#& then they also happen to have collaborated with each other on multiple projects

[emi1y]

OHH thats all so cool omg i knew they did a lot of producing and writing for other musicians but i didnt realize how POPULAR some of them were ... hehehe popstar movie i watched . i love their silly club music though but YEAH theyre actually super talented despite what youd might assume i love themsorry this took forever to type . yay music 🎶🎶

LITERALLY YAY MUSIC❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️ the fact that their club style music is soo silly is what threw me off the most when i found out they wrote music for other people bc a lot of it doesnt even sound like them it sounds like the style of the artist they're writing for. which is the job of a song writer i know that but its still sooo crazypants that they really are skilled at that career on top of making lots of just funny music too..

[shmaba]

I’m going to assume that at this point you’ve all seen Critical Role’s new show Candela Obscura and at least skimmed through the Quickstart Guide (you have done all that riiiight??) So I wanted to compile all the things I’ve done that have been shown so far. Its long so read below the line!

I’m going to try to avoid spoilers. So feel free to read without worry. I’m also going to try and avoid breaking any NDA like a good professional. So I will not be doing some deep dive behind the scenes thing. Only visuals that have already been publicly shared are going to be on here

The very first thing I did on this show was the concepts for the main set. Everything is practical. Nothing is green screen or cg or whatever. Some people think it’s just good cg but nope that's all real. You could touch it! (don’t touch it, there are ghosts)

There were multiple iterations on the design, each with their own vibe and statement piece. CR narrowed it down to what you see in the show: a sort of storage hall with an odd clock contraption behind the GM. I think I called this design version the “Abyssal Hall” or something like that (I gave the different versions names to better keep track of which design was being discussed)

The company Flip This Bitch built the physical set. They turned my silly little art into a real thing. So they did all the actual magic of making this set come together in the end! They deserve a lot of the credit for it looking so good in the end.

Also that little piece of art in the bottom left of the preshow is a section from the final concept art of the set.

That contraption behind Matt is based on astrolabes and clocks. This isn’t really meant to be a literal astrolabe or a clock as we would use them in our world. Narratively this isn’t a device that measures either of the things that a traditional astrolabe or clock does. This is a special magickal tool that does a secret third thing.

Also I did concepts for the GM screen. You don't really see it besides in the fancy-shmancy preshow. There were a number of more intricate designs for it but CR went with the simpler option since the only part that would be visible on stream is the top, so that's where I put the most detail.

I should also note that I did not design the logo! It’s pretty prominent on the GM screen but I was supplied an already existing logo for this.

NEXT is the Taliesin enclosure set that you see in the trailer. This is actually meant to be like the lantern room on the top of a lighthouse, minus the big light beacon (You could say Taliesin is the beacon).

Also in the trailer you see a couple brief sketches I did for some world building concepts:

Speaking of sketches there are a number of art pieces of mine in the Quickstart guide

A lot of my art is sketches. They’re all meant to be like notes and drawings from members of Candela as they travel and notate their findings. Most of the notes on these sketches are my actually my notes when I was doing world building concepts, but they replaced my handwriting with a font because my handwriting sucks lmao (also likely for ease of future localization).

Also the cover of the Quickstart guide uses line art of a part of that astrolabe clock set piece. This line art was part of the deliverables that was sent over to Flip This Bitch for construction. They’re just using pieces of those set concepts everywhere!

As you can see I’ve done a lot of art for this project. I was part of this project when it was still early in development. It’s changed quite a bit from where we started. 

I wasn’t the only one that made all this art happen though. Other artists, writers, and designers got to add their own vision to this. It was very much a collaborative effort that took a long time to happen. It’s very exciting to see everyone’s hard work come to fruition and there is a lot more to come!

[xstevex-world]

Steve Harrington’s favourite musician has been the same since he was 17.

He distinctly remembers hearing Chrissy Cunningham play in his car radio during his senior year, subsequently listening to nothing but her breakout EP for a week straight - and that was just the beginning.

He followed all of work for over the past 7 years: bought physical and digital copies of all her albums, watched every music video multiple times, read every interview, saved up enough while working weekend shifts at scoops to get tickets to her sold out shows in Indiana - he had so much merch that Jonathan Byers once joked that Steve could probably make a shrine to his idol.

He had even kept up during her hitatus, almost two full years of radio silence from the star, like she had disappeared off the face of the earth. It wasn’t the worst thing that had ever happened, but it didn’t help that it overlapped with him dropping out of business school to pursue a career in cosmetology and that final falling out he had with his father over his choice in education.

The day she came back felt like Christmas.

Her comeback announcement dropped on June 13th - and it wasn’t just a new post on social media or a candid shot online someone managed to snap.

It was a whole EP drop, 4 entire songs (and a music video) that he knew he was going to play on repeat after 716 days of radio silence.

That opened the floodgates for everything to start again: she went back on social media, thanked her fans for their wholehearted response to her new releases. She started doing interviews again: discussing her mental health and the impact of her mothers control in her life; her reunion with her best friend (and apparent ex) from high school; her label dropping her after it was found that her “momager” had embezzled a huge amount of money from said company, releasing her from her contract early and allowing her to find new partners, new producers, new projects.

She talks about how she’s never been happier, and Steve can’t help but beam at it. He can hear it in her music, how it’s going more against the grain of what’s popular, opting instead for etherial synths mixed with heavy guitars. She sings about heartbreak and moving on and being better than then the people who brought her down for long, now that she’s starting fresh.

Steve loves it, thinks some of the changes have something to with Eddie Munson’s name appearing in the credits of all her new material.

Truthfully, he got curious after someone on Twitter posted a screengrab of cameos made by Munson and his own bandmates in all of her new music videos. He thankful someone else made the connection, and although he’s not the biggest fan of Corroded Coffin’s music (apart from the collaboration EP they did with Chrissy: “CCxCC presents Satanic Slumber Party”, that was incredible), he would lying if he didn’t say he was totally enamoured by Eddie goddamn Munson.

Let alone the fact that he’s totally Steve’s type (big hair, bigger eyes, a complete dork with a heart of gold but who also looks like he would bite someone in both a feral dog and a “please take me to your bedroom right now” kind of way), the guy is a genius when it comes to music, spending interviews talking about the process of artistry and the importance of storytelling - even when they’re discussing songs about him, written by Chrissy about their break up, he’s still so passionate and witty, the two of them spending interviews bouncing off each other in a way that would rival his relationship Robin.

He’s fine, really, he knows logically this is just a celebrity crush that will pass if he stops thinking about it for long enough, but he’s certain that this could develop into one of those all encompassing obsessions if he doesn’t curb it now- and that’s exact what he does. He tries to put that energy into school, excelling more than he ever did in an academic setting. He meets up more often with Nancy, Jonathan, Argyle and Barb, inviting them over more often for dinner or drinks, sometimes even just because he wants to make a breakfast feast and need someone else to eat it.

It’s at times like this that he misses Robin, who only has about 6 weeks left of her internship in Paris - he hasn’t seen her in person since he went to visit her a few months ago during spring break. He wishes she was her to openly judge him over this, before rambling on about her own current hyperfixation or moaning about her lack of romantic adventures since she and Vickie broke up.

They still talk on the phone every afternoon (nighttime for her), ranting to each other about their perspective day and sharing any worthwhile gossip.

Tonight’s no different, he’s telling her about the current drama happening in his classes when Robin says:

“I met someone today.”

He’s ecstatic - in his opinion robin deserves the world and the fact she’s met someone on her own in a city where she has been finding it hard interacting with people outside of her placement is a miracle in itself.

She tells him more: how she met this girl that morning at café, acting as a knight in shining armour (Robin’s words, not Steve’s) when the girl got flustered trying to order her coffee in broken French; how she spent the day showing this girl around to her favourite shops and parks and museums; how they spent hours talking about everything and nothing; how Robin hasn’t felt this way about someone since Vickie.

“So then we had dinner at that Italian place, the one I took you to, and, Steve, oh my goddess, she has the cutest little laugh-“

“Did you get her name?”

“Oh, sorry” he can hear her move the phone from one ear to the other. “Yeah it’s Chrissy.”

Steve stops his pacing. That would be one hell of a coincidence, if it was Chrissy Cunningham. She is playing in Paris the following night, the penultimate stop of her current tour. (The very show that he had been tempted to go to, since he could stay with Robin. It absolutely wasn’t because Corroded Coffin was joining her for the European leg of the tour - acting as her band, as well as performing songs from their collaboration as the encore - something that did not happen at any of the American shows). It couldn’t be the same Chrissy that Robin had fallen head over heels for in the space of a few hours, right?

“Did you get any of her socials?” He asks, cautiously.

“Nope,” she answers, popping the p for emphasis. “I didn’t think to ask, because I’m an idiot and all that-“

“Robs,” he interrupts, trying to keep his voice steady. “You’re not an idiot.”

Her hears her laugh on the other end of the line, the same kind of self-deprecating giggle she uses when she’s nervous. He wishes he was there with her so she could see him roll his eyes at her, their main way of communicating their love.

“What did she look like?”

“Oh!” She exclaims as he hears her tumbling over something (knowing Robin, probably herself). “We took a picture together, hold on, I’ll send it over.”

His phone vibrates against his ear, so he brings it in front of him, putting Robin on speaker so he can see the photo.

And.

Holy fuck.

“Robin,” he says slowly, because he actually can’t believe it himself. “Do you know who that is?”

((Part 2))

[mlbigbang2024]

What is a Big Bang?

A Big Bang is a fandom-wide event where writers write a long (more than 10k words) fic, for which artists make fanart during the 6-month long creation period.

How does it work?

Writers arrive with a fic idea at the start of the event. Once they have begun writing, artists select fics to illustrate in an anonymous process. Then mods match writer-artist teams. Betas can get summaries of fics from authors and choose who they’d like to work with. They help with what the writer requests: bouncing plot ideas, helping with the flow of the story, and correcting spelling and grammar mistakes.

When can I apply?

Writer applications are open until the 5th of July. Beta and artist applications are open until the 3rd of September.

Where can I apply?

Application links will be posted in May.

What do I need to participate?

You’ll need an email address, a Discord account, and if you’re applying as a writer, an AO3 account.

What is expected of me if I get accepted to the Big Bang as a writer?

► Create a complete, previously unpublished fic for the event that is independent from your previous works (no sequels or prequels are allowed) and longer than 10,000 words. ► Work closely and communicate regularly with your collaborator partners. ► Keep the setting and plot of your fic a secret, and don’t talk about it publicly outside the event’s server.

What is expected of me if I get accepted to the Big Bang as an artist?

► Create at least two pieces of complete, previously unpublished artwork. If you’re paired with one writer, you’ll create two pieces for one fic, but if you’re paired with two, you’ll make one artwork for each fic. ► Work closely and communicate regularly with your collaborator partner(s). ► Keep the details of your illustration(s) a secret, and don’t talk about it publicly outside the event’s server.

What is expected of me if I get accepted to the Big Bang as a beta reader?

Work closely and communicate regularly with your collaborator partner(s). Provide technical spelling and grammar corrections, along with language, characterization, structure, and plot feedback to the writers if they ask for it. The extent to which writers decide to incorporate this feedback is up to their own consideration. Keep the setting and plot of the fic a secret, and don’t talk about it publicly outside the event’s server.

Do I need to get my fic for the event beta-read?

We encourage the fics to be beta-read. However, it isn’t required. You can also invite your personal beta(s) to the server if you’d like, or you can be matched with one in the event.

How will the matching of artists and writers happen?

After writers submit their Project Proposal on August 30th, all summaries, tags, and snippets will be shared anonymously with artists. From September 5th-12th, artists will fill out a survey listing their preferences for fics they might like to illustrate. Mods will announce writer-artist pairs on September 16th.

If I apply and get accepted as a writer, is getting art for my fic guaranteed?

Artists have the right to decline any work they do not wish to illustrate, so while we will do our best to match each fic, writers are not necessarily guaranteed an artist partner. However, we try our best to keep an even match of writers and artists, and it is likely that all writers will be paired up. All writers can also still produce a long fic to be proud of, with the support of the Big Bang Discord community. Other benefits of being in the Big Bang are getting your fic added to the AO3 collection and reblogged by the Tumblr blog.

Can I apply for multiple roles?

Anonymity in the lead-up to the pairings is very important for this event. For that reason, you can only be accepted as either a writer or an artist. However, writers and artists can also be betas, as well as pinch-hitter artists who can be called on to step in if needed.

What happens if I need to drop out of the event?

If you need to drop out, please contact a moderator ASAP so they can inform you of the procedure! If you ‘ghost’ and fail to communicate your change in status, you may not be able to participate in next year’s event. Exceptions will be made for extraordinary incidents affecting a participant’s ability to communicate.

What happens if my partner drops out during the event?

If you’re an artist or a beta, you can choose to work with another writer. If you’re a writer, the mods will make every effort to find an artist to fill in for you (this person is called a pinch-hitter).

Can writers collaborate on fics?

Yes, writers may collaborate on a fic. In this case, please indicate so in both of your sign-up forms.

What kind of content is allowed?

Your work can be about any ship(s) or no ships!. The Big Bang is a chance to commit to a big project with an unusual amount of support, so feel free to be creative! Crossovers are strongly discouraged, though, as we can’t guarantee that artists/betas will be familiar or interested in the other fandom.

Are NSFW fics allowed for the event?

Yes, NSFW fics—both Mature or Explicit—are permitted. If a fic has sexual content warranting either of those ratings, however, it must be disclosed on the project proposal so that it’s only shown to artists who are willing and able to see NSFW content. Likewise, a fic’s NSFW status should be disclosed in postings on the server’s #beta-requests channel. You’ll be able to brainstorm and discuss these works on a specially designated part of the server. All characters in NSFW works must be aged-up (18+), and adult-child ships or bestiality are not allowed.

Who can work on an NSFW fic?

You may only apply to write, beta, or make art for an NSFW fic if you’re over 18.

Can I share part of my fic/art with anyone during the creation period?

We ask you to keep your idea and progress as private as possible except for in the Big Bang’s Discord server. This requirement is in order to preserve the anonymity of the writers before the artist pairing process, and to keep the suspense and excitement in the general fandom about the pieces.

I already shared some details of my fic before I knew about the Big Bang. What now?

Let us know in your sign-up form! We’ll make case-by-case judgements based on the situation. It’s alright if you’ve previously brainstormed the concept publicly or discussed potential details with friends. Our goal is to preserve anonymity for artist pairings and the posting period, so if you’ve done so, we’d ask that you hide/delete the posts and refrain from further public discussion.

More Information:

Mods || Schedule || Rules

[sleepdeprivationbutitsvaruna]

Hey #GreekMythology tumblr, I want ya’lls help on something :).

So, I’ve been thinking about starting this massive project. Like, would take years and years work of writing and research and sheerly finding the time and motivation for. And as I was thinking about the specifics, I thought: why not bring others into it as well? Because as much as I am interested in a lot of Greek Mythology, there are things that are simply not my interests and might cause writers block and my goal for the project would to be as fun as possible. So, here we are.

What is the project exactly? Well, hopefully, it’ll be a long Ao3 series/fic focusing on the individual perspectives of various figures/events in Greek Mythology arranged in (semi/good enough) chronological order. I personally intend to write for Poseidon in his/my version of the Titanomachy and (maybe) some events that follow, if you want a little bit of an idea on what I’m talking about.

The limits on this are almost completely free, all that I ask are that each of your submissions are one POV only (and by that I mean your main subject’s POV). Why do I say this? I say this because that is what I want this project to look like. It doesn’t matter if it’s First, Second, or Third POV along with all the other variants of those three, my main focus is on the individual experiences of these individuals. Kind of like character studies, if you know what I mean. I’m intending for it to be mostly formal but I will absolutely accept crack admissions that I will probably put into its own series to Separate the Vibes for whoever comes by :).

Ultimately, this is a completely open-ended project that has absolutely no deadline. I’m about to go to bed so I can’t go into too much detail, but if you want to DM me or send any asks, I am completely okay with that and we’ll all flesh out the specifics we go :).

What is my overall purpose? Not only is this project made for my own individual purposes of learning more about the gods and other Greek Mythology writers, but it’s also the chance to spread the word of other writers. I know how hard it is to get specific audiences, especially when you’re shy, so this is a chance for your work to be stumbled upon. Each post on the eventual Ao3 fic will include your socials, how to find you, and your other general works on either ao3, tumblr, wattpad, or other :)

Can you participate even without socials or a tumblr page? Yes you absolutely can :). My asks will always be open to anons and I will do my best to give credit when I eventually post everything :). If you want to post multiple submissions or simply just want a trackable (between works) name to your writing, just sign something at the end. It could be a name, it could be a potential username, I don’t mind at all :)).

How do I submit things? Well, the best way would be to DM me :). I have a personal writing email separate from most things that would be perfect to either share a google docs with or to just send a copy-and-pasted copy of it. Otherwise, I take asks. None of them will be posted unless asked or we’re ready to so it’ll be safe to just drop them off in! It’s also where I take questions :).

Any other things to note? I’d really appreciate some other moderators and editors :). There’d only be like two or three of each and we’d have to know each other decently well before officially starting, but some help would be appreciated! Also, I’d like to keep a working ‘spreadsheet’ of who’s working on what just for people to see what’s going on :). Maybe some people can collaborate or it’ll encourage those niche writers to write :). A third thing is that most questionable stuff is accepted. I’d personally rather not handle all those things other than posting it so it might be a while until I can officially accept (consensual and/or graphic) ✨spicy stuff✨ but, other than that, I’ll take any of it (also, it’s Greek Mythology, almost all of it already happened). If someone’s willing to take over the ✨spicy stuff✨ then please DM me so we can work out the details and see if it’s a nice fit :)

Honestly, that all should be it. The main point is that I’m trying to start up a long-term project on Tumblr and Ao3 about what is essentially Greek Mythology character studies that not only allows for mass communication across a wide audience, but also (hopefully) gets some recognition for the smaller writers :). Feel free to DM me or send me asks with questions but for now, I shall sleep

Tagging: @bluebellstudio @thirteen-deaths-later @0lympian-c0uncil @happyk44 @h0bg0blin-meat @sworeontheriverstyx @deathlessathanasia @gotstabbedbyapen. Sorry if I tagged you and you want nothing to do with it, I just wanted to get it out there /pos /gen

[hamletteprinceofdenmark]

I am asking everyone who has ever complained about how the Dream SMP is run and organised to sign up with their local community theatre program.

I’m deadly serious. Do it.

I don’t care what it is, whether you audition to be on stage, sign up to be part of the backstage crew, paint backdrops, or sell tickets. Just do something.

It is so painfully, painfully obvious that some of y’all have never been part of a large scale collaborative creative project and are talking out of your arse about hypotheticals you’ve never had experience in or been held responsible for.

Being a content creator is a job.

To be a part of the Dream SMP is a business opportunity. It’s a networking opportunity. It’s a chance to expand your audience (and by extension increase your profit margins).

It is of course, also an opportunity to hang out with friends, have a lot of fun, experiment, and do cool things creatively.

But at the end of the day, a lot of fucking work goes into something like this.

I’m not saying there should be paper and ink legal contracts, but having a universal understanding of the responsibilities you hold as a member of the Dream SMP (including the amount of hours you’re actively creating content - as a bare fucking minimum) is a really good idea.

You cannot simultaneously complain about how the Dream SMP has felt rushed, or disorganised, or like it’s dying, or about the lack of communication, or how different creators’ lore feels disconnected from each other, or the millions of other things that I see all over social media every day, and then get up in arms about those same creators putting rules and structures in place to fix those very same problems!!

This benefits you.

It also benefits the creators.

Having clear commitment guidelines, open communication, communal goals, literally anything and everything Dream and all the other creators have been talking about (and seem really excited for, can I just say!), is to help create a better product for you guys and to reduce stress on creators, not increase it.

Let me reiterate that one for the people in the back.

The Dream SMP is a product that you consume.

You exchange your time, your energy, your own creative endeavours - in the form of fan fiction, fan art, analysis, and other fandom interaction and collaboration (which is also free marketing btw), and yes, even your money, in exchange for a product that these creators make for you.

Any of those creators could choose to walk away at any time. They’re under no obligation to stay.

Dream isn’t being a bloody dictator (which can we just take a moment because oh my god no he is not and I saw that exact phrasing in multiple different places). He’s being a producer. And the sooner you guys see behind the curtain and understand what that actually means, the better.

TLDR: I personally guarantee that the official Dream SMP Discord has got NOTHING on whatever’s happening in your local theatre company’s annual review meeting.

Before jumping down cc’s throats, consider why they might want to hold people accountable for a collaborative creative project which many of these folks financially depend on.

No one wants to be the one person working on the group project.

That’s what this is preventing.

[hccn-overseer]

Issue 10, 6/21/2023 - The Overseer

Issue Masterpost About the Overseer

This week's issue is accompanied by a PDF version created by the lovely Cheer! Pick it up here to check it out!

This Week At The Overseer HQ

By Nes

Welcome to a new segment here at The Overseer where we keep you updated on the mishaps here at The Overseer HQ! Ever wonder what your favourite writers and artists are doing between issues? Well, now you’ll be able to tell!

The HQ was incredibly hyped this week as we approached our 10th issue, a big milestone! We ended up naming this week our official birthday, so be sure to wish all writers, artists, editors, etc, a very special day if you see them! If they act confused, assume they have been replaced with a clone and act accordingly.*

Incidents this week were shockingly low with only 28 reported. These incidents include a food fight in the breakroom, multiple fires thanks to a failed baking attempt, and multiple failed kidnappings. The Overseer would like to remind people that no, our writers are not up for adoption and you cannot take them home. That goes for artists and beta readers as well. 

The Seers are ecstatic this week as they are back in business with three asks to answer! Be sure to give them lots of love and consider leaving an ask of your own via the ask box, they’ll be answered as soon as we receive enough to warrant an article. 

We’re also busy at work on the Citizen Census which is set to be released the first week of July, huge thanks to Lydia for leading the charge in gathering the information needed! If you have some citizens who haven’t completed the census form yet, then you can do it here! The Census Forum is set to close on the 28th. We can’t wait to finish the article and see the employment rate on the server!

The Overseer would also like to note that we are always seeking new writers, artists, and proofreaders. To apply, simply pop into The Overseer channel on the server and let us know you’re interested in taking part in the newspaper!

*for legal reasons The Overseer would like to state that no one has been replaced with a clone and this is a joke

Articles on the Overseer this week:

The Overseer Newspaper Celebrates 10th Issue!

Affiliate Happenings

Throwback #1

Weekly Weather Report

Yet Another Birthday Article

Astrology Corner

Ask the Seers

Now onto other news below the cut!

The Overseer Newspaper Celebrates 10th Issue!

By Lydia

The Overseer Newspaper releases its tenth issue today, June 21st, 2023! This fan-created project has brought over 500 Citizens the latest updates regarding everything from the inner community’s events, changes, and overarching evolving presence on the Server overall to frequent updates about their favored Hermits’ recurring content. The dedicated staff appears overjoyed to be able to celebrate the newspaper’s tenth “Birthday” and has stated that this is an incredible milestone. Previous conversations within the organization have included wishing to commemorate all of the work that the team has contributed to this ongoing collaborative project. Through each issue, The Overseer solidifies its identity as “Made by the Hermit Citizen Community, for the Hermit Citizen Community,” through its recurring columns featuring Horoscopes, a Lost and Found, an Advice Column, Server Affiliate Summaries, retrospectives from On the Sidelines, Citizen Organization Advertisements, Weather Forecasts, its Games and Puzzles, and its aesthetically detailed Coloring Pages and Comics. This newspaper releases both a textual version and a PDF version of each issue through its Tumblr page and garners an increasingly growing readership of the Hermit Citizen Hub.

Roo, the Editor-in-Chief of The Overseer, has guided the Newspaper collective through each issue’s weekly progress, providing suggestions for new articles, keeping track of the present staff members and their engagement, structuring the order of the articles for their public releases, providing the Affiliate Summaries, frequently updating the staff about the ongoing news regarding both the Hermit Citizens and the Hermits themselves, answering endless questions from both outsiders and staff members, organizing special events for The Overseer’s future issues, and bolstering consistently high morale among the staff through encouraging and welcoming leadership. The task of keeping each staff member accountable while also ensuring that they are not overworking themselves to the bone is far from an easy one, with over twenty staff members and an enormous passive viewership of approximately six hundred participants of the Hermit Citizen Hub. The comprehensive duties of this volunteer position can easily rival those of a full-time paid occupation, and it is incredibly generous of Roo to provide these extensive services without monetary compensation. The Overseer staff and the Hermit Citizen Community would like to extend a long-overdue “Thank You” to Roo, the ever-determined visionary, and cat-herder of The Overseer!

While each newspaper issue varies in length, the written voices of each contributor have become increasingly distinct over the past ten weeks. Frequent readers of The Overseer may very well be able to guess the writer of each article by merely a single paragraph, and the subject matter of each article. Corundum Cat and Jamie create ominous, humorously written Horoscopes each week. Sirius, Ilea, and Azure make Word Searches, Crossword Puzzles, Coloring Pages, and Comics that invite readers to test their wits and their knowledge of color theory. Roo brings the most prevalent Hermit Affiliate groups to the center of attention through the bi-weekly Affiliate Summaries, all with the reporter’s commentary. Jester, Nes, Vi, and S all provide lighthearted assistance for all Citizen problems through The Seers Advice Column.

Rainy brings readers full Weather Forecasts to help Citizens prepare for thunderstorms, rip tides, and the odd sandstorm, as well as predictions for Hot Guy sightings. Lydia shines the spotlight on Citizens’ artistic pursuits. Two previous issues also included Lydia’s Spectating Science column, which ran capacious reports covering scientific researchers of the Server. Virtual ensures that all missing items are tracked down with perfectly descriptive articles in the Lost and Found. Felix provides Op-Eds full of wonder and boundless enthusiasm for life itself in the On the Sidelines column. Jamie organizes advertisements from all around the Server in the Citizen Advertisements column. Cheer shows off her affinity for graphic design through the PDF versions of each issue, including adapting the titles and formatting each article.

With over fifty articles published in total for The Overseer, every writer’s level of finesse and skill comes to light through their efforts to make an entertaining, informative, and personalized newspaper. In addition, the majority of the staff also shares the task of writing recurring topics with each other, allowing for a varied writing group each week. It is not an accident that readers may see various recurring articles written by different members from one issue to the next. While not seen as nearly as challenging as performance art, the act of providing one’s written word in a public setting can be nerve-wracking to any number of viewers. The Overseer wishes the best of luck to all of the writers, all of whom are trying very hard to develop their creative literary experience to the best of their ability in the public eye!

The assiduous team of designers, editors, reporters, writers, and organizers of The Overseer, including Arcade, Azure, Berry, Cheer, Corundum Cat, Felix, Fool, Ilea, Jamie, Jester, Lee, Light, Lydia, Mewie, Morph, Nes, Nika, Rainy, Roo, S, Sirius, Snuffy, Styx, and Virtual, would like to share their thanks to each of their readers for the steadfast support they have received for the past two and a half months! They would also like to thank the overall Hermit Citizen Community for effortlessly maintaining such an altruistic and vivacious space for all of their fellow participants.

Affiliate Happenings

By Roo

Bdoubleo: There has been a sighting of the Bdoubleo in his natural habitat. All is well with the world.

GoodTimesWithScar: Apparently, literally all the Hermits are the tallest possible, even not counting various extra limbs. The good times keep timing.

Grian: They’re planning a trip to Omega Mart. Please don’t look up commercials, as from what I’ve gathered, they are extremely concerning and honestly, probably the worst thing I will see in my life, if you don’t count the newspaper’s lack of storage. Nobody worry, we’re still debating on whether or not to call Pearl, as we’re all broke enough already.

JoeHills: (Non-threateningly) Joe Hills.

MumboJumbo: As a direct quote, “Mumbo Jumbo should compete in a stache' contest,” which, while having a multitude of grammatical and spelling errors, we at the newspaper fully agree with.

PearlescentMoon: They’re studying her under a microscope. They’re taking notes. They’re running full-level tests and then wiping up the extra soup spills so as to not ruin their hard work.

ZombieCleo: Cleo has been turned into a lofi girl (gender neutral) and honestly, I think we should be scared.

If your affiliate channel has not shown up this week, it is, as always, and I should really not have to keep saying this, but it’s become a tradition at this point- it is because it has been inactive or the activity has been minimal. Have a lovely week, citizens!

Throwback #1

By Ilea

With the rise of museums on Hermitcraft (and us at The Overseer covering briefly what is in them), the local Hermit-history nerd of The Overseer (that’s me) decided that covering some of the artifacts collected in detail would be interesting. It will probably be a series showing up now and then.

So, welcome to the first edition of this trivia thing, I may manufacture the name in the future. This week we are looking at the season 9 big Iskall head in the implications of Iskallman being back.

Firstly, who is Iskallman? Technically, Iskall with an extra Iskall head on his head. However, what is more important is that said head implies that Iskall will give someone a gift that is of help. The character originated from Hermit Challenges after Iskall got dared and has been carried over to season 9.

Now the big head was made to give Stress a gift and later to use in his King’s court audition tape. 

Questions that we cannot answer are ‘How is Iskallman?’ and ‘Will Iskallman be back?’ We only may hope to learn that in the future, but that has been your quick history throwback for a week.

I have been your host, Il, thanks for reading.

Weekly Weather Report

By Nes

Temperature will be presented in Celsius format, sorry, Americans

Thursday - Cloudy skies with a high of 21 Celsius is expected to last throughout Thursday, with winds picking up in the evening. An excellent day to do outside work as the clouds will prevent a lot of the suns UV’s from reaching you, plus the slight wind ensures you won’t overheat.

Friday - Light showers are expected to begin Friday afternoon alongside a high of 32 Celsius. Showers will last until around dinner time before clearing out to reveal clear skies. Might be best to choose an indoor activity.

Saturday - Clear skies with a high of 34 Celsius is expected for Saturday and will last the entire day, be sure to hydrate properly and consider avoiding labour intensive work while outside during the day.

Sunday - More clear skies with a high of 38 Celsius, seems like a bit of a heatwave has hit Hermitcraft. Be sure to drink lots of water, avoid unnecessary labour, and try taking showers if you feel real groggy. 

Monday - The heatwave continues with clear skies and a high of 34 Celsius, as always be sure to hydrate and take care of your bodies needs.

Tuesday - Clear skies continue but the heat seems to have gone down as the high is expected to be 26 Celisuis, might be a good day to get anything you put off during the heatwave done. 

Wednesday - Light showers are expected in the morning before making way to clear skies by noon with a high of 25 Celusuis, perhaps consider visiting a nearby body of water for a swim.

Yet Another Birthday Article

By Roo

The Overseer was an idea suggested by Hermitcitizen and mod Void on April 15th, 2023, the idea coming from a dream, if our sources are correct. Not even a week after the Hermitcitizen Hub was up and running, the first issue was  posted on April 18th. The three days between the newspaper's founding and first issue were full of pure chaos, name suggestions, and a growing group of various citizens contributing in their own ways. 

The name "The Overseer" was suggested by Shroomgun, and for the last ten weeks, the crew at The Overseer has been working to produce a newspaper each week, complete with games, weather, articles, coloring pages, a PDF version, and even a recent expansion to Twitter.

The newspaper consists of less than 30 citizens, and honestly, if I were to pick a newspaper crew,  i sure as hell wouldnt pick them I would pick them every time. These citizens are all people who put in extra time for no paycheck (we're all unpaid interns, any donations would be welcome) and make amazing creations. Thank you so much for everyone in the newspaper crew, because if it was just me and one or two other people, it'd be a really crappy newspaper. I may be herding cats, but if I'm fully honest, I'm more of a cat person anyways.

Here's to many more weeks to come.

Astrology Corner

By Winter

Have you been feeling without guidance? Do you look at your birthday, look up your star sign, and wonder, “Do I need to bake a cake?” “Are the horoscopes gonna be wholesome this week?” Don’t worry, here at The Overseer, we can help you.*

Aries: You will find a pet and adopt it. You will then become lifelong friends.

Taurus: You will find a really nice coffee shop and become friends with the co-owner. 

Gemini: You will adopt an introvert and make them feel welcome.

Cancer: You found this epic cat cafe and wanted to book it for your birthday, but someone else has booked it. Weird.

Leo: You get a message from a long-lost relative with an inheritance sum of “more than Docm77’s” diamonds. So, a lot. Are you the richest Hermitcitizen?

Virgo: You approached Capricorn about Cancer. You also got paid by your employer.

Libra: You have arranged (after Decked Out is complete, of course) for TangoTek to do the groundhog thing he did last time Decked Out was being built. If he comes out, you and the Decked Out people get to go on extended leave. 

Scorpio: You have been gifted 20 pugaliers. Take good care of them.

Sagittarius: You get to be adopted by The Rift. Congratulations!

Capricorn: You will be approached about throwing a birthday party for Cancer. If you choose to take on this task, make sure it is at a cat cafe.

Aquarius: You get adopted by Gemini, and they then will accept the cupcakes you make in response. 

Pisces: You are somehow significant to the lore and get an exhibit dedicated to you in one of the museums.

All star signs: Did you think I could be wholesome?

*Ignore how blatantly specific these are. Nothing bad will happen to you.

Ask the Seers

By Seers Jester, S, Vi, and Nes

Life can be confusing and sometimes we don’t hold all the answers, but that’s ok because The Seers are here! Have you recently adopted a Warden and don’t know what to do with it? Do you believe yourself to be in danger due to your affliate Hermit blowing up our resident mad scientests machine? Ask us for advice and we’ll be sure to get back to you… eventually!

—————————————————

Dear Seers,  um.. every time I pass the tree of whimsy, I hear voices, is this normal ? - Talking to the voices in my head

Dear Talking to the Voices,

While mildly disquieting, hearing voices isn’t too uncommon on the hermitcraft server, particularly when near a build with as much residual whimsical energy as the Tree of Whimsy (Whimsy Anomaly Center of Knowledge [W.A.C.K.] site OO100) or The Entity (W.A.C.K. site CON412). Though if you are still concerned, here’s a quick checklist to determine the severity of your situation:

Do the voices remain even when you have left the W.A.C.K. site’s radius?

Do the voices imitate either your voice, or the voice of a friend/loved one?

Are the voices accompanied by music? Particularly acoustic covers of your favorite and/or least favorite songs.

Do the voices become panicked or even scream when near large redstone contraptions?

If the answer to any of those questions is yes, please stop by the W.A.C.K. research center (located below the end island) for testing treatment - The Seers

_______________________________

Dear Seers, can we adopt the horse-curse horses from Scarland? - Really wants a horse from scarland

Hello Really Wants A Horse From Scarland! What is kidnapping if not surprise adoption? Just be sure not to get caught by Scarland staff and take proper care of the horse - chances are they’re safer in your hands then his given his track record of keeping literally anything alive. - The Seers

_______________________________

Dear Seers I work and live in Scarland, and need to find a new place to go after the incident, what are the safest places to live? - Someone who has probably already faced Docs wrath since sending this in

Assuming you are not already one with the ground due to this delayed response, perhaps consider moving into The Perimeter! Shockingly there is no place safer for you right now than the most dangerous place on the server. Good luck! - The Seers

_______________________________

ADVERTISEMENTS

By Jamie

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—————————————————

Requesting some Angelica Flowers at Dwayne! While Scar has given us permission to lock Grian out of his base, the plan is yet to be determined. All chaotic gremlins please make your way over to the rift this Friday (do NOT lick anything) for some mandatory shenanigans.

—————————————————

Ever get tired of hunting for a mob spawner to get the tiniest bit if XP to finish enchanting? Well, with SUS's free anti-mob-proofing service, the spawner can come to you! No matter where your base may be located, it can always be made more unsafe. Scar Unsafety Service takes no responsibility for lost or damaged items, lives, or bases. Call 1-800-SUS to book your free anti-mob-proofing today!

—————————————————

Fun and Games

This week's fun and games are brought to you by Lydia and Azure!

Word Search and Crossword by Lydia

Brain Teasers by Azure

And that's all for this week folks, thanks for reading and have a wonderful week!

[triviallytrue]

idk if this is answerable without self-doxxing but what kind of programming are you doing at your job?

also bonus question if you feel like answering: what does a programming job, like, look like? from the perspective of someone like me who has only written really tiny things for practice, things that are like, you know, a few dozen lines or whatever, it's hard to imagine. is there just this massive database of code and they're like "ok you're allowed to modify these parts, uh, implement this feature by next month"? is it like collaboratively editing a google doc? idk. I assume you're working on, you know, some kind of app or website or database or other kind of thing. where there's a fuckton of people and a fuckton of code. how do you keep it straight? etc.

Max asked this a while ago - I have a bit of a better handle on my job now. I'm a newish hire at a large tech company, and I could be loosely termed a "back-end software engineer."

So let's talk about it! When I was an undergrad I had a lot of questions of this type and no real sense of what my future job would look like, so I'm writing with the audience of my former self in mind here.

The fundamental unit of software development is the team. Large companies organize software developers into teams of 5-10 engineers (with the rare teams that are larger or smaller). My team has a set of goals, largely determined by my manager and my tech lead (the seniormost engineer on my team).

The software that my team is responsible for is organized into packages that my team "owns," meaning we are ultimately responsible for what goes into it. Before code anyone writes is merged into our packages and becomes production code, it goes through a process of code review, and since we "own" our packages, people on our team have to approve code that goes into them. Usually you only work on your team's packages, though if you have cross-team dependencies (and basically everyone does), you will occasionally write for another team and it gets approved by them.

Version control is done through git. I actually recommend everyone who works on large collaborative projects learn how to use git - I have, in the past, used git to manage a non-code project (writing math competition problems) in a way that was much more comfortable than other systems like google docs.

I'm not going to give an extensive explanation of git here, but the basic idea is that changes are organized into bundles called "commits," each of which has a one-sentence tagline you write to summarize your changes and also records that you are the author of said changes. There is a remote repository that stores all the production code, which you copy onto your local machine (your work laptop), you make edits on your work laptop, you commit your edits (and test them etc) and then make a code review/pull request/whatever you want to call it. If that is approved, the remote repository copies your changes, and those changes go into production.

There's a lot more to git than just that (branches! merging! rebasing! staging!) but that's good enough for a first glance.

Anyway, back to how we know what to do - my organization has priorities which are conveyed to my team primarily through my manager and tech lead. We then create projects to meet these priorities, which we break down into individual tasks. We then distribute these tasks among the developers on the team and track work using a sprint board, which is basically a list of what work is in progress, what its status is, and who is in charge of it. There are multiple approaches to project management - the most common (I think) is called Agile, whereas my team uses a different approach called Kanban.

There's a lot of other stuff that happens too - how we respond if there's a crisis of some sort, how we handle bugfixes on prior projects, etc. But this is software development at a glance. Happy to answer any followup questions (as long as they aren't too deanonymizing)

[iuteamstarcandy]

Love poem - Album Introduction and Song Introductions

ALBUM INTRODUCTION

There's no correct answer to all literature, but the type of literature that offers the most freedom for interpretation are poems.

As long as the creator has invested pure sincerity in it, regardless of the form it takes, everything in it becomes poetic.

As someone who feels uneasy to use expressions like 'poet', 'art', 'inspiration' or 'literary work', which sound somehow awkward coming from my mouth, I brazenly titled my album 'Love poem' and the reason why I don't feel ashamed about it at all is that the album contains all my pure feelings.

IU's 5th mini-album [Love poem] has been released. The song with the same name, 'Love poem', was released on 1st November previously and swept the music charts by ranking 1st, raising anticipation for this album.

This mini-album has 6 tracks in total, with all the lyrics written by IU, 2 songs that IU was involved in composing and IU also took on the role of the album producer once again.

The team of composers comprises Lee Min-soo, Lee Jong-hoon, Lee Chae-gyu, Kim Je-hwi, Kim Hee-won and others who have collaborated with IU on her title songs and hit songs and greatly influenced IU's music career. At the same time, they can be considered partners who have contributed to IU's music identity.

From electro pop-rock to blues, ethnic fantasy and other genres, the album contains uniqueness and narrative feelings. On top of that, Korea's top musicians such as Hong So-jin and Jukjae were involved in the arrangement and instrumentals for the album production.

After the song introduction for the pre-release track 'Love poem', which became a hot issue, through the introduction and annotations for each song below, the listener would be able to become more immersed in the emotions for the songs.

SONG INTRODUCTIONS

01 unlucky

Composed by Kim Je-hwi

Lyrics by IU

Arranged by Kim Je-hwi

Chorus by IU, Kim Je-hwi and Kim Hee-won

The moment when I heard a radio DJ say this after spending days thinking hard about the title for this song that I wrote long ago.

The moment someone not close to or special to me casually dropped this remark and provided the answer to what I had been on my mind for a long time.

The moment something I had never once questioned betrayed me.

The moment I met someone that I forced myself to go out to meet and ended up having to continue doing so for a long time in future.

There are moments that the exquisiteness of it, like a sophisticated joke, brings me laughter and there are also moments that I become miserable in an instant because of my angry and dejected emotions.

Like a fool, becoming angry easily every time, yet filled with anticipation (Note: for what will happen next), I wanted to capture those restless emotions of mine in this cheerful melody.

I have mentioned before in interviews that when I was young, my motto was "I am a lucky person". Unable to stay young forever, currently I don't really hope for good luck. That's because I'II be treading carefully step by step, when I happen to come across some luck and just as I reach out my hand to grab it on the offbeat, I wobble as I lose my balance and that doesn't look cool. Actually nowadays, when I happen to look back at my younger days, I hope that even if I pick out all my lucky moments, there's still quite a lot left in my life.

If the last track on my album, 'Love poem', is a song to carefully send my support to someone I love, the first track on my album, 'unlucky', is a message of support that I am singing to myself.

Together with the 'musician's idol', composer Kim Je-hwi, whom IU has worked before on multiple successful projects, this song is of a light and sophisticated pop genre. Just like IU, who likes the chorus (backup vocals) track enough to refer to herself as a ‘chorus lover’, the witty and unique chorus harmony in the song is a joy to listen to.

02 그 사람 (The Visitor)

Composed by IU

Lyrics by IU

Arranged by Jukjae

Chorus by IU

The story of 'A Visitor' who appears suddenly and leaves after staying for a while, like a guest.

A self-composed song by lU, it is a modern blues music with 3 beat rhythm that she has never experimented with before.

Also, unlike her other songs which are clean and neat and keep the vocal techniques to a minimum, IU used a groove style vibrato as well as banding, which are new for her.

With the talented arrangement by musician Jukjae, it was made more interesting than the blues genre that may be unfamiliar to the general public.

03 Blueming TITLE

Composed by Lee Jong-hoon, Lee Chae-gyu and IU

Lyrics by IU

Arranged by Lee Jong-hoon and Lee Chae-gyu

Of all the songs with love as the theme for their lyrics, my favorite is Shim Su-bong seonsaengnim's 'One Million Roses' to express the end result of a love without any feelings of hate using a rose, that to me, is more poetic and beautiful than any other metaphor.

The period of time that I bloomed the most roses within a short time span is right after falling in love.

Right before confessing my feelings, when I use all the expressions in the whole world to express my feelings towards someone candidly, just short of that one crucial phrase. When I feel like each vibration on my phone is like a relentless earthquake. When each sentence I say without filtering becomes a love poem. I spill out unfamiliar sentences that I wonder whether are really coming from me. During this time, to the extent of having the confidence to effortlessly bloom a million roses, I'm overflowing with love.

With the blue roses that are just like my (speech bubble) color in our chat window, the 'miracle' of the meaning behind the rose and the end result that seems like an 'impossibility'; l am filled with the conviction that I will be able to bloom a million roses this time round.

Although I've never succeeded even once.

Making a comeback after 'Twenty-three', this is an electro pop-rock song by Lee Jong-hoon, Lee Chae-gyu and IU, with a lively sound and displays balanced teamwork. The piece is a unique result of individual synth sources and a dynamic band sound. The MV was produced by NAIVE Production with a trendy style of directing.

04 시간의 바�� (above the time)

Composed by Lee Min-soo

Lyrics by IU

Arranged by Lee Min-soo

Chorus by IU

What happened to the two children 8 years ago who promised to meet each other in the future and parted ways?

As one of the main characters in this drama, I wanted to become the lyricist this time to complete their story.

I thought for a while about where they should meet after waiting for each other for a long time. Then I wondered about freeing them from the restraints of time which I felt sorry had tied them down for a long time, so they could be above the time. Meeting each other once again after traveling a long distance, they put behind their past and savor the moment in the present, as they look into each others' eyes and dance till they're out of breath.

Even after this song ends, they'd probably still be dancing away.

It's just that it's somewhere outside of time.

Somewhere outside of this story, which we will never be able to find out.

This is an ‘Ethnic fantasy’ song that IU collaborated with composer Lee Min-soo on, 5 years after 'Red Shoes' and in order to bring back the emotions from back then, the male actor in the 'You and I' MV, Lee Hyun-woo returned to the MV again. Ever since the teaser was released, fans who recalled what the two of them were like 8 years ago, were filled with great anticipation.

05 자장가 (Lullaby)

Composed by Kim Hee-won

Lyrics by IU

Arranged by Hong So-jin

This is a song I wrote lyrics for, using Kim Jong-gwan's short film 'Walking at Night' (Persona) that I acted in last year as a motif. I felt that a 'dream that I would forget the moment I wake up' was a fresh idea that I liked. While acting as Ji-eun in the short film, I kept thinking about whether those 'moments that the person will not be able to remember' have meaning for existence.

I wrote these lyrics not from the point-of-view of the person having this dream, but from the point-of-view of the person entering someone else's dream. The song is about entering someone's dream which they will forget and finally singing a lullaby to lull the person you love to sleep before leaving.

An R&B song composed by Through the Night composer, rookie musician Kim Hee-won, with minimal piano accompaniment and filled by IU's voice, the sounds full of emotions leaves you completely immersed in the song.

06 Love poem

Composed by Lee Jong-hoon

Lyrics by IU

Arranged by Hong So-jin, Jukjae

Special Chorus by Ha Dong Qn

“Even human altruism is based on self-centredness."

It's difficult to watch someone you love become isolated and all alone.

Those words of support and consolation that I quickly offered, because it was too painful for me to sit and watch and do nothing.. I was under the false impression that my actions were entirely for that person's sake.

I still can't help interfering when I see my people having a hard time.

I've come to realize though, that my actions are not entirely out of consideration or to serve as consolation for the person, but my own ardent desire to see that person lead a peaceful life instead.

As someone making such a brazen request, I will keep my wishes to a minimum, that you will listen to this love poem, that you will keep breathing.

No one can carry someone else's life (T/N: take responsibility for them) forever. But if both are headed in the same direction, they can walk together no matter how long the distance.

Also, if someone only learns to steal (T/N: idiom which means "old habits die hard"), I can sing as much as possible for the people whom I love.

Just like all the poems I've received from the world throughout my singing career, I'm diligently writing poems filled with sincerity.

I hope we can continue to take turns to listen to each others' poems, taking big and small breaths and live on.

This is a rock song that goes well with the pop-like melody characteristic of Lee Jong-hoon composer, IU’s music partner who has always been working with her, combined with a vivid band sound.

With an arrangement by Hong So-jin and performance by Jukjae, together with IU’s band (Hong So-jin, Jukjae, Choi In-sung, Kim Seung-ho), the quality of the song is even higher.

Also, the voice of IU’s talented senior, singer Ha Dong Qn, who has been showing special camaraderie with her, adds a deeper meaning to the message of the song.

Translated by IUteamstarcandy

Source: Melon

[disciples-of-the-old-faith]

What is this blog?

This blog is centered around a collaborative alternate universe for Cult of The Lamb called "Disciples of The Old Faith".

What do you mean by "collaborative"?

This story was written by multiple people who have contributed their time and creativity to help write and create characters that you can see/interact with! All credits can be found underneath posts and on official reference sheets.

What is "Disciples of The Old Faith" exactly?

In summary, Disciples of The Old Faith is an au that centers on the followers of The Old Faith and what happened 1000+ years before the events of Cult of The Lamb. The story mainly revolves around the events of Narinder becoming The One Who Waits, the prophecy that foretells of a lamb taking hold of The Red Crown and ending The Old Faith, and the consequences that befall on the mortals who worship them. For full details, please visit our about post!

What are some content warnings I should be aware of for this story?

A list of content warnings include:

Major/minor character death

Murder

Violence

Religious imagery

Cults

Further content warnings will be provided under specific posts as needed. Warnings listed above are a part of official events that will happen within the story and major themes. If you are uncomfortable with these then you are free to leave the story. Please stay safe out there!

Can I create fanworks of this project?

YES YOU MAY! The creators would love to see what you create! Please feel free to tag this account with any works you may create so we can see it!

May I use this story as inspiration for my own?

We are completely open for stories that are inspired by this au! We do ask, however, to credit us and to not use any of our characters unless we have given explicit permission.

Who mainly runs this blog?

This blog is run by spacedoutflowers/roto-scope. Any likes/comments on posts will be shown under roto-scope!

List of credits?

Director, lead writer and artist:

@spacedoutflowers

Character writers, character designers/creators:

@spacedoutflowers (Mentamori, Alaunus, others)

@tiniestbun (Thriae, others)

@pinkybug (Euthalia, others)

@mamaluigi124 (Payak)

@irldragonart (Icarus, Wildflower, others)

@spadsnnocks (Tātryn, others)

@sleepdeprivedtato (Snowdrop)

Individual credits will also be given under each post for who worked on it and their role(s)!

If I made fanart and wanted to show, how would we have you see it?

Please tag this blog and/or have "disciples of the old faith" in your hashtags! We would love to see any works you make!

Is this AU in any way inspired by the Sins of the Flesh update/the disciple mechanic in game?

This AU was first developed in October of 2022 prior to any major updates, with the disciples being the core part of the story from the beginning. That is to say, no, this story was not inspired by the Sins of the Flesh update and the disciples mechanic that debut. The way the disciples work in this au will be different due to that!

If you would like to see more information about this au, please check out the pinned message of the blog or click here.

[mlbigbang]

2023 Miraculous Ladybug Big Bang - F.A.Q.

What is a Big Bang?

A Big Bang is a fandom-wide event, where writers write a long fic (more than 10k words) for which artists make fanart during the 6 months long creation period.

How does it work?

Writers arrive with a fic idea at the start of the event. Once they have begun writing, artists select fics to illustrate in an anonymous process, then mods match writer-artist teams. Betas can apply for a specific story to help with what the writer requests: bouncing plot ideas, helping with the flow of the story, correcting spelling and grammar mistakes.

When can I apply?

Writer applications are open until the 24th of June. Beta and artist applications are open until the 31st of August.

Where can I apply?

Application links will be posted on the 1st of May.

What do I need to participate?

You’ll need an email address, a Discord user and if you’re applying as a writer, an AO3 account.

What is expected of me if I get accepted to the Big Bang as a writer?

Create a complete, previously unpublished fic for the event that is independent from your previous works (no sequels or prequels are allowed) and longer than 10.000 words.

Work closely and communicate regularly with your collaborator partners.

Keep the setting and plot of your fic a secret, don’t talk about it publicly outside the event’s server.

What is expected of me if I get accepted to the Big Bang as an artist?

Create at least two pieces of complete, previously unpublished artworks to accompany the fic of your choice for the event (recommended canvas size minimum 2500*2500 pixels).

Work closely and communicate regularly with your collaborator partner(s).

Keep the details of your illustration a secret, don’t talk about it publicly outside the event’s server.

What is expected of me if I get accepted to the Big Bang as a beta reader?

Work closely and communicate regularly with your collaborator partner(s).  Provide technical spelling and grammar corrections, along with content and plot feedback to the writers if they ask for that. The extent to which writers decide to incorporate this feedback is up to their own consideration.

Keep the setting and plot of the fic a secret, don’t talk about it publicly outside the event’s server.

Do I need to get my fic for the event beta read?

We encourage the fics to be beta-read, however, this year it isn’t required. Still, we’ll have betas on the server who can be called upon if you don’t have a beta, and you can also invite your personal betas (up to 3 people) to the server if you’d like.

How will the matching of artists and writers happen?

After writers submit their Project Proposal on August 28, all summaries, tags, and snippets will be shared anonymously with artists. From September 1 - 7, artists will fill out a survey listing their top 5 fics they wish to illustrate. Mods will announce writer-artist pairs on September 15.

If I apply and get accepted as a writer, is getting art for my fic guaranteed?

Artists have the right to decline any work they do not wish to illustrate, so while mods will do their best to match each fic, writers are not guaranteed an artist partner. However, all writers can still produce a long fic to be proud of with the support of the Big Bang discord community. Other benefits of being in the Big Bang are getting your fic added to the AO3 collection and reblogged by the Tumblr blog.

Can I apply for multiple roles?

We want everyone to have the best chance at completing their work within their writer-artist team. For that reason, you may only be accepted as either a writer or an artist, so if you apply for both be aware that it is up to the mods’ discretion which role you will get. However, writers and artists can also be betas.

What happens if I need to drop out of the event?

If you need to drop out please contact a moderator ASAP so they can inform you of the procedure! If you drop out before the pairing happens nothing will happen. However, if you drop out after this you might not be able to participate in next year’s event.

What happens if my partner drops out during the event? 

If you’re an artist or a beta, you can choose to work with another writer. If you’re a writer, the mods will make every effort to find an artist to fill in for you (this person is called a pinch hitter).

Can writers collaborate on fics?

Yes, writers may collaborate on a fic. In this case please indicate so in both of your sign-up forms. 

What kind of content is allowed?

Your work can be about any ships (or no ships). Salt content (content with a heavy focus on character bashing or other extreme critique) is allowed, though keep in mind that writers must explain any potentially salty content in their Zeroth Check-In and this may affect whether artists and betas choose to work with you. Crossovers are not allowed.

Are NSFW fics allowed for the event?

Yes, you may create NSFW content for the event, be that Mature or Explicit fic. You’ll have to indicate this rating when filling out the Zeroth check-in, though, so we can make sure betas and artists who don’t wish to engage with this content don’t stumble upon them when browsing the summaries. You’ll also be able to discuss any adult parts of your creation on the designated channel. 

Who can work on an NSFW fic?

You may only apply to write, beta, or make art for an NSFW fic if you’re over 18. We’ll trust your word on this, but if we later learn that you lied about your age we’ll take away the project. 

Can I share part of my fic/art with anyone during the creation period?

We ask you to keep your idea and progress as private as possible except for the Big Bang’s Discord server. This is to preserve the anonymity of the writers when artists choose fics to contribute to, and to keep the suspense and excitement in the general fandom about the pieces.

I already shared some details of my fic before I knew about the Bang. What now?

Please contact the mods! We'll make an evaluation based on your specific circumstances.

In general, we aren't penalizing people for brainstorming an idea publicly on Tumblr or Discord; and we definitely don't mind if you shared your idea or bits of your work with a handful of friends privately. Our aim is to preserve the authors’ anonymity as much as possible, and to build excitement for the posting period. If you have shared anything publicly, we ask that you hide the post and stop discussing it immediately in any public spaces.

For more information: Schedule || Mods || Rules

[lokisasylum]

Be mindful of changes during ‘FACE’ release...

I’ve been seeing a lot of people overly excited of the possibilities once we get the TRACK LIST tomorrow, but we also need to be conscious that EVERYTHING that was discussed during FESTA2022 was “subject to change”.

Which also begs the question or theory that FESTA2022 was pre-recorded:

#01. Notice how they weren’t reading comments, but instead were reading pre-established questions.

#02. RM mentioned that the order of Solo-ALBUM releases & debuts would be: Jhope►Himself►JK►Suga►Jimin.

Despite the fact that we knew since MAY that Jhope would be the first to drop his album & debut in Lollapalooza. On that same kmedia article it was announced that HYBE would debut JK for the US right after Jhope’s.

#03. There were vague mentions of “possible” collabs in each other’s albums. Starting with Jimin having shown his songs between Jhope, Suga and even Jin. But neither of the 3 actually heard the same songs. And it was SUGA who brought up the topic that “Jimin’s been working on this one song...” and then proceeds to “reveal” (but was NOT confirmed) that Jimin asked him if he wanted to be featured in said song (note that not even Jhope knew about this song since Jimin showed him a different one). So in the end and after much teasing Suga said he would work with him or any of them for free. 

But what REALLY happened was:

[rest of 2022, July-onward]

A) Jhope debuted with JITB during July ► went to Lollapalooza.

B) JK did that collab with CP.

C) Tae did that one photoshoot with Vogue Korea & went to Paris Fashion Week for the Celine show along with L*sa & P*rk Bogum (but in the end it was Bogum who got the BA contract for Celine during November).

D) We started getting photos & info of Jimin working or having worked with multiple producers for his album and also hints of him doing photoshoots on his own. 

E) The Busan Concert happened, one final concert as a group of 7.

F) Jin was debuted with “The Astronaut” ► sang with Coldplay in Argentina. (Despite the fact that Jin hadn’t been planning to debut yet until AFTER his MS, but the producers apparently pressured him to finish at-least ONE song before this happened).

G) JK performed in the WC with “Dreamers” (a song that was originally a group collab/project due to their contract with HYUNDAI, but JK was sent alone instead of the whole group and BTS is credited in the song along with his name).

H) The choir that was featured & sang in the background of “Friends/Chingu” drops a surprise announcement through twitter and Instagram congratulating Jimin who was allegedly dropping a Single AHEAD of his upcoming album. But not even 12hrs later both of these announcement mysteriously disappeared.

I) RM debuts with “INDIGO” (Note: before his official debut, a Kmedia article, the same one that announced Jhope & JK’s solo debuts, said that INDIGO would feature collaborations between RM x Pharrel, as well as RM x JK, but neither of these happened).

J) Jimin is rumored to feature in a collab with Big Bang member, Taeyang, for his album in Jan.

K) Jin leaves for MS.

(I’m gonna skip the end of year awards ‘cause we’re drawing a timeline of debuts to compare with FESTA. There was also a Weverse post or conv between Taehyung & an army where Tae expressed that he scrapped his entire album/mixtape and will start working from scratch again despite him having almost finished it and Suga even told him during FESTA “Don’t be afraid just drop it and see what happens”)

[Start of 2023-onwards]

A) The collab between Jimin x Taeyang is revealed to be true & drops mid-January.

B) W.Korea Magazine drops a session of photos with Jimin.

C) Later on Jimin is also revealed as DIOR’s Global Brand Ambassador & that his first mission as GBA was to do this photoshoot with W.Korea (which was done sometime during August or so, but his contract with Dior happened as soon as BTS made their hiatus official) ► attends Paris Fashion Week where he is officially introduced as the Face of Dior.

**Note: Jhope also attends PFW as a guest to multiple brand shows.

D) A week or so later Suga is also announced/revealed as Brand Ambassador to Valentino under a special campaign (his contract with the brand had also been signed since BTS’ hiatus announcement) ► Attends Paris Fashion Week.

E) Jimin comes live twice in a span of two weeks where he gives us little snippets of what he’s been doing and working on, becoming GBA for Dior, how his album is doing. During the second time he comes online he tells us that his album would probably drop sometime in February and to look forward to it.

F) Tae starrs in a reality tv show that was secretly filmed in Mexico last year while on a “vacation trip” with wooga squad.

G) Mid-February Suga is announced to be going on a solo tour starting April.

H) Jimin’s album gets moved to March 24th.

Where am I going with all this?

That no matter WHAT happens when the track list drops tomorrow lets not feel sad or disappointment if certain things DON’T happen.

If we get collabs great, if not then also great. Its not the end of the world.

After-all, we know that PDogg was involved in the production of Jimin’s album and it is PDogg himself who has been against certain collabs between members in the past.

So lets just focus on supporting JIMIN to the fullest during his first and much anticipated solo album. Know where to buy so that it counts for charts, stream on all platforms that you can.

ENJOY THE RIDE. 

[art-of-mathematics]

Thought experiment regarding non-linear causal nets using an analogy of "dynamical chess"

Imagine a flexible chess board where each move of the chess figures alters the board. And each alteration of the board has effects on the figures as well, causing alteration in the behavior of the figures [a.k.a. the rules each figure has as a pre-defined rule]. | (That's entanglement of feedback-loops.) - This leads to chaotic behavior, making predictions even more difficult and "turbulent".

[This sort of chess is like the interaction between spacetime and matter.]

Following a helpful quote by John Wheeler:

"Spacetime tells matter how to move; matter tells spacetime how to curve."

- John Archibald Wheeler, Geons, Black Holes and Quantum Foam: A Life in Physics

---

Why do I use the neologism "non-linear causal nets"?

There is a kind of idiom-like brabble, called "causal chains". It states a linear string of cause-and-effect. This is often far too simplified for explaining real-life phenomena, because often there are far more causes to an effect than just one. There happen many "causal chains" simultaneously, so to speak. These causal chains are entangled. Multiple of such linear cause-and-effects are entangled, until they are no longer a linear-string or multiple linear strings, but a complex web. Each causal chain alters each other. That is basically a fundamental principle often recognized in quantum mechanics - interference.

It describes conservation of momentum in an analogy-based and merely imagination-based language of knots and loops, similar to some approaches of string theory and (loop) quantum gravity.

Information weaving

"Information weaving" might be the silly name I would use for that collection of conceptions and re-interpretations.

"Information transforms" in this conception are weaving patterns. In concrete, these are interaction patterns like

- replication of interaction pattern (like law of inertia)

- and interference/alteration of interaction pattern (momentum).

These two transforms are the two primary transforms. You can combine them and create all possible sorts of patterns.

Furthermore,... these relate to addition and multiplication of imaginary numbers, resulting in either a translation or a rotation in the complex plane... These might relate to the information transforms stated above.

But the research regarding this is really difficult and curently my mind is too sluggish and too over-crowded to compute it well enough.

It might take some years until it's less mad nonsense.

...

Spacetime as emergent property of entanglement

I enjoy the project It from Qubit and Polymath Vijay's interpretation that spacetime is emergent due to entanglement.

In my interpretation/analogy of "information weaving" time is a string, and space is the web consisting of that string. Space and time are hence "two aspects of one and the same thing".

This is especially interesting if you consider the difference between a time and a space dimension.

A space dimension has two ways of propagation, so to speak: left-right, top-down, before-behind... (to put it in plain words)

When it comes to the time dimension, I consider it to have only one propagation direction: The future, like in the conception of the arrow of time.

But here it becomes complex. Since time is "mono-directional", say, it has only one direction to propagate towards, it might interact with itself - via feedback-loops. This results in literal entanglement if you consider the arrow of time to be a simple string. Loop, knot and weave that string/arrow with itself and you might have spacetime as a complex result, so to speak.

In regards to quantum entanglement and superposition this interpretation might make sense as well, but I am not far enough with my research about that topic to summarize it coherently.

Furthermore, you can also define quantum gravity as the "degree of clotting": or, say: Let's interpret gravity as a principle of clustering: Areas with more density gain density, and areas with less density lose even more density, to reduce gravity to its primary principle.

Gravity is hence a re-distribution, a re-ordering of matter, or information, so to speak...

In regards to my information weaving conception, quantum gravity defines the density of information. It also defines how information re-distributes itself over time.

How the clustering happens depends on the patterns of interaction. And the patterns of interaction are affected by clustering as well. (Leading us back to Wheeler's quote above... )

What is "information"?

I regard information as an interaction pattern, a pattern in the web of causal nets, so to speak.

...

This is all a bit difficult to summarize. I will visualize it once I have summarized the parts of it well enough.

---

That was my literally chaotic thoughts as of today. It's a bit (/very much) incoherent.

[jjr1971]

Two of my favorite Rom-Coms of recent years. Horimiya and My Dress Up Darling ... both wholesome stories that are nevertheless both horny AF. Kyoko Hori (堀 京子, Hori Kyōko) and Izumi Miyamura (宮村 伊澄, Miyamura Izumi) are good friends but Kyoko wants to take things to the next level. Izumi's a little dense but figures things out...and not only do they become boyfriend & girlfriend, they definitely F*CK, as a normal part of their developing relationship, because she wants to and he's okay with it. It reminds me a little of His and Her Circumstances (aka Kare Kano) which also acknowledges the two love interests have a sexual relationship. With Goto and Marin, it's a meeting of two compatible passions...Goto is a skilled dressmaker but heretofore has only ever practiced his craft on traditional Japanese dolls, but the principles are the same. Marin is a devoted anime addict but also a passionate Cosplayer, portraying characters with whom she has a deep emotional bond. But Marin knows her dressmaking skills aren't strong enough to make the Cosplay she truly desires...she runs into Goto and discovers his talents and realizes he can help her make her Cosplay dreams come true and the two found a partnership founded on respect for each other's talents. The engage in multiple Cosplay projects, each more challenging than the last and it brings Marin true happiness. While their classmates look at Goto as a little creepy and antisocial, Marin appreciates him. Marin may be the hottest girl in school but she doesn't let it go to her head; she's not about any of that. She's singularly focused on being the best Cosplayer she can be and needs Goto's collaboration to make it happen. Their friendship bond grows tighter as they work closely together for each project....and Marin can't help simply falling in love with Goto. She does finally confess to him over the phone but he has fallen asleep; but it's still emotionally satisfying because at least Marin has admitted her true feelings to herself out loud. My Dress Up Darling is a rom-com smash hit, 5 out of 5 stars from me.

[jcmarchi]

Why Do Web Design Projects Come to a Standstill?

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/why-do-web-design-projects-come-to-a-standstill/

Why Do Web Design Projects Come to a Standstill?

A web designer’s schedule can be challenging. We try to plan so that projects don’t overlap. Scrambling to launch multiple websites simultaneously isn’t ideal. But it seems like something always disrupts our carefully crafted agenda.

A stalled project is often to blame. Everything is moving along – until it isn’t. Suddenly, your eager client has gone quiet. And you’re left to wonder and wait.

It may be a temporary situation. But it can drag on for months or longer. And the delay can have a significant impact.

Not only does the situation hurt your schedule, but it can also affect your bottom line. That money you were expecting hangs in the air along with the project. It’s not a good situation for your business.

So, why do web design projects come to a standstill? Here are a few thoughts on the root causes. Along the way, we’ll offer some tips to get things moving again.

Too Much Design by Committee

Project stakeholders must work together effectively and efficiently. But the more people involved, the harder it is to collaborate. And we can’t forget about the difficulty in achieving consensus.

The result is something that web designers loathe: design by committee. It’s a situation where everyone puts their ideas on the table. The ideas often conflict with and contradict each other. A lack of leadership and a clear vision for the project cause chaos.

This internal strife can grind progress to a halt. Even worse is that web designers are caught in the middle. We listen to the gripes but feel powerless to act.

All is not lost, however. If your client’s leadership is amiss, you might be able to help. Stepping into the void and bringing people together can restart progress.

The key is to get everyone working toward the same goal. Once that happens, things can come together quickly.

The Woes of Client-Created Content

Clients can be great at thinking big when it comes to content. They’ll have grand ideas for in-depth pages and blog posts. They envision a website that’s teeming with compelling articles.

Ideas aren’t the problem. The ability to deliver on them gets in the way. The reality tends to hit clients when it’s time to do the work.

It’s among the most common reasons for a slowdown. Ambitious clients bite off more than they can chew. They may feel overwhelmed by the task ahead of them.

The difficulty for web designers is that content is often the last piece of the puzzle. We can’t move forward without it. Thus, a beautiful new website may sit dormant while we wait.

Thankfully, it’s another area where we can pitch in. Our clients aren’t necessarily content creators. Therefore, they need someone to act as a guide.

You can walk them through the content creation process. Provide writing prompts or templates that clients can fill in. Short of that, you might also offer to produce the content yourself.

Content-related delays can go on indefinitely. Being proactive could make a positive difference.

A Client That’s Strapped for Time

Some clients have multiple responsibilities. It’s especially the case for small organizations. A decisionmaker may wear many hats. Their website is just one.

Building a website requires time to focus on the details. A client will need to review the site’s design and content. They’ll also need to coordinate with team members. There’s also the time needed for meetings and brainstorming.

It’s a challenge even during relatively quiet times. And it can slow things down immensely when something unexpected pops up.

It can be difficult for a client to ramp things back up. Regaining momentum after a long break doesn’t come naturally. Thus, they may put the project on the back burner.

You could wait for your client to restart things. But this also adds uncertainty to your schedule.

Communication might bring the project back to life. Get in touch with your client and offer assistance. Try to encourage them to delegate tasks when possible.

Everyone has limited time to get things done. Demonstrating a willingness to help may ease a client’s burden.

Deal with Project Delays Like a Pro

Dealing with project delays is a part of being a web designer. We may pride ourselves on being timely. But client-related stoppages are out of our control.

And there are a variety of reasons for a standstill. A client may have too much on their plate. They might also struggle with managing other stakeholders. Or they had an unexpected issue with their budget. The sky’s the limit.

The challenge for designers is that we need client participation. Sure, we can perform some tasks in the background. But we can’t finish the job without their feedback and approval.

Sometimes a delay is a positive. It frees up time to work on other projects while we wait. But that’s not always the case.

Indeed, the uncertainty can hang over our heads. When a client does get around to restarting, it inevitably clashes with our schedule. We’re left trying to squeeze the project into what we’re already doing.

The best we can do is to try and keep things moving forward. Making an effort here will be appreciated by your clients. As is knowing they aren’t alone in wanting to finish the project.

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[braininventoryusa]

Discover Why Full-Stack Development Is Your Business Ideal Choice

Quick Summary: Full stack website development is the process of creating an application that covers all aspects of the software lifecycle – from database, application programming, user interface design, and even deployment. There are a number of reasons why full-stack developers are in such high demand and why it’s becoming more and more popular. We’ll be looking at some of them in this article.

What is Full Stack Web Development?

A full-stack developer is in charge of developing a web application from the initial design through to deployment and maintenance. They are responsible for both the front end — the user-facing part of the project — and the backend, which contains the logic and database functions. In some companies, full-stack developers are in charge of development right from the very start. In other companies, they work together with a frontend developer on a team where each one takes on part of the development process.

Full Stack Software Development: Reasons to Choose It

Better Team Management

Enterprises today want software developers with good communication skills and team management capabilities. Moreover, they need software professionals who can work on several layers of the app: front-end and back-end programming. It happens with small team sizes, and fewer people on-board the project. But software development methodologies like Full Stack Software Development help you get a product in the market quickly.

Working with a full-stack web development team is far easier and more manageable than you may have expected. Fullstack teams are dedicated to building a website under one roof, along with all of the backend and frontend processes that come with it. This means they manage their own project from start to finish, calling on backend developers when needed.

Cost-Effective Development

Affordability when hiring a full-stack development company is important to any business’s budget. With competition rising on a daily basis and the tech world becoming more and more competitive, every business is looking for creative ways of improving their margins. This is why investing in a full-stack development team will ensure that you have more to play with in your budget while giving your product the capabilities it needs to compete on all counts.

Multiple Technology Expertise

Full Stack Software Development is another development model, which allows you to hire developers with multiple technology skillsets and project management skills. Full Stack Developers are competent in handling development at each level from UI/UX to database and server management. The stack refers to separate layers in the overall software design process which comprises of Business layer, Network layer, Data layer, and most importantly the UI/UX layer. Computer science grads who have graduated with a specialization in Front-end engineering can easily find employment as Full Stack Engineers. They also tend to be more marketable due to their full competence in all aspects of product development

Rapid Development

Full-stack web development is a set of techniques that allow organizations to manage critical deliverables at an extremely fast pace. To provide a better product and meet development deadlines, full-stack web developers collaborate seamlessly with each other. Full-stack web development also allows developers to work on any task rather than on specific tasks, thereby improving their performance.

Better Support and Maintenance

Full-stack developers are skilled in different technologies. They monitor changes in technology and update their skills to stay current. They have a progressively updated knowledge and understanding of various languages and platforms. This helps them to provide technical support and maintenance as well as modification of products as per the latest technology updates. The full stack developers are highly beneficial for companies, especially for startups where it is difficult to meet the demands of numerous technologies and products.

Accountable Development

Full-stack web development follows a seamless workflow where developers handle tasks one after the other, working in harmony to achieve the ultimate goal of product development. In cases where responsibilities are divided among different developers, maintaining individual accountability can pose challenges for the team.

All-In-One Development

Full Stack Web Development is the new trend in today’s technology market. The method allows the developers to work with end-to-end technology. It helps them to create a website, application, or service that covers the whole spectrum of tools and services used in building a modern website (including but not limited to) database storage, web servers, front-end presentation layer programming technologies, and dynamic content delivery networks (CDN).

Conclusion

Full stack development is an approach to web or software development that empowers developers with the option to take charge of every layer of a platform. This allows them to pick and choose the tools needed to build various functionalities, which is often more efficient. This in-depth approach can also help developers resolve some issues they might experience like project inefficiencies, poor communication between team members, delivery backlogs, and many more. BrainInventory is a full-stack development company based in India. We provide high-quality web development services at competitive rates. Our team has many years of experience which includes building numerous projects for our clients, companies from Europe and the United States. We are always ready to implement any IT solution: website creation, custom software, iOS/Android app development, big data solutions, or graphic design services.