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brightatmidnight · 9 months

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The Tutorial Revamp Update for The Chaser’s Voyage (Version 0.5.0.03) is live!

The next big update for The Chaser's Voyage is live! We MAJORLY revamped our tutorial and in this week's post I go into all the big changes.

Hello everyone! Here's another surprise big update, we've reworked our entire tutorial! We were planning on finishing up our client updates, but as Eos mentioned in last week's blog post, we realized we needed to rethink how we did our tutorial. There's quite a few changes to go over so let's jump into it!

We changed a BUNCH of our tutorial, starting most obviously with our newly designed Prompts! We wanted something that better fit our game's visual style and had a bit more pop to them, so we redesigned the prompt windows. Besides just the visual look, we also made two other changes to our prompts. We made it clearer what we wanted the player to do, sometimes separately from how to do it, and always with an underline to draw attention to it. We also made prompts no longer close on their own once the player satisfied the prompt. Instead there are now "Close Prompt" notices that allow the player to close the prompt after they've done the required action, but also allow them to continue reading the prompt if they want. There are more prompts now than there used to be, but teaching the player how to properly play with clarity is very important! In order to add more clarity, we also color coded the systems in the prompts and added icons where applicable, to draw a better connection between the game UI and the prompt instructions.

Next obvious change is to your crewmate Argi. We realized that while we really like all our lore, the tutorial is not the place to give it. It's better to just get into the action! So Argi's lines have been changed and reduced to help the tutorial flow better. For those who like our lore as much as we do, don't worry, Argi still has plenty of character.

The final big change is to the tutorial scenes. The original tutorial had 6 scenes: Introduction, System Repairs, Imperial Fleet, Debris Field, Battleship Pursuit, and Pirates. We've not only changed the order of these scenes, we've also changed some of them, and added a couple more new scenes.

• The 1st still goes over the piloting basics and system management, but with MUCH less talking now.

• The 2nd scene is mostly the same, except we decided to better teach the player the relationship between the Auxiliary Systems and repairs.

• For the 3rd scene we have the player navigate an asteroid field, focusing on obstacle evasion. This replaces our debris field which was was more focused on general system management.

• We added a new encounter for the 4th scene, Imperial Sentries in a Radiation Storm. This is especially important as it gives the player much needed info on how to combat rad storms, as well as showing them the effects the storm can have on certain obstacles.

• The 5th scene is another new one, a bounty hunter! Bounty hunters tend to be a bit easier to deal with than Pirates (in one off encounters), so we wanted to give the player some experience with fighting enemy combatants before the final scene of the tutorial. This also serves as a way to teach the player about enemy weapon types, which we didn't go over before.

• The 6th is the new home of the Imperial Fleet. We still wanted to teach the player how to communicate with this scene, but since we added more combat encounters to the tutorial, we also expanded on this scene and made it the docking and hull repair tutorial. This gets the player topped off for the final two challenging encounters.

• The penultimate scene is mostly unchanged, the player is taught how to survive an encounter with a pursuing UGS Battleship!

• The final scene is still the "test" of the tutorial, the Pirate Attack! This encounter is unchanged as it was hard enough before, but now the player should be better prepared for it after getting through this new and improved tutorial.

In addition to the tutorial changes are a couple of smaller quality of life additions. the bigger of the two is for gamepad users. We've added arrows to the Remaining Power section of the UI to show when the Increase Power and Decrease Power inputs are active. It's a pretty neat little change that helps give some good input feedback. Secondly, the Battleship Distance screen now shows wire frames for both the battleship and the player's ship, to make it clearer how the distance info is displayed.

And to wrap thing up as always, there's the bug fixes! There were quite a few we found over the last couple months, and with your help, we can find more!

You can read the full patch notes here and can follow The Chaser’s Voyage and Bright at Midnight on Twitter and join our Discord for more news and to give feedback! If you’d like to play The Chaser’s Voyage, you can buy it while we’re in Early Access on Steam!

-Cameron

#The Chaser's Voyage #patch notes #space #space game #spaceflight #Steam #Steam games #early access #indie #indie games #indie dev #game dev #game development #video games #gaming #Bright at Midnight

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stainedmystery · 1 year

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Who Am I?

Howdy! I go by Midnight, she/her. DM / Asks will likely always be open, so feel free to message me :D! I love chatting, whether it be about my characters, yours, or ride lore! I also enjoy RPing, especially coming up with grand, dramatic, interactive stories.

This blog is dedicated to mostly my Alton Towers ocs, though there will probably be at least cameos from some other park characters. I’ve been world building and character designing for so long I finally decided it’s time to write some stories and get my work out there.

I am not an artist. Every piece of art you see on this blog is likely going to be a commission/drawn by a friend, so please always keep an eye out for the tags! These artists are EXCEPTIONAL. I recommend all of them to you if you’re ever looking for a commission artist! They’re also cool people to follow too...

I am an author, however. I’m currently working on a daily october challenge!

These are my main Alton characters, drawn by the marvelously talented horror artist Xan.

From left to right, we have:

Addie: Addie is my GalacticAir, she’s a never-ending ray of sunshine who always keeps positive, no matter how far off course the situation has gotten. She’s a whiz with technology and the heart of the group.

Will: Will is my Wicker Man. Beora, the head goddess of the Beoren, realised their tactic of ‘murderous fire cult’ wasn’t popular with attracting new cult members, and decided to take a 180 with this marketing stunt. What if the next head of the Beoren was once the town’s most beloved golden boy? He... has very little idea on what’s going on but that won’t stop him from trying his best to live up to his newfound cult leader job.

Teresa: Teresa is my Thirteen, and I also love to describe her as my Scooby Doo Villain. A blind young girl who lives in the woods, she uses her telepathic relationship with the plants to navigate. She also uses every cheap haunted house trick in the book to scare off townsfolk who attempt to get too close to her ‘crypt’.

Nicole: Nicole is my Nemesis, a trained super solider for the Phalanx. She is easily one of their strongest and swiftest operatives, able to take on intense threats no one else can tackle. As political tensions rise, Nicole has stayed loyal to the townsfolk, determined to keep everyone safe... Even as propaganda from certain bitter exes attempts to paint her out to be a monster.

Oliver: All Oblivion OCs are named Oliver, and I am no exception. Oliver is that one, sane, straight-man to this chaotic friends. Spending most of his time in the local bookshop keeping records of everything that occurs, he is consistently visited by just about everyone to solve their issues. He’s always around to help Addie with her latest invention, lend an ear to Nicole as she complains about what nightmarish thing Joy has done of recent, and be a reality check anytime Sadie tries to scheme.

Sadie: Sadie is my Smiler, and is the most chaotic of the group. The wild card, no one can ever seem to predict what she is about to say or do... Much to Nicole’s frustration. She’s just here to have a good time guys, she just wants to have fun in the moment and live life to its fullest... And never have to consider the consequences of her actions.

Joy: (not in the photo) Joy is a Sanctuary OC, leading the Ministry of Joy. Dr Kelman is such a revered and exceptional character that I’m unsure if I’d be able to write for him, so Joy is his son and currently leads the Ministry of Joy in his absence. Joy is as evil as they come, spending most of his time on unholy experiments within the basement of the Sanctuary. Never trust a deal made with him, there will always be an unforeseen consequence that’ll leave him laughing, and you 6ft under.

(As I go on and post whole character introductions, I’ll come back and edit this so there’s hyperlinks on their names).

#alton towers #smiler #original character #oc

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mavisamankwaah · 2 years

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INTRODUCTION TO BLOG

Entry 1 WHAT IS A GOOD BLOG

Even Though i have been reading people’s blogs, my introduction to the blog was when l started this unit. I haven't created any blogs before but l have read and enjoyed so many blogs. I guess l will answer this question looking at what blogs I had engaged with and what stood out for me. I needed to do a bit more research about types of blogs. Through lecture notes, discussions in class and upon researching further, I found out there are many platforms to create blogs which includes Wordpress, Turmblr, Wix, blogger, squarespace etc. I decided to use tumblr for this assessment because it is easier to navigate around easily as a beginner . I did a bit more research about tumblr which includes many features, easy to use and it can be used as a blogging platform as well as social website and search engine. Overall it offers a complete customization of your page.

Talking from experience, some of the features that catch my attention when reading a blog are the titles. A compelling title makes me want to read a post right away as well as being concise. I usually get bored reading fluff online. l look for blogs that quickly get my attention and keep it and give information that is easy to digest. I believe a good blog should entice the reader with relevant content. I also want to read a blog that is informative, newsworthy and to be able to extend my existing knowledge.

WHAT SORT OF LEARNER AM I ?

Everyone processes and learns new information in different ways. I never knew what sort of learner l was till when l was studying my bachelors and one of my lecturers told me. I had a deep thought and reflected on it and recalled my education journey on how l was.. As a preschool teacher, one of my professional teachers' standards (APST) outlines what a teacher must possess before you are called a teacher and one of them is to be able to know your learners and how best they learn. I believe as a teacher, determining what learning style your learners have is an incredible tool for you to be able to assist your learners.

Looking back from childhood where I started learning numeracy and literacy with words cards and songs. I remember my father would read with me before bed through looking at the pictures and pointing to it while reading which made me learn my oral language at a very tender age. I could also follow instructions on a task and complete it accordingly. Hands on activity is my favourite. l love to try things by doing them

Asking myself what kind of learner l am, l began to think about my education journey and all the exams and assessments l took. Different questions are asked in this assessment which determine whether you are visual, auditory, or kinesthetic type of learner. Looking at this . l believe I am never one of these types of learners but a combination of 2 or more. As an individual, for me to be able to understand a new learning, l must engage in all the types of learning. I normally write what's being said and learn by reading or seeing pictures. I had to combine all the learning styles to be able to create this blog. I watched what others were doing and tried to write some notes down to be able to remember. I further did research on youtube to watch videos and listened to audios on how to create a blog and finally asked a mate to go through with me step by step. I am totally convinced that I have a combination of many learning styles and multimodal learner as such.

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xominousxonyx · 14 days

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Welcome to my new blog!

I just want to have my first post be an introduction into me and my life at the moment. I'm not expecting to get much out of this except maybe just to work through my own thoughts, self reflection, and maybe relating to someone else here. And I hope that you benefit from it as well!

My name is Jessica, a sister and a daughter. I was raised Catholic but but at the moment consider myself Christian as I'm working on studying the bible and have not decided the type of church I'd like to attend. I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease when I was about 10. I went to public school and attempted the college thing but it wasn't meant to be at the time. I started out working at a Wendy's, which I stayed at for 5 years too long. I then worked as a customer service rep in the call center for a heating and cooling company for 3 years. I still work there at the moment, however my last day in May 24th. Which brings me to my next adventure.

Back when I worked at Wendy's, I worked with and befriended a boy 2 years younger than me. He was from the next town over so we'd never crossed paths beyond that. But over the years we became close. After he went into the Air Force there was definitely a disconnect. We reconnected when he came on leave after boot camp and spent some time together and that was when I finally started to realize that I had romantic feelings for him. By the end of his leave, I thought we would have promised something to each other but he started pulling away instead. And once he left, so did I. It was a pretty long history of us reconnecting and pulling away because one or both of us wasn't ready. Fast forward to February 2024, I had reached out to him via Facebook Messenger. And to my surprise and gratitude, he gracefully welcomed me back into his life and we finally said all the things we had wanted to say to each other from the beginning. As it turns out, we had finally gotten the timing right. And that week, I booked a flight to visit him at his temporary station where he was doing some training. After the pain of leaving him really set in, I made my decision that I was ready for us to jump into what had been building up all these years. He invited me to come live with him at his house in Virginia once he finished his training and I accepted.

From there I had to tell my family about what was going on in my life and what my next steps were. And it's safe to say my mom is still taking it hard. At first I did not receive her reaction very well at all. But after I spoke to my boyfriend about it, i realized that it's different looking at it from the outside in and vice versa. Now here I am doing my best to give her grace and follow my happiness regardless.

While I'll be moving to a new state- Virginia, and figuring out how to live with a man for the first time, I'll also be navigating more personal aspects of my life. Getting a job, staying on my medication, health insurance, etc. Even getting myself a new car since I'm leaving my car with my Mom in Michigan. We will also be the proud new fur-mom and fur-dad to two new puppies as well as his cat that's been staying with his mom. So yeah... I plan on it being a whole process.

This has been a rough introduction to my life at the current moment. If you have any insights or advice or want to share your struggles with a similar situation, please do! I'll be happy to get back to you!

#military girlfriend #moving out of state #chronic illness #crohns disease #christian #intro post

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manjeeth-salian · 9 months

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Time Management: Modeling and Texturing the MAD MAX Buzzard Car

Introduction:

In this blog post, I will share my experience of managing time during the modeling and texturing stages of the MAD MAX Buzzard Car project. What started as a simple suggestion from my professor quickly evolved into one of my major projects for my masters. Through efficient multitasking and diligent time management, I navigated the challenges of working on multiple projects simultaneously.

From Inspiration to Major Project: The journey began when my professor recommended creating a MAD MAX-style vehicle. Scouring Artstation for inspiration, I stumbled upon the Buzzard Car, a captivating truck that resonated with both my professor and me. In that moment, I knew I had to create it. Initially, I had intended to work on the Buzzard Car as a part-time project, but a subsequent discussion with my professor led to the decision of making it one of my major projects, becoming my third for the masters' program.

Balancing Part-Time and Full-Time Commitments: Taking on this new major project while managing my other two projects required effective time management. I embraced multitasking, dedicating myself to the Buzzard Car during rendering breaks for my AMG One project. This approach allowed me to optimize my productivity and ensure no time was wasted.

The Modeling and Texturing Journey: The modeling stage, spanning 15 days, proved challenging yet rewarding. Balancing part-time and full-time work on the project made it difficult to track exact hours spent, but I was committed to meeting my self-imposed deadline of July 31st for all major projects. During this stage, I emphasized dedicating more time to texturing, a skill I sought to improve as it was my weaker point compared to modeling. Each day, I honed my texturing skills, striving for excellence in every detail.

Staying Focused on the Deadline: To achieve my target delivery date, I remained determined and focused. I understood that any potential edits or revisions could extend the timeline by an additional 4 to 5 days, impacting my overall schedule. As such, adhering to the deadline was paramount. I had to strike a balance between perfecting the project and allocating time for other crucial aspects like personal videos and presentations.

Conclusion: The journey of modeling and texturing the MAD MAX Buzzard Car has been a testament to effective time management and multitasking. What started as an inspiration from Artstation turned into a major project that pushed me to excel in both modeling and texturing. Through meticulous time allocation, I successfully met my self-imposed deadline while honing my skills and producing a remarkable final outcome. The MAD MAX Buzzard Car serves as a reminder that with dedication and strategic time management, one can achieve great heights in the world of 3D artistry.

#TimeManagement_#Creating a Mad Max-Style Vehicle

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jgenvs3000w23 · 1 year

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Week 11 - final blog post...

We have made it to the end! This post allows us to reflect on what we have learned and taken away from the course. Honestly, we covered a lot of new concepts that I had never been exposed to in any other course. From the beginning to now I have 23 pages consisting of notes, blog posts and responses. To begin this final blog post, I decided to reread all my previous blog posts and reflect on what I took away from each week.

The first blog post we did was about developing a sense of place and I talked about how the pandemic helped me reconnect with nature. It helped me develop a sense of appreciation and gratitude for nature and I learned about this sense of relief when I would go on walks. Then, I got an outdoor job that really enabled me to fall in love with my time in nature and it quickly became a part of my daily routine. I also gave credit to my dad for always pushing me to spend more time outdoors and always spoke to me about how much peace he felt when he got to connect with nature.

From this introduction week, we moved into the ideal role of an environmental interpreter which is one of my favourite weeks because it helped me actually conceptualize what the responsibilities of an interpreter actually entailed. One of the biggest skills for an environmental interpreter to have is being captivating and engaging to their audience. In chapter 5, Tilden discusses that love of the place and love for the visitors is the secret and most important principle for being an effective interpreter (Beck et al., 2018). I think that this is the best and simplest way to describe the skills that an interpreter needs, passion is one of the biggest factors to be a good interpreter. Finally, a good interpreter needs to know their audience and adapt their presentation of the information to accommodate their audience’s learning style. The interpreter has to adjust their presentation based on the age of their audience or ethnic background. For example, when dealing with a younger audience, the use of simpler language and tangible items is more beneficial to captivate this audience (Beck et al., 2018). Also, the incorporation of Paiget’s stages of cognitive development where the interpreter can adjust their delivery based on age and the stage of cognitive development of their audience. This is beneficial again to make the message from the interpreter more receptive (Beck et al., 2018).

Then, this was followed by the week of privilege where the majority of us unpacked our invisible backpack and discussed how we were privileged in some way. This week was the most memorable for me because as someone who is part of a minority group, it is not discussed enough why so many conservation areas or national parks are predominantly white spaces. It was very enlightening to see everyone and myself read about the reasoning behind this phenomenon but also solutions to make these spaces more diverse and inclusive. I have had so many friends and family members discuss discomfort when navigating these spaces due to cultural barriers (Beck et al., 2018). I found the most influential solutions to be advertising these spaces in minority communities and having a more diverse team. The invitation would make this group feel more welcomed and having someone that looks like you in this space also creates a sense of comfort (Beck et al., 2018).

Following this week, we began to look at different lenses to interpret nature beginning with art. This was more difficult for me because I am not an artistic or creative person, I consider myself more left brain dominated. But again, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually did interpret nature through art specifically through photography. In today’s generation where social media allows you to connect and share with a large audience very quickly and it made me realize that pictures from my hikes, camping trips, sunsets and sunrises actually have the power to influence and inspire my audience. This is providing the gift of beauty to my audience which provides the ability to acknowledge the sense of beauty in their surroundings and provide a spiritual uplift (Beck et al., 2018). Also, sharing beautiful moments on social media or directly to friends and family has the power to inspire others to seek their own experiences and possibly share as well, creating this chain reaction.

Then we looked at nature interpretation through science. This week really connected with week 2 regarding the skills of an interpreter and the importance of knowing your audience and adjusting your language accordingly. When interpreting through science, it is important to remember most of the population do not have much science knowledge. With this in mind, it is important to break down material to make it more digestible and use some simpler language to ensure your message is actually received.

Interpretation through history was another eye opening unit for me. I think history can be a difficult road to navigate because it requires a lot of mindfulness and awareness. This entails understanding who was involved, how they were involved, what actually occurred and how every party felt during the historic event. Interpretation through history also needs the stories of atrocities, discrimination and ethnic conflicts to be taught to remember the sorrows of those before us and to keep the story alive (Beck et al., 2018).

Finally, interpretation through music was very interesting as I analyzed some song lyrics to see any associations with nature. Musicians use their platform to communicate issues in nature to their audience as seen in “Eyes wide open” by Gotye.

This course has helped me realize that many of us actually have the tools to be a nature interpreter in some capacity. Regardless of working at a national park or as a camp counselor, many of us have a platform in a capacity and the power to share and educate our audience. It just requires us to be passionate, captivating and knowledgeable on what we share to actually inspire others to have the same passion or take away knowledge from what you share.

References

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For A Better World. SAGAMORE Publishing.

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project-pnf-404 · 3 years

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Checkpoint and important updates 2!!: Electric boogaloo!!

Heyo guys!! Long time no talk. So, I’ve got some cool update stuff to show you guys. I’ve been doing a lot of blog “housekeeping” since the end of the last event. (don’t worry it hopefully won’t be boring update stuff lmao as it includes some new supplementary content). So, first and foremost, thanks to the inspiration from @koppais-smallest-nerd I’d like to let you guys know that I am now adding screen reader access to all future posts!!! This one included. At the bottom of each post under the, “read more”, image descriptions for all images will be added! Screen reader accessibility will also be added to all previous asks on the blog. However, getting through all of them will take a tiny bit. As, of this update, the first 4 asks have had image descriptions added. As well as all the supplementary content in between where applicable.

I’d also like to show you guys some supplementary content for the blog. Between these dashed lines are in character day 1 log entries written by the rest of the crew.

———————————————

I originally wasn’t sure if I wanted to put these extra day 1 logs on the main blog or not. But, I’ve decided that all supplementary content that may be story related will remain on the main blog for the foreseeable future, while BTS content will end up on PNF-404-Plus.

That being said since the end of the 1st event and my time away from the blog a lot has been going on when it comes to the blog.

For one the entire desktop version of the blog has had a large overhaul. A new theme has been added to the main page.

But, not only that but new side pages with supplementary content have been added!! This includes an event list, a bio page for the crew members of the S.S Drake, a Piklopedia page for the new Piklopedia, and a music page to top it all off!!

The Event List will show each new event as they are added! You can click on the current known events to go directly to all posts tagged with that event tag. Speaking of which all Event 01 posts have now had their tags updated with the Event 01 tag making it much easier to navigate.

The new Crew Members page has bios for all the members currently on the mission or known in the story so far! These Bios are pretty in line with cannon with some fanon, and light headcanon added in for good measure. I recommend taking a look as it does have some interesting info in there. Also quick note: all of these bios are written as if it is prior to the beginning of the blog.

Then there’s the Piklopedia!! Here you can read each of their findings as they explore PNF-404! Currently the findings will be on each area they explore (not each creature they find) as they haven’t found any new creatures yet. There is also a map of places they’ve discovered and more!

Lastly, a new music page has been added. On this page, I’ve created event-inspired music playlists. Some of the songs have been mentioned in the past. But, here you can listen to them all in one place and see which songs are for which part of the events. As well there’s a secret songs playlist. This playlist has nothing to do with the blog directly but is filled with music given to me by people I’ve met from this community while I’ve been here!! Currently, there are 5 songs there, however, there will be more added in the future! What makes it secret is that you won’t know who gave me the song XD. (well unless you’re the one who gave me the song lmao) who knows if you’ve ever shared music with me before you may find your song there!! (There is also one song I’m sharing with you guys in there too so have fun figuring that out lmao. )

As well the table of contents has been once again updated with a lot of this new stuff as well as some other new information!! As for mobile users as of now, all of this is on separate Tumblr pages. However, in the near future, I will be uploading much of this stuff , such as the Piklopedia entries and Crew Bio’s, as individual posts! However, in the meantime, if you feel like you can always check out these pages on your phone browser instead if you’re a mobile-exclusive user. (Though some pages don’t look as good on phone)

Welp, I think that’s it as far as updates go!! I should be back with brand new ask posts soon (likely within the next week or so!) so keep a look out!! I’ll see ya guys again soon and thanks for reading!!!

In the first image, Alph’s Day 1 Log entry is shown. His log says, “To think I thought the first day would go well. Then again I didn’t think I would get sucked out of the ship either so maybe I should stop being so surprised. At the very least Louie and I were able to find our way back despite some obstacles and I was able to fix the ship in time. Though if it weren’t for Chunks we would have never found the pikmin we did. That little guy sure saved the day.

However, Then there's what happened to Brittany… To see her in a situation like that... I can’t even bear to think about it. Tomorrow I will be checking over the entirety of the Drake to make sure a crash like that doesn't happen again. I can't help but think that the crash was due to me overlooking something during maintenance... However, The only thing I can do now is to make sure something like this never happens again for all our sake, especially Brittanys’. “ It is then sighed by Alph

In the second Image Charlies Day 1 Log entry can be read it says, “I should have been on top of things. As this crew’s captain, everything that went wrong was under my watch and things should have gone much smoother. That being said I am very glad that all of my crew have made it out alive. Though I am still worried about Brittany. If only I was able to keep her safe…

But, at this point, we all must press forward. We have a task to complete and after seeing how devastated some areas are, we must get to the bottom of what’s wrong with PNF-404. Nothing will get in my way, not with my steely fists that is!!” It is then signed by Charlie

In the third image Louies’ day 1 log entry can be seen it says,

“

Going back to the pikmin planet wasn’t at the top of my list of things I thought I’d be doing anytime soon. Yet somehow I find myself back here and stranded again…. At least I wasn’t fully alone this time…

Alph and I eventually found a pikmin that we later named Chunks. He sure acts differently in comparison to any other Pikmin I’ve seen before. But, even still, if it weren’t for Chunks, we wouldn’t have been able to help Brittany or find any other pikmin for that matter. So, we should thank him for that.” It is then signed by Louie

In the fourth image the updated version of the Project: PNF-404 Tumblr is shown. It now has a bright cyan futuristic aesthetic to it. In the fifth image a picture of the new events page, listing all the past and future events planned so far is shown. It has 1 known event Titled Event 01. The other 3 are titled Event unknown. In the sixth image, the new crew members’ character page is shown. A picture of Olimar is shown along with a description of his traits and a biography. It reads as follows,

CAPTAIN OLIMAR

AGE 38

ALIAS(ES)Olimar

SPECIES Hocotatian

GENDER Male

TITLE(S) Employee of Hocotate Freight, Xenobiologist

AFFILIATION Hocotate Freight, Planet Hocotate Government

Fatherly, well-meaning, and resourceful, for an almost 40 year old Hocotatian he has a lot of bravery and guts. Olimar first and foremost loves his family and cares deeply for others around him. A Hardworking employee of Hocotate Freight and family man, Olimar tends to try and stay level-headed while looking out for others.

Having been one of the first to visit the Pikmin planet Olimar has extensive knowledge of the planet's life. Lucky for him he just so happens to have gone to college for xenobiology. Many of his findings can be found within his many log entries known as the Piklopedia.

But, for as much as Olimar tends to be on top of things, his trips to the pikmin planet have had him face many dangers and life-threatening events. Though these issues are not something he brings up…

In the seventh image, The new Piklopidea page is shown, In one section it displays a map of PNF-404 with 2 marked locations. The first of which is highlighted in blue is named the “Silent Stream” the second, is highlighted in orange, Its title is “Glacial Gardens”. To the right of that is a description introduction for the Piklopedia. It says” To help ensure the progress and success of this mission all crew members must write down their findings in this log. Overview:

CAPTAIN Olimar: Writes In-depth biological analysis of fauna and how the ecosystem affects said fauna.

LOUIE: Writes about Recipes and ingredients that can be found in each area. ALPH: Looks at the area with the eyes of an engineer. He uses this insight to discuss the benefits and flaws of what he’s analyzing. BRITTANY: Uses her botanist skills to look into the flora of the area along with talking about the aesthetics of things and adding in her own general opinions.

CAPTAIN CHARLIE: Writes about combat strategy and how one can use the environment in an area for a tactical advantage.

To the left is a map showing the current locations discovered by the crew. The one highlighted in orange has yet to be explored.

The final image shows the new music page! 6 playlists can be selected on the left each having 5 songs. To the right is an image of the event 01 cover art. With (from left to right), Brittnay, Charlie, Olimar, Louie, and Alph all looking up with a distressed expression on their faces.

END ID

#pikmin #supplementary content #alph #louie #charlie #ooc #Event 01 #not an ask #update #man why are my posts always so long XD #I’m writing most of this in the middle of the night I’m really tired #tomorrow imma look at this and be like what the heck did I write lmao

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ladylynse · 2 years

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Hello 👋🏻👋🏻, Answering the shortest question tags. That day when I asked the update was up for a while, then it when back to normal and now it seems to stick. As you may had notice now if you want to see a blog on the side (as before) it would open like another tab inside a tab (yes, I'm also confused by that) and well, the ask is only available if the person has the tab/option of ask me something on rather than the simple click and select between the direct messages and questions. (Why tumblr like to give headaches, who knows... but there are blogs without a way to send ask now...). Also, not problem with the ML info :) :) Now the long answer, and sorry if the first part is confusing, I just know how to explain that new update... "thanks" @staff Yeah, I was doing all good, I'm fine now too, it had been just a bit hard and stressing this week (and it's just Wednesday-late night but still) but noting that bad. How about you? Well, I alredy told you about the date for the finale, and so far nobody seems to post anything about dates for the finale, so the 12th would do :):) And well, excel isn't something that most people use anyway, right? (not at least if their work request it). Oh yes, fanfic fun is that, just have ideas that many can or not connect with and that it's great as crazy as it can be. :) :) Yeah, if they don't say forehand, we won't know if they speak other language. And it not like everyone would do it right away, can you image, "oh yeah I'm blablabla and speak more than one language who are you?" as introduction?? XD XD 😅😅 Also, oh well... thanks then :) :) I apreciate it. I really think I must lost my mind when deciding that, but that's on me XD XD Oh welllllll... if that's the case, I guess that made me feel a bit better :) :) Good to know I'm not the only one with the long ask... but well, I guess, I just trying to say as much as possible XD XD (I know I can be a bit weird, but I had accept that already :) :)) Oh... yeah... I was about to sign with my username.... next time :P :P Take care, see you ^^ ^^ -Le Fantôme anon

(re: this ask...and technically this one)

I have noticed the new window when clicking on another blog! I have not attempted to navigate to someone's asks from there. Looks like that's a fun new venture.

(The above wasn't confusing; you explained it well.)

Hopefully things settle down for you soon! This week has been better than the last couple for me, though strictly work-wise, as someone put it yesterday, it's like standing there watching a tidal wave coming and you know it's going to hit soon. (We're approaching our second busiest season of the year. It's just starting to trickle in, sometimes in fits and bursts, but it will slam into us soon enough.)

Re: excel use, I think it really depends on the nature of your work. I did not use it much in school (read: university) until I was doing a project that involved tens of thousands of data points, and then I learned a lot of tricks out of necessity, some of which I use at certain times of the year in my job now. And then other times I do a calculation that I learned years ago but can't quite remember and stare at it and go 'that can't be right; I must have messed that up' and make people double check my math. (Sometimes it is right. Sometimes it is not.)

*laughs* Yeah, I can't see anyone telling that to someone else first thing. It doesn't tend to come up naturally that quickly.

Rambling is a sigh of enjoyment, right? *grins* I always take it as a good thing. I've nothing against brevity, but I do enjoy reading what people go on about.

Until next time, Anon!

#long post #ladylynse #asks #by 'next time' I do not mean the ask I'm about to reply to #had a busy spurt at work #that coincided with being a bit short staffed between covid and safety training #we're still a bit behind but we're almost caught up #mostly #I have a couple of things I'm ignoring till we get caught up #and some stuff to deal with first thing on Monday when I'm back at work #since I'm off this weekend #which is good because we're under a snowfall warning and it was ugly out there today #tomorrow will not be better

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brivera29 · 3 years

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Week 2, Blog Post Due 9/2

What are the some of the different forms of engagement within social media?

We are surrounded by social media. We live in a generation where social media has impacted, transformed, and started movements. Understanding social media involves engagement with the different forms of sociality on the internet in the context of society (Fuchs, 2017). Different forms of engagement come from what outlets are being used. For instance, Twitter has been used various times to inform others of news or current events. However, other outlets such as Instagram are engaging users in different forms. Instagram focuses on picture engagement in comparison to Twitter being a blog post. Although both outlets are being engaged differently, they are conjoined as they provide a community for users to engage in using theoretical questions and posts. These theoretical questions allow for engagement among users. They serve as the community foundation of expression in different forms.

Does ideology contribute to people becoming upset when social networks update?

On the occasions were social networks such as Instagram, YouTube or Snapchat change users become upset. Users become upset because of the ideology behind these networks. Ideologies are practices and modes of thought that present aspects of human existence that are historical and changeable as eternal and unchangeable (Fuchs, 2017). When a person feels comfortable using a specific outlet it is difficult for them to adapt to the updates being made. People become programmed to the idea of something remaining the same as it provides comfort and confidence when navigating social networks. When social networks decide to update, they take the risk of users decreasing because not everyone appreciates the updates being made. From personal experience when Instagram updated to adding videos I was thrilled and excited to finally be able to watch videos on Instagram however, a lot of people were discouraged that the idea behind snapping a picture and posting it would be overlooked. When ideas are presented in social networks people feel intimidated and discourage that the idea behind the network is being changed. How does social media increase the economy?

The economic theory becomes the “natural objective” (Fuchs, 2017). Social media began as a network outlet to build communities among people. Once capitalists saw the opportunity to increase the economy using social media it started to contribute to a social change. People on social media are constantly interacting with some form of ad. These ads are typically endorsed by big corporations. These big corporations make it their job to increase social media and push it on people. Living in a capitalist world social media now revolves around the economy. From watching YouTube to influencers promoting brands they are all contributing to the increase of the economy. This is occurring at times without users knowing as most of the times things become clickbait. Clickbait contributes to the economy by getting more users to interact.

How does concentrated media become an obstacle for diversity?

Given that people of color comprise most of the population concentrated media limits diversity expression (Gonzalez, 2012). Concentrated media limits diversity because of the rhythm of interaction. Users have presented topics that are focused primarily on a specific group of people and when the focus moves to diversity it causes a lot of backlashes. When the black movement arrows because of police brutality the hashtag Black Lives Matter started to trend. Although many people supported the movement there were still people oppressed by the diversity being presented. From this, the hashtag blue lives matter arrows. This demonstrates how diversity is not demonstrated enough through social outlets. To understand this more the topic of the patriarchy comes to mind. People who are not diverse are taught that they are better, and their voice matters the most because of how patriarchy perceives them.

Fuchs, C. (2021). Social Media: A critical introduction. Sage Publications.

González, J., & Torres, J. (2012). News for all the people: The epic story of race and the American media. Verso.

#csufwgst320baddies

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mendespideys · 4 years

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room service | s.m.

summary: y/n can’t stop thinking about the man she met in the lobby and it seems like he can’t stop thinking of her either

a/n: when i posted this on my shawn blog, lots of people wanted a part 2 so i delievered! hope it’s not as disappointing to you as i feel it is

Your eyes flickered open before your alarm and the exaggerated groan leaving your lips echoed throughout the empty room. Mindlessly, you fumble around for your phone, finally finding it hidden away in the bottom shelf of the nightstand. The room was almost gloomy and you realized when staring at your (very) bright phone screen that you had yet another three hours before you had to wake up. Attempting to ignore the ache in your lower back, you sat up, running a hand through your unkempt hair.

It hadn’t taken you long to realize that sleeping in the bed right next to the AC unit would be impossible, so you had reluctantly gotten comfortable on the floor on the opposite side of the room. Well, comfortable was an overstatement. Your entire body felt stiff and you suspected the backache wouldn’t disappear anytime soon, but you had been able to get at least a couple more hours of sleep. You stretched animatedly, your stiff limbs cracking at the sudden movements.

A few minutes later, you found yourself in a steaming hot shower, desperately hoping the warm water would aid in loosening up your rigid muscles. As the water soaked your hair and body, doing its job of warming up the cold blood coursing through your veins, you began planning your angry complaint. After washing your hair and body, you still hadn’t made it any further than ‘Either I get a refund or I speak to your supervisor’ and you desperately wished you had taken Shawn up on his offer.

Your mind wandered to the previous night (early morning?) immediately as soon as he entered your stream of thoughts. Soon enough, that was all you could think about, the rant long-forgotten. Shawn’s tired, yet glimmering eyes seemed to be the main attraction of your thoughts. There had been something swimming within them that you hadn’t been able to place, but that you desperately yearned to explore. Despite not knowing him, there was something about his whole persona - and his cozy outfit - that made you want to cuddle him and talk about life’s big questions.

Only when the water got colder did you realize how long you had been in the shower. Turning off the water, you grabbed the provided hotel towel and stepped out. Eventually, you were finally dressed and ready to go, still with another two hours to spare before your meeting. You were debating whether to take advantage of the free, but limited hotel breakfast or talk to the working receptionist when your stomach cried out, easily making that decision for you. Snatching your phone and keycard off the nightstand, you headed toward the front door, hoping the breakfast they offered was better than their customer service. You were about to open the door when a knock echoed throughout the room.

Opening the door suspiciously, you weren’t sure how to react. A man stood outside, a cart decorated with various dishes in front of him. As he smiled down at you, you caught a whiff of the food hiding underneath the small, silver dome, increasing your hunger instantly. You had a nice job that paid decent money, but never had you bothered paying the extra money for room service at a hotel. The delicious smells that entered your nose made you wish you had, though. You were about to tell him that he more than likely had the wrong room when he said your name, wanting to confirm that the right person would receive the food that had been ordered.

After a minute of interrogating from your side, you were left alone in your room with a cart full of breakfast options as your only guest. You maneuvered it over to the bed, your eyes hungrily scrambling over the food displayed out on the cart. Plopping down on the bed, you reached forward to uncover the food, only coming to halt as something tickled your wrist. Realizing it was a folded piece of paper, your fingers let go of the cloche, reaching for the note instead. For a reason, unbeknownst to you, your heart began thumping louder in your chest as you fumbled with the paper, finally being able to open it.

got you some breakfast so you have the strength to stand up to the hotel bullies. hope your meeting goes well x - shawn

By the time you were finished reading the sweet, short note, there was an undeniable grin playing on your lips. You placed it on the bed, not wanting it to get lost before your hunger took control of your actions. Removing the only obstacle between you and the food, you leaned in closer, your mouth watering at the sight. You assumed he had ordered various dishes because he wasn’t sure what you liked, which made the whole thing even sweeter - if even possible. There were waffles, toast, fruit, quinoa; the options were endless and apparently, so was your hunger.

When you were done indulging in the food, you had less than forty-five minutes until your meeting. Knowing how crazy New York traffic could be, you hurriedly shoved the basic necessities into your purse and grabbed the required papers, before practically leaping through the door. While the hotel might have held back on their service, your job certainly didn’t. When you reached the lobby, there was a man waiting, holding a sign with your last name on it. He led you to the car and held the door open for you as you slid into the passenger seat. Once the basic introductions between you and the driver had been made, you fished your phone out your purse, knowing it would be at least a fifteen-minute car ride.

It happened mindlessly. One minute, you were unlocking your phone and the next you were about to text Shawn to thank him for breakfast. That’s when you realized that you had never gotten his number because you had been too much of a chicken to ask. Sighing, you navigated your way to Instagram instead, merely liking photos and not reading captions. It went on like that for a few minutes, your thoughtless scrolling occasionally interrupted by your driver cursing someone out. It all came to an abrupt halt, however, when you scrolled past a post from your company. It was a photo of Shawn, you recognized him clear as day, and suddenly all the pieces connected in your head.

The Shawn you had met in the lobby was Shawn Mendes. The pieces puzzled themselves as you replayed the night; his hood, hesitating to give you his name, the room service. It made sense now how he had been able to afford it. You remembered how he had told you about not being able to sleep and you assumed he had just gotten back from a show. It was all right there and you felt so incredibly stupid for not noticing. You knew who he was, sure, and you had heard his biggest hits on the radio, but you didn’t know much about him. Still, you’d think you would be able to recognize him, right? Maybe the sleepy haze you had been trapped in was too thick or maybe you had realized but didn’t care.

“Miss?”

You blinked, glancing up from your phone. “Huh? What?”

“We’re here,” the driver informed politely, nodding toward the window.

You nodded. “Right. Uh, thank you. Have a nice day.”

Gathering your things, you thanked him again while exiting the car. Not knowing how long you had been staring at your phone, you moved hastily through the small crowd, almost tripping as you made your way up the stairs. The building was beautiful, but you didn’t have much time to admire the architecture before Viviana from your company flagged you down. The two of you engaged in mindless chit-chat as you made your way to the elevator.

Her ongoing story about her flight to New York became nothing but background noise as Shawn entered your thoughts again. It was ridiculous, really, how you hadn’t realized. As the conversation the two of you had shared replayed in your mind, you recognized the fact that he had seemed grateful you hadn’t. It made sense, you supposed, that a celebrity of his status wanted relationships based on an actual interest in him and not his fame. In your case, it had definitely been an interest in him.

Eventually, you have made yourself comfortable, making sure to find a seat opposite of Viviana. She was nice and you had met her a few times before, but she just didn’t know when to stop talking. Knowing the two of you would more than likely share lunch after the meeting or definitely a ride back to the hotel, you decided you needed a small break. If she was able to talk your ear off just within the walk to the elevator and into the conference room, you had to prepare yourself for lunch. You were flicking through your prepared notes when loud voices entered the room, one of them sounding very familiar.

Immediately, you looked up to inspect the owner of the voice, your papers falling back down on the table as your eyes landed on the six-foot-something singer you had met the night before. As if the universe had planned it, he glanced in your direction simultaneously, his eyes widening with recognition. His pink lips stretched into a smile that you couldn’t help but return as the older man behind him ushered him to sit down. You didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and before you had a chance to do either, the meeting started.

Turns out that the client your company would be working with for the next campaign was Shawn. It made sense now why the coverup name used in the emails was SM. Your company had created the policy of using pseudonyms when exchanging emails in the very unlikely case it would be hacked. It wasn’t a dumb idea, but if often lead you to be somewhat unprepared. This was one of those times. Normally, it wouldn’t be an inconvenience, but you were barely able to concentrate, continuously sneaking glances toward Shawn the entire time. Viviana had to repeat your name twice for you to present your notes and this didn’t go unnoticed by Shawn.

The meeting drew to an end and you exited the room with a majority of the team involved as Shawn and a few others stayed behind to discuss details that were probably above your paygrade. You were itching to talk to him - to at least thank him for breakfast - but a nagging voice at the back of your mind kept saying he wouldn’t want to see you. Though you couldn’t know for sure, there had been a look in his eyes that convinced you the voice was wrong. Viviana disappeared, mumbling something about using the restroom, so you leaned up against the wall while waiting for her.

“Y/N!” you turned around immediately, seeing Shawn almost barrelling down the hallway. He stopped in front of you, the curls on his head bouncing as he did so. His eyes traced your figure quickly. “Well, that’s a fancy wardrobe upgrade.”

“Shut up,” you laughed.

“How did your intervention with the hotel bullies go?”

“Didn’t have time,” you admitted with a shrug. “Too busy getting fat off of room service. Thank you, by the way. You know you didn’t have to do that, right? I’d pay you back, but I’m pretty sure it cost more than my last paycheck.”

He swatted at the air. “Don’t mention it. Barely made a dent in my wallet.”

You paused momentarily at his words, but he didn’t seem to notice. It was weird how quickly you forgot who he was when you were around him. His words were cocky, sure, but you could tell it was nothing more than a joke to him. It wasn’t an attempt at boasting about his fame and fortune. Briefly, you found yourself wondering how many people had tried to take advantage of his selflessness, wanting to personally kick all of their asses.

“Were you ever planning on telling me that you are the Shawn Mendes?” you accused, rolling your eyes at his statement.

He chuckled, a sly smirk dancing across his lips. “Possibly. Be a bit hard without your number, though.”

“Is that your way of— smooth, Mendes, smooth,” you jested, shaking your head as a quiet laugh escaped you.

“So,” he started, his brown orbs widening with curiosity. “Is that a yes?”

“Yeah, yeah,” you muttered teasingly, extending your arm. “Hand it over.”

He immediately placed his phone in your hand and you effortlessly punched your number in, taking note of how big the phone felt in your hand compared to how small it looked in his. A quick flashback of a meme your friend sent you once about large hands popped into your mind and you quickly saved your number under ‘lobby girl’, a small smile appearing on your face as you did. A laugh fell from his lips when you returned the phone and his eyes traced the letters.

“Lobby girl, huh? Clever,” he joked, slipping the phone back into the pocket of his black skinny jeans. “I have a feeling it won’t stay like that for long, though.”

Before you were able to question his little confession, his name was called. The two of you searched for the source of the voice and you found the man that had been in the meeting earlier. You realized that he must have been Shawn’s manager and just as you pieced this together and returned your attention to the young Canadian in front of you, you were met with a solemn look. Your stomach filled with disappointment, knowing that the two of you would have to go your separate ways once again. Despite having a means of contact this time around, it didn’t make it any easier.

“Guess it’s time for you to go back to the rockstar life, huh?”

Shawn nodded slowly. “Guess so.”

You weren’t sure if it was the sudden adrenaline pumping through your body or the fact that you had no idea when you would see him again, but you had him wrapped in a hug before you could process your actions. He hugged you back immediately, his arms snaking around your shoulders so effortlessly that he seemed like a professional. In a sense, you guess he was, hugging fans day in and day out. The man called Shawn’s name again and the two of you reluctantly pulled away from each other, a sheepish smile plastered on your face. He returned it immediately although his appeared more genuine.

“Oh!” he exclaimed, throwing a look over his shoulder as he walked away. “Good luck with the hotel bullies. Talk to you later, Y/N.”

You offered him a meek wave as he disappeared through the door, Viviana appearing on your side out of the blue. She opened her mouth, apparently having seen the encounter, and you shook your head before she was able to ask. You had barely accepted the fact that you had exchanged numbers (and a hug) with Shawn, so you definitely weren’t in the mood to explain it to someone else. Not to mention that this would bring up the run-in in the hotel lobby and for some reason, that was an intimate memory you wanted to keep to yourself.

The two of you silently - well, the silence was mostly from your side - made your way back down to the main entrance. The same car and driver were waiting outside when you entered the busy New York street. You let Viviana climb in first before quickly following, slumping back into the backseat of the Audi. Just as you buckled and the car pulled away from the curb, your phone buzzed against your leg from within your purse. It took a few seconds of intense rummaging before you were able to fish it out, just in time for another text to come through.

i have my last show in ny tonight. would you maybe wanna go? i can get you front row tickets

it’s shawn btw

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes blurb #shawn mendes imagines #shawn mendes x reader #shawn mendes x you #shawn mendes x y/n #reader x shawn mendes #shawn mendes oneshot #shawn mendes one shot #shawn mendes fluff #shawn fluff #shawn x reader #reader x shawn #repost

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chrospw-doodles · 3 years

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When the Ink doesn’t flow

So... for starters this is a rant I wrote somewhere between september and november of 2020, it was intended to be posted in my main blog @chrispriceway back then, but I decided to put this here to avoid being too too personal there, I mean it is supposed to be a happy place to goof around and show you cool stuff, that’s why I made this side blog, to be more personal and less awkard so, yeh.

Chris-Jan.2021

What's up everybody, I know I haven't posted anything in a while and I wanted to adress my abcense and some other stuff that I wanted to talk about but never knew how to bring it up.

So, to those who follow me and dont really know who am I as a content creator:

hi, the name is Christian, you can call me Chris, I'm somewhat of an artist and like to post my stuff here.

Now, even if you have been following me for a while you may have noticed that I really don't post very often and that I haven't been around for a while even if I claim that I'm trying to be more active, well I think it's about time to talk about the issue and make some big changes around here.

But first of all, why does it even matter?

Well, to be honest the past three to four years I haven't really seen my online connection as serious business since I am primarly a student, and school does suck all of my time, the problem with that is that I really feel like I havent been respectful to you, the audience, not that I owe you anything but since I am now trying to make a living from my art, it is necessary to take this connection between the audience seriously and with a bit more respect.

In those three years all I've ever did was too much talk and too little deliver, so I apologize to those people who were really invested into the stuff I do, I really appreciate you guys.

So with that aside...

I wanted to talk about mental health.

well MY mental health

I know what you may be thinking, "what the heck Chris? What does this have to do with you being a lazy ass biss?"

Well, it's kinda simple as it is complicated so I will be putting here some bullets to make it easier to you to navigate through and to let you know how long it is going to be to those who really really just want to skip this post already

Introduction

Danplan Drama

College is a biss

When job becomes priority over school

How did all of this affect my mental state

And how I feel about it

Final thoughts

I'm not okay

Well, was, not anymore (mostly), or at least not as serious as I was some monts ago. Listen, shit went down, it's 2020 and that was inevitable, but I really want to go trough some points to give you context.

This year has been specially rough to me because of some circumstances that a few may know, but for context I'll be telling you about it.

The danplan shit did a lotta damage my bros

Ah, yes, long story short, I was an animator in that channel before the figgin drama

But it wasnt really that bad, you see, I really think that it was inevitable that it was going to end like that because of how are those two, but at the time I had to shut a lot of stuff because I didn't wanted to make it worse as the other animators did... but in retrospective, If we had talked about how we felt about the issue in that moment maybe it could have been better, or maybe not, I don't know and maybe I'll post a rant about it some other time (or maybe I wont), the point. is.

It was emotionally taxing, and to be honest it screwed me very bad. You see, I know I am not that good of an artist in comparisson to the others, nor have the best management of my social media, or another project to keep me on the public eye for a while, and since I went back to school I couldnt possible be hired by another channel because of my lack of time; so loosing my job at danplan was a HUGE deal to me because I knew that none of the jobs available in my country could pay off as good nor be as flexible as being an animator was, so that whole ordeal was really, really frustrating.

Then school became a living hell

Since I escentially lost that job I did try desperately to find anything as good to fill the void (it sounds dramatic but believe me, it felt really bad fam.) So the opportunity presented itself and I took a bone in stephen's channel.

In all honesty it was a good job and it was quite fun, but I didn't really stayed as a full time animator, I believe it was due lack of time or maybe my style wasn't really what they were going for, and tbh fair game... but it was still bad news for me because I was that desperate to find a new job, and I was so inmersed on doing that so I wasn't taking good care of my grades.

So now I had two problems, no job, and I was doing terrible on school because of my obsession with the job hunting.

And at the time I was still part of the community...

I was very active in the dp community and in Pau's server, I found great people and did some art because I really felt happy about it...

But honestly, that didn't last long.

School started to be a real problem and I did fail two of my school subjects, at the end of the semester I was burned out, and sleep deprived, so there was that.

One of my finals was a video talking about the drama and stuff and I've never finished it because I ran out of time and eventually I didn't felt it right abaut it, because it was like opening a grave again, like it was something too disrespectful even if it was originally intended for the sake of the animators, to give them, us, some justice at the end of the day... but I couldn't do it. It wasn't fair to everyone else because they moved on.

And that was the beginning of this crappy thing I've been carrying around.

I just. Can't. Finish. Anything.

I just overthink everything and fail before I begin any of the pieces, or Im about to finish but change my mind because Its. Not. Good. Enough.

I have a TON of pieces that never saw the light of the day BECAUSE I'm not in the right state of mind, and it is painful, because I love doing art as much as I love engaging with you guys, even if you are a few to maybe 10 people, I enjoy it. And It sucks to not be able to do stuff because I feel crappy.

And I know for fact that feeling crappy it's a crappy excuse to not do anything

But I don't mean that to anyone else but myself, because I feel like I could be better and do better, but... it isn't working, the global situation did some damage too, and I've been manageing, still, I haven't been able to finish a lot of stuff and honestly, I just want to come back before I become a ghost account.

So what's up? What's poppin'?

The plan is to try to force myself to finish at least one piece per week to keep this alive until I find the will to work normally again.

Maybe it's not the best solution, but I think this will motivate me a little since I really want to materialize some projects that I have had on the back of my head for a long time now, and I really want to start em' and share it with you along the way... so yeah, that's basically it.

Well, that was a long one, and if you happened read this far, thank you, I really appreciate it.

I hope I will be seeing you soon...

Stay creative, my dudes.

#lets talk #heart to heart #danplan #I know I shouldnt bring the tag on butim talking about it anyway so whatever #Chris from 2021 signing in again #So I'll keep the tags as before because NOBODY visits the dp tumblr section anymore #xD #and I know #it's been a year from the drama so that's why I edited some parts that I wrote while I was salty #now I do not hve intentions on doing anything about it so #yeh #I keep forgetring that I cant use punctuation signs in the tags #damn XD

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spop-starsau · 4 years

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Introduction to the Stars AU: A General Overview/FAQ Post

What is the Stars AU?

Basically, the Stars AU started out as a SPOP AU where Bow and Glimmer accidentally conceive a child shortly after the portal incident. A few months and countless conversations & roleplay sessions later, it’s become a full-fledged AU with separate timelines, a TON of OCs, and plans to write fanfic/commission fan art in the future.

Since we’ve come up with so much stuff for this AU, we decided to make a side blog for it!

@darkmasterofcupcakes and myself (@roses-renegade) are the AU’s co-creators.

Wait, this AU has separate timelines?

Yep! The original version of this AU had Glimmer and Bow conceiving their daughter Andromeda not too long after the portal incident. We have worked on this version of the AU for a while. Around the time that season 5 of SPOP came out, we made an alternate version of the Stars AU (or, an AU of the AU) that was more canon compliant- in this version, Andromeda is conceived shortly after the SPOP finale. We decided to keep both versions of the Stars AU (we usually refer to them as the “canon divergent” and “canon compliant” timelines). For the most part, both versions of the Stars AU have the same story/OCs, but the timelines are just a bit different (since we based the timing of a LOT of the events of the AU on how old Andromeda would be when they occurred).

To give you even MORE of a headache (haha), we also have come up with a “dark timeline” version of the Stars AU, BUT more on that later...

Okay, gotcha. What is the Stars AU about?

The most basic answer to this question is “the events of Bow and Glimmer’s life after the portal incident.”

This AU tackles (among other things) Glimmer and Bow’s season 4 storylines, the development of their romantic relationship, their journey to parenthood, their lives (and, really, everyone else’s lives) after the war, and, eventually, the lives of their children.

Why is it called the Stars AU?

Back when we were first brainstorming names for Andromeda, we came up with this idea that Bow and Glimmer would give all of their kids star-related names. My (@roses-renegade) reasoning for this was that it was sort of a symbolic thing. Glimmer and Bow’s children are going to be growing up in this new era of peace on Etheria. I wanted their names to kind of “reflect” this new era, and one of the most noticeable physical aspects of post-war Etheria is that the stars have returned now that Etheria is out of Despondos and a part of the larger universe once again.

So, yeah. Glimmer and Bow’s kids will get to grow up in this new peaceful world under the stars. Hence, “the Stars AU.”

Okay, so... tell me more about Andromeda, since she basically got this whole AU started.

Princess Andromeda “Andi” of Bright Moon is the daughter of Queen Glimmer of Bright Moon and Bow, Master Archer of the Rebellion (and later the King of Bright Moon). After the portal incident and the “death” of Queen Angella of Bright Moon, Bow and Glimmer ended up getting closer and eventually confessed their feelings to each other. After exploring their feelings and relationship, they ended up having sex one night. They then decided to "take things slow” while dating. Not too long after her coronation, Glimmer found out from Shadow Weaver that she was pregnant. She and Bow decided to keep the baby. A lot of our initial work on this AU was about how Glimmer’s pregnancy affected her season 4 storyline and character arc, as well as her relationship with the other SPOP characters. Around the end of her second trimester/beginning of her third trimester, Glimmer activated the Heart of Etheria (something that both Bow and Adora were against). This caused a massive rift between Glimmer and Bow. However, Bow still tried (and failed) to save Glimmer from being abducted by Horde Prime. Glimmer became a prisoner on the Velvet Glove, and eventually gave birth prematurely on the ship (partially from the immense amount of stress she was under, and partially because the baby may have been affected by Glimmer’s activation of the Heart of Etheria). Catra, who Glimmer had formed an uneasy alliance with while on the ship, ended up helping her deliver the baby. Catra then helped Glimmer (and Andromeda) escape, and the mother-daughter pair were rescued from space by Bow and taken aboard Mara’s ship. Glimmer and Bow soon made up, and Andromeda was put in an incubator (created by Entrapta) on the ship. After that, the majority of what occurred in the canon version of season 5 happened- the gang had some space adventures, eventually got back to Etheria, and Horde Prime was defeated. After Adora and Catra saved Etheria, Glimmer and Bow shifted their focus to making sure that their new little family was okay. Glimmer spent a few days recovering in the infirmary at Castle Bright Moon with Bow by her side. Andromeda, on the other hand, spent a month or so in the infirmary before eventually being “cleared” to go (much to Glimmer and Bow’s immense relief).

Dang, that’s a lot. And that’s only the beginning?

Yep! After developing this “main storyline” of the AU, we shifted our focus to Glimmer and Bow’s life after the SPOP finale. In our AU, a lot happens after SPOP’s “happily ever after”...

What are some of the things that happen afterwards?

Oh, you know... rebuilding Etheria... the BFS going on their little “return magic to the universe” road trips... Glimmer and Bow navigating parenthood... Angella coming back from the dead...

Angella’s back?!

YEP. We thought she (and Micah) deserved better, so... yeah. We brought her back. No regrets. (Glimmer is still queen, though.)

What are the main SPOP ships involved in this AU?

Glimmer/Bow

Catra/Adora

Sea Hawk/Mermista

Scorpia/Perfuma/Entrapta (poly trio)

Micah/Angella

George/Lance

How many OCs does this AU have so far?

Okay, get ready... *deep breath*:

4 Glimbow children

1 Catradora child

3 Seamista children

8 Scorpia/Perfuma/Entrapta children

1 Micangella child

1 Castaliet child

... a few OCs for some of the “next gen kids” to fall in love with...

Tell me more about these “next gen kids”...

All in good time. (I’m planning to write some sort of “masterpost” for all of the OCs eventually.)

Okay then. Tell me about this “dark timeline” you mentioned earlier... because that sounded ominous and now I can’t stop thinking about it in the back of my head...

Basically, Glimmer’s final two children were twins, and in the “dark timeline” she dies shortly after childbirth, after a very difficult and stressful pregnancy. The “dark timeline” version of the Stars AU follows the impact of Glimmer’s death on everybody. You know, fun stuff.

Note: Glimmer only dies in the “dark timeline.” She stays alive in the main timeline/version of this AU, which is what we’ll be posting about here 99% of the time anyway.

Wow. You really like to make the characters suffer, huh?

I mean, sometimes, yeah... not always, though! We promise!

Is there fanfiction of this AU that I can read?

Not yet! We’re working on that though...

What kind of things will you be posting on this blog?

Basically anything and everything about the Stars AU... character designs, headcanons, random lore about the Stars AU, fanfic/fan art (eventually), etc. We wanted a place to put everything pertaining to this AU!

Can I submit questions/prompts/whatever about this AU and its characters?

Yes, always!! We would love to provide you with lore. :)

If I ever feel inclined to draw one of the Stars AU OCs, can I?

Yeah sure! Just make sure you tag us. :)

What’s the tag you’ll be using for this AU?

We will be tagging our posts with #SPOP Stars AU if you want to follow that tag. :)

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fortheloveofluxuryxo · 4 years

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How to Navigate the World of Online ESL

Written by Gina Gainous

The purpose of this article is to share detailed information about the most popular online ESL companies, along with some of my personal experiences and anecdotes from other teachers I’ve come across in Facebooks groups and teaching blogs. Before we get started, I’ll give a small self introduction. I’m a biracial woman from the United States with a Bachelor’s Degree in English as a Second Language Education (K-12) and my TESOL certificate. I worked in various schools in my hometown and abroad for the first two years of my career. Nowadays, I work 100% remotely for a company called Liulishuo based in Beijing, China. To begin, I’ll cover some of the basics.

Peak Hours If the company is based in China, they will expect you to work peak hours:

6-9 PM Monday through Friday, Beijing Standard Time

9AM-10PM Saturday and Sunday, Beijing Standard Time

Depending on where you reside, this might mean working early mornings. Currently, I reside on the west coast, and I typically teach from 5AM-8AM on weekdays. Make sure to calculate the time difference before applying. These hours aren’t for everyone, especially if you’re not a morning person. Companies based outside of China will offer afternoon and evening classes, but since they’re smaller you may not get that many bookings. The pay is usually lower as well.

Students Children: Most companies you’ll come across only offer classes with children, who are usually between the ages of 5-14. You may have the option of only teaching older children in middle and high school, but if you’re open to younger students you’ll have many more options. Adults: Some companies offer adult classes, if you’re not interested in teaching children. However, the pay is usually lower.

Salary Scale Base pay: This is the rate of pay you’re guaranteed. Most Chinese companies start their base pay between $15-$18. Companies located in other countries, like Russia or Spain, will have a much lower base pay (between $9-13 per hour) and usually won’t offer any bonus pay. Bonus pay: This is what you’ll see in most advertisements - “Up to $22.00 per hour!” - and depends on a number of factors. Some companies will give you a booking bonus or an attendance bonus. For example, if you teach 100 or so more classes a month, they’ll pay you an additional $2.00 per hour. They may also pay a $2.00 bonus if you open slots during peak hours. So if your base pay is $18, adding the extra $4 will bring your total pay to $22.00/hour. Buyout pay: Very few companies offer this pay structure, but if you’re lucky you might be able to score a contract. Basically, the company will pay you just for keeping your slots open, even if they aren’t booked. Sometimes it’s just a portion, sometimes it’s the whole salary. However, this usually means base pay is fairly low and they may not offer additional bonus pay. In the past, Gogo Kid and DaDaABC used to offer this as a perk, but to my knowledge they changed their contracts last year. Current teachers have confirmed this in 2020.

Payment Methods Bank transfer: This is the method I recommend the most, if the company provides it as an option. There are less fees with bank transfer and they are deposited directly into your account on payday. Paypal: The most popular method of payment. Usually involves both a conversion fee and an instant transfer fee, which add up after a while.

Class Types: Private classes (1 to 1): Teachers instruct one student. These are usually 25 minutes long. Some companies, such as SayABC, have 40 or 50 minute long classes. Small group classes (between 3-4 students): Teachers instruct a small group of students. Again, these classes are usually 25 minutes long. Larger group classes (6 or more students): Some companies offer larger group classes. In this case, they’ll expect you to stand up and will project your webcam in a classroom. These classes usually require a teacher’s assistant who is actually present in the room to help with classroom management.

Important things to note: 1. A lot of companies will provide the lessons for you, but they’ll expect you to have your own class materials. Things like whiteboards, markers, letter cut outs, puppets, dolls, toys, models, and more. Keep in mind, teachers can only write off $100 from their taxes if they pay for materials out of pocket, so be careful of your budget. 2. A revolving door is oftentimes a red flag. If you notice that a specific company is always hiring or posting ads, that’s not a good sign. It either means they have too many teachers and not enough students so booking slots stay empty, or that their teachers are constantly quitting. Which leads me to my next point... 3. Many online teachers have turned to recruiting. As recruiters, their companies will pay them a bonus based on how many people were hired after using their affiliate link to apply, and if those applicants teach enough classes. They are responsible for helping their recruits through the interview process, giving them advice for how to pass the assessments, and getting them familiar with the software. However, be wary of this because some people who have signed up via recruiter link have reported their mentors disappearing soon afterwards. This is not meant to be accusatory, but it is a common occurrence as observed on many Facebook Online ESL Teaching groups. 4. Remember, if the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Get all the details, in words you can understand, before signing the contract and making the commitment. 5. Most companies only hire what they consider to be “Native English Speakers”. These are people who hold a passport from the following countries: The United States, The UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand [and sometimes South Africa]. This means that even if you speak English perfectly and have the right credentials, if your passport is from a country not listed above then you are considered a Non-Native English Speaker. There are some companies that hire NNES, but they will offer a significantly lower base pay. (Note: many of the bigger companies only hire people from the United States or Canada. A list of companies that hire Non-Native English Speakers can be found at the end of this article.) 6. Most companies only hire those with Bachelor Degrees. It’s preferred that your degree relates to Education or Child Development, but most of the time they’ll accept anything. You may also need a TEFL or TESOL certificate as well, along with some teaching experience. You can sign up for a short course on Groupon. A few of them cost less than $10. (There are some companies that hire without a degree, which are listed at the end of this article.) 7. You are considered an Independent Contractor, NOT an employee. You do not have the same protections you might be used to at a brick and mortar job. This means that these companies can fire you for any reason, or without a reason, at any time. On the other hand, this also means you can also quit for any reason at any time. However, keep in mind that many companies have been known to withhold the final paycheck if this occurs, and there’s not much you can do about it since they’re based in another country and don’t adhere to your country’s laws. It’s best not to burn bridges. 8. A lot of the bigger and popular online ESL companies are geared towards young students between the ages of 5-14 years old. They’ll want to see high energy, the use of props, and general silliness, hence why online educators have coined the term “edutainer”. You must ask yourself if your personality fits this kind of job, because they will expect you to perform in this way during your interview and also in your classes.

Companies to avoid (and why): VIPKid - suspected of data mining, new teachers wait months before getting regular bookings, mixed success with POC teachers, “edutainers” Likeshuo - racist policies, has been seen advertising for white teachers only Acadsoc - low base pay, non-communicative staff, low quality lesson plans iTutorGroup/51Talk - teachers are rated by students and if they get one low rating for a class they can be fired, unresponsive IT staff, inflexible time off policy, harsh cancellation policy Magic Ears - long training process, slow bookings for new teachers, you MUST teach in their style or else you won’t get bookings

Companies I’ve worked for and liked: Liulishuo - communicative staff, offer professional development, offer buyout schedule, hiring freezes, good quality lesson plans, quick and reliable payment each month, responsive IT team Golden Voice English - high quality lesson plans, good students, communicative staff, quick and reliable payment each month, responsive IT team

Companies I’ve worked for and didn’t like: Micro Language - late pay, wouldn’t put black people/POC in their new program despite being top tutors, poor quality lessons with grammar and spelling errors, non-communicative staff, made multiple changes to teaching contracts without input from teachers DaDaABC - offered low base pay, unfair time off policy, removed many of the perks from their new contracts Cambly - difficult students, women often experience sexual harassment from male students, POC teachers have reported racial microaggressions from students, no structured format, pay is low, lots of student no shows or last minute cancellations with no penalty for students

Companies that only hire from The United States/Canada/UK: QKids (and you MUST be based in The US or Canada) Golden Voice English VIPKids English First (US/UK) OpenEnglish

Companies that hire WITHOUT a degree: Magic Ears Cambly Palfish OpenEnglish LatinHire Preply Verbling Learnship Acadsoc SkimaTalk Italki Learnlight 31ABC (but they require teaching experience)

Companies that hire Non-Native English Speakers: Preply Voxy (must have some college credits) Learnship Yiyi English LatinHire

Companies that offer adult-only classes: Huajing Liulishuo English First Learnlight Italki Cambly OpenEnglish

To wrap things up, I’ll share a few more points to look out for in your job search. GREEN FLAGS - They implement hiring freezes so they don’t overhire teachers. Offers professional development opportunities. Quick responses from IT. Quick responses from HR. RED FLAGS - Spam-like advertisements. Lots of recruiter links on Facebook posts or other websites. I hope this guide helps you find the perfect position! ~~~~~

Gina Gainous is a state licensed ESL teacher that hails from the midwestern United States. She can be reached for further questions or inquiries at [email protected].

#blog #all #remote jobs #tutoring jobs #esl tutoring #make money online #make money from home #make money on your computer #ikigai #education #resources

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badchoicesposts · 5 years

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Don’t Dream It’s Over Chapter 8

Series Summary: Liam and Ali thought that their relationship was perfect, but their whole world came crashing down when Constantine called him back to Cordonia. Four years later they meet again at Liam’s bachelor party, determined to make things between them work even if it isn’t always easy.

In this AU, Liam and MC (Ali Moonessar) dated for a year in New York while Leo was still crown prince. They broke up when Constantine asked Liam to come back to Cordonia, but they meet again at Liam’s bachelor party before the social season. The story will contain flashbacks, which will be italicized, of their relationship and follow them as they try to navigate the season with Ali as a suitor. I’ve messed around with the timeline a bit so that it fits the story better. I’ve also added in a few OCs of my own.

Pairing: Liam x MC (Ali Moonessar)

Word Count: 3,918

Disclaimer: I’ve changed up the timeline of the social season a bit to fit my story better. I’ve based it off of some research I did on the British Social Season.

Taglist: @flowerpowell, @kingliam2019, @ao719, @emceesynonymroll, @hopefulmoonobject, @dcbbw, @qammh-blog, @liamxs-world, @drakesensworld, @i-only-signed-up-for-fanfiction, @timmagickfrog, @lauradowning29

A/N: This is my first time ever posting a fic. Please let me know if you enjoyed it and would like to read more. I thrive on validation, lol. Thanks for reading!

Catch Up: Masterlist

Constantine was intrigued. The Beaumont suitor had definitely made an impression. There was no hiding that Liam was completely smitten with her, and he could tell that she cared for him just as much. But, the fact that they loved each other didn’t ensure that she would make a good queen. Constantine knew that she hadn’t had a chance to prove herself yet, but he also knew that what Cordonia needed was someone who was truly ready to take the throne. They needed someone who wouldn’t require a long adjustment period. Someone who had been born and bred for this. Someone like Madeleine. He and Regina had both agreed on that.

“You wanted to see me, Your Majesty,” Bastien said, opening the door to Constantine’s office.

“Yes, Bastien. Come in,” he said, motioning for the other man to sit down, “What do you know about our newest member of the court?”

“I assume you mean Lady Alison, sir?” Bastien asked.

The king nodded and watched as Bastien shifted in his seat.

“She has a clean record, sir. No criminal background. She graduated with perfect grades and a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology. When she left New York she was pursuing a Master’s degree and working part time as a waitress.”

“There has to be something, Bastien. I need you to find me every bit of information you can on her,” Constantine persisted.

It was clear that Bastien was uncomfortable, but he had sworn an oath to obey his king.

“Of course, sir.”

~~~

“Rise and shine, little blossom!” Maxwell knocked cheerfully on her door.

Ali groaned into her pillow and pulled on a bathrobe. Maxwell had learned the hard way that she often slept in various states of undress, and after the first few times of walking in on her naked and dramatically complaining about his innocent eyes, he realized that it was always safer not to barge into her room.

“Morning, Max,” she said.

She opened the door and immediately turned back around and dropped onto the bed. Maxwell sighed and laid down on his back next to her, staring at the ceiling.

“So tonight is the Masquerade. It’s the first official event of the social season, and Bertrand wanted me to remind you that everything needs to go perfectly. It’ll be your introduction to court and- hey are you listening to me?” Maxwell said.

“Mhm,” Ali mumbled, burying her face back into her pillow.

Maxwell waved his hand in front of her face a few times and smiled mischievously when she didn’t respond. He walked into her bathroom, grabbed a tube of liquid eyeliner, and made his way quietly back over to the bed.

He leaned over her carefully, moving in an over exaggerated slow motion so that he wouldn’t wake her. However, as soon as the brush touched her skin Ali jumped up, frantically wiping at her face. She looked at the black liquid on her hand and then to the startled Maxwell who had fallen onto the floor.

“What are you doing?” she asked, still half asleep and slightly disoriented.

Maxwell smiled sheepishly at her.

“Nothing.”

She looked back at the mark on her hand again and laughed tiredly.

“Mustache?” she asked.

“Maybe.”

She glared at him playfully, grabbed the eyeliner out of his hand, and hurried to get showered and dressed.

“So, you were saying something about being perfect,” she said playfully, now fully awake after her shower.

“Just that you are,” Maxwell said.

The two shared a laugh before he continued.

“Bertrand wants everything to go perfectly tonight. So that means that you need to be able to look and act like a lady of the court.”

“Right, no pressure there,” she said taking a seat next to him on the bed, “I know you said not to stress out about what to wear tonight, but I feel the need to remind you that my body type isn’t exactly easy to shop for.”

Even though she had actively been more body positive lately, that didn’t change the fact that her body type wasn’t easy to shop for. She hated shopping because it always got her down on herself. She wasn’t very tall, and her body wasn’t thin so clothes tended to be too long on her and usually had an unflattering shape.

Maxwell smiled at her conspiratorially.

“I promise everything’s taken care of,” he said getting up and walking to the door.

“What does that mean?” she called as she ran after him.

“You’ll see later. Now come on,” he said, speeding up his pace.

Ali was typically a fast walker, but Maxwell’s legs were much longer than hers, and she found herself running to catch up with him.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

He just raised a finger to his lips in a playful shushing motion and looked over the corner of the nearby hallway to make sure it was empty. He placed his hand on her upper back and quickly guided her to a door at the very end of the hall.

“Why are you being so secretive?” she whispered.

He motioned for her to open the door, and a lavish sitting room was revealed to her when she did. Liam stepped into her line of sight, and when she turned to look back at Maxwell, he winked and reached over the threshold to shut the door from his place in the hallway.

Ali laughed and walked into Liam’s arms.

The room had high ceilings and was filled with a mix of antique and modern furniture that practically screamed royalty. The wall on the far left to where they stood was completely made up of bookshelves, and the wall to the right of where they stood had double-doors opened to reveal a bedroom with a large, plush bed.

“Is this the royal bedchamber? Prince Liam, how scandalous!” she said in a mockingly posh accent as he pulled her in for a gentle kiss.

Liam chuckled against her lips and settled his hands on her waist.

“I wanted to see you one last time before tonight,” he mumbled, pressing kisses down her neck.

Her body, which had been completely relaxed a moment ago, tensed at his words. After tonight everything would change. The social season was officially starting, and she would not only have to put all of Bertrand’s intense training into use, but she would also have to watch Liam spend time with several other women.

Liam pulled away from her neck and looked at her, his eyes searching her face for an indication of why her posture changed.

“What’s wrong, love?”

“Nothing. Well, not nothing. It’s just… this is all really happening, huh?” she laughed nervously.

“Yes, it is. Are you still sure it’s what you want?” he asked, taking her hand into his and guiding her to a sofa located in the sitting area of the room.

Ali sat sideways on the couch, throwing her legs over his lap and resting her head against his shoulder. His hand began to mindlessly trace circles against her calf as she sighed softly.

“Yes, I want this. I’m just nervous,” she said in what she hoped was a convincing voice.

It was true that she wanted to be with him, but she wasn’t sure how she would be able to fit in at court. Her mind had constantly been going back and forth between being confident in herself and her abilities and being convinced that she had no idea what she was doing.

She was also worried about her relationship with him in general. She knew that she was completely in love with the Liam that she knew years ago, but time had passed and she was worried about making uprooting her entire life to follow him here. She had barely spent much time with him in the past month, and she was confused now more than ever with the season beginning tonight. The heaviness of their situation was weighing down on her. Ali would find herself lying awake at night, agonizing over whether or not she had made the right decision. But, she couldn’t deny the fact that she still got butterflies in her stomach when he smiled at her or that he could still light her skin ablaze with just one touch.

“Is that the only thing that’s bothering you?” he asked skeptically.

Ali groaned internally. She should have known he would see through her. He was the most observant person in the world, and he already knew all of her tells.

“Yeah, I guess I’m just worried about last night. On a scale of one to Katie from the cruise, how much do you think Constantine and Regina hated me?” she joked, relieved that she had managed to change the subject.

Liam was visibly trying his best to suppress his laughter and was failing miserably. He finally gave in and laughed freely, causing Ali to smile. She loved seeing him happy, and she filed that away in her mind, the thought only adding to her confusion.

“How do you know about her?” he asked when he finally stopped laughing.

“Oh, Maxwell made sure to tell me all about it,” she said, smiling widely.

“Well, in her defense, they didn’t hate her. They just didn’t believe she would make a suitable queen.”

“And what about me?”

Liam looked at her fondly.

“Neither of them said much last night after dinner, but I think you may have charmed them. I believe that they were both impressed with the way you handled yourself around Madeleine, and I believe they respected your decision to tell them the truth about our relationship and the fact that you looked at things realistically instead of fantasizing about something that may not come to pass.”

“Did you respect that?” she asked in a quiet voice, looking down at her lap.

Liam sighed and placed his hand under her chin, tilting her head up.

“I wish you had told me your concerns back then. I may have been able to help you through them,” he replied.

His voice remained gentle and her stomach dropped when she realized that he was more hurt than he was angry.

“I know I should have, and I’m sorry. I just didn’t know how to talk about it. I was so crazy about you, so it was easier to convince myself that everything was okay than to admit that I was afraid of losing it all.”

“I’m glad you changed your mind, though. I’m glad you never left.”

“So am I.”

Liam’s voice was full of love, and Ali completely melted against him. Their lips connected in tender kiss, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he pinned her to the couch beneath him. However, just as her fingers began to unbutton his white dress shirt, there was a loud knock on the door that caused them to jump apart.

“I’m coming in!” Maxwell yelled.

He had one hand clamped tightly over his eyes which caused him to walk straight into a side table.

“You can look, Max,” Ali laughed out as he hissed in pain.

“Just wanted to be safe,” he groaned, removing his hand from his eyes and bringing it down to clutch his throbbing side.

“Bertrand wants to meet us for lunch.”

“Let me guess, he has something to discuss with us, and it’s of the utmost importance that we be there on time?” she asked, lowering her voice an octave to imitate the older Beaumont.

“That was a great impression,” Maxwell said.

“Yes, it was very good,” Liam agreed.

Ali smiled at the two of them and kissed Liam on the cheek.

“I’ll see you later,” she said.

He nodded and watched as she disappeared through the door with Maxwell. He could tell that there had been something else on her mind, but he also knew her well enough to know that pushing her to talk to him when she wasn’t ready would only upset her even more.

Ali’s mind was completely absent through her lunch with Bertrand, and he was getting increasingly irritated as she stared off mindlessly while he spoke.

“Are you even listening to me?” he barked, causing her to jump in her seat.

“I- um,” she stammered, looking at him nervously.

In truth, she had no idea what he was saying. But, before Bertrand could open his mouth to scold her, Maxwell took the opportunity to keep the peace.

“Ali’s ready for tonight. She was trained by the best,” he said, motioning to his older brother.

Bertrand seemed to relax slightly at his words but tensed again just as quickly.

“The other ladies competing for Liam’s hand have been preparing for this since birth. Alison has only been learning about court for one month. It doesn’t matter who she was trained by. She still needs to listen, or she could ruin everything,” Bertrand scowled.

Ali’s shoulders slumped, and the action did not go unnoticed by Maxwell.

“I think she needs to just relax before she starts to get ready for tonight. Maybe a nice bubble bath,” he said, already grabbing her arm and pulling her out of her chair before Bertrand could react.

Maxwell pulled her into a fast walk, wanting to put as much space between them and Bertrand as possible. He knew he would probably be in trouble for this later, but he could also tell that his new friend was spiralling and that his brother wasn’t making the situation any better.

“Thanks, Maxwell,” Ali said quietly.

They had reached her room, and she was ready to take a nap until the social season was over. She closed her eyes and lay back against the pillows on her bed. The day was barely halfway over, and she was already exhausted.

“Blossom?” Maxwell said softly.

Ali opened her eyes and looked at him questioningly.

“Are you going to be okay?”

The girl smiled at him softly, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She had learned over their time together that Maxwell was extremely perceptive and empathetic even though people were quick to write off as an irresponsible screw-up.

“I think so. You may have actually been onto something when you mentioned a bubble bath,” she said, sitting up and pulling him into a quick hug.

“I’ll be back in two hours to start helping you get ready. Enjoy the bubbles!” he said, hopping off the bed and walking to the door.

Ali watched him leave and made her way over to her bathroom. She turned on the water and poured some lavender scented bubble bath in. The smell of the lavender immediately began to calm her nerves as she watched bubbles fill the large tub, and she was grateful that Maxwell has suggested it.

She stayed in the tub until the water had gone cold and was feeling completely relaxed when she got out. Her decision to come to Cordonia had already been made, and she wasn’t turning back now. All she could do was go down tonight and do her best.

She dressed quickly in a pair of sweatpants and t-shirt before sitting down and applying a simple base of makeup.

“Are you decent?” she heard a voice call through her door.

Ali furrowed her eyebrows and opened her door to the sight of Drake who was half ready himself. His tie was still hanging undone underneath his shirt collar, and he had his suit jacket slung over his left arm.

“Wow, Drake, look at you! Do a little spin for me,” she said jokingly, backing up and turning her finger in a circle.

Drake rolled his eyes and brushed past her, taking a seat on the edge of her bed.

“Maxwell said to finish your face and meet him down in the boutique when you’re done,” he said.

“Okay, did he specify how I should finish my face?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Red lipstick.”

“Um, okay,” she said, slightly confused. “Where’s the boutique?”

“It’s on the lowest floor of the east wing.”

“Yeah, I have no idea where that is,” she said, rummaging around in her makeup bag and sitting down in front of the mirror of her vanity.

“If you hurry up, I’ll walk you down,” he said as he began fiddling with his tie.

“Do you know why Maxwell has been so secretive every time I ask him about what I’m supposed to wear during the season?”

“Mhm,” he said, shrugging his jacket on.

“Are you going to tell me?”

“Why would I? You’re going to find out in like find out in five minutes anyway.”

“Fine, just lead the way.”

Ali followed him as he lead her through the palace halls before stopping in front of an ornate door. He motioned for her to enter.

“I’ll see you after,” he nodded at her.

She shot him a half smile and opened the door to see a tall woman with long, dark hair in her underwear trying on a dress.

“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t know anyone else was here,” Ali said.

The woman pulled the dress up and glanced back at her momentarily, not actually taking in her face.

“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t have an appointment. I’m just searching desperately for something to wear last minute,” the woman said, struggling with the zipper on the back of the dress.

“Do you need help with that?” Ali asked.

“Oh, that would be amazing,” she said, stepping back so Ali could reach the zipper, “I’m Hana.”

“Thank you. Not many girls here are like you,” she said kindly, as she pulled on a matching mask.

“Helpful?” Ali asked.

“Nice.”

Ali smiled before she realized that she hadn’t yet introduced herself.

“I’m Ali, by the way.”

“Oh,” the other girl looked taken aback for a second, finally taking in her features as a look of realization crossed her features.

Ali cringed. She knew it was more than likely that people in Cordonia had seen the articles, but a part of her had hoped that maybe they would just look the other way. However, much to her surprise, a kind smile graced Hana’s face after her initial shock.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ali. Do you need help finding a dress?” she asked.

“Well, I guess so. Maxwell Beaumont just told me to come down here. I’m not really sure what I should be looking for.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m here then!” said a cheerful voice from behind the two of them.

Ali turned around and smiled widely.

“Em!” she squealed, throwing herself into the blonde girl’s arms, “What are you doing here?”

“I got a call from a certain former crown prince a few days after you left. He said he would take care of the cost of materials if I made your gowns and helped prepare your outfits for the season. It’s a chance for me to get free publicity for my designs and for you to get appropriate outfits. Maxwell didn’t tell you because he thought it would be a nice surprise to motivate you tonight,” she said, with a smile on her face.

“Leo called you?” Ali asked, surprised.

Emma nodded her head.

“I’ve been working nonstop for the past month. You would not believe how much shopping I’ve done, but I have a pretty good idea of what I want you to wear. I’ve completely finished a few of your dresses, and there are others that I still need you to try on so I can make alterations. But, I’m prepared for tonight,” she said, with a smile.

Emma reached over to a clothes rack standing near them and grabbed a red dress.

“Now go put this on,” she said, pushing her into one of the dressing rooms.

The red dress had a fitted lace bodice, with a plunging neckline and long lace sleeves. The lace ended at the waist of the dress, and the flared skirt was made up of red, floor length tulle. The dress fit perfectly, not like she expected anything else from Emma Larson, and the color stood out gorgeously against Ali’s brown skin.

Ali could hear Emma and Hana speaking softly to each other as she ran her hands down the soft material. She took a deep breath, preparing herself to look in the mirror.

“Emma, this dress is amazing! How do I look?” she said, stepping out of the dressing room.

The two women were pulled out of their conversation. They both smiled at her appearance, Emma beaming with pride.

“Hotter than fire, my darling,” Hana said.

Emma handed her an ornate black mask that was attached to a long stick. Ali held it up over her face and looked in the mirror for the first time that night. It felt odd, but she liked what she saw. She had been so worried about this, about fitting in, about how she would look out of her usual baggy clothing. But, she was proud of the person she saw looking back at her in the mirror. She felt good about herself, and that was empowering.

“I’m going to have to hold this in front of my glasses all night,” she sighed as she realized how far away from her face she had to hold the mask to keep it from touching her glasses.

“Well, you could just get contacts,” Emma said, with a smile.

The girl had been trying to convince her to get contact lenses for years, but she refused on the grounds that she didn’t want to put anything in her eyes.

“Not a chance,” she said.

“One last thing,” Emma said, pulling a small jewelry box from behind her back.

“A certain special someone asked me to give you this tonight,” she lowered her voice so that Hana couldn’t hear her.

She took a silver necklace with a delicate heart-shaped pendant out of the box and placed it around the other girl’s neck. Ali smiled at her reflection in the mirror and took a deep breath to steel herself.

“Well, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” she said, making her way to the door of the boutique.

“Good luck!” Emma said, giving her one last hug.

Ali left Hana and Emma, who seemed to be bonding, in the boutique and found Maxwell and Drake both waiting for her nearby. An appreciative whistle left Maxwell’s mouth as looked her over, and Ali would have been insulted if she hadn’t known him well enough to know his intentions.

“You look… good,” Drake said, taking in her appearance.

Ali smirked at him and didn’t miss the way a slight blush crept up his cheeks.

“Thanks, Drake.”

Maxwell held his arm out to her and she took his elbow with one hand and Drake’s with the other. She felt confident walking down to the ballroom sandwiched between the two of them. When they reach the ballroom doors Drake broke away from them.

“I’m going to enter the ballroom through a side door. I’ll see you around,” he said, giving her a half smile.

Ali nodded in his direction and looked ahead to the ballroom doors. Maxwell gave her one last encouraging smile as the doors flew open, and the herald announced his title. A new set of butterflies erupted in her stomach as she watched him walk down the stairs into the room below them. She stepped up to the man and gave him her name.

“Lady Alison Moonessar of New York!” he called in a loud voice.

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