A wee update with some exciting news about My Neurodivergent Passport: a tool to communicate your needs, strengths, and sensory/communication profiles.
Oh these are lovely! Posts about hilariously bad punctuation become depressing after a while. How joyful to celebrate the witty and masterful!
Hello everyone! As I mentioned in my Post-Chapter 16 Status Update (which I would highly recommend reading if you haven’t already), I have quite the backlog of Avania Mail questions waiting to be answered…
Firstly, thank you to everyone for taking an interest in Avania and sending in your questions! It means a lot to me, and making Avania Mail replies is not only a lot of fun, but is often quite helpful in expanding and/or fleshing out the characters and world of Avania.
Unfortunately though, it hasn’t been feasible for me to reply to mail at the same rate at which I receive it (an understatement, I know), and given the recent changes in my life allowing me less free time of any kind, this situation will inevitably persist for the time being…
So, in light of that, I have taken stock of every outstanding question currently residing in the Avania Mail inbox and organized them into a comprehensive list. To try and ensure all submitters get a shot at having at least one of their questions answered in as timely a fashion as possible, I have always tended to skip around to questions from different users (or anons) while still generally working from oldest to newest. I will continue to operate in this way, but I am now consolidating all questions from each non-anon submitter and will simply pick the questions I feel I can answer most readily.
Some questions I have to think about for a while, others I have an answer in mind, but it would require more drawing to do justice, so it gets put off until I’m in a good place to devote time to it (usually between finishing comic pages). Others are simple enough to answer quickly and with minimal new drawing, while hopefully still being entertaining to read! I’ll do my best to try and answer every question eventually, but so far it has been a losing battle… Just don’t give up hope and think that I won’t get to a particular question you have submitted, because I do keep track of all of them, and I’ll do my best to get there eventually!
If you have questions, comments, or feedback, please feel free to leave it here (or send even more Avania Mail). If anyone would like to propose any solutions for expediting replies, or just general proposals, I’m open to suggestions… One idea I am considering trying out is to hold a poll to decide which of several questions gets answered first. Let me know what you think, and in any case, thank you for your interest and your patience! And of course, stay tuned for more Avania Mail!
↪ 𝑺𝑬𝑻𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑴𝑷𝑻𝑺 ( a collection of various settings meant to inspire drabbles or be used as prompts . will be updated . )
my first teddy bear !! i’ve been wanting to make one for years and i finally did it :-)
he’s fully jointed with steiff schulte mohair and glass eyes. i sewed a ruff and made pom poms to clown him up 🤡💖
i’m still not sure what to name him, maybe vincent? ideas welcome! 🧸
Commission for CoolBeanz521 Presenting his new characters~ Hope you like ^^ Stardom, Mal, Erebus (shadow), & Iris © CoolBeanz521 Art © Marquis2007
(see, I DID do something for 200 followers. 12 followers late, but it’s something! owo")
All music here is free to use in your games or other projects without charge, either operating on a “Ok to use as long as you give me credit” basis, a Creative Commons License, or is already in the public domain (meaning there’s no copyright on it).
For more information on Creative Commons License works, check here. For an easy to look at graph, check here. Remember, if it’s Public Domain, it’s free to use & redistribute to your heart’s content.
And feel free to add on more resources to this post if you like. c:
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➤ Free Collections Ready for Download
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(don’t worry, it's not all yume nikki in here! Keep reading!)
Plasterbrain’s Yume Freebie Collection - plasterbrain’s Yume Nikki Fangame Sound dump. According to them, they’re ok with you using it for any type of projects as long as you don’t redistribute the pack for money. Check out their sound cloud. They also did music for DREAM VS DREAM, a Yume Nikki fighting game you can play here. Music loops.
Yume Nikki Fangame Month - bwarch’s pay-if-you-want-it-would-be-really-nice-if-you-did-but-it’s-fine-if-you-don’t pack of free to use Yume Nikki Fangame music for your Yume Nikki fan game (I did the art for it!). Has a bunch of rad tracks for you to use! Check out his Bandcamp here, his Soundcloud here, and his Youtube here. Music loops.
The Remains of the 8 Bit Collective - A huge file of Chiptune/8 Bit music free to use from the now down site 8 Bit Collective. There’s a bunch of crap, but there are good ones in there too. Music loops.
Rindre’s Effect Sounds - A few Sound Effects for your Yume Nikki game by our friend pakilusin! Sound effects. She’s working on an upcoming fan game called Redux, formerly the game Flux.
Rindre’s Fangame Music Pack - Some good ambientish tracks by our friend pakilusin! Music Loops. Check out her soundcloud here!
RPG Maker.net’s Music Pack - RPG Maker.net’s form got together and put out a wonderful album full of RPG Music for you to use. Music & loops.
Noyemi K’s Game Placeholder Pack - A pack by noyemik that includes music & chipsets to use as a PLLACEHOLDER for your game. She has some free to use for her game right down here…
Noyemi’s Free to Use Resources - Along with her Placeholder pack, she also has some free to use music & sounds as well. She’s the maker of Amihailu in Dreamland & Hell Diary, two rad games with equally rad soundtracks. Check out her sound cloud here! And her bandcamp here!
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➤ Websites for Downloading Music
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English Sites
Flashkit - Always check if it’s freeware, licenseware, or shareware! Sound Effects & Music Loops.
Freesound.org - Check the licensing agreement on the things you download! Sound Effects and Music Loops. You’ll need an account before you download anything, but the library is just so vast that it’s well worth it.
Partners in Rhyme - They’re mostly for youtube videos, but are ok if you use it in your video game. Music Loops.
Looperman - Focuses on loops for audio software (so if you want to add more to it feel free). Here’s their terms & conditions page. You also have to create an account before you download anything. Loops, samples, sound effects, acapellas, & raps.
Sound Bible - Royalty-free Sound Effects under the public domain & attribution creative commons license.
Media College - has like, 10 loops in the public domain for you to download.
Free SFX - I linked to their License Page because it’s a bit hidden. Free Sound Effects. Yes, you have to make an account, but it’s free.
JWinter Music - A blog that post free to use Music, mostly for youtube videos.
AudioPad - a Youtube explicitly for royalty free music. They have a whole video answering questions about it if you’re confused!
Indie Game Music.com - Specifically for indie games. Music on the site is under three different licenses, so check this page before you go off downloading things. Loops & Music.
FreePD.com - All of it is in the public domain (everything’s free to use because the copyright expired/there was no copyright in the first place). Loops.
Media Collage - Free Sound Effects as long as you don’t sell them yourself.
SampleSwap.org -“You must Log in (or register) in order to download these samples. … 100% of the samples on this site are free, but registration helps us fight MP3 robots and establish controls over how much gets downloaded, and when.“ Samples, Music & Noise Loops, & sound effects.
Dig.CCMixter.org Check each track for a money symbol next to it. If there is none, it’s free to download. Free music.
Incompetech - All music is under creative commons, made by one dude. It’s a LOT of music, & is separated by different genres if you want to search for things.
iBeats - for when you need looping beats for your music. Remember, check the license (some are public domain, some are under commercial use under attribution, and most under a non-commercial license).
FreeMusicArchive.org - most works are under the Creative Commons license. Music & Spoken Word downloads.
Free Loops - Mostly Free Loops & VST Plug ins. Like so many others, check the license before downloading.
Musopen - Aims to be the largest public domain music collection. Go ahead and check if the recording itself as well as the composition is in public domain. Most recordings are. The site offers Classical Music Downloads, as well as Sheet Music.
Japanese Sites
Vita Chi - Free to use for both commercial & non-commercial projects! Music, Screams, & Sound Effects. Mad Father has
PianosDauGe.org - I’m pretty sure it’s free for both commercial and non-commercial use, as long as you don’t redistribute. A bunch of Music Loops. Check out the private policy (in Japanese) here.
Classical Masterpiece Sound Library - Need free classical music and fast? Shazam! Free to use commercially and non-commecially. Alice Mare & The Crooked Man used this site for their classical pieces.
Senses Circuit - Wadanohara & the Great Blue Sea.
Pocket Sound - Free to use Sound Effects! “This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon a work, even commercially, as long as you credit them for the original creation.”
Tami Music Factory - Free to use commercially & non commercially. Check out the copyright page here. Sound effects, loops (Midi & Ogg), and… uh, mobile ringtones if you’re in need of those 0w0”.
Amacha Music - According to the FAQ, it’s free for both commercial and non-commecial use. Music.
H/MIX GALLERY - free background music/loops made by Hirokazu Akiyama. Free for non commercial use only though, you’ll have to pay for a license if you want to use it commercially. Mad Father, the Crooked Man, The Witch’s House, Alice Mare,
Otonomori - According to Rindere, it’s a free to use sound effects website for commercial and non-commercial uses.
Presence of Music - I’m pretty sure it’s just for non-commecial use only. Has music for both standard RPGs & Horror RPGs. Loops, I believe. Ib & the Witch’s House both have music from this site.
*Asterisk* - Free to use Midi files & Web music. Credit is not necessary, but appreciated.
koukaongen.com - Free to use sound effects, music, & loops. Credit is nice, but you don’t need to link back to them. I’m pretty sure it’s noncommercial use only. One of the sites used by the creator of Ib.
Music Material - I’m not too sure what the copyright page says but you can look at it here. Music.
Dova Syndrome - Check out the copyright page here. Music & loops.
A few more found by Rindere - I’m not translating these anymore, you’re on your own. >3< BUT they’re all supposed to be Sound Effects websites.
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Tumblrs
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rabbit-hole-divisions - All their music is free to use. I haven’t heard from them in a while though!
Yume Nikki Fangame Music Sheet - Just something if you like sheet music & Yume Nikki fan games.
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➤ Browser Music Making Programs
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Make Music in your own browser! (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, etc.)
http://www.pulseboy.com - An 8bit/Chiptune Music Maker!
Bfxr - A sound effects maker!
as3sfxr - another sound effects maker! A bit simpler than Bfxr.
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➤ Free Plug ins
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Some Chiptune VSTs (the post warns you that you probably shouldn’t the Toad & Peach ones!)
nice to see you back! was wondering where you went, hope everything is okay!
Yeah, everything's fine. Just some family matters, among other things, kept me busy, that's all.
Before I entered my novel writing class in college, I was very much a panster. That being, I came up with what happened on the spot. While that can work for some people, a lot of people need structure. I’m probably still a bit of a planster versus a straight up plotter, but these resources have elevated my writing. I could easily go on forever with my stories and using these helped me be (a bit) more concise.
These are two resources our professor had us use for the structure of the novel we were writing:
In this resource, it gives you the requirements of a well-written novel. All novels follow some sort of formula and require certain twists and turns to keep the audience engaged. There are beat sheets, references, checklists…it has it all! I heavily encourage you to buy this book and use it. It also dissects well-known novels and analyzes how they use certain beats in their novels.
While you don’t have to follow this exactly, it helps a lot with organization. I used this to put together my favorite fanfiction (mostly) and, again, I finally feel organized. My story isn’t just meandering around. Things happen on purpose (and sometimes for self-indulgence because fanfiction allows for that). I genuinely credit this structure for helping me become a better writer and I can’t suggest it enough. While it’s not the end-all-be-all to writing, it helps.
As I find resources that really help me, I will continue to add to this list. For now, these are my top recommendations!!
Hello I was wondering if you had advice on how to continue writing a story I start writing books but can't seem to finish them
There are a few reasons why you might be struggling to finish the stories you start. We'll count them down, because the biggest one is the most important one...
#5 - You're Getting Distracted
Writer brains get very excited by new ideas. Even when we're in the middle of a story we love and are excited about, we can lose all of our focus and motivation when the right idea comes along. But there are other things that can distract us, too... anything you like to do for fun or relaxation, other projects, school and work stuff, social stuff... anything you might be thinking about or spending time on that isn't your story can derail your forward motion. And sometimes it can't be helped, so you have to do some prioritizing and see where your mental energy and effort needs to be going. If there's nothing more important than your story going on, get your mind back on your story. And if new ideas pop up, write them down in a notebook or an "idea" file to save for later. Would Rather Be Doing Other Things
#4 - You're Getting Tripped Up on Quality
The more we write, and the more we read, the more we start to realize that what we're writing isn't quite where we want it to be quality-wise, and that can be really discouraging, especially if you feel like your story has to be perfect in the first draft. But the thing to remember is that quality is the result of two things: polishing and practice. Whatever level your writing is at, no amount of polishing is going to get you above that level. Only practice can do that, and practice means starting and finishing as many stories as you can. But... whatever level you're at, your first draft isn't necessarily going to reflect that level of quality because it's a rough draft. This is why we edit and polish. So, focus on finishing the story, then worry about polishing it up. And don't give yourself a hard time because you're not writing at a higher level than you're at.
Concentrate on Quantity at First, Not Quality #3 - You've Lost Motivation/Inspiration
Sometimes you just lose the spark of inspiration that made you want to write the story in the first place. Maybe you're just bored. Maybe you've forgotten what first excited you about the story. Maybe you're just not in a writing mood. Sometimes, doing exercises to rekindle your interest in the story can help. Try:
Guide: How to Rekindle Your Motivation to Write Getting Unstuck: Motivation Beyond Mood Boards & Playlists #2 - You're stuck on Something That Isn't Working
Stories are like a house of cards in that one misplaced “card” can bring the whole thing crashing down. Sometimes you get stuck because an element or event didn’t quite work, and you can feel in your gut that something’s not right, so the wind completely leaves your sails. It's not that there's a problem with the story, it's just that there's a problem with the path it's on. Try going back through what you've already written and look for the element that isn't pulling its weight. Can you identify the moment where the story loses its fizz? Maybe the addition of a character that's not pulling their weight and is dragging the story down. Maybe a subplot that is cluttering up the story or drawing attention away from the main plot. Or maybe a scene (or several) that don't really add to the story. If you can figure out what's draining your story's energy, you can usually start writing forward again. #1 - You Don't Know Where Your Story is Going
This is the BIG ONE. This is the one that is the culprit 99% of the time for newer writers, and the reason it happens is because newer writers are less familiar with plot and story structure. Your story's plot is the sequence of events that makes up the narrative, and this sequence of events is driven by a conflict. That conflict could be an external conflict (like having to defeat an evil sorceress... aka plot-driven), an internal conflict (like being conflicted between what you want and what someone else wants for you... aka character-driven), or a combination of both. Your story's structure is the order and placement of your story's events.
The type of story you're telling and the way you want to tell it will decide what kind of plot points fill out this framework. The rising action will be kicked off by a catalyst/inciting incident. The climax may be preceded by a dark moment. The denouement may be followed by a final image. It's up to you to plot that out.
Basic Story Structure Plot Driven vs Character Driven Stories Understanding Goals and Conflict Fleshing Out Plot Ideas Creating a Detailed Story Outline
*** However, if you do choose to plot out your story using a known story structure guide, like Save the Cat! or the Snowflake Method, just remember you don't have to stick to it exactly. Always do what works best for your story.
Also: even accomplished writers who long ago mastered plot and story structure can still struggle with knowing where their story is going. That's because stories can change dramatically as you write them, and sometimes you get to the middle of your story and realize it's not going where you thought it was. That can lead to a "back to square one" moment that can be frustrating for any writer, but sitting down to do a little bit of plotting almost always helps you get back on track.
I hope this helps!
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Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!
I just wanna make sure nobody forgets that this exists and it is awesome.
THE FUNNY THING IS THIS ISN’T EDITED. GERARD ACTUALLY SAT AND SUNG NA NA NA IN SIMLISH.
THERE’S LYRICS
Sha gimme sha gimme sha Wes a neeba Mes ooney wada da bramya na Es zu weeba In a deg In a shat With an “X” abba zor Nibby zor nibby zor nibby zor Wada bin winny natty-
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Bana zun cure enay NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Daba a nenetay NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Wa pan eshabatay Brabd en zerb shee-mo-nay-shun
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Pasha a nagatay NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA We nasa wogatay NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Win gonna sagatay Gibs as zor doo-bi-zay-shun Za gimme za gimme za
Es zabsu wabu aba shab la Wab nada zeda little braz dans Wab neba zenny noba mas lan Wa tinga zatlan (nananananananana) He sifta nanny made a blascan Prussy du was ana
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Foo noova wanatay NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Back ana kannasay A fwingsu whata say Prow in dur sa-ca-nay-shun
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Pasha a nagatay NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA We nasa wogatay win gonna sagatay Gibs as zor doo-bi-zay-shun
Ewag nere, wap zow All ze nayd in gattory nitty Na pitta vilzin tayz their open wilpy zalms Why dinny daggers up to leven Itala boony bralls ab ze mittezen brats Yak angels made bo zeon and blabbing garbage ZEEM OUT—Rat rowaids us? Eb zo whine nopen dorbs
Ned zu wanny wansa bag na sho Ned zu wanny wansa bag na sho But neeb zim, neeb zim wants to bly Wabba tie wabba tie wabba tie Wabba tie, Wabba Za bashy gooby zaba
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Make zo apology NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Ee vada wickasay Ab salla loratay Tashy zurb—Boo-dee-cor-ay
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Bab naba bobatay Was napa seepashay NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Ee bapa shobbycay Ban zee la burgindory Bap my lair, zab and vore me bull na bin Leb nis zurb expnode
tHIS SHOULD BE ILLEGA L IM DY IGN
date of origin: march 27, 2014.
I don’t know if I can contain my “The Muppet Christmas Carol has better costume design than most Oscar-nominated period dramas” rant until after Thanksgiving you guys, I have…so many Thoughts
Ok, buckle up kids.
Basically they did not have to go as hard as they did here. A Christmas Carol covers 60 years of fashion through flashbacks and they still manage to do nearly everything right.
I’m mainly going to be talking about the human actors here because it’s harder to judge Muppet costumes proportionally, but those costumes are still on point 90% of the time.
First off, A Christmas Carol was published in 1843, and anyone who knows me knows I love the absolute train wreck that was mid-19th century men’s fashion. Do you like plaid? GOOD, BECAUSE IT’S ALL PLAID. Mixed with whatever else your little Victorian heart desires, color schemes be damned. Go wild.
This of course means I absolutely love Fred.
This outfit is hideous and it is also 1000% on point.
We also get to see him in a different outfit the next day, along with his wife and some friends.
First off, MORE PLAID, good for you. Second, I can literally find near-identical images of both these ladies’ dresses just by googling “1843 fashion plate”, I shit you not. To the damned year.
A good part of the story involves travelling through Scrooge’s life, so we get to see the costumes varying wildly over the course of several scenes. This was a time when styles were changing rapidly, and you had to keep up if you wanted to be fashionable and keep up appearances. Fashion changed so fast that you can often pinpoint an outfit to within a year or two like the ones above.
First, we go to Scrooge’s childhood school. Given the timeline that’s normally put forward Michael Caine is definitely not old enough to play Scrooge, but ignore that for now. Let’s say if Scrooge is 75ish in 1843, it’s about 1783 when we see him leaving school and going off to be an apprentice. We actually see a few years of Little Scrooge fashion, but it’s fairly standard stuff. Scrooge doesn’t have a super childhood and his clothing is pretty plain, but it’s totally on par for the time. Why this haircut though? It makes me sad.
Then we jump ahead a few years and it’s about 1789. The whole group is attending the Fozziwig Christmas party and have gotten tarted up like they’re about the storm the Bastille, including Gonzo and Rizzo.
Again, they look absolutely ridiculous and it is absolutely accurate.
Now, this is super ostentatious and a lot of people would have considered it way too French for their taste in this time period. But it definitely did happen (I’ve seen stripey bubblegum pink menswear in person) and like. It’s the Muppets. So, Rule of Funny.
Scrooge and Belle are dressed way closer to average Londoners of the time, and it’s worth noting that both are supposed to be somewhat poor. Fozzy pays everyone well but Lil’ Scrooge is still a skinflint and Belle is just getting by. They’re both looking darn good but their clothes are much more understated than everyone else’s and maybe even on the verge of out of style.
Even their hair is pretty good. Including his. Also, holy shit does this guy look like he could be a young Michael Caine. Like, he doesn’t actually look how Michael Caine looked when he was that age, but if I didn’t know that I would totally buy it. Wow.
Then we jump ahead another ten to twelve years or so. This is the period I know the least about, especially when it comes to outerwear, so Jane Austen stans please comment. I don’t think it looks too bad though.
Here’s a couple of fashion plates from 1801 and 1803 for comparison.
I’d also like to point out that there is a wide variety of costumes based on social class that we get to see in the 1843 “present” that you wouldn’t really notice. So while the Scrooge family that’s doing alright for itself is wearing the latest looks, the rest of the town is not. A few of the women in the crowd dancing around Scrooge during “It Feels Like Christmas” are wearing dresses a couple of years out of date. Not too far, but you can see some looks from the tail end of the 1830s before women started shrink-wrapping their sleeves onto their arms.
You can see something similar to these outfits from 1839 in the crowd.
Contrast this with Mrs. Cratchit, who is living in poverty and has put on her absolute best dress for Christmas; it’s silk but it’s ten years out of style.
This would have been the height of fashion in the early-mid 1830s.
And that’s important for making a world look real. Fashion was super important back then, but even so average people weren’t necessarily chucking their clothing out every year to keep up with the latest fashions unless they could really afford to. You would get there eventually, but you don’t want everyone in your universe, rich and poor, to look like they just stepped out of the latest fashion magazine.
It’s absolutely astonishing to me that they put so much effort into this. I don’t tend to go down the rabbit hole of nitpicking historical costumes in movies as much as some, but when a movie that you never expected does it very right it just throws me for a loop.
Was everything perfect? No, I don’t think any movie is. But this is the damn Muppets. They were under no obligation to do this. Add to that the fact that it’s one of the more accurate renditions of the story, to the point of including a ton of the original dialogue, both through the characters and through the narration, and they just created a masterpiece.
DESCRIPTION: Nomiani quickly flees the scene, and the creatures run after! In the next area, there’s a few things to pick up. However, it sounds like the creatures are not far behind. CHOOSE ONE: 1) Stop to pick up the hanging black material 2) Stop to pick up the antler on the stump 3) Keep going, keep going!!
