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#i had fun emulating the font
gooeykit · 2 years
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Did you know❓️ Did you fucking know❓️
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robins-egg-bindery · 1 month
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The Words Hung Above by eriaX
“I’m thinking of leaving.” Steve almost chokes on his cigarette, hastily moving it from his lips and looking to Eddie where he stands beside him. He looks relaxed, despite the words that just left his mouth. A thin trail of smoke travels up towards the sky from his own cigarette that’s pinched between his fingers. Watching the smoke slowly fade into nothingness feels oddly foreboding. Like this small, almost-friendship he has managed to build is going to fade away, too. He decides to hold on to it, if he can. --------- Or, After Vecna is defeated and life returns to normal, Steve finally has a chance to become actual friends with Eddie Munson. But any potential for friendship seems lost when Eddie decides to move to Nashville to pursue music after graduating. It’s Steve’s idea to become pen pals. Over summer and into fall and winter, Steve battles insecurities around himself, as well as his own future and his parents’ expectations. As his friendship with Eddie deepens into something greater, Steve finds that there’s more to himself than he expected, and more to his friendship with Eddie than he ever imagined.
fic by eriaX
500 pages / 118,368 words
Title Font: Breathing, Crimson Pro
Body Fonts: Californian FB, The Signature, Indie Flower
Bound for the Steddie Big Bang 2023!
More info (and spoilers for the fic, beware!) below the cut!
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What a project! This was an endeavor with the author for the Steddie Big Bang, and it was so fun to design the vibe of this with them! Thank you for sharing your story and this journey with me <3
I love the letters that populate the story; if you skipped the content of them above, I highly recommend experiencing them in the context of the fic. I wanted to do something tactile to emulate them without interfering with the storytelling element; something that could stay archival in the future while also adding a dimension to the text. We selected the handwriting fonts together, and I fought the battle with my cricut to get it to write it properly. I had to go over carefully by hand to make the ink fill in well, but the result is perfect!
I also selected different inks as the months pass, even varying colors within Eddie's letters; I like the idea that maybe he was trying to make the letter perfect, doodling in the corners for Steve.
Music is another big device in this book, something that connects Steve and Eddie across the space between them, so musical notes and rests populate the header. Steve is Eddie's breath of fresh air amidst all the noise <3
I tried to keep the handwritten style across all the elements, including the title pages. We selected Dragonfly duo for the cover cloth, with gold accents; the deep blue color was reminiscent of the song that inspired the fic, and the gold felt fitting; the relationship that develops between Steve and Eddie being the sunlight leaking through the fear and uncertainty they face.
If you haven't checked it out yet, go read the fic!!!
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ashmouthbooks · 8 months
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Tiny Books Bang 2023
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The Kaer Morhen Book Club by @jackironsides, typeset by @catspawbindery . Amyda has received her copy, and so has the author! so here we goooo
I JUMPED at the chance to bind this - agonised for a while about whether or not I got my first choice in claims - as this was a fic I already know and love and I had IDEAS for what to do with it. Amyda's typeset was so inspiring, including a frontispiece and medieval-esque fonts, and since the fic features medieval romance novels (chivalric, really) I thought it would be fun to try to emulate the binding of the novel Starcrossed Love as described in the fic:
He waves an octavo at them. The cover has beautifully marbled paper, and black leather enclosing the spine with gilt decorations pressed in.
And there it is, with its dark calfskin binding, a single star stamped in gold on the spine.
This is an octavo binding (though printed on A4 paper, so a very small octavo - an A7-sized book), it has a leather spine (animal: unknown), marbled cove papers, and a star foiled onto the spine with a hot foil pen. for endpapers I chose Japanese Chiyogami paper as I'd stumbled over this particular pattern by accident and thought both the colour scheme and pattern matched the medieval vibe. the headbands are green and gold embroidery floss.
I struggled a little with the leather - which I've never worked with before - so my own copy (the first trial copy) didn't come out as well, but lessons learned and the typesetter's and the author copies came out beautifully.
my copy, using a different, thicker leather for the spine, resulting in no visible hinge at all:
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it doesn't look bad, but it's not the vibe I wanted and I had to do a lot of infilling to account for the thickness of the leather since I didn't have any leather paring tools.
the author's copy is a different colour scheme for two reasons: I sourced the leather from the leather scraps bin in Shepherd's, London, and the pieces were very small. I was only able to find two pieces large enough to cover the spine of an A7 (I'd brought along a dummy to test the scraps against) and the two pieces were different colours. I also didn't have enough of the medieval-esque Chiyogamy for a 3rd set of endpapers so I chose a wildly different but striking Chiyogamy paper to match the colours of the leather and marbled paper. the headbands are dark blue and pale blue embroidery floss.
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bonus: all three copies together:
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Been holding onto some books - simple designs mostly, as my goal has been to get my backlog of textblocks from binderary completed.
Some new things were done - I made my first quarto and first cut-out. I bound Sigh No More by @dhampir72 - which was an exercise in persistence (and frustration).
Statistics:
20,231 words || 84 pages
Body text: Liberation Serif, 9 point
Accents: Lemon Milk
I was inspired by the themes of the fic - about loneliness and welcome homes and the setting of the fic partly taking place in planes and airports, and wanted to make a cutout reminiscent of a plane window. the fic ends on such a bittersweet, pensive note that i tried to emulate that in the bind.
However, i was stymied so many times by the frigging cutout- the bind was so cursed because i tore the cut out so many times. i don't have a colour printer and was forced to make two trips to do my printing on a colour printer. i used handmade (and by that, i mean by me) marbled paper that I made in a marbling class as my endpapers. they don't necessarily match, but i love the non-pareil pattern and i so badly wanted to use it.
I also used french double core endbands - matching the insert's colours - had some good fun with it - though i have been very rusty and don't quite remember the steps for endbands. I also used some lovely duo elster supplied by @pleasantboatpress when we did a bind trade, we also traded bookcloth and resources and i love this colour of duo!
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My other bind, a bind i did post binderary before i took a long break was the traceability series by @blackidyll.
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Statistics:
73,221 words || 223 pages
Body text: Georgia, 10.5 point
Accents: Alien League II
I had some issues with over-pressing hence the distortion of some of the finer lines of the cover. i had been playing with heat-reactive HTV over the font title (inspired by @nodeadfandoms who used heat-reactive HTV in their binds in such a cool way), but unfortunately the silver and grey doesn't have much contrast when i run my finger along the HTV.
Made with Japanese bookcloth - blue from hollanders, this bookcloth is quite a favourite of mine though it's really backed so thinly with paper.
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For my last book bound during Binderary - I bound Quriosity by @drgrlfriend.
Statistics:
93,121 words || 345 pages
Body text: Georgia, 11 point
Accents: Sigana Condensed
As mentioned I kinda fumbled the HTV as I decided to use a different brand of HTV (Cricut Foil vs Siser), which had some issues adhering. It's definitely not perfect, but I had some fun with the original Bond design on the cover and using lines as a theme for the design aspects of the fic. I've also discovered my near unhealthy obsession with tall vertical looking fonts - i am not sorry.
I used purple silk moire cloth, which has a lovely sheen, though i think that colibri will always hold my heart.
I still have 9 more text blocks to go - am working towards trying out some marbled edges or foil edges in the future - have two flatbacks ready for some experimental 'fuck around and find out' treatment.
Life has been a little ridiculous recently, so it's likely my binding for the next couple of months will proceed at a glacial and erratic pace - a good deal of apologies to the people i've promised author copies, it might take a while.
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hypnag0g · 1 year
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Do you have examples of your web/graphic design-ish art on hand? I've caught glimpses and it's some REALLY excellent stuff
howdy! thank you so much for this wonderful ask, i very rarely get the chance to talk about my web/graphic design stuff, so seize any chance i can get! you'll have to forgive me for how scattered this everything is, my graphic design stuff normally ends up as a smaller part of illustrations, so a lot of it is gonna be cropped, haha.
my hypnagog header is probably the thing i'm most proud of, it was the first custom font i ever made that felt like i captured what i saw in my head. kind of a clunky way to put it but before this i'd change my header logo and general "branding" like once every three months, yet this one has stuck around for like 2ish years!! here it is in my classic colorway and my new green/orange one.
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here are a couple of my older logos for a bunch of random projects (a comic about evil horses, a defunct community project, a bunch of little glyphs for hypnagog before i settled on my current aesthetic, and one for story about evil clones)
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here are three posters i did for a couple of classes, they're more illustrative than graphic design but there's still elements that feel close enough to gd for me to post lol (a pitch poster for ANOTHER comic i was working on, an editorial piece about the recent HPAI surge, and a quick zine about my experiences with internet horror)
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and FINALLY. here's my web design stuff. full disclaimer, i learned how to code on neopets, and i've never been able to break free of it's pull, so p much everything i've ever done for web design has all been on neopets, or on clone sites that emulate it pre-2007.
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i'd love to link you these two but they're unfortunately behind a login screen on my current petsim of choice, so i hope the screenshots will do! these two are pet lookups coded from the ground up to look like social media profile pages (fun sidenote: Butch has a normal profile, Ransom is a silly hacker stereotype, and he had no choice but to "customize" his profile when faced with the insanely unsecured back-end of LUNET.)
aside from that, my other most recent web project was developing a really sleek character directory for my toyhou.se. i made all the graphics on this page and i'm super proud of it, haha.
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oh i almost forgot. i also have a bunch of really dumb banners that my friends and i use in discord in tandem with a bot that posts them on command - most of them are intentionally designed to look bad, but some of em (especially the data "webba" banner) were made with a lot of care, haha.
i think i might be forgetting some things, but that's pretty much it! my next big project is building out my neocities - i'll definitely post about it when its finished because i wanna use it as a secondary posting location for all my stuff :o]
thank you again!!!!
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pyjamacryptid · 1 year
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artists self rec! when you get this, reply with your favourite five arts/sets/edits/gifs that you've done, then pass on to at least five other people. time to shine and spread some self-love and appreciation 🥰 <3
oh my god sia i am SO SORRY i am only just now seeing this ask it's been so long i am so so--
Sia!!!
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This was so hard to choose wow.
FANVIDS FIRST:
I'm Sorry | Merlin & Arthur from BBC Merlin [tumblr link] [direct yt link]
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This took me over 2 months and, so far, it's the best fanvid I've ever made. I'm ridiculously proud of it and I only have a tiny bit of shame in saying so XD. The finished product ended up far better than the original concept I had in my head. I wanted to make a video that focused on how Merlin and Arthur forgave one another; Merlin, since the day he met Arthur, and Arthur when he learned the truth. Because the core of their relationship was unconditional love, to their own strength and detriment. I cried almost each time I worked on it.
2. I Became Greedy | Kurosawa & Adachi from Cherry Magic [tumblr link] [direct yt link]
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This took me about .. I want to say a month? I'm also proud of this one. Cherry Magic is a light-hearted BL j-drama that - at its core - is about the importance of reaching out to others, and the bravery of reaching out and accepting someone else's outreached hand. I eventually want to edit a video on the overarching meaning of the show. But I... am a sucker for pining lol and I was so taken in by Kurosawa's pining. It was so poignant, I was literally clutching my chest in sympathy pangs. So, I wanted to edit a vid that emulated that and focused just on that feeling. And I think I??? did!
3. it's not living if it's not with you | Wei Wuxian & Lan Wangji from The Untamed/CQL [direct yt link]
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This was the second fanvid I had posted to my youtube channel and I used a lot of editing techniques I had never tried before, so I learned a lot! I wanted to show as many aspects of wangxian's story and relationship in one video as I could without mucking up the pacing or making it messy in general. I love the colour palette and font I chose. Something else I really wanted to achieve was using a light-hearted song with a sad meaning over both sad and happy scenes, because that's a recipe for EMOTION. And judging by the comments I got on this vid, I dare say I succeeded XD I had a lot of fun making this! Even if I got stuck on it for a month and then thankfully could finish it when I was hit with an epiphany. I also cried quite a bit while making it shkgjhdf
Listen. I have. Emotions.
ART:
4. A Favourable Misunderstanding | Merlin & Arthur [link to full comic here]
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A meme re-draw turned into a fluffy comic because it took on a life of it's own and Merlin & Arthur are a force to be reckoned with when being idiots in love. I was also super proud of this! Despite the many styles in one comic (which is fine, I was just worried about nothing looking like it matched) I was happy with how I drew them! Especially as I find Merlin's face very difficult to get a grasp of, for some reason. And I was also proud of their characterisations! I still get so happy to see how well-loved it is, and so perhaps it doesn't need its own rec but what the hell. I love it, too hehe.
5. Balls the Unfathomable | a comic about a weirdly wholesome demon summoning [link to full comic here]
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My friends and I, while on a call, fell into doing a bit. That lasted a really long time. And during it, I became a summoned demon nicknamed "Balls". No, I'm not joking. It was ridiculous and hilarious.
Thankfully, I remembered most of it and immediately tried to commit it to paper for - what I thought - was going to be a short, half-assed sketch comic. Nope. I ended up with a multi-page comic with clean lines and everything.
Funnily enough, I hadn't actually ever finished a multi-page comic before this. Not one so polished anyway. Balls has that effect on people, I suppose. skjdhjkfdg
So yeah, I was proud of finishing it, and of choosing a cute, simple style and sticking to it (cute, "less realistic" styles don't come easy to me, so I struggled more than you'd think trying to figure out how I was going to draw this skdjhkfg) and of how I structured the panels, especially when I really was just winging it. I do not know how to panel (yet).
Basically; I adore my friends and the fun we have together and I had to share this particular shenanigan and Balls themself. They've become a beloved character amongst my friends and I.
_________
That's it! Long-winded commentary and all.
Thank you again for the self-rec, Sia! 🥺💕💕💕
psst hey, you should go totally check out Sia's blog - she does amazing edits and gifs
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emblazons · 1 year
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How did you learn gifmaking techniques so fast? Your sets are on par with the people who have been making gifs for years!!
that is so sweet of you to say! Sometimes I feel like I’ve moved so slowly figuring out how to do decent gifs, so this is encouraging to hear 💖 as for how…tbh (as @magentamee can attest) it started as me wanting to see a gifset made for this quote I saw in a Dan/Blair set for Mike & Will so badly that I actually forced myself to figure it out—and it’s kind of spiraled into a creative outlet for me since.
On a more serious level: I studied applied journalism in college and already had a high-level working knowledge of InDesign + Premiere because I’ve used them both in college & now for work for years now—and once you know the functionality of one Adobe product, it’s pretty easy to force-navigate your way around others if you have to (with the help of the search bar, at least).
That, combined with a lot (and I do mean a lot) of tutorials + finding gifmakers who did specific things I admired and trying to emulate them just to get how it was done in my head (while problem-solving along the way)…and here we are 4-5 months in! 👏🏽
I’ve honestly learned so much about where to find things like HD clips, fonts, and basic vectors making gifs, on top of things like rotoscoping in after effects and every Mac shortcut imaginable to make things go faster, so. It’s been quite the learning experience—and a useful one for my ongoing professional life too, since now I can use & list photoshop on my resume as a functional skill.
But again—thank you for the compliment! It does mean a lot to me to hear that my efforts are noticed 😭 and also…someone remind me to thank the duffers for making me so invested in their show that I learned an entire new design skill to have fun in my free time. LMAO
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manonamora-if-reviews · 8 months
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The beating of my heart by eckardlise
An Anti-Romance Jam entry.
Entry - IFDB - More by eckardlise CW: AI use
An attempt at parody? This entry does not give one, nor two, but six and a half stories within one game, all taking a jab at romantic clichés. In the container half story, you are courting Molly, a more-or-less maneater, who coyly tells her different affairs with past men and why it never worked out. Among those: a perfect man she always felt insecure around, a mad scientist who let his work consume the relationship, a literal Don Juan who depleted her savings, a foozball celebrity who partied too much, a royal alongside which she felt too much pressure, and a rockstar who cheated. While the entries try to make fun of romantic clichés, its prose is none the better, emulating those romance novel of questionable quality, without really fully hitting the mark. Adding on to an unneeded formal tone, this adds to the impossibilities of the tales being reality, removing the possibility of fantasy. With the game switching from a second-POV (you, the player) to a first-POV (Molly), it also fails to give both Molly and you distinct voices, making the transition between past and present a bit strange. Molly is everything you find in Romance stories: she is gorgeous and yet bland, capable and helpless, confident in herself and insecure around men she thinks are better; and in most situation. She is honestly quite infuriating; worse even when she finishes her tale, taunting you with showing her how you are better than her ex. The end of the game is none the better. After going through Molly's retelling of her life with her different exes, you simply throw your hands in the air and leave. Claiming she was looking down at you. Which she had until now. But showing the tipping point being the man who behave the worst towards her left an awful taste in my mouth, when you barely flinched her taunt the other times (and had no choice to give up before then). At this points, I questioned whether this was truly parodying the genre. Or just trying to make a bad joke. In any case, it felt of bad taste.
Note: Don't pick Rod until you've read all stories, or the game will end abruptly and confusingly. Also, the font makes it hard to read, especially the punctuation. The author claims they used ChatGPT for research and some content.
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nwertzarts102-04 · 2 months
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Weeks 3 & 4
During a eek 3, we worked on our Abstract Typography designs. We used Adobe Illustrator to create a composition that showcased everything but the letters or any definite meaning. We had to use three different fonts, one for each design, and keep the sizing consistent for each work.
This project was pretty quick and it was fun to go through the critiques and see everyone’s work. The feedback for this project was mostly just things we all did well, and very minor tweaks here and there. In the end we put all of the cut out squares on the board in a way we felt fit each design. I think everyone’s turned out really well and overall it was really good for understanding Ai.
The next project we worked on was for week 4. During this week we started the process of planning our voting posters and deciding which composition to go with. I ended up messing up my sketching process and having to redo it, but it ended up not being a total waste and a lot of good ideas came from it. The quote I ended up with for the project is “The future is in the hands of the American People.” I liked that it was a pretty broad quote to work with, and that I could shape its meaning in different ways. The idea I went with was a woman just about to step on a man in a suit. I added the words “remember that” under the quote so that it better represented our generation coming into the world of voting.
Starting the project, we had to find posters that we felt would guide us in creating our own designs. I had picked a bunch then, but when I finally had an idea set, none of them really worked anymore. I ended up finding a bunch later on, and they all represent the bright, punchy, screen printed look I want to emulate. Most are posters, but one of them is a menu I found in a New York Times article on menu design.
For further art direction, my plan is to photograph a friend doing the stepping motion in a couple different combinations to get the right look. Change up the pants, pose, and camera angle until it’s perfect. I also still need to decide what the man will be made from, and how to pose him. I am trying to decide between a real person, a drawing on photoshop, a clay person, or a Ken doll. None of them really seem right so I want to play around with it.
Despite all the parts in motion, I am actually really excited for this project. I get to work with a lot of new things and it’ll be fun to figure everything out.
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Notes: Bright colors I want to emulate. Kind of cheeky, and not too serious. Tons of texture and noise.
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todayimgonnaplay · 7 months
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Today I'm gonna play: Gravity Rush
I've never owned a Vita, since I had my PSP at the time, and thought it was just a mildly upgraded PSP. I've heard of Gravity Rush years later when I saw some artwork of it and thought it looked great! This time, I thought of emulating it to try it out.
I'm a little familiar with Japan Studio's work, such as Patapon, Ape Escape and PocoRoco which were all beloved childhood games to me. I didn't know it was developed by them until I saw the splash screen, and it makes sense cause the one thing all those games have in common is having characters that speak fictional languages. It's quite endearing!
Gravity Rush has this unique mechanic of well...bending gravity to your will to progress through the game. And it is so much fun than I expected! You're placed in an open world with lots of freedom to go anywhere you please, and it's been a while since I had fun with an open world game, the last one being GTA 5. With gravity being central to its mechanics as well as story, the game really did a great job with how much you can play around with it. There are nice little details too, such as gravity affecting NPCs or props, so you may end up unintentionally flinging innocent people, but there are no consequences for doing so which is funny. Combat also includes gravity, as you fight in the air for certain enemies to hit their weak point, and also use special skills to deal more damage. I'd say the combat aspect is a bit awkward to control (maybe it's better on native hardware), but it's simplified enough that it's not too complex. You're also given little challenges, side quests and some grinding mechanics for more replayability and flexibility in level design.
The greatest strength this game does have however is its art style. It's set in a picturesque town that reminds you of older European towns. The scale is quite big overall as the towns seem to be split into districts you can travel to, which really shocked me for a portable game. It immerses you so well that it feels like you're in a fantasy movie!
Story-wise from what I've played so far, it's quite charming and leaves enough mystery to get you curious. The inhabitants are charming, and especially the protagonist Kat! It sort of reminds me of Professor Layton in a way. I also like the narrative choice of using comic strips and navigating through panels by swiping on the screen. The game definitely makes full use of the Vita's features both in story and in gameplay! Kinda feels like the The World Ends With You of Vita in that sense.
I do think the UX is a little lacking. The UI is fine, with it being minimal and functional, such as having markers to go to your destination. But having to navigate with markers by transitioning through 2 screens is a little tedious. An enable/disable minimap could work so you can gather your bearings, similarly to what Final Fantasy 7 Remake does. Text also stops your movement until it disappears, and the choice of font gives me the impression that I'm playing a an early build, rather than a final product. It might be a nitpick but for a game that looks impressive, having a UI just pop in and out with simple text felt off. It does the job though, often handholding the player on what exactly they should do. But (if not already, I haven't checked the settings) maybe this could also be a feature that could be turned off for players that prefer to be more adventurous. Some nice points however are how Kat's hair and scarf indicate where gravity is, acting like a compass so you know when you're not on stable ground. It's also interesting to see how Kat reminds the player of the objective if she falls off the map without her gravity powers. I see it as a useful feature for people who haven't played in a while and forgot what they were last doing.
In terms of character designs, they have a nice fantastical feel to it that's memorable, kind of like the same feeling that Studio Ghibli designs give. Even Kat's companion, Dusty is memorable enough for being a literal galaxy looking cat. I give praise to Kat's design in particular for being functional in gameplay like with her hair and scarf. Music is also another strong asset of this game. Fully orchestrated and quite jumpy with its melody, it enhances the environment and situation very well. Apparently the composer, Kohei Tanaka, has also composed for anime such as One Piece and season 1 of JoJo's Bizzarre Adventure. So he's definitely a seasoned veteran!
Overall the game has been very charming, unlike any other that I've played. It gives me Mirror's Edge vibes in a tiny way because I can't find a similar game to that but this one has that traversal aspect too, so it scratches that itch. I think it's worth getting native hardware to play this, so hopefully I get to grab one someday soon!
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jazz-vcd · 10 months
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Final Reflection
Task 2 was a rollercoaster ride (it was a lot of fun, but I was also scared that I wouldn’t make it to the end). It was a big project, so I will break the reflection into parts.
First up was the collage for which I presented Neville Brody’s quote “typography is a hidden tool of manipulation in society.” I chose this quote partly because I believe it, partly because I love how seriously designers take themselves, and mostly because it sounds cool. I cut the quote down to just 5 words “a hidden tool of manipulation” as the full quote was too long and cluttered the page. I knew I would probably lean towards Postmodernism and grunge in my collage, so when a classmate brought a collection of old art magazines to cut up, I plundered accordingly. I was picky with my letters, collecting letters with a handmade/printed look that were similar sizes and colours. Initially I wanted to make a collage like a hidden objects game so that I could use details as features on different pages of the zine. I tried many iterations of the collage but ultimately felt the images I had weren’t cohesive, so I decided to cut back to only the fortune teller since he tied in nicely with the quote.  I followed Constructivist influences when creating the sunburst and positioning the words. Overall, I love the way the collage turned out, although it is off-centre which really frustrates me – in future I’ll be sure to measure things out properly before cutting them up or gluing them down.  
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Collage evolution (#DesignIsAnIterativeProcess)
Next up was the monogram, which was the section I struggled with most. Silly as it sounds, I don’t like my name, so I wasn’t keen on investing time into portraying it. Still, I gave it a go- I do appreciate a good monogram (and it was mandatory). I found myself drawn to older monograms; those made by creatives who used traditional making techniques like printing or engraving to sign their works.  Our first monogram exercise tasked us with hand drawing 2 monograms inspired by 3 different font styles. 
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Dodgy attempts at hand lettering
Of the styles I experimented with I wound up really liking the blackletter designs, so I sent it to Illustrator using the Adobe Capture app, where I edited it to improve the quality of the vector and position the letters more nicely together. I kept some of the texture of the original drawing to maintain the handmade feeling, but edited enough so it felt refined. My monogram was well made, but could have been more interesting – I really struggled to find ways to weave the letters J and T without it looking like a stick. I am interested in pushing myself on this front to improve my typography and hand lettering skills.
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Brainstorming alternative monograms
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Process of designing final monogram
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Final monogram (in a container)
Finally, all the pieces came together for the zine. I got Covid right in the middle of this project so it was a little hectic for me. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed the making process and felt that it was a great creative exercise.  My font choices were Kiln Sans (sans-serif)- a textured font styled to look like a wood-block print; and P22 Typewriter (serif). Both of these fonts came from the Adobe Fonts library, and both emulated the handmade look that I love. I enjoyed playing with the layouts of the text and tried to develop a look that blended the geometry of Constructivism with the chaos of post-Modernism. That being said, after looking more carefully at the magazine spreads of Greiman and Carson, I could have done with a more careful use of grids in my layouts (particularly on pages 4 and 5). I enjoy learning the Adobe suite so most of the issues I faced during the creation process felt like learning opportunities – except for the problems that made me feel crazy... I'm looking at you printing set-up. It took me four tries to get all the pages printed in the right order, I had to add an extra collage in the middle to make the pages divisible by 4, then the pages printed unaligned. I cut them to size as best as I could, but realised that I definitely need some practice with using bleeds/slugs/etc to achieve the desired results.
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(Bonus collage/mini-poster in centerfold!)
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Final zine spread, cover to cover
This project (and class overall) has helped me to further develop my own art style, while encouraging me to see a project through to completion – something I really need to work on outside of uni. This process has also deepened my understanding of the history of design, giving context to and (I think) improving the overall quality of my work.
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Cover Analysing (1)
Since I have decided that I want to create a book, looking at different book covers from different periods of time can help me decide in which kind of style I want my cover and illustrations to be .
DUNE (by Frank Herbert)
The Dune books are the series that pretty much invented the Science Fiction genre. It is a classic that stands beside Lord Of The Rings. It is considered the best selling SF series in history.
Through out the years, the covers have changed to accommodate the audience and the time.
These are the 80s paperbacks. I really like the earthy, low toned colours and very detailed style. it really fits well with the books period. Strangely enough, this type of style reminds me of the old Disney movie covers and backgrounds.
However, according to my research, while the illustrations are lovely, the covers have nothing to do with the actual story and that is something that I wish to avoid in my own book.
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This set of covers is a bit newer. The simplicity leaves almost no room for errors or misinterpretations in illustrations which is something that a lot of people do for their book covers.
I personally really like that each book has it's own main colour. I think colour coordination works very well and makes a series that has a lot of books look a lot more clean and put together.
The different patterns and (in Dune Messiah's case) could very subtly hint to what the books might be about.
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These ones are even newer and from what I have gathered, these ones are special/collector's edition. The minimalistic use of colour combined with the textures and patterns really make these ones worth the extra money.
I don't really think that this kind of cover work that well for what I have in mind though, since children are usually attracted to bright colours and fun characters.
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These posters were made after the release of the 2021 Dune movie. I really like how they tried to emulate the older, vintage style with the colours and the overall composition.
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I am, however, somehow neutral about these book covers. While the illustrations are lovely and the protective hardcover in which the book comes is very interesting and original, I have never been a big fan of having actual people (actors/models) on the cover.
I always thought this kind of concept suits video game cases a lot better, since it gives the cover a certain technological feel to it, like something you would see for a PS 4 game. The white and blue colours only further accentuates that. I feel like this modernisation makes the cover lose the classic, old-time quality.
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My personal favourite cover version for this Series has to be this one.
I absolutely love everything about this book. The colours of the cover work so well together and really complement each other. It has the exact same atmosphere that the synopsis of the book gave me. The illustrations on the first two page spread only add to this surreal fantasy/futuristic universe full of colour and adventure.
The edges of the page being blue that balance out the blue and the orange combined with the Dune logo and the golden font really complete this book as a piece of art.
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Unfortunately I couldn't find out whether the original artist for this set of illustrations is the name stated on artworks or not but I decided to add them anyway because I absolutely love how they look.
Same as with the Dune cover above, the vector inspired style works incredibly well with the retro futuristic and space elements.
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Even though I don't think I will evolve this project towards this particular style, analysing these covers and illustrations might prove useful for future projects.
I think this style could work very well for t-shirts, prints and posters.
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starry-dreamer · 9 months
Text
So watched the full Nintendo Direct from yesterday.
Apparently the Pokémon trailers I posted about yesterday were actually part of it. This is pretty unusual, as Pokémon usually saves this stuff for their own dedicated Direct-style presentations, or just simply drops stuff to their YouTube unexpectedly. It's a shame we couldn't have gotten a Pokémon Direct-style breakdown/explanation of at least the Scarlet and Violet DLC trailer, but then again, lots of games to feature.
I knew about a Princess Peach game being announced, but they just showed the tiniest peek of it, sandwiched between the Super Mario RPG remake reveal and a brief note saying a remaster of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon was currently in development. (I don't know why they don't just make a new Luigi's Mansion game. I don't think there's been one for some time). They didn't even reveal its name! How annoying!
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Speaking of Super Mario RPG...I had heard that reveal too, but I just assumed they were adding it to Switch Online. But no...they're full on remaking it. That's interesting since the original was a joint project with Square (the main reason for Geno not being in Smash supposedly is that Square partially owns him). Maybe the copyright has expired. Anyway, I never played the original, so pretty excited to get to finally play it.
They ended the Direct with the announcement of a new Mario game, a 2D scroller called Super Mario Wonder, which looks as trippy as the "groovy" font they used for "Wonder" in the logo would suggest.
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Heck, the final tease was Mario turning into a bipedal ELEPHANT. Like WTH.
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The main takeaway I got from the Wonder announcement though was the appearance of DAISY among the playable characters. That's right, folks. For the first time in a mainline Mario game, PRINCESS DAISY IS PLAYABLE.
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(And this only a couple weeks after I bought a Team Daisy Power-Up Band at Universal Studios. It was meant to be! 😄)
Aside from Mario though...
They're releasing a collection of the Metal Gear Solid games! I was actually kinda excited by this because after listening to so many episodes of the Did You Know Gaming "podcast" (just the audio from their longer trivia videos posted to Spotify, since they found out a lot of people like to put their videos on in the background while doing other stuff), and hearing so much lore and trivia about this series, I kinda wanted to try them myself, but wasn't sure I could without an emulator. Now I can! Sure, I suck at shooters, and I'm not sure how I'd do at the stealth parts, but I still want to try. Might be fun to play with my brother too, since right now the only game we play together is Smash.
The Dragon Quest monster collection game looks interesting too. I haven't played a Dragon Quest game since Dragon Quest Swords for Wii, and I never even beat that one. But it could be interesting.
The RPG about the wordless world (Silent Hope) also looks good.
Honestly, there was a lot less focus on major franchises, except for Mario. I guess that makes sense since, aside from Mario, most of their major franchises have had releases recently (like Zelda and Fire Emblem). The only games featured here that I already knew about were Fae Farm and the Star Ocean R game (which I think is a remake). But then the Switch is a very indie-friendly console, I feel, and I fully support that.
Also speaking of Fae Farm, the whole "make your home in another world" genre of Switch games seems to be increasing steadily. Fae Farm wasn't even the only one in this Direct. I think the success of ACNH, Stardew Valley, and the Rune Factory/Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons universe have probably had an impact on this. (And also the whole cozy games community that has sprung up, especially on TikTok).
There were some weird games in this Direct too. Like the pigeon rhythm game. And another WarioWare game, which I admit is a long time coming. Makes good use of the JoyCons though.
Also I can't be the only one who noticed this homage to Super Mario 64's famous "The Princess's Secret Slide" level (which was cut from later releases of SM64 I think) in the WarioWare: Move It! trailer:
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Also they're making a video game version of Gloomhaven. The same tabletop RPG I first saw someone playing at I think Panera. So that's a thing.
Overall, an interesting Direct!
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rissynicole · 3 years
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DTIYS Contest Prize: Rllyaangrlly
Here is the first of the one-shots promised to the three winners of the DTIYS event I put on recently. (Thank you guys for being patient with me, btw. I’m a very slow writer, and you’re seeing it in action). Just as the title states, this one is for @rllyaangrlly, based on her requests. 
This was a ton of fun and gave me an opportunity to not only shake some writing rust, but work with topics I don’t normally explore. More than anything, I was able to try to emulate the vibes Brit gives these characters in her own art/writing. I wish I had a better word for it, but I’ve always felt like Brit has a certain “aesthetic” with the IZ characters through her drawing style, the situations she puts them in, and her overall portrayal of their personalities. I’ve always adored it, and it was an honor to be able to try my hand at writing it. 
Story is under the cut.
Characters: Dib, Zim, Gaz
Relationships: ZaGr, ZaDf
Warnings: minor injuries
Words: 3,706
Absurdity
The car’s engine and the drone of its wheels on the highway were the only sounds that passed between the three. The radio hadn’t been turned on, and no one had the gall nor the desire to change that. Not Zim, who was turned almost completely towards the window in the passenger seat, nor Gaz in the backseat. They drove along in heavy silence as Dib stared stonily ahead of him at the stretch of road, hands gripping the wheel numbly.
Dating. They’re… dating.
The idea was positively absurd to him. Not only did it feel weirdly out of the realm of possibility, but it felt wrong, somehow. Like some sort of tasteless prank. When Zim had told him, he’d half expected the camera crew from Punk’d to come parading around the corner, led by Ashton Kutcher, to point and laugh at the look on Dib’s face. “Can you believe it?! Your best friend—alien best friend—and your little sister! You totally fell for it!”
That almost would have been better. Cruel and mortifying, maybe, but better. At least then, he wouldn’t be sitting behind the wheel of the car trying to make sense of it while the two pretended not to notice from inches away. But it wasn’t a prank. Hell, Dib wasn’t famous enough to be on Punk’d anyway. Maybe someday… but not today.
A little part of him had high hopes for the series of paranormal investigation videos he and Zim had strung together. Lately, that little part of him had stopped feeling so childish, too. Their following had risen significantly over the last few months, gaining more and more traction as people tuned in. Suddenly, their modest little support net of viewers was in the hundreds. Then the thousands. Then the hundred-thousands. Truth be told, Zim and Dib hadn’t really come across anything of substance in their investigations, but their newer viewers weren’t exactly around for solid proof of the paranormal, anyway. It hadn’t taken long for the two to realize that most of the channel’s appeal came from the dripping sarcasm and witty banter directed at one another.
“Chemistry” was an apt word, and it got thrown around a lot. Zim and Dib, quite by accident, had become the up-and-coming best friend duo in the paranormal community. And with each new investigation, they garnered more and more recognition.
That’s where they were headed now, towards Ottawa National Forest to investigate the latest hot spot Dib’s research had led him to. The “Paulding Light” was a strange phenomenon, appearing in a single spot in the woods and taking form of a bright glow before fading off into the darkness of the night. Though plenty of locals could attest to having seen it, no one could feasibly explain it. Dib was determined to catch it on camera. Or at least he had been, before Zim had dropped the bomb on him right before leaving the house.
Dating. They’re… dating.
His thoughts rounded back, and he felt his hands readjust themselves on the steering wheel. Behind him, Gaz sighed quietly and cross her legs. He almost swore he could sense her and Zim exchange a glance through the rearview mirror, but he really had no way of knowing. He didn’t really want to know.
Dating.
“What’s the exit?” he asked, jarring them all back to reality.
Zim paused before answering. “It’s a couple down. Not this one, but the next.”
They returned to silence. Even as Dib’s blinkers resounded through the car and they exited off the highway. Even as the smooth highway turned to bumpy asphalt, then later, dirt roads.
At last, Zim spoke. “Dib—”
“I’m not mad,” he interrupted. “I’m just…I don’t know what I am. I need to process this. Just…” He trailed off, his mouth a thin line.
Zim and Gaz glanced at each other through the rearview again.
Eventually, they pulled into a dirt lot and spilled out of the little hatchback, glad for a break in the tension that had been all-consuming throughout the entire car ride. Gaz leaned back, popping her joints before heading to the trunk of the car where the camping supplies and camera equipment was. Zim took over, gathering it up and taking inventory of what they had brought along.
Just as before, everything was done without a word. No one really knew what to say. Gaz and Zim were giving Dib his space, and the latter still seemed to be at a loss. Driving hadn’t really cleared his head as he’d lamely claimed it would; it’d just made him more flustered.
Before long, they were off. The hike through the woods was only marginally less uncomfortable than the car ride had been, but the open air helped. Dib led the way, walking along the dimming trail as dusk settled in. The plan was to find a place to set up camp near the area where the Paulding Light supposedly made its appearance. Then, they’d hike again—this time under the cover of darkness—with the cameras rolling.
As the daylight slowly dissipated and the cool air settled in, Gaz paused to unhook her backpack from around her shoulders. Her jacket was inside, probably balled up beneath all the other crap she’d packed for this little excursion. Before she could even get her bag unzipped, though, Zim handed her his own sweatshirt.
She glanced up, and a wordless argument passed between them.
Now you’re going to be cold, her glare told him.
He gave her a challenging, almost haughty glance in return. Just put it on. I’m fine.
Gaz huffed a little and rolled her eyes, but ultimately acquiesced. She bunched it up and pulled it over her head. It was an overlarge navy hoodie with their college name and emblem branded on the front in bright, almost obnoxious yellow font. Zim had been wearing it almost religiously since October had arrived and the first freeze of the year had swept through their neighborhood.
When her face appeared at the neckline, she made brief accidental eye contact with Dib. He averted his eyes quickly. His mouth was still in that tight, thin line.
They continued on, walking until they’d found a suitable place to set up camp. Just as agonizingly silent as before, they set to tidying up the area, pulling out their sleeping bags, and taking inventory of the food they’d brought.
At this, Zim reached into one of the backpacks, eyes lighting up at a bag of jumbo marshmallows. Gaz slapped it away, all pretenses forgotten for a second. “Knock it off. We still have to film,” she said.
He snagged one anyway, popping it in his mouth defiantly before chuckling at her wavering attempt at a serious expression. They locked eyes for a moment, and then Gaz finally dropped it and began laughing along with him.
Dib cleared his throat.
They both turned and looked at him, smiles dropping instantly.
“Let’s get going,” he said, pushing his glasses up his nose and looking up at the smattering of stars up ahead. “You have the camera, Gaz?”
She nodded and held it up.
Dib did his best to not look behind him at Gaz and Zim as they walked on. Suddenly, any playful or even amicable interaction between them had taken on a whole new meaning. Because it wasn’tjust amicable.
Dating. They’re… dating.
It made him feel like the last few months had been a lie. It wasn’t just him, his sister, and his best friend anymore. It was him, his sister, and his sister’s boyfriend.
He visibly shuddered as he stepped over a fallen tree branch. Ugh, he didn’t want to think about that.
About a mile in, they began to hear running water. Sure enough, only about five minutes later they came upon a fallen tree that spanned about the width of the trail. Some quick observation showed that it was acting as a sort of bridge over a shallow stream about five or six feet below.
“I guess this is sturdy enough,” Dib muttered, testing the strength of the log. He peered over the edge at the water. At this point, night had fallen proper. A small slice of moon illuminated the sky, casting down on the stream. Dark water glinted here and there as it passed over rocks.
He began to walk over it, arms held out for balance. He hadn’t said much at all, despite Gaz currently filming. She held the camera up anyway, sighing inwardly.
What a waste this trip was. Who the hell would want to watch a video of Dib moodily wandering through the woods all night?
As for Zim, he had hardly uttered a word, either. And he was usually the comic relief of their little program. The fact that Zim was quiet wasn’t just bizarre; it was unsettling.
Zim stepped up on the log, followed by Gaz, who was still holding the camera out in front of herself. The disproportionate weight made her lose her balance for a moment, which was then exacerbated when the entire log rocked along with her. On instinct, Zim reached out and caught her by the wrist.
Dib turned, still halfway across their little bridge over the stream. He glanced at the two blankly. Then, his eyes narrowed. Even in the darkness, the intensity of his glare met Zim’s eyes.
“Would it kill you to not fondle my sister in the middle of the night while we’re trying to film?” Dib muttered.
“What are you talking about, Earth-stink?” It was clear Zim’s already-thin patience was running dry. These days, nearly a decade after arriving on earth, he only pulled out the immature nicknames when he on the verge of arguing.
Dib simply gesticulated at Zim’s hand, still grasping Gaz’s wrist. Zim looked at him incredulously and then let go of her.
“Dib…” Gaz growled, “You’re acting like an asshole.”
I’m acting like an asshole?!” he said, the hours of tension suddenly bubbling to the surface. “You’re the one who decided to… to…” He was at a loss for words.
Gaz darkened nonetheless, eyes glinting. “I didn’t ‘decide’ to do anything! And if I knew you were just going to sulk the whole time, I would have stayed the fuck home! Do I even have to remind you that I do this shit as a favor to you?” She waved the camera in front of her, and Dib paled at both her words and the prospect of it slipping from her grip and into the stream several feet below them. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe I didn’t even want to go camping right after my midterms?”
“A favor for me, sure!” Dib shot back. Maybe some people could be perfectly silent for hours on end and be perfectly calm. His temper had never allowed for that. He was speaking without thinking, and he could feel it. It still didn’t stop the word-vomit from coming. “You sure it’s a favor for me and not a favor for your little boyfriend over there?”
He gestured vaguely towards the “boyfriend” in question, who’s face was beginning to match Gaz’s. Before Zim could open his mouth, though, Gaz lunged forward, right into Dib’s face. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll shut the fuck up right now!”
The fallen tree they were balanced on began to rock a little, and Zim’s eyes went wide as he clambered to keep his footing. “Gaz—”
“Stay out of it, Zim!”
“I will not!” he shot back. “Not when you’re both acting like complete—”
He didn’t finish the sentence. The log rocked again, and this time, Gaz’s balance didn’t withstand. The little hand-held camcorder slipped from her grasp, and she instinctively lurched towards it with her hands outstretched. Zim, operating on the same instinct, tried to catch her again. His foot slipped out from under him along with a crumbling of tree bark that had split off the log
“W-woah!” Dib shouted. His eyes bulged from behind his glasses. He reached for both of them, catching the sleeve of Gaz’s hoodie and Zim’s arm to try to keep them from falling over the side. He only succeeded in making the sorry excuse for a bridge rock yet again. At that point, it seemed, the log decided it was no longer interested in keeping three fully grown adults upright and out of the water. It rocked, crumbled, and then slipped from where it had been wedged between the two ends of the hiking trail.
Dib, Zim, and Gaz went tumbling off. High, clipped shouts preceding their fall, then a series of splashing.
The water below was cold, but not terribly so. It was a shallow, slow-moving stream. Almost more of an inconvenience than anything. Even so, the drop was high enough that Dib landed on the balls of his feet, skidded out, and skinned both elbows as he fell clumsily onto his rump.
He groaned, cupping one scraped elbow in his palm. Already beginning to internally bemoan his soaking-wet clothes, he turned to Gaz. His anger was beginning to return to him in place of shock.
“Great. That’s a new camera down the fucking drain.”
Instead of an onslaught of choice words back at him, however, Gaz didn’t respond. She wasn’t even looking in his direction. Instead, she was turned away, hunched over something in the darkness. It took him a moment to realize what she was doing. At her feet, Zim’s body was lying halfway in the stream, completely motionless.
Gaz whipped around to look at Dib, soggy tendrils of hair stuck to her cheeks. She no longer looked angry. “I think he hit his head. Help me get him out of here!”
Dib’s eyes widened, and without thinking, he hurried around Gaz’s other side, grabbing Zim’s shoulder and hauling him to the grassy bank a few feet away. “Is he okay?” he shouted.
“I don’t know. Move!” She dropped to her knees in front of him. His wig sat like a sodden mop on his head, and she pulled it off before it could burn his scalp any more than it had. The worry she so evidently felt was plastered all over her face. Even in the darkness, Dib could see it. He was worried, too, but it was strange to see it so plainly on Gaz of all people. She had always been the more level-headed of the two, and seeing her normally morose, carefully composed poker-face fall away so quickly made Dib feel like he’d entered some alternate dimension.
Seconds later, Zim came around. With a moan, his eyelids fluttered open to reveal one contact and one overbright pink eye.
Gaz didn’t fuss or wring her hands, but she sighed noticeably in relief, then began asking him questions. (What is your name? Where are you right now?)
Zim answered in turn, seemingly fine. His hand wrapped around to the back of his head to absently massage at a growing bump, though. He groaned again and sat up.
“You need to get out of those clothes,” Dib said. He could hear a distant sizzling—the awful sound of water against Zim’s skin. Even in their days of mortal rivalry, that sound had always had a visceral effect that could pierce through any bluster and leave Dib cringing inwardly.
Gaz nodded her head in agreement. “Come on,” she said. She rose to her feet, then helped Zim up.
“I’m fine. This isn’t the first time this has happened on this filthy planet,” he muttered. The fire that had been in his voice just moments before had been snuffed out. He tugged at his soggy clothing and scratched at the rashes that were beginning to form on his arms and torso.
Before Dib had time to realize what was happening, they were walking ahead of him back to their camp. Gaz was leading the way this time. Zim managed to keep up, wincing in pain occasionally.
When they got back, Gaz beelined to Zim’s bags. While he ducked behind some brush and changed into new clothes, she pulled out a small first aid kit with the Irken insignia printed on the outside.
“He’ll need the—” Dib started. He stopped when he saw Gaz pull out the exact tube of antibiotic cream he had been about to gesture towards. She glanced at the Irken characters—Irken characters Dib hadn’t known she could read—and opened it.
“Can you hand me the bandages from your bag?” she asked.
Dib shot her a weird look but reached for the bandages anyway. “You know, his PAK heals him pretty quickly. I don’t think he even really needs them.”
“Yeah, but bandaging it up makes him whine about it less,” she said. She tried to hide the smile that had begun to form on her lips.
Dib handed it over and began to build a fire for the three of them.
Zim returned then, dressed in clean, dry clothes. While Gaz helped treat and bandage the worst of the burns, Dib kept silent. This time, however, it wasn’t out of whatever conglomerate of frustration he’d been feeling earlier. He was watching his sister coyly.
Gaz was not the maternal type. Throughout their entire lives, Gaz’s words and actions had been laced in a gruff sort of outer layer that warned others she was not to be trifled with. She kept her circle small and very rarely expressed any emotion other than cool apathy or outright anger.
The way she was acting towards Zim was a far cry from her normal self. Dib had only ever seen her like this on a handful of other occasions. When those memories drifted to him and he realized the common denominator, he suddenly felt uneasy. The tenderness in which she wrapped Zim’s forearm was with the same silent, admonishing tenderness she’d shown Dib when he’d gotten injured during his own idiotic exploits over the years.
Meanwhile, Zim sat slumped against a tree, letting her bandage him up without a fuss. While he was making an attempt at nonchalance, it was clear he was practically falling asleep where was sitting.
That was another little thing Gaz seemed to either know already or manage to take in stride: something about injuries made Zim unusually tired afterwards. For as long as Dib had known him, he’d been this way. Dib had deducted it was because his PAK was using more energy than usual, and Zim had more or less confirmed it. Even so, it was rather unsettling to see anyone sustain an injury and then drop off to sleep moments later like a narcoleptic.
That’s precisely what Zim was doing now, now. As soon as Gaz finished with the last bandage, she shook his shoulder to wake him. With the last of his energy, he shuffled to his sleeping bag and practically faceplanted onto it. Within seconds, he had dropped off to sleep.
Gaz patted his hand.
Dating, Dib thought yet again.
It was absurd. That was the only way he could put it. It didn’t make any sense. Almost…almost as absurd as the idea of him being friends with Zim in the first place.
He frowned and began to pull at the loose strings of a bracelet he’d worn on his wrist for the last year or so. Zim had an almost identical one that he, too, never removed.
Hadn’t there been a time when he couldn’t imagine himself being anything but Zim’s enemy? And now they were almost inseparable. If he could get used to that, why couldn’t he get used to this?
He glanced down at the bracelet and sighed. “You really care about him, don’t you?” he said finally.
Gaz glanced up, her face guarded. “I wouldn’t be with him if I didn’t.”
“And he treats you well?”
“What kind of stupid question is that?” She made a face, but it wasn’t entirely hostile. “I wouldn’t be with him if he didn’t.”
Dib’s eyes fell on Zim, who was snoring lightly. He didn’t doubt that. “Okay,” he said through another exhale.
“‘Okay,’ what?” Gaz said, raising a brow. “I don’t need your ‘blessing,’ Dib. I just want—”
“—No, no, no. I don’t mean it that way,” Dib said quickly, “I mean ‘okay,’ I will get used to this. And I’ll stop being such an asshole.” He quirked his lip upward in a humorless smile at the last part. “I’m sorry, Gaz. I could have handled that a lot better, and I didn’t.”
She pulled her knees to her chest and stared into the crackling fire. “Apology accepted.”
Zim began to stir then, one hand reaching out to scratch at his bandages.
“Hey, don’t do that,” Gaz said softly, taking the hand and moving it away. She made to rifle through their bags but was stopped when Zim’s hand closed around hers. He held her in place and began to murmur incoherently.
Gaz smiled; a sweet, serene smile Dib very rarely saw. “Just give me a minute,” she told Zim. She squeezed his hand and pulled away, unzipping the bag closest to her and retrieving what she was looking for—the marshmallows Zim had been after earlier.
She pressed one into his palm, and his fingers wrapped around it groggily.
Over the next hour, he slowly came out of whatever fog his PAK had put him through as it worked to heal him. By morning, the irritated rashes from the water would be gone and the bump on his head would be nothing but a distant memory.
Not for the first time, Dib thought about how strange Irkens were.
Over the rest of the night, the three gathered around the fire, roasting marshmallows. Even through the lulls in conversation, the tension that had practically been a permanent fixture earlier was gone. Instead, they slipped into their new dynamic. A dynamic that was, as Dib had claimed, absurd. But when hadn’t it been? Not when Zim had first arrived on Earth. Not when years and events had passed them by, and enmity had melded to friendship. And not now.
Absurdity was their specialty, and they were learning to wear it proudly.
~The End~
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discreative · 3 years
Text
[WP] "You asked why we humans are so against going to war, right? Welcome to the Western Front."
Spent a long time on this one and it’s late so I have no idea if it’s good or not, but it’s something so it’s already an improvement from recent weeks.
Original prompt by u/ Anhilliator1 on r/WritingPrompts.
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The humans were an odd species. This wasn't a controversial opinion, it wasn't a bigoted assumption, and it wasn't a byproduct of a rushed first contact; but neither was it their defining trait. At this point, the galactic community as a whole was familiar enough with the species that this was a mere afterthought. Not a big deal, unimportant, at most a fun point to tease.
Yet this attitude was not generally extended to their thoughts about war.
Their geopolitical fragmentation, a phenomenon that was very much uncommon for space-faring species, could be explained by their individualism and the system they called "capitalism"; when companies and entrepeneurs handle the travel, not much unity is required, so long as regulations are followed. This made sense. Their heavy regard for democracy also facilitated the creation of a common representative body in the galactic community. Which again, made sense.
Their acceptance of nearly all species was also unusual, with human embassies being the most universally understood sign of civilization; but this could be explained by that very geopolitical fragmentation, which caused myriads of cultures, religions, and philosophies to emerge. Thus, they were more prone to be exposed to different points of view throughout their lives, creating a population that was, on average, very open minded. This also made sense.
What didn't make sense was why they were so scared of war, while being so obsessed with it at the same time. Their entertainment often involved war, they practiced several activities that involved the faking and emulation of warfare, and they had some of the galaxy's finest literature on military philosophy. One ancient human had called war an art, and frankly, if they weren't at that point, they were very close.
So why did they shy away from it so much?
They seemed to be perfect warmongers, yet they showed no aggression to anyone. Peacekeepers maybe? No, they stayed neutral in most conflicts. The ones that didn't involve slavery or persecution of minorities, anyway. Understandable given the glimpses they'd shared of their history. But even then, the most they ever did was provide supplies, equipment and advisors. Did they refuse to fight unless directly attacked? But if that was so, how could they have had so much exposure to war that it became such a large part of their shared culture? Someone had to have been the aggressor, right?
It made no sense.
Not until their full history was put on display.
The banner-screen displayed the words "Welcome to the Western Front" in a font that resembled rust and decay. The exhibits were marked 1914 to 1918 CE. The events they showcased were brutal, and could make the most ferocious of mercenaries grimace. Hundreds, thousands lost for a few lengths of ground. Ground that could swallow even a member of the largest species whole. Ground covered in metal, shaped to cause not death, but simply pain. Not a tactic meant to cause death; simply to buy time. Time that would be used to turn the greenest of fields grey with the most deranged of weapons, a simple chemical reaction turning one's respiratory system against itself.
And at the end of the exhibition, there was no true end. A human spoke with them, ambassadors from every government involved in the newest galactic war, and the things they said would shake them forever.
"This was not our only war. It was not our first, nor would it be our last. It would not even be our worst. But it would be the clearest example we would ever get of the hard truth of our universe; no matter how good one is at war, one can never truly be the victor. A man at the peace conference of this conflict said: 'This is not peace, but an armistice of 20 years'. There is a reason we call this conflict the First World War. As you saw, it was called 'The war to end all wars' in it's time, yet an even worse war would come to devastate all involved. This cycle of gain and loss has been a near constant of human history, as our now functioning archives will show you.
"It has taken us millenia to finally break this cycle and expunge this aspect of our culture. You know our feelings about forcibly changing a culture, so you should realise what it means that we regard warmongering as the one instinct worth supressing. Even now, we have not forgotten it; many among us still fantasize of war, still idolise our soldiers and romanticize the battlefield. That will never change, and we have ceased our attempts to change it. So please keep our perspective in your thoughts as you navigate a solution to this conflict."
"So what?" one ambassador asked. "Was all that talk really necessary if you were just planning to say you wouldn't be involved?" the ambassador sounded needlessly aggressive, but everyone could see they had clearly been affected by the exhibition.
The human replied: "No, I suppose not, but that was not the intended message. We mean to tell you that we, as in the Collective Human Galactic Council, would hold no sway over humanity's intervention. If humans wish to join, they would. Conflicts so far have been scarce and far away, but this could yet become the biggest war since humanity's entry into the galactic community. It would be impossible to stop them."
"And? Getting another ally in the field of battle doesn't sound too bad, especially not one as ruthless as you."
The other ambassadors pretended not to hear the diplomatic incident that had just been spoken, as the human spoke once more.
"Ambassador, please allow me to remind you that humanity is not unified under a central government. Should a war occur, many governments could - and will - join different sides. I once again ask you to consider our perspective."
All the alien ambassadors flinched in collective realization. War had led the humans to division, and division only led to more war. That was the cycle humanity had lived in since it's origin.
And only recently had they finally cast it away.
When a war inevitably came, neither side escalated it. Complex webs of alliances, expected to burst into total war, were reduced to a matter of which volunteers wound up where. Devastating and highly experimental weaponry was scrapped for supplies and resources, or kept as potential avenues of alternative energy production. Battles predicted to end entire species barely even ocurred, as both sides now evaluated wether the end result would be good enough in relation to the lives lost.
And most notably, the humans were never called to action. And though volunteers were sent, and animosity was present, and long running grudges grew deeper, unity lasted once again.
For the lessons of that dreadful, utterly pointless war were sworn to never be forgotten.
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lilydalexf · 3 years
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Old School X is a project interviewing X-Files fanfic authors who were posting fic  during the original run of the show. New interviews are posted every Tuesday.
Interview with Dreamshaper
Dreamshaper has 54 stories at Gossamer. Her stories often feature Mulder and Scully exploring their feelings in ways you really, really wish you could’ve seen on the show. I’ve recced some of my favorites of her stories here before, including Found in Memory, Just By Existing, Purpose, and Promise. Big thanks to Dreamshaper for doing this interview.
Does it surprise you that people are still interested in reading your X-Files fanfics and others that were posted during the original run of the show (1993-2002)?
I'm not at all surprised people are still reading X-Files fanfic! There's a deep catalogue of good and interesting fiction there, and the X-Files still has cultural significance. And of course there were the recent seasons to bring it back to mind. I think if you had asked me in 2000, I might not have supposed that it had this kind of staying power. So now I'm thinking of this interview as a time capsule--what will my answer be in 2040?
My own fic was not designed to have staying power. If anyone is reading it now, bless them, they are kind and patient. I would only recommend probably reading the first and last things I posted just to see what kind of growth is possible. The first time I ever posted fic, someone told me to never write again. I was a teenager. I was crushed but I went on writing anyway, and I worked hard to improve.
What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?
I think of two things. As for the show itself, I still think of Mulder/Scully as the ultimate in romance. I can still picture certain moments from the episodes, from the movie. I look for pairings with tension that reminds me of theirs--an almost-regency level of UST, but with a modern element of danger.
As for the fandom itself, I grew up in it. My entire online life and the core of how I participate in fandom was formed here. I was 17 or so when I started writing and posting MSR. I was 18 or 19 when I started meeting fans in real life. I was fortunate enough to fall in with people who were equal parts gracious and nerdy, and while my own nerdiness is innate, I remember and emulate the kindness which was shown to me.
I have an entire side post to this question about how strongly I disagree with the current age stratification in fandom--this idea of not interacting across artificial age divides is tragic to me.
Social media didn't really exist during the show's original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)?
ATXC, and mailing lists. I don't actually remember the names of all the mailing lists! I can picture myself sitting in my kitchen on my computer, and what the emails looked like--the font, the signature lines--but not the names. I can even remember specific conversations we had! One of them must have been Scullyfic, because I remember the first meetup being planned. Is that right? Was it the Scullyfic meetup? [Lilydale note: Probably was Scullyfic. There was a big email flurry when the first Scullyfic mailing list meetup was being planned.] My mind was absolutely blown by the idea of a fan con. Now I've led panels at a dozen of them.
I remember some of the arguments, too. It's funny that some of them are the same arguments I still see here and there, like whether or not criticism of a fanwork is valid. Real Person Fic being this unbelievably shameful thing you had to ask to be shown, and the doyennes of the fandom would have given you the cut direct at Almack's if they'd found out, you know?
This was also the era of AIM and ICQ. mIRC too, right? I spent a lot of time in channels. I absolutely loved when people started to be more open about themselves in chats. I was always so interested in how fandom fit into people's lives. Some people I talked to were moms, college students, people who had interesting careers, and they all just found ways to make fandom work for them. They had a need and were meeting it, despite the pressures of their offline life.
I don't know how to explain the impression that made on me, but--it normalized fandom. That seems obvious, maybe, but I hadn't known this was something you could integrate into your everyday life.
It also normalized the idea of women taking their own needs as primary, in a way that went beyond what I was exposed to in my home life, or through the feminism of the 1990s. There was this wild intersection of the--the domestic and intellectual life of women, and the playful life of women, just making itself known to me in a way I'd never seen before. That was enormous. Absolutely a foundational experience for me.
My experience was that ATXC and email lists were like, these surface-level interactions where people figured out, roughly, if your mind ran on a similar track to theirs, and then you were invited to make deeper relationships in more private corners of the internet. Social media filled both functions at once, I think, for a while. But the privacy was missing. I'm not surprised that Slack and Discord are starting to fill that private corner gap--everything old becomes new, etc.
What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show?
UST and monsters. This is still an unbeatable combination for me!
What got you involved with X-Files fanfic?
I loved romance novels--I read so many of them. Somehow, before we even had a computer at home, I started to tell myself romance novel stories with Mulder and Scully as the lead characters. This was how I talked myself to sleep--I wasn't a good sleeper. Then when I got online and did whatever search led me to ATXC, I was just shocked. Shocked! Can't do the surprise justice, in this era where fanfic is relatively mainstream. Other people had also independently invented this thing I loved! But they wrote their ideas down! I jumped on the bandwagon immediately.
What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom?
It's like my relationship to my childhood, frankly. Foundational, but I don't think about it all that much on a daily basis, right? I smile and reblog gif sets. I get nostalgic. I get embarrassed by social mistakes I made. I feel the way many of us do about memories from our teenage years. I wouldn't be who I was without it, but I'm not still in it.
Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?
I was. I've spent 20 years in fandom! I did some beta work for someone who'd started writing slash--The Sentinel. The actual Sentinel, not just an endless loop of Sentinel AUs based on Sentinel AUs based on etc. I had some idea at the time that I was queer, but this was my first real exposure to romances that weren't straight. So I tore my way through the early 2000s slash fandoms as they developed: The Sentinel, Due South, Stargate Atlantis. Popslash, where a mix of good writing and absurdity ruled. Bandom, where I met my wife. Since then, many smaller fandoms.
It's hard to compare any of these things to each other, let alone to the X-Files. In each one, I was lucky enough to find a circle of women who were strong beta readers and good friends. I never wrote as much or for as long as I did in the X-Files.
Do you ever still watch The X-Files or think about Mulder and Scully?
I watched the new episodes. I've shown friends important episodes--I remember that a few years ago, another friend and I tried to hook a third friend on the show by binging some favorites--mostly shippy MOTW, so it was like, Arcadia, Triangle, Bad Blood. Fun stuff!
We finish watching and I'm like, well? And? And she says, that was fine, but I'm more of a man-pain, secret babies kind of person? I'll never forget it. She had no idea but she'd hit the nail on the head! We were wheezing with laughter. We went back and watched mytharc episodes, which was much less fun for me, but much more interesting to her.
Do you ever still read X-Files fic? Fic in another fandom?
I don't read X-Files fic often. I look at new things sometimes, and I've reread a few old classics, but my reading taste has changed so much. I still love straight romance, but it needs to be fast and sharp in a way that is hard to find.
I read fic in other fandoms when I have time. In the past few years, I've finished a degree, had a daughter, renovated a small Victorian and then sold it and bought another one during this pandemic--so time has been short. Currently I read some Untamed fic, some Good Omens fic, Magicians, Schitt's Creek...a sampler. Whatever friends are writing, whatever they recommend.
What is your favorite of your own fics, X-Files and/or otherwise?
I never have a favorite of my own fics. I'm never satisfied. The second I post something, I'm always full of regrets. I've written fics that did very well and still hated them a month later. People have asked me over the years to move more of my stuff off Livejournal and onto ao3, but I do it really reluctantly and only by specific request. Everything's ephemeral! Let the old works diminish, and go into the West!
Do you think you'll ever write another X-Files story? Or dust off and post an oldie that for whatever reason never made it online?
I have no oldies to dust off. I do periodically think of X-Files stories I would tell, but I don't have enough time for current interests--and so it goes.
Do you still write fic now? Or other creative work?
I do. I was most recently writing in The Magicians fandom. I posted a couple new stories in an old fandom last year--I'd written Good Omens fic fifteen years ago, and then again for the Amazon adaptation. I have a pile of original novels in various stages of completion, but I'm never happy with them. One day I'll figure myself out, perhaps, or I'll just keep writing myself this and that and leaving it all in a drawer.
What's the story behind your pen name?
So AOL had a character limit for user names--I think it was 10. I was a teenager at the time I was coming up with the one I'd use for fandom, so I went with Dreamshaper. It was kind of literal, in the sense that I was going to share the stories I'd been telling myself to help me sleep. But the character limit meant I went with Dreamshpr, which I later liked because of the alternate reading of Dream*shipper*. A reminder to the younger fans that we were the original shippers!
I would also come up with new pen names when I wanted to experiment with a fic that didn't fit my usual style. I don't remember any of them. I probably did that a dozen times, so, sorry to those poor completely abandoned stories.
Is there a place online (tumblr, twitter, AO3, etc.) where people can find you and/or your stories now?
Giddygeek on tumblr and ao3. I'm most active on twitter, but largely about my domestic life with dips into fandoms or original writing; message me on tumblr if you're an old friend who'd like to reconnect elsewhere.
Is there anything else you'd like to share with fans of X-Files fic?
Just gratitude--I'm so glad that I found people to share an obsession with, and that they were good people, at a time in my life where that made a significant difference to me. I don't know where I'd be now without my time and my growth in this fandom!
(Posted by Lilydale on December 22, 2020)
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