Trollstuck worldbuilding details - please help Liz decide!

[edenfalling]

It has been suggested to me that Alonde's typing quirk should be to use a completely different font from normal chatlog text (i.e., Courier New). This will help differentiate her from Eridan and Feferi, whose colors are otherwise far too similar to hers.

The thing is, font display is such a hit and miss thing, plus there's the issue of finding one that lines up nicely when set next to, on top of, and underneath a whole bunch of Courier New. And it can't distort emoticons too much either.

So. Here are a few options. Please tell me if they display or fail to display on your computers! Please also tell me if they are too small to easily read.

TT: This is Trebuchet MS
TT: I am testing how it deals with stacked lines =:)
TT: And this is normal chatlog text for comparison =:)

TT: This is Monotype Corsiva
TT: I am testing how it deals with stacked lines =:)
TT: And this is normal chatlog text for comparison =:)

TT: This is Monotype Corsiva at +1 size
TT: I am testing how it deals with stacked lines =:)
TT: And this is normal chatlog text for comparison =:)

TT: This is Lucida Handwriting
TT: I am testing how it deals with stacked lines =:)
TT: And this is normal chatlog text for comparison =:)

TT: This is Pristina
TT: I am testing how it deals with stacked lines =:)
TT: And this is normal chatlog text for comparison =:)

TT: This is Pristina at +1 size
TT: I am testing how it deals with stacked lines =:)
TT: And this is normal chatlog text for comparison =:)

...

On the subject of other things that could inform a typing quirk, Alonde likes tentacles and needles. She's a seadweller. And her symbol is Eris:

or



or



(Jarlia is Ceres , Jothan is Mercury , and Davven is the Sun , btw. Because of Symbolic Reasons, and also in the latter case because it's the closest mimic I could find to a record. *grin*)

Comments

[explodingfrogs.livejournal.com]

Lucida doesn't look ugly to me, but I note that there doesn't appear to be a normal-size example of it at the time I'm writing this. Did you remove the normal-size example in response to JoIsBishMyoga's comment, or am I missing something? (I also don't notice a difference in color or shade based on font; perhaps the computers we're using display it differently? Of course, the lines on the alternative fonts are slightly thicker, which might cause the illusion of being a darker shade, especially on a white background...)

Of the four fonts, I would have to say that I like Trebuchet the least. The difference between it and the default is more subtle, and I think that a font that has a more handwritten look to it suits Alonde better. It stands out more, and almost gives the impression that she's actually writing her dialogue out and somehow majyyk-ing it into cyberspace rather than typing it into a computer the normal way, which is the sort of impression I'd imagine she likes to give. It might even be true.

Of the other three, I actually like Lucida the most, if only because I like the wavy effect it has on her emoticon's horns. (Of course, if her horns are actually meant to be perfectly straight, that may be a downside.) That aside, Corsiva looks good at normal size to me. Pristina is mostly nice, but the emoticon looks very awkward in that font.

As for Rose's symbol, consider that the vertical version bears a resemblance to the Pisces symbol. (Take away the middle line and you'll see it.) Do you want to use this version and explore the possible ramifications, implications, and conflicts behind its similarities to the symbol of the Empress and her heiress, or avoid the issue by using the horizontal version?

[edenfalling]

That is Lucida Handwriting's normal size. It looks like this in +1 size. Kind of terrifying, no?

I am undecided about the Pisces-mimic effect of the vertical Hand of Eris (which, yes, I'd noticed). On the one hand, it could be interesting to play with. On the other hand, do I really need more potential complications...?

[explodingfrogs.livejournal.com]

...Wow. Yeah, probably better to give +1 Lucida a miss.

I confess that I still don't see what JoIsBishMyoga finds so ugly about normal-size Lucida, though. I've looked at this post on two different computers now*, and still don't see anything wrong with it. I'd hate to think that my sense of aesthetics is really that lacking.

*Incidentally, the computer I'm using right now doesn't seem to recognize Pristina--it's rendering it as Times New Roman, for some reason. Depending on how common this issue is, that may be another reason not to use it.