In response to a story bonemarch is working on:

( Now THAT would make for an awesome family pet! )

I now return you to reality...

I must really enjoy pain. I spent all of last evening trying to get my external .swf files to embed in Flash, but I couldn't figure out why it wouldn't work. Getting sleep cleared my head though, although it still took a lot of trial and error before I thought to check my .xml file (which houses the external .swf information so Flash knows what it is looking for) only to see that...it somehow had a TON if random code I never put in it! GAAH! Once I fixed that, Flash and the .xml file worked just fine! And then, more tweaking...

Good news is, my homepage (the dragon page) works, my arrow keys only work when I click on something that actually needs to use arrow keys (trust me, figuring out WHY the arrow keys would not de-link to the external .swf files when not on the proper link was not fun!), my class cards finally have proper backgrounds, and I even made a home button that only pops up when one is away from the homepage but wants to stare into the face of the dragon anyway. Is it any wonder my brain feels completely fried?

( Just a sampling, plus a hefty chunk of Flash code. So many hours went into the coding, it's not funny! )

Pretty crazy, isn't it? And to think, I still need to make external .swfs for the races, how to play (ought to be fun) and then credits. At least I'm getting there! Also, we apparently need sound for this project. Some people have just been streaming music to play on theirs, but I don't know if I want to do that. I think it might be more fun to make the characters 'interactive' in that when they're clicked on, they'll say something. Of course this means recording myself in order to have them able to say anything. Sadly I left my external microphone at home, but the laptop's not too bad. Hmm... Opinions? Am I the only one who hates loading a site only to be bombarded with song?

Edit: And where the heck did all of my icons go?? I don't have time to reupload them all right now... Give them back, LJ! You seem to think they're still there...

It's a siiiiign! It took forever for my footage I shot nearly two weeks ago to import to iMovie, so I put the raw .dv files on my iPod and dashed off to my Flash class intending to edit the footage there. My laptop's version of iMovie is older, so it wasn't as nice as what I've gotten used to (in the brief time I've used the newest version of iMovie), but I still got the twenty minutes of footage chopped down to about five minutes. Then, just as I was thinking I should save, iMovie froze up on me. An hour, gone! Class was about over anyway so I set off for home and for the waiting desktop, where I quickly re-edited the footage to what I wanted it to be. And then I had fun... :D It looks really cool embedded into Flash, too! But, since no one can see my Flash file yet, here's the video I put together:

( Warning! LDS gamers behind the cut! )

It was so hard cutting out some of the footage! These guys really are a lot of fun (and yes, all but one of them is married) and definitely very cool in allowing me to record them! They even said I could upload the footage online. I'll have to see what they think of the finished project later. (I have to say, it felt good to be editing video again! It feels like forever since I really had a reason to, or at least time. My poor Toronto footage still waits...)

Smart idea: Come home after class to work on more drawings for my Flash class final project.

Stupid idea: Get so caught up in drawing that necessities like eating are completely forgotten.

End result: My drawings are done (for now), but I feel extremely light-headed. I ate something, but it's going to take a while for my body to register that it's not going to keel over from hunger. It brought me a nice headache as well, but I guess I have no one to blame but myself. Whee-*falls over*

In any case, enjoy the fruits of my creativity:

( After this people will have to rethink girls playing D&D. Not a male character to be had! )

Getting closer... I might forgo drawing a sorceress and barbarian since I can easily reuse some of my drawings for that (or perhaps I'll mash the two classes together since they are sort of similar to a wizard and fighter). I'll see what happens. I still need to draw some generic characters for the different races. Ought to be fun...but I think it'll have to wait for another day. I am speeeeeent!

But, in cooler news, after next week two of my classes are OVER AND DONE WITH, which means either an early final, or no final at all. I'm actually really happy about that! Time to stress about the rest. Whoo!

I was good and worked on my Textiles lab earlier today, but after staring at fabric yarns for so many hours one tends to go a bit loopy...no pun intended. Stupid terry cloth... Aside from that, whenever I have to work with all those fabric swatches I start to feel weird. I'm not sure if it's mental, or if some of the fabrics are treated with something I'm reacting to. I'm really looking forward to tossing that binder of swatches (sans the binder) away. $80 down the drain...

After I'd have enough (and rescued "H" from town) I moved into the living room where "Mi" was watching Animal Cops on Animal Planet. I love the Animal Cops shows (even if many are heartbreaking) so I happily watched while working to get rid of my leftover clay:

( Here there be wolfish folk )

Time to let the growing family dry while I work on making some pizza for dinner..

Highlights from last night's D&D session:

Setup: we've been in a city filled with doppelgangers that continue to attack us. Seems there's a hit list with all of our names on it, which is not good. The group found a missing dwarf worker from a nearby temple tucked away in a warehouse, learning that this supposed same dwarf was coming to the warehouse for a meeting. Putting two and two together, we lay in wait to attack. Soon after the doppelganger dwarf and his posse came into the warehouse (escorted by our party's dwarf disguised as a guard) my Seeker attacked the main target, knocking him prone. And then...

Dane, the Cleric, standing up high making himself glow in the darkened warehouse in an attempt to intimidate the main bad guy: "BEHOLD, THE POWER OF PELOR!"

Larua (me), the Seeker: "That might be more effective if he wasn't deafened." (Her attack's effect leaves the target prone and deaf for a full round)

Doppelganger: (Utterly confused as he entered a dark warehouse only to be knocked down and cannot hear anything.)

Dane: "......"

Last night was a lot of fun though. Out of character chatter continues to be interesting. One of the guys was talking about one of his checks, claiming, "I have a four!", but one of the other guys misheard him and joked, "I thought you said, 'I have a whore'," to which more of the guys jumped in with, "If you ever refer that way to your wife again, I'll have to hurt you!" They were all joking of course, but seeing how all but one of the guys in the group is married, it was a bit amusing. It's not often I hear a guy defend his wife (or even a friend's wife).

Speaking of wives, earlier in the evening one of the guys had his wife and little girl stop by to deliver dinner (we game in an apartment complex where most of the gamers live), which was adorable since the little girl is so sweet, but the little girl escaped her apartment twice more to come visit her dad. The mother was always right behind her, standing in the doorway waiting patiently. What's more amusing to me is that the little girl is almost the right size for a Halfling, so it brought back memories of my Halfing, Jacki, being mistaken for a little girl. Memories...

Oh yeah! Last thing! After the battle where over ten enemies died:

Zorn, the Rogue/Assassin, looking to our wizard, Venahl: "How long will it take you to use Prestidigitation to clean up all this blood?"

Larua (me), the Seeker: "Just move all these crates to cover it up."

Dane, the Cleric, to Larua: "See, this is why we hired you!"

(Larua was hired as a bodyguard to protect Dane, but she's seeming to become the voice of reason for the group as well. Before the ambush last night everyone debated forever on how to lure everyone in. It was Larua that suggested the dwarf, Thade, disguise himself as another dwarf we had just taken out. He wasn't up for that, but we were able to disguise him as a guard, so it all worked out...somehow. Larua's got an average intelligence so it's fun to point out what's obvious to her but seems to escape the rest of the (smarter) party.)

I missed gaming so much! ^_^

Still no internet... I came home to find a note stuck to our wall saying that we all have to scan our computers for viruses. EVERYONE in the complex has to do it before we get our internet back. Of course the places we were told to go to get anti-virus scanning software is Windows only..but a quick search and Apple's seal of approval later I found Avast!, and my computer's been getting scanned since. It already came up with two viruses, but they're Windows viruses so nothing for me to fear. I just hope it finishes soon, and I hope the rest of the complex gets their computers checked as well. I'm tired of stealing the neighboring complex's slow wi-fi!

Anyway, the dragon project has been finished for a bit now (Mira's seated by my computer being a far more studious student than I) but I still had half a block of Das clay. "No problem," I thought, thinking it would be the perfect amount to make the wolf version of my bard. So I started the other day on her and just did most of the stabilizing today. (After my sister chewed on me for not using a skeleton for the dragon, I used toothpicks for the legs and to stabilize wolf Alya's neck and tail.) ...and I still have most of the clay left. Bah!

Next plan of attack is to keep running with it. Wolf Alya's turned out better than I expected, so I'll try for Amranath next. And should there still be clay after that, I'll appease my roommate and make the pups. But all in due time. I ought to finish touching up Alya first, and at the moment she needs a day of drying before I attempt to do anything else. I am really happy I sacrificed $10 to get a clay-modeling tool kit at the bookstore though. Given Alya's quite a bit smaller than Mira, they've been a real lifesaver!

(And just so people don't think I've been playing all afternoon, I also changed all of the burnt out lightbulbs in the apartment, plus cleaned off the light covers that were still filled with fried insects. My room and the living room are so much brighter now!)

Edit: "C" decided to watch more Lost tonight, so I got impatient and worked on Alya anyway. I think she's 99% done:

Hilarious! I just checked this week's Scroll and the Letters to the Editor, which so far has been non-existant, was swamped with responses to the D&D article last week! One whole page of it. :D (And yes, I got printed as well.) Seems we have a lot of people here willing to defend D&D, even if they don't play it themselves, which is awesome. I guess it is true there is a high percentage of LDS gamers, I've just never encountered many.

I was amazed (and a bit shocked) to see most of the response attacked the second article's author, who granted, wrote a very opinionated piece without doing any research. Hopefully this'll teach her that she needs to be careful with what she writes to be published. Making sweeping generalizations about people isn't the best way to make friends.

Seems to be a theme as of late.

I have been educated! LDS guys are the same as regular guys when it comes to gaming: they have odd taste in entertainment and often like to quote from it, they tell bad jokes, and they take delight in things like deflowering women everywhere. (Okay, so not so much, but the one guy is playing a character very much like one Reginald. Quite the lady's man!) It was almost like being back home again, but missing the bad language. The guys even do the fist bumping thing...

So yes, I had a blast! I just hope my dice cooperate with me next time...

I hate feeling conflicted! I have so many interests in my life but it's hard to settle on just one to really develop since it means neglecting the others. BAH. A mental image came to mind of standing on the peak of a mountain and looking down all the various sides, each one leading to a different destination. Technically yes, I could climb back up after choosing a side to travel down, but it would be rather labor-intensive.

Oh, life, you continue to drive me crazy with all the possibilities!

In other news, I called my kid sister the other day to wish her happy birthday and ended up talking to her for a while. It was really nice! I miss my kid sister... Anyway, I asked if Deviantart accepts .swfs just offhand and she said yes, so now that I've had a moment to breathe I uploaded my first banner ad...minus the stopped animation and the local business banner. No more ugly .gifs!


Flaming Dragon Ad by ~IchibanVictory on deviantART

I get to meet a group of strangers tonight to play D&D (minus the guy I originally e-mailed, who I know in passing from having classes with him way back when) and I'm getting really excited, as well as really nervous! The wife of the DM will be running the new campaign, which I think is pretty cool. It'll be nice having at least one other woman around. In the meantime, it's off to Case Studies for me!

Hell hath frozen over! I got the school paper today only to come across a point-counterpoint opinion piece on...get this, Dungeons and Dragons. As seems typical, the writer for D&D was male and knew what he was talking about. The writer against D&D was female, and seemed to know little about it. Seriously, how many people do you know who 'fight to become DM'? In my experience no one wanted to be the DM unless they had to!

Anyway, I was amused enough by such an article even existing that I finally wrote a letter to the editor. If nothing else, I'd like guys to know that not all girls on this campus shun the game. In fact, I still need to e-mail that one guy to see if his group is playing this fall. Maybe I ought to go do that...

All things considered though, I'm disappointed in the second writer since she didn't do research beyond "it's weird". Also, just because you don't like Vin Diesel doesn't mean he's not a good actor. I wish I'd had my D&D's 30th Anniversary book with me to plug in the names of a lot of other famous D&D players. Maybe then she'd change her tune.

Man, I miss gaming...

I found out this morning that one of the coworkers is very arachnophobic. I was by the fax machine getting something done when I looked behind me near the fridge, only to see a small brown spider walking along. I pointed it out to the coworker, but she in turn got bug-eyed and backed away and told me to get it. She's seriously not go anywhere near it! I grabbed a paper coffee cup and a slip of paper and easily caught the thing, but I had to walk past her to escort the spider outside. The coworker made sure to give me a wide berth, despite the spider being safely contained within the cup. The spider was more than happy to scurry away once outside.

Later on after we'd finally been able to close, the same coworker was emptying the trash cans. After she'd taken a trash bag out and was returning to put in a new bag, she was greeted by a small white spider that was apparently upset at having its home disturbed. It had its legs out in an aggressive stance, or so she says. (A beetle did the same thing to me down in Florida, so I'm willing to believe she was right.) The spider was moving about a bit too much, so I just escorted the whole trash can outside where I could blow the spider off. It decided to scurry under my car.

The coworker is pretty goodnatured about her fear though. She knows it's stupid. I did tell her that I'd watch out for her, so if another spider enters the bakery she just needs to let me know and I'll remove it for her. ^_-

In other news, I'm going to pull a cruel DM trick. Everyone who sent in a bio (all three of you) shall get a special item. Exactly what is a secret. The other two of you... Twenty more minutes to go before I say no. :P

...something in Bremerton is trying to kill me. Perhaps it's because my nose is still sensitive since I'm just barely getting over being sick, but something in the air in Bremerton really set me off tonight. It wasn't so bad at game, but when I finally got in my car to drive back home, I sneezed at least ten times within a couple of minutes. It was painful. And hard to see the road. And...and blech, my nose is still stuffed up and unhappy! I wish I knew what I was reacting to.

It was worth putting up with in order to actually game tonight, though. I'm not quite sure why, but this particular campaign is filled with punnery and other silly shenanigans. I ought to behave myself and stay in character next time and see if the puns happen anyway. Ruon being who she is, I doubt she'd really get the whole play on words thing. I, on the other hand, love them perhaps a bit too much. (And I do like the classic, "Duck!" "Where?")

Here's hoping my nose has settled down before work tomorrow...

My oldest brother and his clan finally came last evening so I got to 'chase' my nieces and nephew around...sort of. I actually cheated and brought out all the plush toys I'd 'rescued' while doing the Disney program and let the kids have at them. It was so adorable when my nephew had a mountain of characters to choose from, but who did he grab?

Stitch.

And not just once, but twice. He grabbed the normal Stitch plush I got, then grabbed the Christmas Stitch as well. He held both for a time before settling on the regular Stitch, surrendering the other to me. I am greatly amused! The kid has good taste. ^_-

The Stitch-fest managed to invade my dreams though, so if you ever want something weird (but very cool!), dream you are Stitch. And for some reason you keep trying to land a plane that is damaged. I failed many times (but since Stitch is virtually indestructible, of course he can't die!) but the last time I finally got it! And there was much rejoicing and bragging to random passersby. Lilo was there as well...as was a group of three people trying to track us down...and then somehow cougars attacked them so we had to save them? ...I don't know, it got really weird after that...

In any case, new day, things to get done! I need to write out the history for my yet unnamed (definitely wild!) elf druid for danarchy84's game. The girl won't stop talking, which is funny since she'll probably end up being of few understandable words when actually in play. (Language barriers, we love them!)

Last but not least...Happy Birthday, earthstar_chan!

Yesterday was spent doing things like unpacking my car so that my room can again be filled with stuff, which I need to sort through and tidy, plus spending time with my parents. Even basic things like searching Silverdale for Cadbury eggs with my dad was a bit of an adventure. (Seriously! They were all over Rexburg, but they seem non-existent in Silverdale!) I also did exciting things like fall victim to the comfy couch because I'm still getting caught up on sleep, but my body refuses to do it past 9 a.m., hence why I'm posting at the moment.

Yesterday was topped off with visiting my oldest brother and his family. We were horrible and didn't warn the kids ahead of time that I was coming by with my dad. My eldest niece opened the door, looked up at me and exclaimed (and I quote), "Eee!" Too bad she was sucked back into her Sponge Bob cartoon soon after, but within a short time both nieces were clamoring for my attention. My nephew hadn't seen me for a long time, so he needed some time to warm up to me. At the start of the evening he wouldn't look at me (he would look away if I looked at him), but by the end he was climbing all over me just like my nieces, and wanting to be held. He's become a little boy behind my back!

I also learned fun things like my still having the ability to crawl through those fabric tubes one gets for kids to play in - unless one has a niece attached to her legs when attempting to do so. I got a bit roughed up last night, but it was completely worth it!

Lastly, I was sleeping pretty soundly until just a short while ago where a character idea struck me for danarchy84's upcoming (I hope?) D&D campaign. Might there be room for a (wild) elf druid? That's one class I've yet to play, and given the state of the ancient elven forests, I believe she'd have a major axe to grind. I'm also thinking she'd speak broken Common since she's not been around non-elves for that long. I don't usually get struck with character concepts just like that, so this is a bit odd. I'll have to work with the idea...I just need to find where I stashed my D&D books. ...ooh! Nevermind, found them! ^_^

*dashes off to get a proper start to her day*

I love days when my religion class gets out early, since it means getting to my fashion design class well before it starts, and the class before is so much cooler! It's an English majors ONLY class that seems to be about...sci-fi and fantasy? Seriously?! A few weeks back I got into the room in time to hear one guy walk up to another and ask, "So when are we gaming next?", and me being me, I teasingly chastised the two for being gamers because, as everyone knows, Latter-day Saints definitely do not game. Ever.

Long story short, I ended up jotting down the e-mail address of one of the guys (who I've had classes with in the past) involved in playing D&D since we're both returning to different parts of Washington for the summer, but will both be back in the Fall. (He told me a funny story on how his bishop kept telling him he couldn't go on a mission since he played D&D, but somehow the bishop's wife ended up playing it with the guy and loving it, so the bishop quickly repented of his ways and gave the guy the all clear.)

I entered today to find the guys again talking to their teacher. One was still at a desk putting things away, one being...The Irresponsible Captain Tylor DVD set?!? (LDS kids watch anime, too? LIES!) Apparently they'd given a presentation on anime to the class. These deprived LDS kids may yet know about the awesomeness that can be anime! I wish I'd seen that presentation. ^_-

And now to the point of this post: Guy I know from before was chatting with the teacher about a web comic that's been going strong for nine years that is done by an LDS guy. I didn't quite catch the name, but when I finally had some free time I typed 'mormon comic artist' into Google to see what I'd find. The first promising link taught me that there are a heck of a lot of LDS comic artists in the industry, within and without the U.S. (some even in Canada!), many having worked on popular series from Spider-Man to X-Men. (GASP!) Pretty cool. We truly are everywhere.

Anyway, I did come across Schlock Mercenary, while being a strange name for a comic, is likewise drawn by an LDS artist. I'll have to check into it more later. I mainly linked to it because when I checked it, what awaited me but mentioning of a future D&D book from LDS author Tracy Hickman! (Note: He's written the Dragonlance series, not to mention done a ton of work in the realm of Dungeons and Dragons.) *laugh*

Life goes full circle. ^_-

Edit: Weather-wise, we had a lightning storm at the same time major snowfall was going on. It was so bizarre! First time I've ever seen that happen..

I don't think my body likes running every which way to get things accomplished. After I got home for the day and had something to eat, I crashed for...heck, almost three hours! (And yep, sure did leave my contacts in..) I didn't really even want to wake up, but after laying in bed between sleep and awake, I decided... Alya needs to be colored! So I spent over three hours doing just that:

( I'm such an artsy (fartsy) D&D nerd! )

So, dragonhealer00, any chance on you wanting to pick up this campaign when I get home? :D Only two more weeks to go!

Current location: The lounge (really a tiny room) in my friend's apartment complex.

Activity: Two guys rolling up characters while referring to me and the .pdfs I gave them to do so.

Motivation: Very high. We've been at it for over two hours.

My current thoughts: Sitting in this small room with a table and people with papers, pencils and dice out really makes me want to watch The Gamers.

Bottom line: I am loving it!

Proof:

Friend-type person is the one making the face.


I'm really amused by these cups we're drinking out of. Little monsters for a drug? Somehow fitting.

*Edited and flipped pictures somehow dropped off the face of my laptop*

Closing thoughts: It would be nice to get at least one other person to join the group (like a healer), but overall this ought to be a fun little group. Our high elf sorcerer already decided he was kicked out of his elven community since he's a bit of an oddball, and his familiar? An electric rat named Sparky. (Yes, a Pikachu, but I find it hilarious.) The monk is a changeling orphan who has decided to venture about the world to keep improving himself, so he's easy to work with, too. I like how they think through problems, although the sorcerer likes his acid flasks a bit too much. I also already had to call DM Intervention to keep the monk alive since he took all of the damage in their starting adventure into an abandoned mansion.

Both are currently resting up at the inn before they trek back into the mansion. I ought to get serious and draw a map out for the place! It's fun to be playing DM again! ^_^

Proof that one should not draw when in church, but you ought to appreciate this, dragonhealer00. The other week I did a small 'thumbnail' of Alya resting against Amranath. Nothing wrong with it, all innocent and such. I drew a larger version, but I didn't really like it much. I drew it again today, and again didn't like it much because Alya's gut looked too big:

( Warning: Puppy love within! )
Who let these characters take up residence in my imagination, anyway?

I can't wait to go over these with the tablet and clean them up! I need to keep drawing during church. Not only do I stay awake for what's going on, my drawings actually turn out!

Sheeeesh! See what happens when I try to sleep? I was completely intent on taking a nap earlier, but I only succeeded to do so for a short while before the want to draw struck. Being the good little artist, I complied. As per usual, I started off with a silly idea (that I do hope to make reality some day), but the drawing had its way and things turned out far different...but I like it!

( One wonders what her reaction was like the first time she shifted... )

Alya seems as impressed by her humanoid hand as I am... I drew it fairly fast (if the fisted hand didn't give that away), but I'm surprised at how well it turned out considering how long it's been since I drew hands. I guess all of those mornings staring at myself in the mirror are finally paying off! ^_^;

(I really, really do not like coloring pictures. So much work, and it never looks nice since I hate taking time to shade. Sewing supplies, I miss you!)