15 + 40 points
Ethereal Cartography by Juliette
November 1st, 2009 10:07 PM
I immediately decided I wanted to map my relationships within my closest circle of friends. If we were all plainly and truly friends, it would be an easy circle with chords between each pair, but that is unfortunately not so. There are a few notable relationships (one couple, one set of super best friends) that are so important I had to include, even though this is really a map of my relationships with these people. If I don't have a Secret One-Way Feeling (dislike, lust, etc.) toward someone, it means that I really do feel towards them the way I behave on the surface.
Here's how I drew the relationships I thought I might want to show:
Groups:
"Journalism bubble" is Sandra, Taylor, Rachel
"We pretend to like each other" aka the catty girls is Sandra, me, and Rachel (Yes, I can be a catty bitch. I try to avoid it.)
"The guys actually like each other" is all the guys, who somehow manage to get along and make time to hang out despite all the drama we ladies generate that would otherwise tear people apart.
"Programmers" is me, Cullen, and Max.
Relationships:
Sandra&Sam: 2-year relationship
Theo&Cullen: best friends
Sandra&me: "friends"
Taylor&me: Real friendship
Rachel&me: friendly acquaintances (FAs), we used to be close
Sam&me: FAs
Jay&me: Real friendship
Finnian&me: FAs
Cullen&me: ex-lovers (not ex-couple; note the difference), now semi-awkward, semi-flirtatious, semi-friends
Max&me: FAs with some background animosity because 1. he stole some of my friends and 2. he resents that our favorite teacher, Sra. Ballbé, liked me better when we had her class (because I actually worked, duh)
Theo&me: FAs
Secret One-Way Feelings (from me):
To Sandra: Annoyance/Dislike
To Cullen: The tiiiiiiiniest bit of lust
To Rachel: Annoyance
Here's the final map:

Let's check out each landmass.
-Sandra is a bit of a barren rock, but there are welcoming beaches to the south and a bridge to Sam because of their relationship. Her strongest animosity is towards me (which I reciprocate), so there are cliffs facing me, jagged rocks, and a sea monster, which turned out much cuter than is accurate.
-Taylor is very open and welcoming (beaches, a bay to the southeast), but ultimately you have to know her very well to see her true personality (which is hidden somewhere amongst those mountains). Taylor is also known as The Artful Dodger here on SF0. Check her out, she's a creative young lady.
-Rachel is... scattered, to say the least. She has interpersonal relationships, but seems to live mostly within her own head. I had no idea what to put for Rachel, so she has a lot of what I think are rope bridges.
-I'm Juliette, and because this map is focused on my relationships, I'm the island in the middle. I have friendly beaches on most of my shore, jagged rocks to the northwest because that's where Sandra is, mountains off in the distance because while I am mostly an open person, I keep a few of my secrets... My closest friendships are with Taylor and Jay, so we have bridges... a road trails off towards Cullen, but that bridge seems to have been lost in a storm...
-The guys are all on one island because they're all pretty close. They even have a secret lair. The roads amongst them are all paved, representing more permanence in their relationships. They share some geographical features, namely the Disproportional Cactus Desert and Lakeshore Lagoon. The Disproportional Cactus Desert, closest to Max, Theo, and Cullen, represents their great love of adventure and recklessness. Lakeshore Lagoon (named after an outdoor shopping thingy near our school) is closest to Jay and Sam because, like any typical teenage boys, they are always hungry.
-Sam is friendly to everyone (beaches), but slightly separated from the rest of the guys because of his long-term relationship with Sandra. He is connected to them by a road and a bridge, however. The grasslands over his border with Jay are their comfortable friendship.
-Jay is a very open person, so he doesn't have much going on except some friendly beach and his connections with me and the road linking all the guys.
-Finnian is a private sort of guy, surrounded by forest, which I am picturing as only deciduous trees, with not very many fluffy woodland creatures, but not many predators either. This forest is eerily empty until you reach the bustling heart, which is fully of intellectuals scampering from library to library. (Finnian is one smart dude.)
-Cullen is also sorta private and surrounded by forest, but his forest is a redwood forest with lots of ferns, lots of fog, and lots of hungry wolves looking at you lecherously. The center of the forest, however, is like Lothlórien. There's a secret tunnel over to Theo (their really close friendship), and an old trail heading up towards me, which passes through the Old-Growth Forest, which coniferous and full of glades, as well as the road crossing the guys' island.
-Theo is another fairly open person (beaches, open space) whose recklessness is reflected by his proximity to the aptly named Disproportional Cactus Desert.
-Max is similar to Theo, but he has another layer, one that is impenetrable to me, so he has a bit of a swamp on his shore. Actually, it's quite a large swamp, full of birds and bugs and possibly swamp monsters (not pictured).
I am of course very close with people not represented on this map, but this was the biggest group I could think of where we all have *some* relationship to each other.
Here's how I drew the relationships I thought I might want to show:

"Journalism bubble" is Sandra, Taylor, Rachel
"We pretend to like each other" aka the catty girls is Sandra, me, and Rachel (Yes, I can be a catty bitch. I try to avoid it.)
"The guys actually like each other" is all the guys, who somehow manage to get along and make time to hang out despite all the drama we ladies generate that would otherwise tear people apart.
"Programmers" is me, Cullen, and Max.
Relationships:
Sandra&Sam: 2-year relationship
Theo&Cullen: best friends
Sandra&me: "friends"
Taylor&me: Real friendship
Rachel&me: friendly acquaintances (FAs), we used to be close
Sam&me: FAs
Jay&me: Real friendship
Finnian&me: FAs
Cullen&me: ex-lovers (not ex-couple; note the difference), now semi-awkward, semi-flirtatious, semi-friends
Max&me: FAs with some background animosity because 1. he stole some of my friends and 2. he resents that our favorite teacher, Sra. Ballbé, liked me better when we had her class (because I actually worked, duh)
Theo&me: FAs
Secret One-Way Feelings (from me):
To Sandra: Annoyance/Dislike
To Cullen: The tiiiiiiiniest bit of lust
To Rachel: Annoyance
Here's the final map:

Let's check out each landmass.
-Sandra is a bit of a barren rock, but there are welcoming beaches to the south and a bridge to Sam because of their relationship. Her strongest animosity is towards me (which I reciprocate), so there are cliffs facing me, jagged rocks, and a sea monster, which turned out much cuter than is accurate.
-Taylor is very open and welcoming (beaches, a bay to the southeast), but ultimately you have to know her very well to see her true personality (which is hidden somewhere amongst those mountains). Taylor is also known as The Artful Dodger here on SF0. Check her out, she's a creative young lady.
-Rachel is... scattered, to say the least. She has interpersonal relationships, but seems to live mostly within her own head. I had no idea what to put for Rachel, so she has a lot of what I think are rope bridges.
-I'm Juliette, and because this map is focused on my relationships, I'm the island in the middle. I have friendly beaches on most of my shore, jagged rocks to the northwest because that's where Sandra is, mountains off in the distance because while I am mostly an open person, I keep a few of my secrets... My closest friendships are with Taylor and Jay, so we have bridges... a road trails off towards Cullen, but that bridge seems to have been lost in a storm...
-The guys are all on one island because they're all pretty close. They even have a secret lair. The roads amongst them are all paved, representing more permanence in their relationships. They share some geographical features, namely the Disproportional Cactus Desert and Lakeshore Lagoon. The Disproportional Cactus Desert, closest to Max, Theo, and Cullen, represents their great love of adventure and recklessness. Lakeshore Lagoon (named after an outdoor shopping thingy near our school) is closest to Jay and Sam because, like any typical teenage boys, they are always hungry.
-Sam is friendly to everyone (beaches), but slightly separated from the rest of the guys because of his long-term relationship with Sandra. He is connected to them by a road and a bridge, however. The grasslands over his border with Jay are their comfortable friendship.
-Jay is a very open person, so he doesn't have much going on except some friendly beach and his connections with me and the road linking all the guys.
-Finnian is a private sort of guy, surrounded by forest, which I am picturing as only deciduous trees, with not very many fluffy woodland creatures, but not many predators either. This forest is eerily empty until you reach the bustling heart, which is fully of intellectuals scampering from library to library. (Finnian is one smart dude.)
-Cullen is also sorta private and surrounded by forest, but his forest is a redwood forest with lots of ferns, lots of fog, and lots of hungry wolves looking at you lecherously. The center of the forest, however, is like Lothlórien. There's a secret tunnel over to Theo (their really close friendship), and an old trail heading up towards me, which passes through the Old-Growth Forest, which coniferous and full of glades, as well as the road crossing the guys' island.
-Theo is another fairly open person (beaches, open space) whose recklessness is reflected by his proximity to the aptly named Disproportional Cactus Desert.
-Max is similar to Theo, but he has another layer, one that is impenetrable to me, so he has a bit of a swamp on his shore. Actually, it's quite a large swamp, full of birds and bugs and possibly swamp monsters (not pictured).
I am of course very close with people not represented on this map, but this was the biggest group I could think of where we all have *some* relationship to each other.
13 vote(s)
3














Spidere
4
Ombwah
4
Austin Cook
4
Ben [Sunshine]
3
Skitz Ø
3
transit monkey
3
Wetdryvac
2
Loki
4
Ben Yamiin
3
Bethany Juju
2
Brock Dubbels
2
Lindar Greenwood
3
River Rock
A thoughtful completion.
One wonders how long your secret one-way feelings will remain secret, now that they're posted on the internet. But, perhaps that is the point. Or, at least a point.