Now Playing: III-III. Nothing Ever So Broken

Kind of random: this cool, analytical article on the Papyrus font!

So, I had no idea that Papyrus is apparently a hated font? I thought it was pretty cool-looking when I was a kid. Trying to use it now, though, yeah, there's something just not quite right about it. Thought this article was fascinating because of its in-depth analysis of the font. Knowing nothing beforehand about font construction, it was really neat to see all the considerations that can go into font design.

In an nutshell: Papyrus, unlike Comic Sans, is actually a pretty well-structured/balanced font. The flaw is that it's too perfect: intended to look "handmade," yet every letter is identical the other letters of its kind, and so it comes off looking fake.

Design for Hackers

In Defense of Papyrus: Avatar Uses the World's Second-Most-Hated Font to Signal the Downfall of Civilization

The same reason you hate Papyrus is the reason it's the perfect font for the movie Avatar.

🎁 Gift Reveal! 🎁

I'm also excited to share the artwork I created for @artmelody as part of the 2024 Vaderkin Creative Exchange! 🌟 I had a fantastic time working on this pieces and hope it brings as much joy and inspiration to you as it did to me.

Thank you @artmelody for being a wonderful match. Check out the final artwork below and let me know your thoughts!

Happy exchanging! 🎨✨

A Tale of Three Antivirus Programs

Aka, I somehow have three different antivirus programs vying for the privilege of protecting my computer? My laptop: *fan running loudly nonstop because it's probably been... a month? since I last restarted it.* Me: Oh, you poor thing! *restarts it.* My antivirus software, next time I open my laptop: Hey, so we're going to need you to restart your device so we can install this new update. Me: Well, should have thought of this sooner, Bitdefender, because I literally just did that, and it is not happening again until things get buggy. See ya' next month. Note: Chances are that Bitdefender will do the same exact thing next time I restart. Even if I restart on a weekly basis instead of monthly, it does this. It's like anytime I decide to restart, it wants to update. Why. Bitdefender, when my laptop connects to wifi: This is your home network, yes? Me: No. Bitdefender next time the laptop connects to that same wifi: This is your work network, yes? Me: No. Bitdefender, third time connecting to that wifi: This is your home network, yes? Me: *facepalm*  why are you like this. Also Bitdefender: OMG you're on an unprotected network, turn on your VPN! The network: *is private, password-protected* The VPN: *is an extra, offered by Bitdefender, which I don't subscribe to* Me: *is suspicious that this is just a ploy to pull in more money* The OTHER antivirus software that my computer came with, and still hangs out occasionally, just to be a pest (yes, McAfee, looking at you): Hi!  Turn on web protection! Me: Are you seriously trying to get me to use two antivirus programs at once?  Do you really think that's a good idea?  Or even remotely necessary? The THIRD??? antivirus software, which my computer also came with:  *shyly knocks on the door, by which I mean pops up a humble little notification when I first turn the computer on*  Hey, would you... maybe... like to... consider turning on Microsoft Defender? Me: *wishes I could post a "No thanks" sticky note on my OS like I can on my front door* Go away. To be fair, I could probably uninstall the McAfee thing.  But at the same time, it's kind of funny having these three competing programs, even if what they're competing for seems to be the title of Most Irritating Hypervigilent Software.

BBWHY

Random two o'clock a.m. thought of the day:

Just why. Why is the BBY system still such a thing in SW. Why is there apparently no standard calendar system that does not reference a date far in the future of the prequels? And how the heck has this remained the state of things for over 20 years now?

Just saying, it's particularly heinous when you're writing a fic where the Battle of Yavin will never even happen.

From a Certain Point of View

Or, how Ben Kenobi’s boldfaced lie prevarication saved the Galaxy (but not in the way he thought it would).

(See Part One)

Part Two

For the first time in a long time, the cold, dead-star dragon of dread that gnaws at Anakin Skywalker’s heart and mind has loosened its constricting coils. It’s still there, of course, lurking. Waiting patiently for its next opportunity to strike. Hissing its dire warnings of loss and failure and impotence. But having cleared the air with his Master – having named the dragon aloud – has lessened its influence. The dragon thrives on secrecy, after all – on that dark, cold, hollow space in his chest. And it’s hard for the dragon to grow when that space is instead flooded with light.

If only it weren’t for this blasted war and the fact that he still has to hide his marriage…

If only it weren’t for the fact that one secret – Luke and Darth Vader – still lies between himself and everyone he loves…

Meanwhile, Palpatine continues to plot. Plans A through C have failed? That’s… irksome. (Deeply irksome, if Palpatine is to be honest.) But it isn’t as though he lacks alternates.

Fortunately for Palpatine, Plan D. (Operation ‘Kill’ Kenobi) works beautifully. 

At first.

Keep reading

Midnight fluff-drawing strikes again!

I used an old picture of a WWII soldier and a kid as a reference for this one (see below). I cheated a little by using Krita to create a basic sketch directly over the photo. Then I used that sketch as a reference for the actual drawing, which I did freehand on paper and colored using alcohol marker, with the addition of colored pencil for some depth and texture.

Fun Star Wars name stuff!

Snips

We all know the derivation of Ahsoka's nickname as the snippy padawan, but the word snip can also refer to "an impertinent or saucy girl," as well as a white or light marking. Ahsoka's nickname fits her in so many ways!

Palpatine

Take out the second P, and you end up with palatine, which can be an adjective or a noun, the definitions of which include "possessing royal privileges" and "a feudal lord having sovereign power within his domains." Yep, sounds about right.

Where the heck the name Sheev comes from, I have no idea, except that it's vaguely similar to shiv, and the pointy end of a shiv is absolutely what he deserves. (Ooh, or maybe it's because he shivs the Republic in the back?)

(Definitions from Merriam-Webster online.)

Now playing: III-XII. Rude Awakenings

In which Ahsoka bids farewell to Shili, Vader proceeds with his plan to dechip the clones, and Piett puts one and one and one and one together and makes four.

Well, the writing muse is currently sulking in a corner and tearing out her hair, but the art muse has been feeling extremely chatty!

This is the first part of an intended 4-or-so panel series/comic strip, featuring Ahsoka and Starkiller as Rebels—and yes, they are 100% sending this pic to Vader as a postcard. Hi Master, wish you were here!

Did this one by sketching out one figure from a reference photo, then putting a pic of the sketch into Krita. Copied the outline, then used a colorize mask (ooh, fancy! literally had no idea this was even a thing a week ago, smh), added shading, extra outlining, and background.

Many thanks to the random redditor who mentioned making just one block with the rectangular select tool in Krita and then copying it multiple times to make a stone/brick wall. It makes life so much easier.

The Fulcrum + jaig eyes design in the graffiti is not entirely mine. Ages ago I saw a similar design while scrolling Pinterest, and later decided I wanted to make my own version as part of a 501 design.

If anyone has read this far and knows of any good Ahsoka & Starkiller fics, please share! I didn't find much of anything on AO3, but would love to see people's takes on how they might get along.

Just had a question pop up in my mind .. if padme steals Vader’s tie fighter…curious how she’s going to get back to base without getting shot down by the rebels. …☠️😁

Plus having a funny image of Vader calling Revanant and having his holographic image pop up on her dashboard while she’s flying away in his ship. ☠️😁☠️

Looking forward to your next chapter in the near future! And thx as always for your time and dedication 🙏

Oh boy, I'm now imagining Padmé calling Mon and being like, "Hey... so... a thing happened, and I need you to tell everyone not to panic when a TIE shows up over Yavin," and Mon just wondering in what outlandish scenario stealing one of the few hyperspace-capable TIEs became the preferred way home.

Lol! That would certainly make for some distracted flying on her part. This isn't the route I'm actually taking, but it would be kind of funny if he only caught up with her because she got pulled over in Kafrene realspace for reckless flying brought on by his distracting holo.

I'm hoping to get the next chapter out by Sunday night!