeine overdoses are real and can be very dangerous

Stimmy stuff. Hair ties, bracelets or squishy stuff. Something to do with your free hand.

A high stim playlist (post about this with options)

An app/site blocker, where you can ban distraction sites and apps for a time period of your choosing, (I prefer freedom, but here is a Masterlist of app blockers) Coloured pens and highlighters for notes and practice qs

Exam practice questions. Active recall is great and being able to physically see what you've accomplished gives you dopamine and many exam paper books have spreadsheets where you can mark off or colour in the questions that you've done

Flashcards, so many flashcards

A study space - a clean desk, a comfy couch/bed, a library, whatever works for you

Get started

[wlwitchesworld]

jinx art studyyyy~ i wanna make more creative pieces, but for now, getting the basics down is my main goal. man, digital art is so hard!!! im too used to paper and pencil 😣

[itsgrawnyanotgrahny]

Anyone know good “how to draw” resources?

Hey there! I'm looking to teach myself the basics of drawing and graphic design, and I'd love and appreciate any resource recommendations --- videos, tutorials, courses, blogs, or any other free resource--- Especially those that helped you learn. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The things I'm focused on right now:

Building foundational drawing skills

Practice character design using my Warrior of Light and Their party of my OC's as inspiration

Exploring ideas for my own original stories

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

My Setup is pretty simple for the time being. Just a Sketchbook and pencil. My budget is tight right now so no digital art for me yet. Hopefully with a bit of practice and patience I can change that. Free or low-cost resources would be a huge help while I get the basics down. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you know good resources for:

Beginner-friendly drawing technique

Anatomy, stylized or fantasy

Weapon or armor design (especially if it leans a little anime or JRPG-ish)

Character sheets / turnarounds tutorials or templates. Trying to understand the use of these tools and what a typical ref sheet might look like.

Translating in - game characters into original ideas and concepts.

…please feel free to share them! I'm also happy to hear any advice, feedback, or suggestions for who to study or follow.

Thanks so much to anyone willing to help out! Your time and wisdom is appreciated <3

[polycraftory]

Getting Started: Junk Journaling

So you want to get started with scrapbooking/junk journaling? This is a craft, like many others, that you can get started on with very little supplies! However, we'll get a little deeper into stuff as well for some additional tips and supplies that might be fun or helpful.

What You Absolutely Need

Scissors / Cutting Implements - If you can, buy a nicer pair of scissors for your own sanity, but any scissors will do starting out! Detail scissors specifically are really helpful. Exacto knives can also be helpful, but you'll also need a cutting mat if you don't already have one. This category is worth investing in because dull scissors are a nightmare.

Adhesive - ZipDry is designed for paper so it doesn't bleed through thin stuff and it dries quick and clear. Double sided tape rolls are also very helpful, especially with large areas or gluing a bunch of stuff quickly. This is an area worth investing in earlier! Thin paper and magazine paper will have bleed through with certain glues.

Notebook/Paper - Use what you have! If you, like me, have a million journals lying around, use that! As you get deeper in, you might find it helpful to specifically look for notebooks that lie flat when opened. You can also use sheets of art paper if you want to go more independent collage style rather than journaling. Watercolor paper/notebooks are nice because they are thicker, but you can use whatever.

Materials to Actually Cut/Glue/Use - Okay, here's where you really can do whatever you want forever and spend as little or as much as you want. You can cut up books and magazines you have on hand. If you have a printer, you can print stuff out! People sell really amazing curated mixed packs of materials (you can support some great shops on etsy doing very cool and niche stuff! If you are really on a budget, amazon sells some bulk packs as well).

Material Tip

If you don't have a husband that works in a mailroom (we are very lucky) and you don't have a lot of magazines on hand, try going to your local post office and dig through the recycling bin! A lot of people will throw out magazines/ads/catalogues there and you might find some gems. You can also get a free trial for some magazines and just cancel once they want to charge you money. Nic finds Vogue and GQ helpful for people. National Geographic can be helpful for backgrounds and animals.

Leveling up details below the cut!

Level Up

Slide Cutter - Make sure you get one with a replaceable blade! Super helpful for bulk cutting out big shapes.

"Okay, but I see people online with fancy stuff and I want to get in on that action!" you may say. Here is some fun stuff to play with!

If you see someone whose junk journaling content you like, you can also just reach out to them! A lot of people are happy to share links to the stuff they use and a lot of junk journalers online run their own shops/have affiliate links to the stuff they use!

Fun Junk Journaling Variety Packs - truly this is where a lot of people spend a lot of money because you can buy all sorts of fun niche packs depending on the vibe/focus you want to go with. You can also buy packs of quotes / letters / sayings. This can be helpful especially when doing character focused stuff. My wife really likes the packs from PengellyCrafts on etsy.

Washi Tape - People really like using washi tape, especially the transparent ones. These can be surprisingly expensive.

Transparent Stickers - These are fun because you can get a lot of detail and layering without intricate cutting. If you are careful with detail cutting you can cut the white border on normal stickers if you can't swing transparent ones.

Stamps - Like transparent stickers, this can add fun depth and layering, though with perhaps slightly less detail. The best part about stamps is that they are infinitely reusable and you can get all sorts of stamp pads. The downside is they are surprisingly expensive. You can even get stamps that help you make backgrounds like stars or wood texture. There are also "container" stamps like jars and bottles that you can put stuff in!

Embossing Powder - You can pair stamps with a glue stamp pad (or get glue markers) to use with embossing powder and a heat gun to create embossed details that add depth and texture. Make sure you are careful about what order you do things in when using heat!

Distress Ink (or Distress Oxide) & Blender/Diffuser - Make things look aged! This is a stamp pad you can use to make any paper or image look older than it is. Make sure you also get the little foam blender they also sell for application since it'll go on too thick if you try to use it directly on the paper.

Wax & Wax Seals - Wax can be fun to play with because it is both an adhesive and also adds dimension. Note: a lot of embossing or wax in a journal can make it hard to close a notebook.

Old Books - You can buy used books or use books that you don't want anymore for backgrounds to cut out words. Things like recipe books and encyclopedias can be especially helpful/vibe-y.

Fun Edges / Frames - You can get scrapbooking scissors or edge punches to add fun details and shapes to paper edge. It just depends on whether you like that look! Something like a simple round edge punch can be helpful.

Have Fun With It

Do you do other crafts, like painting or cricut? You can pair so many different crafts with junk journaling to make a cool multi-media piece. The most important thing to remember is to use what you have and have fun with it! Don't put off starting because you want all the bells and whistles or think you have to spend a bunch of money like the people who create junk journaling internet content! Create joyfully and lean into the chaos.

Please let us know if this guide was helpful and if you'd like a more specific buy list or tutorials on anything! We are here to help make crafting more accessible <3 You got this! Go junk journal!

If you want to see Nic's junk journaling, we are going to queue some in the next few days. Check our pinned post to find our junk journaling tag for inspiration!

[askagamedev]

way more general but your post about "wants and shoulds" makes me ask: do you have any advice for learning how to do things that are hard? Asked another way, do you have any advice for how to embrace "the suck" of doing hard things without hating the process or yourself by the end of it?

Whenever we try to do some kind of task, our brains subconsciously do a quick assessment of effort and reward that we believe the task will take and will try to dissuade us from doing that task if our brains view that effort as too high for the reward. As you may have guessed, doing things that are hard fall exactly into this high effort questionable reward situation that our brains specifically try to avoid in order to conserve energy. The most common way our brains do this is to tell us "doing this isn't going to reach our goal with a perfect 100% completion, so I shouldn't bother". It's like trying to cut down a tree - if you can only cut through 5% of the tree, it feels like you might as well not have bothered because all of that effort results in a still-standing tree.

The best way to combat this is to do the most of what I know I can. I can't get myself to go to the gym, but maybe I can do five push-ups and five squats. I can't find and play a whole new game, but maybe I can install one of the games in my steam backlog. I can't learn how to make a whole game, but maybe I can watch one tutorial and follow along. I don't understand this entire chapter of my textbook, but maybe I can try to understand this one section. The more you do the reps, the easier it becomes to do a little bit more each time.

Once it gets internalized, the resistance starts to drain and you make more progress... especially because that progress is often compounded over time. You can't cut down the entire tree at once, but if you cut through 5% of the trunk today, 5% tomorrow, 3% the day after, 6% the day after, you'll eventually reach your goal of cutting it down. Doing the things that are hard usually aren't a waste at all, it's usually a progressive goal that we reach over time and multiple sessions. As we see progress being made, our brains become less reluctant to do them and we find it easier to get started.

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Frequent Questions: The FAQ

[fixyourwritinghabits]

How do I know which WIP to choose to work on when I have plenty of them all in the stage of being half baked?

Here's the thing. You're halfway there. You're running the bakery, you've got a dozen of things to pop in the oven. You just need to choose one to work with until it's a finished pie.

Which project 'speaks' to you the most? Say you have five possible pies in front of you. You like all the flavors, you know they're going to end up good. But which one really excites you? Which one do you think about the most when you're not working on it? That's probably the WIP to go with. That's the energy you'll need to see it through to the end.

Which project feels the most fleshed out? Another thing to consider is how much plot and framework you already have down. Those vague ideas, first chapter starts, and intriguing concepts may seem solid, but the more work you've already got down, the more progress you'll be able to make.

Which project are you struggling the least with? There's a Nano project I really like the concept of. I've got two-thirds of the first draft written. But what I don't have is the underlying theme. I haven't figured out how to connect the concept to the characters yet. One of these days I will, but I have other stories to get done first. Focusing on the project you know you can figure out is probably the best choice to make.

Here's the last and most important point: You need to stick with that chosen project until completion. This is not a absolute rule. I will not burst through your bedroom window like Slenderman if you decide you can't finish it.

But you gotta try to stick through it. Getting the draft done is the hardest part of the process, and seeing it through to the end before you look at your next project is going to help you form the habit of finishing your work. All those books on the shelf, good and bad, have one thing in common - they got finished. The only way to do that is to stick through the process.

That's why you need to weigh your WIPs carefully. The ones that don't have much to them yet might need more time to proof in the dark recesses of your mind. Others might be far more ready for completion, but you're not giving them the attention they need in favor of all those shiny new ideas.

Pick your pie flavor, and make real sure you're ready to eat it again and again over the course of the next few months. You will hit some walls. You will get frustrated. But you can only finish your WIP one at a time.

[pkmnirl]

Please remember to be respectful of your fellow roleplayers! It doesn't matter if you personally do not like the muse they are playing, you should never send harassing asks to another person out of character. Always ask for clarification before sending upsetting in character messages in their inbox. Communicate with members of your community.

Often many of the roleplayers you see are talking extensively behind the scenes before making higher stakes posts, only the tip of the iceberg may appear on blog. These are rarely spontaneous, unplanned things, and if they are the person will often say as much on their profile. Never assume someone is automatically okay with this kind of behavior. Remember these blogs are run by real people.

Be kind to one another.

[musewrangler]

I have always been intrigued by cake decorating. I have very little spare money or space to work in, in both kitchen and fridge. How would you suggest I start exploring, short of too much time on YouTube?

You bet! Great question and I'm sympathetic. Here are a few thoughts and I hope it's helpful:

If it's purely the decorating aspect you wish to work on, then don't bake from scratch. Buy a mix and either make a cake, or cupcakes to start. [About $3 a box]

If you're already a baker and know you could whip out a batch of cupcakes or cake, then by all means go for it. I would do a six inch cake if practicing decor. Cupcakes are an easy practice surface too.

But. If it's just piping technique, you could start there and buy a simple set at a craft store or the grocery store. You can practice piping on a cutting board or even a metal cake tin without making the cake. See what each tip does and play with it.

I use pinterest to save cakes I think are beautiful and then study the decor in the picture. Tumblr is helpful too if you type in cake decorating, buttercream, piping, etc.

Use a homemade buttercream. I don't think store buttercream pipes very nicely. You want to control the butter amount. If it pains you to think of wasting butter for practice, you could just whip up a frosting with Crisco [or the equivalent] and powdered sugar [which, let's be honest, is what most store bought cakes are doing. -___- }

If you don't have a kitchenaid or equivalent, a hand mixer works. The hot tip here is to whip your butter [room temperature] all by itself for about ten minutes BEFORE adding powdered sugar and flavor. It makes it lovely and light. Crisco can just be whipped with powdered sugar immediately.

I practice flowers on parchment paper and then chill them so I can more easily transfer them to the cake or cupcake. Cupcakes can serve as a handy flower piping base as is, but you might want to practice on something else before directly applying the piping to the cupcake.

Hope that helps friend! Always feel free to ask questions. I love nerding about artsy cake decorating things. :D Happy Fourth!

[the-crafty-vamp]

Commission done for @ fiatheangsty on instagram!

This character called Autumn is from a world of darkness Larp by the city of glass games!

Speaking of-! I have a very special announcement coming up soon! So stay tuned for more information!

[yourultraarchive]

Understanding class assignments in UA and Japanese schools in general

In the Student Template Questionnaire, there is one particular question I realized had never been addressed, that I think a lot of people should understand the nuances of!

What school/class or organization do they belong to?

This is the question that fills out the "Affiliation" line of the "Personal Data" section student template:

So, if your character is a student, what class should they be a part of?

First of all, let's talk about structure:

Japanese high school is only 3 years, unlike American high school which is usually 4. (I'm sure other countries are different too, but I'm assuming most of the people who visit this blog are American-centric.) Given that, that means Izuku and his friends in their first year of high school are actually in the equivalent of American 10th grade, which is usually in the 14-15 year old age range.

Unlike American high school, where students are separated by class schedule and students have to leave the classroom every period to physically go to their next class (ie. you have Chemistry in first period and History in fifth period, but your friend from Chemistry in first period could have Art in fifth period instead), with the class rosters changing every semester, Japanese high school students are assigned one class (like 1-A or 1-B, or so on) which they stick to for the rest of their school career. This means they have the same classmates every single year, which is why the homeroom teacher is so central--they ALSO stick around for the entirety of the students' school careers! Homeroom teachers are more than teachers, they're more like parents or guardians relationship-wise, and keeping the same one throughout the students' school career lets them build trust, enough so that if the student is having any personal issues, they'd feel comfortable talking to their homeroom teacher about it. (As an aside, as well, usually these classes stay in one single classroom too, with the exception of classes that need special facilities like PE or Home Ec, which really drives home the idea that "Homeroom" really is supposed to be "home" for both the students and teacher! And unlike in American high school, the students don't change classrooms every period--the teachers do!)

The classrooms are not actually physically labelled, so 1-A is not a classroom number assigned to a specific room. The names of these family-like classroom units are designated by the YEAR the students are in, with the letter just being their assigned grouping. (AKA they're the first 20 students so they get "A", and the next 20 students get designated "B", and so on.)

Student numbers (ie. Izuku being student no.18) and seating order are determined by alphabetical order. Specifically Japanese alphabetical order. (See this post for more in-depth information!)

So what does that all mean for Class 1-A?

Formally, they're not actually called Class 1-A, they're actually just Class A. They're 1-A because this is their first year of high school (which, as mentioned before, is the equivalent of American 10th grade, but if you were going to use American terms, it'd be more accurate to call them "freshmen" instead of "sophomore" like 10th graders are supposed to be), but when they move on to the next school year, they don't keep that name. In their second year of high school, they'd be Class 2-A, and in their final year of high school, they'd be Class 3-A!

So, for example, the Big Three being in class 3-B? That means that when they were first-years, they were in class 1-B! (That being said, the "A" and "B" and so on are not the designation of student ranking, like the UA entrance exam scoreboard might lead you to believe--I had a few friends who thought that, but it's not actually the case that 1-A has stronger or smarter or just overall higher-ranked members than 1-B. It's random, just like any other high school rosters are made! It just seems like 1-A has a lot of powerhouses because they're the main characters, but that's not to say 1-B is any less skilled or powerful than them. If this all was the case, I highly doubt our esteemed Big Three trio would have been in Class 1-B all the way up to 3-B!)

This also applies to the other classes, like the Support Course or Gen Ed. They may be labelled "1-C" or "1-E" or whatever else, but again, those Letter designations are just their grouping, not their ranking within the school, especially since it would have been really hard to quantify if the Support Couse was less powerful than the Hero Course. UA just happened to designate the first 40 students as Hero Course, the next 60 as Gen Ed, and etc etc for Business and Support too.

As for the student order within the classrooms themselves? Again, not a determination of power, it's just a simple matter of alphabetical order by last name. If you're standing at the front of the classroom looking out at the desks, the seating arrangement starts at the leftmost side of the room ("A" names), going front to back (not left to right like Americans might!), and then going to the next row to the right, and so on. (In the following image taken from the MHA wiki, the "front left" of the classroom is Aoyama, and the "bottom right" is Momo. Though keep in mind that the alphabetical order here is based on the Japanese alphabet, not the American one.)

Now, what does that mean for YOUR characters?

Well, if you want to have your characters be in the same class as the canon characters, certainly feel free to put them in 1-A or 1-B! (Keep in mind though that class sizes in Japan tend to stick around 20, but you can play by your own rules for your own story/rp/whatever.) However, if you want them to be in the same class as the canon 1-A but you've listed your character as 17? They wouldn't be in 1-A, they'd probably be 3-A. (17 is a bit of a nebulous age though, so it depends on what year you'd have them in--if they're "seniors", they'd absolutely be in their 3rd year, but if you think they have another year of schooling ahead of them, maybe put them in 2-A?)

If you want to put them in their own class entirely instead of bunching them in with the canon 1-A or 1-B? Make a whole new classroom if you want! Assign them to 1-C (and push back the Gen Ed Course and the others another letter, if you plan to involve them) since the courses seem to be grouped together and it'd be weird to have a new Hero Course be assigned 1-L or something when the others are A and B--though you could do that if you want to! Up to you!

Similarly, if your character isn't in the Hero Course at all, assign them a different classroom like 1-C or 1-H or whatever! (I don't remember which letters were assigned to each course, but I'm sure you can look it up if you really want to know it rather than making up the assignments for yourself.)

Also, if your character doesn't go to UA at all? The same rules apply. Shiketsu High School and all the rest have their own 1-A, 2-B, etc. And even middle school has the same structure, since like high school, it's also 3 years! Izuku and Bakugou would have been in year 3 of middle school at the start of the series.

Finally, regarding the seating order: I see a lot of people put their characters at the end/last row of the classroom, should they be added to the canon classes, which is totally okay of course! But if you want your character to be there from the start, they'd probably have their own permanent seat number. If you plan on using the Japanese alphabet arrangement, just look at a Japanese kana chart and see where they would go in the roster--for instance, if Kojiro Bondo from 1-B were in 1-A, his seat would be right between Bakugou and Midoriya (because "ho/bo" comes after "ha/ba", and both of those come before any M names). [See this post for more information on that!]

If you don't plan to use the Japanese alphabetical order, then you can feel free to use the English order if you like (especially if you're not mixing with the canon classes which already have their own established orders you may not want to mess with) or, as with American high schools, don't use an order at all and let the students just sit where they want. Up to you!

Hopefully that helps you understand how to enroll your character in school!

One last note? This is specifically for character designing more than development, but each department has its own school uniform! It's very subtle, but the epaulettes (I think that's what they're called?), lapels, and cuffs of the uniform jackets all have different stripe designs and arrangements/number of buttons!

That's all for now. Hope these tips help!

[teawiththegods]

Hello!

I've been wanting to start working with witchcraft and paganism (I believe I feel drawn to Hermes, Dionysus, and Loki, specifically), but I have no idea where to start; if you have any suggestions, I'd really appreciate it!

Hello, hon! ☺️

So for witchcraft my number 1 recommendation is checking out any and all of Kelly-Ann Maddox’s resources!! Her book “Rebel Witch” is my witchy bible and I recommend it to beginners and advanced practitioners alike! She also has a fantastic YouTube channel for free and informative videos!

I also suggest thinking about what exactly drew you to witchcraft and follow that white rabbit. Seek out information specific to that topic and don’t be afraid to start dabbling early on! I think one of the biggest hangups a lot of us witches have (regardless of experience) is not playing, experimenting, crafting, practicing, or DOING enough. There’s always this fear and worry about doing it wrong somehow that we don’t do anything at all. We just collect knowledge and never act upon it. So try to dispel any worry early on and get your hands dirty! Have fun with it!

As for Paganism, I can’t only speak in regard to the Greek gods because they are who I’m familiar with. I used to focus firmly on research when advising beginners and while I do absolutely still think it’s important and necessary, I now believe the absolute first steps should be about developing your own personal relationship with the gods. For example, Destiny (my co-host and co-creator) is a complete newbie to all this and she wants to begin a relationship with Hermes. What she started doing was talking to him. And not in any formal way, she would just start up a convo with him as she was cooking or cleaning or taking care of her pets, basically what you might do with a friend or family member. And it never mattered whether she received any communication back. Of course she’s keeping her eyes out for any possible signs or messages but she’s not stressing about it.

That’s one idea that’s easy to get started but there’s others depending on what works for you. You can give offerings, dedicate certain activities to them, invite them to join you when you watch a movie, read a book, listen to music etc, basically you can start worship right now. And I recommend you do!

And of course along with that, it’s important to start reading up about any deities you are trying to connect with. Not just their mythology, look at their cults and how they were actually worshiped. Not only will you get a better picture of who these gods are but you’re gonna find so many cool and interesting things you didn’t even know! That’s my favorite part!

Hope that helped! And let me know if you have any other questions! 🥰

[live-emotion]

Guide - Downloading and Getting Started

1. Follow one of the guides here to download the game on either iOS or Android devices.

2. Once downloaded, open the app and you'll see these two options. Select "Start from the beginning" for a new account.

3. Agree to the game's terms of service.

4. Enter a player name. This will serve as a username in game that other players can see.

5. Enter your birthday. Month on the left, date on the right.

6. Enter the main character's name. This it the name the characters will call you by in the story mode, and can't be seen my other players. By default it is set to 'Nanami Haruka.' Last name in the box on the left, and first name in the box on the right.

7. Select one of the three idol groups when prompted with the choice during the introduction story. This doesn't have any impact that I know of other than selecting the opening video that you see.

8. The game asks for confirmation to download the short opening video. *Opening movie prompt and video shown will change depending on which group you selected. You can watch them all afterwards.

Then you're in! Have fun with Live Emotion!

More guides coming soon~

*All English text and images shown were typeset by me as a guide, and are not official translations or from an English version of the game. Please direct people to this post rather than spreading the images around. *Text added for context are in square brackets. Original JP screens shown for reference.