#image and video ids to follow i just need some more time

[merylstryfestan]

Trimax Bookbinding Update 1

i finally started making real progress yesterday! after a week of image formatting and testing various software options, i finally got the pages formatted how i wanted and got them printed!

as a quick aside, this isn't quite regular printer paper. regular printer paper is long grain, so it's easier to fold parallel to the long edges. since i need to fold parallel to the short edges, i printed this on short grain paper. (if anyone is interested in hearing more about the paper, let me know and I'll make a separate post!)

with everything printed and ready to go, i then made sure to organize the sheets into their signatures, checking that the page layout was correct along the way. one of the trickiest parts when formatting for printing was making sure all the two-page spreads would actually be next to each other, so that's mostly what I was checking for.

then it was time to get folding! when i've made books before, i would fold an entire signature together at once. however, with several panels that go all the way up to the center fold, i wanted to be very precise so i opted to fold each sheet individually. i'm glad i did, as the results were pretty much perfect!

now i don't own a book press, but i do have a kitchenaid and some boxes so that's close enough. leaving the signatures overnight in the "press" will really secure in those folds and help the final book lay flat when closed.

that's all for now! next update will be stitching the signatures together into a text block (my favorite part!)

full credit to @trigun-manga-overhaul for the translation i'm using! if you want to read the manga but don't want to deal with whacky translations, their project is the way to go.

[neoarchipelago]

And they were Roommates (part 15)

A/N: I feel like i keep saying this but, all my chapters are long... SOO anyway. I don't know how i feel about this chapter, i'm torn between hating it and hating myself. Reviews are greatly appreciated and please be honest, don't try to make me happy, i truly want constructive critisim, so go on my babies, break my heart.

Also all lot of you seem to want to be my good girls or good boys. So yeah, sure, i'll be ya'lls mommy.

Yes. Hate me.

Warnings: Mentions of death, injury, 18+ content etc, just minors don't. F-Reader.

You sighed. Turning around in the black sheets. You could still smell his cologne in them. It's been two weeks. And you missed him like hell. You missed his voice, his touch, his eyes. You touched your neck. He had taken his dog tags with him. It felt like you lacked something now.

You groaned, throwing one of the pillows over your head. A knock rang in the room. 

"Sparrow. Come on. Get up." Bishop called through the door. 

You groaned again as a response. 

"Come on!" 

"Fine!" 

You decided to get up. You'd spend the day in bed otherwise and you had to go to base. The squad had joined Los Vaqueros to hunt down the two cartel's bosses. You had stayed behind with bishop and Coyote to remotely track any Intel on the dark web. Aquila, Carkeys and Grim went on site to collect Intel and use drones and other equipment to help the squad. 

You spent time in between the base and your house where Melissa and the team joined you as often as they could. 

It took an hour at best to get to base with everyone. You had walked into the IT quarters with a coffee in hand. 

"Rough morning?" Laswell asked. 

"Where are they?" You asked. 

She shook her head with a smile on her lips. 

"They got into the city last night. They managed to get a few high ups of the cartel." Coyote explained. 

"We managed to capture some conversations on a blank website. Two of their hackers were trying to throw false Intel to throw us off. But we managed to find their ID's which was much more interesting." Bishop added. 

You nodded sitting down at your computer. 

"Grim and Carkeys are following closely the squad with the drones and satellite images. We have made sure to protect those and are gate keeping them so they can't use those to track our soldiers." 

You sighed of relief.

"I wouldn't have made it without you guys… thank you…" you said. 

Bishop winked at you while coyote smiled. 

"Aquila is making sure they're safe, keeping track of their equipments." 

You took a deep breath. 

"Alright back to work." 

You got back to work, trying to focus as best as you could on it. The day passed by in a flash again. You felt like the anxiety would kill you at every new piece of information coming your way. At the end of the day you looked around the room full of screens. 

"Hey sparrow, come here" Bishop called with a smile. 

You walked up to her, blinking as you looked down at her screen. 

"HEY THERE!" Soap's voice rang. 

You felt a rush of adrenaline. 

"We managed to create a remote link so we could video call with their base." Coyote explained, the freckled on her nose dancing as she smiled. 

"Thank you… hey soap. How are you guys?" You asked. 

"We are good here, we are getting closer to the target." Gaz answered. 

You smiled at them. Price and Alejandro now appeared behind them. You noticed the blush on Coyote's face. 

"Oh, look, it's our ladies!" Price called. 

You chuckled as the girls giggled. 

"Princesa!" Alejandro called. 

As by magic, it immediately summoned him. HIM. Your breath caught in your front. Simon.

"My princess." 

His voice was rough. Ghost was on edge. Alejandro raised his hands up, showing there was no sign of threat from him. 

"Hey…" you greeted with a smile. 

He nodded. 

The conversation kept going, now Carkeys, Aquila and Grim showing up as well. It felt nice to be able to talk with everyone, but all you wanted was to tell him you missed him. You needed him. You wanted two minutes alone with him just to tell him you loved him again. It must have shown. Because the team did exactly that. 

You were now sitting in front of the screen with only him. Only him. 

"Hey…" you said again. 

"Say it bunny." 

You smirked. 

"I miss you… want my Simon back." 

He chuckled. 

"Miss you too bunny." He said. 

"Is everything ok on your side? You aren't hurt?" You worried. 

"I'm fine. Don't worry darling. I'll be home soon. Alright?" 

You nodded. You heard Price calling in the back, marking the end of the call. He got closer to the screen, you did too. 

"Simon… I love you…" 

You saw through the pixels how his pupils dilated at the sound of the words. 

"Don't do this to me bunny… I'm too far away to fuck you into my mattress…" 

You smiled, biting your lip. He wouldn't say it. Not yet. But you'd be patient. 

"Guess you're going to have to come back for that." You teased. 

He chuckled. You bid your goodbyes, heart heavy. 

You stared at the now black screen. You were doomed. Completely doomed. He was king of your thoughts at all times. He had managed to capture the little sparrow and make it his. You closed your eyes, biting your lip. 

"You alright?" 

You opened your eyes looking at the girls next to you. You smiled faintly nodding at them. 

"They'll be fine. They've had to fight worse." Bishop started. 

"And they have us. We'll keep them safe." Coyote added. 

You sighed. You nodded faintly. 

"Come on. Let's go home." 

You turned around to notice Laswell standing not too far as well. You stood up, the girls heading to the door. You took a last glance at the black screen before following them. 

The next few days, things started to get complicated. Tension kept rising for everyone. You'd spend more time at base. Sometimes staying there overnight. Laswell was keeping an eye on you like a hawk. But you couldn't get yourself to go home. You had ended up bringing Reaper with you everywhere. No one had commented on it. 

You were looking at the fluffy plush on your big desk. The sound of panic made your blood run cold. You stood immediately, watching everyone's voice rise and run. 

"What's going on?!" You asked. 

Bishop froze looking up at you. 

"An attack. We've lost communication." 

You cursed, sitting back down and getting to work on your computer. 

You were focused on trying to find a link, a connection, anything to create a form of communication. Every ticking second felt heavier on you. You felt trapped in an hourglass, sand filling up and pouring around you. Suffocating. 

Soon the seconds turned to minutes. Minutes to hours. You were on the verge of a breakdown. 

"We got them!" 

You ran to the screens. 

"Bravo six ?" Laswell called. 

You held your breath. 

"Bravo six do you copy?!" She called again. 

Silence. Heavy silence. 

"Bravo six copy." The rough voice rang. 

You closed your eyes, releasing the air in your lungs. Price's voice filled you with relief. 

"What's your status bravo six?" 

"Took a hit, lost a few guys, but squad 141 is operational."

Laswell turned to you. You wanted to cry. You wouldn't. Not in front of everyone. They're fine. Fuck… he's ok. 

You sat in a nearby chair. You let them talk over the radio as your mind tried to grasp what happened. You had almost lost him. It hit you how fragile this was. You could lose him at any second. You felt dizzy for a second. You looked up to see Bishop and Coyote with worried looks on their faces. 

"Bishop. Coyote." You called. 

They turned to you. You called them to you. 

"Let's not pretend I don't see your worried looks. I can see you guys have got a little something for a certain captain and a sergeant." You smiled. 

Coyote blushed and Bishop smirked. You grabbed their hands.

"We're ok. We're gonna make it. We're together." You tried to comfort. 

"Of course we are. That mohawk cutie better come back. Got to take him out." Bishop teased. 

You smiled. 

"Well… i…i don't know if the captain would be interested…" Coyote said with a little frown. 

"Ah don't worry. We'll help you with that." Bishop teased again. 

You nodded, winking at her. 

"Come on, let's get back to work." You concluded. 

You stayed all night. You had used the locker rooms to shower and change. Laswell kept nagging you to go home but you refused. Melissa had passed by with Amy, bringing some food and snacks. You had enjoyed the time with them. But it got late and they had to leave. The room was awfully quiet at night. Bishop and Coyote had gone back home as well, they needed rest. 

You needed it too. But your mind was a mess.

You couldn't get it out of your head that you had lost contact with the team and almost lost them. It felt sour. You held Reaper in your arms. Your eyes burnt a bit. You were tired. Laswell was still here. She kept throwing glances at you. 

"Hey… you should sleep." She repeated again. 

You looked at the bottom of the screen. 4 am. 

"I know… but I can't…" you whispered. 

She walked off with a sigh. 

You refused. You refused to leave. You needed to stay here. This was the closest to him you could be. And for the moment, this is what you needed.  

The next morning the team had walked in. You had nodded off around 5am but woken up an hour after. Bishop had brought coffees and snacks. You were grateful for it. 

You felt heavy worried stares. You ignored them, drowning yourself back into work. 

"Sparrow." Bishop called softly. 

You blinked. Standing up. You felt dizzy again for a second but brushed it off. You walked to her. You closed your eyes for a second when you saw it. The screen showed an empty website. Pictures of bloodied dog tags lined up. 

"Tell me It's not what I think it is…" you said. 

"I'm afraid… it's exactly what it is…" coyote explained in a sad voice. 

"They're keeping them as trophies. For each soldier they've killed." Bishop added with a hint of disgust in her voice. 

You looked at the names on the little metal collars. 

"I'll go report to Laswell… keep an eye on these…" you said. 

You felt a knot in your throat as you walked out of the room.

 

Having that kind of talk was rough. And it had been, for you and for Laswell. Families had to know the truth, and condolences had to be sent with proper decoration for lost soldiers. You knew it would never heal the emptiness the news will leave in these people's hearts. You had walked back to the IT's wing. Bishop had dragged you to a screen immediately. 

You felt your heart drop at first, your mind instantly thinking about the worst things. 

"Oh look at our little mama bird…" 

Your eyes filled with tears. The image was blurry. The sound wasn't top quality, but the faces on screen made you want to cry. 

"Johnny…" you tried with a little smile. 

Bishop hugged you as soon as she saw your glossy eyes. Coyote held your hand in here. 

"Come on, we're all ok! Gonna need more than that!" Alejandro joked. 

"We were worried about you guys!" Bishop scolded. 

"Yes… please be careful…" coyote added. 

"Look at that, our ladies got all worried about us…" Price said, winking at the screen. 

You felt Coyote tense. You smiled to yourself squeezing her hand softly. 

"I haven't seen Konig in a while, how's he?" You asked. 

"Well he's been spending a lot of time with Grim. They keep talking in German so… we have no idea what they're saying." Gaz explained. 

"They get along very well though!" Soap said with a wink. 

"Where's..?" You asked. 

"Hum… not too far. He's a bit…" gaz started. 

"Pissed. He's pissed." Soap finished. 

You sighed. 

"I'll go get him." Alejandro said. 

You nodded. The rest of the team talked a bit. 

"It's getting complicated. They're feeling surrounded. Becoming more aggressive.." coyote warned. 

"Yeah… we're going to change tactics here." Price added. 

The call suddenly fell silent. The boys rose, nodding as they walked away. Bishop and Coyote dropped a kiss on each side of your face before stepping away.  

"Simon…" 

The word fell from your lips. It was like a call to an unknown god. 

"Y/N." You heard. "You haven't been sleeping well." His voice was stern. 

Your face dropped. 

"You almost died." You countered. 

"Bunny." He warned..

"Simon." You said in the same tone. 

He sighed. 

"I'm ok. I'm worried about you right now" 

Somehow it did not comfort you. You were worried about him!

"You have to sleep. You hear me?" He scolded. 

You sighed too. You nodded slowly. 

"Good girl." He praised. 

It made you smile. 

"Have you been sleeping in my bed?" He asked. 

You bit your lip. 

"Maybe…" 

He leaned closer to the camera. 

"Good. I love it when my pillow smells like you." 

You smiled. 

"You'll have me next to you. You won't need that." You teased. 

"Hmm. Careful bunny. I'm not going to forget those words." 

"You better not. I hope it motivates you to come back." 

He chuckled. The sound of his laugh warmed you. 

"On my way baby…" 

A month. A full month and half. You were going insane. People probably thought you were insane, walking around base with Reaper hanging out of your bag. You had been forced by Laswell and Simon, over a video call, to go out with Melissa for a few hours after work. You had finally given in. There you were, in front of a restaurant on base. 

Melissa welcomed you with a hug as you walked to your table in the restaurant. 

"How are you feeling?" She asked. 

You shrugged. 

"Could be much better… could be much worse." 

She smiled at you. 

"How about you? Any news on Eric?" You asked with a worried voice. 

"No, not any. Since you talked to Hopkins I feel babysitted at all times." She said, rolling her eyes. 

"Good. Very good." You answered with a smile. 

She laughed, making you relax. The dinner spent with her lifted some stress and pressure off your shoulders. You had to be honest, it helped you feel better. You had insisted to pay for dinner, it had helped you so much. As you walked out of the restaurant, the cold air made you shiver. You were talking to Melissa when she happily waved at someone. 

You turned to watch the K.9 team discussing, not too far. You walked to them. 

"Sergeant Gallegos !" A woman greeted. 

"Hey Jenny." She greeted back. 

The woman turned to you, palling a bit. The German shepherd next to her sitting calmly, its pink tongue out, did not let her master leave its sight. 

"Sparrow.." she tried with a bit less friendlyness. 

You smiled, trying to relax her. 

"Don't worry, I'm out here completely harmless." You assured. 

Her shoulders seemed to relax a bit as she smiled. 

"What are you guys doing tonight?" Melissa asked. 

"Oh hum… we're out to throw a goodbye party…." She answered with a little sadness in her voice.

"Oh… someone leaving?" You asked. 

She nodded turning her body so you could look behind her. The team was talking, their k9s on leash next to them. You frowned, confused. Jenny walked over to them, making Melissa and you follow her. 

"Guys, Sergeant Gallegos and … Sparrow came to say hi." 

You waved with a warm smile. You were glad they didn't seem too nervous around you. 

"So, who's leaving?" Melissa asked. 

"Oh… it's um… it's him." A man said. 

You followed his gaze. A black shepherd laid on the ground. His beautiful brown eyes shining under the restaurants lights. 

"Oh he's retiring?" You asked. 

"Hum not really…" another said. 

"Can… I?" You asked. 

Jenny nodded. 

You stepped towards the dog kneeling next to it slowly. You let him sniff your hand as his head rose. He let you pet him, making you smile. 

"His soldier was KIA. He hasn't been eating since." The soldier holding the leash explained. 

"KIA?" You asked. 

"Killed in action." Melissa explained. 

"Oh…" you frowned. 

"Sometimes it happens. The dogs see their soldiers die and refuse to eat for a little while. With time and lots of patience and love it usually gets better. But… he just seems to have given up." Jenny explained. 

"He's been through foster homes and vets but… he just gave up." Another soldier explained. 

You felt your heart shatter as you looked into it's eyes. 

"What's going to happen to him.." Melissa asked. 

"Well… I'm afraid he'll have to be… you know…" he explained. 

You bit your lip. You felt the colar underneath your fingers, through the semi long furr of his neck. You grabbed the little tag on it reading the name. 

"Riley …" you let out. 

"Oh… Sparrow…" Melissa tried. 

You felt something like a flash coursing through your blood. Something that urged you to do something. 

"Is there no other way?" You asked, turning to Jenny. 

"Well… we've tried everything… we can't chose for him… and in the end it's the commander's choice… even if it breaks the team's hearts" she said. 

You bit your lip. Looking back at the big pup, you felt yourself melt and at the same time cry inside. He looked down… like he had truly given up. He missed his soldier. His family. Just like you. 

"Sparrow… i don't think that's a good idea." You heard Melissa, as she seemed to read your mind. 

But it was too late, you had already made your decision.

"I'll take him." You said in a decisive tone.

The team looked at each other, taken a back. 

"Ma'am… I don't think you can…" a woman said. 

"The commander's orders…" Jenny tried too. 

"Get your commander on call. Tell him Sparrow wants to keep K9 Riley." You said with a smile. 

She hesitated. Melissa had given up on trying to tell you no. She was just smiling, her arms crossed. Jenny turned to Melissa who simply nodded. As Jenny took out her cellphone, the team seemed to perk up. 

"Ma'am… are you really going to keep him?" The soldier holding the leash asked. 

You nodded with a big smile. 

"It'll take time… but I have patience. And all the time in the world." You said. 

Jenny started speaking on the phone. The team fell silent. 

"Hum… the commander would like to speak to you…" she said. 

"Sure! Put him on speaker." You agreed. 

She did. She walked up to you and put the phone on speaker. The team surrounded you.  You almost wanted to laugh at the team around you. How silent they were. 

"Hello?" The phone rang. 

"Hello commander." You greeted. 

Silence. Melissa held herself from laughing out loud. 

"Sparrow?" 

"Yes, commander?" 

"Hum… are you really asking to take one of the K9's?" 

"Absolutely. Is there a problem with my request…?" 

"Well… more than one but… I'm not sure I'm allowed to refuse either." 

You laughed a bit. 

"You can. But I usually get what I want." 

"What should I even say to General Hopkins?" 

"The exact truth. I met Riley. I decided to keep it. I told you. You couldn't refuse. That's all." 

You leaned down again, petting the black dog. 

"Hum.." he hesitated.

"If he has something to say. Please tell him to directly come to me." You warned. 

The team looked shocked. Melissa rolled her eyes. 

"Well… alright, I'll take care of the paperwork and have it delivered to you to sign by the sergeant." 

The soldiers around jumped happily, silently though. You smiled to yourself. Was this a very thoughtful decision? No. It definitely wasn't responsible but you'd make sure to own up to your brand new responsibilities. 

"Thank you commander, have a good night." 

Jenny took back her phone, ending the call after a few last words with her commander. The team cheered. Melissa smiled at you. 

"We have to celebrate!" One said. 

"I can't believe this just turned into a celebration" Jenny cheered. 

"Yeah… Sparrow has a thing for Riley's." Melissa teased. 

The team awkwardly looked at each other. 

"So… it's true? For… you and Lieutenant…" jenny asked. 

You nodded trying to not make a fuss out of it. 

"He said he wanted a dog. I think he'll be thrilled… or probably scold me but he'll get around eventually." You joked. 

The team laughed a bit. 

"Let's grab a drink!" A man said. 

"Oh… well… just one. We got lots of work tomorrow…" Melissa said. 

"Yeah. And I got to find lots of stuff for my new furr baby." You said. 

"We'll help you with that! We can give you a few stuff for the night." Jenny assured. 

You smiled. 

"Alright. One drink." 

You walked to the car with your new friend. You were surprised how Riley followed you without a problem. You opened the passenger door of the black jeep. Simon had left his car obviously, and insisted that you'd use it. You looked down at the dog, sitting, looking up at you. 

"Come on Riley. Let's go home." 

He seemed to understand as he jumped into front seat. You closed the door, dropping all the things the team had given you in the backseat. Walking around the car you got into the driver's seat. The black dog was sitting next to you, looking at you. 

"It's ok. We'll be ok." You assured. 

You turned the key, heading home. 

You walked into the doorway. The house was quiet..empty. You turned on the lights as you closed the door behind you. You bent down to take off the leash. Riley didn't move. You started walking to the kitchen, watching him follow you slowly. He really looked sad. You dropped the things on the counter. You looked down at the dog who looked at you. 

You grabbed the bag of dog food, walking to get a bowl. You filled it with food and grabbed another bowl to fill it with water. Walking back to the dog and softly putting down the bowls in front of him. He looked at them. He went for the water, lapping a bit. He smelled the food but refused to eat. You sighed. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. You sat down on the floor next to him. He laid down next to you, looking at you. 

You grabbed his collar softly, petting the sides of his head. 

"I know… I know… you miss your soldier." 

He whined. 

"I miss mine too…" 

The next day you had warned Laswell you'd be a bit late. She didn't mind. You had drove with Riley to the base's Vet. 

You walked in with him heading for the receptionist.

"Hi, good morning, I'd like to buy some dog food and vitamins." You asked the man. 

"Oh… hum.. Sparrow…i mean… ma'am…" he stuttered. 

"It's alright. Breath." You smiled. 

He did so. He looked relieved. 

"Hum… so you have a dog?" He asked. 

"It's very recent but yes." You said looking to your side. 

The big black dog was sitting next to you, looking up at you. The man rose above the counter to look down. 

"Oh.. that's…that's Riley…" he said. 

"You know him?" You frowned. 

"Hum… yeah. We took care of him when he came back from the field… and when he refused to eat. I thought he was going to be put down." He said with a frown. 

"I decided to take him in." You said. 

The man smiled. 

"I'll be right back gonna see for the vitamins, I'll help you choose some food for him." He said. 

You nodded with a smile. Other soldiers stood with their dogs in the waiting room. They looked at you, recognizing you and the black dog. They seemed anxious. Suddenly you heard the voices from behind the counter, in the back of the clinic. 

"Tell this woman she's waisting her time. The dog was scheduled to be put down this afternoon and I can still do it. But she's waisting money and time." 

You frowned, feeling the anger rise. 

"Hum… ma'am… I think we shouldn't…" the receptionist tried. 

"Fine I'll tell her myself. It's stupid to waist vitamins and food on a hopeless dog." 

Now you were furious. You felt a nudge in your palm. You looked next to you at the dog looking at you intensely. You bent down to pet him and drop a kiss on top of his head. You heard the voice get closer to the front desk. You were hidden behind it as you were cuddling Riley. 

"Where is she?! Ma'am I suggest you hand the dog over, he should be put-" 

You rose to your feet, eyeing the angry woman. She had frozen in spot. You glanced down looking at her badge, taking in her name. The room had fallen silent. 

"I didn't come to ask for your opinion. Did I?" You spat. 

Her gaze faltered. 

"You'd be kind enough to give me what I asked please." 

The woman cleared her throat. 

"I have to remind you-" she tried, in a softer tone. 

"Again. Didn't ask." You answered angrily. 

She swallowed. 

"You're not gonna give it to me?" You asked, raising a brow. "Very well. Hum… dr… Jenkins." You squinted your eyes exaggeratedly. 

"Come on Riley, let's go somewhere else." You turned around before stopping. 

"Wait! Hum.. we'll give you the vitamins and food. But you're waisting your time." She said. 

"You're the one waisting my time. And I'm getting pissed." You warned, looking back at her. 

Riley whined. You looked down at him, petting his head. 

"Hum… how about we look into the different foods?" The receptionist asked, trying to ease the situation.. 

You nodded, throwing a dark glance at the vet. You'd be sure to have a talk with Laswell and Hopkins later. 

An hour later your arrived at the IT's IQ. Riley followed you inside, you had a bag with dog food, a water bottle and a cappuccino in hand. The room fell quiet when they saw you walk in with the black shepherd.

"Hum… Sparrow." Laswell called confused. "What's that?" 

"A cappuccino." You answered. 

She rolled her eyes. 

"Sparrow. Why do you have a dog?" She asked. 

"Oh. That's Riley. He's my dog now." You said matter of factly. 

Bishop laughed while coyote looked confused, gasping. Laswell looked just as confused. You decided to go to your desk to sit at your chair. Riley had followed you, laying down at your feet. 

"No. No. Sparrow. We're not going to ignore this." 

You put Reaper down. It seemed to get Riley's attention. He stood, siting now. You looked at the dog, then at the plush. 

"We can share. But you need to be gentle with it. Ok?" You said. 

The dog tilted his head to the side, curious. You picked up the plush, slightly worried of your next action. You gave it to him. He very gently grabbed it with his mouth, falling back down to the floor. He put it down in between his paws, sniffing and pushing his nose into it. He was gentle with it, and did not sink his teeth. You smiled, turning back to your computer. 

"No! Sparrow! We're going to talk about this!" Laswell warned.

You did not, in fact, talk about it.

The day turned out to be much more important than you thought. It turns out the day prior the boys were very close to tracking down the brothers. And they had finally reached their targets. You had been feeling an absolute mess. You had noticed it seemed to affect Riley. He stood closer to you. Nudged your hand or leg, grasping your attention. 

You'd always pet him or cuddle him. When the news had finally fallen that they had gotten their hands on the target, the room filled with joy. It was over. The mission was a success. But not to you. Not until you had him next to you. Bishop and Coyote were stoked. Laswell was smiling at you. Yes. It relaxed you. But you only had him in mind. Only his arms around you. 

"Hey. It's over. They're coming back." Coyote said. 

You took a deep breath. Yes. They were coming back. 

You remained in the room for hours. Even after. You remained until you knew they were back on their base. Bishop and Coyote we're much more relaxed. Laswell kept in touch with the general once in a while and the authorities there. You just wanted to talk to him. You were glad they had finally caught the cartel brothers. But your mind kept running to him. He was finally coming home. 

You smiled at the pup next to you. He seemed to be curious and to watch you very often. Through the day you tried to feed him little pieces of treats or food. He had first fully refused, then slowly bitten a treat. You had been delighted, causing him to perk his ears up at your reaction. You showered him with 'good boy' and pets. Laswell kept trying to question you about your new companion and you ignored it. 

He had attracted all the attention from the women in the room and some men too. 

When the sun had started to set outside, you were called to video chat with the team. 

"Hey!!" Bishop called to the screen. 

"Well hello there, pretty eyes." Soap flirted. 

"Get out, you'll flirt later!" Gaz groaned. 

You smiled. 

Price and Simon weren't present. You chatted with the group, Konig, grim, Carkeys, Áquila… it felt great to know they were ok. 

"We're getting an extraction in a few hours! We'll be home soon!" Car-Keys said, relief in his voice. 

You had rolled your eyes, the girl nagging him about when he had lost his Car Keys on a field mission.

When Simon finally showed up, he greeted the girls before the rest of the team gave you a little privacy. 

"I got a surprise for you!" You smiled at the screen. 

"Hmm a surprise?" He looked curious. 

You picked up the big dog into your arms, Riley licking your face. 

"His name is Riley !" You happily announced. 

You heard him chuckle. 

"Where did you get a dog?" He asked, a hint of a smile in his voice. 

"He was being taken to be put down… his soldier was KIA. He wasn't eating, he let himself die. We're slowly getting used to each other, he eats very tiny pieces…I'm trying to get him to feel safe." You explained. 

There was a little silence before he spoke again. 

"Here you go again… saving a Riley." 

You blushed, looking at the screen. The pixels weren't enough. Not anymore. You wanted your soldier back. 

"Come back to me…" you said. 

"I'm coming home, baby. We have plans."

You bit your lip through a smile. Yes. He was coming home.

 

Night had settled in. You had driven home right after ending the call. For the past 2 hours you had been happily roaming around the house. Riley was curious watching you pace around. For dinner, you sat down on the floor next to him, trying to motivate him to eat. He had not eaten his food. He had accepted two little bites of the steak you were eating. It was enough to cause a happy squeal from you each time. 

It was almost midnight when the girls showed up. Melissa included. Amy was with a babysitter for the occasion. Bishop had brought a bottle of  vodka to celebrate the end of the mission. 

Riley always remained close to you. The girls loved to pet him. A conversation had settled in, time passing by without any of you noticing. Eventually, it was 2 am, and you were giggling together. You had decided to only drink a shot or two, not really wanting to get drunk. 

Riley was laying on the couch with you, bishop and Coyote we're cuddling on another couch with Melissa at the other end.  

"God! You need to be more confident darling! We see how he looks at you. He's curious" Bishop teased. 

"He's… I don't know…" Coyote blushed. 

"I say. Go for it." Melissa added. 

You giggled again.

A knock interrupted your conversation. You heard the door unlock. You frowned before hearing Laswell's voice. 

"We're here Kate!" You chuckled. 

The girls laughed too, a new friend entering the circle promised more jokes and gossip.

When Kate stepped into the room, the air shifted. Hopkins walked behind her. The air had grown suffocating. You had lost your smile. The girls had gone silent. They were dressed officially. 

"Kate?" You questioned.

She seemed to swallow hard, eyes not leaving yours. You stood up, the girls doing the same. You walked over to them, the tiny footsteps of Riley on the floor following you. You crossed your arms in a comforting movement. 

"Squad 141 initiated extraction 45 minutes ago." Hopkins started.

You frowned. 

"During extraction, they were confronted with an ambush." He continued. 

You felt your heart drop. Was he injured? What happened?

"Can you skip to the news please?" Bishop interrupted. 

He looked at her, thinking. 

"Listen… Y/N…" Kate stepped forwards to you. 

You felt the walls closing in. Something terrible hovering over your head. 

You felt a nudge on your arm. Riley tried to keep you grounded to reality. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was just… something else. You were overreacting. 

Kate looked torn. She wanted to talk, obviously. But something seemed to hold her back. 

Hopkins sighed, clearing his throat. 

"We are sad and sorry to inform you that Lieutenant Simon Riley and Captain John Price were KIA." 

What.. what was that? That sound… your ears were buzzing. You felt nauseous. You felt like your whole body had gotten heavier. Like it no longer belonged to you.

"No." You let out. 

"Y/N. Listen to me, please.." Kate tried. 

She reached for your hand but you took a step back. 

"No. That's… no." You looked at her. "Kate…" you begged. 

Her eyes were filled with tears. She didn't speak. She looked away. It was true. It was… 

Hopkins took a step forward. Riley suddenly growled, inching closer to your leg. 

"Sparrow, I would advise you to-" 

"Get out." 

Silence fell. 

"What..?" Kate questioned. 

"Get out. All of you." You said again. 

You felt surrounded. Your brain felt on fire yet you felt like you were drowning. 

We have plans.

"Y/N…" bishop tried. 

"Please. Get. Out." You warned. 

Melissa grabbed Coyote by the shoulders, hugging her. They walked towards the door, Bishop and Kate following, dragging Hopkins with them. You heard the front door close. 

Silence. Deafening silence. 

You let yourself kneel to the floor, Riley alert next to you. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be true. No. 

You felt something fall on your hand. You looked down, the little droplets shining under the light. You were crying. You felt like someone was ripping your heart out. 

Your mind had decided to torture you, reenacting every kiss, every hug every promise in a tangling loop. It felt like you could hear his voice. Him. Calling for you. But it wasn't true. It wasn't real. Never again…

For the second time in your life, you screamed. You screamed until something deep in your throat broke. And just like last time. Under attack in the training grounds. You screamed for him. You poured your mind, soul, heart into a scream you knew. You knew despite the mind wrecking hope. He would not answer this time.

-----

Everything must come to an end...

or not...

SIKE

see you on chapter 16

[pathos-logical]

How to Keep Doing Descriptions (from someone who does a fuckton)

Plain text: How to Keep Doing Descriptions (from someone who does a fuckton)

This is a list aimed mostly at helping people who already write IDs; for guides at learning how to do them yourself, check my accessibility and image description tags! I write this with close to two years of experience with IDs and chronic pain :)

Get used to writing some IDs by using both your phone and your computer, if you can! I find it easier to type long-form on my laptop, so I set up videos and long comics on my phone, which I then prop up against my laptop screen so I can easily reference the post without constantly scrolling or turning my head

I will never stop plugging onlineocr.net. I use it to ID everything from six-word tags to screenshots of long posts to even comic dialogue! On that last note, convertcase.net can convert text between all-caps, lowercase, sentence case, and title case, which is super helpful

Limit the number of drafts/posts-to-be-described you save. No, seriously. I never go above 10 undescribed drafts on any of my four blogs. It doesn’t have to be that low, but this has done wonders (italics: wonders) for my productivity and willingness to write IDs. If I ever get above that limit, even if it’s two or three more, I immediately either describe the lowest-effort post or purge some, and if I can't do that then I stop saving things to drafts no matter what. No exceptions! Sticking to this will make your life so much easier and less stressful

My pinned post has a link to a community doc of meme description templates!

Ask! For! Help! Please welcome to the stage the People’s Accessibility Server! It’s full of lovely people and organized into channels where you can request/volunteer descriptions and ask/answer questions

I make great use of voice-to-text and glide typing on my phone to save my hands some effort!

Something is always better than nothing!!! A short two-sentence or one-sentence ID is better than no ID at all. Take it easy :)

If you feel guilty about being unable to reblog amazing but undescribed art, try getting into the habit of replying to OP’s post to let them know you liked it! This makes me feel less pressured to ID absolutely everything I see

This is a sillier one, but I tag posts I describe as "described" and "described by me." When saving to drafts, I never preemptively tag with "described by me," since for some reason that always makes me feel extra pressure and extra stress. Consider doing something similar for yourself if that applies!

I frequently find myself looking at pieces of art which feel like they need to be considered for a bit before I can write an ID for them, and those usually get thrown into drafts, where the dread for writing a comprehensive ID just builds. Don’t do that! Instead, try just staying in the reblog field for a bit and focus on the most relevant aspects of the piece. Marinate on them for a little; don’t rush, but don’t spend more than a handful of seconds either. I find after that the art becomes way easier to describe than it initially seemed!

On that note, look for shortcuts that make IDs less taxing for you to do! For example, I only ever describe clothes in art if they're relevant to the piece; not doing that every time saves a lot of time and energy for me personally

Building off of that, consider excusing yourself from a particular kind of ID if you want to. Give yourself a free pass for 4chan posts, or fanart by an artist who does really good but really complex comics, whatever. Let it be someone else's responsibility and feel twice as proud about the work that you can now allot more energy to!

As always, make an effort to find and follow fellow describers! It’s always encouraging to get described posts on your dash, and I find that sometimes I'm happier to ID an undescribed post when the person who put it on my dash is a friend who tagged it with "no ID"

TL;DR: To make ID-writing less stressful and more low-effort, use different devices and software like onlineocr.net and voice-to-text, limit the amount of work you expect yourself to do, and reach out to artists and other describers!

[rose-tinting]

the amount of misinformation that has been circling outside of neopets circles I swear

I see a new rumor every time

“They’re free from nft bros” Nope. Owned by one!

“The original team rebought them” God fucking no and you should not want them to, Adam Powells little meltdown over neopets users criticizing his new crypto venture is reason enough lol.

“The company was sold to Neopets Internal Teams” They sold it to the guy who used to head the former NFT project and are promising this means TNT has more freedom “under new leadership“ with “no current plans for crypto/NFTs” (This is not a promise not to make them)

One of the “brand ambassadors” who is supposed to help TNT with the knowing and understanding the userbase is some celebrity who’s wife is also a celebrity who I’ve seen people CLAIM used to be a Neopets mod. Does that sound like a neopets user who can tell the neopets team what the average user wants? No call for users who aren’t celebrities to become brand ambassadors has been made afaik.

Current Neopets mods are silencing trans people for mentioning HRT as well as top surgery and ignoring cis people talking about pregnancy, death, and surgery. (Have seen these boards go on for several hours and never get deleted even after a heated debate on one one about abortion) 

There’s items and backstory on the site that are racist. Neopets users have asked these be addressed. Do you think this “brand ambassador” will address any of that? Why does the ambassador need to be a celebrity? Unless the actual intent is to have “ambassadors” who sell neopets as a brand to the potential new userbase and isn’t about “listening to the users” at all.

god can one person with a huge following please for once just reblog and acknowledge the TRUTH. (doesn’t have to be from me I’d just like the actual info to be spread!) Awareness will help us keep the worst from happening! Pretending everything is fine until it isn’t is NOT the way!

If you want the actual info on the site Neopets has a fansite dedicated to reporting Neopets news including everything TNT tries to sweep under the rug

https://www.jellyneo.net/?comments=14391

A direct quote from their article on this

“ New CEO of Neopets is Dominic Law, who previously headed the Neopets Metaverse and brokered a "management buyout deal" “

Please if you’re reading this

stop spreading misinformation

spread the real information

make your own post even

this could go either way right now

this is not a “neopets renaissance”

this is a crossroads and we don’t know where we’re going yet. It could be great, or it could be the end of the site.

(Editing my reblog in so it can hopefully get seen too, I was provided with more accurate info on the brand ambassador.)

@pirakeet Thanks! Was actually hoping someone COULD correct this :3 Cause I was REALLY HOPING it wasn’t what it seemed since all I could find was a twitter post with an attached video where he accepts it (I immediately fled twitter may be why)

[Image Text ID]  Posted by tumblr user pirakeet: I’m not correcting anything, but just letting you know the “brand  ambassador” program has been made available - just presumably not in  the ‘john legend’ sense:  https://portal.neopets.com/brand-ambassador-program  and for clarity, i’ve been popping off about the difference, this isn’t a  “gotcha moment”.   There’s more info when you click “apply” and it takes you to a google  doc [End Id]

As I said I’m more interested in the truth being spread so I hope this can be seen!

[britt-kageryuu]

Random Social Media from VTurtles! Fans. Vtuber Turtles!

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

Unicorn_Turtlefan: My roommate was able to get some Caffeinated Turtle Coffee. It tasted amazing! And with just one cup I stayed up all night cramming for a huge test, sat through the test and following classes, and promptly crashed at 9pm. 10/10 Would drink again!!!

》QuackChirp_TurtleDuck: Is that even safe, and if so which blend?

》Unicorn_Turtlefan: Well it's about as safe as any highly Caffeinated drink, and it was The Andromeda Mocha blend.

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

Turtle-Conspiracy: You can not tell me they don't have more than just a cat as a pet. Did you here that Hiss during Dees' stream? That was reptilian, not mammalian!

》PopGoesTurtle: Really living up to your username aren't you? They could've just been watching a pet for someone. They're very knowledgeable in reptiles.

》Shelldon & River: We've seen weirder stuff from random conspiracy theorists on here. Can't confirm or deny anything.

》PopGoesTurtle: I feel like I was just blessed and cursed at the same time.🐢📱❤

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

Blissful_ArtBlock: I got some Caffeinated Turtle tea from a friend, who was sworn to secrecy on where they got it. Stardust Dream Lavender blend. Best. Tea. Ever! I was so rested afterwards, could not recommend it enough. If you can ever get it.

》RainbowBonbon: How rested are we talking here? Asleep for 12 hours rested, or 3 Days of no obligations rested?

》Blissful_ArtBlock: Like I went to bed at a reasonable hour, and didn't need to be anywhere the next day! Plus my body didn't wake me up at 6am automatically!

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

Softshell_Simp: Dee could infect my computer with a highly destructive virus, and I would thank them~~~~💜💜💜

》Dee_Softshell: Well this is highly disturbing, and I don't believe I will send you a virus, I will instead just request you go to therapy.

》Softshell_Simp: NO Wait!!!! Please come baxk!?!!?!`#*&&*:# IT WAS A JOKE!!!!

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

Video: Red Angel flexing compilation!❤

Video: BlueNeon being a Sassy Queen!

Video: Edit of everytime Dee dances on stream!

Video: Mandarins random advice during streams.

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

TurtleinaPaintcan: Here's some progress pictures of my Blue cosplay, with a WIP River prop!

[Image ID: 1. A in progress of Leo's Event Costume, currently showing the Royal Blue Kimono Jacket with possible LED elements. The pants are folded next to it. 2. A pile of metallic teal fabric cut and waiting to be stitched together.]

》SplashofSeaPaint: That looks Awesome, I'm working on a Dee costume with a Shelldon. Team Up for an Event?

》TurtleinaPaintcan: If we can both get to the same event, maybe. Pics?

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

Turtle-Conspiracy: I did another rewatch of all of the VODs, there is no way they had a reptilian pet, there would be no reason to have one close to the recording area. There is evidence that they're Hiding Something! And not just their identities. I will find out this secret if it's the last thing I do! Link to all my findings -Here-.

》Dee_Softshell: Congratulations! You just won a remote harddrive wipe. Please Hold!

》Turtle-Conspiracy: How? HOW? IT'S ALL GONE!!!!! EVEN THE BACKUPS!!!

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

Masterpost

[arsenicflame]

what should i do with my robe fabric? an uncomfortably long write up and a poll (since i have polls now)

id really appreciate if you could take the time to give some input, even if you dont read all my writing and just skip to the voting! the writing is mostly me explaining my ideas, buf you can totally skim it and get the idea

the fabric is here, so its time to plan

i think im down to two main options, screen accurate robe or a historically accurate one- accurate is a general term here, ultimately ill do what i want with little care for being exact, but as an overview, thats the idea split. there was a fleeting idea i might do some other style of robe, but i never found anything i exactly vibed with (if you wanna vanilla extract it though, feel free to drop other suggestions in the replies)

screen accurate (SA)

a lot of my information for this comes from this blog post, its excellent research and covers just about everything. honestly theres not much i can say that isn't already written on there, and anyway, its the robe. you know the robe.

its necessary to note at this point i already plan to stray a little from screen accuracy on my lining. the SA lining is quite a vibrant pink, but to compliment my personal wardrobe more, im learning towards a dusky pink or almost maroon colour (im visualising the robe fabric background colour but a little darker, but itll depend on what i can actually find in my local shop)

this one will also require buying another fabric on top of the lining (an orange for the piping) and making or sourcing tassels if i decide to have them (up in the air as i am bound to catch them on things)

a big appeal to this version for me is the box pleat in the back- it allows for more volume, more movement, while still sitting right and keeping the silhouette. i do like volume in my garments

its probably a more technical build than a HA one, just on the neck binding and kinomo sleeves, but it should still be pretty straight forward

historically accurate (HA)

historically, the SA version seems to be based on wrapping gowns. a very simple construction, cut all in one big length (though, as on the SA i would have a seam at the shoulder so the print isn't upside down) this image gives both a good idea of pattern and silhouette

the wrapping gown is generally quite a loose fitting garment, and is very simple in its cutting. its all straight lines, and all triangles and rectangles. theres a couple of different options in the cutting, but im thinking as flared as i can make it (with or without piecing) at the hem, and also maybe some flare on the cutting of the sleeve to make it wider at the wrist without affecting mobility

wrapping gowns do typically have a small collar up near the neck, similar to the way the SA one is, but it only wraps around a short distance, not to halfway down the body as the SA does

this is obviously a much easier pattern, in my research ive seen people complete this in a day. my main concerns for me personally are in the flare and in the fit. i like a good swoosh and im not sure that ill get that in this (but not certain. some look quite full).

while it is designed to be an unfitted garment, it still has some fitting. im a little concerned that to give myself enough room around the chest i will end up with quite a dropped shoulder (shoulder seam sitting down the arm) and im not a huge fan of that. these are all things id figure out in a mockup, but it has me hesitating to go that way

here are some research links, if you care to read a bit more

video by nicole rudolph, wrapping gown talk starts at 18:27

the difference between banyan and wrapping gown

pinterest board with various historical pictures

a sort of tldr;

heres a basic look at what the patterns look like. as you can see the HA one is far more simplistic in shape

if youve been following any of my sewing projects youll know i have a tendency to make things take far longer than they really need to, so obviously a simpler garment that uses mostly techniques i already know is a huge appeal rather than a far more complicated and out of my comfort zone project. but i have concerns about the fit of the HA, and there is just something so appealing to making the SA version....

obviously. whichever path i pick i have a lot more research to do, and with OFMD now being on iplayer ill definitely be watching the episodes it appears in the get a better idea of how it should sit myself.... but for now

[starberry-fag]

Hello! Sorry to bother you, but you are the only blog I know who makes IDs outside of their own stuff so I figured you were the best person to ask. Do you have by any chance ressources to learn how to make and practice them? I want to start using them but I'm not a native speaker and I'm kinda struggling ^^'

Thank you and have a nice day!

oh ofc!! if u want, i have some good posts in the #image descriptions tag on my blog, but i'll link some stuff here too :D

Why and how, basics

Quick tips and tricks

Describing comics

Describing videos

Image Description Guidelines

and a couple of my own tips !!

a great rule of thumb is, "the more time someone would look at an image, the longer + more detailed the description should be". This means, if it's a little doodle or a meme, u don't have to spend hoursss describing every little thing (ie, the clothes ppl are wearing, the lighting, that typa thing -- unlessss it's like,, part of the joke/meme. does that make sense ?) this post by mothfishing [hyperlinked] explains it SO much better than i ever could

on that note, a short/""bad"" id is always better than none at all!! don't worry too much abt the quality, or else you'll get stuck in a loop of fixing and editing and the description will never be published (or is that just me lol)

an absolute lifesaver for me was using a text-to-speech/screen reader to read my descriptions back to me ! especially if it were a longer piece, i would write an id, turn on the screenreader + close my eyes, then see if i missed anything important + if i needed to rephrase anything.

for practicing:

if you see an image w/ a description, try to write one yourself for that image. then just check between those ! it's bound to be different, but how? try to figure out which fits the image better, then adapt !

whenever i'm bored/have nothing to do, i try to describe things in the room. this is mostly just a fun little game to keep my brain busy, but it's also helpful in building skills !

if i can, i like to read out my description to a friend/family member if they're around. i ask them to imagine what i describe, then i show them the image to see if it matches. getting other people's input is always v v helpful... and speaking of....

the people's accessibility discord server!!!!!! i cannot emphasize enough how cool and nice everyone is there !!!!! u can ask for help describing something, ask ppl to double check ur work, or just send an image for ppl to describe!! literally everyone there is just so wonderful and helpful :3 here's an invite link!

little things that i learned:

the screenreader on my phone reads quotes without pause. so it would read "a sentence just like this" as if the quotes weren't there. so i picked up the habit of putting a comma before the quote to break the sentence up. so saying "this" sounds much more different then saying, "this".

(desktop only i think) it's much better for a screen reader to read line breaks (holding shift and enter) than just paragraph breaks (just enter). with paragraph breaks, the person using the screen reader would have to tap on each new paragraph to read it, which can be a hassle. with line breaks, the screen reader just reads the next bit automatically, but the ID is still visually broken up.

save stuff to ur drafts to look over later !

for text-heavy images, use a OCR/image-to-text extractor. just put the image in and copy the text it spits out, maybe looking over it to make sure there aren't any mistakes. this definitely removes a lot of the burden of copying text painstakingly by hand yk

i'm sure there must be more i'm forgetting, so if any of my followers want to leave any more tips in the notes i'd greatly appreciate it :D

[exhausted-archivist]

Dragon Age Tabletop

So, I reached out to the publisher of the Dragon Age Tabletop RPG (ttrpg), Green Ronin, last month. I asked for some clarification in the canon status of some aspects in the ttrpg for my lore projects. If there was anything specifically crafted for the ttrpg and if any part was BioWare canon. I wanted to know for my own lore projects since I wanted a more definitive answer than what I found on that was vague and ambiguous.

Luckily I received a response. Though still a bit vague (and delightfully acknowledging BioWare’s own allergy to continuity), it is pretty straight forward.

The email is going under the cut because this got long. But tldr:

BioWare provides the lore, approves the stories, and the canon state of any information provided by BioWare is dependent on BioWare themselves.

So in essence, the tabletop is a valid lore source except when new lore contradicts/phases out a bit of the lore.

[Image ID: An email from Dylan Templar at Green Ronin Customer Service that says the following:

Hi Archi,

Generally speaking, everything in our Dragon Age product line needs to be reviewed and approved by Bioware before we can publish it, and we haven't created anything "new" purely for the tabletop game. (although that may change in the future)

There are some inconsistencies that fans have noticed in the past, such as making Duncan being a Warrior because of his access to heavy plate armor, a decision which has been somewhat controversial as his background suggests he might be a Rogue. But what is and isn't "canon" is always a tricky question and depends on the holder of the IP maintaining consistency with the story. Which is not something that Bioware has traditionally been well-known for, even between their video games and expansions... and getting into the comics and novels gets even messier.

Hopefully that answers your question, but let me know if there's anything more I can do for you.

Thank you, Dylan Templar

Green Ronin Customer Service

[End of Image ID]

So the ttrpg is like any third party medium put out by BioWare. The lore is provided by BioWare, reviewed by someone at BioWare and given the green light. The status it holds in canon lore is dependent, like any other additional media put out by a third party or BioWare, subjected to the whims of consistency in BioWare lore. To be sure I didn’t misunderstand, I asked a follow up clarification question.

[Image ID: An email thread with two responses, the top email replying to the bottom.

Top email says:

Dylan Templar (Green Ronin Online Store) 

Dec 9, 2022, 11:26 PST 

Hi Archi,

That's basically it, yep! 

Thank you, Dylan Templar

Green Ronin Customer Service

Bottom email says:

Exhausted Archivist

Dec 9, 2022, 00:01 PST

Hi Dylan,

Thank you so much for your quick response. I really appreciate it. But just to make sure I understand:

Everything in the tabletop was either provided by or approved by BioWare. The canon/non-canon status is dependent on BioWare in regards to whether it is maintained or falls out of current lore.

Do I have that correct?

Thank you again for your time, Archi

End of Image Id.]

So going forward, I will keep doing as I have in the past and use ttrpg lore in any lore post, provided it is not contradicted by any new lore. My blog isn’t about deciding what is or isn’t canon. (Outside of a joking manner.) But providing as thorough and accurate of lore as I can.

To be clear, this means I will also continue to list the ttrpg in the sources should they be used or referenced in my post.

[folkdances]

REAL huge fan of the fact that me and misha are both each other's numbah one blogs.. love is real. and it is on tumblr dot com

I posted 23,129 times in 2022

That's 22,502 more posts than 2021!

2,702 posts created (12%)

20,427 posts reblogged (88%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@snoopyfriend

@andromerot

@rosenthral

@kittysuragi

@avatar-tuner

I tagged 15,505 of my posts in 2022

Only 33% of my posts had no tags

#aa - 2,876 posts

#m.txt - 2,089 posts

#art - 1,259 posts

#fav - 1,030 posts

#mail - 601 posts

#rgu - 585 posts

#trc - 533 posts

#sw - 528 posts

#tlt - 433 posts

#vid - 431 posts

Longest Tag: 131 characters

#help help i am glad you have seen throguh my basic exterior... 👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨 anyway your franziskaisms bewitched me body and soul

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

what haunted house are YOU!!

1,983 notes - Posted April 29, 2022

#4

teens are very much into the following: bullying miles edgeworth online

[id: art of miles edgeworth from ace attorney cropped into a cardboard box with a paper taped to it reading, "everytime you repost he gets kicked down the fucking stairs. end id.]

2,376 notes - Posted January 16, 2022

#3

post dark age of the law klavier proposes the prosecutor's office get a tiktok to boost public confidence and it goes about as well as you'd expect.

[ID: A digital drawing of Miles Edgeworth from Ace Attorney done as a fake TikTok. Edgeworth is posing in front of a row of hedges with two thumbs-ups with a deadpan expression. The text overlay reads: "HEY TEENS! Learning your rights is totally radical! Click the link to learn MORE!" The account is listed as 'cali.prosecutors.office', and the video is tagged as #law #relatable #yippee. The bio reads 'link: tinyurl.com/hkr7ccfd'. The song playing is 'My Boyfriend is the Prosecutor's W[itness]' by the Gavinners. The video has 10.2 k likes and 906 comments. End ID.]

[ID: The same image, minus the TikTok overlay. End ID.]

2,703 notes - Posted July 31, 2022

#2

actually at risk of sounding terminally online um a lot of fandom makes gratuitous use of trans hcs which is really good i think go u i do this also BUT i also think that u need to be more critical of which characters you assign as being trans especially if u look and all the effeminate men have been designated transmasc and all the muscular women have been assigned transfem like sorry but at some point it stops being projection and just becomes harmful stereotyping. like i just think u should be more conscious of this.

7,297 notes - Posted March 31, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

YOU JUST GOT FRANZISKAD! REBLOG TO TOTALLY FRANZISKA YOUR FRIENDS!

82,069 notes - Posted April 6, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[robo-mox-motley]

[Video ID: Gorg, a tall blue mech, runs forward brandishing the blunt grip end of his tank gun. He lifts the whole long gun upwards by the barrel before striking down on the top of a tank. The original sound of the tank being hit is replaced with a coconut bonk stock sound. End ID.]

Always Gorgin' time at Mox(ter)'s

Aficionado número uno del Pavo Tecnicolor (al menos en el Occidente supongo), con yo mismo a partir de ahora conocido como un Archaditz!

-----

Mox(ter) reporting. Some things you might want to know. Or not ┐⁠(⁠´⁠ー⁠｀⁠)⁠┌

Things that keep me up at night:

The camaraderie of the Autobots in Armada.

This loser

How some versions of Ironfist are supposed to sound Aussie. Try rereading Last Stand of the Wreckers like that.

Tokyo Ska dropping a new song.

Trying to make up transforming figures in my head that don't exist for certain characters and getting pissed the next morning because I don't have them. Only thing stopping me is lack of access to a resin printer.

I am Mox/Moxter and have been a bot nerd since I was an anklebiter. Mostly gung-ho about other stuff like practical effects, costuming, figures/models, 3D modelling, old tech, lizards, and birding. I do art a little too, but I’m not too fond of the idea of putting it out on here quite yet. I mainly study tech communications, visual effects, and language. Couple years of Spanish but also picking up and learning bits of Japanese and Welsh when I can. I apologize beforehand if you see my dumb ass getting long-winded about Tailgate (full reason being too long to explain here).

I’m generally invested into anything related to toy design— mostly TakaraTomy, HasTak, and Sunrise bot stuff is my focus though. I am hooked on the design development surrounding Binaltech and Alternators for better or worse. And wouldn't you know, a bunch of car robots helped me to realize what I should re-prioritize my career track to be; that's the power of my dumb special interest at work

( •̀ .̫ •́ )✧.

Got tired of updating which music artists I like at the moment, but I tend to stick to ELO, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, hip hop, rock, J-punk, ska, funk, and EDM. I don’t mind getting music recs. Delighted owner to my little shit of a gecko. A lot of what I reblog is aesthetic posts, robotic nonsense, and other things. If you want to go ahead and block some of my tags, I’ve got a list of them linked in my pinned post. I try to put alt tags in the majority of images I upload. May need a poke on that though once in a while because I can’t remember everything.

There will sometimes be 18+ content. It will be tagged or marked under community labels as such. I don’t want complaining when the tools are right there to prune out stuff. Block the tags, block me, or go on your own way.

I have an affinity for and somehow keep crushing on turbonerd robots in STEM and medicine.

It keeps happening.

Ok, but like, Archadis and Airazor too. Birdman, birdwoman? Man, I don’t care... I’m just bi and giddy. If you get bothered by that kind of thing, I will probably piss you off. r/transformers or some specialty forum like Seibertron is probably more your speed. Don't go to TFW2005 unless you think you'll miraculously thrive in that pit teeming with killjoys.

Don’t be stupidly obnoxious around here; shit-stirrers get Gorg'd:

If you slander bugs, reconsider.

Please do not ask me my pronouns. Like, sorry, but I don’t know you. At least talk to me for a good while and wait before asking? Just use my name and no they/them-ing me if we aren't all too familiar, that's all I ask.

Things I like or have watched/read. Not exhaustive. Strong favorites are bolded.

Games

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk

Destiny (Well, it was good up until every update following Witch Queen)

Fallout 1, NV, 4

Guilty Gear XX, Strive

Halo

Lethal League Blaze

Mass Effect

Rhythm Heaven

Subnautica

Titanfall

Comic Stuff

Astro Boy

Atomic Robo

Dai Dark

Dorohedoro

Hellboy/BPRD

IDW Transformers

Kaiju No. 8

Kamen Rider Kuuga (2019)

Shows

Brave series: Might Gaine, J-Decker

Cromartie High School

Farscape

FMA 2003

Giant Gorg

Lupin the III

Kamen Rider: Ichigo, Gaim, Zero-One

Stargate

Transformers: G1, JG1, BW, JBW, Unicron Trilogy, Prime, RID 2015, Cyberverse, Earthspark

My MAL profile (I forget to update it though)

Blocked and still rooting through here?

I applaud your tenacity, but I don't get it. Have a little cheer in your life and go watch Kamen Rider or Medabots or smth.

Signing out.

[funshinebf]

putting stickers on your laptop is all fun and games unless youre like me and have horrible luck with them 😭 every time i start putting stickers on one thinking "well its worked great so far, so it should be safe to decorate with my beloved stickers!" and then it starts to deteriorate and become unusable😭😭😭 i dont know what im doing wrong with laptops like im not downloading viruses and i dont go nuts downloading huge heavy software or games. the most ive ever asked of them has been the sims 4, and even that i only tried to play on the best laptop ive had when it was still working well 😭 i want to try and replace the cracked screen so i can do digital art on it again but even if i Do get to fix the screen that wont make it stop being way slower than how it was when i first started using it. id be willing to just forget about trying to play any video games or doing anything that isnt art but like. i would LIKE to be able to play silly little steam games with my friends every now and then :•( but the main objective is definitely just digital art, so i guess ill just have to suck it up... even still, im having such a hard time finding the specific screen i need for it to work with my laptop AT ALL, let alone at an affordable price. even if i figure out how to replace it myself i'll still have to buy the replacement screen, which ive only been able to find at like at LEAST $150ish. which isnt THAT much when you have a Job but i dont. i get like maybe $5-10 every month, 20 if im lucky. id try pushing my commissions more but without the laptop i cant do very good quality digital art 😭😭😭 i can still do Some on my phone, but the image quality is always way lower, as well as the line quality. not to mention the strain it puts on my fingers and wrists to do my more polished pieces this way. i seriously dont know what to do. i can try asking for the money for a replacement screen for my birthday in August but honestly i was really hoping to go to a renaissance fair with my friends instead since thats like. fun, yknow? but i guess asking for the screen instead is more practical since i can use it to do commissions (if i ever even get any. ive only been commissioned like 3 or 4 times over the Years ive had them open. which i understand cause im not really a huge artist and my blog isnt art focussed so i dont thino i even have a lot of followers that are here mostly for my art. and thats on top of everyone else in the entire world also struggling with money so badly right now, like i feel so bad asking for money when theres so many other people who need it to Survive. urreugghh this world is so evil) anyways just. UGH. capitalism is such an inescapable hellworld and im so tired of living in it. i either spend all of my time and money and energy and effort into surviving and end up severely suicidal. or i try to spend more time taking it easy and focussing on things that make me happy but i keep ending up too broke to do anything cause it all costs money anyway. so i end up feeling passivelu suicidal instead cause i feel like i have no comfortable future 😭 this sucks

[aioome2]

The Ultimate Guide to Facebook Ads for Beginners (AI, Meta Advantage+, Machine Algorithm & More!)

Running Facebook ads can be a powerful tool for promoting your e-commerce business. However, it's important to understand how to use them effectively, especially if you're a beginner. In this complete guide, I will provide you with all the information you need to know about running Facebook ads, including the most recent updates from this year. First, let's address a common mistake I often hear from e-commerce business owners. A founder recently told me that her business wasn't doing well, and one of the reasons was that she wasn't running Facebook ads because she believed they don't work. Let me tell you, that is a big problem. Even to this day, Facebook ads are one of the most effective ways to promote an e-commerce business. So if you're not running Facebook ads, you're missing out on a valuable opportunity. Now, before we dive into the details, let me introduce myself. My name is Ben Mellor, and I'm here to guide you through the process of running successful Facebook ads. If you want to see more content like this every week, make sure to subscribe to this channel. So, what exactly are Facebook ads? I'm sure you've seen them before. They are those sponsored messages that show up between your friends' stories or in your feed. They can be images, videos, or even text. These ads are paid for by businesses to reach potential customers. And here's the thing, you don't have to be a big brand like Lululemon or Apple to run Facebook ads. You can create ads from the comfort of your own home using your smartphone, and you can invest as much or as little money as you want. Now that we understand the importance of running Facebook ads, let's get into the nitty-gritty of setting up your ad account. To access the necessary tools for managing your ads, you'll need to create a Facebook Business Manager account. Simply go to business.facebook.com and select "Create an account." Once you have your Business Manager account set up, the next step is to create an ad account. This is where you'll manage your ads. To do this, select "Ads" from the left menu bar in Business Manager and follow the instructions to create a new ad account. Now, let's talk about the importance of creating a Facebook pixel. If you're not familiar with what a Facebook pixel is, it's a piece of code that allows you to track and measure the effectiveness of your ads. It gathers information about user behavior on your website and feeds it back to Facebook. This helps you see if your ads are generating the desired results. To set up a pixel, you'll need to create a tracking code within your Business Manager account and add it to your website. If you're using Shopify, it's easy to do. Just copy your 16-digit pixel ID from your Business Manager account and paste it into the pixel ID field in your Shopify store's preferences. Within a few hours, you'll start to see your website activity recorded in your Business Manager account. Now that you have your ad account and pixel set up, let's dive into the structure of Facebook ads. When creating an ad, you'll notice that there are three tiers: campaigns, ad sets, and ads. Think of these tiers as folders on your desktop. Ads are inside ad sets, and ad sets are inside campaigns. Starting with the ad itself, it's what the end consumer will see while scrolling through Facebook or Instagram. It can be an image, video, or text, or a combination of these. This is where your creativity comes into play. Develop eye-catching and engaging ads to capture your audience's attention. Moving up to the ad set level, this is where you define your targeting settings. You can choose to target people based on their location, age group, interests, and behaviors. Take some time to understand your target audience and create ad sets that cater to their preferences. Finally, at the campaign level, you set the objective or goal for your ads. This could be increasing website traffic, generating leads, or driving sales. Make sure your campaign objective aligns with your overall business goals. With your understanding of the ad structure, it's time to dive into Facebook Ads Manager and start building your campaigns. Setting up your campaigns the right way is crucial. The smarter you set them up, the more bang you'll get for your buck. If you're looking to get customers to buy a product directly from you, choose the "Sales" objective. If you're looking to generate leads, select the "Leads" objective. There are other objectives to choose from, but these are two common ones. Additionally, Facebook now offers a new campaign setup option called Advantage Plus Shopping. This is an automated campaign type that uses machine learning to optimize your settings for better performance. It's worth considering, but keep in mind that it may not be suitable for all businesses, especially if you want more control over your campaigns. When setting up your ad sets, it's important to have a clear understanding of your target audience. Are you targeting cold audiences, which are people who haven't interacted with your business before, or retargeting warm audiences, which are people who have already shown interest? Create ad sets that cater to each audience segment. Use lookalike audiences, which are created using existing customer data, to find people similar to your current customers. Saved audiences allow you to target prospects based on their interests, behaviors, and demographics. This step is crucial in reaching the right audience with your ads. Next, consider where you want your ads to be placed. Facebook recommends using Advantage Plus placements for most businesses as it helps reach a wider audience and achieve better results. However, it's always a good idea to test different placements and see what works best for your business. Now, let's talk about the creative aspect of your ads. This is where you get to showcase your products or services and entice your audience to take action. The key is to create ads that resonate with your target audience at different stages of the marketing funnel. Think about the customer journey from awareness to consideration to conversion. Create ads that address the objections or hesitations your audience might have at each stage. For example, if you want to capture their attention and make them stop scrolling, create an ad with a strong hook. If you want them to click on your ad, overcome objections by showcasing innovative features or offering limited-time offers. Remember to constantly test and refresh your creatives to avoid ad fatigue. Analyzing, optimizing, and scaling your ads are vital steps in running a successful Facebook ad campaign. Customize your dashboard to show important metrics such as cost per click (CPC), click-through rate (CTR), cost per thousand impressions (CPM), and return on ad spend (ROAS). Use these metrics to monitor the performance of your ads and make data-driven decisions. If your ads aren't performing well, try to understand why and make necessary changes to improve them. Cut ads that aren't delivering results and reallocate your budget to more successful ads. In contrast, when your ads are successful and meeting your targets, it's time to scale. Increase your budget gradually to avoid overspending. Refresh your creatives to prevent ad fatigue and keep your audience engaged. Scaling your ads requires experimentation and continuous monitoring. Pay attention to what's working and adjust your strategies accordingly. Remember, running Facebook ads can be a powerful tool for promoting your e-commerce business. With the right strategies and continuous optimization, you can drive traffic, generate leads, and boost sales. Stay committed to your goals, stay creative, and don't be afraid to test new approaches. Good luck with your Facebook ad campaigns! And that concludes our comprehensive guide to running Facebook ads for your e-commerce business. I hope you found this information helpful and inspiring. If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to leave a comment below. Thank you for joining me on this journey, and I wish you great success in your Facebook advertising endeavors. Thank you for taking the time to read this article! We appreciate your support and hope you found it informative. If you enjoyed the content and would like to stay updated with our latest articles, we invite you to follow our blog via email subscription. You can receive notifications whenever we publish new posts by simply subscribing with your email address. Additionally, we have a Facebook fanpage where you can find more updates, exclusive content, and engage with fellow readers. We'd love for you to join our community by giving us a like and following us on Facebook. For those who prefer video content, we also have a YouTube channel where we share insightful videos related to the topics we cover. By subscribing to our YouTube channel, you can access our videos and receive alerts whenever we upload new content. Thank you for your support, and we look forward to connecting with you through email subscription, Facebook, and YouTube! Frequently Asked Questions: 1. What are Facebook ads? 2. How do I create a meta business manager account? 3. How do I create a meta ad account? 4. What is a meta pixel and how do I create one? 5. How does the Facebook ad structure work? Read the full article

[creativecourse]

Cinematic Lighting in Blender Information Cinematic Lighting in Blender is a course that focuses on teaching students how to create cinematic lighting setups using Blender, a popular 3D software. Level-up your 3D lighting skills by watching a premium 9+ hour course that offers a step-by-step guide for setting up cinematic lighting in Blender. Now includes NIGHT LIGHTING Extension Pack It’s all really simple: lighting is everything! After all in order to see ANYTHING we NEED light. As 3D artists we all know this obvious truth but we're still too often guilty of spending WAY more time on the modeling and barely a thought to the lighting when it's that which makes or breaks a scene. The Secret of Lighting That is NOT FLAT Does it sound familiar? "Sometimes a scene can just look so ‘meh’ or lack any feeling? No matter what I do, lighting just... looks 'too CG' and lifeless?" It may look like some successful lighting artists just intuitively ‘know’ what to do and naturally have the ‘eye’. Whether it is conscious or not they will be using a kind of to-do list for where to place the lights, how to set the right levels and so on. If you simply tick most or even some of the boxes from this list, it will instantly improve the result. Good news: it's not rocket science, lighting in Blender can be learned fairly easily if you know where to start. NIGHT LIGHTING EXTENSION PACK Introducing the New Night-Lighting Extension Pack The new extension pack dives into three key areas: Image-Based Lighting: This essential technique allows you to extract lighting information from any image on the internet and apply it to your 3D scene in Blender. Fun fact: the character 3d model for this chapter was kindly donated by no other than William Landgren! Universal Night Lighting Setup: This in-depth, step-by-step guide will walk you through the process of creating a complete night shot, utilizing multiple layers and tools to achieve evocative results. Projectors: Discover the mysterious world of image projection in Blender, as we guide you through creating multi-colored light patterns, both static and animated. What You’ll Learn In This Course? A premium 9+ hour step-by-step guide for lighting in Blender Learn to light character shots, still life (and object) shots and 3D environments Get to know Cycles AND Eevee lighting workflows Project Files: get all environments shown in the course and useful assets such as node groups, textures and models Closed Captions (English) manually edited for all videos A full explanation of all the qualities of lighting that help any render feel more alive and cinematic About Author [caption id="" align="alignright" width="197"] Gleb Alexandrov[/caption] My name is Gleb Alexandrov, I’m a coffee maniac who makes a living, creating digital art and training for people who love 3D graphics. I feel super grateful to folks around me, including the vibrant Blender community. Together with Aidy Burrows we have successfully built Creative Shrimp from the ground up over the last years. Our tutorials have a massive following on Youtube, the recent courses became best-sellers and we’re thrilled to carry on. I was introduced to computer graphics when I was 14 and after having a glimpse of 3ds Max, I was very eager to dive into this stuff. Unsurprisingly my first teapot renders were so unimpressive that I thought it’ll take an eternity for me to make a career in computer graphics. When I watched my first 3ds Max tutorial from some crazy CD compilation of tutorials (we barely had internet back then in Belarus), I got part of my optimism back. If they can do it, I can do it too. A realization that you don’t need to be super talented right away and can slowly work your way towards better version of you by watching tutorials, was a turning point in my life. When I was 22, I got a 3D modeler job in a game development studio in Brest. In my free time I was learning Blender (right after I saw the first signs of this free open source software taking over the world of computer graphics).

Thanks to Jonathan Williamson at CG Cookie and Andrew Price the Blenderguru getting into it wasn’t a complete blackhole of mystery. I knew blender would become big soon just by watching how active its community had become, it was one of those smart crowd miracles of the 21st century apparently. A few years later, when a CG competition called Her Majesty’s Zeppelins was about to start, I jumped in this boat and won the first place using Blender. Over the next few years my art and tutorials were featured in magazines, books and educational websites. That’s where it really blew up. More courses from the same author: Gleb Alexandrov

[sportsboos]

AIFace Frenzy Review

Unleash The Power Of Attention-Grabbing, Revenue Generating AI Face Videos That Speak Your Message & Get Tons Of Traffic & Sales From Instagram Reels & Youtube Shorts. And all it takes is just  simple 3 steps to  UNLOCK THE POWER OF AI FACEFRENZY AND START DRIVING MASSIVE TRAFFIC & SALES EFFORTLESSLY.

Here are The Major Benefits You will Get From AI FaceFrenzy:

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 YouTube &Instagram Favours Shorts & Reel Videos & Send You Free Traffic!

YouTube & Instagram are now heavily promoting Reels and Shorts videos on their own, which means you can get tons of free organic traffic from these two platforms as you upload your AI face videos! Plus with our unique strategies , you can quickly go viral & get massive traffic to your offers.

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What You Get From AIFace Frenzy?

Get Tons Of Traffic & Sales In ANY Niche, Any Language

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easily,without h

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No Editing Skills, Budget Or Experience Required.

You don't need any skills, budget, or experience to use AI FaceFrenzy. All you need is a desire to get more traffic and sales. Just follow our simple step-by-step instructions and you'll be able to create traffic-getting YouTube shorts in no time.

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It's Suitable For Complete Newbies & Experienced Marketers Alike

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Our team is always available to help. Whether you need help finding the perfect image or video or have a question about any of our products, we're here to assist you.

There Is No Risk. You Are Covered By

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If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase within 30 days of buying AI FaceFrenzy, we will refund 100% of your money, no questions asked. And you can still keep our product and enjoy all the benefits.

We will not even revoke your access. However, we are sure that you'll love AI FaceFrenzy so much and see the value in it that you won't ask for a refund. That's our "STEAL OUR PRODUCT" guarantee for you. (Only during launch period) Nothing could be more fair than that.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS!

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No, you don't have to download anything. AI FaceFrenzy is a cloud-based SaaS (software as a service) product. You can buy now and start using the product right away. All you need is your email ID and password to access it any time from anywhere with an Internet connection.

Q. Is there a monthly fee?

No, once you buy AI FaceFrenzy, you don't have to pay a monthly fee. AI FaceFrenzy is a one-time purchase product.

Q. What happens after the launch period?

The price will turn into a MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION and the low one-time price will never be available again! We encourage you to take action before the launch period ends.

Q. Can I have a refund?

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However, if for some reason the product is not living up to your expectations at any time within 30 days of buying it, we will give you a full refund, no questions asked.

Q. What if I have no subscribers/followers on Youtube & Instagram? Can I still get traffic?

Yes. We will provide you with our personal Video Ranking CheatSheet that will actually rank your videos and have your Reels go viral in no time. So you can get free traffic to your videos straight away.

Q. What about the future updates?

You won't pay a penny extra for future updates. And, you'll get free lifetime updates to keep your product up-to-date.

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You can ask us your product related question as well as anything about our company or services by emailing us at https://agarwalinnosoft.com/support

To Get More Access CLICK HERE>>>

[jacobfiel]

Course Reflection

Throughout this course I followed along with the steps and guidance and guidance Toby provided to the class to learn and practice skills in Photoshop (PS) Adobe Illustrator (AI) and InDesign (ID). I would not only learn the basics of these programmes as well as key features, tools, shortcuts and workflow methods in the moment but would also document and annotate these learnings on my online Tumblr blog. This means that I can look back into my blog anytime in the future and will be able to remind my self of any skills/ minor details to preform skills that I may have forgotten. I see this blog coming in very handy as I already found myself using it throughout the course to look back on as well as for projects in other classes.

Before I came to Polytech and started the fundamentals class all I knew from school were some of the basic tools in Photoshop. So I came into the fundamentals course with very fresh eyes.

I found programmes like AI and ID very difficult because I naturally was use the the processes that take place in photoshop. Things such as holding shift when transforming items in AI was super difficult and frustrating for me to get use to. I also found it hard to understand how curves and handles work and every drawing would encounter a lot of COMMAND + Z's before I could get curves and shapes looking somewhat how I like them. Worse of all the pathfinder just made no sense and I would kind of just randomly click icons and hope they did what I wanted. I think Im also still having a little bit of trouble which frames and images in ID as well as how to use things like fill and stroke or the swatches tab in this programme.

I don't think my ID problems are fully resolved but Im on my way there. I think the way to fix these simple misunderstandings with the programme is to just go through the motions with them and practice. I find now that I naturally use the transform tools correct in AI and can draw shapes just how I want them nearly every time, I can break points, move them around and add new ones. I even find I now know what a couple of different icons on the pathfinder tool do and can confidently cut shapes out of one another with some sense of ease. I feel I achieved this by using AI as much as possible whether it was in fundamentals, DT1 or even on some personal projects. I also think if I do the same in ID and just keep practicing I will be able to fix the problems I have now is well.

During the course I learnt how to use programmes such as ID and AI and well as much better tips and tricks for my workflow and better ways to do things in PS. I learnt heaps of shortcuts and could confidently jump into any of these programmes when needed and could contribute to a body of work.

I was influenced during the course by Toby and Alexia especially if I had any questions to ask they were able to give me one on one support and guide me through anything I needed help with right when I needed it.

I hope to improve on my core skills in ID and would also love to explore more in depth about AI as from what i've learnt while being here, it's the core design programme in the Adobe Suite. I am interested in all the things the pathfinder tool can do as well as some stuff involving gradients which I saw a person using on a youtube video.

I Touched on this earlier but I feel I will definitely be looking back on this blog semi regularly 100 percent over the next few years and possibly even more so into the future. I found some techniques really stuck with me and I can do them very instinctively while others I may not have entirely understood at the time. Yet because everything in annotated in detail on my blog I think looking back and finding the 1 or 2 steps I may be missing to achieve a certain look or complete a particular task will be super helpful and make some of those little mental blocks easy to work through.

My favourite parts of the course would definitely have to be when we did the 'AI flex' as I got to put all the skills I had learnt into 1 quick project on something completely self directed. The result was a drawing I was really happy with and is something I think is quite cool. The other thing would have to be getting to print off the booklet at the end and be able to physically see the work I made and also use it as a little gift for some of my family members.

Throughout the project I used the Moodle, teams and my own blog to help me complete projects throughout the lesson. On top of the lecturing and sometimes personal help that Toby and Alexia provided.

I think I did well to document each thing we did in the course and have a really good beginner to somewhat intermediate form of user manual on how to use the 3 programmes we talked about over the course, (AI,PS,ID). Yet in doing this sometimes I didn't test my skills to the max as I was focusing a lot on workbook meaning throughout some of the projects my work may have came out less detailed or extravagant as my classmates.

I think using this process of documenting your learning somewhat in the moment as you do it is a super good way to learn as you may not directly soak up 100 percent of everything once you walk away and think about the next thing. Yet you will have the base and the key ideas as well as a few extras that stuck with you but because you documented it you also have everything else right at your finger tips and can look back on it when needed in the future.

My goal going into the course were to learn as much about the 3 programmes as possible. I think this goal stood true throughout the process. When creating something one of the most frustrating things is having a vision but your fundamental skills are holding you back and this is something I wanted to prevent from happing to me in the future. So really just soaking up all the little details was a big focus of mine throughout this course.

A challenging moment that stands out for me was learning how to draw with the pen tool in AI. Even when drawing the most simplest of shapes on the first few days I couldn't make them line up properly or just look right in general. Then moving on to drawing more complicated shapes and moving them round and I was completely lost. I think a turning point in the right direction when I finally started sorting out how to use this tool was when I asked the question of how to 'break a point' and once toby explained this to me properly and I learnt about tools like holding down OPTION or COMMAND the whole process changed and I was finally able to start making the tool do what I wanted it too. This would then flow into editing anchor points and handles once the shape was completed and well as actually trying to stick to the idea of holding down SHIFT and trying to as much as possible pull out handles on the vertical and or horizontal axis.

Personally I think the most important thing I learnt was the same as the most challenging thing that I learnt above. Learning how to draw with the pen tool and make it do whatever I see fit opens doors to so many opportunities and I find myself using it nearly everyday. weather it be in other classes for course, Fundamentals itself or even just on a personal project it's become a commonly used part of my tool kit and I really can't believe I designed stuff for quite sometime without navigating this tool.

The only thing I can really think that got in the way when learning my skills was past habits and muscle memories I had learnt in PS which I really had to unteach my brain when moving into programmes such as ID and AI

I think again that I helped myself greatly by keeping my Tumblr blog well detailed so I had everything just a couple of scrolls away whenever I needed it.

I felt other people in the course helped by asking questions and making mistakes as commonly I had done the same thing or was wondering about a similar question when asked. This meant when Toby and Alexia would resolve these problems, commonly for the whole class to listen to I was able to fix where I had gone wrong and not have the lesson start to get to far ahead of me while I was stuck a couple of steps back.

Overall I really enjoyed the course and felt like every lesson I was learning so much all at once. I think a course like this is something I would recommend to others and also 100 percent would do something similar again.

[doublegoblin]

Cavern Chronology: Log 5

[Greetings, This is Epsilon. With V still being out of the office I was instructed to email this section of transcription over to you. I’m sorry if anything is missing, I’m still kind of new and still learning. Sorry that isn’t meant to sound like an excuse! Also I am sorry if this is out of line, I have been asking the others and nobody will give me a straight answer, but why do we not just attach the video files we collect? Once again I am so sorry if this is out of line! I just think it would be a much more efficient method of doing things. The new stuff should be coming in the next few months. -Epsilon]

Description: [Enter information here, include all relevant information. You can copy and paste the entry from previous submissions or write it all out yourself. Just be sure to follow the assigned outline.]

Note: Once you’ve got the stuff from Rico go through and put it together in one big document, he’s pretty good about putting things where they need to be so don’t move anything around. You’ll need to then take this file and make it into a .zip before sending it over to T. As you can see most of our work is handled by other departments, we just make sure there aren’t any outside bugs or issues before we send it up the pipeline. Then all you need to do is add it to the message as an attachment and shoot it across. You’ll know you’ve done it right when T writes you back. Give them a couple of business days, if it’s been about a week or so just send them a follow-up message, there is a lot to go through so it sometimes gets lost. Last thing, be sure to delete all of these extra messages, T isn’t a big fan of sifting through extra data. Plus if you don’t, we’re going to give you a lot of shit until you learn ;).

Date: 08/08/02 Time: 07:33

So this is going to be a little different than the last few files. We were lucky enough to stabilize the file before the camcorder went on the fritz. So not so much of a transcript for this part, more of an image ID.

To refresh: the image we’ve collected is a shot of what is being called a “conspiracy board”. A large cork board that you can find at really any major office supply store, supermarket, or anywhere that really sells stationary. This looks to be a cheap one. The frame of the board is most likely made of balsa wood, or maybe pine with an uneven and ugly looking stain job. The cork itself has some pretty large holes between the pieces, not just from wear and tear either. X did mention that along the lower edge there is some discoloration, they propose water damage. Besides the pieces of paper tacked to the board there are also some pretty neat looking stickers and enamel pins from different fandoms. I’m not sure if it matters much, but X and V both said to include it anyway, but the board is laid horizontally so it is more wide than tall.

On this board are several pieces of news articles, newspaper clippings, hand written notes, photographs, and of course Clyde's own drawing of the door. We’ll be designating larger items as their own entry but the smaller ones are placed into groups. They will be presented in the order most likely to be accurate to Clyde’s talking points later on. All of these items are connected by red push pins with a red string wrapped around each pin. Some string hangs limp, most likely cut at some point and just never cleaned up. I’ll be honest, some of the hand written notes are more out of focus items are educated guesses, for those situations we will mark them with (?).

The items:

A: A yellowed newspaper article, most likely a local paper. The date at the top looks to have been mostly lost during its removal but the year states that it is from 1979. The headline reads “YOUNG MAN MISSING IN NATIONAL PARK: FAMILY LEFT WITH QUESTIONS AND GRIEF”. Under the headline is a photo of a young hispanic male. Under this photo is a description that reads “Jacob Ortiz (17)”. The main text of the article is as follows:

“The community sends its thoughts and prayers to the Ortiz family in the aftermath of this tragic incident. Following a week-long search, Jacob Ortiz has been declared dead by local authorities. Jacob Ortiz had been out on a camping trip with his father and younger brother when he went missing. At this time the family has requested to be left in peace. We also ask that those in the community give the family their space in this dark time. Interviews with the father and younger brother can be found on (Page 4, Section A). The local sheriff has requested if anyone still has any information, or if new information has been found to please contact him. To quote ‘Anything you think could be useful, please, let us know. The least we could do is bring the boy's body back to the family, they deserve that closure.’ A closed casket funeral and memorial service will be held at 5pm on Tuesday at the Lily Family Funeral Home. This is an open invitation to the community.”

B: The interviews from the previous segment. These segments have been removed from their main page and only the words said by each interviewee have been preserved.

Mr.Ortiz has said the following “We’d only been out there for three days of our week long trip. It was early morning, I didn’t have my watch on me but it had to be no later than 7(am). I’d gotten the boys up for some oatmeal, mixed with some edible berries I’d foraged just the other day as a surprise. Jacob was the first one awake so had to go off to, you know, take care of his morning business. I let him know when we’d be eating and to not go past the treeline. He hemmed and hawed like all teenagers do, but he knew the woods could be dangerous, especially in that kind of vulnerable state. So he ran off with roll in hand and I got his younger brother roused and ready. Once the oatmeal was done I called out to him. Didn’t hear anything back. So I called again. Nothing. So I’m starting to get worried, but his brother reminds me that he had brought the Walkman on the trip so he might be listening to his music. Well I wasn’t having it, I thought I’d scare the crap out of him, a safe reminder that wild cats and bears love to catch you by surprise. But, when I get up to where I saw him headed, nobody there. So I start shouting his name, stomping through the forest, anything to get him to hear me. That's when I found the roll of toilet paper, set on top of a stump, just sitting there. I’m sorry I can’t talk about this anymore.”

PJ Orzit (Younger brother) had this to say “So we were on this camping trip right? I’m sure my dad said all that stuff already. Well he gets me up and the first thing I smell is burnt oatmeal. Then he starts callin’ for Jaco, I let him know about the walkman, and then he takes off into the woods. So I’m sitting there trying to pick around the crusty bits when dad comes out with this worried look on his face. So I’m thinkin’ ‘oh no what did he do now?’ and he says Jaco is missing. I…I didn’t think much about it then and kind of laughed it off, I regret doing that. So I follow him into the wood and see the stump with the toilet paper. I also saw his walkman there on the ground right next to the stump, the cord was wrapped around it, like when you want to put it away without the cord getting all tangled up. We spent maybe the entire day going up and down the woods. It’s like he just vanished into thin air man. I don’t care what the cops say, he’s still out there, he has to be. Jaco is real smart, really good fighter too, when we were younger he’d always kick me butt when we’d play pirates. He has to still be out there…he has to.”

C: Another newspaper article, most of the text is faded or the paper is damaged in some way that it’s hard to read. The date at the top says 1989(?) 1986(?) or 1988(?). The headline reads: MOTHER OF TWO VANISHES, VACATION TURNED TRAGEDY. On the page is also the location of San Antonio, Texas. 

C1-C3: What appear to be a collection of modeling photos. The subject is a black woman of approximately middle age. 

Ca: A postcard, the handwritten wording is illegible. On the front in bold gold words “Wish you were here”

D: Printed screenshot of a new site. WEEKEND RETREAT LEAVES SEVERAL DEAD AND TWO MISSING. Along the side, circled in red marker is a political ad, VOTE: CLINTON.

“What was meant to be a radical get-away for a group of teens has turned into anything but. Investigations are still inconclusive but local authorities propose gang violence or wild animal attacks. Early Friday morning the mutilated bodies of local teens (1) were found by amateur hiker Paul during his yearly trip around the park. At this time the whereabouts of-” the rest of the text is not visible on this piece of paper.

E: Handwritten notes by Clyde. Appears to be bullet points for the upcoming video. 

F: A pamphlet showing a map of a local tourist destination. A caving trip.

G: Crude illustrations of fantastical creatures such as Mothman, Bigfoot, and some other third thing which is obscured by the paper folding in on itself. The first two have large black Xs drawn across them.

H: Clyde's sketch of the door. 

[End of relevant data]

[This has been very informative, thank you Epsilon. As to your question, I encourage you to maintain this curiosity. This format is simply the best way for me to digest this information, sound is hard to process. I look forward to working with you. Best wishes -T]