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πšƒπš‘πšŽ π™Έπš—πšπšŽπš›πšŸπš’πšŽπš  | Currently Closed

One day you’ll call her Dr. Fruit, but for now, it’s @Forbidden Fruit on today’s Interview!​



Hi Fruit, welcome, make yourself at home!

*jumps on sofa*

Thank you for having me! Oh my god its so cozy in here! .... meanwhile my partners, who've been patiently waiting for weeks, are probably reading this and going "This bitch.." while shaking their fists at the sky.

For real, though, I'm a big fan of your interviews. I think you're doing an amazing job and should keep it up! c:


You're part of our design crew here on BMR! How long have you been involved with the team and what's it like?

I'm actually a founding member of the design team! I went back to the super duper secret staffy archives and saw that the team was founded back in 2016. I remember @Mitsu was tasked with assembling the team and he recruited @Chai (formerly known as Ariamella), @lait and yours truly as the four founding members of the design team. He probably picked Chai and lait and then realized there was too much talent in the team so he dragged me aboard to balance things lmao

I remember originally the admins wanted to name us "Artists" and we thought it was too pretentious and preferred "Designers". The role color changed multiple times as well through the years as well but I think the team has always felt the same to me even with the staff changes. We're all really chill friends who are, y'know, friends. We help each other out and I never felt any sort of animosity nor competition within the crew through the years.

My role is honestly super fun. I enjoy graphics design as a hobby and a creative outlet. Being part of the design team gives me the opportunity to utilize that hobby to make people slightly happier. The admin team also gave us full freedom to accept and complete requests at our pacing and even turn down requests if we choose to (although we rarely do that). That really helps us not get burned out or overwhelmed with requests. Its honestly the perfect staff position for me!


How would you describe your artistic style?

I always try to cater to whatever the requester specifies but I adore minimalism. Simpler designs tend to look better in my opinion although more complicated designs are a fun creative process as well. I also really enjoy fiddling with contrast so you'll see a lot of my pieces are either super faded and soft or dark and high-contrast.


If you were a font, which one would you be?

Oh god I'm awful at questions like this lmao

Well, I'm not really that expressive despite working on it. I'm almost deadpan irl, naturally almost apathetic, but I also enjoy deviating from what is considered the norm and slightly standing out. I'm not flamboyant, though, you'd have to look very closely to find interesting details about me that make me unique and that's because I'm very private. I think the font would then have to be mostly standard and boring, but with little unique details that give it character.



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​


What's a typical day like for you?

I have a tough work schedule and a busy life with a lot of moving parts and on-going projects. Outside of work, I don't really have a typical routine. Sometimes I have errands to run but if I'm free I either game with my boyfriend, go on walks to de-stress, read a book, or watch Netflix. Oh and I've been known to work on a post once every blue moon.


What are your other, non-RP hobbies?

I really enjoy reading and watching movies. I used to game a lot but now, outside of a few select games, I only play for the 'social' element. Graphics design has always sort of been in the background for me. I take any opportunity I get to whip out PhotoShop and play with it but I don't often get to do that. Oh, that's another reason as to why I enjoy being in the design team - it gives me a reason to get on PhotoShop.


What's one of your all-time favorite games?

Growing up I was a huge fan of stealth games and ended up playing dozens of various games in that genre. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is probably my favorite game of all time. Resident Evil 4 is a close second (although that one isn't stealth). Out of the newer games, I think Dishonored is a criminally underrated masterpiece. The art in that game, including music, is breathtaking.


How did you get your start writing and RPing, and what is your favorite thing about the hobby?

I remember when I was a kid I used to be a member in a forum that was centered on video games. They had a small role-play section and I think that was when I first dipped my toes in the pool. Later when I became an adult, I found BMR with a quick Google search. I think these days I maintain the hobby primarily to improve my creative writing skills but my favorite thing about the hobby is the collaborative dynamic behind it. Its super interesting that the partners are both the authors and the audience. Very unique when you think about it; you two work and plan together in a project where you want to entertain/impress one another.


How do you tend to find your writing partners?

I rely on bumping my RT and carefully selecting prospective partners. Sometimes I'll hit up people but that rarely happens and only because I have such limited time and I'd rather write specific things I'm explicitly craving.


What would be your advice to someone interested in designing their own artwork for the site?
  • 100% go for it. GFX software apps can be overwhelming and confusing at first but with experience and trial and error everything gradually becomes more manageable.
  • Don't be scared to mess around. Most experienced users I know, including myself, rarely go in with a solid plan. We might have a vague vision of the final product in mind but we often stray from it and experiment.
  • Put a lot of effort into working with high quality images with well placed focal points that make the whole piece flow well.
  • There is beauty in simplicity.
  • No text is better than illegible text written in an awesome font.
If you had to pick a personal motto, what would it be?

Some days you're the statue. Some days you're the pigeon.


What's one thing that's high on your bucket list?

Traveling! I really really want to keep traveling around.

Special mentions:
  • Publishing at least one novel.
  • Getting a Ph.D (I'm applying for admission these days. Wish me luck! ;-; )
  • Having/adopting kids.


Wow, that's awesome! Good luck on your applications! What part of grad school is your favorite, and when you finish your studies, will you change your name to Dr. Fruit?

Haha! I think @Fentanyl mentioned that Dr. Fruit would be a sexy name and I laughed it off but now I might just consider it for discord at least. While I enjoy research, I think what draws me the most to grad school is that the type of information you get in there is extremely pertinent to whatever you're most interested in. It's also very 'current'. In undergrad classes, they focus primarily at teaching you information that had been tested and proven for decades. Grad school gives you exposure to things that have been suggested/discovered within the last year, even if not 100% empirically proven or explained. From receiving that kind of information you get an insight at the research trends, and what scientists are consolidating their efforts towards. This helps you understand where we, mankind, are headed, and what newly developed technologies might be commercially available in the future.

[interviewer’s note: I maintain that the user β€œFentanyl” is an urban legend.]


If money/time/etc weren't an object, where would you travel first?

Oh I have a list of places I need to visit before I hit the bucket. New Zealand, Iceland, and Alaska - in that order of importance.


What's just a random, interesting fact about you?

I'm an engineer! I guess that's interesting?


That is interesting! What do you usually engineer?

I currently work in a water plant project. After the project is complete, the plant would treat and desalinate seawater to make it potable for people in the region. I think I gained a lot of information in this field working this job, but I ultimately want to work in academics. My long term goal has always been to teach at university level.

Thanks again Fruit, and thanks for reading!​
 
Avast, me hearties! Today, scallawag @Nautical explains pirate life!​



Ahoy, Nautical! Thanks fer stoppin' by fer an interview!

'Preciate you taking the time to put together some questions for me!


Where did you get the inspiration for your name and pirate theme?

I've always had a bit of fascination with marine life, especially when I was younger. As I grew up, it translated into enjoying pirates and just the general appearance of them and anything about them as well as boats despite not even growing up around the ocean or boats at all, maybe that made me like them even more. The Pirates of The Caribbean movies are a large part of it, but it goes a good bit deeper than that for me I'd say.


Which Pirates of the Caribbean movie is your favorite?

Dead Men Tell No Tales, the most recent one was my favorite by quite a long shot - the villain Captain Salazar was fantastic I thought and just had the qualities I enjoyed in an antagonist. They're not very similar, but I looked at him in the same light as Vaas Montenegro, the villain from the Far Cry 3 game and how much he did for the game as far as providing just interesting content and story to be glued to.


Okay, be honest: how much plundering have you done? How much rum do you drink?

Plundering? By definition, none I'd say unless you count on Sea of Thieves - then quite a bit would be the answer. Rum? Eh, none? Stone cold sober, to be honest.


What's a typical day like for you?

Fairly typical, I'd say. Regular 9-5 office job, do the busy back and forth of the day and come home. When I come home I listen to what my little dog has to say, he usually tells me about his day while I was gone because if I don't know everything he did then he'll think I hate him. I've started going to the gym Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday so that happens now on those days.. but otherwise usually I don't do much other than play some video games or try to keep tabs on what's happening in the world of baseball - which is currently nothing thanks to the lockout.


So, baseball! I don't know too much about this, but I've heard the Astros are cheaters and the Braves are kinda obnoxious - who did you cheer for in the World Series this year?

Alright, relax - I can't have you slandering my team like that. 😀 The Braves are not obnoxious - we won our first World Series since '95 and I watched every second of every game. I just wanted us to beat the Dodgers, but we did even more than that - we went and won the whole damn thing. I was so fucking excited, I can't even explain it. I'm so rooted in being a Braves fan, I remember watching the '95 World Series on VHS tape when I was a kid.


What are your other, non-RP hobbies?

Fishing, Hunting, Video Games, I play Magic The Gathering.. not as much as I'd like to currently but just haven't had the drive to here lately it seems.. nor the money. They don't call it cardboard crack for nothin' I guess. I play some D&D, though my game is currently in hiatus until the new year.


How did you get your start writing and RPing, and what is your favorite thing about the hobby?

Just reckon I fell into it. Was mostly about smut at first, but then I developed a taste to dig a little deeper. I owe some credit to tabletop, that really kind of opened my creative mind and helped me start wondering about just doing more in general with RPing.


How long have you been writing?

Probably since I was 19, but in a more serious sense like in the light of BMR or sites similar maybe since I was 21 - which would be either 8 years or 6 years depending on which one of those ages you'd like to go with.


When you're brainstorming plots and writing, where do you start? The conflict? The characters? The setting?

I like to start with settings, then build characters within and add conflicts around them.


What are your favorite types of settings (other than the sea, of course)?

One of my favorite settings ever is a bit of a mash-up. I like to imagine our world today, but take everything we know and love about fantasy - the races, magic, swords and shields, knights and dragons, you name it and just toss all that in to the mix. It's interesting to me.

Other than that, I'm quite partial to modern just from a comfort standpoint - and I like gritty sci-fi stuff as well.


If you could sail anywhere, where would you go?

If I could sail anywhere, eh? It's been a bucket list thing of mine to do a few things - Visit Seal Island in South Africa and see the Great White Sharks breaching as they chase their prey being one of them.. so if I'm sailing anywhere that might be the place.


Who is your favorite fictional pirate?

Favorite fictional pirate.. The easy answer is Jack Sparrow, isn't it?

Hector Barbossa, followed closely by Edward Teague - Jack Sparrow's father.


Would you prefer to be liked or respected… or feared?

Respected. I'll always feel most accomplished earning someone's respect, whether they like me, fear me, hate me or anything in between.


What's just a random, interesting fact about you?

I used to fall asleep in my high school classes so much that some teachers would tell other students to just let me sleep. Other teachers would make me stand up, but I eventually managed to sleep standing up. 😎


Why did you fall asleep so much in school?? Was it that boring?

I struggled to keep my focus a lot. Around that time, I had a lot of issues going on family wise that I won't really divulge too far into, but it affected me quite heavily. It kind of distracted me to the point that I didn't really care about school at all and really just would rather be anywhere else. Half the time I didn't even get up and go to school. Eventually they did call me at that point and tell me they were withdrawing me from my classes - to which I said "Alright.." and I think roughly three months later I had my G.E.D. and was riding a bike to college. Not exactly glamorous and if I had the chance, I'd probably do things a lot differently but I can't really help that now - I don't really regret my decisions, I just think that things might have worked out differently had I made different choices.

Thanks again Nautical, and thanks for reading! ​
 
Today @p r i s m meets Paul Hollywood, and it’s as awesome as you’d imagine.​



Hi Pris, thanks for chatting!

Woohoo! Sounds great. Lets do this…


I've heard that you've been accused of liking the band Nickelback. Would you like to respond to these allegations?

I see you talked to Chap... πŸ‘€ Hahaha It's true. I do. Listen, if its catchy, I'll probably like it. I'm a very simple woman. And I'm not afraid to rock out to Chad's sweet, sweet vocals. I think I even have a CD or two somewhere still…


You have a sweet recipe blog on BMR. Got any awesome holiday food coming up?

Thank you. πŸ₯Ί I wanted to stay more consistent with it and update it at least weekly but here we are. I have a bunch of food pictures I've saved up from previous meals that I'll probably end up throwing up on the Kitchen thread all at once and bog people down with. lol I read a few other interviews of yours with some other home chefs! πŸ‘€ Add to the blog, peeps! It's for everyone.

As for any holiday food coming up, I don't host the holidays (thank god) so I luck out with cooking the holiday staples, but I do have a few things I'll be baking here soon. My bananas are just begging to be made into muffins, and I am a total sucker for all things mint around the holidays. And chocolate oranges? Oof. I'll probably try to get fancy with those at some point... Maybe a cheesecake or pie or something…


What's a typical day like for you?

Nothing too exciting, hahaha.

I wake up at 5am every week day and make the quick decision to not work out despite telling myself the previous night that this time I'm gonna do it, and instead roll my ass out of bed, pull on some PJ's, make a pot of coffee and sit in the darkness of my living room catching up on anything I missed overnight on BMR or on my social media platforms.

Around 6am my job starts. I nanny, and the children get dropped off at my house. By 8am the rest of my family is awake and it's chaos. We have breakfast, I give my man a little pat on his butt on his way out, then its entertain the kiddos for however many hours until they're ready to drop for nap. I can only take so much baby shark so you'll probably see me around BMR or Discord during these hours desperately seeking other adults to talk to.

For the next seven-to-nine hours I change diapers, soothe boo-boos, ignore tantrums, handle biting/hitting/scratching/judo chopping, occasionally sometimes sort-of manage to half-ass a chore or a post to someone I've owed for months before the parent's come and pick them up and I crash onto my couch like a lump before scrounging up whatever energy I have to complete at least one more task for the day.

During naptimes I'll either accomplish some chores off my list of house duties, nap myself, take that time to reply to peeps on BMR, or just... blankly stare at whatever is on the television until I hear cries. After the kids leave I'll often do a quick fifteen to twenty minute work out just to not feel too guilty over being a lazy bum in the morning, but admittedly those are fewer and far between in the winter months. It's dark by 4pm and I'm really not feeling much other than snuggling under some blankets with some sort of holiday-y alcohol or floating in the abyss of my bath tub while high as fuck.

Weekends are when I really get shit done like errands, going to go see friends or family, or have a nice "us day" with my husband.

Very cushy, comfortable, low-key life.


What are your other, non-RP hobbies?

I love playing board and card games. Whenever we can we get a few folks together to just have a game day. My best friend and I meet up at each other's houses and play Hand & Foot whenever we can. In the spring and summer I play softball and go on hikes. I live close to several beautiful mountains with lots of scenic views, and when the weather is nice and the days are long I like to take advantage of that. Coloring has got to be the one I do the most often, though. I have several books with a lot of different themes, but there's a couple that I'm doing from start-to-finish just because.


Oh, game night! What are some of your favorite board games?

Catch me playing Ticket To Ride, Codenames, and Munchkin. Those are the top three that get played the most often with friends. My husband and I are really big fans of Bezzerwezzer though. We mostly play card games like skipbo and phase10 when its just us, though.


How did you get your start writing and RPing, and what is your favorite thing about the hobby?

I started the same way a lot of people out there did, I just ended up playing pretend in chatrooms when I was a teenager. I was on AOL Messenger a lot, on sites called things like chatalot.com and chathouse.com, and a couple teen chat rooms. It eventually morphed into more story-telling than self-insertion? I used to write a lot of "me", I'd have a different character face or name but it was always "what would I do?" and in a way it was kind of like therapy. I'd stick my characters into awful situations to process things I had gone through or was going through, and it really helped me understand a lot of outside perspectives or the inner motivations I was having reacting to things in my real life.

After many years and some painful maturing (lol, sayonara adolescence) it's far more for the fun of storytelling now.

Instead of "WWPD?" it's like I have an actual different person in my mind who says "this is what I'd do here" and I just transcribe.

My favorite part is definitely the escapism and fantasy of being a part of these worlds, the creativeness that comes out of that beautiful mind-meld you can achieve with certain partners, and the genuine friendships I have with people I don't think I would have met otherwise. I'm far more open about it in my real life now, too. lol All of my friends know that I "write online" and that a lot of my stories have adult themes, and I'm not ashamed of it. It's been a very, very amazing hobby to have and I don't know if I'll ever actually grow out of it.


Where do you tend to find most of your character and plot ideas?

"What if" scenarios get me bad. Watching a movie or reading a book and I think "well what if they did this?" or "why didn't they do that?" are the most common, but sometimes it's just every day mind-wandering while doing mundane things. Some of the most fun ones I've had have been fan-fic-esque. Myself and my partner love a certain series and we want to play out something similar, but we bring our own characters into it. Often, though, I don't have to know anything about the book/movie/comic/tv show that my partner is enjoying for it to be exciting to me, too. I'm in a group RP right now (you may know the one, maybe, probably) inspired by Twin Peaks. I've never seen it! I'm just along for the ride, and I'm loving it.

So much of my storytelling now is modern/mundane sorts of slice of life but with small, supernatural twists or influences, though not always.

And frankly, sometimes a girl is just in an erotic mood and wants to tell a sexy story and there's no shortage of other men or women on the internet with some talent who are wanting the same. lol


If you take this quiz, what Twin Peaks character are you?

TwinPeaksCharacterResult.PNG



This bitch. I'm not mad about the description.


Have you had any strange or funny reactions from real-life friends when you tell them you write online?

Most of my friends ask to read some of my work, or ask for scenarios they'd like me to write up for them in one-shot short stories, that's always fun. The most interesting was by far my husband's friend from high school who found out I write adult themes and asked me to get into more detail, so I'm talking about best ways to write about oral sex without it becoming dry and repetitive over a holiday dinner and slowly realizing more and more people are stopping their conversations and listening to ours instead.

My mom and sister are just like "... okay, weirdo" but otherwise don't really care. My mom does like to brag that she has a creative writer for a daughter, which then makes explaining the sort of writing I do to the strangers or distant relatives interesting, but no one has ever been like... icked out or really strange about it.

The people I have in my life are mature about it. We might tease each other occasionally out of pure fun and affection, but no one is ever looking down their nose or rolling their eyes at my hobbies.


What would be your dream vacation (if money was no object)?

Traveling the whole damn world, oh my god. Just having a year to see it all. I want to go so many places and do so many things, but money has always been an object. lol The big one right now though would be to take my husband to Hawaii. He has never been, and I was lucky enough to go on one when I was a teenager, and I have nothing but incredible memories. To go and do it with him? Amazing.


What are you most looking forward to in 2022?

Summer vacation. lol Since the parents of the children I watch are teachers, and this is my last year watching them, once summer vacation hits I will be finding myself a far more financially rewarding job and hopefully returning to the work force in a position that isn't soul sucking. πŸ˜…


If you could live in any tv show, which one would it be and why?

Great British Bake Off. Imagine how fucking good that tent smells all the time? And I'd taste everything, and just become this fat, jolly, giggling ball of happiness that that show just exudes. Kind, gentle, and a light-hearted competition where the contestants genuinely want their peers to succeed and help each other out when they can, and at the end its just a party where the winner gets bragging rights and a cake stand? Not to mention Mr. Hollywood isn't difficult on the eyes, Matt and Noel are adorable, and Prue is just has such sweet grandma energy. I'd absolutely be okay starting my new life in Season 1 before they changed everything and have Mary Berry be my hilariously judgmental drunk great aunt and Mel and Sue be my hilarious best friends and make my way through all the judges and hosts as part of my imaginary GBBO family. 🀣


What would you do if you got a handshake from Paul Hollywood?

Faint. Burst into tears. Need a change of pants. All of the above. I honestly don't know. I'm getting flushed and breathless just thinking about it. Could you imagine looking into those baby blues while his hand caresses your own? Fuck…


What's just a random, interesting fact about you?

Oh god, hm.

I can make my eyeballs shake. πŸ™ƒ


Wait, how does that work? How did you discover this?

I was a young kid, like with a backpack bigger than I am age, and I was on the bus and we were all seeing who could cross their eyes, roll their tongues, etc, and I just pushed my eyes to cross and they started to tremble. Kids freaked out. I discovered a super power and immediately thought it was absolutely hilarious to just get super close in peoples' space, stare at them intensely, and then make my eyes shake.

I haven't grown up about it, either.

It can give me a headache now, though, so ... I don't do it. lol But I did just do it to make sure I still had the skillz.

Thanks again Pris, and thanks for reading!​
 
Today @Vinaein explains how he keeps track of his prolific writing projects!
​


Hi Vin, welcome, thanks for chatting!

And hello there yourself!!


Can you give us some background on your name and profile picture?

Honestly, no real story behind it! "Vinaein" is the name of a character I came up with for a long-ago story that I just kept when I got to blue Moon! The profile picture I have to credit to Jumbed and PRISM since I had no Avatar for a while, and they'd pushed me to get one...

So, since I was also doing a Viking RP at the time, I decided on Alexander Dreymon from the Last Kingdom, since I was watching it at the time!


You passed the year mark on BMR last month - happy belated anniversary! What's the biggest thing you've learned during this time?

Hmmm, I'd say? You can never really tell who you'll meet thanks to RPing. I've made some wonderful, lasting friendships on this site that I never would have expected through some terrific stories!


What's a typical day like for you?

Well, a typical weekday? Get in to the office, doing a lot of interviews, client work and also court hearings (the life of an attorney). Sneak in some gym time, get home and writing! Both RPing and also novel work!


What are your other, non-RP hobbies?

Writing is a huge part of my life, both professionally and not. I love media, watching new shows, movies, but especially reading books and writing stories. I'm starting to do it 'professionally,' writing novels and short stories I'm hoping to see published there.


Can you tell us anything about the novel you're writing?

Sure! It's being written with a friend now...it's a fantasy one we're hoping to query so I can't say TOO much, but it involves fantastical cities, found families, a motley crew attempting to get a deadly macguffin from a group of thieves who serve the god of lies.


What are a few of your favorite movies, tv shows, and/or books?

Hmmm...the Count of Monte Cristo is probably my favorite novel, but I have a lot, a lot. Romance of Three Kingdoms, Frankenstein, the Fionavar Tapestry, the Shadow of the Wind, 100 Years of Solitude, Lord of the Rings, Catch-22, Christopher Moore's Lamb, Good Omens, NK Jemisin's the 100 Thousand Kingdoms, Robert McCammon's Swan Song...

This list can change a lot as I recall things. I love reading immensely, from all walks and genres

TV series, the Twilight Zone will always be one of my favorites ever, along with the Wire, the Last Kingdom, the Expanse, Mystery Science Theater, What We Do in the Shadows...

Movies...could be here all day there, but SO many and it can change from moment to moment


How did you get your start writing and RPing, and what keeps you invested?

Always had an interest in writing through reading other stories. RPing came about from...a long time ago, about twenty years, most serious between several key and special friends back then. Investment...just being able to craft new stories is a wonderful experience in of itself.


You are very prolific and constantly juggling a lot of stories. How do you keep them organized?

Really, it's just a matter of how my mind works. I don't think juggling is TOO hard on a given day, but that's me. It's pretty easy for me to slip into a 'voice' so to speak and each story is unique and special to me.


What is your writing process like?

I'm what's typically called a pantser. I know where I want something to end up, so I really just begin writing and see where it takes me, then go back and organize/edit it. Sometimes it works, other times less so. but usually, I think up things as I'm writing them.


Would you consider yourself more of an introvert or extrovert?

In real life, definitely an introvert. I can be pretty shy there. Even online!


What are some techniques you've found to combat the feeling of shyness?

Hmmm...generally speaking, socializing can be difficult for me outside the computer, so forcing myself to say hello is a good start there, and trying to go from there!


What is one of your favorite quotes or piece of advice?

Hmmm... "All human wisdom is contained in these two words, 'Wait and Hope."" That's one that means a lot to me.


Do you mind elaborating on the saying "wait and hope?"

Some of the ending words of 'Count of Monte Cristo.' Generally speaking, I find there's so much that can't be changed, one can only do so much. Sometimes waiting for things, whether it be a great event or even a friend to get back in touch, is all you can do.


What's just a random, interesting fact about you?

Well, taught myself to cook over the Pandemic, which I certainly hope is an interesting thing!


What's one of your best dishes?

Homemade, from scratch crab cakes!

Thanks again Vin, and thanks for reading!​
 
On today’s interview, lumberjack @Rex. talks literary theory!
​


Hi Rex, great to be talking to you!

You, too! Thanks so much for putting these interviews together – they're wonderful.


Can you tell me a little about your username and why you're unrequited?

In all honesty, there's nothing special about either. I find words to be these intriguing bundles of meaning and history. Language isn't a static truth but a dynamic and organic beast – guidelines rather than rigid edicts. I love researching the roots and origins of words, the frequency of their usage over time, ect. Ever see those puzzles that replace letters with numbers (or somehow fragment them) and you need to interpret the word? For example, 'M15151pp1' would be "Mississippi." Seeing how our minds come halfway to actively engage with the written word intrigues me. I studied the Russian language in high school for a summer because I thought the Cyrillic language was badass.


I see that you've decorated your profile for Christmas! Are you a big fan of the holidays, and if so, what's your favorite part?

Unfortunately, Christmas is seldom a positive holiday for me. In response, I decided to find some yuletide joy in a kinky Christmas story. Ended up finding a great partner and she inspired me to make the profile and avatar change. However, my favorite part of Christmas is gift-giving – especially when those gifts enable the recipient or change their lives for the better. I have a niece who is into art, and her eyes go wide when she sees the bounty of supplies I get her.


What's one of the best gifts you've received?

Apart from anything from my kids? A bottle of Laphroaig 10 Year Old Cask Strength Scotch Whisky.


What's a typical day like for you?

I'm a devoted dad, first and foremost, and a great deal of my life centers on that. I have an adversarial relationship with sleep, which means I tend to wake rather early. That's the best time for me to exercise, which I try and accomplish because my profession forces me to be somewhat sedentary. After getting my boys off to school, I work remotely as a designer. My workdays are spent either creating designs or solving construction problems, spanning the divide between the abstract and technical. But, by mid-afternoon the clock hits "midnight" and I revert to my life as my boys' chauffeur. Lol


What are your other, non-RP hobbies?

With what little time I have, my main hobbies are wood-cutting and archery. So, chain-sawing logs and splitting them with an axe for hours is my jam. I'm making more time for archery, and I told myself I'd purchase a new bow for Christmas – my mind keeps flip-flopping about whether to purchase a recurve or compound bow. My height is around six-feet tall, so finding a bow with the proper draw length can be a challenge.


Woodcutting, hmm? On a scale of 1-10, how well do you fit the lumberjack stereotype?

Let's have some fun with this -- time for a ranking system! I don't wear plaid, which starts me at a [4] but I do wear safety orange (which is pretty legit) so let's bring it up to a notch? [5] Magnificent beard? Check. [6] I'm broad-shouldered but not burly. [5] BUT, I had to break down trunk sections at does math half a ton of weight each, which earns me a point. [6] I'm super picky about my equipment (only Husqvarna chain-saws and Fiskars axes for me). [7]

There you go, a 7 out of 10! lol


How did you get your start writing and RPing, and what is your favorite thing about the hobby?

I'm an artist by training and designer by profession. There's a restless need in me to create things – and in many ways the medium doesn't matter. I've landed on writing for some years now and find it really fulfilling. My favorite aspect is my partners and the people I come across (such as yourself!). Being a grim introvert sometimes hampers my ability to interact with folks, but there's a certain fire that lights when you meet that right person and minds ignite. There's really nothing like it.


You often like to play dominant characters. What do you think is the most interesting, challenging or misunderstood thing about writing this type of character?

Acknowledging that BDSM is a personal endeavor, unique to each participant, learning about a dominant's role as a protective guide comes as a shock to some. I feel most people have a preconception that a Dom/Domme has license to subject their subordinate to whatever mistreatment the Dom/Domme wishes, Γ  la "50 Shades of Grey". That unilateral flow of (often negative) attention from top to bottom is more akin to a Master x slave dynamic, whereas Dom/Domme x sub tends to be more structured, ritualized, and interactive. My literary dominants all tend to guide those under their care to a better place, shepherding submissives to manifest a higher version of themselves. It's the epitome of a character arc: transformative and morphological. Sometimes it involves healing an old wound, other times gaining something lost or learning a lesson to evolve.

Most challenging? I find that people rarely empathize that Doms/Dommes are people with histories, hang-ups, baggage and emotions. The general expectation is for a dominant to be a "blank-slate" pillar of stern stability, but there is (usually) intensity simmering below a dominant's surface. I enjoy writing with subs who are intrepid and empathetic enough to want a peek underneath – wanting to see what makes their owner tick.


Where do you tend to find your writing inspiration?

Very odd places. My brain often rattles with random, tangential information from varied experiences. I read less than I'd like – I blame my crazy life and being the s.l.o.w.e.s.t reader (and writer) on the face of the planet. But the books I take time with get scrutinized down to their font, so they make an indelible impression. If I had to guess, I'd say my writing voice is a combo of Stephen King's Gunslinger and Iain M. Banks's The Use of Weapons. My rampant use of parentheticals (like right now) mirrors the writing of Roland Barthes, whom I delved into while studying literary criticism.

I'd describe myself as a curious creature who likes to tinker with concepts, and a spark of inspiration can lead me into genres that I don't normally pursue. I'm a staunch erotic literature guy, but with the right idea I'll dive into supernatural and fantasy. Passion summons my best writing. Plus, I crave emotional resonance in written work; it's an enigmatic aspect to invoke but I enjoy challenges. A common theme in my stories and characters tends to be the individual struggling to be themselves against a system that needs them to conform, which makes sense as I'd classify myself as a perpetual 'black sheep'.


Roland Barthes insisted that texts have no "ultimate meaning" - what the author intended to convey is irrelevant, and the meaning of a work is created by the reader instead. To what extent do you agree with him?

There's a tongue-in-cheek irony in Barthes's contention. Barthes served as a seminal bridge between the "structuralist" and "post-structuralist" approaches to literary criticism. He was the father of semiotics, the science of signs and signification: the word (object) is the signifier; the interpreted message, the signified; their union, the sign; derived meaning, signification. His system (his STRUCTURAL-ESQUE framework, a process normally employed to determine meaning) is unique in that it highlights the ambiguity of intent and (lack of inherent) meaning -- one solely derived by the reader/viewer. In short, he utilized semiotics to promote a post-structuralist agenda that questions the eminence of authority. The best of both worlds.

Now, as to whether I agree with his contention. Something to bear in mind is the time & place of his thinking. Like most of his intellectual cadre, the power of propaganda from fascist regimes was still fresh in their minds; they understood the vulnerability that threatened a society that failed to think critically and question authority. Abstract expressionism developed as an art form that depicted no particular meaning and relied upon the viewer to derive their own reaction. Literature and narrative are different than graphic art, however, as they require an ultra-specificity in word selection and arrangement to even exist.

To be clear, words and sentences obviously have "meaning" because we know how to read; what's up for debate is what the collection of sentences suggest about ourselves, our place in the world, about how we should be acting and what is considered appropriate or proper: potential mechanisms of passive control, like propaganda.

To me, what Barthes really proposes is not that meaning "is" created by the reader but rather "should be" derived by the reader as a unique subject. I think that a text should be viewed as an articulated expression -- the only meaning of relevance is how it resonates, what it evokes, within oneself. It's a call to self-empowerment and self-actualization, which I support because it foments an awareness and enlightenment liberated from the specter of suggestion.

This is powerful stuff, and applies equally to visual imagery as well. Unfortunately, much of modern advertising (in my view) is based on controlling the interpreted message (signification) of targeted "signs" -- a Subaru commercial showing an SUV driving through the woods, stopping at a dramatic vista implies communing with nature and transcendental ideals. You can find spiritual happiness by buying an expensive car; Marx is rolling in his grave, I'm certain.


Do you prefer heroes or villains - and why?

Both and neither? Maybe it's part of human psychology, but I feel that people tend to polarize to extremes; it might have something to do with making the complexities of life easier to digest? That kind of dichotomy can erase interesting opportunities for more nuanced characters. To me, that murky middle is where you find gold.

But, to answer your question directly, I tend to identify with the villains in a story. In the process of being oneself and doing what you feel is right, you necessarily will go against the grain and embrace goals that some might find unconventional. So, it's a matter of context: if people agree with your means and methods you might be called a hero, but more often if you don't conform you're a villain. I'm eager to give characters perceived as villains space to breath.

To quote the late Martin Eric Ain: "There are many colors and shades to darkness than just black."


Who are some of your favorite fictional villains?

FΓ«anor from The Silmarillion -- he's a boss of legendary proportions. Melkor and Saruon (who are inter-changeable, ostensibly) represent that extreme, almost cartoonish end of the "evil" spectrum. FΓ«anor's this crafting-warrior badass who gets swept up in machinations where he's cast (unfairly) in a demeaning light. But, he corrupts himself due to his own ambition and pride.

In a similar vein (as you did not specify these villains need be 'literary') I am compelled to choose Darth Vader. He's initially portrayed as the classic, evil bad-guy, but over the course of the (original) trilogy he becomes this icon that grows in depth and complexity. The prequel trilogy then centers around his downfall from a Jedi, which is like FΓ«anor in his succumbing to pride in pursuit of his own ambitions.


What are you most looking forward to in 2022?

Seeing my college friends, barring COVID insanity instigating some new lock-down. We make a point of getting together at least once a year, and we've been getting by on group chat – but it's not the same. They make me laugh hard enough for my soul to smile, and we all need that kind of positivity these days.


If you could travel to any destination - money and pandemics not a consideration - where would you go?

Scandinavia or the Baltic regions of Europe. I've always felt a calling to those regions, for whatever reason. What's odd is that people (for years) have assumed that I am from those parts of the world. Walking to the bus from dinner one night in Chicago's Polish Town earned me a conversation with a vivacious, elderly woman. She talked at me for five minutes in Polish before I informed her that I did not speak Polish. Nonplussed, she patently insisted that I was that "nice young man who helped her the other day at the bank". There are other, similar stories; I radiate something.


What's just a random, interesting fact about you?

I'm a Landscape Architect who can't stand the spotlight. My favorite plant is Witchalder (Fothergilla gardenii) and I can literally talk about concrete for an hour.

Thanks again Rex and thanks for reading!​
 
Today, @Father Figure talks fatherly advice, game recommendations & more!
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Welcome FF, thanks for chatting!

So, first question is a two-parter: 1) Do you have any fatherly advice to share, and 2) Can I have some allowance?

This is an interesting question to respond to, because I am considering how seriously I should take the question or if I should keep things lighthearted. I think I will go with the latter and if I had any fatherly advice, it would be to stay away from evil men on the internet who enjoy calling themselves Daddy…and in answer to your second part, I did not realize that you were in the market for a sugar daddy but I have been known to be the generous sort.


You seem to have a clear affection for authority! What is it about this role that makes it so appealing to you?

There are a few factors that play into the appeal of being in such a role. One is that I find the undermining of traditional dynamics to be attractive and arousing. The immortality of an individual using their responsibility, obligation, and ethics for the purposes of perversion. It is a power fantasy that I enjoy, which luckily seems to be enjoyed by many potential partners. In the end it is about a willingness to do whatever it takes to have what you crave and often that reflects the idea that someone is so special, so beautiful, so amazing…that you would do anything to have them.


What's a typical day like for you?

Paperwork. To go much further into it would be a boring excuse to waste your time. I work for myself, but that just means that everything falls into my lap. Whether its family related, business related, personal, medical, etc. So, my day is routinely spent at my desk, plying away at my goals while checking things off my calendar as I complete them. I try to ensure though that its always a locked in certain number of hours so that I can focus on other things.


Are you a creature of habit who loves routine or are you more motivation/inspiration driven with your pursuits?

I am very much a creature of habit. It is part and parcel for me, practically ritualistic. I do not enjoy bumps in my road, nor do I enjoy obstacles for which I did not prepare. I make my lists, I check them twice, and I always dot my I's and cross my t's.


What are your other, non-RP hobbies?

This list is miles long. I am a dabbler. My main hobbies are weightlifting and gaming. When it comes to games it literally is everything – card games, board games, video games, roleplaying games, puzzles, escape rooms, etc. Outside of that I tend to involve myself in trying to learn new skills – piano, blacksmithing, boxing, and so on.


What are a couple games that you always recommend to others?

This is an interesting one, I suppose I'll just go down by genre. Some of my suggestions might be clichΓ© and everyone already knows of them, but still recommended regardless.

Board Game – Gloomhaven. This is an exceptional game with incredible amounts of playability and hours that can be invested. It comes with numerous scenarios and characters, puzzles and quests that must be unlocked, expansions that add to the game itself, and very soon a sequel. Completely worth the investment and has something for everyone. Do you like levelling characters? Check. Do you like playing card games? Check. Do you like figuring out cryptography puzzles? Check. Do you like involved stories? Check. It's amazing. Honorable mentions: Scythe and Game of Thrones.

Roleplaying Game – Legend of the Five Rings, Fourth Edition. While another edition has come out since this one, I do not consider it on part with the fourth edition. An Asian fantasy world, L5R has you take on the role of Samurai in service to the Emperor of Rokugan. There is a place for you whether you ply your skills as Shugenja, Bushi, or Courtier. Absolutely amazing game system using exploding d10s and incredible artwork.

Computer Game – The Mass Effect Trilogy. Admittedly we can all understand the end was not what was hoped for and that for many Andromeda did not serve well as a prequel, but the original trilogy made me feel invested. I was a leader, a commander, a man on the front of a war. I had stakes in the game, I felt the moments, and that is a rare bag. Honorable Mentions: Witcher III and Dragon Age.


How did you get your start writing and RPing, and what keeps you invested?

This will unfortunately date me, but I began my roleplaying and writing ages ago when the internet was beautiful and new. MUSHes and MUDs, AOL, Prodigy, Yahoo Rooms, etc. Though technically I began before that with tabletop RPGs and playing Dungeons and Dragons.


What is your personal D&D alignment?

I would teasingly say that I'm mildly stuck on this one. I aspire to be Lawful Good, but I don't have the ego to consider myself a Paladin. I fantasize about being Lawful Evil, but I don't have the angst to think that is a good attitude in life. In truth I think I am like everyone and probably just Neutral Good. I'm indifferent to the world and I focus on my interpersonal relationships with those I love and my community.


You've been around BMR for over six years! How has your experience on the site changed in that time?

To be truthful the experience has been an interesting one. I have been here for a while, but I often take large breaks and then rear my head once more. I can say that the demand and level of quality when it comes to writing has certainly increased. When I first began it was considered practically elitist and arrogant to expect quality writing from a partner. Now it is a requirement for many.


What's something you're really looking forward to in 2022?

Elton John. I was supposed to see him this year, but it got pushed back. Honestly though, there are several concerts I had planned to attend that then got pushed back. Crossing my fingers, they still happen, but that is the biggest one in my eyes. To get to see him, listen to his work, and experience that live would be amazing for me.


Elton John IS pretty amazing - what's your favorite era, album, or song of his?

Some hard choices to make on this. I think Elton has a song that fits every feeling that you could ever have, which makes him such an amazing artist. His catalogue spans decades at this point. So, I guess the two songs that I love the most are on the same album Too Low for Zero, and they would be "I'm Still Standing" and "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues."


If you had to wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would you choose?

I imagine most people would pick something elegant or dignified, something snazzy. I must go for complete comfort though. We are discussing the rest of my life here. So, plain gray t-shirt and blue/gray pajama bottoms, with some socks.


Do you have any silly aversions or fears?

What few fears I have are pretty serious ones, however when it comes to aversions…a silly one is that I do not like to eat meat off the bone. I want my food boneless, thank you.


Okay, that aversion makes a lot of sense. Do you cook? If so, what's a speciality?

I make this great stew with chicken, vegetables, and spices. Really one of the best things on a chilly night.


What's just a random, interesting fact about you?

I will just go for super nerdy. I have at least a hundred (if not more) autographs on assorted items, pictures, comics, and books. My favorite is having been able to meet Stan Lee and having him autograph a Spider Man comic and a Captain America shield. Excelsior!

Thanks again FF, and thanks for reading! ​
 
Today, @Jericho Z. Barrons talks art, insects, and asking the tough questions!

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Hi Jericho, welcome, make yourself at home!

Heyo, thanks for the opportunity! It's a really fun community thing you're doing here.


So you've changed things up recently! Can you tell us about your new name and picture?

Yes. Full name, Jericho Z. Barrons is the name of one of the main characters in the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. The guy is a legend, epitome of paranormal romance/urban fantasy of the trope of alluring, cryptic masculinity. The mysterious gentleman, sophisticated and seems to know everything about everything (including what the badass heroine is thinking) yet he straddles that line with something bestial, virile, sexual, and savage barely kept contained within. In the series, when the main gal starts digging into the mystery of the Fae in Ireland, he presents as an enigmatic ally and MacKayla never truly knows if she can trust him or not, despite the things he has done to help her. Yet he's smart, funny, and I love it when he and Mac take out their sexual frustration in bickering back and forth.

From the first time Mac sets eyes on him, this is how he's described:

"He studied me with his predator's gaze, assessing me from head to toe. I studied him back. He didn't just occupy space; he saturated it. The room had been full of books before, now it was full of him. About thirty, six foot two or three, he had dark hair, golden skin, and dark eyes. His features were strong, chiseled. I couldn't pinpoint his nationality any more than I could his accent; some kind of European crossed with Old World Mediterranean or maybe an ancestor with dark Gypsy blood. He wore an elegant, dark gray Italian suit, a crisp white shirt, and a muted patterned tie. He wasn't handsome. That was too calm a word. He was intensely masculine. He was sexual. He attracted. There was an omnipresent carnality about him, in his dark eyes, in his full mouth, in the way he stood. He was the kind of man I wouldn't flirt with in a million years."
---Karen Marie Moning, Darkfever
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Click to expand...

I wanted a username that although was also from a niche book series, it was at least semi-popular, and had a more masculine vibe. I wanted to capture that Barrons essence and project that.


Jericho, I feel like you and I are kinda kindred spirits because we both ask a lot of questions. How do you come up with the great discussion topics you post on the forums?

I think we're different and have different goals when it comes to asking questions. Yours are better, I'm assuming.

I watch Youtube videos, a lot of political and atheist content, a lot of call-in shows where hosts field calls from watchers and have discussions on controversial and epistemological topics. And I often get fired up by the arguments themselves, so, come here to set up a punching bag, not realizing until after people start replying that I've filled it with straw. I think a lot of times I come across as one of those opinionated jackasses who wants to fight about everything but "you ruined the party and made Brian cry, Jerry."

It's likely something I'll stop doing if I ever want to rp with someone other than people I've already written with ever again. Doesn't look good on the resume to come across as confrontational.


That probably depends on the plot in question, lol. All things being equal, not being afraid to speak up and having a lot of ideas can be really good partner qualities. Speaking of which, what are major qualities you look for in writing partners, when you're in the market?

Healthy mentality and temperament first and foremost. I'm not a psychologist diagnosing folks or anything but I'm too old at this point to tolerate drama or emotional instability when I'm tying to relax and enjoy entertainment.

I generally look if they have an absence of posts that paint a picture of problems down the road, a generally chill and agreeable type. I also look for an excitement about ideas I offer and a willingness to intuitively bounce their own ideas off of me. I like someone interested in storytelling, and angst and darkness without going too extreme. It's harder to define the chemistry parts of what I look for(I'll know it when I feel the vibe after a bit of interaction) so generally, I start at "Are they going to flip out at some point during the partnership?" and usually take a chance on anyone that seems friendly and easy-going.


What are your other, non-RP hobbies?

My main one is reading. I love to read books. I've got 3 book shelves and a dresser full; my Kindle has 600+ on it that I have collected and haven't read yet. You know...just in case.

My go-to comfort genre, I mentioned before, paranormal romance/urban fantasy, so, stuff set in modern times with supernatural goings on. I like badass sexy women who stab and shoot things and they're usually paired up with dark and broody men who like to try to boss her around but she's got sassy shit to say. I also like weird horror that's unsettling and kinda cosmic-horror. Occasionally I like books from my youth as a palette cleanser, fluff stuff like Beverly Cleary and Roald Dahl.

I also paint, draw comics, and play board games.


How did you get your start writing and RPing, and what is your favorite thing about the hobby?

I got my start back in 2008, when I first got married. My ex rped on a D&D chat-like program with online friends. I knew I wanted more novel writing type posts, so, I was directed to deviantart and Literotica. I started out writing Naruto MxM fanfiction on deviantart and MxM originals on Literotica. When I first started, I was confused by the format of "role-playing". In my old fanfics, since my co-writer and I were writing by chapter and not character, and my spouse at the time wrote DM like for other players, I sorta started out doing that. I followed the lead of my partner on Lit and quickly grew accustomed to the style of each person controls a set of characters.

My favorite thing is the spontaneity of a reply. That really appeals to me. Even plotting out a scene together, you never know what details and choices the other writer will make. It appeals to my ADHD brain as motivation to create and fire something back.


Do you have a common process for writing? Are you more inspired by setting, characters, or plot?

I think so. I go through my partner's post and make note of things I want to react to, usually divided between actual dialogue and internal thoughts, trying to keep the back reactions to a minimum. Then I have my characters say and do stuff to move the scene/plot forward, leaving openings at the end for my partner to react to without too much back reactions.

I am most inspired by plot but it is usually focused on a character type or relationship I want to play out. Like, a story idea I once did was about a society of vampires where humans are kept as pets by the rich. The character I desired to play was a police officer vampire who's job it was to hunt down deviants(vampires who had sexual relations with humans, which was a crime due to the status of humans being property and "stupid animals" in this society). The officer finally reaches a rank to be able to purchase a human pet of his own and soon finds out that not only is she not a stupid animal but he also really likes her, having to hide this from his colleagues and work as he becomes a deviant himself.

The plot of hiding the taboo and the secret love affair in a vampire dystopia backdrop is the main focus but it's also about playing out the relationship between the characters. I wanted to play a good guy cop who was conflicted morally by the desires of his heart. So, all of my plot seeds are like that. With a very focused plot but with a specific idea of who I want to play as.


Are you writing these days? Active? Semi-retired? Consulting? Full-stop retired?

I would call myself semi-retired? Back in May, it had been over a year since I felt the urge to rp, so, I thought, "oh good! I'm done then!" oblivious to the many times I've taken little 6-12 month breaks from this hobby.

Anyways, I asked Jumbled if she wouldn't mind making me a simplified banner to put in my RTs and a little button in my sig to just simply state that I am turning in my card. She went above and beyond, made me not only what I asked for but also added a sweet bunny to it(because I had a rabbit name at the time) and she surprised me with a profile banner about retirement that is absolutely lovely and fits me perfectly. I am reluctant to give it up.

A writer friend on Atheist Discussion Forums and I were sharing writing work and I pulled posts from an rp I did here about 1-2 years ago. In the process, I remembered how much I loved that rp and those characters. So, around July, I reached out to that old writing partner to start up something new, possibly in the same universe or with the same characters. They're my only partner and I usually take on only one at a time, with 1-2 stories to focus on.

So I am active but not searching. I dunno what I am going to do when I need to bump my RT and take down my wonderful retired signs. I'd rather not think about it.


You've written in your BMR journal about how your journey coming out as trans was connected, at least in part, to your ability to write as a man in various RP forums, such as this one. How big of an impact do you think that played for you? Do you have any advice for someone who may be going through that discovery process themselves?

It was pretty huge. I was married from 2008-2013 and after that, I got involved with my church again for several years. So, I didn't ever have the safe place in real life to express or explore these feelings. These types of sites and in particular BMR gave me space to be myself without fear of the kind of judgement and social fallout that I was potentially facing irl. I think having this consistent history of needing to be seen OOC as a man was what finally clicked for me. Asking, "Why do I keep doing this? Why do I need this?"

I don't know what I would tell someone else going through it. I think lying about my irl gender at the time was a little destructive to my image of myself, to be a deceiver. But it ended up being the truth ultimately. I guess that would be my advice is to just explore the gender stuff in the way that is safest for you at the time. It's not lying if it's who you are and it's okay to try on different hats until you know who that is.


I heard that you're an artist! What kind of stuff do you tend to draw/paint?

Dead circuses. I tend to paint surrealistic stuff but my specialty is hyper-realism. I can zero in on details of a subject and recreate it almost perfectly.

I'm also fairly proficient at fanart and cartoons.


That sounds really cool! What are your big artistic influences?

Dreams/nightmares, folktales. I don't know how to describe my influences for personal work. I kinda get lost trying to define influences, like what does that mean? You know? Part of the problem is likely that I don't really understand where some of it comes from.

Inside me there is an ocean. Sometimes stuff crawls out and I get to take credit for being awesome.

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When you are writing, do you tend to incorporate aesthetic elements or are art and writing separate endeavors, in your mind?

Do you mean reaction gifs of the character faceclaims? Sometimes. It's not necessary but it can be fun if my partner doesn't mind clicking the links to get an eyeful of Fassbender grinning mischievously or something.

Otherwise, no. I am not a part of the culture that adds headers or colours to an rp text to create a whole mood out of every rp post. Very rarely I'll colour text for practical purposes (one of my partner's characters can hear when someone is lying, so, I'll highlight it in my post when one of my characters is lying so that they can see). I did recently make a Pinboard with my partner and we add pictures and quotes there to share ideas and aesthetic stuff to get us pumped about the story. But we don't usually use the pictures in the rp.


What's just a random, interesting fact about you?

I have an affinity for insects. I like in particular, from favourite to lesser favourite: moths, spiders, wasps, bees. I think they're beautiful and I love learning about them and seeing them in videos and such.


Okay, I'm with ya on many insects (except wasps, they look cool but we're still enemies) - what's your favorite moth? When I was growing up, we'd get Luna Moths outside our house and they were just gorgeous.

Aw! Wasps are efficient garden guardians. They take all those garden pests that chew up your leaves and they bring them home to squash the pest's guts into their babies mouths. I do agree that they can be troublesome though. Every year, I put up a wasp nest decoy on the porch to keep them away because they like to nest close to the front door, making us grumpy neighbors. I don't like to spray them if I can help it, as they're good pollinators.

Sorry! I got talking about wasps but you were asking me somethin' else. ^^;; My favourite moth is the Southern Flannel Puss Moth because they look like when you first pour some cream into your coffee or tea and it hasn't fully mixed yet. The caterpillars have venomous spines in their floofy hair that can cause really bad reactions if you happen to stroke one.


What's an item that's high on your bucket list?

I would like to have a friend who owns a tarantula who might let me hold it.

Thanks again Jericho and thanks for reading!​
 
Today, how to be a demon with @wiki234!
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Welcome Wiki, thanks for doing an interview!

So, you are a *mischchievious little demon* - but demons are typically kinda evil, right? On a scale of 1-10, how evil are you? (1-not evil; 10-super evil)

Would say maybe 7 if you think of me laughing like a damn maniac beating my cousin so badly at Mario kart or that one time where I went with my stepbrother and his friends to play board games and we played " ticket to ride " which you basically expanded your train lines and had to get a lot of points. Well for me even when I saw the instructions and stuff I didn't know what the hell I was doing so when it was my turn I committed to a random path for my train and basically I just blocked off either an assigned path someone had or a bonus points path. And my turns would take twice as long every time because I would pick up a piece to start the path, then pick up the next piece but I would stop and just laugh while everyone looked at me weird for like 5-10 minutes before I eventually finished my turn. Of course I lost but damn the laughing felt good.


I love Ticket to Ride! But yeah, that strategy is pretty evil, lol. What are some other board games you enjoy?

Never really had a ton of chances to play board games and most of the board games I hadn't had any funny moments accept one other one. But I think this is one is probably my more favorite one especially with how you play. It was called " guns n robbers" everyone is a robber and they are stealing from the same bank and the goal by the end is gain the most money by either claiming raw cash or artifacts or paintings. So it goes around the table and everyone picks up something from the board. After everything is claimed from the board everyone loads up their guns with a blank or a real bullet. ( you had actual like cardboard guns and you actually aim them at people like a stand-off so it was chaotic for the people watching cause you might see like 2-3 people aiming at one person and then a pair aiming at each other so friendships were on the line XD )

Then theres a final showdown where people can gamble Russian roulette style. So you go around the table and everyone puts one item in the pool and they either stay or bow out, they can keep what they have but lose one thing which depending isn't bad most of the time. The people that stay go all in like poker and put everything they have on the line. After that everyone puts an Ammo ( blank or bullet) in ( everyone gets 3 blanks and bullets so it's a resource management though later on you can buy ammo, but that's also limited ) tokens for putting a bullet or blank are taken into their own pool and it goes around the table where everyone picks a token and try your luck not to shit your pants that it's a blank and not a bullet. ( also the fact that you have 3 lives as well so 3 real bullets and your items go back to the pool for everyone else. )

Well of course I played the game and I managed to win twice but also the fact that like in one of the games my friend named Tim, he was sitting next to me and every time there was the announcement of " draw!" And everyone aims their gun, I would aim at Tim ( followed by my creepy murderous laugh from the other story ) for like 70-80% of the game idk why but I did and like most of the time he would bow out whether or not I had a bullet because of course it's scary having someone almost always aiming at you but I wasn't dumb wasting my all bullets just on him so I did go for others with another obvious one being my brother at times, but still it was fun. The game ends when the bank is empty and everything is claimed and everyone ( who still has at least a life ) counts the items which have a set price and the raw cash and the most money wins.


Can you give us the background on your name and profile picture?

The name I have is mostly cause I wanted something short and easy to know than something long or I just can't remember. I change my profile pic sometimes but the one I have now is from this


What are your other, non-RP hobbies?

For hobbies mostly drawing or games, reading the study of wumbology, and I do like board games. Also know how to play yugioh, magic, and PokΓ©mon


How did you get your start writing and RPing, and what keeps you invested?

Started from a site called magistream which is egg clicking so you could get a Phoenix or a kraken egg and it would hatch and grow from clicks. Tried to find something more fun and saw they had rping, so I tried with a request and I did start to get some stories.


When you're brainstorming for an RP, do you tend to focus on setting, plot, or character first?

Really depends on rp, if it's fantasy then it's more character because there magic and different powers and stuff or I can use a monster character and I try to find a character that I like the idea or look of ( mostly been using a demon shifter like arm into a sword or changing body into an armored form or playing monster girl for female character ) before getting all the actual plot and story stuff for it, but for slice of life mixed fantasy or just normal slice of life then I go with plot more.


You use a lot of anime artwork, so I wanted to know - what are your favorite animes?

K- on - both seasons
Rosario vampire
Overlord
Black butler
Sankerea
High school of the dead
Sekerei
Negima
Ouran host club
Melancholy of haruhi suzumiya
Girls und panzer
High school dxd
Is this a zombie
Danmachi

Danmachi, " book of circus " chapter from black butler, and k on did make me cry for the characters

And here's a funny story

- Rosario vampire was my first anime and I watched it cause my cousins were on Netflix and I had to stay at their house for a bit. And so my cousin is like " hey do you know anime, maybe I'll show you my first anime I watched." And so we watched both seasons and the opening song ofthe second season, after listening to it for a few episodes, I would take my cousins younger brother and we would stand in front of the tv and dance the song for some of the episodes.


What's something you're really looking forward to in 2022?

Don't expect really anything in particular myself :3


If you could have any pet, what would you choose?

Bearded dragon, chill and cool as hell. Actually used to have one cause my uncle had one. He came to our house and he just had one on his shoulder and it was chill asf. My uncle got me one from a breeder but it didn't have a lot of time in its life because it was pretty old but it was really big. It was the only adult the breeder had and the rest were tiny babies but of course I didn't want it. So I would want that again if I could.


Do you have a favorite fictional character?

Hard to choose just one but to put one here I'd go for Nikolai for obvious reasons XD he is from the original COD black ops zombies.

and here's something for Christmas :D


Would you rather be loved, respected, or feared?

Damn it's hard between respected and feared but I'm more with feared. I kinda had that moment when I went against my cousin in chess where no one could beat him that is until I did. And damn there was respect with how good he was, it was like a battle of the titans ( I even beat my dad that was as good but I was kinda in a bad spot a lot more but still won ) but me and my cousins moves were stupidly calculated and no one could tell AT all until there was like 4-5 pieces left for each of us who would win ( my cousin made the mistake of moving one of his pieces in a very bad spot and I won by exploiting it. He didn't see it until after he committed to ending his turn ᕦ(Γ²_Γ³Λ‡)α•€ ᕦ(Γ²_Γ³Λ‡)α•€) - (insert an evil laugh and look on my face as I crushed his army ) but I guess I would say feared then.


What's just a random, interesting fact about you?

Would scaring the shit out of myself when I went to Mount Fuji count? XD it was more from the fact that when I was younger I watched a horror movie called " the mist " ( I hate scary movies and I didn't know it was scary). I was on a tour and one of the stops was the mountain. So you took a gondola up to a platform to see the peak if you were lucky but we weren't cause there's always a cloud at the top like you see in the pictures. So we get to the platform and there's of course a really strong and cold wind but also a dense fog where you couldn't really see anyone else but hear them unless they were close or wearing bright colors.

But yeah so I was just standing there looking around at how crazy it is to experience it myself and in my head it's just like " we're in a high place that looks scary but how can I make it a bit more scary? " Just imagining a monster in the fog somewhere and waiting for a sudden scream....so like in the movies I was looking around and kinda backing up a bit and just went back inside.


If you could travel anywhere (money is no object!), where would you go?

jokes on you I already went to my obvious dream place of Japan ᕦ(Γ²_Γ³Λ‡)α•€ but of course I wanna go back. Stayed at a rented apartment in shinjuku and went to all the places like Fuji, robot restaurant, Akihabara, and I can't believe I also experienced the first time my mom dragged me into a maid cafe XD. But what was cool was that they were playing music over the speakers and one of the songs that played was from k - on ᕦ(Γ²_Γ³Λ‡)α•€

Thanks Wiki, and thanks for reading!​
 
Today, @erikaG123 talks music, science-fiction, and her experience as a transwoman! ​



Hi Erika, thanks for taking the time to chat!

Of course. Thanks for having me and just doing these in general! I always feel that online communities can be really impersonal and this kind of thing shows a lot of value towards the community members. So yeah. Definitely a big thanks to you!


So, you joined BMR pretty recently - how's it going so far?

Pretty excellent actually! I had been on a hiatus from rping for about a year and really missed it. Then randomly found a ton of time, wanted to get back into it and try something different. I've met some awesome people, making friends and am already crafting awesome stories as well!


In your intro, you mentioned that Leia was one of your favorite Star Wars characters - what about her do you love or admire the most?

Oh gosh, I could gush. For a story that, at the time, was so male-centric, the original trilogy could easily have given us a female character who was a "stereo-typical" damsel in distress princess. Instead, Leia is a badass. She shoots blasters better than the protagonist, she pilots ships, she's a true inspirational leader, and she doesn't take shit from anybody. And even then, she's not one dimensional. Jumpsuit? Check. Military uniform? Check. Elegant gown? Check. She let girls and women alike know a long time ago that you can do and be anything and don't let anybody tell you otherwise.


What's a typical day like for you?

If I'm here, that means I'm at work. I work as a secretary for one library and an assistant teen librarian at another. As a secretary, my job can go from dull to busy and plenty in between often awarding me a lot of free time which I use writing with friends here! Otherwise I'm solving some technical issue, ordering supplies, managing employee records and vendor accounts, paying bills, and coordinating with the Town.


What are your other, non-RP hobbies?

These days it doesn't feel like much as I don't have much free time. But I've been playing a lot of chess. I watch a lot of tv, streaming and anime (working through One Piece and Critical Role right now). I love D&D. I also try to find time for writing music which I went to school for but didn't end up pursuing as a career.


What type of music do you most enjoy writing or playing?

Well I went to school for "Classical" which is the worst misnomer ever, but everyone knows what you mean when you say it. I ended up having great interest in using improvisation (not to be confused with jazz) to represent nature in terms of how it changes over time. I play the oboe mostly when I play anything at all and really enjoy anything that feels good under my fingers, something fast and rhythmic but deceptively simple.


How did you get your start writing and RPing, and what keeps you invested?

Way back when the internet wasn't in everyone's homes, there were a ton of browser games that brought people together. One in particular was Star Wars Combine (it still exists if folks are curious). I was obsessed with Star Wars as a kid and we had just gotten a computer and I was looking for Star Wars games to play (as a wee lass, I couldn't afford a subscription to SW Galaxies, the MMO). So I found the Combine. The "game" was very incomplete at the time but people were attracted to the community and the slight bit of control more than anything so I approached from that angle. A portion of the site was dedicated to writing stories for your character which was one way to earn XP. So I delved in and ended up loving that waaaay more than anything else.

Fast forward a few years and I was developing SW forums of my own with some friends and pretty much just writing. We barely even considered it rping. These days, I just can't escape the escapism. But writing brings me a great deal of joy in a way that I don't experience in any other way. I love it.


How do you think being trans influences your experience RPing?

Strangely enough, it's kind of the other way around. When it came to writing characters for some of my earliest stories, I always gravitated towards playing female characters. They were broad and varied in personality and role, but almost always I felt more attached to the female characters. It took me a really long time to realize that what I was doing was projecting, living out my true self through these fictional characters. When I finally came to see myself as trans, my roleplaying affirmed all of those feelings and made accepting myself a lot easier.


I've actually spoken to other trans folks who've had similar experiences with RP! Now that you're transitioning IRL, does that change the way you play your characters?

I was about to say, not at all! But in some ways, yes there are some differences. I used to mix some male characters in as mains but I really don't enjoy it. So I guess I've gotten good at standing up for what I do and don't want to do and have focused on my identity rather than just trying to fit myself to someone else's needs or wants. I've replaced those male mains with various trans identities at times as well which has also been incredibly satisfying. But at the end of the day, in terms of actual writing, I don't think there's much difference at all.


In your opinion, is there a specific OOC distinction to be made RPing as a transwoman?

I want to say: no. Because there shouldn't be. But in actuality: yes. Not everyone knows transfolk or have had the chance to have this talk with someone "in the know" before. I'm happy to provide some context to folks who have never had "the trans talk."

Cisfolks often wonder, and I speak with a little authority here because I get asked questions all the time, what is ok to ask transfolk and what isn't? Especially in an OOC context and even more so if there is a trans character involved in the story. Generally, people don't like being offensive. (There are some words and terms that I would freaking ban if I could: please stooooooop using the word "shemale." No trans person ever has found it endearing, even if they like degradation play. I guarantee you you can find more appropriate terms to use.) People get nervous they're going to say the wrong thing and immediately alienate themselves. And it really doesn't help that, like cisfolk, every trans person you meet is different. In other words, there is absolutely no guarantee that you can apply the same set of boundaries that one person has to another. Take one look through the request thread subforums at all of the different lists of kinks and turn-offs that people have as a parallel example. No two lists are exactly alike. Ever.

There are some guidelines:

1. Asking is better than assuming. We might roll our eyes, not because we aren't appreciative, but only because we've probably been asked "Can I ask you some questions" at least a handful of times already that day. Some folks are proud of being trans. I happen to be. But other folks would rather live in "stealth" and go about their day without ever hearing the word "trans" and especially not in relation to them. They simply want to be the gender they identify as and not have to worry about other people's preconceptions. But I guarantee you, if you guess and get it wrong, you will offend that person infinitely more than if you just ask: "Hey, can I ask what your pronouns are?" Whatever answer they provide should tell you everything you need to know. If you have more questions than just that, ask them if they are comfortable talking about things before going into it. They'll let you know what they are and are not going to tell you. And then respect that boundary.

2. Except. Don't. Ever. Ask. What. Is. In. Someone's. Pants. It's not ok. Not even on a site where sexual activity is discussed openly or roleplayed. If someone chooses to talk about it with you, congratulations, you've met a trans person who trusts you. You can talk about it in context of a character. But for real, a lot of transfolk have serious body issues. Like, have contemplated suicide because of their body, issues. You do not want to trigger someone by asking something that you honestly have no right to know about. I don't care what's in your pants. Don't ask me

But I started this all by saying no. Because trans people, like everyone else, are people. Just treat me and every other transperson you meet with respect and accept us for who we are and we'll get along just fine!


You tend to set many of your stories in places that aren't Earth - what's the primary draw of these far-flung settings?

Ever since Star Wars at age 6 I've been obsessed with "elsewhere" or really "anywhere but here." I've never felt very connected to Earth, and I'm not certain if that started with Star Wars or is just inherent to me being me. But I think one of the most attractive elements of fantasy or science fiction is that, with the power of words, you can go anywhere and be anything. When I look at history and near-future on Earth, I feel like a lot of those stories have already been told. What if we completely upend everything we know as real and build it differently? How would those people and places be different? What cultures would arise as a result? It's just so fascinating. And with words, you can do that.


What's your typical writing process like?

I liken my style to a common first-person shooter term: spray and pray! I sit down and just start babbling and if it makes sense I go with it. If I don't like what I've got, I go back through and figure out why or why not and either edit or start from scratch. Rinse and repeat until whatever I put down sticks!


Where do you find inspiration for your writing?

I have no idea! I think some of it comes from parts of me that I feel like I need to express, or topics, places, ideas, roles that I feel like I need to explore. But truthfully, the creative process mystifies me too. Which is simultaneously terrifying and cool!


What's something you're really looking forward to in 2022?

Transitioning. The time is finally here and I'm not going to slow down or hold back for anybody. Part of me regrets that I didn't start sooner. But another part of me is glad that I took the time to figure myself out first. But the Catch-22 is behind me and I'm so, so ready.


If you could time travel to any era (ignoring the threat of destroying the fabric of reality), what would it be and why?

I'd take the opportunity to answer a mystery: show me the first time organic compounds smushed themselves together in the right, miraculous way to create the first ever organism. Or whatever that moment looked like, the first life.


What's just a random, interesting fact about you?

I wanted to be a marine biologist as a kid but my Mom was steadfast on her desire for me to pursue music (mostly because she knew I would get a scholarship). But she still supported me doing both so I was certified as a scuba diver at 15. I then visited a marine biology department where the ichthyologist (what I thought I wanted to specialize in) legitimately lived in a two story house on campus where the first floor was exclusively used for housing formaldehyde jars of dead fish. I wanted to go into marine biology because I loved the sea and all of its life but to study it, I would have to learn about the death and its struggles and all of the ugly. That was more than what a teenager could handle at the time and I just went into music instead.

Thanks again Erika and thanks for reading!​
 
Today, @BennyQ discusses gaming, his prolific writing, beer, and more!
​

Hi Bennie, welcome, make yourself comfortable!

Hey hey, what's good. Spelling the name with an -ie, I ain't never seen it depicted like that lol. It's all good. Thanks for having me.


Ahahaha, I'm so sorry man. Really killing this one so far, aren't I? I promise I'll take some spelling classes after this. But while we're here, what does the Q stand for?

No worries, I'm loving it so far. It doesn't stand for anything, in that it's an acronym or a reference to a surname. Two reasons. First because the usernames I've always wanted are generally picked, so I would throw in a 1 or whatever to differentiate it. But then I started thinking, why not the Q? It's right at the corner, under the 1, and adds a little creativity. It also fitted with the character Q in the James Bond series, who always supplied the technological gadgets to the titular character. He had this great line where he designed a pen that doubled as an explosive, if you click it three times and Bond noted "they always said the pen was mightier than the sword" and Q was like "thanks to me, they were right!" And I was like yoo that's my guy right there.


First things first! If you could describe yourself in three words, what would they be?

Just three? Umm…Temperamental for sure. Diligent perhaps, based on my love of context in my RPing. Introvert should cover the rest. I dunno, you got to ask my partners and friends! I feel biased trying to describe myself cause it's, well, me!


So, I talked to @p r i s m and she gave me the words "talented, goof, and kind" to describe you. @Retrojapan said "knowledgeable, smartass, and loyal" - how well do these ladies get you, you think?

They are both correct, in a way. Smartass huh? I'll have to talk to Retro about her vulgarity!


You recently hit eight years on BMR! You've mentioned that, when you began, you had no idea how forum roleplay worked, but now you seem to be rather good at it! Did you have any big "ah-ha!" moments along the way?

Oof. It was just trial and error. To those who were unfortunately involved in that process, I should apologize for any confusion lol. When I was PMing, I had no clue does my reply go under, over, do you even keep the other person's reply? But then how do you get a linear narrative if there's no post history? I was just so confused and dumb. I grasped pretty quickly but just looking at other people's stuff in the beginning. I wouldn't know about being rather good now, it's still a learning experience and all. I'm not as visual or aesthetic as some other talented writers can be but I do try!


What's a typical day like for you?

Wake up, work, house errands, the general adulting grind first. Then I just zen out doing what I like, whether it be writing, gaming, or hanging with the boys.


What are your other, non-RP hobbies?

Gaming mostly. Reading too. I got some real close friends to do other social activities with. We all been friends since like middle school, some 15-20 years, and we're all down to try new things so you never know if next weekend is going to be traditional drinking wherever or trying something different.


How did you get your start writing and RPing, and what keeps you invested?

Third answer involving it, but through gaming really! Strangely enough, RTS games in the late 90s and early 00's, like StarCraft and WarCraft. Got me introduced to science fiction themes and high fantasy. Books played a huge part too, mostly me wanting to have my own epics that could wow other people like some texts wowed me. Lord of the Rings and various historical novels. Back then, it was all one liners, through game chat, and no conducive to large posts. Then came around chat rooms and IM's with larger character counts. I was already doing several small paragraphs when I started here.

What keeps me going though? The people of course, partners and prospective partners and just other people keen on the hobby. You never knew what unique vibes or moods you'll get from some people. Lots have their own special gimmicks or styles. It's all artistic and creative and exciting to see and view, even if it isn't exactly my flex.


So, I was reading your journal and you mentioned that on good days you write over 20k words. My question is: How? Tell me your secret! What's your writing process like?

These old writing bones are like an old motor, dust and dirt covered from the grind. But once that motor gets spitting those first few seconds, it's just like a boulder rolling downhill, gaining momentum. But that needs quite a jumpstart. Most days it's just sittin' cold and unused. Is there a secret? Nahh. It's just following the morale of your own muse. Once you got it, just don't stop. Juice it for every moment cause who knows when it'll be back. It's temperamental. Sometimes my writing process does involve a lot of time. I like to muse on posts, visual the post structure in my head, then put it to a word document. And other times, the post can be so motivating I can hammer out a good 1k post in like 15 minutes.


I get the sense that you're pretty fond of history. What era is most fascinating to you? Would you want to live during this era?

History has been a great teacher for me. You won't get stories more real than what actually happened, or what others interpret of what happened. It's probably easier to list the era's I'm not fascinated with, which I think is like the whole Great Depression, Interwar period, and post WW2. Mostly because change is occurring so fast, in sciences, in culture, in fashion, I'm just too lazy to keep track of it all, not because I dislike those periods. Same with the Victorian era. History is evolving at exponential speeds and maybe I'm just old these days, becoming a traditionalist where change is scary and costs too much effort.

Would I want to live in any of those eras? Nooo thank you! I love my technology too much. I'm content to be a passive observer and not an active participator in those times.


What's something you're really looking forward to in 2022?

More laughs and giggles. Resolution to various social ills. Continued world peace. LA Lakers championship. Amazon's LOTR series. A man can pray but I'll also hold some healthy skepticism.


Who's your favorite LOTR character?

All of them! Every character just appeals to me in a way. The titular character too, even if he is the bad guy of the story. Oof, that's really a hard question to answer. Maybe Pippin Took. He has the most relatable story arc in that he goes from a hobbit who loves to drink and eat and be carefree to some sort of dedicated, brave warrior by the end of it. As someone with a love for cheer and food, it feels like something I could accomplish one day when shit hits the fan, if it ever does.


Desert island, you can take five things with you. What are they?

3-in-1 Lord of the Rings book. Playing cards. Water bottle. Something with a bladed edge. And lastly, my wits.


On this island, hypothetically, what if your wits were the first thing to go?

Hah. You got to ask the witless version of me because I have no idea what would happen. Probably alternate between extreme rage and going through the five cycles of grief, multiple times, in short spans.


What's just a random, interesting fact about you?

For the last decade or more, I've kept the bottle cap of every beer I've ever consumed. Well, definitely more than 90% of them. If the Fallout series ever comes to pass, I'll be rich! Otherwise, I'm sure they'll make a wonderful, creative surface of some side table in my home one day.


What bottle cap is most represented in your collection? Are you a beer snob or more laid-back about it?

Stellas, probably. Stella Artois. I say I'm pretty laid-back, always down to try new stuff but I'm not going out of my way to hit up breweries and such halfway across the city or province. Just whatever might be available at the liquor store on the corner nearby. Beer is beer, after like 4 to 6, you're not going to be caring about quality or any of that. Got that drunk throat, everything just be down the hatch after.

Thanks again Benny, and thanks for reading!​
 
Spaniard @Magno talks about mangos, music, meditation and more!

​

Hi Magno, welcome - do people ever mistakenly call you Mango? Because I almost did that just now. πŸ₯­

It has happened in the past. I used to have a signature about it until not too long ago:

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I also like mangoes so I don't really mind. In another forum I once changed the name from Magno to Mango and people didn't notice until much later.


Love the new pictures and profile stuff! Are you a music lover?

I am! I have been playing piano since the age of... 4? I did a lot of classical music growing up, then transitioned into jazz and other more modern and fun styles. Now I have two bands going on and if it weren't for covid I would spend much more time in jams. It's my dream to be able to make a living as a musician but... oh well. At least I get to do it quite often so I'm happy about that.


Very cool, are they both jazz bands?

Actually one is an indie rock band, the other one is more of a soul/pop/rock band. I'm not the main composer in either of them, though, so the style changes depending on what the singers want to write.


I see you're from Europe - do you mind telling us what country or general region?

I'm originally from Spain, but I've been living in the UK for 6 years and a half now.


I asked your bud @Retrojapan to give me three words to describe you - she said "witty, innovative, and thoughtful." Is this accurate? How well does she really know you?

Retro is way too kind. She just knows the side I like showing, or is too polite to highlight my weaknesses, but I appreciate the compliments. I guess people might not know me that much, I fool around in chat quite a bit but I tend to be quite reserved.


What's a typical day like for you?

First I should outline the Spanish eating timetables. I have lunch at 3pm and dinner at 9pm. Anything earlier than that, I struggle to get used to.

So, normally I wake up at 8am, start work (from home) at 9. Work 9 to 5, although it's VERY relaxed lately (hence why I decided to change jobs). After work or during work if I'm bored, I will carry out some of my non-rp hobbies (see answer below). And then I go to sleep at like 3am.


Do you like working from home?

It's got its pros and cons. I think it's hard to keep motivation up working from home, especially because I'm actually quite sociable and enjoy talking to people during work. It's made everything feel more boring, although I have to admit that not having to commute every day is a big plus. Ideally I would prefer to work in a hybrid environment, maybe 2 days in the office and 3 from home, but we'll see how things evolve after the pandemic.


What are your other, non-RP hobbies?
  • Music (as mentioned before). It's a bit more than a hobby, I record quite a bit of stuff and edit it on Logic, and I write music if I'm inspired.
  • I also enjoy playing League of Legends with friends, and Chess. They are the main two video games I'm into.
  • I really like cooking new things, but I don't usually find time for it outside of weekends.
  • When I am in the right mindset I enjoy reading, which usually means diving into a book and not letting go of it until it's finished, but lately I have been reading some more non-fiction and it's less absorbing.
  • I have also picked up meditation recently (been doing it for 7 months now) and it's not really a hobby but it has been enjoyable (?).

I meditate too and I agree, it's weird calling it a hobby, but I think it definitely is! Or a pursuit. What's the biggest benefit of meditation for you?

I have been struggling with sleep for quite a long time now. I wouldn't say meditation helps me sleep, but somehow I feel less tired since I've been doing it? More focused, too. And it helps with overall awareness of what's going on in my life, which gives me peace of mind.

I practice it mainly for religious reasons, though, so I try to focus in something related to the search of meaning in my life. It sort of helps me give direction/purpose to stuff that happens during the day. But this is a hard one to explain, it just feels like a good thing to do.


How did you get your start writing and RPing, and what keeps you invested?

When I was a teenager I joined a forum directed at the readers of a very popular Spanish fantasy author (she was the one paying for the domain and so on). There were some online group RPs organised by members based on her fantasy novels (later on it was opened to any kind of setting), as well as writing competitions and all kinds of interesting debates. I made really good friends there and the community was amazing, had a lot of fun in the RPs they organised and even conducted some of my own.

The forum was shut down 4 years ago and then I tried to look for alternatives to carry on with that hobby. The way in which other roleplay forums work surprised me a bit, since I did not know that 1v1 roleplays was a thing. I've seen all kinds of formats around different parts of the internet. I even played DnD 5E for the past two years, and that was completely different but also really fun (hopefully I'll pick it back up soon).

I guess the best part about roleplaying is trying on skins which are not yours. It's similar to reading, only you get to decide how the story goes, and you interact with others in the process. For me the story still remains the central part, but I get to experience it in a much more intense way than I would when reading a novel. It has broadened my mind and allowed me to think about how different characters would approach different situations. It gives me the freedom to do stuff I simply wouldn't be able to try out in real life.


I think the theme of your RT is really clever. Was there anything in particular that inspired you?

Haha thanks! It's not great, I always see these amazingly crafted RTs and wish I had the patience to fight against BBcode for so long. But anyway, the idea came from the fact that I work mainly as a programmer and spend a lot of time coding. I wanted to make it short so that people would be able to read it quickly and find whatever they were looking for easily. And I thought it would be cool to make it look like a script/videogame/something comp-sci.


You've been involved in several group games! What's the draw of group games for you, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of that vs one-on-one stories?

As mentioned, I come from a forum where roleplays were group based anyway. I have not managed to find my place in a group setting in BMR, I think it's been mainly lack of time/commitment on my end, but also the fact that paces don't really match up. In my other forum, each group rp had a time limit of 15 days so people committed to them like crazy, and if they were successful after a couple of months they were allowed to reopen another 15 days and so on. I don't think it's the best way to do it, but for a group rp to work the pace of its members does need to be kind of constant, in my opinion. I also quite like the idea of having a master who knows the story, and a bunch of players who are just intrigued to find out what will happen to their character. That thrill is very addictive.

On the other hand, one-on-one rps are easy to adjust, as communication is way simpler. You do miss out on the multi-character action (which might sometimes get boring), and most times the figure of a game master does not exist either. This makes it easy to plot and make something that you know you will enjoy playing, but it is also less exciting from the intrigue point of view. However, it can also be more intimate and allows for character development much better.

I prefer my erotic roleplay to be mainly one-on-one scenarios, but I'm open to try group roleplays again in the future. We'll see.


What's something you're really looking forward to in 2022?

One of the bands I play in is having a mini tour in France. So that should be very fun (if covid doesn't make us postpone it again), it's my first one.


That's awesome! Do you ever get nervous performing?

I have been playing in public for many years now (started when I was 14, on a weekly basis). It's something you get used to, I think. At first it's very draining and stressful, but eventually you just learn to accept that mistakes happen and that you can generally cover up most of them without it interrupting a performance. I do get more nervous when I'm playing in a new setting, or with new people, or new music... But I think the beauty of live music is that no performance is identical. It's actually kind of addictive, thrilling. There's a uniqueness to the experience that is hard to explain, but especially when I'm playing with other people, it's a kind of nerves/tension which I almost welcome. If it weren't for live performances (even if it's just playing with a group of friends in a jam), music would have become boring for me.


What's just a random, interesting fact about you?

I'll do you better, I'll give you 2 truths and one lie.
  • I studied mathematics
  • I've been to every continent except Oceania (Australia)
  • 8 of my molars have not come out yet (four, discounting the wisdom teeth) and no one knows why.

Oh, I like this - let's see. We don't know each other well, but Retro told me to ask you about math/logic, so maybe the first is true. The next two, no idea. I'll go with the second option as the lie. Am I right?

You are indeed correct! I have not been to Oceania or America (North or South!), but I hope to change that soon. Maybe this year... who knows?

Thanks again Magno, and thanks for reading!​
 
@MatchaMochi discusses art/design, anime, and alllll the music on today’s Interview!
​


Welcome Matcha, thanks for chatting!

Thank you Lydia! It's a pleasure to be here!


So, in your opinion, is Matcha the superior flavor of Mochi, or you do have other contenders for favorite?

That's a tough one actually. I have limited experience in Mochi-tasting, and so far all the flavors I've had have been pretty good. If I'd have to choose my favorite one I would probably pick either the matcha or Sakura mochi, which is just a regular red bean mochi, but the dough is pink and it's wrapped in a leaf of a cherry tree, so it's cuter and hence why better than the regular red bean mochi hah hah!

Also good thing to keep in mind is all the mochi's I've had have been store-bought, imported ones, and not freshly baked ones, so my opinion may change when I get to taste them fresh at some point.


I see that you're a student! Do you mind sharing what you're studying?

Currently I'm studying graphical designing, and more specifically website-designing. It's been a fun line of study. I've learned a lot of new, interesting and fun things about general graphical designing, Adobe-programs and my visual-eye has significantly improved. The fact that I'm having fun studying the subject also reflects on the grades I get and I'm even making my first actual customer job at the moment, which is pretty cool!


If someone approaches you for advice designing something for BMR (a RT/journal/thread/whatever), what would you tell them?

I think the first advice would be a fairly simple "Don't center everything, especially long paragraphs". I've seen some RTs where everything is centered, and even though it might look aesthetically more pleasing at first it actually makes longer paragraphs harder to read.

Other thing that I highly encourage is to make some simple graphics to make RT eye-catching and pleasing. For example crafting simple banner-pictures instead of using just plain text headings and starting your RT with customized picture will immediately help your post stand out among the plain-text ones, and make your RT not only something that catches someone's eye, but also really personalized and unique.

BMR also has a lot of different tools to create lists, change fonts, color of the text, make tables and lines etc. Experimenting with these will most likely help you find ways to make your RT, thread, journal etc. more personalized and pleasing looking. For example I have seen kink list made with tables, different colored fonts and some symbols which look really good, and make the RT look that much more "professional" and interesting.

These are some that popped up in my head immediately. There are loads of little things I could go in like the font-choices and that sort of stuff, but I think these three are the most important ones that I can think of.


What's a typical day like for you?

My usual school-day consists of me waking up at around 7.30am, after all the morning preparations and few cups of coffee I head to school, where I usually study (I know. shocking!), but sometimes I have a lot of spare time there, and during that I do stuff I do at home. Watch anime, read manga, play games or even reply RP messages.
When I get home I usually eat something and go to sleep for a few hours. I try to wake up at 7 or 8pm and after that do things I always do at my spare time at home (same stuff as I mentioned earlier + sometimes doing something creative, like drawing and making music for example). I usually end up staying up till 3 - 5am, and then head to sleep for a two or three more hours before the school.

My sleeping rhythm is weird to say the least, and it's been that way ever since junior-high. I noticed that I tend to get more things done during the nighttime for some reason, and I just like the night's atmosphere, so this kind of schedule where I sleep at two different times got started. My rhythm is also an inside joke/meme in few of my friend groups, which I totally understand hah hah!


What are your other, non-RP hobbies?

My main hobbies are guitar-playing, video-editing, drawing and collecting stuff I'm interested in (physical anime and manga, figures, CD and LP-records), some other things I could classify as hobbies are music-making and bass-playing, but I do those two way less than the things I mentioned before.

I guess you could call gaming and all that weeb/otaku/anime/manga-stuff I do can be considered as a hobby to some, but I think they have sort of ascended the hobby-realm and become something that are a huge part of my everyday-life, and something that I can't live without anymore. Not the best explanation I know, but at the moment I really don't know how to express it better hah hah hah!


What kind of stuff do you usually draw? Is it pencil and paper or digital drawing?

Most of the time I draw fanart based on anime, manga and games, and every once in a while my OCs and original art. I draw digital-art most of the time and use some old drawing tablet to do so. Drawing program I use is Paint Tool SAI.

Really rarely I also use pencil and paper, but after getting accustomed to digital drawing my traditional drawing skills are a bit rusty.


When you're brainstorming a plot, do you tend to focus on setting, plot, or characters first - or does it vary based on inspiration?

This tend to vary a lot based on any given RP at hand, but usually I want to focus on plot first, since It's usually the thing that makes or breaks the RP for me, and usually it is easier for me to make character and suggest a setup for a plot that has all the key elements planned for it than other ways around, but of course there are exceptions to this norm.

Also discussing plot helps me to see if I'm suitable partner for someone, or if they are suitable for me. For example most of the times the plots where the smut is in a really huge focus (For example the play is essentially just lewd stuff with some loose plot stringing these naughty events together) are not my thing, and this usually comes up when discussing plot, if not earlier. So I see that discussing plot helps both parties to get a feel what the other person might be looking for the RP, and make sure that at the end of the plot-brainstorming both are on the same page.


Where do you tend to find inspiration for your writing?

I think that it's no surprise that most of my inspiration comes from anime, manga, webtoons and video games. If I'm looking something more lewd and naughty to write most of my inspiration comes from hentai manga, doujin and the likes. Most of the time I want to create a fairly anime-like stories with my partner, and usually the roleplay plays in my head like an anime, so it's really easy and natural to take inspiration from the medium that tells the stories the way I find most pleasing.

Every once in a while one specific picture, song, fanfic and the like might also inspire me, and really rarely some random idea just tends to pop in my head.

Despite my heavy preferences on animanga and the likes I try to keep my eyes always open for any possible inspiration, since sometimes a great idea might come from the place you least expect!


You mention in your RT that English isn't your native language - I would've never guessed! To what extent (if any) has writing and RP helped you to refine your language skills?

Thank you! And I'm glad to hear that. My English skills are something I'm fairly proud of, especially now that I regularly hear that they are really good from the people who speak it natively!

One of the reasons why I started roleplaying actually was to hone my English skills, and more specifically my creative writing skills. My vocabulary isn't the most extensive one, and when I have to describe expressions and feelings that characters show or what a some specific place looks like I have hard time to find the correct descriptive words or I end up repeating myself. Plus improving my skills as I play with other people makes the learning fun and exciting!

I would say that roleplaying has improved my English skills, but currently not as much as I would've liked. I've picked up a few words here and there, but I wouldn't say I have improved as a creative writer all that much during these three or four years I've been doing this, and there really hasn't been any partner who would critique my writing all that much outside of basic grammatical errors, or give tips how to make my creative writing more lively, which is understandable since they aren't my English tutor, but my RP-partner.


You're a self-proclaimed "music nerd" - what are a few of your favorite genres or artists?

That's a really hard question to answer, since there are so many genres I like and listen, however my taste heavily leans in the direction of metal, rock, punk, blues, jazz and and some electronic stuff like synthwave, vaporwave, future-funk, ambient and industrial, and generally I like all the various subgenres these huge umbrella-genres have to offer.

Artists are even harder, since my small lists usually extends into 100+ artists/bands, however some I really like are and have had a huge impact on me are:

Stam1na - They are a band from my home country Finland, and they play progressive thrash metal. It's really hard for me to praise this band enough. Antti Hyyrynen, which is the bands lead guitarist and singer is one of the best lyricists I know and the way he uses Finnish language, wordplays, innuendos etc. is amazing, and when you combine this to a varied subjects the band sings and instrumentals that are technical, progressive, heavy, aggressive and that can range all the way to calm and slow you get a group that stays fresh and interesting in every one of their release.
Death - Death was my introduction to death metal, and I could've never asked for a better introduction to the genre. Song I heard was Crystal Mountain, and it was pure bliss from beginning to end. I was already a huge prog-nerd when I heard this, and was slowly but surely getting into heavier stuff, and the blend of heaviness and progressive/technical playing Chuck Schuldiner displayed on this track immediately made a huge impression for 11-year-old me. Also this band has one of the most solid discographies ever in my opinion. Even from this bands debut, which is more traditional death metal the high-quality songwriting was already there, and as the band got more and more progressive they just kept improving and one-upping themselves in every release.
Burzum - Even though I don't support most of the opinions, views and things Varg Vikernes has said or done in his life there's one thing I really admire him for, and it's his music, and more specifically the earlier works in his career. Hvis Lyset Tar Oss is my favorite black metal release and the way Varg combined raw, lo-fi black metal sound to a synthesized ambient music is nothing short of amazing.
Depeche Mode - Violator and Music For The Masses forced my grumpy, junior-high metal-elitist ass to admit that there in fact was a great electronic music, and not just great, but amazing electronic music. This band was the reason I got out of my judgemental mindset towards genres I had bad experience with or that I didn't know at all, and made me want to give at least a chance to each and every music genre, band and artist.
Nightwish - Biggest reason I started to get interested in music. I heard the single "Nemo" on radio when I was 7-years-old. My dad noticed I liked it and confirmed this by asking did I enjoy the song, which I replied "yes". This was early December, and on Christmas Eve one of my gifts from my dad was the Nightwish record "Once", which this song is in. I blasted this record a lot after that. Other gift that I also received and that helped my musical awakening was Guitar Hero III, which introduced me to such big names as Guns N Roses, Rage Against The Machine, Metallica, ZZ Top and many more.
Children of Bodom - Last band I want to specifically mention is another heavy band from Finland. In Junior High I wasn't in the best of place mentally, and this band helped me to push through all that and give me strength to rise up from the bed and head to school every morning. Especially song "Hate me!" was an important to a shy, reserved student who was bullied basically all of their interests from anime to music. Two years back I was in the same dark place and once again this band pulled me out of there.
The Pillows - I can't help put to add one Japanese band on the list. The Pillows was the first Japanese band I really got into after watching FLCL, and it's still one of my favorites to this day.

And a few honorable mentions, cause I can't help myself:
Opeth, Rush, Nirvana, Dire Straits, Riverside, Pink Floyd, Death Grips, Godspeed you! Black Emperor, Boris, Devin Townsend + all his bands and projects, Dream Theater, Genesis, King Crimson, Tool, The Strokes, Paradise Lost and King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, Jean Michel Jarre, John Coltrane, Perturbator, Prince, Queen, David Bowie and Aimer.


What's something you're really looking forward to in 2022?

Even though I'm an introvert who enjoys just being inside their room I'm waiting for a few live shows and concerts scheduled on this year. One of them I've been waiting for two years so I really hope the circumstances allow it to happen this year!

I'm also waiting for the anime conventions to happen again. I've had a cosplay ready for three years now, and I still haven't had a chance to use it lol


Ooh, who are you cosplaying?

Emiya Shirou from Fate-series. I have also planned a couple cosplay where me and my partner would be Tohru and Kobayashi from Kobayashi-san Chi No Maid-Dragon.


If you could travel anywhere - money, time, and pandemics are no object - where would you go?

Japan! I guess everyone saw that coming hah hah!

I was meant to travel to Japan when the last Rebuild of Evangelion movie dropped in theaters there, but due to my money situation and pandemic I couldn't do this trip. It has been my dream to visit in Japan ever since elementary so for years I have had very specific plans on what I want to do there, which cities and sights I want to visit and all that stuff, so if I would get the chance to finally execute my ideal trip plan that would be awesome.


What's just a random, interesting fact about you?

Uh... Another really hard one. I guess the fact that I'm a really heavy sleeper might be one. I've slept through huge and heavy metal ladders falling on top of a car right next to my room for example, I usually sleep past my alarms and in general if I end up falling a deep sleep waking me up is a huge task.

Thanks Matcha, and thanks for reading!​
 
Today, poison and corsets and other great stories with @Cantarella!
​

Hi Cantarella, good to be talking to you!

Thanks for having me on, I'm honored!


Can you tell me a little bit about the origins of your username and your site aesthetic?

Oh, the username is a funny story. It's one I've used since around 2010 or 2011, can't remember which, when I was really interested in certain historical periods. Cantarella was a poison used by the Borgias during the Italian Renaissance, and I liked the feel of it. "Canta", however, has only been in usage for a few years now, if I'm recalling correctly.

As for the aesthetic? I really just like the color pink. I saw this gif and it actually fit, unlike the rest of the ones I thought of using, and it reminded me of those cute little teacups that have "you've been poisoned" written on the bottom of them. When mixed with the lyrics of a song I've liked since I was 19, it all came together. "A taste of the poison". I understand it might seem contradictory at first glance, but trust me, it all comes together perfectly.


I had no idea "cantarella" was a poison, but now it all makes perfect sense! Is the Italian Renaissance your favorite historical time period?

To be frank, I don't think I have a particular favorite historical period, at least not anymore now that I don't devote the same time to studying them. Though at the time, the Italian Renaissance was a special interest.


I asked your friend Vinaein [tag] to describe you and he said "unbelievably meticulous and creative in writing, and one of the sweetest folks around." That's pretty awesome - would you agree with his assessment?

Oh, Vin, you flatter me once more. >///<

As far as it being an accurate assessment, well... Meticulous, I can vouch for, for sure. I think most, if not all, of my partners are aware of my slowness, but I have been told I'm worth the wait. Truth is, I'm slow because I'm meticulous in my work. I'm a perfectionist in my writing to a fault. As far as being creative and sweet, well... I suppose that's in the eye of the beholder.


What's a typical day like for you?

I'm largely a housewife, so not all that interesting, really. If I'm working that day, I wake up, go to work, come home, cook, do chores, perhaps write, then go to bed. If I'm not working? Really depends on if I have family obligations. If not, I dedicate my time to plotting and writing between chores and cooking. If I do, then I spend most of my day with them, babysitting or spending time with them.


What are your other, non-RP hobbies?

Tabletop RPGs! Namely Pathfinder, DnD 3.5, and DnD 5e. I'm also dipping my toes in an Exalted campaign. Though, heh... that's still RP, huh? If we're going with things wholly removed from RP, I like to watch (and to a lesser degree, play) video games, listen to new music, and read, though I admittedly have a crap attention span and have a lot of trouble with the latter. Music especially is a passion of mine, and I collab with some musician friends of mine when they need me to.


How did you get your start writing and RPing, and what keeps you invested?

Would you believe me if I said I've been writing for over 20 years now? Because it's true! As a little kid, I struggled a lot with reading and writing, but one day it just sort of "clicked" and I've been writing ever since. I got my start roleplaying on Neopets of all places, when I was around 9 years old. I saw there were RP forums there, and I still remember the day I gathered my nerve and jumped in, down to the name of my character, and the fandom. I've been doing it ever since, taking very few hiatuses in that time, and never more than a month or two each time. I guess you could say I'm a lifer.


I'm sure you've evolved a lot through the years as a writer - but how have you seen your own writing and interests develop in the past five years or so?

For one, I no longer really rapidfire posts like I used to. I moved from Neopets to Gaia Online when I was around 13, and back then, that site was incredibly popular, so if you didn't want your posts drowned out on the more popular threads, you had to post quickly and hope someone saw it. I remember miles-long quote trees.

Since then, in the past five years or so, my posts have gotten much longer and I now have the time to do them the justice I feel they deserve.

Characterization is a newer favorite of mine, not just the events surrounding these characters. I like to get into their heads, really show my partners rather than tell them what makes these characters tick.


Do you have a specific writing process? If so, what's it like?

Generally I follow a queue, going from post to post in the order I received them. And then I lie down with my laptop and sit on that tab with the reply box in it and continue to do so- often with other tabs open too so I can switch tasks, since, again, horrible attention span- until I finish the reply. Sometimes that takes hours. Sometimes, days. I find I can't listen to music with lyrics I can easily understand while I sit there because I find it to be a distraction. So oftentimes I will sit there in silence until it's done. It can sometimes be a rigorous process, but I find that if I'm distracted, I can't post to the level of quality I'm comfortable with.


I am constantly so impressed by the number of stories that you have going. How do you keep them all organized?

Aww, shucks, thank you! I think I have a pretty decent system going now. Most of my RPs are in PMs, and I organize my inbox into active, inactive, and OOC. I just select the "active" tab, check the "unreplied" box, and go in descending order. Threads, however, are a different story. Because I have so many threads selected to watch- usually RTs I'm interested and things I auto-watch because I posted in a thread- I often mix up what's due and when. That's another reason I keep a queue thread. It's just as much for me as it is for my partners.


What's something you're really looking forward to in 2022?

For one, my wedding! I called myself a housewife before, but that's not entirely accurate, but I figure after three years engaged, I might as well call myself a wife by now. That's in May, and I'm so excited.

Also, Elden Ring, and more news on the new Dragon Age and Mass Effect games.


Congrats on the upcoming wedding! On a scale of 1-10, how traditional will it be? (1-completely not, 10 - totally)

Thank you! As far as it being traditional goes... well, geez, probably a 4 or 5. Much to my mother's chagrin, it won't be in the church, and my hubby and I are going to have a good friend of ours officiate rather than a minister or his mom like he had originally wanted. I think the most traditional parts are going to be my gown and the handfasting.


If you had just one outfit to wear for life, like a cartoon character, what would you wear?

Aside from being a tightlacer, which most would consider the antithesis of being a comfy person, I tend to dress for comfort, not really aesthetic. But if I had a choice out of what I own? Of course, my corset, and my black (of course) jersey dress with my high-heeled ankle boots that I just got from my sister in law. They're hella cute, promise.


Ooh, can you explain tightlacing and how you got into it?

Gladly, corsetry is a passion of mine! In tightlacing, you generally start with a corset that constricts you by about 5-6", depending on your waist measurements and the size of your underbust, iliac crest and lower hip. That was what tripped me up originally, before I found a resource and a community that helped me with my ever-changing measurements. The hip and rib springs are ultimately more important than the waist- if your hip and rib spring measurements aren't as precise as you can get, the corset will not fit you. For example, if it's too big it might create an unsightly gap, and if it's too small it'll pinch. And believe me, you do not want it to pinch, because you can irritate the nerves there or create hot spots.

As it is right now, my corset is a little too big as I've gone down in the waist by 2" since I restarted in waist training, so it's time for me to size down. I've already picked my next piece.

And as for how I got into it... Well, I always loved the aesthetic, and I decided in my teens that when I reached maturity, I wanted to tightlace. I originally started around 2017, but took a break in 2019 and recently restarted.


What's something interesting on your bucket list?

More travel, definitely. Right now I'm really feeling Croatia and Greece. I've already been to Italy twice, and the Lugano region of Switzerland.


What's just a random, interesting fact about you?

Oh jeez, let's see... Well, I have pointed ears! And I can wiggle them!

Thanks again Canta, and thanks for reading!​
 
Today, the tables have turned! I’m taking questions!

The following questions were crowdsourced from you lovely folks! I tried to answer as many as possible - some were omitted for length and repeats. ​


HOW U DOIN?

I'm doing fine baby, HOW U DOIN.

Honestly, great, except everyone in my house has Covid, and I think at least one of my friends is cheating at Wordle.


Where is all this talent stemming from, Lydia?

Aww, well, thank you. πŸ’™ The fun answer: Who knows! The less-fun answer: persistent self-doubt and a fear of innate inadequacy!


We are birthday twins, which means you are also a Virgo! Are you a perfectionist with impossible standards and control issues?

Why yes, I am! And yes, I am! The perfectionism and control issues are something I've been working on for the past couple of years. It's really a double-edged sword: I could credit these characteristics for most of my biggest accomplishments, but they also contribute to the aforementioned fear of that I am essentially inadequate and must continually demonstrate worthiness to mask my flawed, true self. If I ease up or relax, people might see that real, sometimes unpalatable human under the perfectionist armor - and reject me!

Ultimately, I'm aiming for a healthy sense of self that isn't dependent on proving myself to others. This is very un-Virgo, but attempting to un-Virgo yourself is probably a pretty Virgo characteristic.

It's science!

(Narrator: It wasn't science.)


What was your worst subject in school? Do you think it would still be your worst subject?

Hmm, worse subject. Math, probably. I was a staunch humanities girl and didn't give it enough attention. If I returned to school, it probably still would be. Problem-solving is cool and I deeply admire people who have math brains, but I just don't connect with it like I do other subjects.


If you could rewind, pause or fast-forward time, which would you pick and why?

Pause. Rewinding seems like I'd ultimately mess up too much, and the fast-forward button would be too tempting. I'd end up racing through life, like Adam Sandler in that movie whose name I can't remember. It was Adam Sandler, right?

Anyway, a pause button would be nice for those moments you want to savor, or when you need a reprieve from chaos, or whatever. Plus, I've always idolized Zack from Saved By the Bell. I need an opportunity to occasionally talk one-on-one with the camera.


What has been your greatest accomplishment(s)?

Oooh, tough question. I've run a few marathons, I earned some solid scholastic achievements, I had one of the best teaching jobs in my state, and I taught myself photography and worked in that field for a while. Lately my accomplishments have been more inward, focused on happiness/satisfaction/fulfillment more than measurable goals, which is difficult for me.

I did work out every day in 2021 (one day a week was a recovery walk and/or yoga).


During Halloween, you wore a Reese's shirt and posted it in your status. Your dog seemed rather jealous of it. My question to you is, did you feed them Reese's Pieces?

Ahaha, I didn't! That's Scout, she's a 2 year-old golden retriever and she really just follows me around and naps all day. It's still up for debate who's trained who - she knows if she sits in a certain place in the kitchen that I'll probably give her a treat. I'm a total push-over.

But she still can't have my fucking Reese's.


What's your favorite thing about BMR?

The people! You weirdos are pretty amazing. And you generally put up with me, so it works out well.


Favorite TV show?

Long-term favorites are Arrested Development and 30 Rock. There are lots more but those two have the simple comfort factor that gives me the warm fuzzies. Admittedly, I'm pretty bad at keeping up with TV. I usually need peer pressure to make it happen.


What made you want to be interviewed?

I've put a lotta people through this process so I thought it was only fair that I volunteered to do it as well! I like opening up dialogues.


I believe that you had been a fan of photography? What are some of your favorite types of photographs or approaches or photographers?

I am! I burned out on photography in late 2020/early 2021, so I feel like I'm in the process of rediscovering what I like. Some perpetual favs are color, negative space, and symmetry/balance. I will always prefer a shot that evokes emotion over technical perfection (although it's cool when you get both).

People are my favorite subjects. There's an intimacy in really studying someone else and trying to portray them in a way that highlights personality or specific qualities. When I shot portraits it was rarely "look at the camera and smile" - I was looking for something a little more interesting. It usually involved a lot of trial and error to recognize it - it's a good thing we live in the digital era. For privacy reasons, I don't really share a lot of my portrait stuff here.


How would you describe your writing interests and perspectives?

Also evolving! I've been writing online long enough that I've played most of the typical stories - fantasy, supernatural, romance, foes-to-lovers, etc etc - so I'm usually drawn to things with an offbeat element these days. My goal this year is to pursue stories in new genres or formats. Recently, I've been interested in psychological struggles and confused characters, lol.


How does your approach to photography resemble or differ from your approach to writing?

Ironically, my writing isn't super visual. I like to give my partners space to dream a bit. I usually only go in-depth with description when it's essential to character interaction, moving the plot forward, or establishing tone for a setting.

I do think of writing a lot like a movie, though, guiding the reader through important features of the narrative like the focus of a camera. For example, I won't describe my character's body in detail for a scene where it isn't relevant. I think these are important cues for collaborative storytelling.


What is your favorite aspect of writing?

The exploration and categorization elements. I'm one of those folks who enjoy nonfiction reading & writing almost as much as fiction. Writing is always a discovery process, and it usually demands fixed, in-depth attention. When your head is a chaotic jumble of conflicting ideas and impressions, writing can help organize things - I've sorted out a lot of my own thoughts and feelings by doing this. That's why, for me, the best cure for writer's block is just to start writing. Even if it sucks, I'll begin to find the proper path.


How would you describe your ideal writing partner?

Experienced enough to be willing to take risks. Good communicator. Sense of humor. Sophisticated but not pretentious. Not a jerk.


What interests and/hobbies do you have outside of writing and being a celebrity on BMRP?

I dunno if I'm a "celebrity" so much as someone who rarely shuts up, lol. But we've touched on a lot of my hobbies - very into photography and exercise (running/cycling/weights/yoga/pilates). I recently started taking a watercolor class. I try to volunteer for my kids' school stuff when they need people. I like to bake and to eat baked goods. Meditation. Walks/hiking. Calligraphy, but I'm not very good. Attempting to grow things.


What is a quality about you that would surprise others to learn?

I usually have no idea what I'm doing. Not to the extent that I'm completely comfortable, at least. I thought I'd have more figured out by now, but instead I'm just getting better at being comfortably uncomfortable.


Are you an indoor person or outdoor person? Do you enjoy being in Nature?

Definitely outdoorsy! I swear my mood diminishes when I haven't spent enough time outside. I love hikes and one of my bucket list items is to hike the Tour du Mont Blanc through Switzerland, France, and Italy.

Nature is beautiful and brutal and all that - but it doesn't fret over itself. It just is. I find that pretty inspiring.


Have you traveled? Where is your favorite destination?

Not nearly as much as I've wanted to! It's only been in the past 10 years or so that I've had the money to travel, but having little kids made that more complicated, and the pandemic has hindered it even more. We're booked for a trip to St. Lucia this summer - hopefully we'll get to go!


Do you have any recurring characters in your stories? Are there characters you are yearning to create?

The name I use here - Lydia - is the name of a character I've played in a few different scenarios. Initially her name was Oedipa, which was taken from a weird postmodern book called The Crying of Lot 49; however, nobody got the reference and everyone just assumed I was really into incest (I'm not!), so Oedipa became Lydia. She's relatably evil and usually influenced by something supernatural.

I don't have any characters waiting at the moment. I'm very plot-driven - I usually get plot/setting inspiration before the character inspiration shows up. In fact, a lot of times I’ll delve into writing and figure out the character as I go.


Name something on your 'bucket list' that others might find unusual.

I want to learn to sail! I've been a few times and it's very cool when you cut the motor and you're just… going. Then you climb to the front of the boat and proclaim yourself king of the world and everyone rolls their eyes big time.


What Makes You Unique?

I have no idea, lol. I’ve got a fairly good combination of qualities, but I don’t know if they’re especially unique. On the whole, I really like other people. I try to go beyond knowing them - I aim for understanding.


Have you ever had a change of heart about something you were once certain of?

So many times. To some extent, I think this is a normal part of life. You have ideas, then experiences come along that shift your understanding of the world, and your ideas change. It okay to be wrong, it’s okay to change your mind, it’s okay to challenge your own beliefs.


What's the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Lighten up. Get out of your own head. Thoughts aren’t reality. You’re only funky as your last cut - you focus on the past and your ass’ll be a has-what.

Thanks to everyone who contributed questions!​
 
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Back at it with @Ζ’eral, who discusses fandoms, a e s t h e t i c s, and more!
​


Hey Ζ’eral, thanks for taking the time to do this!

Meow-rr? Meee-owww rrr? :fidgets with something: :clears throat: Ah, sorry, here we go. It was that blasted cat filter again, er, cat voice modulator. A thousand apologies, your honor, uhm, ms. interviewer, my assistant messed up my zoom settings. I'm not a cat I swear.


So, if you had to pick a single song to sum up how your day/week/month/whatever is going, what would it be and why?

Well, the actual pick wouldn't be in English, so I'm not sure how I would go about explaining it…

But as far as an English song goes, Confident - Demi Lovato. This sums up my day/week/month/whatever really.

As far as the why…because I'm a badass mofo, obviously. :cool: Hah…no…? Alright, jokes aside, this is one of my favorite songs. Let's just say there's a very competitive/adversarial element to my everyday life, and Demi Lovato encapsulates my attitude on that nicely: "'Cause this is my game / And you better come to play."


Looking at your journal, you've been very into tinkering with graphics lately. What's the big draw (sorry 😬) for you there - what inspires you, and what direction can we expect from you in the future?

Haha, I saw this question coming from a mile away! But yes, guilty as charged, big into graphics, or as I like to say, a e s t h e t i c s, right now. As far as the draw - I like pretty things! I wouldn't call myself creative by any means, but I got a bit of a creative streak that clamors to be let out from time to time. So, for the past few months, that means writing & graphics. Direction wise, I finally got around to acquiring a proper tablet, so I may pick up drawing again. Maybe. A big maybe as my free time is a precious commodity.


What's a typical day like for you?

This. To make your life easier, the meme starts around 0:15. Yeah…that pretty much sums up my day-to-day. Got a pretty demanding job - high pressure & high intensity & high stakes, the whole shebang - and a hefty commute on top of that. Not that I don't sit in my office and chat with peeps on discord or browse bmr, because fk working, you know? But work aside, most of my free time has been dedicated to the aforementioned writing & graphics!


What's your favorite way to really de-stress when things are particularly crazy?

Varies. Depends on the type of stress I guess. I won't lie, I don't go to the gym nearly as consistently as I should, but if it's the aggressive sort of stress sometimes really wearing my body out is what it takes. Other times, venting. Really loud music, usually rap & heavy bass, tends to help too. Other times, I just need to chill. Shower, take the time to mix a drink, do something mindless like manually removing the background from a picture... Really depends.


What are your other, non-RP hobbies?

Used to be a big, big gamer. Still is, kind of, but given my limited free time, I mostly have to pick between videogames and writing. So when I'm more proliferate on bmr, that usually means I'm not gaming as much. I would consider myself a pretty casual gamer nowadays, but definitely had a 'tryhard' era back in the day. I joke about it, but my 'part-time-job' in undergraduate was unironically 'boosting' in League of Legends. If you are not sure what that means - basically, other people paid me actual money to play on their accounts to 'boost' them to their desired in game rank. I also regularly held #1 dps parses for my class & server in World of Warcraft back when I was big into it. My personal best was a world #2 on a particular boss on a particular week, which isn't really saying much, since bosses basically get re-cleared weekly, and was definitely an 'RNGesus took the wheels' sort of situation, but I was proud of that one. When crits go brrrrrrrrrrrr, it's just so sexy - urm, sorry, got sidetracked there.


Of all the fandoms you enjoy writing, which one do you think you, personally, would thrive in the most?

Hmm, not sure I understood this question. Do you mean - which one do I thrive the most in terms of writing it? Or you mean an isekai into a fandom world type situation?


The isekai meaning! How would you, the writer, fare in your favorite fandom?
My favorite fandom is a toss up between League of Legends and Fate/verse, I'll go with League for this one. Honestly, I think I would do great. I think I would do great at anything I put my mind to. I would love to say that I would slot myself into the position of some military strategist/tactician or political advisor or something (assuming it's not one of those isekai where you get special abilities). Sun Tzu, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau, Aristotle, Plato, Hume, Marx, blah blah... I'm decently well read on political science. All of that said though, realistically, I'm 95% sure I will end up as some kind of a merchant haha. Love to write badass mofos, but actually risk-averse as all heavens. Definitely would rather start a trade empire, min-max, economy of scale, temper with supply/demand, interchangeable parts... apply modern economic theories to an unsophisticated economy. Sounds like a good time.


Do you have a specific writing process? If so, what's it like?

Not really. When I write I mostly just sit down and write. Sometimes I'll listen to music to get into a specific mindset, especially since I usually have specific songs picked out for specific RPs. Other times, I don't want any sound at all. I will tinker with bits and pieces of prose while I write, but I rarely do any large revisions like moving paragraphs around. Put differently, I always write a piece start to finish, rather than write odd sections and string them together later. And yeah, I know people who do the latter. Everyone writes differently from what I've seen. Me, I usually have an idea when I start to write, but not a fully fleshed out one, and I kind of just see where the piece takes me. As I like to say, my characters tend to write themselves.


I ask this question a lot - would you consider yourself an introvert or extrovert? So far, I think everyone I've asked has said introvert. Same?

Oh no, a psychology question. Buckle up, I hope you are ready for an extremely long-winded answer.

So, it depends, and yes, I will couch just about any yes/no answers.

β€Š
Merriam-Webster's definition for an introvert is:
a person whose personality is characterized by introversion : a typically reserved or quiet person who tends to be introspective and enjoys spending time alone
… introverts gain energy through solitude and quiet.
β€” Bill Howatt
His research further shows that about 70% of top executives are introverts.
β€” Linda Grant
Bill Gates is quiet and bookish, but apparently unfazed by others' opinions of him: he's an introvert, but not shy.
β€” Steven Aitchison

Merriam-Webster's first definition of an extrovert is:
a person whose personality is characterized by extroversion : a typically gregarious and unreserved person who enjoys and seeks out social interaction
Extroverts are more recognized because of their affable nature, while introverts struggle to break out of their personal space …
β€” Helen Wu


Gold = what I identify with.

So, you tell me, am I an introvert or an extrovert? x3

Incidentally, by way of further data, Myer-Briggs/NERIS scored me at about a 61% leaning introversion. Big Five/Truity scored me at about 81% leaning extroversion. So…


You mention in your RT that "For you, dear writer, I do not care if you are male, female, or a bowtie-clad golden retriever pawing at the keyboard." What types of plots do you think a bowtie-clad golden retriever would be interested in writing? If it's wearing a bowtie, it probably would be pretty sophisticated, right? Like, plot over smut, advanced-lit type shit?

Bow-tie clad golden retriever because I think Tucker Budson is really adorable, and there are a lot of pictures/videos of Tucker wearing bow-ties. He has a youtube channel, if you are not sure what I'm talking about.

I could tell you what kind of plots, but I wouldn't be able to resist making a very inappropriate pun, and I'm trying to keep it PG here. So, moving right along…

I do like advanced lit, whatever that means to people, but am definitely a smut over plot sort of writer. x3 But I also like plot! For the most part, as long as the characterization is interesting to me, I'm pretty happy writing smut or plot.


Are you superstitious at all? If so, about what?

Not really. I can summarize my beliefs succinctly as follows: I believe in the possibility that aliens might exist. I believe in the possibility that ghosts might exist. However, unless you can show me concrete, empirical data supporting the existence of either, I don't believe in any particular alien or any particular ghost.


What's one thing that you're really looking forward to?
relaxing-viralhog.gif

Pls gibb... Sometimes this summer, late August, maybe.


What's just a random, interesting fact about you?

I'm a rising/ascendant Leo! In fact, Leo shows up on four different planets in my co-star chart. Funnily enough, I used to hate astrology with the burning passion of seven suns, mostly because I reaaally do not vibe with my 'sun' sign (that's the 'main' sign people think about when they think about astrology). But a dear writing partner of mine convinced me to look deeper into it, and, lo and behind, I now think astrology is awesome (because this is absolutely an area in which I recognize but still embrace positive confirmation bias). Supposedly, Leos get side-eyed by the other signs a lot, somethingsomething 'big ego'... Which, I mean, not wrong, see my choice of song, haha. Not because I think I'm 'better than'; nah, everyone's got their own thing and are stylin' in their own ways. Rather, I just want to live my best life and I don't see why I should be humble about it. 'Cause here's the thing - hate me or love me, I'ma do me. Haters gonna hate, Leos gonna Leo. x3


I recently saw this chart. Is it accurate, y'think?

IMG_7548.png
​



Well, going off of my rising Leo, apparently I'm a complete hot mess and doesn't know it. I don't think I am. But this chart is telling me I wouldn't know it if I am. So...how do I answer that question? XD

Thanks again, Ζ’eral, and thanks for reading!​
 
Today, @Jumbled talks Art, Baking, and Bees!
​


Hey Jum, so glad to be chatting with you!

The pleasure is all mine! Truth be told, I've wanted to do this for a while-- since you started-- but I'm actually a bit shy. I know that might sound a little silly coming from someone on staff, or more so from someone that's constantly working with others to provide them with custom art. . .
πŸ‘‰πŸ‘ˆ


So, I have this weird, slight inkling that you are - how should I say it? - extraordinarily artistic? What are your favorite mediums and/or methods?

I've always been artistic. When I was younger, my Grammy would let me got to a summer camp or two involving it. I think I remember begging once, but she was so dead set on me playing any kind of sport that she told me I couldn't do any art activities unless I chose one to play. Begrudgingly, it was baseball and I maybe went all of 3 days where the only cool thing I learned was that I could do a side-split from stretching. The art though, I remember doing water color painting, pottery, wood working...

The point here is my long-winded way to say: Yes! Yes I love art so much!

I like drawing/sketching the most, usually with just pencil and paper. And I'll do anything from one of my favorite PokΓ©mon, to original characters from my roleplays past. Years ago, there was a recall on Kraft Cheese, I think, and I was at work goofing around with some of the crew. They were joking about how some kid went on a field trip and fell in, like a Willy Wonka styled event, then I rambled on about how it was an origin story about a cheesy superhero and this monstrosity was born because I wanted to make someone laugh.

However, there's something special about sketching digitally. For one, the undo button. Photoshop has been my program of choice since high school.

I've also always wanted to get more into photography, it just hasn't happened yet. But we've been more actively doing digital photography projects at home. I usually get to edit them and I love it.


You have motifs that center around sunflowers and bees - is there any special symbolism there for you?

Well, for one, chap just recently joined Fruit and I on the Design Team (we are so happy to have him!) and I wanted to support the new guy in town by making him work. Mwahaha. But really, I just told him that I'm always making art and never really have it made for me. So I told him to go crazy and make me whatever reminded him of me at his leisure. Now I have this cool aesthetic. I am getting antsy for a change, though, so don't be surprised if I'm rocking my paint splotches soon.

However, that beeing said... yeah. Bees. I've been working on a bee themed kitchen area at home. I have yellow pots and pans, tools, bee wall decor, etc. It's a work in progress. I think I fell in love with them somewhere around the time that I found out Morgan Freeman became a beekeeper (2014). I started reading up on stuff and just have so much love for the little pollinators. Honeybees have been on the decline-- there are a good deal of bee species that are endangered. Sadface. I just want to protect the little guys and provide ways to keep them buzzing around for a long time! I'm actually trying to plan out a flower garden that they'll love. I learned last night that they can't really see red flowers; those are more for butterflies and hummingbirds.


What's your favorite part about working on BMR's design team?

Working on the DT is huge motivation to stay creative. Although I don't typically put my drawing skills to use for people (that takes so much effort and time on my part, and I don't get paid here), I am often times creating original pieces from random photography. I can really see the progression of my photoshop skill level when I look through my older work here on BMR, too, which is awesome.

One of my favorite things, though, is working with Solo and her various Adam Driver pictures. When I make things for her, like the Summer time at the pool (one of my favorites) I can take these pictures here and then make something like this! I'd like to say that I can typically figure out what Solo wants before she knows what she wants.

p r i s m is also one of those people that I can just pull something out of thin air and throw at her.

I have a... uh... habit of throwing art at people... Like Fen, Pris, Solo, JW, Pink., Fate... Basically anyone that'll put up with me. This is part of the reason why I made my "Guess Who" thread, because sometimes I want to make something for a person but there isn't a real request out there for art to be made.

Art on the site just doesn't tend to get a lot of attention being clumped in with the entertainment section like it is. I actually tried to start a "Guess Who" for you once, but something happened and I got distracted...


This is such a cool concept! I can imagine that it's probably easiest if someone has a distinct style already. Have you done any that have completely stumped people?

Yeah so typically it's either something I pickup on through their personality if they're frequenting chat, for instance. Or maybe a username. You, for instance, I was going to find some image of a reporter that I liked, then try to turn her into a marble statue or something. Sometimes when I think things up in my head, I can't always find what I want or need in order to make it happen. I guess that's just a major difference in doing photo-manipulations versus drawing whatever comes to mind.


You also do a lot of baking! What's your favorite thing to make? Any tips, tricks, or recipes to share?

Haha, so I actually work in a bakery where I, more often than not, am making large loaves of bread from scratch. You know: flour, water, yeast, mix it all up. I've been at that for 10 years now, and normally I'm the one to teach new people how to do what I do. I often have to tell people, "Don't be scared of it, it's just bread."

I haven't been working for a few months now, so I've made some breads at home just because I kind of miss the smells. If you wanted to try your hand at making bread, I'd suggest this recipe here as a nice starting point if you like a hard, chewy crust and a soft center. It bakes better if it's been allowed to rest overnight in the fridge, because dough usually needs to age and the cold will slow down the yeast enough to keep it from blowing up. I've used this as a base and added things so it, like rosemary and olive oil and also a sun-dried tomato with pesto. I want to do a nice garlic one now that I'm thinking about it...

I've had a whole tall rack of doughs left in the proof-box too long before. Blown up dough is such a mess! And burnt bread is even sadder. So, big tip, don't forget to set timers and check your temperatures!

I also like creating cakes. Spice cake with a peach filling was my choice for the holidays! It was so good. Ugh. Cake is dangerous. I've always had a sweet tooth.


What are your favorite genres to write? What type of inspiration tends to hit first for you - character, setting, conflict, or something else?

I like fantasy themes the most. I'd rather write about whimsical things that I wish could happen in the real world. My writing has always been an escape for me. But honestly, if there isn't conflict in a story, then there's no real room for growth. Adding romance and later erotic elements is just a small portion of it for me.

I have a mind for world building when it comes to a story. So before I figure out a character, I have to imagine up a world, its issues, and what would make a person I'm writing about a main character of the story being told. I don't really like slice of life very much, because I'm all about the action and adventure, and ultimately having an end goal to complete the story.


Do you have any reoccurring personality types or traits in the characters you write?

I'd say stubbornness is a trait that's always present. And I prefer a character that's stronger-willed and has a mind of their own, otherwise I'll just get bored.


Do you have any specific writing process - how you plot, writing environment, or your process with the words themselves?

I actually like to use GoogleDocs when I plot to keep myself organized. I can get a little... jumbled, so I tend to bounce around as things pop into my head. Then I can always refer back to it later. And, partner willing, I can invite them to join the doc and we can work on the same stuff together. There's normally background music playing, something without lyrics that matches the mood of my story.

Other than that, I try to imagine whatever I'm writing as a movie playing in my head that other people cannot see, so I have to describe it to them in order for them to feel everything I can.


Do you have any guilty pleasures that you’re willing to share?

Oh, I love Disney movies and songs. I don't have to have a kid in the room to watch a kid's movie, and I have a music station with Disney songs I'll play, too. It's a mood, of course, but cleaning while belting out "I am Moana aa aa!" for instance, is totally normal around here. My oldest is always telling me to stop... I have no idea why.


If you could trade places with anyone (living or dead) for a day, who would it be, and why?

I've never really wanted to be someone else. I get that some experiences are only in reach if you have connections or money. But I've always been more the type to push forward and try to earn everything that I have. But, I've always wanted to be like, an animal, or a mermaid. When I was in swimming classes when I was a little kid, I was so sure I was going to learn how to breathe under water. It took my Grammy a good while to convince me that wasn't correct.


Do you have any cool goals or plans for the next year?

This has already been my year so far for goals met. I've had a baby, bought a house-- we're unpacking now-- I think I'll be getting married in October. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I don't tend to do things in order according to other people's standards. But all I really want to do is paint the walls in here and really make this place feel like our home! I'm so hyped about it.


Whoa, that's a huge number of achievements, and the year isn't even half over yet! Congratulations are in order! What the best part about the new baby and/or house?

Yeah! Thanks so much!

He's such a chill little dude. And his sister is sweet, although she's more of a bull in a china shop when it comes to her level of being gentle. It's basically like, we completed our family and now we're just living our lives, growing together and learning more and more about one another. He even sleeps through the night so I'm getting pretty decent sleep at night.

It really couldn't have been a better time to buy. We got in right before rates started to sky rocket, meanwhile, renting all over is seeing increases that could make a person cry. It's not like these apartments are getting upgrades that make a $300+ price increase seem reasonable anyway. I can't wait to personalize this place more, having the freedoms to paint the walls and really just do whatever we want to the place.


What's just a random, interesting fact about you?

I'm laughably clumsy. I almost never know where my bruises come from... And while I can perform a dangerous task and never hurt myself, I will manage to reach for a glove in the middle of a table and run my hand into a knife somehow. It's impressive, really, this talent of mine.

Thanks again Jum, and thanks for reading!​
 
Today, @Fruit & @Retrojapan from the Design Team answer all of your questions about the design features available to BMR members!
​

So, it's really cool to be talking to you guys both at once. Can you tell me a little bit about some of the projects the Design Team has been working on lately?

Retro: Thanks for having us, Lydia! πŸ€— I've been looking forward to this interview with you. What a great opportunity for Fruit and I to speak to everyone about what we do here on Blue Moon as Designers, and who we are individually as Artists.

So we've been really busy this summer, haven't we Fruit? In the last few weeks we've launched a Templates menu, Customization Tutorials page, and yesterday we saw the release of the site's new Help Desk. That was a really fun project, actually. As Designers, we don't often get to collaborate with other staff, but this was truly an all-hands on deck effort. Everyone on the team helped with this whether writing for it, making graphics, or helping troubleshoot and design, and I am so happy with what we made. My first project with the Design Team was very positive and inspiring indeed~

Fruit: Thank you so much for having us, Lydia! I'm so excited and grateful for this amazing opportunity to tell everyone about the work we do as Site Designers. Our first interview was so fun! I'm super excited for this one to come out just as great.

As Retro explained, we've been busy-bees these past few weeks delivering some of the projects she linked. However, I do want to add that the team has been actively involved in a number of projects for the last few months. To name a few: we added a small library of emojis to the discord server, replaced the old reaction emojis in private messages, and the age verification banner on the front page was designed by Jumbled. There is a number of projects that remain in our agenda for the future and I'm excited for them to come to fruition soon! 🀍


All of these are so cool! With the Template Menu, Customization Tutorials, and the Help Desk, can you give us a short overview of the kind of information people can find in each on of these resources?

Fruit: Well, the template menu is just a graphical index of all the request thread templates that we, and other members of the community, have compiled in the templates thread. Its in the first post, it looks beautiful, its extremely useful, and Retro basically did all of it herself; idea and execution.

The customization tutorial was originally made by Jumbled but unfortunately the graphics were lost when she withdrew her account from the site. @Bunny graciously volunteered to redesign the thread with her own graphics. It was a tremendous project and she absolutely killed it. The thread serves to guide new members towards customizing the appearance and aesthetics of their profiles; changing profile pictures, banners, signatures, etc..

As for the help desk, it was originally a thread that I've designed seemingly a millennia ago. The site went through the XenForo conversion and multiple other upgrades and rule reworks, but the thread was never updated to reflect the changes. Retro and Praxis recommended the thread be updated, and therefore it was revamped with contributions from many staff members. The thread contains a plethora of vital information that new members need to know about using the site and its many features, rules, and verification process.

Retro: Awh thank-you Fruit! The template menu wouldn't even be half as nice without the templates themselves, so a big thank you to everyone who has contributed to that. I'm probably biased but I do notice more members using templates now, so I like to think the organization and previews have been helpful to the site. The customization tutorials were a lovely gift from our @Bunny and will be continuously be added to as we make more - so watch out! πŸ‘»

Honestly I don't even think I knew we had a Help Desk until @Praxis brought it up πŸ˜… I pretty much made her and @whitechapel the focus group for my design, so you can thank them for that. That draft was then brought to the rest of staff as a workshop which lasted just under a month. Not a bad timeline, if I do say so myself! Especially when you consider just how much information we covered in this. This desk will be put to work. Everything from your first 24 hours to handling disputes, I think both new and standing members have something to gain from reading it.


These all have such an incredible amount of information! So, if I'm BRAND NEW on the site, totally lost, I should probably consult the Help Desk first. And if I'm a current user who just needs to know how to make my stuff look and function better, then I should check out the Customization Tutorial. And if I want a cool-looking Request Thread, I should grab some code from the Template Menu. Is this what you guys would suggest? You also have designer-specific threads, Fruit Salad and The Factory - when should a user go to those?

Retro: You got it, Lydia! And if you want a custom-made signature or request thread from a member of the Design Team, stop by one of our threads to put in an order! We all have different styles and preferences too, so I always encourage members to shop around for the right artist.

Fruit: Yep! We also have different availabilities which is another thing to note 🀍


Can you tell me a little bit about your individual styles? What kinds of things do you really love working on?

Fruit: Well, I see myself more in graphics. I can code but I'm not the best - that'll be points at Retro. My graphics tend to play with contrast a lot; you'll find a lot of them are either dramatic, high contrast pieces with strong light flow, or something soft, faded, and almost cinematic. I've been branching out to work with more abstract styles involving geometric shapes and composite images but I think my comfort zone remains with brushes and adjustment layers rather than shapes and masks.

As for subjects, a lot of my experience was spent toying with videogame/anime characters, but I can comfortably work with real life subjects which is naturally what most requests on BMR seek.

(P.S Animating images is devilry)

Retro: And I see myself in code! No wonder we work so well together πŸ€— I just started using Photoshop a few months ago and am still developing my Retrostyle, to be honest. Thank you BMR for letting me figure it out here! So far I'm seeing a lot of grunge. Low-fi. Dark. A little messy, even. An accident 7 out of the 10 times I try something kind of art. I work in layers with most of my projects being at least 15 or more, burning in things like textures, gradients, and overlays for depth and "Retro"-ness. Almost all of my pieces have fallen under the direction of Fruit, @Mitsu or @whitechapel, so I thank them for that. I'm really blown away by all the support I've gotten with this :heart:

My favourite projects to take on combine code with graphics. I really enjoy curating, or 'showcasing' as I call it, so likeβ€” request threads, character sheets, world and mood boards. They're challenging, no two are the same, and I get to creative with different kinds of media (graphics, code, music, art, text). That said, my ideal request is a collaborative one where I work with the Design Team for graphics and code them to suit the request. I also like working with member's writing and showcasing it for RP's with graphics and whatnot. Those are the ultimate showcase projects for me (β—•α΄—β—•βœΏ)


So, if I've looked at your design thread, really love your style, and want to ask you to design something for me, what can I do to make your job easier? Should I bring ideas, or pictures, or reference material?

Retro: YES PLEASE. There is literally nothing more difficult for a Designer than a request without the request. It's kinda like getting a tattoo, right - you can't get the ink until you know what you want first. And while I am humbly grateful and flattered by every request I receive, if you don't know what you want, then I definitely won't either, and I really want to make something you like ᕦ( Ν‘Β° ΝœΚ– Ν‘Β°) α•€

Maybe you really something from one of us but don't know what to ask for so you're stuck between submitting a "I want something but I don't know what" request, or not asking at all. If that's you, then I would suggest starting a inspo board. Collecting sources is a lot of fun and gives us Designers a canvas to work with. Things like images, examples of what you would like, quotes, colours, fonts - these are all mediums you can explore and include in your request.

Since I have aphantasia, I have trouble seeing things in my head. This makes it difficult for me to visualize descriptions without references. Particularly with code, I will either draw it out by hand or make a rough draft with dummy images to show you or confirm my understanding. I have also received hand-drawn blueprints to code out, and that was great.

Fruit: Providing images definitely always helps because even if I decide that the pictures are bad quality or too small (they often are), they'd still give me an idea on what aesthetic the requestor has in mind. I usually tell people to feel free to spam my inbox with as many images as they want.

Retro is absolutely correct. Not being provided any description whatsoever makes our job extremely difficult. The bare minimum I personally require is a subject (ie. "a spongebob set") but of course any other specifications like size, color themes, text, and style all help. Retro, do you agree that there is a point where too many detailed specifications make the request difficult to complete? I feel that giving your designer some degree of artistic freedom and listening to their input is encouraged for better results. Ugh, I felt so gross saying that. I'm sorry. Its true though.

Retro: I've actually run into that problem when making something for myself. There is such a fine line in creativity between details (momentum) and specifics (control). If I'm not mindful, or if a request lacks focus, then I can easily end up shuffling between half a dozen pictures and downloading twenty-six new brushes before I even start on anything.


Is there anything people should try to avoid when requesting design services?

Fruit: All of us have specific details in the first post of our threads detailing what we do and how to submit requests. Some of us specific rules on nsfw content. For an example, I don't mind nudity but I generally avoid pornographic content. I've never had to deal with people rushing me to fulfill the request but I imagine that'd be another thing that would stress me out.

Retro: I echo Fruit's response here in that every Designer will have their own Do's and Don't's for member requests. I myself avoid NSFW content but can be convinced with tasteful boudoir and other tasteful suggestions. I do try to avoid avoiding, though, if that makes sense. If I can't make the graphics for whatever reason, I can still write the code and leave space for the desired imagery, so come at me!


Last question! Do you have any favorite artists or favorite sources for inspiration?

Fruit: Hmm.. inspiration comes unexpectedly for me. If I go on sites like tumblr and pinterest looking for inspiration, I usually don't get any. Most of my ideas come randomly while watching movies or scrolling through twitter. I follow a few photography/graphics accounts on twitter and sometimes they give me ideas. Even interior design pages give me a lot of insight on what colors go well with others!

Retro: For me I get inspiration from scoping out new tools and tutorials πŸ€‘ Also following the something borrowed, something new train of thought where I try to combine a technique I feel confident in with something new I'm trying to master. Challenge and motivation are very inspiring to me.


To close, each artist picked their favorite pieces made by the other. :heart:

Retro: Going through your thread, it's easy to see why you're Design Team πŸ˜… I had a really hard time narrowing down my favourite pieces when you've got such an impressive portfolio, but okay! These are my three. For me these are exemplary of Fruit style and quality with the glow, that wide lens perspective you capture so perfectly β€”the "polish", as you've taught me. I'm sure there's a term for this, but your cropping / placement is always on point, too. I love seeing stuff through that "Fruit lens" you've maintained throughout your work. Well done.

I will also mention this last one you did because I actually think it blew my Retro mind how you position and frame things. This piece in particular has influenced me a lot when it comes to text.
Image

Image

Image



Fruit: Oh you can see I used the same texture for the background in those last two sigs, lol. Thanks for the compliments bb

SO! because Retro's super talented, I'll talk about both coding and graphics. Retro's codes give me the biggest headache. I promise that's a compliment to how mind-blowingly amazing they are. The first post of her Factory thread is beyond insane. The colors flow together flawlessly, and the graphics compliment the coding perfectly. Very few thread designs can pull off looking good and easy to read.

For graphics, those two are my favorite:

View: https://i.imgur.com/tV0Mr14.mp4


View: https://i.imgur.com/2gmIWM6.png


The .gif is incredibly creative. I really like how it loops seamlessly. The text is great, the clipping/masking is such a nice touch as well. The other poster is great because its Retro's signature touch on an extremely soft design. Its both soft and chaotic - I adore it.

Image


Thanks Design Team, and thanks for reading!​
 
On Today's Interview: Recently-banned Former BMR Staff Praxis and Chap Discuss
Their Ban, Their Appeal, and Their Hopes For A Resolution​



Hi guys, how's it going?

Chap: I'm doing pretty good, all things considered.

Prax: Great. (I should preface this by saying: if I'm under some sort of gag-order, regarding this incident, Staff is more than welcome to communicate that with me. As it stands, I'm not aware of any rules, or prohibitions, against answering questions when asked.)


So, you guys were recently banned from Blue Moon. How did you find out?

Prax: I found out, randomly, when I went to reload the page the other day. I check in; answer PM's, goof off in chat, between work meetings and other nonsense. When you get banned, the page fails to load, and you're instead greeted with a: "You have been banned for the following reason:"

In my case, that reason was: "Harassment".

Honestly, my first thought was that something had gone wrong; an Admin/Moderator had gotten hacked, and was dishing out bans willy-nilly. It took me a few minutes to realize I needed to check the email I registered to BMR with. You can't receive messages, or view anything on the Blue Moon main page when banned -- so any contact from Staff (regarding the ban) would be done via email.

Sadly, there was nothing there, and I was only able to receive a tiny bit of clarification on the nature of the "harassment" when I attempted to contact several Administrators using different methods.

Chap: I found out when Praxis and Fruit messaged me about it. I had already been withdrawn from the site for around a month with no intention of coming back. There was no communication from the admins through email, Discord, or any other means they have of contacting me. I only got a transparent answer when I approached one of the admins directly over Discord.


That's really surprising, since both of you were pretty active on the site! How long were each of you members, and how did you contribute to BMR?

Prax: I've been a member since April of 2014. So, just shy of 10 years.

As far as my contributions go: I was a member of staff (at Officer level; what's now Moderator) for about two and a half years. Sadly, I don't design art, and my coding skills effectively wax, and wane, with how often I need to use them (which is to say, they're not stunning, lol).
Chap: I joined in June of 2021 under the whitechapel account. I was a member of the Welcoming Committee as well as the Design Team. I then left the site in… I think August of 2022? That was after having an ethical conflict with Vekseid over the site's rules. I won't go into detail about that here.

Anyway, I came back as blackchapel in… I think Feb or March of 2023? This was mostly on Prax's request so that we could finish a story we were writing together. That fell through, I hung around the site a bit longer trying to run a group game, and then left again in late July after the group game fell apart. This time, I left for several reasons, but one of those reasons was that a member of the site that I had been pretty close to started making me uncomfortable.


What were you guys banned for?

Prax: Harassment, as I stated before. Specifically, the harassment of an unnamed individual who's since been banned as well. In my attempts to defend myself (and appeal the ban) I provided numerous examples of this person's abusive, vitriolic nature, as well as material that exposed their ongoing attempts to shift blame onto me.

To be clear: I've never harassed this person, or ANY person on Blue Moon. Their first real instance of antagonism toward me resulted in me blocking them (both on BMR, and Discord). Staff's reasoning, for citing harassment, is based on unverifiable content provided by, who I assume is, the aforementioned person.

Chap: To be honest? I still don't have much of a clue. I've heard through the grapevine that the unnamed individual (who I mentioned above making me uncomfortable, and the same person who made allegations against Prax) claimed that I'm someone I'm not. Like, literally. They started saying that I was the alt of another banned user who had given them trouble in the past. I'm not, obviously, but apparently that was good enough for the admins.

It's worth noting that I would have considered this unnamed individual a close friend up until very recently. They blocked me on Discord out of the blue a few weeks ago. I had started putting some distance between us because of said discomfort, but we'd never had so much as an argument or anything that could even remotely be considered harassment. The admins haven't explained in depth either, despite my asking. I've also offered to show them logs from our Discord chats that would prove what I'm saying is true. They've yet to get back to me.


Praxis, you were on staff for a long time. What was the standard procedure when dealing with a report of harassment from a member?

Prax: Given that there have been "numerous small or moderate changes" to the Rules since last I enforced them, and that harassment is a dodgier subject to tackle, the general protocol was:
* Make contact with the person reporting the incident
* Acquire screenshots, or other pieces of "evidence" supporting this claim
* Compile your evidence for the rest of Staff to review in their specific discussion forums
* Reach a decision on how best to handle the issue on a case by case basis (factoring in severity of the harassment, prior instances of harassment, and evidence acquired). This should include as thorough research as is needed. This is where Staff involvement, and situational awareness, are sort of paramount. For every instance of harassment, there are differences in the specifics. Speaking vaguely, some instances are pretty clear cut. Speaking more personally, as with my case, the details were manifold, and -- as is clear by my appeal -- required extensive research.
* Issue the ban/suspension.

Contact with the reported individual, in some instances, can be beneficial. Discussing the issue can reveal more context to the situation. This is trickier when dealing with harassment; often, perception of threat, or blatantly malicious content, can prompt quick action. With harassment being among the more serious offenses (here, or in any community), there is no "hard-and-fast" rule for when a ban can be applied, to my knowledge. Rather, it comes down to response time from Staff, and the severity, or time-sensitive nature, of the issue.

From a purely speculative standpoint: it seems like they reacted, heavily, to an accusation, without doing proper due diligence.

Regardless, communication is just a good operational standard to have. Speaking personally, I pride myself on being level-headed. I don't believe information regarding an issue with a member I considered something like a friend would have caused me to lash out, or worsen the situation. I also don't believe the content they've been provided warranted a permanent ban.

Answering these questions, now, is a last-ditch attempt at making this issue known to whomever might be concerned with the way this site is being managed. Communication is dependent on the time, and availability, of Staff members. To expect constant availability from them is impossible. However, at the time of writing this, it's been almost 5 days with zero effective communication in any form. This is, frankly, an upsetting and sad standard to hold.

Investing yourself in what matters to many is a core tenet of responsibility. Responsibility needs to be a core tenet of Staff members.


In what ways did your situation depart from the protocol?

Prax: Again, based on what I've been able to glean about my ban (communication has been virtually non-existent, after four days of the ban being in place, and with sufficient communication on my part) this was a total departure from how things are, typically, handled, in my experiences.

Several members of Staff were not made aware of the incoming ban. The decision to ban me was, at best, divided, among those who ultimately made the decision. No effective communication has been given regarding the ban, or the appeal. Subsequent communication was both inaccurate, and revealing toward one party: they revealed the name of the person reporting me; this is a major no-no -- it's unnecessary at best, and could lead to further, or increased, harassment, at worst. They also provided misinformation in their reasoning (dates and timelines) that I had to correct.

Put simply, the entire thing was very poorly executed, and could be considered hilarious, if it weren't so gosh-darn tragic, and a major pain in my ass.


Have you been given any opportunity to access the messages, writing, and materials you created over the years on BMR?

Chap: No. But granted, I was withdrawn and didn't have access to any of that anyway.

Prax: No. This is a major concern of mine. Almost 10 years worth of writing, and correspondence -- both with current, and past partners -- is effectively lost to me until this is resolved. Sadly, if the ban stays in place (as I hope it won't), I stand to lose ownership of that content forever.


What do you hope the resolution of the situation will be? What are your plans for the future?

Chap: Well, I hope Prax gets unbanned, for one. In my case, I wasn't planning on coming back to the site for a long time and I'm not planning on coming back now at all, even if I'm unbanned as well. As far as an actual resolution goes… I'd like a more in depth explanation, at the very least. How this happened, why this happened, how the admins could even begin to believe these claims without evidence. I'd like to see this trigger a change in admin transparency that I've been begging for even back when I was on the Design Team. I'd like to see this be used as an example of how not to handle a situation. If we're being completely transparent, I'd like to see this make the admins reconsider their position on the site and the policies they have in place because it's pretty clear that something is broken and has been for a long time now.

But that's just me being petty. My plans for the future? Stay far away from BMR and carry on with my life.

Prax: I hope for my account to be unbanned, lol. I hope for something like this to never happen again. To me, or to anyone who makes the mistake of getting on the bad side of a problematic person. I hope for the members of Staff to practice more care in how they handle potentially confusing, or difficult, situations. I hope they learn how to communicate better, and that they don't issue out any more permanent bans, to members who've done nothing wrong.

I hope, really, that something can be learned from this.

My plans for the future are to continue writing. Be that here, or someplace that operates under the care of a more capable administration team.

I'm not a motivational speaker, or one of those team-building specialists that companies hire to boost morale and meet deadlines more quickly. All of my advice, for them, boils down to: Do better. Try harder.

Or, in the words of my father:

"Get your shit together."




[Interviewer's Note: I approached both individuals with the concept of this interview, solicited their participation, and take full responsibility for it existing. The bans occurred on August 11th. The interview was conducted from August 13th-15th and the details are accurate as of August 15th. As of time of publication, the result of the appeal is unknown.]

Update: Both bans were overturned by BMR staff the week after publication. Chap remains Withdrawn.
 
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