#I hope the two options are sufficient to cover all needs <3

[crystalelemental]

Unit Teambuilding - Olympia

And now we come to Victor, who-what’s that?  Oh, he’s the last thing released this month?  He’s separated from Galar?  Well that’s weird.  So who’s on next?  Wait, Olympia?!  Is it Meowstic?!  No?  Sigilyph?  I mean...it’s fine I guess.  I was hoping for the cute cat.

General Overview Did you know Olympia’s DPS outperforms Challenger Gloria’s without the Rebuff?  1,170,045, compared to Gloria’s 1,135,827 on Pyro Ball.  I just thought that was interesting.

Olympia comes in with Stored Power + Calm Mind.  Her passives allow her to double stat boosts, and on grid she can get Ramp Up 1 and Barricade 1 for Calm Mind, meaning it is a two-turn affair.  Trainer move buffs crit by +3.  Full offensive benefit for first sync, with a Rising Tide type innate buff.  Brute Wits and Smart Cookie are ideal multipliers given her special defense boosting.  There’s little else she could ask for, yet they gave it all the same.  +6 evasion on entry, Ridicure 2, and Queue Cutter 2.  Those are.  Hilarious, actually.

Olympia of course has flaws.  She is a general pool pair.  A big one being the same thing I just bitched out Blue for: she cannot truly offload her self-setup.  She is going to spend three turns setting up, otherwise you’re likely missing out on Brute Wits and Smart Cookie.  There are options that can ease her setup, like SC Jasmine and SS Brendan.  She’s not as completely hosed as Blue.  But it’s a notable aspect of her kit.  She also has, just, nothing for team support.  Which isn’t just boring because Tech pairs should have a technical angle to them, but means that her applications are very cut and dry.  She’s going to support the damage effort, and if you need anything else...look to a different pair.

I like Olympia’s kit quite a bit.  I think she’s insanely good for what she does.  I think the defensive profile and immediate capped evasion with Ridicure and Regen means she’ll have a Gauntlet Solo count.  Buuuut she’s not that lifechanging.  Lucian, Sonia, and Courtney, by virtue of the absurd team support they provide, have more value.  But Olympia feels like a Top 5 for the general pool.  Top 10 at worst.  She’s here to do one thing and she does it exceptionally well.  I just...really wish it was Meowstic, personally.  Stoutland got a second chance with SC Steven, where’s the second Meowstic to make up for what they did to base Calem?

EX and Move Level? General pool tech nuke with actual power, full 3/5 EX encouraged for shenanigans.  That said, Stored Power is so bonkers as DPS that frankly, she can do fine with just 1/5 non-EX and just contribute through how much she beats things down.  But if you want to completely remove support from the equation, 3/5 is necessary.  Otherwise, you want a bit of support.

Team 1: Olympia, Caitlin, Lodge Dawn Alright, let’s start by talking about my favorites.  Lodge Dawn has special attack and special defense boosts available, with Team Sharp Entry as desired for Caitlin support.  Notably, her buffing kit is efficient enough through trainer move that she sets up Stored Power very quickly.  Caitlin can take sync for spread damage in CS, while Olympia’s Stored Power is concentrated DPS on whatever survives.  As such, this is a 1/5 Olympia solution, functioning as secondary DPS and secondary tank thanks to evasion.

Team 2: Olympia, Skyla/Jasmine, P!Dawn/Lucian/Bianca It’s hard to shop for Olympia.  She doesn’t really need much.  Skyla provides Defense and Speed to boost stats she doesn’t cover herself, while P!Dawn throws out Fake Tears.  I’m avoiding Lucian due to overlapping speed buffs, but you could swap Skyla for like...Jasmine or Dawn, and have Lucian handle the speed angle.  Or if you’d like, just throw in Bianca for Terrain.  Bianca can be the Tech alternative, or the support alternative, as needed.

Final Thoughts I can’t say much about Olympia because she’s not really teambuilding worthy.  She’s self-sufficient, pretty strong, and wants for very little due to low gauge cost.  She’s the kind of pair that’s effective at her job, but her job is straight-forward so there’s not much teambuilding to talk about.  Just bring something that sustains as a tank, and let her run hog wild.

That said, general pool.  For F2P players, you know the drill.  Yes, I know, we need to spend on these to get them to happen more often, I recognize this, but let me ask you: is that worth it?  Do you really care so much about the possibility of increasing more spotlights?  If DeNA wants to play hardball and release characters in spotlight just before anniversary, let them.  It’s not your fault if they bomb.  And come on, a Psychic type?  Like we really needed more of those.  She may finally be a Giovanni killer, but such a role was unnecessary.  She’s great, but she’s not worth breaking the stash over.  Just...don’t expect to see her in the ticket scouts next month.  Two years running, anything from July and August didn’t show up.  There’s basically no chance she’ll be there.

[boss323michalmiskovic]

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AGAIN I SAY IF YOU HAVE SOME PROBLEMS OR HAVE ONLY QUESTIONS AND YOU WANT FAST ANSWER PLEASE WRITE EMAIL HERE : sales@gpmracing.com.hk

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[legionofpotatoes]

All Mass Effect location posters I've worked on with @swaps55 so far. A dream gig if there ever was one, and with more coming soon!

Since folks expressed interest, we decided to put these up for sale; available here as bordered giclée art prints, and here as flush posters and photographic prints.

Stay strong and clear ❤

[squiggledrop]

Tying the Knot - Spencer Reid x Reader

Masterlist

Part 1: No Strings

Part 2: Frayed Ends

Summary: Strings Part 3– Spencer and Reader have a friends with benefits arrangement. The only problem is, they both have feelings for each other. Spencer tries to fix things between them and convince Reader to let down her guard and let herself love him.

Word count: 3k

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Category: Angst, Fluff

Warnings: implied smut, crying, kissing

Note: Thank you so much to everyone who showed so much support for the other two parts!! You all mean the world to me!

Spencer sat on the subway alone that night, his mind swarming with thoughts of you. When he saw you smiling earlier today, he knew he never wanted to see it fade, and that he would do whatever he could to make sure it stayed like that. 

He loved you. There was no denying that. He felt horrible that you thought he didn’t love you because that was the farthest from the truth. He needed to tell you how he really felt. He couldn’t live with himself otherwise, knowing that you thought he really meant it when he said it was just sex. It was never just sex, at least not to him. It was never just anything when it came to you.

That night, he decided to write you a letter explaining everything. He came to the conclusion that it was the safest option, and if things went in an unfavorable manner, it was the easiest medium to recover from and pretend nothing happened.

So, that’s how Spencer found himself sat up at his desk all night, crumped paper littering his floor, as he tried to pour all his feelings for you onto a piece of paper. Needless to say, he didn’t get much sleep that night.

The next morning, Spencer gently placed the cream envelope on your desk, fiddling with the corners to make sure it was noticeable. He looked around the room, feeling his heart rate increase. How would you react? Would you throw it away and never talk to him again or would you realize that you love him too? Spencer told himself he would be okay either way, so long as you knew how he felt. He didn’t want to hide his feelings from you. He knew you were it for him, and he would love you for the rest of his life. And if he would have to hold his unrequited love for you for the rest of eternity, he would do so happily, knowing that he was honest with you and gave it his all. He couldn’t live with himself, thinking you didn’t know the extent of his feelings for you. Trying to calm his nerves, he ran his thumb along the pads of his fingers. Not wanting to be here when you read the letter, he heads to the bathroom when he hears the ding of the elevator.

Taking a deep breath, you walked into the bullpen. You had already survived one day of heartache, what’s one more? Sure, with every breath you took, you could still hear Spencer’s last words to you piercing your lungs: “I didn’t mean it. It’s just sex.”  And every time you closed your eyes, you were met with his cold, rigid frame walking away from you, as if you meant nothing to him. Which apparently was the case. How could you be so stupid and think he actually meant it. But, it doesn’t even matter now, because no matter how much you want to blame this on Spencer, you can’t. Yes, he broke the rules, but you were the one who left. You were the one who took a heat of the moment slip up and blew it out of proportion and pushed away the one good thing in your life.

When you got to your desk, you threw down your bag, grateful that Spencer was nowhere to be seen. Although, you would lie if you said you weren’t a bit disappointed. As you took out some paperwork from your bag, you noticed an envelope sitting on your desk next to a stack of papers. You felt your heart clench, instantly recognizing the handwriting your name was written in on the back of it. Slowly, you wedged your finger under the flap, breaking the seal. You pulled out the slightly crumpled lined paper that looked as if it had been read through a hundred times already. Letting out a small gasp, you fell into your seat, scanning the room for Spencer. Not seeing him anywhere, you held up the letter with shaky hands, your watery eyes pouring over every word.

(Y/n),

Throughout every book I have read and paper I have written, words never seem to fail me, that is until it comes to you. No matter how many times I try to write this, it still doesn’t feel good enough. I have read countless stories about the triumphs and tribulations of love. I have tried finding a single one that could capture even an ounce of the love I hold for you, but they all fall short. 

I think that’s because, when I read the words that surround me on these dusty shelves, I am reminded of all the things I love about you. Ask me to find a poem about your beauty and I can do that with no problem. Ask me to find a book about how it feels to kiss you and make love to you, and I can reach for one without leaving this chair. But, ask me to find one that perfectly explains why I love you, and I would not be able to. 

Yes, I love your beautiful smile and sparkling eyes. I love how it feels to hold you in my arms and press my lips all over your captivating body. I love everything about you, even the parts that you deem unworthy, but that is not why I love you. 

I love you because, in a group of people, you are the only one I care that is laughing at my stupid jokes. I love you because when I am having a terrible day, you are the person I want to sit with me and just breathe. You are the person I trust with all my secrets, and the one person I want to share all my accomplishments with. I love you because you are the person I want to bicker with over stupid, petty things. You are the person I want to set off the fire alarm with while attempting to cook dinner and the person I want to yell at me for getting the wrong kind of milk at the grocery store. You are the person I want to wake up next to every morning, sipping our coffees in a calming silence before we head into work. 

We see the darkest parts of humanity through our job. Yet, every time I look at you, I am reminded of how beautifully wonderful life can be. You make my life beautiful. And because of that, I love you.

I lied. That night, when I said that I didn’t mean it, I lied. I meant it, and I mean every word that I just wrote. (Y/n) (Y/l/n), I love you. I love you so much that it consumes every part of me. I’m sorry that I ever made you doubt my feelings for you. I will never do that again. I love you.

I know you said not to get feelings involved, but I have loved you from the first day I met you.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I lied. I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry that I broke our rule and that you left. But, I’m not sorry for saying it. I will never be sorry for telling you how I feel. Because I love you. I just hope that you love me too.

All my love,

Spencer Reid

Tears now covered the paper in your hands, and you threw it onto the desk, not wanting anyone to see you like this. You cupped your hand over your mouth, trying to hold back your sobs until you made it to the file room. Once inside, you collapsed onto the floor, slamming the door shut behind you. You don’t know what to feel. You are so overwhelmed and your heart is beating too fast and Spencer’s words that are replaying in your head are too loud. You don’t know what to do, so you do all you can do, and just sit there.

Spencer convinces himself that he has given you sufficient time to read the letter and that he should probably make an appearance. If not for you, then at least to actually do some work. What’s the worst that could happen? You ignore each other again? He could handle that, or so he tells himself. He just has to walk out there and sit down at his desk. He can do that.

Exiting the bathroom, his steps falter as he notices you aren’t at your desk. He walks over, noticing that the envelope had been opened. But, when he looks at the contents of the letter, his heart drops. The ink is smudged with tear stains. He didn’t mean to make you cry. That’s the last thing he wanted. He curses himself for hurting you even more and begins frantically searching the office for you.

He hears muffled sobs coming from the file room, and he reluctantly knocks on the door. After hearing nothing in response except for your continued whimpers that were sending daggers through his chest, he forces himself to open the door. When he sees your disheveled state on the ground, he gasps, feeling guilty for causing you to feel this way.

At the sound of the door opening, you turn your head, revealing your puffy eyes. Upon noticing that it was Spencer, you quickly stood up, trying to dry your cheeks. You both stood there in shock, not knowing what to say. Through your foggy eyes, you notice as tears begin to form in his sullen eyes too. Both of you looked miserable, and it broke the other’s heart. 

Spencer was the first to say something, breaking the silence. “I-I’m so sorry for making you cry, I didn’t-”

“Spence-” you cut him off. You didn’t think you could handle the sound of his pained, raspy voice. You didn’t trust yourself, not with how broken you felt inside.

“No. I just- I need to say this,” he insisted. Reluctantly, you nod, figuring it was the least you could do while trying to stop any more tears from falling. “I meant every word,” he continued, trying to meet your gaze. “A-and I don’t want to take it back, any of it. I don’t regret any of it. I-I love you (Y/n).” 

You sigh at his words, unsure of how to respond. There was no doubting what you felt about this man, but you couldn’t admit that to yourself, let alone him. 

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” you croaked out. You still hadn’t dared meet his eyes, but you could feel his heavy gaze penetrating into you.

“I want you to say you love me too,” he whispered. 

“You know I can’t do that.” You bit your lip as you shook your head.

“Why not?” The desperation in his voice was almost palpable. You swallowed thickly before speaking again.

“Look Spencer, I’m sorry I hurt you, and I’m sorry I can’t be what you deserve, but I-”

“But that’s just it,” he interjected. “I don't need you to be anything but yourself. That’s all I need. You are all I need. I love you and I just need you to let me.”

“But Spencer, I-”

“Please,” he begged, shaking his head while on the verge of tears. “I can’t listen to you say you can’t do this. I can’t listen to you lie to me and to yourself. I know you love me too. If you didn’t you wouldn’t be here crying.” You roll your eyes, running your hand through your hair. “If I'm wrong, and you truly want me to stop, I will.”

You were silent. Spencer’s eyes searched yours for an answer, for any indication that you wanted him just as badly as he wanted you. 

“Am I wrong?” he pressed. The insecurity he was trying so hard to quell still seeped through his voice.

After another moment of silence, you looked away, blinking away more tears that fell.

“No.” you choked out, looking up at the ceiling. “God, Spencer, why do you have to make this so difficult?” You look back at him, finally meeting his gaze. “Of course I love you. How could I not?”

“Then what’s the problem?” he demanded, stepping towards you. But, you still backed away from his touch.

“Because I love you too much,” you whispered.

Spencer’s mouth opened as looked at you, confusion clouding his face. “I-I don’t understand.”

“Fuck, Spence,” you sighed, gathering your thoughts. “I can’t let you love me just so I can hurt you later on, okay? Every time I've let someone in, I end up hurting them. And I've hurt you enough already.” 

Spencer stared at you in disbelief, trying to formulate a response. At his silence, you swallowed the lump in your throat, pushing past him towards the door. Before you could, however, Spencer grabbed your wrist, pulling you back.

“I don’t care,” he whispered. His eyes bore deep into yours, his hand that still clung to your wrist was burning your skin. 

“Spence-” you scoffed, pleading with him. 

“No!” he shouted, full-on sobbing now. You reluctantly rolled your eyes again, trying not to show him how the tears that dripped down his face were plummeting straight into your heart, each one forming creators in the fragile fabric of your wounded heart. Spencer swallowed thickly before continuing. “You don’t get to decide how I feel or what I can handle, okay? That’s up to me. I love you and that’s all that matters. I don’t care if we break up in fifty years or in five weeks. I love you, just give me a chance before you give up on us. I-” he choked on a sob, “you haven’t even given me a chance”, he whimpers.

You were so close to caving in and just letting yourself give in to him. You wanted to feel his arms around you again. You desperately missed how safe and warm they made you feel.

“But what if we do break up?” you cried, looking deep into his eyes.

“Then we break up.”

“But I can’t lose you, Spence. I-I couldn’t survive it. I don’t want to know what it’s like to have you just for it all to be taken away one day”

“Who says I’m ever going to leave?” Your mouth opened and closed, you didn’t know what to say. “(Y/n), I love you. Even if we break up, I promise I will always be there for you.” He ran his hand through his hair, pacing slightly in the tiny room. “God, (Y/n), before I met you I didn’t even know it was possible to love someone this much, and I want to spend the rest of my life showing you.” He stopped moving, turning directly towards you. “But, I can only do that if you let me. I-I know it’s hard to let yourself be vulnerable, but I promise I’m here to catch you. It’s okay if you want to go slow, I’m willing to wait as long as you need. I just need you to not act like it’s over before we’ve even started.”

“I-I don’t know…”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I don’t know, okay?”, you snapped, looking up at him

“What are you so afraid of?”

“Everything Spencer!” you admitted a bit too loudly. “Everything…” you sobbed, collapsing. Spencer rushed forward, catching you in his arms. He wrapped his arms tightly around your back, supporting you. He ran his hands up and down your back, trying to soothe your muffled cries that stained his shirt. He could feel his own tears running down his face, but at that moment, he didn’t care about anything but holding you, so he let them roll down his face and into your hair. 

Your mind was racing, voicing screaming at you to leave and never look back. They told you that you were only hurting him more and that you were ruining everything. 

But, when you felt Spencer’s gentle hands roaming your back and his soft hushes brushing against your ear, you had never felt safer. When you had finally calmed down and your breath steadied, you pulled back slightly so you could look at him. You stared at Spencer, into his deep amber eyes. For the first time, you didn’t see all the ways you could destroy him and lose everything. Instead, you saw a future. You saw all the possible ways in which you could love him and share a life together. Slowly, after taking a deep breath, you nodded your head.

“Okay”, you whispered.

Spencer’s face lit up upon hearing you. “Yeah?” he asked, weary that one wrong move would send you running.

“Yeah,” you smiled, falling back into his open arms. He wrapped his arms tightly around you, never wanting to let you go. He sighed in relief and kissed the top of your head while rubbing your back. Your arms tightened around his neck as you lifted your head to his ear. He could feel your warm breath on his neck, sending comforting shivers down his spine.

“I love you too,” you breathed into his ear. You pulled back slightly, but before you could do anything, Spencer smashed hip lips onto yours. He kissed you with such passion, that swore you felt your heart become physically tethered to his. 

When you finally broke apart, desperate for air, you looked at each other, both standing there with glassy eyes, reflecting each other's smiles. You held one another in comfortable silence, knowing that regardless of what uncertainties the future held, it would be okay, because Spencer loves you, and you love him.

----------

series taglist: @eevee0722​ @infinity1321​ @dracoxmgg​ @username2002​ @dracomikaelson

[dropofgoldensun]

omg hiiiii i am here from cat (@luvdsc) wondering if you could offer any advice about college apps 🙏 especially about the uc piqs? thank you so much i hope ur doing well!!!!!!!!

yes yes hello friend !! 💝 miss cat directed you to me because i did my college apps last year !!! (yikes one year passed already?? why does that feel ages ago 🤧)

first of all, congratulations on making the decision to apply to college !! i know it’s been hard for a lot of people our age to figure out the college situation recently, so i’m proud of you for choosing to take the extra step this summer to buckle up and write those essays 💞

i’ve compiled a few tips on answering the PIQs (i was actually in the middle of typing this up when i received your ask haha), but some of them can be applied to other essays, as well !! they’re all under the cut (because, unfortunately, being brief is not my forte) 😊

(and for reference, the prompts i chose were #2 (creativity), #6 (subject), #7 (community), and #8 (anything) !!)

tip #1: understand the prompt.

before you even begin writing, it’s important to understand what the question is really asking. for the UC PIQs, this will look different depending on which four prompts you decide to do.

in question one, for example, they want to know about your skills in leading others, but notice that they’re also curious about your resolution abilities and teamwork experience. or in question two, they don’t want to know that you paint and that you love painting—they could be asking how resourceful you are, how you think outside the box when you have an idea.

once you know the question you’re going to be answering, you can move on to brainstorming!

tip #2: write down three (3) key takeaways.

these are like the most basic, not-even-a-sentence answers you would give to each question. so for me, in response to question eight (“what do you believe makes you stand out as a strong candidate for the UCs?”), my answers were perseverance, courage, and character. i had a story about that, so i wrote about my experience with martial arts.

i recommend you do something similar. decide on three things that you want to communicate to your audience, and write them in the footnote of your document. your goal is to cover all three points so that, if anyone were to read your essay, they would walk away understanding those three things about you.

i found this strategy really helpful for keeping my essay streamlined while writing—if a sentence didn’t relate to any of those main points, i would cut it since those words would take up valuable space in the word count. stay focused on what needs to be in this essay, and if you have extra words left in the word count later, you can add those details back in.

and once you’re done with your essay, make sure to refer back to your takeaways and check that you covered all of them sufficiently!

tip #3: highlight your stories.

i sent cat an ask a couple days ago with a few pictures of my response to an end-of-year college counseling survey that referenced this tip (you can find it here). basically i said that, when choosing what topics to write about, pick things that interest you! if you get excited talking about it, your audience should get excited about reading it, because they’ll pick up on the passions you have and then everyone’s excited !!! :D

i’ll tell you a secret: everyone you meet, everyone you see, has countless unique experiences that few others may have. me? i spend hours making mashups out of kpop songs. i earned my black belt years after a traumatizing experience during training. i get russian harry potter and spanish dr. seuss books from the library. and i created a collaborative online google photos album for my classmates that now has thousands of entries. although these aren’t necessarily unique to only me, they’re still special enough to the point where, when you put them all together, you get a better image of the person i am, and what i value.

so find a story, a habit, a hobby that makes you different, because i believe that everyone has them. give them some food for thought, or that one-liner that sticks in their brain and won’t go away. and remember: these stories don’t all have to be extraordinary—they should be about people or moments of special value to you, because that’s what matters.

personal tip: when i was brainstorming ideas, i decided that the best way to get ideas out there was to go on a rant (because sometimes it helps to just have a conversation with yourself !!) and i recorded myself, so i could replay what i said !! this was so so crucial to me finding my own voice for writing essays. notice the way you word things when you talk—a good line or two may make it into the final draft :)

i found it helpful to read sample essays as well! they give a lot of great ideas on the kinds of topics people write about. (also, it’s kind of fun, because who doesn’t love a good story?)

but the people reading your essay won’t be there to just enjoy your story; what they really want you to do is to tell them what you learned from your experience. they want to know whether you’re teachable and willing to grow both as a student and as a young adult. so make sure to take note of the life lessons you learned, experience you gained, character you built, etc.

minor tip on ending your essay: if you’re telling a story that happened in the past, then close with what you learned and how you can apply that to your life moving forward. if you’re telling a story that has no definite end yet (like a passion or dream you have), you probably don’t have everything figured out (and you can say that in your essay!), so it might be better to close with your hopes for the future.

tip #4: ask your family for help.

peer-editing is one of the most effective ways to detect errors and inconsistencies in your writing, because, after staring at your essay for so long, you might gloss over glaring contradictions. for all of my essays, i printed them out and asked my parents to help me revise them. we’d meet every other night (or every night, depending on how much time was left) to review and discuss improvements.

i actually kept some of those printed drafts (only the first and the final ones for comparison), and let me tell you from experience—you’re probably going to have a lot of drafts (i think the most i did was seven? but you don’t need to go that far!). this part of the process does take some time, so remember to be patient and kind to yourself :) these essays won’t happen overnight!

enlisting the help of others also helps keep you accountable. one of the struggles many seniors face while writing essays is just... setting aside time to do them. and even though the constant reminders from your parents will definitely get repetitive and a bit stress-inducing, i can tell you from personal experience that i’m so glad they did; otherwise, i don’t think i’d have my essays done in time :’)

while writing college essays is challenging, your family will be there supporting you each step of the way. chances are that they’ll have their own pointers to pass on to you, since they probably remember doing this process themselves! and, out of everyone in your life, they probably remember the most about you (because you probably don’t remember much when you were four or five), so they might have a couple starter ideas for topics when brainstorming. you can rely on them for their advice and their experience.

tip #5: self-editing.

here’s the part that takes the longest time.

use action words. this is probably something you’ve heard all throughout elementary school where they didn’t like you to say “said” because it was “boring”… but honestly, the difference between “doing my own version” and “infusing it with my personality” could go a long way. also, use words that you would actually use in an essay—then it’ll have your own special flair, and not sound like it’s taken from some stuffy 80s textbook!

here are some of the words i used (once again, you shouldn’t use these words if they don’t sound like something you’d write/say): potential, overlay, wrestle, launch, analogous, weave, infuse, experiment, outlet, revel, fascinate, satisfaction, pursue, expand, distinction, capture, range, archive, engage, beyond, build, adversity, cultivate, preserve, commit, explore, convey, naturally

also, be on the lookout for repeated words. i once wrote an essay without noticing that i used “hope” three times in the same paragraph. don’t do that! use synonyms :) personally, i tended to run short on synonyms, so i always kept a tab or two open on my computer reserved for searching up new words.

side note: unfortunately, during my search for synonyms, i discovered that thesaurus.com just didn’t give me what i was looking for. i highly recommend using wordhippo instead; it has so many more options and they’re grouped by the different definitions of your word! i found the synonyms i needed really quickly and it was very satisfying!

avoid the passive voice! my teacher gave me this tip for theses or any other college-level writing. here’s an example of the passive voice: “there was a large part of me that wanted to turn back.” that’s twelve words taking up precious space in your word count! instead, say something like, “i considered turning back.” you’ve just freed up eight words :)

tip #6: final revisions.

this is the step where you fine-tune your essays. meet that word count.

read your writing out loud. does it sound like you? it should. every writer has a different voice, and you need to ensure that yours is pervasive throughout your essay. feel free to use contractions—not only do they reduce your word count (this was a good thing for me, since i had a problem with getting under 350 words), but they also give a more casual tone to your essay, as if you’re telling a story to someone in the room.

next, pretend to be an admissions officer and have someone else read your essay to you. do you get excited hearing about this student who shares your name? if you do, there’s a good chance the real admissions officers will love your essays, too. this also gives you a chance to review to your essay as a whole. pay attention to the overall flow. is there a clear beginning and end? do you resolve the issues and overcome the trials you brought up? listen to it as if it’s a story, and take this time to enjoy what you’ve written. you worked hard!

final thoughts / encouragements.

oh my goodness, did we make it to the end? honestly if you did, thank you so much 🥺

okay but despite my relatively optimistic tone throughout this post, i’m still going to be honest with you—the college essay writing process is difficult. it requires you to look inside yourself and analyze the “why” behind some of the things that you love, and that isn’t easy to do at all. it’s intellectually and emotionally challenging, because not only do you need to use so much energy writing, but you also have to dig deeper to understand yourself, and that’s not easy, either.

but i wanted to encourage you, too. no matter what you may think of yourself at 12am, 2am, 4am writing these essays, believe you have a personality that others love and will love when they meet you. you are an interesting person with unique experiences who deserves to share your thoughts with others. you have so many people behind you, supporting you during these next few months. and when you find that you can’t write any more, remember to take time to care for yourself. have a warm shower. go to bed early. i could go on and on about why sleep is good for your brain but i’ll spare you the details in this post 😉

one last thing: keep the bigger picture in focus. remember, by december or january, you will be finished with most of the application process. that’s no small accomplishment. you can do it. 💝

i really hope you found tips that you were looking for, and that they’re applicable to your own PIQs and other essays !! if you have any other questions, feel free to send in another ask (i promise my response won’t be this lengthy LOL) 💘💓

oh, and if you feel comfortable enough reaching out about anything in particular, i’m only a DM away 💕 i wish you the best of luck on writing your essays and i hope you enjoy your final year of high school !! 💗🌸💟💖

[notfivefives]

Clonetober 2021, Day 3 & Whumptober 2021, No. 16

Prompts: 

Day 3- Inhibitor Chip Removal for @clonetober

No. 16- On a Need to Know Basis: Recovery | Scars | Aftermath for             @whumptober2021

Title: Stable

Content Warnings: None 

Word Count: 2,209

Characters: Gregor & Wolffe

Summary: Gregor has misgivings about looking after Wolffe after the Commander’s inhibitor chip is removed. 

Read here, or on AO3

The excision of Wolffe’s chip had been conditional on Rex’s agreement to leave with the medic - a Twi’Lek woman whose clientele base was mostly comprised of outlaws and anyone else who required discreet clinical services - on a job. It was non-negotiable, and though Gregor had vehemently made the argument that it would be better for Wolffe to wake up to a familiar face, Rex had sighed and given Gregor a small, resigned smile and told Gregor that his face was familiar.

Gregor had laughed even as he’d shot Rex a dirty look that said, You know what I meant.

And Rex had nodded. Because he did know. But that didn’t change their circumstances.

The medic, with a twitch of her violet lekku, had assured Gregor that her 2-1B medical droid - she’d won it from Cid - would be more than sufficient to help care for Wollfe.

And then they’d left them in the little place on the outskirts of Ord Mantell that was part dwelling, part infirmary.

Gregor’s teeth worried at his lower lip as he sat, watching the smooth rise and fall of Wolffe’s chest. It hadn’t been so long ago that Gregor had been on that same cot, an identical incision on his head.

“How is he?”

The med droid’s head swivelled to where Gregor sat in a threadbare chair. Its eyes, or the two sets of three yellow lights that represented each of them, regarded him.

“The patient is stable.”

Gregor couldn’t decide if its voice was condescending, or merely dispassionate, but its words were as succinct as they were unhelpful and Gregor felt annoyance and frustration welling within him. A more nuanced answer would require a more specific question and Gregor wasn’t sure how to ask.

How will he be? He wanted to say. But he knew the question would make even less sense to the droid than it did to him. Droids couldn’t see the future, they could only extrapolate based on data, and the data said “stable.”

Gregor let out a vexed huff, crossed his arms and slouched in his chair. To the credit of his seat, it was at least comfortable. That didn’t mean he didn’t resent sitting in it. Pacing the confines of the medic’s home and workspace, and leaning against a wall were, however, slightly less attractive options.

He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs. His fingertips grazed the still-pink scar tissue on his right temple.

His own waking after his chip had been removed hadn’t been so slow. But his procedure had fallen under the “just in case” category. It had also been entirely voluntary. Who knew what complications could arise with Wolffe.

Going by the reports Rex and Gregor had read on Wolffe while they searched for him, Wolffe had, like his namesake, hunted and killed with the ruthless efficiency of a persistence predator. Did that begin with the flick of the Order 66 switch, and would it continue despite his chip’s removal?

“My readings indicate that the patient will soon return to consciousness.”

Gregor straightened.

Wolffe’s breathing wasn’t as deep as it had been, and Gregor could see a crease in his brow, and the beginnings of a frown on his lips. Wolffe’s eyes slid open and Gregor remained still.  From where he was sitting, Gregor could only see the pale, cybernetic one, but when Wolffe’s head turned in his direction he could see his mismatched gaze evolve from dull to questioning, and then to hostile.

Unsurprising, considering his last memory was likely of being taken down with stun rounds.

Wolffe’s frown became a sneer as he studied Gregor and Gregor rose, though he was unsure if it was to offer comfort or to take a defensive stance.

Wolffe rolled onto his side and Gregor lifted a hand to caution him against any sudden movements.

Too late.

The muscles in Wolffe’s face bunched and he closed his eyes. He reached a hand up to his temple and sucked in air through his teeth when he found the bandage-covered incision there.

“Wolffe…” Gregor said as he took several steps toward him. He stopped in his tracks when Wolffe’s eyes flashed open. There was hurt beneath the anger and mistrust. “I’m Gregor. You’re safe here.”

“What in hells did you do to me?” Wolffe rasped out the words, but they weren’t lacking in venom. The scar on the right side of his face added to the ferocity of his appearance, and even stripped of his armor and weapons, Wolffe looked battle-ready.

“Rex and I found you, and-”

“Found me?” Wolffe spat as he lifted himself and moved his legs over the side of the cot. Gregor could see Wolffe’s eyes go a little unfocused with the movement, but after he blinked again and moved his head from side to side, Wolffe rose on unsteady legs. “That’s a funny way of saying-”

“Please be calm,” the 2-1B unit said as it took several mechanical steps closer to Wolffe.

Wolffe divided his attention and his ire between the droid and Gregor.

“Does that ever help?” Gregor asked the droid, without taking his eyes off of Wolffe, who took a step toward the door.

“My master has programmed me to be proactive where potentially combative patients are concerned. If he does not regain his composure, I will be forced to administer medication to achieve that end.”

“Try it,” Wolffe said. He turned toward the droid and squared his shoulders, but took a sensible step away from it when he caught sight of the needle at the end of the droid’s left appendage.

“Hey, whoah, stop!” Gregor said when it looked as though the droid was going to oblige Wolffe. Part of Gregor admired the medic’s forethought, considering her line of work, but the other, more significant part of him was actively cursing her. “I’ll get pretty combative, too, if you go near him. What do you think your chances are of taking down two Republic clones?”

All three of them were still. Gregor didn’t know how, but the droid seemed to actually be calculating an answer to his question. For his part, Gregor tried to estimate how much worse he’d just made the situation. He’d been in higher stakes impasses, to be sure, but this one seemed more delicate.

“Not optimal,” the droid admitted, at last, as it lowered its arms.

“That’s what I thought,” Gregor said as he let out a breath and looked at Wolffe to see if he’d garnered any favor.

Or that he hadn’t provoked an attack.

Wolffe eyed him. The wariness and anger were there, but beneath them was an unmistakable weariness. It was the same tiredness Gregor saw in Rex every day. The same kind he knew he’d see if he looked in a mirror. He felt morbid laughter bubbling up when he thought that they were all reflections of one another and that he didn’t need the benefit of a mirror. He kept it at bay, though, and he and Wolffe stood in silence.

Wolffe rested the small of his back against the cot and swallowed. Gregor thought to offer him some water, but Wolffe spoke before he could.

“Rex is dead, and so is the Republic.”

“Well, the Republic is,” Gregor conceded with an upward tilt of the lip, “But Rex is alive.”

Wolffe shook his head again, but this time he broke eye contact. Gregor wasn’t sure what he’d expected from the Commander. Relief? Disbelief?

“Then he’s a traitor,” Wolffe said, his voice a hoarse, uncertain whisper. “And so are you. You’re in violation of...I should...I should…”

“The patient is distressed,” the med droid reported.

“He’s allowed to be,” Gregor snapped. He sounded more petulant than he would have cared to, but the droid fell silent again, so it was entirely worth it.

Wolffe’s shoulders slumped and he crossed his arms over his stomach as he took his weight off the bed again. Gregor took a half step forward and decided to gamble.

“Is that what you want?” he asked. He kept his tone as conversational as he could, as though it made no difference to him if he found himself in another cell, awaiting stars knew what fate. “To turn us in to the Empire?”

Wolffe was silent for a long while. He wrapped his arms tighter around his middle and bowed his head. His gaze was dark and distant. Gregor wondered what realizations were filtering in, what memories. Memories - or what Gregor thought were memories - came rattling back in his dreams, or resurfaced in flashes with scents  or sensations. For Wolffe’s sake, Gregor hoped the memories were kinder, but he doubted they were.

“I...I don’t…” Wolffe trailed off.

Gregor hadn’t expected Wolffe’s shoulders to start shaking, or his breath to start hitching.

But they did. Oh, they did.

“What did I do?” Wolffe asked. “What did I-”

His words broke off in a ragged sob.

“It’s okay,” Gregor offered.

Wolffe shook his head and screwed his eyes shut. A tear glinted down his cheek and Gregor hazarded another step closer, though he had no idea what exactly he was doing.

“The General,” Wolffe said, his voice thick. “When I read the report, all I could think was ‘Good. Good the traitor’s dead,’ and I was...I was…”

Wolffe’s knees buckled and he dropped. Hard.

Gregor nearly tried to catch him, nearly tried to break the fall that had probably been inevitable. But what could he do, really? He considered walking out and closing the door behind him. Not to assuage his own discomfort, or because he didn’t care, but because it seemed wrong to see Wolffe like this, suffocating on the emotions the chip had kept at bay. The chip he and Rex had had removed.

Something unpleasant lanced its way into Gregor’s gut. Could they have afforded to give Wolffe a choice?

No, Gregor thought as he shoved the guilt down. With the chip, Wolffe didn’t have a choice. Now he did.

The heels of Wolffe’s hands were on the floor and his nails were digging into it as though he could scrape some semblance of reason from the tatty carpet beneath him.

Gregor wished his practical knowledge of weapons and infiltration would do him and Wolffe any good. He wished he could spare Wolffe the pain. Most of all, Gregor wished Rex were there.

But Gregor did what he’d never been trained to do, what the Kaminoans hadn’t deemed necessary for their creations to learn.

He knelt down beside Wolffe and put a hand on one of his shoulders.

“It’s going to be okay,” he said. The words felt ridiculous coming from his mouth, but his conviction was genuine. “It is.”

“No,” Wolffe croaked.

“Ssh,” Gregor shushed, wondering if Wolffe even heard him. He rubbed Wolffe’s shoulder and down his back. The feel of the quaking muscle beneath his palm hurt Gregor’s heart. He couldn’t begin to imagine what was going through Wolffe’s head. Gregor felt a deep, heated hatred for the Empire and the Kaminoans begin to constrict his chest. He couldn’t recall feeling it so intensely before. But Kamino was gone now  and they were still here. Used, then cast aside. “Shshshsh.”

“Please listen, Wolffe,” Gregor said. “There was nothing you could have done. You couldn’t help it. There was a chip in your head, in all of our heads, but it’s gone now. We got it out.”

“Y-you don’t u-understand what I d-di-id.”

“Hey, hey,” Gregor said as he shifted so he was directly in front of Wolffe. He was grateful Wolffe remained pliant enough that he could draw him into a hug. “You couldn’t help it, Wolffe.”

“No,” Wolffe said again. “Nononono.”

Wolffe chanted that single, miserable note into Gregor’s shoulder until it devolved into a wild sound that pitched and cracked and went on and on until Gregor thought Wolffe’s lungs would give out.

“I know, Wolffe. I know. I’m so sorry,” Gregor said as he put a calloused, uncertain hand on the back of Wolffe’s head and hugged him closer.

Wolffe’s arms remained slack at his sides as he choked and wept, and Gregor held him.

The sobs wracking Wolffe’s body lessened in intensity.

Eventually.

Wolffe’s chest rested heavily against Gregor’s, and he could feel each hectic little sniffle and each groan that worked its way loose from Wolffe’s throat.

Gregor didn’t know if he was helping, or if Wolffe was simply exhausting himself. He rubbed warm, gentle circles between Wolffe’s shoulder blades. He didn’t know how long they sat like that, but he ignored the ache in his knees and the pins and needles in his feet.

Wolffe took in a slow, steady breath and tensed back ever so slightly. Gregor allowed him to list backwards, but he kept a steadying hand on his shoulder and the back of his neck. Wolffe still didn't look at Gregor, but Gregor could see how lost he looked, how hurt.

“Hey,” Gregor said. He was surprised how rough his own voice sounded. There was no response, but he leaned forward and touched his forehead to Wolffe’s. He couldn’t make any of this make sense, but he could try his best to anchor Wolffe. “I’ve got you, Wolffe. I’ve got you.”

. 

[squarecarousel]

Challenge 144: 10 Years, Looking Forward: A-Frame Studio Life Buckle up-- this is a long one! Wow, ten years. It’s hard to believe a whole decade has passed since Square Carousel began, and since I graduated college. In some ways, it feels like another lifetime, and in others, it feels vastly shorter than the decade before that, from ages 12 to 22. Time is fascinating that way. College was such an incredibly impactful time period, but just a measly 4 years-- I could have done college 2.5 more times back-to-back in the years since I graduated, but somehow those four, from 2007-2011 were monumental.  It’s hard to believe I’ll be in a post-college world without Square Carousel, since the group has been a constant in my life these last ten years. I’m really proud that we made it this far and are able to choose to end the journey, rather than it fizzling out or dying from lack of interest. Sometimes it felt like that might happen, but other times it felt like we were blooming. There have been many ups and downs over the course of this journey. And damn, it was a lot of hard to work to keep running, but I am so grateful for the learning experience. I know so much more about leadership now than I ever would have before-- the delicate balance of having rules to keep the group running (deadlines, participation requirements, our dreaded “strike system”) and keeping up morale (knowing when to forgive slip-ups, keeping challenges sufficiently entertaining and well...challenging, making sure the group feels like it’s a community). Elizabeth and I were reluctant leaders, just naturally having to take those roles as other original members of the group left and were replaced by folks who needed guidance. We definitely didn’t seek it out, but we knew that if the group were to stay alive, we had to put some structure into the system. Pretty early on we made our rules and guidelines, extended the challenges to 3 weeks from just 2, and worked on our visual image online. Our awesome logo was made by former member Casey Crisenbery, and we switched from Wordpress to Tumblr, purchasing a URL, and Casey using special code for custom organization on the site. Sketch critiques were now a halfway point through our 3 weeks-long challenge, which helped a lot with the community aspect and engagement. We started doing interviews for each member, reaching out to other illustration groups, blogs and submission sites and had our work featured on a few of them. Some of us even got jobs from the connections made through Square Carousel!  There was a bad stretch several years ago when I wasn’t sure we’d make it through, with toxic behavior and a few folks petitioning for removing deadlines and structure, making everything optional. One thing I can tell you with certainty after ten years of working with artists is that 95% of us require deadlines to do anything, and incentives/obligations for meeting those deadlines, or it just isn’t going to happen! Elizabeth and I, along with a few other solid members, were able to keep the structure we’d worked hard to create, but the toxic culture had already killed group morale and we lost a lot of members simultaneously. That was a sad and scary time for Square Carousel, but I didn’t want to go out on a sour note. So the small group of us picked the pieces back up again, did a little refocus on our goals as a collective and created an “Admin” so Elizabeth and I didn’t have to carry the entire burden alone. I am forever grateful to Sayada and Jordan for stepping up into these roles to help us get the train back on track. Sayada especially picked up a lot of responsibilities that a newer member shouldn’t have to worry about, and was a total rockstar for Square Carousel. I wish we’d had her with us for the whole ride. I’m so happy that we’ve had a few really great years with some really loyal and talented artists to round out the experience at Year Ten.  There is nobody I’m more thankful for than my Good Cop, Elizabeth, though. She was so reliable, always able to provide balance in our leadership roles, and such a wonderful shoulder to cry on when things got too stressful. Elizabeth, thank you for this journey and for being my SC Wife all these years! It’s so funny because of all the original members, you were one of the only ones I hadn’t really known from SCAD classes, yet you’re the SCAD Illustration friend I have remained most connected to most consistently. Nothing bonds you quite like running an illustration collective does! It also cracks me up that in all these years, we hadn’t ever facetimed or talked on the phone until a few months ago--I didn’t even know your mannerisms or voice, but knew you so well anyway. My greatest internet friend! I love you dearly and it truly won’t feel right, the absence of our weekly SC conversations. Thank you for all of the memories! As just a member and artist, this group has helped me grow so much professionally. It was my client when I didn’t have clients. It was my motivation to paint when I didn’t feel creative. It was my source of portfolio-worthy work, but also my safe place to experiment and fail when I was trying something new. The girl who started as a Square Carousel member freshly graduated in 2011 was working part-time at Urban Outfitters, had basically no money, and no clue how to promote herself. The “studio” was a corner of the bedroom and nobody took her seriously. But a stubborn dedication and the security, purpose and structure of Square Carousel helped the slow change from that lost girl to a full-time freelancing woman. Now, in 2021, I have been doing freelance illustration fully for six years, through contract jobs, editorial, publishing, advertising, commission and local work, as well as selling prints and products online, in local shops and events. I am not making the big bucks, certainly, and I still have goals I’m working towards, but damn, if that isn’t a glow-up, I don’t know what is. Thank you for helping me achieve my impossible dream, Square Carousel, and always being a place with the right amount of advice, support and critique. Ten years, 34 artist interviews, 38 artists, and 144 challenges. I’m the only member to have completed every single one. 144 illustrations through the years. Some were game-changers for my style and my portfolio. Some were total stinkers and I hope you don’t go looking for them. But all were an important step in my career.   So, in ten more years? I’ll be 42 years old, which is very weird because I have never imagined myself that old before... it’s hard to honestly say what that would look like, especially considering the world we are currently living in and how the last 4/5 years have proven that anything (awful) can happen. Jordan and I have a goal to move to Colorado in the next 4 or 5 years, and I’d love to have a little A-Frame in the mountains with a loft studio, shown in my illustration here. Texas has become extremely problematic, especially after the winter storm in February of this year, and will be impacted greatly by climate change, both environmentally and economically. Right now, Austin is still booming, but at some point the lack of foresight in this state’s government is going to screw over the residents and it will be one of the places from which climate refugees run. Is that tomorrow? No, obviously not. But I want to already be settled someplace more stable, having grown some roots, before other folks start to roll in. But, to be able to do that, I need to rely less on my local jobs and connections and be able to have an “anywhere career.” So right now I am focusing on expanding in that way, particularly with book cover illustration and design. I’ve been doing a lot of portfolio work and self-publishing jobs, and hope to get an agent that can shop my work to big-time publishers sometime in the next year or two. Let’s say I succeed at all of those things in five years-- we’re in our Colorado A-Frame, I’m illustrating book covers (and I’ve also convinced my parents to come with me, and maybe a couple friends!). The next five years after that? I don’t know... hopefully a lot of adventures. Hopefully a lot of cool jobs, but also a lot of work/life balance. Right now, I don’t want kids, so the A-Frame will be filled with cats. Maybe we’ll have an old camper van for regular road trips around the western National Parks. I’d love for my work to reflect those passions-- more jobs with outdoor brands, parks, organizations. More book covers for stuff I’d personally love to read and keep on my overflowing shelf. That’s the vague goal for me in ten years, but I don’t want to plan any further than that, because life just also needs to happen the way it’s going to happen. There are parts of my current life I planned for in 2011... and there are parts I never, ever would have guessed. I hope there’s some fun surprises in 2031, too. Thanks for the decade, Square Carousel. Joining illustration collectives will always be the first bit of advice I give fresh graduates. Caitlin

[princeanxious]

A Serpent’s Tongue-(symp)Deceit Centric fic

Warnings: (sympathetic) Deceit, unsympathetic/abusive Wrath(oc?), brief hints at gorish imagery(at the beginning, skippable), short term loss of an important body part, angst, abiguos/unresolved ending, food mentions. (Let me know if i need to tag anything else!!)

Ships: mostly platonic DLAMPR but there are hints of romantic Roceit as well

Word count: 3.8k words

Authours note: this was inspired by a joke pic i saw and idk whether to be sorry that i wrote this or not so uh. Yep. Have some angst.

Wrath and Deceit can never really get along. Wrath is more interested in keeping Thomas’s friends safe, and Deceit just wants Thomas to take care of himself once in a while. Little to the other sides know, Wrath has a horrific way of dealing with Deceit when he’s sick and tired of hearing him speak.

[[MORE]]

It would not have been the first time Wrath had lost his temper, far from it, in fact. It was commonplace, really. Though, he rarely got physical in his anger, he simply broke stuff in the dark palace that, when his fit was over, he’d mend back together.

However, it was also not the first time that Deceit and Wrath had gotten into an argument, a loud one at that. Both light and dark sides alike knew when such an argument was alight, due to the sheer volume of Wrath’s tone. They rarely saw eye to eye, due to their friction of views between Thomas taking primary care of himself(Deceit) and taking primary care of his friends(Wrath).

And again, it was not the first time that Wrath had ended such an intense argument by silencing Deceit the only way he knew would last.

“You can’t poison Thomas’s thoughts if you can’t talk without your serpent’s tongue, you Liar.” Wrath would growl, summoning scissors and stalking towards the cornered deceitful side. Threats and begs and struggle would fall on deaf ears until they stopped altogether. With a flick of Wrath’s hand, any mess from his deed as well as the room that had been thrashed with mess all tidied up without a trace of damage as he left. The only lingering remnants of damage lay in Deceit’s dulling eyes, blinking away tears as his face retained it’s upset scowl.

This was, however, the first time Wrath had decided to enact this awful treatment since the light sides had begun to accept Deceit, or, better known now as Dorian. With his room moved right next to Virgil’s and across from Remus’s at the very back of the hall, it was inevitable that this treatment would bare a heavily negative outcome now that he could not interact with the others accordingly and unsuspiciously.

None of them knew of what Wrath’s punishment was, or that Wrath could even stoop so low to do such a thing, not even Remus or Virgil had a clue. It had been going on for so long now though that Dorian knew just how to deal with it.

Except, now, sitting in his room for two weeks without leaving was not a viable option anymore. The others were bound to get suspicious, and he would definitely be needed for his little white lies. Even as he sunk down into his room before he could be seen, and hid under his heated covers for even just a few hours of solitude, he knew it was going to be a rough two weeks of hiding it from them.

——

“Dori!!”

Dorian’s eyes blinked open blearily, and he peaked out from under the covers just in time for Remus to open his door and excitedly shuffle in before closing the door. His excited face faltered for a moment at seeing his best friend tucked up tightly underneath his heating blankets mid-day, but fondness overswept his concern immediately at how cute and ruffled Dori’s hair was.

He didn’t question how Dorian only answered his questions and random outbursts with hums and snorts, with not a word to be heard. Dorian had periods of time where he got like this often back before their acceptance, it didn’t surprise him that they still sometimes occurred now. Especially after Dorian and Wrath had one of their arguments. Dori was often in such a sour mood for weeks!

After a while, Remus had saw fit to leave Dori be, the first few days after these arguments seemed to be the worst for his scaled friend, and he ought to let the others know to leave him be. He knew that this would be a relief for Dorian, but in his jumbled head he just couldn’t quite remember why.

It took three days for the next side to bother him, though it was welcomed at least slightly when he glanced up and was met with the blue-eyed serious side. They’d become fast friends in the past few months, truly. They’d often talk philosophy and history and space together, and stay up till 3 am with Virgil discussing conspiracy theories and watching documentaries as a group. It was still a friendship that was new and fresh, but there was a silent understanding between them that solidified that friendship just a tad bit quicker.

“Good afternoon, Dorian. I hope you are doing.. well..?” Logan tapered off, finally looking up from his book to be met with a casually dressed, if still a good bit ruffled and unkempt Dorian. He was still sitting on his bed, though he’d never admit he hadn’t really moved much in the past few days, and was scratching at his scales irritatedly.

“I had assumed three days was a more than sufficient period to leave you to ‘cool off’ after Remus came to inform us of your bad mood, but it would appear that that had been a very temporary solution to a much bigger problem.” Dorian gave a sheepish shrug, before coming to itch at the scales on his neck. The book vanished as Logan’s attention fully focused on Dorian’s unkempt state, a very rare sight on such a composed side. He came to sit at the foot of Dorian’s bed with tacit permission, eyes wandering over the self-preservative side until they landed on the others face which wore an uncomfortable expression in reaction to being analyzed.

“I apologize. How are you.. uh.. feeling.. at the moment, Dorian?” The logical side adjusted his tie, looking rather worried for his obviously stressed friend. He frowned when all he received was another shrug.

“Look. I.. I know that arguing with Wrath is truly exhausting, and being around him can negatively affect all parties, but you can’t just stop taking care of yourself after every argument. No matter what he says about you or any of us, it isn’t okay to let it take over you. I know I can’t possibly know what he said to you, or ever says to you, but I won’t stand to let it hurt you.” Dorian chuffed bitterly at those last words. ‘A little too late, Berry.’ He thought.

Logan only seemed to frown more, eyes searching Dorian’s for some answer, anything that would help him understand where this conversation needed to go. Dorian’s dull eyes met Logan’s strong searching gaze with a look of appreciation. A silent thank you amongst the fray. He closed his eyes and sighed, holding his bare hand out in a silent gesture. When Logan’s hand rested in his own, he pulled it to his chest in a pseudo hug, then pulled it back to link their pointer fingers. This was one of their silent gestures, one that said ‘Not now, but soon,’ when either one of them was feeling overwhelmed or unheard. It was a gesture to let the other know that they would be stopping by later to talk when it was just them to hear their conversation. Except right now, they were alone, which only seemed to puzzle Logan. But still, he understood the meaning calm and clear. ‘I will tell you, but not now.’

With a nod, both of them fell into a small but comfortable silence, enjoying the small grounding contact of their linked fingers. After a while though, Logan spoke up.

“I will say this though, with the utmost kindness I can.. You should take a shower and change into fresh clothing. It will do you some good, both for your mood and for your scales. I also suggest, once you've finished with that task, if it is not too much, to come downstairs and eat something. Think of it as a.. comfort meal, as it were. I could even ask Patton or Roman to make that soup you like so much.”

Dorian chuckled at his friends worrying, leaning against the other’s shoulder with a nod. Warm food sounded nice, he hadn’t really eaten anything since the night of the incident, and though the sides didn’t need to eat, it still was a pleasure they could enjoy. It would certainly comfort Dorian, though he’d have to evade eating solid food items around the others, as eating those both were weird to eat and looked just as weird to watch him eat while he was missing his tongue.

Soon after showering, he dressed in something more casual yet still color fitting due to lack of care at keeping up his dark image at the current moment. He came downstairs wearing an oversized black and yellow sweater that Remus had gifted him and comfortable black skinny jeans, with dark socks and a neutral expression to match.

Thankfully the only side downstairs at the moment was Logan who seemed to be trying to pick out a puzzle from their gaming shelf. He turned for a brief moment to greet the deceitful side, beckoning the other over to help him with his decision.

“Patton will be down in a moment, he and Virgil were discussing something when I made the soup request. Remus and Roman are in the imagination sparring, so for now I thought it’d be nice to simply relax and put together a puzzle while we wait.” Dorian nodded in agreement, and helped Logan pick out one of the few puzzles they hadn’t yet done, knowing that Logan would likely be a bit more focused on the puzzle than on the fact that Dorian still had yet to utter any sarcastic or backwards responses to anything he’d say. Still, the puzzle was a nice distraction, especially once they’d turned on a documentary in the background to combat the silence.

He hardly noticed the time passing until he zoned back in to an almost half-finished puzzle and the kitchen light flicking on. Patton sent out a cheery greeting to the two focused sides in the living room and then set to work on making his famous ‘feel better’ soup. It didn’t take long before Virgil came down as well, spending a couple minutes chatting with Patton about some topic or another before migrating into the livingroom and flopping onto the floor in between Logan and Dorian.

Headphones on and music already seeping out of the device, Virgil barely acknowledged the fact that he was now laying on D’s legs in an uncomfortable position, though he did spare a glance up at the deceitful side to make sure he had permission. With Dorian’s nod, Virgil stuck his tongue out at the other playfully and received a scrunched nose and an affectionate eyeroll in return. Virge then sat himself up and leaned against the other, one arm wrapping around the others middle to tap three times on Dorian’s leg. ‘Are you okay?’ Is what it meant.

Dorian hesitated before tapping twice on Virgil’s arm, ‘sort of’ it said, ‘not really’ is what it implied. Virgil frowned before situating himself behind the other to wrap both arms around him, laying his head on the others shoulder to watch the documentary like they used to do when they were younger. It pulled at his heart a bit, knowing that things had been tense between the two since their rift happened, though recently they’d both been trying to mend the scar in their friendship. Shame that he couldn’t playfully bicker with the other due to his predicament.

Instead he chose to settle against the taller side’s chest and relax in the other’s protective embrace, temporarily forgetting about doing the puzzle with Logan as Virgil began purring. It was a quiet, comforting rumble that had Dorian zoning out rather quickly.

He was only roused from his stupor when a warm thermos was gently placed into his hands, and a nice smell wafted from the container. He grinned lazily and looked up to find Patton standing there pensively, looking worried. He beckoned the other to kneel down to his level before gently pulling Patton’s head to his, pressing their foreheads together in a comforting gesture.

“Uh, Dorian..?” “That gesture means he’s okay, Popstar. He and I know you're worried but it really does just happen to be this way sometimes, even if I don’t like it. He’s pretty non-vebal when like this, so maybe stick to yes or no questions.” Dorian sighed softly, thankful that Virgil was fluent in his body language.

When Patton responded with a nod and settled down on the couch, Dorian finally relaxed enough to sip from the thermos. One good thing, Dorian had learned, about being a side was that he thankfully did not need his tongue to taste things. Sure it was a much duller taste than if he did have it, and the same went for smell for him, but he could still taste food. So, despite his dampened senses, Dorian still enjoyed his warm soup nonetheless.

He barely protested when Virgil moved him to the couch, placing him in his arms and scooting over so that Patton could drag Logan onto the couch as well to finish watching the documentary. Within half an hour, Dorian was out like a light with a warm full belly and a warm body to cuddle up against.

When he awoke about an hour later, Patton and Logan were gone from the couch, and instead sat on the floor with Roman and Remus. Roman and Remus were each working on their own kind of crafts while Logan worked on finishing the puzzle and Patton colored in a coloring book, all of them chatting amicably between one another. He didn’t dare move much, knowing his awakening would upset the balance between the group.

On his neck where Virgil’s left hand rested, he receives three small taps. ‘Are you okay?’ With a long pause, Dorian responds with a small frown. One tap against Virgil’s chest, ‘No.’

Virgil sighs deeply, silently as he pulls the other closer so Dee can hide against Virgil’s neck, fingers threading through messy curls in an attempt to sooth the deceitful side.

Thankfully no one takes notice, and the day ends quietly. Dorian almost thinks he can get away with being in his room for another three days, except, Dorian awakes the next day with Roman knocking on his door and excitedly asking if Dorian would come duet with him and knows theres no use in holding his breath.

It hurts Dorian, the sad expression the fanciful side makes, when Dorian opens the door with a sheepish look. Still, Roman understands, and instead offers to let Dorian be his audience and companion into the imagination. He even gifts Dorian a long thick, weightier cape that resembles a weighted blanket with the outfit style they appear in. It soothes Dorian plenty, and he's as obvious as he can be about being thankful for it to make up for his lack of voice.

They spend the morning strolling through Roman’s kingdom, Dorian occasionally letting Roman pull him into a waltz or a twirl as he sung to the deceitful side. Despite Dorian’s temporary muted state, he was anything but quiet. He couldn’t help it really, Roman was a loveable dork and could be so cheesy at times, his giggles were justified, damn it!

There was also the lucky factor that Dorian could still hum along with Roman whenever the other got close enough to hear him, and knew that the compromise was highly appreciated. Roman could speak for two, and was still generally versed in enough sign language and Dorian’s own facial expressions to keep up a conversation.

Thankfully, Roman steered clear of asking Dorian about his silence, being respectful and instead choosing to use the silence to his advantage to flirt with the scaled side, knowing he’d get less resistance. And if Dorian ended up in his arms at the end of their trip to hide his blushing face against the fanciful side’s chest? That was just fine by him.

When they returned to the common room in the mind palace, they were greeted by the lovely smell of baked goods. It didn’t take long before Patton appeared with a plate of still warm cookies, who seemed to get even more excited when he spotted the duo entering the living room.

“Hey kiddos! You two are in luck, I just finished some chip-tastic chocolate chip cookies! Want one??” Patton said excitedly, holding out the tray. Immediately, Dorian’s stomach dropped at the offering of solid food, and gritted his teeth as he smiled and took one, thankful that it was still warm and mushy. Roman happily too two and munched on one as he chatted with Patton about their lovely trip, neither of them any wiser to Dorian’s issue.

He nibbled on the cookie as he listened to the two and nodded along when necessary, mentally warring with himself on how to tackle this issue. Thankfully it was still warm and mushy, but shoving it into his mouth in front of the two would be suspicious. He really had no other option though, as chewing small bites would make his issue fairly obvious. Internally sighing, he gave into the first option.

In one swift movement, he’d shoved the whole cookie into his mouth to chew, hand covering his mouth sheepishly. Both Roman and Patton took a moment to notice, but both of them just kinda paused in realization and Dee stared back, daring them to question him with a stare.

“Dor, why..?” Roman grinned, more confused and amused than concerned. Dorian just huffed and swallowed, then signed ‘snake instinct’ to them with a fake embarrassed expression.

Confusion turned to understanding as both right-brain sides echoed a soft “ohhh, right.” Crisis averted, at least for the time being. Eventually the trio split, and Roman and Dorian ended up on the couch watching Tangled to wind down from their eventful day.

Eventually Remus and Logan joined them, and they ended up putting on Wall-E next, if only to please their resident nerd and trash-child. However, Remus was feeling particularly bratty today and getting rather frustrated with his best friend when Dee wouldn’t back him up on any of his ideas or thoughts.

“C’mon, Dee, work with me! They’re literally eating themselves! Back me up here double D! It’s like a cat cut your tongue out!” He growled, pouting in Logan’s lap. Swiftly, though, Remus’s attention returned to the movie without a thought of what he’d said to the lying side, unaware of just how right he’d been. The only side to notice his shift in demeanor was the fanciful side who’s lap he was sat on, who had felt him stiffen up considerably at that last sentence. Gently, Roman pulled him closer and soothed a hand over the other’s scales, scratching gently in an attempt to distract the other from his brother’s rude remark. Eventually, Dorian settled down and let the remark go, and that was the end of that.

Despite that close call, everything was going great, all things considered. By the time the first week had passed, everything had gone back to normal, aside from the few extra visits he had received from the others simply checking in on him, everything had been fine. His tongue was even beginning to regenerate! He’d been keeping a close eye on it when he could, trying to keep the checkups at a minimum and doing them late at night to avoid possibly getting found out. It was a foolproof plan!

Until it wasn’t.

He should’ve realized that Virgil would eventually start back up with his late night visits, just like he used to do before their split. Dorian had told him that his door was still open if Virgil ever wanted to come bother him late at night, knowing that both of them were still night owls. Perhaps he should’ve kept his guard up, not gotten too relaxed while his tongue was healing. He’d only had a week to go before he’d have his tongue back and then all would go back to normal.

But life was never that kind to him.

Leave it to tired stupid Dorian to leave his door unlocked and cracked at midnight while he sat on the floor infront of his mirror, inspecting his open mouth without much thought. The regeneration had only just begun, so his lack of tongue was still absolutely present.

Then, in a moment of brilliance, Dorian looked up at his door, only just realizing it hadn’t been fully closed. Staring back at him instead was Virgil, wide eyed and white as a sheet. The anxious side was frozen, staring right at Dorian’s mouth in disbelief.

“...D-Dee?” His shaky voice had been barely above a whisper. Dorian had long since shut his jaw tight, eyes wide in terror.

Eventually, Virgil gathered enough of his barings to slowly walk over to where Dorian was seated, and kneeled down. Shaking hands reached out and cupped Dorian’s jaw, his eyes wide and flicking between Dorian’s lips and Dorian’s distant expression.

“Dee, please.. please tell me this isn’t the reason why you haven’t been talking..” his voice sounded desperate, his eyes searching for any sign of illusion or trickery and only finding pain and shame. Tears were already pricking at Dorian’s eyes and shame was curling in his gut, making him sick to his stomach.

Virgil’s horror quickly began to morph into anger, “that cruel fucker did this to you, didn’t he?” He gently pulled Dorian closer, resting his forehead against the other’s in an attempt to comfort the other. “Dee, please. Answer me.” Virgil cursed, his voice distorting more with every passing minute. He huffed, wanting to snarl the moment Dee nodded his head meekly.

He wanted to kill him, Wrath would be a dead man the moment he saw him. But right now, that could wait. Despite his overwhelming anger and anxiety, Dorian needed help, he needed to be in a safe place. They needed safe company, and Virgil desperately needed someone to stop him from going full feral.

With little idea on what to do, he picked Dorian up carefully and brought him into the commons’ living room. This would at least be a neutral space to give him some time to think. He absolutely refused to put Dorian down now, his protective instinct going haywire with the deceitful side trembling and quietly hiccuping in his arms.

Despite his best efforts, it did eventually get to the point where his heightening anxiety was starting to affect the whole palace, and within minutes the rest of the sides came stumbling down the stairs.

It was an odd sight, a highly anxious Virgil sporting a look of near-feral level of murderous on his face as he carried Dorian bridal style, the lying side having his face tucked up and hidden away while his shoulders were shaking with silent sobs. Before much could be said, Virgil’s heavily distorted voice rang out chillingly into the room.

“We need to talk.”

[beautybranding22]

Eighty One Beauty Branding Design

But greater than that, it revealed emerging beauty branding which are threatening the incumbents. Google has so nicely established its model identification, that its very name has become a verb meaning “to search.” Though its options have advanced and expanded, its focus has remained primarily unchanged. It organizes international info and had made it accessible and helpful to everyone.

If you select to manufacture at house, you’ll clearly have to ensure your workspace is completely sterile. While the zits vanished, some mild scarring remained, so I investigated more natural fixes and eventually landed on tamanu oil. Also boasting antibacterial and hydrating properties, this oil has been utilized by girls in Polynesia for generations to help not just with zits, but additionally scars.

The more you build a rapport with customers, the extra they trust you, and the more they’ll look to you when they’re able to spend. This focus on diversity has continued for the explanation that launch in a way that feels natural and unforced. Rather than adding a mannequin of colour to their materials after years of using white fashions, they began off using models of all skin tones and by no means stopped. Their website at all times features a number of fashions to get throughout that their products are made for, and look good on, everyone.

The company likes to put memes on Twitter and bounce onto social developments. Since their target demographic is younger, this media performs well with their customers. And not being afraid to jump on a pop-culture moment gives Fenty a noncorporate feel; at times, their Shorty Award-nominated social presence is extra like a friend’s account than a brand’s. Rather than coming off as unprofessional, this video is a really deliberate choice.

Jasmine Garnsworthy is a freelance author with over eight years of experience. She's additionally the founder of fresh skincare brand, The Buff. You can see what your product will seem like with your personal artwork. I received my products, I tried them AND I nonetheless love them. I can't say sufficient nice things about ONOXA, significantly.

Without a model identity, you can’t transfer ahead along with your beauty packaging brand. Each of the three B’s builds off the other—and all three are should have’s if you'll like your cosmetics brand to thrive. Fenty, owned by Rihanna, launched simply 4 years ago with an entirely digital campaign that centered heavily on Instagram and influencer content material.

So, if you’re creating a skincare line for males, perhaps your differentiator is that your products are easy to make use of and don’t have harsh scents, whereas your mission is to make skincare more accessible to males. Or, if your company is on a mission to provide again, your differentiator is the way you make that happen. So your model identity is the collateral you utilize for branding, which is how you create your brand. Now that we’ve established that, we can start to lay the groundwork for a robust beauty model.

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A large seventy p.c of Glossier’s on-line sales come from peer referrals. They anticipate a seamless transition between net and device-native purposes through colour, circulate, and overall quality. Unattractive and attractive packaging result in less exercise in areas of the mind answerable for reflective thought than impartial packaging. Glossieris an excellent instance of a brand that’s taken buyer input and turned it into a aggressive benefit. Design considering feels like it’s meant solely for creative thinkers, but anyone can take advantage of its straightforward process. Rich in natural Vitamin C to encourage your skin to provide natural Collagen.

For example, if you’re launching an all-natural line of products, you would possibly want to incorporate green, which individuals affiliate with nature. If you’re launching a line of prestige merchandise, you would possibly work purple into your shade palette, which is often associated with luxurious or royalty. Think of the mission assertion as the “why” behind your small business. For instance, possibly you’re decided to boost the standard for eco-conscious manufacturing and packaging within the cosmetics trade with your line of all-natural products. Funkhaus is a digital inventive company working at the intersection of design, content, programming, and technique.

The very first thing that the majority girls need when they go looking for beauty merchandise is a sense of magnificence and allure. They purchase make-up, perfume, and other beauty objects as a outcome of they want to be ok with the method in which they look. In some instances, they could even be involved about issues like natural elements, or playfulness and enjoyable. You need any influencer partnerships to push your brand forward—and a lot of that has to do with schooling.

With a mix of name strategy, visible identification, inventive and artwork path, we concentrate on holistic design solutions for magnificence that pinpoint the emotional narrative and craft compelling visible varieties. I’m forty two so I know my customers will recognize every product from Onoxa that I plan to launch March 1st! I had many companies to select from to start my skincare line however I’m so glad that I selected Onoxa to associate with. The Perfect 10 Oil Cleanser it removes makeup without leaving pores and skin dry and without moisture. Love the customer service shown by the Florida team and love that I’m able to create my own label.

A consulting retainer allows us to precisely pick up the place you and your team have left off. These are only a few concepts that may allow you to benefit from your content marketing. Beauty merchandise are massive enterprise, however you possibly can afford to be playful and private along with your advertising. 3) Create a detailed buyer personal that can assist you formulate a advertising technique. Marketing a beauty company requires some cautious planning and ingenuity.

Though they usually have smaller follower counts, their audiences are more hyper-focused and focused. Your branding is how you shape and bring your model to life. Your brand is the perception of your company that exists on the earth. If shoppers are buying based on their morals, make certain they know what your brand values are. Don’t cover them on a webpage no one visits; use them to underscore your advertising, your website copy, and everything else that comes from your model, implicitly and explicitly. On their other social platforms, Fenty speaks the language of their customers.

Once, the services or products that a company produced was the sole focus of consideration when it got here to competitors for finest model identity. But on this age of digital branding, it is shopper expertise that’s the primary battleground for winning buyer loyalty. MSLK, a design company for beauty manufacturers, understands the significance of a brand’s picture and its capability to build consumer loyalty and achieve business recognition. Our agency has experience in working with every aspect of the sweetness business from preliminary product growth, to strategic branding, to distribution, to retail and sales.

Your brand is the notion of your organization out there on the planet. In order to succeed, you want to break through the litter, grab your best customer’s consideration and present them why your product is the one they want. Connect with them on Dribbble; the global group for designers and inventive professionals.

The brand leverages social media influencers to build engagement. It has shifted extra of its media spending to online channels lately. L’Oréal has had nice success on Twitter with its #POWERON marketing campaign, an omnichannel women’s empowerment marketing campaign.

A model must create a well-defined path to shoppers with a relationship-building function. It's impossible to construct a successful brand that serves everybody. However, it’s in the most effective interest of each business to increase their brand’s attraction as far as potential to maximize revenue. Not only are they gaining valuable press for a product that hasn’t been introduced yet, but they’re also letting customers feel like a half of the method while having enjoyable at the identical time. An simply acknowledged magnificence brand benefits from exposure alone.

We’ll never budge on that,” they defined to me over the phone. To function legally, you will need to register your small business and secure enterprise insurance. Wright recommends finding an account and a lawyer early on to assist you navigate these items (there’s only so much accurate info obtainable on the internet, folks). If you’re on a finances proper now, reasonably priced platforms like LegalZoom also make it simpler to set every little thing up on-line in just a matter of minutes.

MSLK works with magnificence brands of all styles and sizes. Over the previous 20 years we've helped manufacturers grow from the bottom up, launch line extensions, rediscover their voice in a crowded market, and create totally new product categories. 3) Offer a free giveaway of a new product on your social media accounts. You can create a fun video or infographic and get people to share it in return for an entry in the contest. A magnificence firm emblem should attraction to a woman’s sense of shallowness. You should use it in all your branded material, including your website.

[msotherworldly]

10 CAS Features I Would Like to See in the Sims 5

I’ve already made two lists on features I would like to see in the next installment of the Sims series, but I thought the area of character creation necessitated it’s own category. For some, building is all they do; others simply want to play the game, completing as many of the aspirations and befriending as many other sims as they can. Then there are those of us who are obsessed with the characters themselves. We use mods to give them height or new hair colours, spend hours downloading virtual clothes online, and craft elaborate backstories. Even the length of our Sims noses are important to us. With both improvements and losses in the fourth game, it’s only natural that I have a wish list for the fifth title.

1) Hair Options

EA’s hairs have improved over the years, but you’re required to buy numerous expansion and stuff packs to acquire them. Even with several expansion hairs at my disposal, I find myself turning to mods to find the type of hair I like: wavy, long, and with bangs.

The ability to craft your own hairstyles would be a boon to the series. What if you could change the length of your hair, as well as the type (straight, wavy, curly, or kinky)? What if you could add or remove different bang types? The ability to dye different parts of your hair, as seen in Sims 3, any colour you wanted, including roots, tips, or even streaks, would be feasible. Even throwing colour down wherever, as seen in the Sims 4 Pet system, should be possible: at that point, you could have someone with rainbow hair!

For more complicated styles, such as braids, buzz cuts, or accessorized updos, default hairs could still be provided, but even some of these should include the option to add bangs (straight fringe, uneven fringe, or side swept) as well as dyes and types.

2) Clothing Customization

To the same end, the ability to edit the game’s clothes would excite those of us who have become addicted to Animal Crossing’s latest “Pro Design” option. Outfits would have a “remove sleeve” option, or the ability to make them long or short. Hoodies could be toggled, so that Sims could choose to wear them up or down. Skirts or dresses could be made short, medium or long, and designs could be asymmetrical. Patterns could be added to less complex outfits using a stamp tool, similar to what was developed for Pets; t-shirts could have stripes, polka dots, or chevron patterns added! More skilled simmers could even draw their own illustrations on to clothes.

3) Accessories & Additional Categories

In the Sims 4, you can have hats and necklaces, but not tiaras and scarves. More accessories should be given their own categories, allowing you to add kerchiefs, woolly scarves, tiaras, headbands, or bows to your Sim—in addition to everything else.

Some accessories could be added to other clothes, such as a “belt” option you can use to add colour to any of the game’s pants. All of the shirts would also include a “tie” category. Purses and backpacks could be added to the game, independent of whatever outfit your Sim was wearing, as well as more slots for rings and earrings.

Jackets and t-shirts might even be made separate, allowing your Sim to don their favourite hoodie whatever their outfit for the day. There could be capes, shawls, masks...more categories would make for some fun combinations (and perhaps more notoriously ugly townies).

4) Colour Wheel: Skin, Hair, and Eyes

The Sims 3 featured a colour wheel for both hair and eyes which was missed in the Sims 4. Gone are the days when you could give your Sim dark purple hair and blood red eyes without the use of mods. What Sims 3 didn’t do was include a colour wheel for skin (though the options given through expansions over time gave a close approximation).

The types of Sims you could make in the Sims 5 with a colour wheel would be endless. In addition to making them all resemble anime characters with purple eyes and pastel pink hair, the ability to choose any skin colour would enable the creation of characters like Grimora or Thanos. You could make a town full of Simpson’s type characters if you wanted to.

Having free rein over skin tones would also allow players to tweak any EA skin tones they weren’t happy with. You’d be able to add more red to the tones, darken them, or simply make them appear less washed out.

5) Height Slider

It’s understandable why a height slider hasn’t been implemented, given the strain it would put on animations. While I won’t be (too) upset if this is too difficult to add, there’s no denying that it greatly diversifies characters. A tall character stands out from a short one, leading to cute but awkward couples of drastically varying heights, as well as making the world more realistic.

At the very least, there should be a notable height difference between teens and adults, whom I can’t tell apart.

6) Sex & Gender

The Sims 4 added great options for sex and gender when they enabled unisex clothes and the ability to make transgender Sims. It was the first game I saw that enabled that level of control, and I hope to see an improved version of the system in the Sims 5.

Still absent are more gender categories. In addition to “male” and “female” identities, there should also be a “non-binary” option. In game, depending on what you choose, your Sims would then be addressed as “he,” “she,” or “they.”

Having body types that sat more on a spectrum could open up the character creator too, adding a third body slider that would tend towards masculine or feminine without being strictly one or the other unless you chose to sit at either extreme. Masculine or feminine attributes (such as breasts) could be added independent of the body type, and all clothes and hairs would remain available to all Sims.

7) Personality Quirks

Some of these aspects might feel more like grocery shop lists to some people, but I found they added to my Sims. The Sims 3 allowed you to choose your sim’s favourite food, colour, and music. In the Sims 2, you could choose your turn on’s and turn off’s, such as hair colour or body type. The Sims 3 also introduced a biography section where you could type out your Sim’s backstory and any additional details you wanted to include.

While these attributes mostly contributed to generating moodlets, they could be made more integral to the game. Sims could experience increased happiness wearing their favourite colour or seeing it in a room. Sims could write higher quality songs in their preferred genre. Socials could be opened around these traits, with Sims finding friendships easier to build after discovering that they shared one or more.

The turn on and turn off system could be extended to all levels of attraction: a Sim’s sexual orientation could be defined, offering straight, gay, bisexual, or pansexual as options. No more having your female Sim chatting up Brent or Brant when you’re not looking!

8) More Traits

The ability to choose only three traits for adult sims has never felt sufficient. Even five traits don’t feel like enough for more complex characters. The option to have five traits by default (and then to unlock more “default traits” through the rewards store using a potion) would be welcome.

The inclusion of more options would be great too; who doesn’t want a “sarcastic” trait?

8) Disabilities

There are dozens of disabilities in the real world, making the inclusion of them all impossible. However, more common disabilities, such as having a bionic leg or being relegated to a wheelchair, should be represented. Elderly Sims should have the option of needing canes or walkers.

More complex disabilities, such as being deaf, mute, or blind, would be difficult to add, owing to the array of socials, such as sign language, that would need to be added. However, if such disabilities could be included, the game would be even more inclusive than it already is.

At the very least, wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs should be doable. There’s some hope that even Sims 4 could receive such features.

9) More Tattoo Options

As someone who’s a tattoo enthusiast in real life, I find the game’s selection disappointing. Moreover, I miss the versatility offered by the Sims 3 system, which allowed you to edit the size, colours, and placement of the tattoo. There need to be more tattoos, particularly with each pack; they should follow the typical categories (tribal, new school, traditional, Japanese, and more) with some funkier pieces thrown in.

Tattoos shouldn’t be limited by slots either, meaning that you should be able to have ten different designs on one leg if you choose. More skilled Simmers should be given the option to draw their own designs, and then share those designs with others on the Gallery.

A Sim could have their name, or a portrait of their significant other, inked into their skin—with wonderful or disastrous results.

10) Save an Outfit

This final feature is more about convenience than anything. Have a fashionista Sim for whom five outfit slots aren’t enough? Plan to create an asylum or group in which a single uniform is needed? Wish to transfer the same outfit to another outfit category?

This feature would allow you to save an outfit. You can already save Sims and houses to the library, and a third “closet” category could save hours of sifting through clothes in order to recreate a look. These looks could be uploaded to the Gallery. With the other features I mentioned (colour wheels, hair manipulation, dyes and stamps), outfits, along with their matching hairstyles, could be accessed effortlessly and shared with the community.

Shirts with detailed illustrations or zanier dye jobs could be uploaded and accessed by others, thereby removing the need for simpler mods and the barrier they present for those who want to keep their game “cc free.”

There are more features, most of them small, that I would love, but these ten cover what I would like to see. It goes without saying that I want to see other aspects (such as the click and drag tool and the two body sliders) given further freedom, but if even a colour wheel is added I’ll be enthused.

[crystalelemental]

Unit Viability Speculation - December 2022

Boy, I sure hate Greninja.  If there’s one Pokemon I can’t stand even more than Charizard, it’s Greninja.  I sure hope there are no Greninjas in this update.

*checks Twitter*

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I can’t believe they made two of them.  At the same time!  And they’re both Master Fair, are you serious?  Ugh.  Barf.  I hate them.  Which is a pity, because Serena’s outfit is one of the best in the game.  She’s so pretty, I’d kill for that, but...Greninja.

I will say outright, I had reservations.  These are the first master fair units since 5/5 grids dropped.  But you will be delighted or disappointed to know, Master Fairs do not get 5/5 grids.  Yet.  So Serena and Calem only need 3/5 for max performance.

Champion Serena Serena is a Water and/or Dark Tech, specializing in multi-hit Water Shuriken and defense debuffs.  She seems honestly fine?  The only benefit she has over other Water-type damage dealers is a Rebuff, but so does Hilbert, so I guess they just really want Water content dead.  The big draw, at least on my end, is Dark.  Dark is a fairly rare offensive typing in my book, and this does cover that option fairly nicely.  But to be frank, Serena feels like a problem.  Her self-setup caps crit, but does not cap either offense.  She needs offensive support, and is a Master Fair, meaning you ideally want that to come from your own region.  Which means Calem, since she also kinda wants both offenses so her Buddy move works well.  The big money is just in debuffs.  Unfortunate Strike 9 means she hits a target for -5 in one Water Shuriken, does it again for -10, then gets -2 to both defenses on Buddy move and another -1, for -15 in one cycle.  That’s pretty good.  Her Dark form also has Staggering and Discombobulate, which...sure.  It’s worth noting, transformation occurs prior to damage being dealt, so you’re always with the preferred passives in either type.

That said, her grid seems like shit.  I can’t find too much that’s exciting about it.  Double Power Play, and Furious Brain, are about the only useful tiles.  Everything else feels like fluff.  I think Champion Serena will be good, because Master Fair with tremendous 1/5 debuffing kit, but I feel like this is a notable step down from the third year anniversary power level.  Thank god.  I hated the rats.  But Serena’s great.  It feels like just the right level of power.  Shame about Greninja.

Champion Calem Calem gets hit with the Support bat, welcome to Aura Cynthia status my dude.  Look at this dude trying to push into SS Kris’ territory.  His Buddy move can set Dark Zone or Rain, depending on its own type, and gives 2 stacks of physical (Dark) or special (Water) moves up next.  Calem’s similarly focused on Water Shuriken, but instead of max hits every time, he gets a 30% chance to restore some of his own HP per hit.  His trainer move is 1 use, and doesn’t cap anything.  Calem doesn’t seem so good at base.

Grid slaps.  Umbral Healing 9 is great.  Giving the entire team Endure on entry is bonkers.  Guaranteed Triple is at least getting decent consistency from his multistrike move.  Group Fortification seems fun, if you get evasion running.  Crit Squad at least caps crit.  There are legitimately great things here.

But.  Master Fairs tend to differ from PokeFairs in their 1/5 sufficiency.  They tend to have everything they need in their base performance.  SS Kris does this.  While speed can be a concern, her main role of Rain and capping special attack/crit for a team is all there in the base 1/5 kit.  Calem does not do this.  Calem feels hard required to take 3/5.  His consistent healing is 3/5.  His useful buffing is 3/5.  Capping any stat is 3/5.  He’s a Master Fair that’s demanding of move levels, and that feels...not ideal to me.  Of the two, I think Calem has overall more utility because of the field effect setting, but Serena’s more budget friendly given all of her best tools, barring one multiplier, exist at 1/5.

Lodge Serena Serena’s also our lodge unit!  Yay?  She comes with Fletchling.  Cute.  It’s a Flying Tech.  Sure.  Peck, Dire Hit+, Flame Charge, Trainer move gives +2 attack, +1 evasion, and Reflect for some reason.  Neato.  What’s really, endlessly funny to me is Overwhelm 9 and Trip Up 9.  She’s a debuffer.  Okay.  Oh I’m sorry, a debuffer with Staggering 2.  Sure.  Okay.

Grid got Unfortuitous 4, Slippery 1, 50% burn when she hits a foe for Gauntlet shenanigans, Fast Track 9 on Flame Charge, and...Cakewalk.  Ugh.  UGH.

She’s fine.  Like every other offensive Lodge unit, needs offensive support, but I think in this case, optimal play is something like Hop.  Just get rid of the trainer moves, and spam Flame Charge.  Guaranteed max speed and -3 speed on the foe for sync purposes.  Seems easy enough.  Though admittedly, I kinda like this less than Kahili and Winona.

Winter Whitney Good lord, what is happening over there?

Okay, let me start with some stuff.  Headbutt with Aggravation 1.  Great.  Already useful.  Horn Leech.  Chad Sycamore 2.0?  She has the speed and offensive stats to back it, but there’s more.  Move Gauge Boost.  Now, before you groan.  Hear me out.  Trainer move.  Crit Defense, Move Gauge Acceleration.  But.  Depending on the remaining PP on Move Gauge Boost?  Field Effect.  If 2, Grassy Terrain.  If 1, Psychic.  If 0, Electric.  Friends.  Whitney’s healing is through the roof.  Not only is this Chad Sycamore 2.0 with better offensive stats, it’s got inherent Terrain.  And blocks crits.  I...love this.  Oh but it gets funnier.  Her passives work with different terrain.  So in Grassy, it lowers the defense of all foes, then boosts the defense of all allies.  Yeah.  Defense debuffs and Terrain with a healing move.  I won’t even be mad if they don’t give her Master Healer, I don’t think she needs it.  Under Psychic Terrain, it’s special defense, so welcome another support to Giovanni.  And under Electric, it’s speed, so like...alright.  Sure.

Grid gets Mad Strength 9.  ...do...do I need to keep going?  She gets this shit at 2/5, man.  Empowering Overgrowth 3 for more damage under Grassy Terrain.  Sure girl.  Whatever you want.  Terrain Sync and Interference Sync 9.  That’s really good, but she is a Normal type, so...you know.  Flabbergast with Mind Boggler.  This is so unnecessary why are you like this?  Shock Recovery.  Can’t get your Grassy Terrain anymore?  How about another stack of passive recovery, on the house?  SYNC BURST?!  SHE GOT SYNC BURST ARE YOU SERIOUS?!  Okay, hold on.  ...okay.  Okay there’s the limitation.  She doesn’t get natural MPR on her trainer move.  Got it.  For a second, I thought she was the best unit in the game.

Whitney’s good.  Whitney might be real good.  A lot of this comes at 1/5.  The only thing 3/5 really does for her is her sync nuke, and Aggravation, which you’re probably not going for that often with Horn Leech around.  The core of her build?  The terrain and debuffs?  That’s natural.  She’s a sustain tank like Sycamore, but the offensive partner.  I kinda love it.  This is justice for Whitney.

Winter Jasmine I can’t believe they actually gave me the Jasmine I wanted.  She’s a support with Mega Ampharos.  No Electric Terrain, sadly, but like...it’s fine, I can flex with it.  Why?

Death to Classic Red.  About a year and a third ago, Classic Red came out, and people were mixed on the response.  On the one hand, Supereffective Up Next, applicable to a unit for sync nuking purposes.  That’s neat!  On the other, very little that he did was impressive outside of that.  We’ve since gotten to enjoy the concept of fast-ramping, so he’s still useful, but now there is another.  Jasmine can apply Supereffective Up Next.  Delightful.  She also has Potion, so that’s great.  Thundershock is the one-bar spam.  Trainer move...is Jasmine’s problem.  It buffs defenses of a target by 3.  A target.  Singular.  She does not buff the team all at once.  This...bugs me.  Her passives salvage a bit.  Endurance is nice, and she buffs team crit when she uses a trainer move, so that’s helpful.  She also buffs her own defenses by 1 when using a trainer move.  So that’s the plan.  She buffs an ally’s defenses to cap, then gets +1 to herself as well.  It’s not a terrible plan, except that her baseline defenses aren’t ideal until she mega evolves.  They’re not bad, but they’re kinda...Halloween Caitlin, if that helps categorize.  This is doubled to +2 per use when mega evolving, so in an odd twist, I kinda feel like Jasmine wants to save her buffing for after mega evolution.  Never thought I’d see the day.  It also replaces Endurance with gradual healing, so that’s nice.

Grid’s a mixed bag.  Thundershock gets Hostile Environment 2, but this is a fakeout because she has Static Cling 9 to paralyze regardless.  Team Shout 4 is big money.  When she takes hits, she can buff offenses for the team.  Unfortunately...SS Blue.  I don’t think I need to explain beyond that?  Like, if you want a defensive supporter that boosts offenses, SS Blue has Team Shout 9.  She gets Team Entry skills for attack or special attack, but it’s only +1, so not saving anything.  Double Potion MPR is great, and I like that her trainer move can also give stacks of physical or special moves up next.  That’s a niche.

On the whole...she’s fine.  I don’t think she’s exceptional.  I’m kinda bummed she’s not the Electric Terrain support we’ve been waiting for.  But she’s good and I like my defensive supports.  Just pair her with someone who can cap their offensive stats reliably, and you’ll be fine.

Fantina Grid Yes sir, I like it.  Mind Games 4, Smarty-Pants, Super Preparation 9, Sharp Entry to remove the need for MPR.  It’s good!  I like it a lot.  She does need help though.  Still not a self-sufficient buffer.  Still not a consistent debuffer.  But most importantly...she’s more consistent about her supereffective up next sync than Anni Lillie.  *sigh*

SS Leaf Grid Bad.  I’m sorry, it’s bad!  It’s bad.  Toxic Power 1?  On a PokeFair?  Seriously?  Toxic Freebie is something, I’ll definitely take it, but what is this Venomous 2 shit?  Just give me Venomous 4!  Make it guaranteed at base, then keep the 50% chance when mega evolved!  You don’t have to be like this!  Pinpoint Entry, Noxious Hit debuffing offensive stats, and Power Play are all solid.  Noxious Hit in particular is great for stall cores, effectively compressing the Toxic, offense debuffing, and healing into one role.  But, she got no additional support for healing.  And these nodes are full cost.  I’d have to see layout, but I’m willing to bet SS Leaf runs into energy problems out the ass.  I don’t like it.

Marnie Grid Solid.  Does what she wants.  High paralysis rate, buffs team speed per hit, buffs crit rate per hit, debuffs Atk/Def of a paralyzed foe per hit.  Very useful.

Common Grid War Act 13 Surge, Janine, and Agatha.  What’s good, you three?

Surge got Trip Up, Hostile Environment 3, Static Shock 3, Charging Infliction 1 on Eerie Impulse, Devastation, and Pep Rally on X Speed.  Oh, and Sharp Entry, for whatever that’s worth.  It’s fine?  Can’t complain.

Janine the stall queen, what is good girl?  Hostile Environment 5, and Hostile Environment 3, that is comedic.  Discombobulate is hilarious for a stall unit, just potentially dodge shit.  Venom Drench MGR4 is beautiful.  Safety Tether and Hit and Heal is hilarious.  Pep Rally is amazing.  But you may notice.  No sync multipliers.  Crit Strike 1, I guess, but come on.  Janine remains the stall queen.  Little else exists for her.  Which...is sad given how rough stall has been for the game lately.

Agatha does not have Troublemaker on grid.  I need to get that out of the way now.  She gets accuracy +10 and Pinpoint Entry, but don’t.  80% is too inconsistent.  Healthy Healing is fine.  On a Roll 1 and 2 is...sure a thing.  That’s like an 80% shot, right?  Into Brainteaser, not bad at all.  Lick Hostile Environment is nice.  Ramming Speed is nice given she instant caps.  First Aid 4 is cute, but HP Tradeoff 5 is hysterical.  Ramp Up on trainer move is something.  Rude Awakening 5, which you may as well given it’s the natural multiplier.  It’s solid!  I think she’s good, but I also think she’s a little bit of a mess?  Lick goes away on mega evolution, so sure hope you weren’t using her for damage purposes if she’s paralyzing.  They gave some decent move damage modifiers, and a great special defense debuffing rate, which I think is her new niche.  Sync doesn’t seem all that special, and is hard to set up with sleep.  But they didn’t perfectly lock in Hypnosis accuracy, which is funny because they did for Ramos’ Sleep Powder.  Not sure how much I love it yet, but she sure is interesting. 

[sweetwritertanya]

Noble Heart (Part 3)

Summary: You and Augustus get closer as you get to know each other on the few days before the marriage. Despite his initial hesitance, he surprises you one afternoon with unsolicited help and sharing of personal stories.  

Warnings: I truly thought there would be a bit more action by know, but the relationship between these two is progressing slower than I intended. So, no warnings still for now!

Word Count: 3091

You didn’t hear him arrive as you were busy taking care of the family’s small garden at the backyard. Not that it presented any obstacle; Augustus has been coming to your house for the last four days in a row, almost always around the same time, just after lunch. The maid and your parents already expected him and welcomed him inside, not needing to guide him though the house for him to find you anymore.

Sharing your decision with your family had a bit of mixed results. Your mother started talking to you again, at least, supporting your decision. You knew how scared she was of what would happen to all of you if the Duke’s support was cut off. She was still unsettled by your option of just calling everything off before the day of the wedding, and tried to support the idea of the matrimony and convince you to go with it.

You could tell your father blamed himself a lot. No matter how you put it, he seemed to always blame his health condition for the family’s poverty, not being able to work and support the household for himself. He neither was in favor or against the marriage, he just assured you he would support your decision.

As for your little sisters, well, they seemed fascinated by the prospects of you becoming a Duchess, and were very excited that they would be able to visit the mansion whenever they liked if such were to happen. They were still of too young of an age to fully understand what you were abdicating.

The getting to know each other before marriage part was… going a bit better than you first expected, but not great. You understood now that Augustus wasn’t really a conceited snob like most of the noble men you had encountered so far, even if he presented himself as such many times. He would come in with chin lifted up and perfect posture, as if elevating himself from the people around him. But once you two got to converse, he was a lot more kind and polite than others you had come across.

He didn’t belittle or overlooked your opinions and ideas. In fact, you had spent a great length just the day before discussing your thoughts on the miniscule female workforce and how inefficient it was to only have half the population working on most of the truly necessary jobs. Truth was, you had never really had the opportunity to voice these thoughts with anyone else outside of your family. If at a social gathering such a subject were to come up, which wasn’t common either way, one look at you and most people would disregard you completely. It was unbelievably frustrating, especially because you had the feeling it was most due to your oversized appearance more so than you being a woman, since other females were heard during these arguments.

Your voluptuous frame never bothered you other than at these occasions or whenever your mother commented on it, mostly by asking you to put on a corset before going out. You had to admit, you were relieved to notice your size didn’t seem to bother Augustus at all. Since there was a chance this man could become your husband, you were glad that there was never a look of reproval or disgust.

“What are you doing?”

His sudden deep voice scared you and you almost fell as you jumped in place, crouched down next to the garden. You turned around to glare at him, standing tall behind you with his oblong face leaning to the right as he regarded you with confusion. The sun was tall in the early afternoon clear sky and his honey eyes were brighter than you had ever seen them, those voluminous chocolate curls lighter with the sunlight. Before he could notice you were gawking, you returned your attention to your task.

“I’m planting potatoes, as you can see. A traveler downtown offered us some for a good price and father thought it best if we actually farm them and try to keep them for future meals” you respond dryly, a bit annoyed yet by how sneaky this man could be. You could barely hear his footsteps.

“You don’t seem particularly pleased by it” he states, rather than questioning.

“Well, as much as I agree it is best to plant and have potatoes growing for the future, I was really craving some for dinner. Guess that will have to wait.”

“If the seller is still in town, I could always buy more and you could have them for dinner with me” he nonchalantly invites, coming to stand next to you rather than behind.

You actually smile at that, continuing your work.

“Thank you, but there will be no need. I’ve learned long ago to suppress my cravings; I’m used to it. And my family expects me for dinner.”

“I suppose we will have many opportunities to dine together once we’re married, so there’s no rush” he concedes.

Pressing your lips together, you remain silent at that. Truth be told, your heart still panicked whenever you thought about the marriage. Even with the amount of time you had spent together the last few days, it was obviously not enough to get to know him sufficiently. The fact that he seemed to dislike talking about himself wasn’t contributing to the matter.

Talking about politics, idealisms, morals and worldly events, those he could discuss for hours upon hours with you, as you noticed. And you were glad to find him open to and many times agreeing with the positions you stood by. However, as soon as the conversation turned about him, about his life before coming to Welsham or his family, he either closed up or changed the topic.

“Have you picked out a dress yet?” He asks as he starts pacing around the small garden.

“No, not yet. My mother intends on going with me tomorrow with my oldest sister. Is… Is it really alright to use your funds to buy the dress? I know the Duke’s wealth is still unavailable until after the wedding and…”

“Please, do not mention it again, Adela. Even without my grandfather’s inheritance, I am quite capable of buying my fiancée a wedding dress” he determined, almost offended that you brought it up again.

You look down and bite your lips with a concerned frown on your face. The fact that he was using his own money to make the wedding possible was very worrisome to you. Just one more nail for you to feel guilty about if you called the whole thing off.

“You mentioned you would like for your grandmother to come to the wedding. Is that taking care of?” He recalled from somewhere behind you as he paced.

“No, she can’t make it” you informed, continuing planting. “It is too sudden and the trip is too long for her to make alone.”

“Even if I send someone to get her? They could leave by tonight, if you want.”

“Don’t burden someone else, it’s quite alright. I would rather go myself and visit her after than make her come all this way just for a day and because of me.” Measuring your words, you hope your next words won’t upset the man walking around. “Will… Will your parents come to the wedding? Anyone from your side?”

His steps falter only momentarily.

“No. The only guests will be from your side, I’m afraid.”

“I see.” You sigh. It seemed you really couldn’t gather any more information about him when it came to his family and past, and that disconcerted you a bit. “Don’t you thi- What are you doing?!”

Before you knew it, Augustus had stopped pacing, removed his coat and squatted down next to you, yanking the small shovel and potato from your hands.

“I can’t take it anymore. You are doing this wrong. You need to dig deeper for the potato to grow and you are not leaving enough space between the holes.” His voice sounded incredibly exasperated and you wondered for how long had he been biting his tongue.

You watched in silence as he dug a deeper hole and covered it back up with the potato inside, going one step back to undo the ones you had made and properly farm. He had rolled the sleeves of his shirt and was not afraid of getting his hands dirty. He didn’t even ask for the gloves you were wearing.

“You… really are a gardener or something like that, aren’t you, Augustus?” You can’t help but ask as you observe him. You were prepared to not get an answer, but he surprised you with more facts and details than you thought he was ready to give.

“The town I grew up in is known for growing a bunch of pretty flowers. I ended up working for the flowery shop from there, in a big plantation field. So yes, I was a gardener.”

He kept his focus on his hands, but contrary to the last time you talked about it, there was no more tension on his face, no offence taken. It was the most honest he had ever been about his personal life and you couldn’t help the curiosity that pushed you to keep him going.

“That makes sense. Did you enjoy it? Being a gardener?”

“It is a long hours unappreciated job that is criminally underpaid. So no, I didn’t like it. Maybe at the beginning, but when my father-” He got quiet then, shaking his head a bit after a pause and carrying on as if nothing happened. “I will be glad when I won’t have to work as a gardener to support myself anymore.”

A part of your wanted to pry further, pick at the slip he made and get to know more about his family, but you held back since he obviously did not want to talk about it. Instead, you tried to get the mood back up, erase the tension that had lifted.

“And yet you still work on the garden back at your mansion. Be honest, you actually like the pretty flowers, don’t you?” You joke, hugging your knees and bending your head further down so he can see your teasing smile.

For your delight, he actually chuckles, looking away but you see the rise on his cheeks and he is still smiling when he looks back at you. His eyes twinkle in the sun and you actually forget how to breath for a moment.

“I guess you do have a point, I have no explanation for that.” He agrees.

“Help me finish this and then I’ll invite you for a much-earned cold tea. In the meantime, tell me more about your town.”

Surprising you greatly, he actually does. He explains how it is a town a little bit bigger than the one you live in, with large terrains filled with flowers to the east and a booming industry for selling and exporting them. He shares how he started working for the flower shop when he was fourteen, starting with light weight jobs and ending up as a gardener a few years later. Tells you about the friendships he made along the way.

Never does he speak of his father again, or any other family member. You are sure by now that his relations with them must be quite estranged.

He was absentmindedly telling you about the horse companion he got when he turned twenty and that he rode all the way here – Chestnut, he called her – before your heard him hiss in pain and caught him grabbing his left hand tightly.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” you immediately asked, running to his side as he stood up.

“Nothing, nothing, just scraped my hand in the shovel” he admitted, more upset at himself than anything.

“I should have given you some gloves. Here, let me see.”

Holding out your hand for him, Augustus hesitated before removing his right hand and allowing you to see the damage he had done on his left one. Because he didn’t give you his hand, you just grabbed it yourself to see the scratch line running from his thumb to the knuckle bellow his index finger, deep enough to tear skin but barely bleeding.

“It sems to just be a scratch, nothing to worry about. Better to still treat it, though. Does it hurt?”

And purely out of instinct and habit, you find yourself pulling his hand up with yours and leaning your head down just slightly, enough for your lips to meet his hand halfway and pecking at the bruise he had.

There was a stillness in the air when you first lift your eyes to his wide ones, only the sound of the leaves rattling in the trees with the small breeze being heard. It takes you a moment after you look back up, seeing the bewildered expression on Augustus’ face, for you to realize what you have done. And absolute mortification takes over.  

“Oh dear God…” you whisper as you let go of his hand, before raising both your hands and your voice to explain yourself. “I… That just…! My sisters! I-I always do that to my sisters when they get hurt, it was second nature, I didn’t even think, I’m sorry!”

You start to step back, incredibly ashamed, but his sudden laugh stops you and you tentatively lift your eyes back to his face. His smile is bemused and makes the skin wrinkle a bit the corner of his hooded eyes.

“There is really nothing to apologize about, Adela. I don’t see why you are so scared.”

“I’m not scared, I’m ashamed! I just k-kissed your hand!” You explain, but as soon as the words leave your mouth you hide your face behind your hands as you feel even more embarrassed with yourself. Augustus, in the meantime, only laughs again.

“Why are you ashamed?” he asks in between chuckles, taking a step forward to compensate the steps you took back. “I kiss your hand every time I leave after our afternoon meetings.”

He did. As it turned out, the kiss of your knuckles from the day you informed him of your decision about the wedding was not a one-time occasion. Every day since then, he always reached for your hand and kissed it as a goodbye. It unnerved you how they always had the same effect from day one: chills running up your arm and tingles at the back of your neck.

“It’s not the same, and you know it. Let’s just call it a day and go back inside!”

You turn and quickly move in the direction of the house’s backdoor, still with one hand raised to keep your face from Augustus’ view. You felt your skin still burning and were hoping to cool down before having to face him again. No such luck.

“Wait a minute, Adela.” He reaches for your arm with his hand and pulls you back, forcing you to stand in front of him and unfortunately allowing him to see the state of your cheeks. “Why are you blushing so deeply?” He can’t seem to stop chuckling at your reaction. He was certainly enjoying this way too much.

“Sir Augustus, let us please forget this ever happen. I believe it is time for you to return home and we will see each other tomorrow.” You are desperate to get this man out of your sight and, more importantly, to get your shameful self away from his prying eyes.

“If you wish for me to go, I will do so” he assured, regaining a bit more seriousness in his voice.  But his hand is still steady on your arm, not letting you go or making any intention of moving. “However, I do need to say my proper goodbyes.”

Confused by what he meant, you frown and look up at him in confusion. You find him looking determinably at you, a small smirk on his lips that turn his upper lip even smaller compared to his bottom one. He takes a step forward and you instinctively move back, your heart starting to race inside your chest as a hint of novel danger rushes through you. But he keeps moving forward and your next step back has you against the trunk of a tree. Your blush turns deeper and is getting harder to breathe.

“If a lady is to have such a pretty colour on her cheeks…” Augustus whispers just loud enough for you to hear, as he gets disconcertingly closer. You swallow dry once you realize his gaze is set on your lips. “I should give her a reason for it.”

Realization hits you then, but it’s too late to stop him and you weren’t sure you would anyway. One of his hands lands on the curve of your hip and the other cradles the side of your face before he gets so close that his heavenly musk envelops you and a short bend down is enough for his lips to brush yours.

Augustus firmly covers your mouth with his silk lips, caressing them with a short movement before lifting them away. And yet, it provokes a jolt of electricity shooting from your stomach up your spine, goosebumps covering your skin and your usually sharp brain gets so overwhelmed it just shuts down. No man had ever kissed you before, so the only indications you had of what it felt like were written in novels or poetry.

The reality undoubtably surpasses your tame expectations.

When you open your eyes, never even remembering closing them in the first place, you find Augustus intently already looking at you, still only about an inch away, close enough for you to count the strands of darker brown crossing the honey colored iris of his eyes. You wondered if he was assessing your reaction and then you wondered how you were supposed to react. For now, you just stared back at him with short shallow breaths and a paralyzed body flushed against a tree.

“Until tomorrow, lady Adela.”

A mixture of smugness and something else is behind his eyes as he speaks, only for him to straighten back up and mask them, turning around, grabbing his coat and exiting through the back door back inside.

On the other hand, you stay glued to that tree for at least another ten more minutes, foggy brain trying to recover enough coherent thought for you to understand what had just happened. And what did it mean.

[normallee]

Reflections of Revenge || Nessa and Norma

TIMING: Current LOCATION: The Carnival PARTIES: @dance-with-sum1 and @normallee SUMMARY: Nessa and Norma have so much fun in the hall of mirrors!! Just like two very normal humans often do!

Nessa had been dying to go to the Carnival since she started hearing it’s haunting melodies float around town. It was almost hypnotizing, and she couldn’t wait for her night off. Usually she hated taking her required night to herself, much preferring to at least check in at the club before heading off for a quick bite, but now that there was new excitement in town she couldn’t wait! Wandering through the neon lights made Nessa feel truly alive. It was almost the same energy as being in a club, with thrashing bodies, blood pumping, energy exploding. Only now she felt like she was in one of those teen movies she loved, just without the romantic date. She shrugged off the fleeting thought of loneliness and skipped towards the Hall of Mirrors, her long skirt flowing around her hooved feet. “How many tickets, good sir? Oh- and do I need someone to ride with? Er- walk through with?”

Norma was getting bored of her usually feeding grounds. And a bored valkyrie who couldn’t use her powers was nothing but a sorry sight. Lucky for her, the carnival on the beach had opened up. It seemed like a good opportunity to blend in, too. Humans went to this place of “fun.” So did many crying children as she discovered. If only she could incite just one temper tantrum. Alas, she had to feed off the scraps. She sighed and noticed a lot of the crying children were leaving the “Hall of Mirrors.” Odd, she knew many humans were unfortunate looking, but she didn’t imagine reflections would cause such reactions so consistently. Might as well explore it. She walked up to the entrance to see another woman standing there. “Great. You two can go in together. Enjoy,” the man said, practically shoving them both inside the door before slamming it shut. “Well that was speedy service,” she said as she looked around. “I’m Norma, by the way. I believe it is usually considered rude to not introduce yourself when thrown into strange circumstances with one another. Or so I've been told.”

Before she knew it, Nessa was thrown inside the attraction with a strange woman named Norma. Well, she wasn’t strange anymore! She was Norma! “Nice to meet ya, Norma! I’m Nessa! I guess we’re gonna try to navigate this thing together, yeah?” Her bright smile flashed across 3 or 4 different mirrors and she watched as her eyes widened. This was gonna be fun. “You wanna lead the way? Or I can! I’ve never done a Hall of Mirrors before, have you?” It was hard to see where the path led, but that was sort of the whole point. Nessa let her hooves lead her in the most organic route possible, but she still ended up crashing into a hard wall. “Oops! That’s not the way!” She giggled, hoping the other woman was having as much fun as she was.

Norma returned her smile and grabbed the woman’s hand and shook it. A lot. As was customary, of course. “Very good to meet you, Nessa!” It was comforting to hear that there were other humans who had not done such silly and tacky endeavors like this. In normal circumstances, she would never have come in here. She wouldn’t need to. But now, well, it sure was riddled with ambient waves of chaos energy. The whole carnival was, but there was a ping or two more here. “This is my first, too, I think you should try first. You were in line first and I’ve been told lines work in particular orders.” It was more of yelled at than told but all the same. Norma followed behind the giggly woman, wondering if she should just reach out and insight a little more chaos, get them more lost than they were. It was so tempting. And not quite worth the bounty hunters it would bring. She sighed and took in what she could. “Oh no, it’s not. How about we,” Norma spun around in a circle a few times then stopped and pointed in a direction. “Go that way.” As they walked, Norma wondered if they were alone, she kept seeing flashes of red. Lots of red. She could feel the vibrations of energy humming a little louder as they went.

Nessa radiated joy and exuberance as they made their way further into the maze. She liked this woman, Norma. She spoke a little literally, but that was fine! Nessa did that too from time to time. She wondered if her companion was something a bit more than human. Wouldn’t that be exciting?? “I’m so glad we get to experience this together then!” Nessa bounced forward, all the while remaining on the tip of her- well toes if she had them. After running into a few more dead ends, Nessa and her 4 reflections spun around, a pout beginning to form on each set of lips. “I don’t think we’re going the right way, are we?” She caught a wisp of movement out of the corner of her eye and spun, smacking her face right against the plastic, mirror wall. “Aw heck!” She rubbed her forehead and turned to Norma. “Did you see that? I think they let someone else in here before we got a chance to get out! What a rip off!”

Norma was more than happy to follow along the random, distinctly incorrect paths the other woman chose. It was chance and chaos, and though not as good as the strife of a sobbing child, it was still satisfying. “I did see something. I do not believe it was your skirt, either. This is rather unfortunate. We should demand our hard earned cash back if they let someone else in. They should be ashamed!” Norma hoped her outrage was sufficient. The mirror they had stopped at featured a very wiggly looking Nessa and a very stretched out Norma. “Look at how they’ve changed our features,” she said pointing at their reflections. “It’s quite humorous.” She laughed as she started moving around, watching how it affected the distorted view. As she waved her arms in uncharacteristic mannerisms, the picture changed and shifted. She was no longer in her modern clothes or in a hall of other mirrors. What she saw reflected was no longer Norma, but Xmucane from long ago. She was beautiful, far more so than she was now, in her own option. She was covered in blood, the tips of her hair soaked, arms covered, her entire outfit splattered red only where it wasn’t dripping. In her hands were intestines. After a moment of gleeful examination, her reflection reached out towards the mirror, almost like she expected her hand to cross through to the other side, grabbing right at Norma’s heart. For a moment, she was lost in it, longing for her old self. Then she remembered that she wasn’t alone. “Oh, um, wow!” Norma started as she tried to throw herself in front of the mirror. “That is so strangely specific and oddly life-like!” Perhaps this Nessa was too dazed from smacking her head on mirrors to make the connection.

Nessa nodded, her usual optimistic attitude beginning to skew towards irritated. They would definitely file a complaint with the Carnival manager. But then she was distracted by their goofy reflections, warping this way and that. Nessa bleated in excitement and immediately went about dancing to make her elongated extremities ebb and flow in unnatural patterns. “How fun!!” Her eyes darted over to Norma’s reflection, expecting to see her stretched to seem 10 feet tall. Instead, she saw a macabre scene, blood and gore and entrails abounding. Her mouth began to water but she reminded herself it was just special effects. Cocking her head to the side, Nessa began to examine her own reflection. Nothing but the run of the mill wiggly warping. That wasn’t fair. “Wow! They really went all out on the effects, huh?” Nessa pouted, spinning around to try to find a better mirror. Not only did the workers let someone else in on their fun, she didn’t even get the special treatment of a grotesque display! “Let’s try this way, maybe?” Speeding through the mirrors, Nessa screeched to a halt and found herself face to face with a beautiful woman reflected in one of the walls. “Oh!” Her stomach dropped and she let out a frightened bleat before backing up the way she came as quickly as possible. She couldn’t have found her here, she was miles and decades away from that hunter. “This way!” Nessa grabbed Norma’s arm and dragged her deeper and deeper into the maze.

Before Norma could lament her lost past, Nessa was dragging her away. When they spun around, Norma could no longer see herself at all. Or Nessa. She looked around but there was no one standing beside them. Touching the edge of the glass, there was no doubt the woman was on the other side of some surface or another. Odd. Norma pressed her finger a little more to the glass and felt a ripple. There was no further chance to explore it, Nessa pulled her away and they were once again racing through a maze of reflections. The chaos and frantic nature of their running calmed Norma. This felt right. Beautiful, even as their reflections were being chased by flashes of entrails and the face of this mystery woman. “Who was that?” Norma asked as they paused a moment to catch their breath. She looked around and behind them, pointed. “I think that’s the exit,” she said.

Nessa rarely felt fear. Since moving to White Crest, she hadn’t felt the need to run or hide, she’d found a new fae community, and she’d put the thought of hunters, or at least that hunter, far behind her. Of course they were still a danger, but she hadn’t been hunted in years. Barely paying attention to the reflections, or lack thereof, Nessa continued to haul them through the maze at a near breakneck speed, her hooves clicking loudly against the metal floor. “Who?” Nessa’s frightened eyes looked back at her companion. “A monster.” She gritted her teeth and pressed forward, grateful that she wasn’t alone but worried what that woman might do to Norma if she was caught in her company. “Oh!” Nessa spun and pushed Norma ahead of her, throwing one last frantic look behind her as she all but shoved them forward towards what she desperately hoped was the exit and not just another dead end.

Norma tried to keep the curl of a smile from forming on her face. The strife coming from the woman there with her smelled so sweet. If she just reached out and touched her, maybe she could just get a small taste of it, feel the anger and fear of this “monster” resonate within her own bones. But before she could even think any further of allowing that for herself, she was turned around and being shoved towards the exit sign. Norma sighed, almost too happy to keep running around in this mess, but she had to admit, the chaos was likely at an end and dwindling away. They may as well leave and she could collect whatever meager scraps of strife she could find elsewhere. Once through the door, she had to squint and moment and let her eyes readjust to the light. “Well, I believe that was good human fun! I quite enjoyed that experience.” Something still lingered in her mind, though. Almost like… concern? Perhaps? Possibly. It was also possible she was just so ready to pry any information that could be used against someone from her years of doing just that. “That monster, however, that you mentioned. What was that? Do I have cause for concern?”

Nessa practically flung herself out of the Hall. That was supposed to be fun, not traumatic. Her eyes darted around, looking for any sign that her hunter was hot on her trail and indeed the person let in after them. After a few minutes of waiting, however, it was clear she was nowhere to be found. Nessa let out the breath she hadn't realized she’d been holding and tried to smile up at Norma. “I dunno about fun persay, but it certainly wasn’t what I’d expected. Those horror effects were top notch!” She tilted her head, wondering if Norma had been a plant. How else would they have been able to make a grotesque double of her racing through holding various entrails? “Oh...no, I don’t think so.” Her face darkened at the memory. Luckily she hadn’t had to do too much to get away from that hunter, but there were others who were far more seasoned. “She...well she had a grudge against me.” And others like me. But her skin didn’t prickle around Norma like it did when she was around other fae. She could be some other supernatural, but that wasn’t for her to worry about. “Weird, though. I guess I must have mistaken one of the people they let in behind us. I haven’t seen that woman in years. There’s no way she could be here.” The words were more to comfort herself, she realized. But she smiled again, feeling a bit more at ease with each human person who came out of the Hall of Mirrors after them. The past was the past, and Nessa didn’t want to revisit it if she didn’t absolutely need to.

Norma took in the situation, tried to absorb what this Nessa was saying. Someone with a grudge. Norma could relate. Immensely. She too had someone after her with a grudge. Nessa was lucky enough to know who, it seemed. “That is very odd. But their effects there were rather specific and bordering on intrusive.” Almost like it was magic. Oh no. In all her attempts to avoid the supernatural, it seemed that she still constantly walked right into it. Oh well, she should be safe from any bounty hunters so long as she didn’t use her powers. So she hoped. She supposed she would simply have to wait and see. “Well that is good to hear your mortal ife is safe and sound.” Norma glanced around, unsure of what to do next. Not far away there was what looked like food and refreshments. “Anyway, would you like to get some overly sweet and nutritionally unsatisfactory food with me? I believe there are many stands just over there.”

[artificialqueens]

Landslide (Jan/Rock) - Aries

a/n - written for winter as part of our gc’s gift exchange! thanks as always to alex for beta-ing, and to stephanie’s child for providing a gorgeous cover of the titular song that i listened to for four hours straight while i wrote. also on ao3 here! <3

summary - jan moves across the country, and it isn’t as easy to adjust as she’d hoped. (a songfic based on landslide by fleetwood mac)

I took my love, I took it down / I climbed a mountain and I turned around / And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills / ‘Till the landslide brought me down

Jan decides to move out the summer after she turns eighteen, fresh out of high school and desperate for something, anything, better than the life she’s grown up to know. She pulls out a map of the states and a dartboard, closes her eyes and spins around a few times like a kid at a birthday party, and almost laughs herself sick when she sees fate has driven her to the opposite coast. She finds an apartment and spends a week or two sinking in the San Francisco life like the most cliche of tourists - tries all the instagram-worthy desserts, takes photos on every beach she can find, goes on sunrise hikes to the Golden Gate Bridge, and relishes in how different it is to home.

She meets Jaida one night at some club about half a mile from her apartment when it’s late and she’s too drunk to remember her name, and drags her home with her through giggles and clouds of smoke. She doesn’t think much of it when she’s gone the next morning, or when she just so happens to go to the same bar the next evening and just so happens to see Jaida waiting in the corner, drink in hand, dark eyes inviting and terrifying and beautiful and everything she needs. She doesn’t allow herself to think anything at all of it when it keeps happening; kisses are shared far more frequently than words, and she’s read enough trashy romance novels to know things like this come and go too quickly to warrant anything too domestic or comfortable. 

Despite this, she tries. She tries to make conversation through messed up white linen sheets and she tries not to be upset at the short answers she gets, if she gets them at all. She tries, above all else, to keep her head above water, because she’s learned fast that life here gets lonely, and an hour or two of feeling like she’s floating doesn’t neutralise the hurt in her stomach the morning after that weighs her down like rocks in her pockets. 

‘Don’t you want to stay?’ She asks Jaida one morning as she’s slipping on her shoes, ready to leave again. She looks back at Jan, visibly confused.

‘Jan,’ she sighs, standing up and twisting the doorknob, ‘you know that isn’t going to happen.’

Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love? / Can the child within my heart rise above? / Can I sail through the changing ocean tides? / Can I handle the seasons of my life?

She learns, faster than anything else, that the key to surviving when you’ve dropped yourself somewhere brand new is to pick one of two options and stick with it: you can either establish yourself as someone that sticks out of the norms, someone that grabs attention, or you can try your best to blend in and adapt, and act as if you’ve been there the whole time. She’s always been good at living life in shades of grey, fading into the background when she wants to, and she decides that now, she wants to, so she does. She gets a job working at the reception desk of an office building just far enough from her apartment for her to be able to class the walk there and back as sufficient exercise and gains friends that she has over sometimes, but not too often, and never for too long. 

She doesn’t frequent bars anymore - a girl her age moves in across the hall from her, and she doesn’t want to be the asshole that wanders in at two in the morning and wakes up her neighbours. They bump into each other in the halls, sometimes, and exchange a few words. One time, the girl - Jackie, apparently - invites her out for coffee, and she accepts. This isn’t blending in, insists the voice at the back of her head, but she’d look rude if she said no, so she allows herself this. Jackie’s from Iran, Jan learns, and she’s lived in California for the past year but only in San Francisco for a month, give or take. She works at a music store not too far from where they live, but can’t play any instruments (‘I just asked for the job, and they must have felt sorry for me!’), and her girlfriend is from Illinois but lives in LA, which is closer than they were originally but not close enough, and she’s a big fan of old TV dramas, and she talks a lot. It’s nice, Jan decides, to have to listen to a voice that isn’t her own. She thinks they’d be good friends, maybe, if they spoke more.

She falls into a routine more quickly than she’d like to admit. She wakes up at 7-ish, rolls reluctantly out of bed, fills her stomach with caffeine, and strides on into the office to greet one of the guys that works at the desk across her. He’s chipper as always, beaming through paperwork, somehow. He asks if Jan’s doing alright, she looks a bit pale, and Jan reflects his billion-dollar smile right back in his face and lies through gritted teeth. He doesn’t seem convinced, but doesn’t push. Jan clocks out that evening and walks home, averts her eyes when she passes the shitty bar she knows too well. She walks past Jackie in the hallway and smiles half-heartedly but doesn’t stop to talk, and she hates the way Jackie glances at her, eyes are full of pity as she watches her walk into her apartment.

Well, I’ve been afraid of changing / ‘Cause I’ve built my life around you / But time makes you bolder / Even children get older / And I’m getting older too

Jan’s phone rings at half past six in the morning every morning for a good week before she admits defeat and picks it up. The voice on the other end is too perky, too loud, to be heard that early, but it’s as comforting as it’s been her whole life, and she’s so glad to hear it she almost bursts into tears.

‘Jaaaaaan,’ Lagoona greets her, and Jan can hear the smile in her voice, ‘where the fuck have you been? I haven’t spoken to you in weeks!’

‘Busy,’ Jan replies, tries to make herself sound as convincingly happy as she can manage. ‘I’ve had a lot to do out here.’

‘Well, clear your calendar,’ comes the reply, and Jan has to stop herself from laughing - as if she’s seen anyone, or left the house for more than an hour at a time, for the past month. ‘We’re coming to see you.’

‘ We? ’ Jan questions. ‘As in, you and-’

‘Your whole family,’ Lagoona quips, ‘and your cat. No, duh, me and Rosé.’

Their flight lands at 10:40 on Friday night, and Jan runs herself ragged trying to make herself and her apartment presentable enough for them to take her seriously. When she leaves to catch an Uber to the airport, Jackie’s walking up the stairs.

‘Hey, you,’ she smiles, waving with one arm. ‘Nice to see you.’ The ‘going out for once’ is unspoken but obviously implied, but Jan doesn’t have the energy to get offended. She smiles, waves back, shoots back a ‘You, too,’ and runs down the stairs so she doesn’t miss the car. She greets Lagoona and Rosé at their gate with a bag of donuts and laughs at their excitement, accepts their running hugs with open arms. It’s 1am by the time they’re settled into Jan’s apartment and she’s thrown together a makeshift bed on the floor out of blankets and pillows she has lying around. It feels like a sixth-grade sleepover and it’s refreshing and comforting in a way nothing has been for months. 

Their three-day stay passes faster than any of them would like, and they’re lying in the dark on their final night talking absentmindedly about everything and nothing when Rosé sighs loudly and flicks on a lamp, sitting up and turning to Jan’s bed.

‘Jan, baby, we’re really worried about you,’ she sighs, genuine concern in her eyes. ‘I know you say you have it all together here, but you don’t seem happy.’

‘Of course I’m happy,’ Jan replies, smiling. ‘You guys are here. I’m having a great time.’

‘You know what I mean.’ Rosé looks at her, and she knows there’s no point lying. ‘I know you wanted a new start and I won’t push it, but if you’re not doing well, come home. We miss you.’

They spend the Uber drive to the airport talking about things Jan can do to make the most of west coast life, and Lagoona pulls a notepad and pen out of her purse, scribbling something down when she thinks Jan’s not looking. She hands it to her before she heads through security with Rosé, squeezing Jan’s hands and pulling her in for another hug. ‘If you don’t get all of this shit done in the next month, I’m flying you back to New York myself,’ she laughs. ‘Consider it a to-do list.’ Jan watches them walk off, waves at them through tears, and pulls the piece of notebook paper out of her pocket, unfolding it. Make a damn friend!!! is the first point. She laughs to herself, shoves the list back into her coat, and makes a beeline for the Starbucks in the arrivals lounge when someone bumps into her and knocks her phone out of her hand, sending it skidding to the floor.

‘Oh, fuck, I’m really sorry,’ says the person, bending down to grab her phone. Jan looks at her and smiles, shaking her head.

‘It’s no problem, don’t worry about it,’ she replies. The stranger holds out a hand for her to shake, and she obliges, despite how foreign it feels. 

‘I’m Roxanne,’ the girl smiles, and then her face scrunches up. ‘But nobody calls me that, ever, so I don’t know why I introduced myself that way at all. Rock. I’m Rock. And you?’

‘Jan,’ she says, slightly taken aback. She shoves her hand back into her pocket, and it closes around Lagoona’s list. ‘Hey, would you wanna go get some coffee, maybe?’

Oh, take my love, take it down / Oh, climb a mountain and turn around / And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills / Well, the landslide will bring it down

Come October, Jan’s decided to scrap the routine, but there are bits she likes to keep. She calls Lagoona and Rosé every Friday night at seven, for one, and they update each other on how their weeks went. She sees Jackie every day, obviously; now they’re working at the same store, they commute together and talk a lot more. Jackie’s girlfriend’s coming to stay for a week soon, she tells Jan when they’re walking home one evening, and she thinks it’d be a good idea if they all went out to get drinks or something - or coffee, she suggests, if that’s easier. 

‘It depends when,’ Jan smiles, but nods. ‘I’d love to, but you won’t be able to get me out of the house on Friday nights.’

Rock knocks on her apartment door later that night, a bag of Chinese takeout in one hand and a Legally Blonde DVD in the other.

‘You said you didn’t know what we could do,’ she grins, ‘so I thought this was pretty reliable.’ She strides inside, throwing the food onto the kitchen counter and pulling Jan into a hug. ‘I’m proud of you, you know.’

Jan laughs, hugs her back, pushes the door closed behind her with her foot. ‘For what?’

‘Just in general,’ Rock replies. ‘I think it’s nice to hear that sometimes. You wanna watch Reese Witherspoon go to law school while we eat, or after?’

Jan smiles a lot more now. Rock says it’s one of her favourite things about her, but Jan’s convinced she’d say that about anything, providing it’d make her blush. It makes a change, though she’s not sure it’s a bad one - she’s still not wholly used to seeing herself in brighter clothes and happier expressions in mirrors, but she’ll do what she can to stand out.

[crystalelemental]

You know what? Fuck it. It's anniversary. Treat yourself.

We're maxing out Best Chatelaine.

General Overview Ohooooo man. Okay. Big fan of this one. Obviously personality clicked, I do have a type, but I'm kinda loving her kit too.

Dana's obvious benefit is SEUN, which is...I have mixed feelings. I think it's simultaneously really good, and over-hyped. Really good because a huge 50% bonus, which I believe is multiplicative, applied for an EX sync nuke or heavy DPS shot, is fantastic. But it's only applicable on-type, which is generally the least important way to deal damage in the Gauntlet/High Score meta. This is part of why I think we need more pairs with two attacking types. SEUN with a potential super-effective coverage move would be really good. But as it stands, a lot of options can't make good use of it.

Moreover, 1/5 Dana encapsulates an issue with SEUN appliers. Specifically, they tend to make for bad offense buffers. Red and Jasmine have crit rate, even though one does it better than the other, and some arguable benefits that are inconsistent at best and insufficient at worst. Dana takes this a step further by boosting no offensive stats at 1/5. You get SEUN, and only that. But pairs that cap all relevant offenses fast enough for that to matter tend to be so good that the on-type modifier is irrelevant. It just doesn't accomplish much.

3/5 Dana is an entirely different beast. Team Sharp Entry is a divine skill that saves a turn off any self-buffer with +2 crit. Which is a lot of them. Hype Up on her attack, especially combined with Cold Snap, is divine. Not only does she now have the potential to disrupt an action, she's buffing special attack routinely while doing it. On physical stages, Dana has literally nothing better to do but spam Frost Breath, which allows her to rake up the special attack boosts for the team easily. At 20/20, I admit I had zero issues keeping her alive, without ever touching X Sp Def All. First Aid 4, combined with a Max Potion/Damage Guard effect on her trainer move, makes her more than sturdy enough. SEUN applications are great, but two are more than sufficient in most scenarios.

I didn't do this, but another fun angle is that she can boost both defenses and has Synchro Healing. So she's a great stall support as well. Girl is versatile.

Vs. Bruno It's a bad picture because I was frustrated and just glad to be done. Gardenia is stupid frail, so any time he's set to use two Bulldoze, you have to take a turn early on to throw TM on Gardenia instead and hope Dana can handle it (she can). But then you run into the issue of Gardenia needing sun up or she loses special attack, and her missing sync crit, etc etc etc. She's really frustrating. Gardenia kinda sucks.

Vs. Will Poison is fairly hard to shop for, but Dana has one extremely funny option. H!Iris gets +4 Sp Atk/+2 crit, and is therefore perfectly salvaged by Dana. Lucian just makes the team invincible at this point, and covers all needed gauge concerns. This is a really easy setup to take -2 sync cooldown parameter as well, because Iris will obliterate this team. Following that, second SEUN on Hyper Beam, which can combo into Iris getting Super Victory for yet another, and just blasting a stage into powder.

Vs. Karen This is more a showing of how SEUN can offset lower offense boosted stats, at least in part. +3 Sp Atk on Lusamine with SEUN is more than enough to eviscerate the sides, and Lusamine only needs two trainer moves with Team Sharp Entry in play, so she can focus on pure sync power. This was a really clean win, despite how much Sp Atk Lusamine seemed to need. Dana was able to provide.

Vs. Koga There is an ice stage! Initially I was going to do Ghetsis or something, before realizing (1) accuracy issues, and (2) not a great showing of Dana's abilities specifically. I then considered BP Candice, before realizing mine is EX. So I ran Pryce. Who is not EX. We did eat the opponent's sync, Pryce absolutely cannot DPS his way out of this. He did get a denial thanks to SEUN, but I messed up the gauges and it caused problems. I don't know that it made enough difference. The point is, she carried non-EX Pryce. It's not quite Irida, but I will gladly take this.

[foreverlogical]

There’s a right way to reopen America’s schools. It requires a clear-eyed look at the data. It demands a balanced discussion of the benefits and costs — to students, parents and educators.

And it looks very little like the path America is on.

“We really run the risk of drowning out balance by having this be ‘the people who want to reopen’ vs. ‘the people who don’t want to reopen,’” says Emily Oster, an economist at Brown University who has spent the past several months tracking coronavirus.

Oster, the author of two bestselling books taking a data-driven to parenting and pregnancy, counts herself among those in the “reopen the schools” camp. She worries that keeping schools closed will hurt kids’ education, hurt the economy, hurt parents—especially moms—and widen the inequities that the pandemic is already causing.

But when it comes to how we re-open, that’s another matter. “Florida has said its schools will open in the first weeks of August,” she says. “That’s three or four weeks from now. That’s crazy,” said Oster. “Based on where we are now, if Florida just opens the doors to schools and has everybody back in a normal way, just with a few masks, then a bunch of people are going to have Covid.”

“We’re telling places, ‘Open your schools! Open your schools!’ Like, with what money? Schools don’t have the money to do what they’re supposed to in a basic setting, let alone in this moment,” said Oster. “I look at the bills and run some of this stuff at Brown. I look at the money we’re going to spend on disinfecting wipes. And it’s millions of dollars — on wipes! I mean, this is expensive for a highly funded Ivy League university. Forget about it for a rural school.”

Since early May, Oster has been sorting through the data about coronavirus at Covid-Explained, a website she launched with other academics and medical experts to give normal people a clear reading of what we really do and don’t know about the virus. She concedes that there is a risk to reopening schools—there is a risk to keeping them closed, too. And she acknowledges the high stakes of that decision can seem daunting.

“One of the things I try to remind people is that we make those calculations all the time,” said Oster. We allow people to drive their cars and to have swimming pools and do all kinds of stuff we know to be risky, and which — in the case of driving cars — have risks to other people. As a society, we allow some of those tradeoffs, even though we might not be thinking about them in exactly this way.”

So, what would need to happen to safely reopen schools — and how far are we from making that happen? On Thursday, Oster spoke to POLITICO about all of this. A transcript of the conversation is below, edited for length and clarity.

Zack Stanton: Let’s start here: What is the case for reopening schools?

Emily Oster: The positive case for reopening schools is that kids learn better in school — quite a lot better. That’s one piece of it. In this experience, we’ve seen pretty large learning losses from kids not being in school. And those losses are disproportionately felt by lower-income students and students with fewer with fewer resources. So for the same reasons we worry about the “summer slump,” there’s now many months of summer slump, and the idea of a whole year of summer slump is pretty problematic. The second piece is that unless kids are at school, it’s difficult for parents to work, and that’s going to make it harder to reopen other aspects of the economy.

Stanton: You’re a professor of economics. From an economist’s viewpoint, how do you measure the costs and benefits of reopening schools?

Oster: It’s very, very hard. I just gave you the case for reopening, but I think there’s a case for staying closed, which is largely rooted in public health — and, in particular, concerns about health risks for staff, who are at a much higher risk than students — and the general sense that if schools open, there will be more movement around, and that may itself trigger more cases. That’s the cost side.

From an economist’s standpoint, we want to take this seriously. How large are the potential health risks? What does the evidence say? How large are the potential benefits in terms of, say, long-term impact on kids, as well as immediate impact on their parents and the economy? Think about how to weigh those things. Part of what makes this difficult — and part of why people find economists unpalatable in these discussions — is that ultimately all of those trade-offs are going to involve saying, “I’m willing to take this risk with someone’s health in order to have these other benefits.” That is a viscerally uncomfortable thing to say — and I also find that uncomfortable. I’m a person in addition to being an economist. But one of the things I try to remind people is that we make those calculations all the time. We allow people to drive their cars and to have swimming pools and do all kinds of stuff we know to be risky, and which — in the case of driving cars — have risks to other people. As a society, we allow some of those tradeoffs, even though we might not be thinking about them in exactly this way.

Stanton: You’ve written two books about data-based parenting. Part of your approach is being a parent and economist who’s willing to read the data and take calculated risks. But when it comes to reopening schools, it’s not just the risks for your child, it’s every child in town. Does that change the way you approach this conversation?

Oster: Yeah. So I think there’s actually two conversations we can have. One is the conversation policymakers are having. As they make choices, they are facing those tradeoffs, and ideally, they are thinking about those tradeoffs not from the standpoint of, “What is good for my kid,” but “What is good for the kids and the adults and the public health situation?” Absorbing all of those things. Some of what I’m saying here relies on the idea that we’re weighing those tradeoffs not just as parents.

Now, part of what’s odd is that I am also making all these choices as an individual. I’m thinking about what to do with my kid, both in terms of what is safe for them, but also what is safe for the broader world. It’s harder to think about than sleep-training [a baby], where either you sleep-train or you don’t, and the person experiencing that is you and all the people experiencing the repercussions are in your house.

Stanton: Now, it’s like you’re sleep-training a baby, but everyone in town is waking up throughout the night.

Oster: Exactly.

Stanton: Schools are the default childcare system for most kids ages 4–18. What does life in America look like come fall if schools don’t open up?

Oster: I’m not sure. I think it depends a lot on what we mean by “don’t open up.” The things I’ve seen districts talk about range from classes being totally online, to in-person two or three days a week, to “bring them all back and hope for the best.” New York City announced that kids are going to be in school between 1–3 days a week. For some families, those other days are going to be covered by parents. I think we’ll see more people, particularly women, slowing down their return to the labor force or moving to part-time. There will be some economy-wide implications around that, particularly for women. There are also families in which it is not an option to go part-time, whether financially or for some other reason. We’re going to see a bunch of kids who go to school, and then on the “off” days, go to home daycare or other childcare. There are very significant public health concerns around that. If your whole thing is, “I want the kids to be in a ‘pod’ in school, because that’s the safest thing,” and then on the other two or three days of the week, they’re in random other ‘pods’ of childcare or in a home daycare with an elderly caregiver and a bunch of kids rotating through, that’s actually substantially more risky. We haven’t really thought about what the alternatives are, and how those may be costly in the same kind of ways.

Stanton: You recently wrote a piece for the Atlantic on the quality of the data about the safety of schools reopening. How good is the data that we do have?

Oster: Terrible. Very bad. Let me caveat that: It is increasingly clear that the ways in which Covid impacts kids health-wise are fairly limited. Most kids don’t get especially sick. It’s not that they can’t get sick, but they tend to have mild infections and infection rates tend to be lower. That’s the piece where the data has come to some conclusion and has been reasonably good. But on the broader questions — When you open schools, how much transmission will there be? Will they be sources of infection? Are there going to be big clusters? — our data is very, very poor.

The data from Europe is pretty encouraging. They reopened schools. And, of course, they’ve seen cases of Covid, but for the most part, they haven’t seen schools as major vectors of infection. At the same time, the school situation in Europe is very different than in the U.S. They took many more precautions. The classrooms were socially distant. There was a lot of mask wearing. Also, Europe is a different place than America. So that data is helpful, but in a lot of ways, it’s hard to learn from. In the U.S., there are some settings we could learn from, like early childcare centers that have stayed open. I tried to collect a little bit of data about that, but actually our evidence is really poor. The way that states and official reports come out, it’s very difficult to use the data. Even the small amount of information they are putting out is actually not sufficient to make any decisions with, because it doesn't contain enough of the right pieces of data. It’s very bad.

Stanton: I imagine that there’ll be some concern about making policy decisions when the data we do have is questionable at best.

Oster: Yeah. What would be great is if states were doing a better job tracking childcare settings. I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the importance of summer camps, too. Early childcare centers are good to track, but it’s not exactly the same age range. A lot of places have opened summer camps; that’s a place you could track. But again, it’s not enough to just say — I’ve seen some things in the media like, “There was an outbreak. There were some cases of this at a camp.” That’s good to know. But what we would like to understand is, say there are 40 cases, how many kids were there? What precautions were they taking? What is happening in all the other camps? We don't just want to report on the one case where this happened.

Stanton: Do you know which state is planning to reopen its schools first?

Oster: So, Florida has said its schools will open in the first weeks of August. That’s three or four weeks from now. That’s crazy.

Stanton: Florida’s done a pretty miserable job of managing coronavirus.

Oster: Very bad.

Stanton: Are you concerned with Florida as the test case here — that they’ll come back ahead of most other states, and if things go poorly, it’ll deter schools elsewhere from reopening?

Oster: Yeah. I think it could go in directions. But based on where we are now, if Florida just opens the doors to schools and has everybody back in a normal way, just with a few masks, then a bunch of people are going to have Covid. And just to be clear, that may have nothing to do with the fact that they were in school, it’s just that a lot of people have Covid in Florida, and there will be some spread in school because there’ll be some spread everywhere. We’re gonna see that.

It’s very irresponsible to do this in the middle of an enormous outbreak without appropriate precautions. And I am worried that then people will say, ‘Look, we can’t reopen schools safely anywhere.’ Here in Rhode Island, we’re doing the most testing in the nation. The share of people testing positive is about one percent. At the moment, we have like 35 people with Covid in hospitals in the whole state. To say that we’re going to look at Florida and say, “They reopened the schools and look what happened. We shouldn't reopen them at the end of August.” [pause] It’s bad. This whole thing is really — it’s like there’s so little oversight and leadership, and so few resources. And the other piece that’s really frustrating is we’re telling places, “Open your schools! Open your schools!” Like, with what money? Schools don’t have the money to do what they’re supposed to in a basic setting, let alone in this moment.

Stanton: Yeah, the School Superintendents Association estimated that an average school district — something like 3,600 students, eight buildings and 300-some staff — would need $1.8 million just to meet basic reopening needs, like PPE or deep cleaning or —

Oster: Hand sanitizer! We’re doing this at universities, and I look at the bills and run some of this stuff at Brown. I look at the money we’re going to spend on disinfecting wipes. And it’s millions of dollars — on wipes! I mean, this is expensive for a highly funded Ivy League university. Forget about it for a rural school.

Stanton: In thinking about reopening schools, when you break it down into the component parts that are required for that to happen, it’s difficult to imagine figuring out all the moving parts in time. Kids riding school buses: how does that work? Cafeterias and school lunches?

Oster: And recess.

Stanton: Music classes, with kids singing aloud or breathing hot air through instruments?

Oster: Yeah, no singing.

Stanton: Or gym class. Or water fountains. I could go on and on. How do you think through all of that — the component parts of reopening schools?

Oster: One of the things I’ve been emphasizing is a need to decide some big-picture things — what we’re going to do — and then try to tackle these individually. I think what’s very overwhelming for people in these discussions is that we are sort of simultaneously discussing the question of, “Should we reopen, and in what broad sense?” And questions like, “What about the buses?” Really, those questions need to be sequenced. You need to say, we’re going to open two days a week, five days a week, not at all — whatever it is. Make some decision there, and then move on to these individual things. Until you have a basic plan, it is very hard for all the individual pieces to come together. If I’m thinking about buses, that is dependent on whether there are five days of buses or two days of buses or no buses. You need a basic framework and then you’ve just gotta tick through these as much as we can.

Stanton: When it comes to things like students wearing masks, we’ve all seen these viral videos of adults having hissy fits in Costco or Wal-Mart —

Oster: Or Trader Joe's.

Stanton: — after being denied entry or service because they refused to wear a mask. It’s easy to imagine an amplified trend of that this fall if and when a student or parent is denied entry into a public school unless they wear a mask. Given that some people are refusing to do even the most basic things you'd want them to do to combat coronavirus, what makes you confident that we will be able to do the more complicated and nuanced aspects of this that are needed for schools to open?

Oster: I wouldn't say I’m confident. I’m not confident. [Laughs] The thing that schools have that is different from some of these other cases is the ability to enforce. Look at something like vaccines. I’ve done a little bit of work on vaccination compliance in California. California has a pretty significant anti-vax population. And the vaccination rates were going down, down, down. Schools basically said, ‘You should be vaccinated, but if you write down on a piece of paper that you don’t feel like it, we’ll let you out of it.’ That was the standard policy. And then after the [2014-2015] Disneyland measles outbreak, California passed a very stringent vaccination law, which said basically, ‘If you don’t have your vaccine, you either don’t go to school, or we’ll call up a doctor and schedule all of your vaccines.’ And vaccination compliance rates went up immediately. If you tell people you can't enter a public school unless you get vaccinated, yes, a few people are going to be the vaccination equivalent of the guy in Trader Joe’s who refuses to wear a mask to get his Brussels sprouts.

What’s potentially more problematic is individual school districts. People have written to me: “What do you suggest I do? The school superintendent in my district thinks the coronavirus is a hoax.” Well, if that’s the case, then I don't see how you’re going to get people to wear masks, because it’s not a problem with the people; it’s a problem with the leadership. That’s the piece I’m more worried about.

Stanton: So let’s say that schools are mostly safe to reopen, but not perfect. Who should be making the cost-benefit calculus as to whether a school or district reopens? Teachers? Parents? Districts? States? The Trump administration?

Oster: Not last one. At the end of the day, this decision is going to need to be made by probably some combination of the of the state and the school administration. But one of the pieces that’s really missing from a lot of the discussion at this point is input from teachers. There’s a lot of teachers’ groups — unions, yes, but not just unions — who feel like basically these choices are being made for them. And they’re very nervous. I do see the perspective of the administrators, which is, ‘We’re trying to think about everybody, and we don't have time to fight.’ But there is a point to listening and hearing people’s concerns, and also trying to make teachers and staff understand the ways in which, hopefully, we will be protecting them. I’ve been pushing for routine [coronavirus] testing for teachers. Spread among teachers in a school is probably more important than spread from kids to teachers, based on what we know.

Stanton: Within the last couple of days, there have been reports that the White House is planning to release its own guidelines for school reopenings —

Oster: God only knows what that will involve.

Stanton: — and saying the CDC’s guidelines are too restrictive. The CDC director said it was “not the intent of the CDC to be used as a rationale to keep schools closed.” What are the risks of school reopenings getting politicized?

Oster: As these things get politicized, the ability to have a balanced discussion about it deteriorates. I’ve found that even in the last couple of days. I am basically more pro-school reopening than some people, but I’m trying very hard to sort of take a balanced view. Yes, it’s important for kids and the economy, but we need to be very careful to do it safely.

But I’m finding myself being like, “Oh my God. The person agreeing with me is Donald Trump. That’s not a comfortable place.” And they’ve taken like a totally different, less-nuanced approach — like we have to just reopen at all costs.

We really run the risk of drowning out balance by having this be “the people who want to reopen” vs. “the people who don’t want to reopen.” I think we could all agree that schools are important. I think our question is, how are we balancing these risks and benefits? But that’s not the president’s question.

Stanton: How concerned are you about the way that this whole experience will imprint on kids for the long term?

Oster: My big concerns really revolve around kids who are in lower-income circumstances, who are going to experience learning losses and the sort of trauma associated with just how difficult some pieces of these last few months have been. And kids who lost family members — there’s a lot going on there. Certainly, there’s some increased anxiety in kids; I suspect that is manageable, and probably people are feeling it more now than they will in the long term. But I think if we don't open, if we don’t have good schooling next year, things are going to be worse.

Stanton: Final question: What’s your advice to a parent who wants their child to return to school, but is really nervous and unsure about all of this?

Oster: The main thing I would say is this: If your kid is healthy and not immunocompromised, then the risks to them are really quite low. And if you are healthy and not immunocompromised and relatively young, the risk to you is also pretty low. We really don't have a lot of examples where kids are the index case in a household. In that sense, the data is reassuring.

But the other thing I would tell people is that even within your family, you have to make a choice you’re comfortable with. And if you feel like you are not comfortable with your kid going back to school, and you think you can manage it at home, that is a totally legitimate choice and one you should feel comfortable making.

Part of what’s hard about this is everybody’s managing this for the first time, and it is sort of like this macrocosm of other parenting things. It’s like, “How could you make that choice? What are you, afraid of the coronavirus?” Yeah! I’m afraid of the coronavirus! It should be OK to say, “Yes, I am uncomfortable. This does not work for my family.” Just like some of us are going to say, “You know, I’ve thought about this, and I think the best thing for my family is for my kids to go back to school.” I think we have to try to be nice to each other. That’s my message: Try to be nice to each other.

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