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Hi im looking for someone who could be Jack Harkness' (John Barrowman's) younger sister. Age range: 16-early/mid twenties. My character is really serious but has a playful side too. Um thank you!

I'm afraid I do not assist with Faceclaim help!

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Giles spring 2013 rtw details

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Buddhism

And what I have gathered in my research for writing my Buddhist character. Some of this may surprise you.

All of this was gathered from AboutBuddhism.org, I simply put it in an easy-to-read format.

The founder of Buddhism was Buddha Shakyamuni, who was this guy that lived and taught in India about two and a half thousand years ago. Since then millions of people around the world have followed the pure spiritual path he revealed. The Buddhist way of life of peace, loving kindness and wisdom is just as relevant today as it was in ancient India. Buddha explained that all our problems and suffering arise from confused and negative states of mind, and that all our happiness and good fortune arise from peaceful and positive states of mind. He taught methods for gradually overcoming our negative minds such as anger, jealousy and ignorance, and developing our positive minds such as love, compassion and wisdom. Through this we will come to experience lasting peace and happiness. These methods work for anyone, in any country, in any age. Once we have gained experience of them for ourselves we can pass them on to others so they too can enjoy the same benefits.

Meditation

Meditation is at the heart of the Buddhist way of life. It is basically a method for understanding and working on our own mind. We first learn to identify our different negative mental states known as ‘delusions’, and learn how to develop peaceful and positive mental states or ‘virtuous minds’.

Then in meditation we overcome our delusions by becoming familiar with virtuous minds. Out of meditation we try to maintain the virtuous minds we have developed and use our wisdom to solve the problems of daily life. As our mind becomes more positive our actions become more constructive, and our experience of life becomes more satisfying and beneficial to others.

Anyone can learn basic meditation techniques and experience great benefits, but to progress beyond basic meditation requires faith in the Three Jewels – Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Usually people find this develops naturally as they experience the benefits of their meditation practice.

The Spiritual Path

The teachings of Buddha reveal a step by step path to lasting happiness. By following this path anyone can gradually transform his or her mind from its present confused and self-centered state into the blissful mind of a Buddha.

What Buddhists Believe

The mind is neither physical, nor a by-product of purely physical processes, but a formless continuum that is a separate entity from the body. When the body disintegrates at death, the mind does not cease. Although our superficial conscious mind ceases, it does so by dissolving into a deeper level of consciousness, call ‘the very subtle mind’. The continuum of our very subtle mind has no beginning and no end, and it is this mind which, when completely purified, transforms into the omniscient mind of a Buddha.

Every action we perform leaves an imprint, or potential, on our very subtle mind, and each karmic potential eventually gives rise to its own effect. Our mind is like a field, and performing actions is like sowing seeds in that field. Positive or virtuous actions sow the seeds of future happiness, and negative or non-virtuous actions sow the seeds of future suffering. This definite relationship between actions and their effects – virtue causing happiness and non-virtue causing suffering – is know as the ‘law of karma’. An understanding of the law of karma is the basis of Buddhist morality.

After we die our very subtle mind leaves our body and enters the intermediate state, or ‘bardo’ in Tibetan. In this subtle dream-like state we experience many different visions that arise from the karmic potentials that were activated at the time of our death. These visions may be pleasant or terrifying depending on the karma that ripens. Once these karmic seeds have fully ripened they impel us to take rebirth without choice.

It is important to understand that as ordinary samsaric beings we do not choose our rebirth but are reborn solely in accordance with our karma. If good karma ripens we are reborn in a fortunate state, either as a human or a god, but if negative karma ripens we are reborn in a lower state, as an animal, a hungry ghost, or a hell being. It is as if we are blown to our future lives by the winds of our karma, sometimes ending up in higher rebirths, sometimes in lower rebirths.

This uninterrupted cycle of death and rebirth without choice is called ‘cyclic existence’, or ‘samsara’ in Sanskrit. Samsara is like a Ferris wheel, sometimes taking us up into the three fortunate realms, sometimes down into the three lower realms. The driving force of the wheel of samsara is our contaminated actions motivated by delusions, and the hub of the wheel is self-grasping ignorance. For as long as we remain on this wheel we shall experience an unceasing cycle of suffering and dissatisfaction, and we shall have no opportunity to experience pure, lasting happiness. By practicing the Buddhist path to liberation and enlightenment, however, we can destroy self-grasping, thereby liberating ourself from the cycle of uncontrolled rebirth and attaining a state of perfect peace and freedom.

Buddhism Today

With the fast pace and high stress of modern life many people are becoming interested in the peaceful philosophy of Buddhism. In particular there is a very deep interest in learning how to meditate, both to overcome stress and anxiety, and to deepen one’s spiritual experience. In response to this growing interest Kadampa Buddhism offers many different ways of learning about Buddhism and practicing meditation.

Kadampa Buddhism was first introduced to the West in 1976 by the renowned Kadampa Buddhist Master, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Since then he has worked tirelessly to provide all the conditions necessary to support contemporary practitioners. He has written twenty-one authentic books on Buddhism that are now being translated into many different languages.

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When Using an Ellipsis

I'm sure you’ve seen ellipsis somewhere, but on the off chance that you haven’t, they look like this:

…

They typically act as a placeholder for text. They are used to shorten a long quote or make a text selection shorter, wether for space of conciseness. Let’s take the preamble of our very own United States of America for example:

We the People, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice and ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Bit wordy, eh? I thought the same thing when I had to memorize it. So let’s shorten it just a bit, folks.

We the people… do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America.

It carries the same message, but shortens it, making it seem like a less intimidating read, as well as making the information concise and easy to understand.

Additionally, ellipsis can be used when one loses a train of thought. Let’s take a quote from one of my characters for example.

It’s…. it’s not about who you are or where you come from, Alex. It’s what you make yourself into!

The elipsis here was used to show a pause, or a hiccup in the speech or thought of the character. It can show a passage of time, wether moments or days.

The only warning I give is to avoid using it too much. There’s nothing worse than…. writing…. that…. is…. punctuated…………. by…… ellipsis. It’s annoying and looks sloppy. Use them sparingly and correctly, and all will be well.

[macklemorerpc]

I noticed that pretty much all rp-ers i've seen use gifs or draw. I kinda have a problem there: 1. I pretty much just use the iPhone tumblr app so gifs are out I'm pretty sure. 2. I can't draw to save my life. I can't draw for a cookie. 3. I don't actually know the name of my fc i just found a picture of her on my phone randomly. So what should I do?

Oh my. You're in quite a predicament.

It actually isn't impossible to use gifs if you are on mobile! If you give me a few minutes, I can whip you up a guide on how to use gifs for your chats.

Maybe you could see if someone could do commissions for you, to draw some reaction images for your character.

If you can find a way to, then you should submit me a picture of your FC so I can see if I can identify them myself.

[macklemorerpc]

I can see my species guide did pretty well in the community, so I decided I would do another one on planets since I finally returned to the community. This one actually comes after the previous guide, so unless you haven’t stopped by that one yet, then I advise doing that before continuing with this guide.

So you want to build a planet. Good for you. I’m sure you have an image of exactly what you want this little paradise to look like, but do you really know it as well as you tell yourself? Let’s find out.

Population

Is there anything on it? If so, make sure the species belongs and has evolved to the environment, if they are natives. Fill this planet with all the alien species you want, as they will be key in the creation of this little ball of whatever.

Material

What in the world is your planet made out of? Rock? Sand? Is it like Earth, with layers? Does it have some kind of nucleus? Is this nucleus of any significance?

Climate

What is the general climate of the entire landscape like? How does this affect the species that inhabits it? Is it tropical or what? Make sure to include this, and make sure not to stick to the status quo. Go to extremes, be creative, go out of your way! 

Atmosphere

Is the air breathable by humans? If not, what is in it that makes it breathable to your alien inhabitants?

Plants/Other life

Flora and fauna,  what is on there? Are the plants deadly? Do they attack visitors? What are reactions? Using my guide can help with this.

Continents/Liquid bodies

So is it all one landmass, or is there some kind of liquid mass? Oceans? Of what? How come? How are they crossed, if at all? Which continents are inhabited? Why?

Size

This is important. How big is the planet? To give you an idea of a planet size, the earth is 12,715.43 km. Build off of that.  It might be hard to see from a distance. And, if so, how did anyone get there? Why? 

Minerals/Valuable Goods

What is special about this planet? What makes it important to your story? What keeps it going? Is it renewable or not? Is it good or bad for the environment?

Buildings, Cities, Towns, Civilizations

Is the civilization thick or thin? Where is it Why” What are the buildings made out of and what do they look like? Do they blend into the environment or stand out? Is it visible from state? All of this is very important, so don’t skip any questions!!

Moons

Does it have little baby satellites floating around it, or does it have a massive planet with which it tangoes? Is it itself a moon of another, larger planet? Do the moons have life? Does the planet it orbit have life? Go through the guide a gain with all moons/planets! Remember, there is no such thing as too much detail with designing a planet!

Distance from human/protagonist species civilization

Because not every planet is two hours away from Earth/the home planet of your species. Distance is important, so when calculating this, realize that the technology needed to make the journey to the planet must be fitting, or at least close. Always keep your writing relevant to your power— there is little chance that a few kids with jet packs can make it a light year without dying.

These were all the guidelines I could think of, but do not hesitate to message me and ask for help or even suggest another idea so I can credit you and edit it in! Thank you for reading this guide and I hope it helped!! 

[macklemorerpc]

The difference between “empathy” and “apathy”

Or: I see people screw up these words a lot, and I thought I would straighten out the difference.

Empathy

Noun

The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

Synonyms

sympathy

In a nutshell:

Empathy is the ability to relate to others. It’s caring and kindness, and it implies a certain degree of emotional connection. Empathy would be used to describe passion or care for someone or something.

Apathy

Noun

Lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern.

Synonyms

indifference - unconcern - torpor - listlessness

In a Nutshell:

Apathy is basically not caring at all. It’s a certain degree of disinterest and disconnection from everything. In short, it would be used to describe something you don’t care about or don’t have any interest in.

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Designing a Character With Wings

Alternatively titled: James Patterson doesn’t know anything about how wings work

You can’t hide wings. It’s impossible. With the way that wings are constructed, no amount of bindings or trenchcoat could keep them invisible, the tips would still stick out somewhere. Human clothing is not designed to accommodate wings-- hell, humans aren’t made to accommodate wings, so keep that in mind. They will also be heavy, and it will often be difficult for someone to walk for too long, especially if the wings were grafted on when they were a teenager or such.

Molting is a thing that will happen. Feathers will fall off, and during winter, they will cascade off. The character will have to pick the feathers out of and groom their wings regularly, unless they want the feathers to grow in the wrong way and lose the capability to fly, which i’m sure would devastate the mun.

Flying wouldn’t be too glamorous or smooth, either. Long hair would be constantly knotted even if it was tied back, the body would not be like a stiff board as often depicted, it would likely hang from the wings because the body strength to hold the body straight when only supported by the wings on ones back would require some mad abs that I am sure your character doesn’t have.

Also, wings are intensely sensitive. Blood flows through the bone and actual wing structure, as well as into the cuticles of some of the feathers. They’re like arms, but with giant flabs of sensitive skin hanging off of them.... except not really. Basically, you can’t exactly wham someone in the face with your wing and not feel it. If you ever want your character to do something with their wing, ask yourself, “how would it feel if I did this with my arm?”. 

Then there’s flying, which is pretty cool. Common sense applies to this-- your character can’t fly forever. Wings have muscles, which can and will get exhausted if they are used too long. Additionally, if your character was not born with the wings, remember that they will likely have difficulty flying at all, especially at first.

Now, it gets to the measurement. Wings will have to be longer than the character’s arms. They will have to be longer than their legs. Hell, the wings have to be longer than the person is tall, or else they won’t be able to carry their weight. I actually do this by going out into my backyard and drawing a line of chalk the size of the person, then using a tape measure to measure the approximate length of a wing, because then it can be more realistic. If you really wanna get into finding the right wingspan, though, I’m sure you could find some calculation online, but math sucks, so I’m not going to tell you to do that.

Anyways, the last thing I need to say before ending this guide and inserting the mandatory disclaimers, is that wings have bones, which can be broken, and will take a while to heal. They are small and hollow, and so they do heal differently than regular human bones. If one needs tips on how to care for a character’s wounded wing, the best way to do so is to just find out online. Different injuries require different attention. Now, keep in mind that your character might now exactly know how to care for the wound, so you won’t have to, either. When in doubt, put pressure on the wound and make a splint.

So, in conclusion, don’t reference Maximum Ride for wings. It isn’t accurate. Wings are actually a bit of a drag, so be sure to do your fair share of research before just throwing down onto the paper that your character has wings and each feather is a different color, before considering how much effort it takes to have wings. 

Feel free to drop me an ask in my askbox if you need any clarity, and I hope to have one more guide up before the day is through!

[macklemorerpc]

Characters From The City

Wow, I thought that this was hard to get wrong. Evidently, I was misinformed. Within this guide will be several tips and pointers on playing a city-born character, as well as information and the debunking of several myths that surround city life.

I have lived in a city for 14 years of my life, and have only been RPing for two. I have also been in city RPs. Terribly stereotyped, misinformed, and poorly-researched city RPs. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone from the city is a model or actor, goes shopping twice a week, or lives in a cramped apartment. Some don’t even like the city. 

First things first, not a lot of people constantly shop every day. Teenagers do spend Saturdays at the galleria or mall, but it is not every single weekend, especially during the school year. Malls aren’t too special to city-goers, and most don’t even shop at designer labels. City people are normal people, too. They shop at Target and Sear’s, etc. 

Not all people in the city are rich, either. Nor are they all fashion-savvy. Or do they all have the latest this-that-or-the-other. Most people in the city are just that: regular people in the city. 

This may shock you, but not all cities are high-rises and buses. In fact, if you live in a city like Houston, which is actually a mega city built up of smaller cities that eventually were consumed by its growth-- but that’s human geography. Anyways, the point is, that although the downtown of a city may be building, most cities are just highly populated. You can live in a completely normal neighborhood and still be in “the city”. 

Although the further into the city, the more sophisticated the area gets (more museums, higher buildings, more business-oriented things), the people are still people. Most people who live in cities, actually hate them. They are centers of unclean air, crime, and general unpleasant things. Cities are romanticized in most rps and novels, and so the best way to find out about a city is to ask someone who actually lives there.

Additionally, not everyone who lives in the city works or shops in the city. Shit is expensive there, and so getting a job requires a large and quite embellished record, while shopping requires a bottomless wallet. Although many parties are hosted there, and people may go shopping to celebrate, most people do go to brand name stores to shop.

Local businesses can be found in the city, like family-owned subshops and city parks, as well as local stores. They are gems for good finds if you try hard enough, but again, most things are very expensive. Street performers often change from location to location. They’re usually more popular in high-tourist, low-crime areas, like Galveston in Texas. If they are in a city known for fine arts and discovering talent, like New York, they might disregard the crime rate and preform anyways.

Finally, and most importantly, cities can not be pinned down, nor can the people who live there. There are all sorts of people in a city, and to try and say that only this group or only that group live there is absurd. They are centers of economic and social activity, and thrive on having new people and money entering and leaving the city daily. Many people do leave the city on the weekends, especially during summer, to visit smaller towns. 

As always, keep in mind that everything in this guide is subjective, and no two cities are too much alike, and the purpose of this guide was solely to iron out some misconceptions I see a lot in RPs. Up next, I will be doing a guide on designing a character with wings. Until then, feel free to drop by my askbox and address me with any questions or concerns you might have.

[macklemorerpc]

Quick Grammar Protip:

This is the difference between many and much. It's much more simple to understand the difference than many people let on, and it's a common mistake to make. After this explanation, I hope to curb your mistakes and prevent you from making them in the future!

The simple explanation is this: much is usually used for quantity, while many is used for measurement. Despite the fact that quantity is used as a synonym for measurement, it is important to know the difference when considering which word to use for your sentence.

Much

Quantity, according to google definitions, is 

The amount or number of a thing not usually estimated by spatial measurement

Or, in layman's terms, something that isn't measured using metric or english/US customary measurements. These are things that aren't physical, or simply are not typically measured using those things. For example, love, thoughts, or metaphysical things etc., etc.

Example sentences:

NO:

How many do you love me?

How many does that movie cost?

YES:

How much do you love me?

How much does that movie cost?

Many

Measurement, according to google definitions, is 

The size, length, or amount of something, as established by measuring.

Or, in layman's terms, something that has been measured using a standard that is widely accepted and easily translatable into any medium. Things like recipes, concrete objects, or physical things in general, are used for many.

Example sentences:

NO:

How much cats do you have?

How much feet long is your car?

YES:

How many cats do you have?

How many feet long is your car?

Note:

There are some situations where much and many are interchangeable.  Since this is the English language, after all, there are more exceptions than there are mormons in Utah. For example, you would say, I have "many" friends instead of I have "much" friends, and likewise, you could say both "I think that is too many" and "I think that is too much", which rely heavily on context. 

I hope this helped you understand the difference, and I promise to have a new guide up later today!

[macklemorerpc]

Your guides are perf!

Thank you very much!

[macklemorerpc]

Top Tip:

Believe it or not, the personalities of a character are heavily impacted by the FC you use. Despite what most people say, most FCs can only play two or three personality types, especially if the FC is a teenager. Since tumblr RP is very gif-heavy, it is important to have gifs that match your character's emotions-- which doesn't exactly work if you're using Ariana Grande as a serial killer. Switching up FCs can give you a chance to play a personality you might not have been able to play otherwise.

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Characters Raised With A Widowed Parent

Ah yes, you've seen this before. You know it like the back of your hand...  or do you? In here, I will delve into the effects that the death of a spouse can have upon their partner, as well as their children if they happen to have any.

I like to write about things I have experience with. It’s fun to know more about things than any website or documentary will ever cover. Having a single parent is one of them. So now you get to hear the (not so) unpleasant truth about having a single parent, right down to the nitty gritty of how it affects sibling relationships. 

I’m assuming here that the parent was widowed while the kid was still young (somewhere from 4 to 7 years old), as that is what I see in most biographies. I am in no way saying that parents somehow get immortal once their kid turns 10-- not at all. However, emotional stability and coping mechanisms are much more developed in preteens and young adults than it is in infants and youths. 

Parents usually prevent telling their kids the truth about death. In my case, my father waited four days before sitting down and telling us about the passing of my mother, but some parents wait weeks or even months for either the child to ask, or the guilt to settle in. 

A child will not understand the impact of death if they are younger than about 4 or 5. Most would think that the parent will be returning or they will be able to visit the parent-- both of which they eventually will realize is false. 

Now I must pause my narration to debunk a popular myth. Widowed parents hardly descend into drugs/prostitution to care for children. Although they will more than likely face financial hardships, the parents usually do everything to avoid those things, as they have become the sole role model for their children and do not want a negative image projected into their child’s head.

Now, do know that unless the family is incredibly wealthy, they will likely go into debt. Things will be tight; less shopping trips, less money for lunches and things, and less vacations. If the child is young enough, they will be oblivious. Parents will probably work more, or take up multiple jobs, to support the family.

The parents almost never allow the child to work, and if they do, they let the child keep the money. The mentality of a widowed parent is usually that they do not want the child to know what is wrong. For example, before my father got married, he was within 800$ of losing his company for a few months, but never told anyone about it. Parents could be threatened with losing water or electricity, but will keep it from the child unless the child finds it out themselves.

Now, on the child’s hand, this could impact them in many ways. It can affect what kind of school they go to, what clothes they wear, how much they eat-- right down to wether they even talk to their friends outside of school or not. There is really no cookie cutter for how children come out of it-- in a family of four, none of us really have too much in common. Except for one thing. Going through the issues that stem from a widowed parent greatly strengthens sibling/sibling and sibling/parent bonds, wether they realize it or not. Family is very important to most any child raised in a widowed parent household.

On a final note, most children in a household as described in this guide are very frugal with money, or realize it’s worth. They tend to be more generous and empathetic. 

Bear in mind that this, like any guide, is subjective, and the events contained within this could have any effect upon a person involved in them. Anything and anything is possible-- here I just hoped to clear up a few misconceptions I see in people playing/writing characters with widowed parents. As always, feel free to drop by my askbox and ask me any questions you may have on this guide, I will be more than happy to answer!