#Line Sheet Template

[design-zone]

[blaithnne]

Local big sister experiences emotions, more at 6

Been wanting to do one of these with Lauren for AGES, but I never got round to it. Then I saw the Lydia and Phinium expression sheets on @littledigits’ website and I felt inspiration like never before.

The funniest struggle I have with Lauren’s design right now is that she nose too big for she got damn face. Literally, Hilda characters noses take up a fairly small portion of their faces, and her’s took up WAY too much, leaving little room for her to make facial expressions. But I struggled to find a fix because when I made the nose smaller it just didn’t look like Lauren anymore, so I took this as an opportunity to work on that!

She still has a larger nose than most characters, starting higher up (like her grandad!) and ending lower down (but not quite as low as before). I also made her eyes a little smaller and with a shape similar to Lydia’s (though you can see in some of these I hadn’t quite landed on that yet and her eyes are a bit too big), which works both as a nod to her parentage and because I think it makes the nose look bigger. This still doesn’t leave as much room for the mouth as most other characters, but that’s okay — Lauren is a very private person who keeps her feelings close to her chest, I think it works for her to have subtler expressions, adds to how guarded she is! Oh and I also updated the shape of her hair slightly, just to make it a bit more style accurate.

These changes are pretty small on their own, but I think combined they work well to make Lauren feel a lot more…alive? Far less stiff, anyway. I think she also has a more unique facial structure now, instead of just “what if Johanna was 90% nose”. She’s still got a big old nose and I love it but now she can emote, yay!

This is really all just concept stuff, I’m hoping to get a new fullbody style-ref for Lauren out soon! Now that I’ve improved the main issues I had with her face in the last ref, now it’s onto the silhouette! I want her to read as more of a strong character (though it comes across decently in her current ref, I wanna push it more without being as exaggerated as Ahlberg, which is. A challenge for me lol), streamline her silhouette, and finally make her taller than Johanna like she’s always meant to have been <3 I made her shorter for so long because I thought it would help her read better as her daughter but you know what? That’s dumb actually, she’s tall.

ANYWAYS, thank you for listening in on the annual Lauren redesign, and to the artists behind the show for posting so much amazing inspiring show stopping concept work for free because it makes my autism worse /pos

[inafieldofdaisies]

OCs Romance Chart | vol. 1 for Sabrina and Mercedes

@nightbloodbix @socially-awkward-skeleton @strangefable @strafethesesinners @josephslittledeputy @josephseedismyfather @trench-rot @finding-comfort-in-rain @florbelles @corvosattano @jackiesarch @unholymilf @direwombat @adelaidedrubman @voidika @theelderhazelnut @onehornedbeast @marivenah @macs-babies @cassietrn @thesingularityseries @simplegenius042 @la-grosse-patate @g0dspeeed @wrathfulrook @carlosoliveiraa @shellibisshe @dumbassdep

[keeps-ache]

found this thing on pinterest yippee !!

[typheus]

here we go again........

[majestic-ai]

[celestial-sphere-press]

Book Decoration: AKA All The Ways I Don't Use a Cricut

(this post is for people who don't want to buy an expensive cutting tool, or for those that do have an expensive cutting tool that would like to mix things up a little)

1. Print That Shit

If you're already printing your own textblocks, an easy step for titles is to print them. Above is a title printed onto an "obi" of decorative paper. I measured out where I wanted things on the finished book and laid it out in Affinity, then printed it on a full sheet & trimmed it down to wrap around the book. A more simple method is to print & glue on the label into a slight indent in the cover (to protect it). A third option is to do the spine in bookcloth, while you print on paper for the cover and then glue that paper onto the boards (this usually looks even better when it is a three-piece bradel bind).

2. Foil Quill / Heat Pens

The heat pen is one of my go-to tools, but it can be a bit touchy about materials. The most popular version is the We R Memory Keepers' Foil Quill (which is one of the most ergonomic), but other pens exist that can get you to a higher heat temp, finer lines, or more consistent foil. For example, I have a pen created by a local Japanese bookbinding studio that fares way better on leathers than the WRMK quill & with a finer tip, but it's hell to control. Best results in general are on paper or smooth bookcloth (starched linen, arrestox, colibri - even duo will work but its less solid). The fuzzier a bookcloth is, the less your foil quill wants to deal with it. This means the heat n bond method of making bookcloth does not play nice with a heat pen usually, but there are two solutions: 1) use this tutorial on paste + acrylic medium coated bookcloth instead that will get you a perfect surface for the heat pen, or 2) use the pen on paper & then glue onto the cloth. I did a video tutorial for both foil quill use and this type of homemade bookcloth for @renegadeguild Binderary in 2023.

You get the most consistent results by tracing through a printed template that is taped in place, as I do in the video above.

3. Paint That Shit

Acrylic paints will do you fine! The above is free-handed with a circle template, because I wanted that vibe. If you need straight lines that won't seep, lay them down with tape first & then paint over it first with a clear Acrylic medium, then your color. Same goes for stencils. Two more examples of painted bookcloth:

4. IT'S GOT LAYERS

By using layers of thinner boards, you can create interesting depths & contrasts on your cover. You can also make cutouts that peep through to the decorative paper behind. The most important part to this technique is the order in which each edge is wrapped. To get a good wrapped inside edge, you will split the turn in into tabs to get them to conform to a curve. You can also layer multiple colors of bookcloth without multiple layers of board, as seen below left, so long as you mind your cut edges for fraying.

5. Inlaid... anything

Mirrors! Marbled paper! I saw someone do a pretty metal bookmark once! The key is creating a little home for it to live in, which is pretty similar to the above layering method. On one layer you cut the shape, & glue that layer onto the bottom solid board before covering. You can do the top layer as an entire 1 mm board (like I did for the mirrors) or a sheet of cardstock, like I would use for inlaid paper.

6. Decorative Paper

Decorative paper is always helpful & adds to the paper hoard... & its effects can be layers with other techniques, as below. Marbles, chiyogami, momi, or prints & maps of all kinds can be great additions. Some papers may need a protective coating (such as wax or a sealer).

7. Stamps (with optional linocut)

While I've not used many more regular rubber stamps, I do know some who have, successfully! And I've used one once or twice with embossing powder (see photo 3 up, the gold anchor on the little pamphlet bind). What also works is to carve your own linocut or stamp, & then use block printing ink to ink it onto your fabric (as i did above). A bit time intensive, but it was nice how easily reproducible it was, and I liked the effect I got for this particular bind.

These methods are not exhaustive, just ones I've used, and there are of course many others. I haven't gone too into detail on any of these for the sake of length (& post photo limits) but feel free to ask about more specifics. Usually I'm using them in combination with other options.

[hootbon]

TADC Freakshow AU Masterpost

May you be warned, this is a horror/gore based AU. If that’s not your thing then I’d probably not click on the links

+ bubble

(these will be updated when new ones come out! None of them are in a particular order, some of them will be and hopefully soon there will be an actual order)

Go check out @jokerskellington !! They helped me out with a lot of the designs and the concepts :D

Story comics

Abstraction

Aftermath

A little chat

Notes

Stitches

Replacement

Outside

Broken faces

Lost friend

Restart

Looks decieve

selfish kindness

needle and thread

needle and thread pt2

Bloody tracks

I don’t want to.

Rule-Breaker

Eclipse

community choice adventure

Misc

posters line-up

Freakshow&carnival templates

Q&A

Q: Can we make ocs/fanart/fics/etc.?

A: Of course you can! I love getting work of my AU from others, please tag me in them! (Do not send them in my ask box, I prefer it when people post their own work)

———————————————————

Q: Is the community choice adventure continuing?

A: Yes. You don’t need to keep asking me, I have been taking a little hiatus but I will be working on it soon.

———————————————————

Q: Do you have any boundaries?

A: Not necessarily, but my only rule is to keep things chill over here.

———————————————————

Q: can we make Nsfw?

A: I don’t mind, if it’s sexual, please don’t tag me. However, extreme gore and violence is A-okay with me (infact please tag me in those.)

———————————————————

Q: Will X character be in this au?

A: all characters seen in the show will be characters in this AU and more than likely have designs when I get the time.

———————————————————

Q: if gangle abstracts, what would happen?

A: she will abstract, simple as that. Then be replaced with an AI much like her sister.

———————————————————

Q: can or will the virus be cured?

A: no.

———————————————————

Q: what would happen if x character met y character?

A: I strongly dislike these questions, please don’t ask them.

———————————————————

Q: art requests?

A: I don’t usually take them unless I like the idea and actively want to do it. 8 times out of 10 I likely won’t do them but who knows.

———————————————————

Q: Art commissions?

A: I promise I plan to open those up for the people of tumblr soon, I am currently rehashing my prices and setting up my sheets but I will make a post when I am ready!

[the-trinket-witch]

OK TWST FANDOM

We as artists and writers like having sources for stuff, right? And we like giving credit to other artists for their work, right? Well, I've compiled a collection of resources I've personally used and thoroughly believe would benefit others.

[NOTE: THIS LIST IS UNDERSTANDABLY GOING TO BE INCOMPLETE. IF YOU HAVE OTHER RESOURCES TO ADD, PREFERABLY BY A PRIMARY SOURCE, PLEASE ADD IT IN REBLOGS]

Alchemivich's collection:

Ripped Assets Backgrounds SD Sprites (navigate via Excel Sheet) Login Font (free download site)

Robo-Milky: (Info Pulled from TWST Discord server)

TWST Game Font list

MonstroLoungeOfficial (HD Card uploads/limited sprite assets)

Stestylius-arts:

Blank OC Assets Magical Archive Profile Blanks

WolfLover10's Transparent Heartslabyul Uniform

TheDoughWorks (Twitter) Fanslated Prefect Profile (Original via DisneyJPGames)

TwiwOnCrackPopcorn's similar Prefect Profile fanslation

Twisted-Tech's Hair rendering tutorial

SilvyPretty_ (Twitter) Color Rendering guide (photos from Official Visual Books)

Szynkaaa's Pomefiore uniform lining

RubyPearl31's Club Badges:

Equestrian Pop Music Club Magift Science Film Studies Track/Field Gargoyle Research Society Basketball Mountain Lovers Board Game

Unfinished-Projects-Galore:

Blank Intro Cards OC Profile Template Birthday Jacket Card Blanks

AraRoseheart's Broomquet Card Blank

Fumikomiyasaki's Platinum Jacket Card Blank

TomatoWar (Twitter) 妄想 Ramshackle Dorm Floorplan

Estcaligo's Cleaned Dorm Bedrooms

(my own Ramshackle 'cleaned' room)

Fanslations:

OtomeAyui Shel_BB Ekala

TAGLIST: (lemme know if you want added/removed)

@ceruleancattail @squidwen @thecosmicjackalope @vaporvipermedia@writing-heiress

@oya-oya-okay @k-looking-glass-house @thehollowwriter @rainesol @cyn-write

@heartscrypt @honey-milk-depresso @br3adtoasty @jackiecronefield @ruggiethethuggie

@hoboyherewego @achy-boo @oreoskys @oseathepebble @oathofoaks

@tunabesimpin @hamstergal @fumikomiyasaki@valse-a-mille-temps

@hallowed-delights @kimikitti @plutos-hell @thetwstwildcard @atwstedstory

@comingyourlugubriousness @ice-cweam-sod4 @twst-the-night-away @nammanarin

[eriyu]

Advanced searching on xiv.quest!

Using this Firefox extension!

My FFXIV script site works great if you already know exactly what you're looking for, but here's a solution for if you want to find something a little more vague. For example, the search in the screenshot says "find any time anyone except Urianger says "thou."

If you're familiar with regular expressions, this'll be pretty self-explanatory. If you're not, I'm putting a crash course under the cut to help you use this extension on the site!

Here's a basic setup for any and all searches you'll want to do:

Make sure all checkboxes are ticked (case sensitivity optional).

Put ^.* at the beginning of your expression (where it says "Type Regex here") to say "I want to see everything from the beginning of the line to my result!"

Put .*$ at the end of your expression to say "I want to see everything from my result to the end of the line!"

Type $0\n\n in the "custom template" field to put a line break in between results.

With that, you can start doing basic searches:

...but to do more complicated stuff is a little more work. Here's a small list of searches I've used myself — the useful ones written out below for those who don't want to leave Tumblr or if the link breaks, but this link to Google sheets is easier to read.

To find a specific character saying a specific word:

Format: Name:.*word

Example search: ^.*Zenos yae Galvus:.*beast.*$

Example result: Zenos yae Galvus: Man should fight for the joy of it. To live, to eat, to breed─lesser beasts snap and howl at one another for this. Only man has the wisdom and the clarity to embrace violence for its own sake.

To find a specific word said by anyone except a specific character:

Format: (?<!Name):.*word

Example search: ^.*(?<!Urianger):.*\bthou\b.*$

Example result: Ifrit: Thou art strong, mortal!

Note: Note the \b in the example search! It's not mandatory, but is very helpful in this particular case. It marks a "word boundary," so that you get results for "thou" but not for "thoughts" or "without" (basically like the "Whole Words" option in regular Ctrl+F). You can use this whenever/wherever it's helpful. Like it's not used in the above example with Zenos because I wanted it to return the plural "beasts."

To find anything said by a specific character or any of their aliases:

Format: Name\)?:

Example search: ^.*Vrtra\)?:.*$

Example result: Varshahn (Vrtra): That is all I need know of thee for now.

Note: You have to have the "Show real names" option enabled on the website for this to work!

To find any two words used in the same line:

Format: (?=.*\bword1\b)(?=.*\bword2\b)

Example search: ^.*(?=.*\bFeo Ul\b)(?=.*\bthey\b).*$

Example result: G'raha Tia: By the way, have you spoken with Feo Ul of late? Some days ago, they appeared to me in a dream─of the sleeping persuasion, that is.

Note: This looks so complicated because it will find the words in either order! Putting "they" before "Feo Ul" would work exactly the same.

You can keep these examples as templates to use for yourself without having to understand how they work by using the extension's built-in Profiles, and just swapping in the words you want to search:

...but the possibilities really open up if you want to learn how they work! You can combine the above examples in different ways and built your own profiles. I have other tabs in the Google Sheet linked above for learning how to use regex, and the Firefox extension itself includes a cheat sheet under the "Help" button which is super useful!

[ectoberhaunt]

Ectoberhaunt 2024: Past and Future

Y'all ready for this? Here is our prompt list for the event this year! (Please clap) What's this? A triple prompt for the first day? That's right! We're celebrating the Phandom new and old for our favorite ghost boy's 20th anniversary with a theme centered around the passage of time and what that could mean to Danny and his rogue's gallery. As always, our last prompt day is the 24th where we hand off to @ectoberweekofficial for their event. This makes our free days October 5th, 6th, 19th, 20th, and the 24th to Halloween this year. Please tag all prompt fills as "ectoberhaunt24" so we can find your posts, and follow the guidelines below the cut.

Posting for this event begins Monday, October 1st!

Down below are our written out calendar prompts (for accessibility) AND our posting guidelines. Check 'em out!\

The Prompts

Below are the listed prompts in date order, if it's blank it's a catch up day. First prompt is Past and second is Future.

Past, Present, & Future

Dinosaur & Robot

Archaeology & Meteorology

Came Back Wrong

-

-

Bury & Unearth

Pirate Ship & Spaceship

Rise & Fall

Creepy & Wet

Dark and Stormy Night

Isekai: Past Prompt (Here)

Isekai: Old Hero, New World

Cult Classic & Murder Mystery

Science Fiction & Double Feature

Bloom & Wither

Gothic Horror & Cosmic Horror

Mirror Image

-

-

Analog & Digital

Steampunk & Solarpunk

Big Bang & Heat Death

Time Loop

Ectober Week: 25-31

Post Guidelines

The following are the posting guidelines. Please follow them so we can reblog and share your posts without issue. We will also have this as a post available on our blog separately.

Tag all posts with “Ectoberhaunt24” so we can find it. If you do not use this tag, we may not find you.

Tag which calendar you're pulling from (“EH Past” or “EH Future”), which day the prompt is for ("Day X"). You do NOT need to tag which prompt it is for, but PLEASE put it somewhere in the post so we know which prompt you are filling- if you do not do this we will likely not reblog it.

Put your fics under a readmore. Add a summary before the cut with a short preview, content warnings, and which prompts were used. Then, add a readmore no more than 150 words or 10 lines/groups of text under your summary. If you're using mobile, type :readmore: and hit enter to make a readmore. If you do not do this, we will NOT reblog your post.

Make sure to tag all common content warnings (blood, gore, death, drugs, body horror, existentialism, & vermin)

We will try to reblog every prompt we can. Feel free to @ us in the post too or send us a DM with the post!!

Here's a handy dandy google sheet to keep track of your own progress, simply make your own copy and mess with it -> LINK

Banner graphic by @kawaiijohn

Calendar Graphics by @ajitated (template) and @five-rivers (composition)

Google sheet by @ajitated and @jackdaw-sprite

Happy creating!!

[exocynraku]

Desperately need you to drop how you made that family tree in google sheets or like. the link to the template or something

i'd share a template but i actually got this tree-making style from someone on twitter, and just reconstructed it myself (i use sheets a lot so i was able to figure out how they did it) i will teach:

start with empty sheet. go view->show-> and uncheck gridlines

2) click this box and colour fill the sheet with a nice colour that doesn't hurt your eyes and is readable with black or white text overtop

3) select all of the columns, hit resize columns, and set it to 30. this will make your sheet very small, so make sure to keep your selection and click "insert 26 columns to the left/right" to make it larger

^ as you can see here the box that im selecting is very small now! this is correct.

4) select a 4 spaces wide x 6 spaces tall box, reset its colour to white, and click 'merge cells'

5) select the 4 squares directly below the box and click merge cells again. this is your text box, where names can go. if you aren't adding names you don't need this.

^ i am using the font verdana, 10 font size, with central horizontal and vertical align 6) you now have your character box. i copy and paste the same box around, and just change the name. next i will show you how to put the picture in. 6.5) you will need a picture or screenshot of your character/picture. i should add that the picture squares aren't actually perfect squares (they're taller) so make sure the pic you get isn't one either! select your picture box and copy+paste the picture it. it will appear VERY big usually but this is OK. art used here is ursidays

next, click the 3 dots at the right corner at click 'put image in selected cell' at the bottom.

now your picture is in the cell! 7) now i will teach how to do the lines: the red and blue boxes are to show how many spaces are between characters, they are not things you will add. i do TWO spaces between people right next to eachother horizontally and THREE vertically.

first, i do all of the horizontal lines, between the lovers and above the children.

you will click the 'borders' button. in the lineweight options (bottom right button) i set it to the 2nd thickness. then, click the button that creates a line on the TOP of what youre selecting.

that makes this;

next, select the right spaces to where your lines end. you can select the left side, but make sure all of the things you select are on the same side.

you will now go back to the 'borders' menu and click the left-border button.

and that gives you this!

this is pretty much all you need to know. for me, if a character is divorced/disowned, i change the lines to red, and if a character is adopted, i change the lines to blue. a character w/o a known lover but who has children i give a line coming from the bottom of their name. if two unrelated lines intersect, i colour one of the touching lines the background colour but slightly darker to make sure it's obvious they aren't connected. ok thats it! if you/anyone else needs more help just ask me :3

[super-ion]

The Engineer

Part 2

(Part 1)

I wake from a nightmare.

It isn't my nightmare.

Well… it is mine. My brain provided the framework and context. I was in the training console, one of the battle sims, one of the ones where everything goes to shit, one of the ones where they fuck up the parameters just to watch you panic and squirm until you fucking crack.

That was me. I cracked. Four of the hell sims and I cracked hard.

The battle in the nightmare wasn't a sim. It was real. It was Morrigan's.

I'm sitting in my quarters, sweating and trembling, clutching at my chest as I try to sort out what's mine and what's Morrigan's.

Neural bleed.

Fuck.

No… it's… I've run through the playback, in full, three times with Morrigan. It's enough times for the individual events to stick in my brain.

That doesn't explain the screaming.

It doesn't explain the soul rending scream that is still echoing in my skull right now.

Zephyrus was a sabre class, front line heavy. The team has spent... I don't even know how many hours in the playback analyzing the battlespace in the moments before Zephyrus’ pilot died? The rogue incendiary burned straight into the cockpit, the pilot was probably vaporized before they even realized their error.

But Zephyrus screamed. It screamed and screamed and screamed.

Morrigan had muted that part, trying to spare me, but it fucking bled through the link anyway. Now I'm having fucking nightmares of the sound of someone becoming unmade.

Salvage ops recovered the mech, whisking it off to god knows where.

I don't actually know what happens to AI's that lose their pilots. It's my job to keep them alive, not deal with them after the fact.

I've… shit… I've worked on Zephyrus. It wasn't the same as Morrigan. None of them are the same as Morrigan, but… shit…

I shuck off my tangled sheets and sit on the edge of the bed, futilely trying not to let my thoughts get away from me.

There had been a personality matrix meant for me. There had to have been. Mech AIs are completely custom made for their pilots. Mine likely wasn't much past the most basic template by the time I washed out, nothing more than a collection of algorithms and a dataset consisting of my psych profile.

It never got to be.

Was that better or worse than the horrible scream that I can still hear?

I can't be alone right now.

I jump off the bed and pull on some clothes, leaving the room without even knowing where I'm going.

I pass a few of the night crew. They watch curiously as I walk by. An engineer, barefoot in her night clothes, can hardly be the strangest thing they've seen.

I barely notice them.

My thoughts are spiraling now.

I was meant to be a pilot. It's the only thing I ever actually wanted. But I fucked it all up. I tricked everyone, myself included, into thinking that I could make the cut.

Fucking hell. A pilot died and I'm fixating on my own feelings of inadequacy?

What would I have done? What could my presence in the battlefield have changed?

Chances are it would have been me dying… or worse, freezing up and getting someone else killed.

I freeze, my wrist hovering uncertainly over a security access reader. With a sickening, crystalizing clarity, I realize that I have unconsciously made my way to her. Beyond the security door is the vestibule leading to Morrigan's cockpit.

What the fuck am I doing here?

My presence at this hour, though odd, would not be remarked upon. It is not uncommon for engineers to have moments of insight in the middle of the night. It is not uncommon for us to need to access hardware for analysis and simulation at all hours.

But tonight there is no flash of insight. Tonight, I'm not even an engineer. I'm just a scared little girl wrapped up in her own feelings of failure, with a head full of someone else's grief.

Neural bleed.

I can't deny it. I'm spending too much time with Morrigan. I should go back to my quarters, request a psych eval and some time off, try to get my head on straight.

And yet, I hesitate.

I want to step through this threshold. I want to go to her. And… what?

I can't integrate with her, not in any kind of way that matters, not with my engineer's rig.

I will *never* experience the full body sensorium of a pilot linking with her mech. It is horrible knowing I was meant for something, having full awareness of all the expectations of me, both external and internal, only to have that life snatched away because I wasn't good enough. Half my soul is missing. There's this yawning void inside me that can never be filled. Not by Morrigan or anyone.

I wipe a tear off my face. I'm in no state to do any sort of interfacing. I'm in no state for much of anything.

I don't want to be alone. I don't know how to not be alone

I press my wrist to the security panel. It confirms my identity and flashes green.

My access will be logged. This is a horrible impulse to follow for so many reasons.

I don't fucking care.

It takes everything I have to maintain composure, to not burst into tears and run to the open hatch of the cockpit.

The soft red glow illuminating the cockpit brightens slightly, lighting my way.

She knows I'm here.

Does she even want me here? Why would she? I'm not her pilot. I'm not any mech’s pilot.

The glow pulses, beckoning me. The cradle shifts to a configuration that I know is meant for me.

I unzip the sweatshirt that I'm wearing and throw it unceremoniously in the vestibule before falling into her embrace.

It's too familiar, the motions of this routine as her jacks slip into the ports on my rig.

I'm too close.

I'm not close enough.

I nearly sob as data streams into my consciousness. The void fills, just slightly.

All systems green.

It isn't enough. It will never be enough.

It has to be enough.

The data stream ebbs and I receive a ping across the link.

- STATUS?

My breath catches. My eyes flutter open, darting to any one of the many cockpit cameras focused on me.

She wants my status.

“I couldn't sleep,” I tell her. “Bad dreams.”

(Next)

I don't know how, but she seems to understand. The cradle shifts to a more relaxed posture. She holds me in her embrace as I tell her about the nightmare.

[thesovereignsring-if]

Hello! Your IF story inspired me to start my own IF game

Im thinking of using twine

And I would like to ask you if you had any tips or advice

Thank you!

Also side note I’m really excited and very interested in how this story is going to play out I already love the cast and can’t wait to see the rest!

OOoo thank you so much! I'm very flattered the game inspired you!

Twine has many different story formats, each with their own pros and cons. I personally use Sugarcube (I think next to Harlow, it is the most popular) so all my tips will be for Twine Sugarcube:

Basic tips:

Bookmark the Sugarcube V2 Document. This is your bible. It will have everything you need to use Twine. It's a daunting read, but I use it to troubleshoot when I forget how Macros work. I always have tab open for it.

Download a Twine Template. If you are brand new to Twine and making IFs, I heavily suggest downloading a template or two. Most of them come with tutorials and examples on how they work. Sometimes they even provide more helpful resources on Twine. I use Vahnya's Template II that I modified myself afterwards.

Study from pre-exisiting Twine IFs. Might be controversial, but I personally believe that diving in and seeing how other authors code and structure their stories helps a lot. Eventually you'll figure out a system and structure that works for you. It might not work for all games, but most Twine games can be downloaded and opened up in the twine editior. If you're worried about spoilers or upsetting people, feel free to download my game and see whats inside. I make multiple copies of the game, so any build I have out in the public is not the original build and therefore have no spoilers. I know it will look insane when you open it, but there's a method to the madness.

Writing and Planning:

Making an IF is no joke! Plan your story out, know your big variables, your branching routes and at least some part of your ending!! Try to stay as organized as possible. These projects and can will spiral out of control if you're not careful. I suggest having a giant excel sheet with tabs for important variables, chapter/scene breakdowns, wordcount and characters ect. Updating it will be a pain (that I am guilty of not doing) but will make developing easier. Even if you don't make a big project, its still good practise to do it.

#Stylesheet:

All the code in here relates to how the game looks. You can fiddle in there to configure the game to look how you want it to look. If you even want to see what element is tied to what ID code, the best thing to do is playtest the game (build >> play) and then leftclick and select "inspect element" you browser will open up the developer window and you see what elements are tied to what and even play around with the contents to test out CSS elements you like.

This website is a great resource on using CSS and other coding language. I personally used it many time to modify my game.

Helpful resources and Macros:

Chapel has made a LOT of custom macros that you can add to your game. You can find the list here.

But the most important one is the Pronoun Template. It might be confusing at first but one you understand how it work, its a great tool to have. You can even add gendered titles so that they work with the pronoun template.

Idrellegame is a great resource on coding in Twine. You can find the list here. It helped me out when starting out.

Exporting to Itch:

I never see people talk about Butler when it comes to uploading If games onto itch.io, so i'm doing it now.

What is Butler? Its a command-line tool that Itch made to upload your game onto Itch.io quickly and reliably.

The documentation is here. And I suggest coping and pasting the export codes onto a doc so you can use them for every update afterwards.

Here is a youtube tutorial you can follow along as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JCJa5iWREM

I personally have the Butler on the Itchio.app so that's its always up to date.

Thats all I can offer off the top of my head, if you or anyone wants some help on something specifically, feel free to DM me or drop another ask in the inbox. Always happy to help. Working in twine is very overwhelming for newcomers.

[theaawalker]

Steps to Write 1K Words a Day (with a tight schedule)

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1. Establish the Foundation

Know Your Why: Clarify your reason for writing daily by finishing a novel, building discipline, therapeutic expression, etc. Purpose keeps you going when time is tight. Pick a Project & Stick With It: Avoid hopping between too many ideas. Commit to one main project to prevent decision fatigue. Set a Realistic Timeframe: Determine how much daily time you actually have. Even 30 minutes can be enough with focus.

2. Shape the Writing Routine

Set a Daily Writing Slot: Choose the same 20-60-minute window each day, e.g., early morning, lunch break, and right before bed. Consistency beats chaos. Break It into Sprints: Divide writing time into 2-3 focused sprints (10–20 minutes each) with mini-goals (e.g., 300 words per sprint). Use Micro-Moments Wisely: Jot down scenes, lines, or dialogue in short bursts during downtime, e.g., commutes and between classes.

3. Build a Writing Habit

Create a Ritual: Start with a cue (tea, playlist, app launch), write, and end with a reward. Conditioning helps it stick. Track Your Progress: Use a word count tracker, habit app, or physical calendar to visualize your momentum. Aim for “Done,” Not “Perfect”: Don’t revise mid-draft. Keep the focus on finishing today’s 1,000 words, not editing yesterday’s.

4. Define Your Writing Environment

Eliminate Distractions: Silence notifications, close tabs, and let others know you’re “off the grid” during your writing window. Use Tools That Work for You: Whether it's Google Docs, Scrivener, Word, or a distraction-free app (like FocusWriter), pick what helps you stay in flow. Keep Materials Nearby: Outlines, scene notes, character sheets. Have them within reach to avoid losing time to memory gaps.

5. Develop Content Efficiently

Outline Briefly Before Writing: Know the scene’s goal, characters involved, and 1–2 key beats. This cuts down time spent thinking mid-writing. Use Prompts or Templates: If stuck, use writing prompts or scene formulas (e.g., conflict ↣ tension ↣ resolution) to keep moving forward. Lower the Stakes for First Drafts: Treat your draft as clay, not marble. Write fast, revise later.

6. Reward Yourself Consistently

Use Immediate Micro-Rewards: After each sprint, give yourself a small treat: a stretch, snack, meme scroll, or a favorite song. Build End-of-Day Rituals: After hitting 1K, reward yourself with a guilt-free indulgence: - A hot drink - 30 minutes of gaming - A mini-episode of your comfort show - Reading time Track for Bigger Rewards: Hit a streak (5 days? 2 weeks?) and treat yourself to something bigger: new notebook, movie night, favorite meal. Celebrate Wins, Big or Small: Even if you only wrote 300 words, that’s progress. Celebrate effort, not just perfection.

7. Develop a Sustainable Arc

Adjust as Needed: If 1,000 words becomes overwhelming, drop to 500 and scale up again. It's better to be consistent than burned out. Build in Break Days: Choose 1-2 buffer days per week for rest or catch-up. Remember, your brain needs recharge time. Reflect Monthly: Look back on what worked, what didn’t, and what to change. Writing daily is a living habit, not a static rule.

Tools That Can Help

Timers: Pomodoro apps (e.g., Focus Keeper, Forest)

Trackers: Pacemaker Planner, WriteTrack

Writing Tools: 4theWords (gamified), Google Docs offline, Scrivener

Voice-to-Text Options: Google Voice Typing, Otter.ai

Examples of People with Tight Schedules Who Write Daily

Octavia Butler: Wrote early each morning before work. Do what she said, “Persist.”

Brandon Sanderson: Wrote in sprints between teaching and family time.

Toni Morrison: Wrote after her children went to sleep, hence treating every moment as sacred.

You (Eventually): With the right systems, even the busiest writer can find their rhythm.

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thank you, i am farkle :)

[anominym]

𝖨𝖱𝖤𝖭𝖠 𝖲𝖤𝖱𝖢𝖱𝖤𝖲𝖳

My lovely, broody, angst-filled child I love you ❤️ (also peep the little depiction of a time turner behind her) Came to life by @noxxytocin 💚 I'd love to get her aged-up in all-white hair for the next comm 🤍

Irena's character sheet from the time she attended Hogwarts! Template by @kiwiplaetzchen 💕and lovingly annotated on by me >:) [Edits & additions/assets made in Canva]

Read more about her below ♡ Forgive the length ✨ trigger warning: dysfunctional family, murder, death

𝖡𝖠𝖢𝖪𝖦𝖱𝖮𝖴𝖭𝖣

Irena Sercrest is the sole daughter of Arabella Jane Sercrest and Issac Lee (이석/Yi/Lee Seok). Ethnically, she is part Polish and half-Korean but was born in Greater London and resided there for a majority of her life. She's considered a "half-breed" by definition, but really—she thinks herself far removed from her vampire ancestry. (1/8th, on her mom's side) When the Sercrests determined Irena was a squib, the family anticipated on having other children, but faced unexpected circumstances that led to the death of Arabella and imprisonment of Issac before Irena's 16th birthday. She loved and attended muggle schooling for the majority of her life and was raised in a relatively inoffensive and well-off family for their local area.

Her mother was a renown, but prejudiced against, Unspeakable at the British Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries Time Room as her bloodline always has. Irena has always wanted to follow in her mothers footsteps, she was her favorite person after all. A wonderful lady who was as genial as she was incredibly courteous and well-mannered. Irena fondly remembers all of the stories of her mother's extensive travels across the world, as though she had lived numerous lifetimes spent visiting each place. Unfortunately, her health started to rapidly decline soon before her death. The cause remained a mystery to everyone except Arabella herself.

Her father though? Actually, let's not talk about him much, he dies later. Issac was stripped from his clerical position at the Council of Magical Law and shipped to Azkaban for the murder of his wife and the later discovery of accepted bribes to tamper with documents in several legal cases. He deserves a life sentence, but I'm only gonna give him 5 sentences. Ba dum tss! 💀

At the age of 10, Irena was forced into an Unbreakable Vow with her father, her mother as their witness, regarding the secrecy of nearly everything related to the family's time turner. This was always the practice for all previous holders. It could have been assumed that, if Irena was admitted to Hogwarts at the typical date, her mother would pass down the heirloom to her. Instead, it only grew resentment between Arabella and Issac. Upon her passing, Irena naturally became the inheritor after it was left behind during the horrors of that fateful night.

𝖵𝖺𝗆𝗉𝗂𝗋𝗂𝗌𝗆 🩸

Vampires are mortal creatures that only live ~300 natural years without siphoning life force from another being. They have extremely fast regeneration abilities alongside enhanced physical capabilities such as agility, strength, and perception. Hemomancy (Blood magic) is a unique form of magic that has multiple capabilities such as blood manipulation to form physical structures/weapons/shields, control turned-beings, and imbue itself into objects or as separate spells. Although mortal, vampires are hard to kill before their life force permits. Only in ways such as: driving a wooden stake through the heart, burning to a crisp, special spells, and other purposeful extermination methods. Irena was not blessed with magical abilities fit to call her a witch at a young age and therefore, she did not possess blood magic either.

𝖳𝗂𝗆𝖾 𝖳𝗎𝗋𝗇𝖾𝗋 ⌛

The object depicted in the background of her image is of a silver time turner with red fluid and its spinning dial at the bottom. Non-standard issue and passed down the Sercrest line; the original creation was made with a vampire lineage in mind. It is 'fueled' by blood, specifically the lifespan represented by the blood utilized. There is a deeply disturbing history behind both the creation and past usage of the device that alludes to myths of vampire immortality. It follows the book's interpretation that "it takes the person back to the location where they were present at the time they'd gone back to." It cannot be destroyed under normal circumstances. Transferring the object can only be done through the chosen 'main line' of Sercrests and upon death or family inheritance alone.

𝖠𝖡𝖮𝖴𝖳 𝖧𝖤𝖱

Irena Sercrest is by all accounts, an unfit hero. Her previous life's inhabitants may know her as someone who damned the lives of many, plummeting them into a life that knows no pain, but no joy either. Saving little from despair, failing to accumulate power, and barely scaping by trials. She did not possess the time turner in her first loop and was desperate to save Anne and others. Almost immediately upon seeing that ancient magic could remove pain and seemingly illness or curses, she utilized it without thinking of the potential ramifications. Without even reaching that warning. She lost many of her allies tragically, unleashed overpowering magic into the lands, and saw the full extent of what her actions caused.

Only after being sentenced to Azkaban at the end of her first year, instead of Sebastian, she lamented over her countless defeats. Her father passing away caused the time turner to materialize in her hands and serve as the last stroke of luck to change her fate.

Her life is now constantly challenged, riddled with various dangers and pieces of the full story waiting to be unearthed and entirely different than how she remembered.

𝖠𝗉𝗉𝖾𝖺𝗋𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾 🕶️

Before Hogwarts, she always had jet-black hair worn quite long down to about her waist. Her hair turning greyish and white in some parts is a quirk of her time turner usage. Due to genetics, her aversion/sensitivity to light, and vampire heritage— her skin is fairly pale with facial markings on the inner portion of her right eyebrow and under her left eye. She developed her red eyes as she aged. Although she gains plenty of injuries in life, she regenerates too quickly for them to scar. 

𝖯𝖾𝗋𝗌𝗈𝗇𝖺𝗅𝗂𝗍𝗒 𝖳𝗋𝖺𝗂𝗍𝗌 🐍

Pos: Conscientious (desire to do right, but sometimes carelessly), loyal, focused, selfless

Neutral: Ambitious, unyielding, reserved, restrained, sensitive, independent

Neg: Distrusting, critical, increasingly fatalistic, misguided, neurotic, obsessive

𝖡𝗈𝗀𝗀𝖺𝗋𝗍 🕯️

It's a depiction of her mother, lifeless. She figured it would have been her father instead, but she had long accepted that he was spineless and not fearsome. → "Later on" it's a dementor. (That lands her into a heated interrogation as to why)

𝖱𝖾𝗅𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌𝗁𝗂𝗉𝗌 🖤

I could go on and on about it, and perhaps create a whole other post for it. But as a slowburn in my head, the core relationship featured is an enemies to lovers to enemies (Sebastian) with familial dissent as a main antagonistic force. Lots of guilt and general trauma of leading people to their deaths or trying to prevent them. Additions like Amit's missing questline, overhaul of storyline aspects/villans, inclusion of vampire things & Irena facing her ancestry, chamber of secrets, Gaunt's whole fking purpose in hl and justification for the Undercroft. Unrequited love too. Just overall extremely angsty.

𝖤𝖷𝖳𝖱𝖠 𝖨𝖦 (𝖼𝖺𝗎𝗌𝖾 𝗂 𝖼𝖺𝗇'𝗍 𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗉 𝗒𝖺𝗉𝗉𝗂𝗇')

If you ever even INSINUATE that she's a vampire, she's gonna bite you (with her dull ass teeth) and convince you of the stupidest shit. "yeah so you're my servant now, FOREVER. die."

Actually the above fact is only excused by her first, and very best, friend she made at a muggle school. "wow, you're actually so pretty, like— vampire pretty." furious stammering "please be my friend"

Many of her problems are summarized as, hey the reality of being a HL MC is that the feats ARE impossible and you're likely to make wrong choices, and boy does she make every single wrong choice

LOVES PROFESSOR HECATE, probably #1 fan. I mean, she's literally a badass ex-Unspeakable with the similar sorta pepper and salt hair & a thing for timey wimey stuff. Even though Hecate is the Ravenclaw Head of House, she gets Ronen's 200% support in seeking her out for advice & career counseling

She ends up living with her aunts Carmilla & Laura (loosely based off the vampire novel by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu)

Yes, she's slowly getting white hairs but that's what she always wanted as a kid! Irena's mom had fully white hair well before she had her daughter. Hers was originally blonde in color though

Maia is the house-elf serving the Sercrest family for many years

Irena has a bit of an rbf :( she's trying though…

Aaaand that's all I got for now! I haven't published anything yet about her because I anticipate it to take a long while before I get a workable outline done and getting time to consistently produce a longfic. 😵‍💫

I love love LOVE the MCs and OCs this fandom has to offer and I immediately knew I wanted to have my own small addition to all the amazing, wonderfully crafted bundles of joy. 💝 Always so creative and a pleasure to see! 💖

I know I haven't properly introduced myself before, ah but I plan to soon. I sincerely look forward to interacting w/ anyone open to 👉👈 with anything under the sun and I will answer any question, take any message, all good.

Thank you for getting through this all, LOL 🫶💘 u have my heart 💗