#I'm not looking for one of those picture generators for text messages to be clear

[jamiesfootball]

Six Sentence Sunday (and one emoji)

[Jamie]: Really? Did we have to make a new chat just for this?

[Isaac]: No, Dani's got the the right idea. We're dealing with a legend. We may need to coordinate our behaviour appropriately to make sure we don't scare him off to a different team

[Jan]: Which means until otherwise noted, you do not have the signal Jamie

[Jamie]: 🖕

[gazeofseer]

Your Dream Versus Reality

Yesterday the free reading I offered I saw how much there is a gap in between what people want, what awaits next for them and this had a calling in me that everyone was waiting..

No action, no blockages were there but the reading was quite floating and it was hard to ground them as if I am doing reading for the passing wind..

Even Divine alignment is important the what keeps you restless and numb? find out in today's general reading as I am doing this to ground few messages I felt for the collective energy here at my feed

Images from Pinterest.

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1st Picture

Song : Say Yes to Heaven by Lana del Rey 'I have got my eyes on you'

Dreams : The world in your head is happening somewhere on the basis of your expectation and you know disappointment gives birth to such things this blocks your will, desire and intent there is a great gap in here, what you intent is not what you are actually dreaming about I see you want to buy a book or journal 'But your expectations are playing out on, no someone should gift me so they will also feel the way I feel about my life and what is the point of writing when my life is so boring' expectations are like sharp edged cutters it can shape and can also kill the ideas of it.

You are having dreams about swimming lately, moving your hands somewhere, or someone at you in the alley of your way to home, you nerves are feeling cold you want to hug or hit someone badly, you are having a bad sleeping routine where you are constantly thinking, you are escaping and avoiding day to day chores and sailing away like nothing touches or passes through you anymore and those sighs are so exhausting to led tears of storms but not single drop of it falls down, so you gulp on it

Reality : Wow, you have cheerful people I see people hugging you and especially your mom oh she looks some great food, and your best friends you keep texting you, and the guy who wants to message you is still waiting for your response also the cat you meet on the way is looking at you, your reality is already made with agony small little hurts especially mockeries is what affects you mentally is creating a fallacy of fear to treated as a clown and someone for granted so you throwing tantrums and attitude as it it will fix them all, it won't..Find power in being vulnerable kiss your mom's forehead and know that she have tears too, call your friend and know that she was so worried about you, connect with new people and know things you had unknown about yourself, stop running away, the more you will, the more heavy it may feel.

'Missing on life is not the best defence skill, living it to the fullest is the best way to offend the dead'

Confirmation : You fell down today morning, your sandal is broke, there is a little scar you got recently, blue and yellow makes you happy, you are having so much of notifications, the cats, there is something special about the alley.

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2nd Picture

Song : Falling by Harry Styles What am I now? What am I now? What if I'm someone I don't want around?

Dreams : You have nightmares recently as if someone is dying, your dream speaks of fears you have accumulated all these years especially, fear of intimacy and touch, you might have dreams about running naked and then people are looking at you but all you do is try to hide under the open sky, this is a sign of losing vulnerability. There is so much of pain which is forming a gloomy head full of thoughts and visions like that, but if see through it clear you crave for love that is safe 'I see bad influence of friends like you are the one guilty for being a part of a bully gang kind of people you are'

'You love sitting in corners, on soft things white is your favourite color, you want love that comforts you and does not consumes you anymore is why you dream a lot about holding hands with your dream person under the moonlight but the nightmare begins when you feel it, the hand slips or you think the same hand raises to kill or hit you away, stop sleeping with open hair braid it.

Reality : Calm down, you do not have to cost yourself to form friendships and relationships anymore stop taking a toll on people's actions on your part of living anymore let them take responsibility, blaming is not necessary if you see the chance call them out, confront, you should not let people walk over you and expect them to give you hand for the same, understand this do not reflect their negative patterns on yourself before it becomes your belief take the action these are petty fights and argument but remember, this is the time to let yourself be vulnerable and brave if you miss here big things will start smudging over you.

Confirmation : Argued with someone in authority, had a argument this morning, resilience to their behaviour towards you, loud voices shuts your strength to speak, crying in the corners, wanting to scream, tolerance, naive, work on your throat and heart chakra it will help you find strength.

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3rd Picture

Song : ilomilo by Billie Eilish Told you not to worry But maybe that's a lie Honey, what's your hurry? Won't you stay inside?

Dreams : What a perfect person you are in your head ? bossing, controlling and taking over the places procrastinating a pending assignment and calling people out for their mistakes while missing your very owns, there is a skit running your mind that you play, pause, and resume accordingly as you want to plead away your egocentric beliefs and idea around being perfect then others.

Reality : You are grown in such a family for which status and image becomes something near to pride and life somewhat but that keeps you in the loop of your generational ideologies you live a joint group of family of society where they have constant check on you because you give them that piece of information, everyone says I know how this person he/she is always and never like that..

Kills your authentic life nothing bounds it, you have addiction somewhat which cools down your aches but the moment you are awake panic.

Confirmation : Fear of getting caught off guard, you are weird, you love sauce on rice and snacks in soups, there is beast in you while you are playing to be the beauty, you need balance in life, toxic culture growth, learn, and find a mid ground to live.

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Note : I hope this reading helps and resonates well as general reading is not completely relatable only few parts of it does also as per the energy of yours and guess what I am off for another week !

[lightsaberupmybutt]

Three’s a Crowd - Reader/Ben Solo/Poe Damerson (Modern AU)

alright so Ben/Kylo is a big ego kid in this, because of course. Also, Rey is ACTUALLY Lukes daughter in this, making them cousins. Ive fiddled with the plot okay sue me. 

Summary: Poe, Finn and their roommate have been living in a harmonious tenancy, but when Finn decides to move out for a year of travelling, the two are left with no option but to look elsewhere for their third body. Rey Skywalker, a friend of the group, proposes her cousin for the role. He's in a band, wears all black and all in all is somewhat of a social reject - but he's also all theyve got.  

“I think that one was actually somehow worse than last weeks” You tell Poe, as he pours himself a juice and settles down next to you on the sofa. You'd just finished showing around another possible roommate and you felt exhausted in every sense of the word. 

“How can he be worse than the neo nazi?” Poe shot you an unbelieving look and rolled his eyes, kicking his feet up onto the coffee table and knocking some of your papers in his wake. 

“Alex was a she, and they asked if they could hang their deer head in the front room” you grimaced even thinking about it, weren't all artsy college students supposed to be vegetarians anyway? why did you have to get saddled with the only blood thirsty one on campus. 

“Thats not so bad”

“Poe she showed me a picture of her taxidermied cat”

“Oh”

You had tried to find a polite way to stop her from passing you her phone, but you were too nice to make her feel uncomfortable, and now the image of the long dead tabby would remain behind your eyes for god knows how long. 

“was she hot?” You shook your head, causing Poe to sigh wistfully. 

“Not hot enough to cancel out her obsession with dead bodies anyway” you informed him, the hopeful look from his eyes gone. 

“Face it Poe, were doomed” You let your head fall into your hands, Poe letting out a laugh before wrapping his arm around your shoulder. 

“Hey we’ll get someone! who wouldn't want to live here?” You knew his question was rhetorical but when looking around the cleaner than usual flat, you had to admit it was missing something. Bare spaces on the walls from where Finn had taken down his pictures, the empty side of the kitchen counter that had once houses his overpriced coffees. You even missed picking up his empty cups after him, the room feeling like it had less character without them. It truly hadn't felt the same in the flat since Finn had left, and although Poe concealed it well, you could see it was getting to him too. Poe had, after all, known Finn first; Finn managing to get a very drunk and outspoken Poe out of a sticky situation he had found himself in when running across a local gang in a dive bar. The ‘first order’ as they so called themselves, had an infamous reputation around campus for being trouble makers and general doers of bad deeds. Ever since that night they had been an unstoppable duo, until they met you of course, and their duo became three. 

You loved Finn, and you knew told miss him like hell, but you also knew that Poe must be feeling that ten times over. 

“You wanna do something tonight?” You asked, changing the subject before his mind  drifted to where yours had. 

“what kind of something?” he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, 

“Gross” 

“hey I'm serious!”

“what about Razor Crest, they are open late, we could grab some drinks and meet up with some people” 

Razor crest was the only worth while bar in town; it was certainly nothing to write home about, but it played fairly decent music and it had a marginally less sticky floor than others. Additionally, your other friends lived just over from the humble saloon, making it the perfect watering hole for you guys. 

It didn't take much convincing before you had Poe out the door and ready to socialise. Upon arrival, he headed to the bar while you were waved over by Rey, who had already found a booth and was already at least a few drinks in. 

“Look, i think i have a solution to your roomie problemo” She told you, peeking over her straw, a gleam in her eye that made you feel not all too confident in her yet to be spoken plan. 

“Go on” you told her, cautiously. 

“My cousins back in town” She told you between gulps. 

“The weird one?” You asked, 

“Hes not weird, just ...eccentric” the last word was more of a question, but you could tell she was on a roll, 

“He's just joined one of the college bands and Auntie Leia says him and Uncle Han are butting heads” 

“ah cool, weve always wanted  live music in our own flat at 2 am” Poe injected, rejoining the table and placing a drink in front of you before taking a sip of his own. 

“hes not BAD at it, he just plays loud i think” She corrected him, “anyway, he's not a total twat, I'm sure he would be considerate of your sleep schedules” 

“didn't he try and stab you with a stick when you were five” you asked her, you'd heard stories of this cousin before and none of them were quite savoury, 

“that was ages ago! he's like way old now” she was starting to slur her words, but you had a feeling this was something Rey was quite set on. Rey was stubborn, and when she got something in mind she would move hell to make it happen; she was also your best friend, and someone you trusted the judgment off. Had she gotten you into some weird shit in the past? sure. 

Did you have any other options; nay on that. 

“Fine, get Han or Leia to bring him round at some point next week and one of us will give him a tour” You tell her, and she lets out a little happy shrill at her own personal win. Poe, not so much. 

“Speak for yourself, weirdo cousin can see himself around” he crosses his arms and pouts, you give him a little nudge. 

“Hey, maybe you'll be best mates” you offer, but when he shoots you a death stare you go back to your drink.

The family turmoil must have been more vicious than Rey had let in on; It was barely the next morning before you had a tall, intimidating male knocking on your door. 

“Hey!” you offered him, in as cheery a voice as your hung over self would allow.

He looked down at you from his towering height, but gave no verbal response. 

“You must be Ben?...”  He offered you the slightest nod you'd had ever seen in response. Okay so, not much of a talker, noted. 

You waved him in, shutting the door behind him. God, he looked even bigger inside? is that possible? Rey had failed to mention the sheer height on the boy. You'd seen pictures of her and her aunt and uncle, it seemed like Ben was a scientific and biological mystery. Like how did he get clothes to fit? did he have to shop somewhere special or

you were snapped out of your thoughts by a clearing of a throat. 

“So, how much is the rent” so he DID have a voice, 

You informed him automatically, still part dazed. 

“Ill be in by the weekend” he told you, and with a nod he moved past you, making his way back to the door.

“But wait .. y .. you haven't even seen your room yet?” You stumbled, dumbfound by the lack of foreplay. The previous people you had shown around were full of questions; they wanted to know the ins and outs of the place. Ben had seen all of the door way and the front room and he was already signing the lease. 

“See you then” he didn't stop, hand on the door knob as if you hadn't spoken.

“But i don't have your phone number” you don't know why that came to you first, but it was true. At no point had Rey offered you direct contact with Ben, probably assuming he would. It seemed reasonable, that you'd need his number before he moved in, didn't it? Poe was always texting you about random shit in the flat, arguably too much, but it seemed like the norm for people coexisting in such a small space. 

He turned back at you and gave you a confused look, 

“why would you need my number?”

“erm... to talk to you” your condescending tone not completely masked, 

“but ill be living here” he stated, which, he had you there. 

Before you could even think of a response  he was out the door.

True to his word, Ben had his things over by that very same weekend. Although it was unsurprising considering just how light he packed. In fact, other than his bass and musical equipment, you couldn't really think of anything he had actually brought with him to the flat. You got to meet his parents when they dropped him off, both of whom seemed leaps and bounds more conversational than their son. Ironically, you got Leia’s phone number before her sons; her telling you to message if you ever needed anything. It felt like an indirect jab at Ben, a ‘if he fucks up let me know’, but you digress. The tension between Ben and his dad was blatantly obvious, them sharing no words before he got back into the car and Ben into the house. He did give his mum a small hug goodbye though, and you thought you saw a small tear in her eye before she managed to wipe it away. 

Since his move in, Ben had kept painfully to himself. You barely saw him at all in those first days, just heard him through the walls the odd time he dropped something - or saw a plate or cup gone from their places in the kitchen. To be honest , it felt more like a paranormal haunting than a new roommate. Poe was vocal of his apprehension to the situation, sharing glances with you when you would both be in the living room and you'd see ben scurry by or passive aggressively texting you when his favourite cup had been used by someone who wasn't him. it was a relatively small issue, but Poe had blown it so out of proportion that you had ordered a new set of cups from Amazon and sent him the link, shutting him up for a while before he found something else to complain about.

it was the fifth day before you actually bumped into ben again. He was on the sofa with his base set up, twiddling with his amp. The sight surprised you so much you physically jumped back, causing him to look up. crap. act cool. act cool. 

“hey” you offered him

“hi” hi replied back, looking back down at his amp. 

right, yer. his space, give him his space. Just get your stuff and go back to your room. don't speak to him, leave him alone. he clearly wants to be left alone. 

“nice day isn't it” you wanted to cover your mouth, the words coming out against your will. Truthfully, you had no clue why you said it. You hadn't even looked at the weather this morning. Its just what people say right? 

“Erm” his eyes shot to the window and then back to yours,”no”

sure enough, it was pissing it down outside. The sky was actually comically grey and you'd have laughed if you werent so angry at yourself. You were unsure of what to do, and he was still looking at you, almost assessing you. His eyes were so serious and dark they felt like they were burning tiny holes into your skin. shit, you had to speak now right?

While regretting every single life decision that had brought you into this kitchen at this time, Poe sauntered into the room like your night in shining armour, ignoring Ben all together and coming straight over to you, placing a big arm around your shoulders. You saw Ben drop his head back down to this bass, and you used all your might to not let out a sigh of relief.

“Tonight, I'm taking you out” He offered, a cheeky gleam in his eye. 

“Are you now” 

“Razor crest, drinks and dancing, be there or be square” He lists off as if he's a paid promoter, causing you to let out a giggle. 

“Whos invited?” 

“just the gang” he said, causing you to shoot him an eye roll, knowing full well you ‘gang’ consisted of all of three people, yourself and Poe included in that number. 

but then you remembered, there was another person now, whether they liked it or not. Poe’s eyes followed yours to Ben and then back to meet yours again, you saw the realisation change to disgust, as he shook his head silently at you. 

you knew this look, the ‘don't you dare’ look, the ‘not in 1000 years’ look. But you couldn't help it, your lips were moving before you could stop them for the second time this morning. 

“Are you free tonight, Ben?’

The look of sheer betrayal on Poe's face made you wince, surely he'd understand right? he knew you well enough to know your verbal diarrhoea  problem. 

Ben didn't even look up, but he did let out a small laugh that felt quite antagonistic. 

“i dont go to Razor Crest” 

“i don't go to razor crest ugh” Poe mocked, causing Rey to let out a hysterical giggle, and you a sigh. 

You'd been out for all of three hours and you were all already feeling the effects of the alcohol. It was late and the bar was jam packed with students all raring to go. Poe had been making eyes at one particular red head  almost all night and you were half surprised he hadn't already made his move. Poe put out, it was a fact. You and Finn had at one time made a fridge chart for him, a gold star awarded every time he brought  girl home. Whether the goal was to make him feel proud of his conquests or embarrassed, you still weren't 100% sure, but after a month or so you had both lost count and given up. You told yourself it didn't bother you, that he was just a friend, and that he owed you nothing, but every time he left you at the bar for another girl something stung inside; something you pushed deep down but regrettably was still there none the less. 

Sure enough, as the night progressed, you and Rey ended up fending for it alone, and instead of feeling sorry for yourself you decided to do the responsible thing and drink more. 

After the third round of shots, Rey calls it in. 

“I think I'm gonna be sick” she tells you sheepishly, and you can't help but belly laugh in response. She starts to shuffle towards the door and you go to follow.

“Hey don't leave on my behalf” she tells you earnestly, but you wave her off. 

“Nah I've had my fill, I'm starting to forget which flat number i live at” you tell her, causing her to giggle this time. 

You both stumble out the bar, past the smokers and up the cobbled road towards her flat. She unlocks her door and lets herself in, not before giving you a drunken hug and a sloppy kiss on the cheek. 

As you ready yourself to make your way back to your own flat, you come back past the bar entrance; a particularly prominent cobble causes you to trip ever so slightly and gain a whoop from a group of boys who were passing round a box of marlboro straights. 

You suddenly realised just how dark it was and just how alone you were. Most nights you wouldn't stay out this late, and if you did, then you'd normally be walking back with finn. You let out a shiver, a mix of both the cold night air finally breaking through your drunken daze and a smidge of fear. The Razor Crests entrance lights were getting progressively further away, and although you know that you only had a maximum of a half mile walk back to your home, it felt like ample distance to get kidnapped or murdered in, most probably both. 

How many true crime stories started with a young drunk girl, scantily clad and out alone at night? You could hear the police reports now, which photo would they use? you prayed it would be a hot one, at the very least one after your thin brow phase. 

Being literally bumped back into reality, in almost a cruel humorous way, you felt yourself walk head first into a figure, their arms coming out to catch you as the sheer momentum bounced you back. 

Oh god, I'm dead. I'm literally going to die.  

“Hey, chill out” The voice made your heart beat both slow and race again, 

“Ben?!” you shrieked, voice hoarse through pure anticipation of your thought to be demise 

“Are you okay” he asked, and only then did you realise you were shaking like a leaf. 

“Im fine” you let out in a small voice, looking down at your shoes. You could feel the redness in your cheeks through pure embarrassment alone. This was not an ideal situation for him to see you in, and you kind of started to with that he had been a murderer, at least then you wouldn't have to deal with the second hand embarrassment in the morning. 

“What are you doing out here”

“why are you out alone” 

you both asked simultaneously,

“I was coming out for a smoke” He told you, flashing his tobacco pouch at you from inside his coat. His very warm looking coat, might you add. Another shiver ran down your body. 

“Im coming home from Razor Crest” you tell him, trying to be matter of fact but slurring your words just enough to spoil the show. 

“Yes obviously, but why are you alone” he shoots back in some what of a patronising tone, it wouldn't sit well with sober you and it definitely doesn't go down well with drunk you. 

“Im a big girl” 

“clearly” he makes, making extra sure to look you up and down from his towering distance above you, causing you to huff. 

“well i can take care of myself” 

“you shouldn't be out alone around here, its not safe” he ignores your response, looking you dead in the eye. 

You feel something inside you flutter, a warmth that you can't quite control. Okay, ben might be weird and a bit annoying it would seem, but he was handsome, thats for sure. The limited light danced off his strong features and dark shaggy mop of hair, making him look both dangerous and appealing. 

As if you were standing here mentally flirting with the idea of being with Res cousin; you made a mental note to punish yourself for the ludicrous thoughts in the morning. 

“Okay well I'm going home now” you tell him, attempting to push past him, but his large hand finds its way to your forearm and pulls you back,

“yes, you are, come on” If what he said before was patronising, he was now speaking to you like you were a dog he was walking. 

“go have your nicotine, ive got this one covered” you tell him with a mock salute, causing him to roll his eyes. He lets go of your arm and you take your win, trying to step confidently away without falling. You're proud of yourself for handling the situation when you realise he's following all  of 10 steps behind you, rolling a cigarette in his hands while holding a filter between his teeth. 

when he catches you looking, he nods down to his hands, 

“want one?” he mumbles between his lips, still holding the filter pride of place. 

“no thanks” you snap, picking up pace. 

Ben smirks at you, but you miss it, too focused on not embarrassing yourself and keeping your feet in line. 

[yuvon-writes-letters]

Good morning Yu, at least it's morning for me :)

I didn't really have enough energy to do..anything yesterday. I just sat there, slept, maybe I let Jake panic a little bit. And afterwards I am really sorry for that.

But I cannot change that now, can I? Jake wrote me, because he saw the picture the MWAF sent me (it's still weird to know that I am re-living this now. Just different.). And that I didn't reply wasn't the best either I guess. He texted me he got an unknown message; from a profile that only had golden pictures. Yeeeeah...

So the message said 'You are her second chance. Don't waste it.'

I just didn't have enough energy to reply at first. Then he called, and how he is, made me answer the phone 'forcefully'. I couldn't do much else than staring at the screen. Red eyes from crying a bit and quite a few bruises. And a mark where the bullet hit me. [A small raven is scribbled there]

Yes. A raven. I just can't anymore, it's so weird.

Seems like my golden friend couldn't reverse everything, but that's fine. I'm alive and that counts, right?

I only told Jake he shouldn't worry (of course he still did, I was dumb) and I'd text him this morning. That I did. I just didn't look at my phone again since, the first thing I did was writing this letter.

And for your tips, I will do that.

I am glad you and your Jake are talking again! I think that's good for both of you :)

And enough talking of me..That was more than enough drama here...

Happened anything with you? Any idea what you wanna do next? Any next steps you can take?

Lis🐾🔥

Lis,

Yeah. Sometimes, there are just those low energy days, especially after huge emotional things that just sap everything out of you. I'm an introvert, so I get them a lot specifically for socializing, but I do have more general low energy days too.

Wow, your entity is pretty straightforward. Honestly, that's sort of refreshing. They made it pretty much impossible for you to back out of telling Jake, too. I don't think you should put off telling Jake much longer. He'll be less upset if he hears about it from you than from some random unknown number with golden pictures.

And the sooner you tell him, the less upset he'll be. Trust me, I know.

You've still got bruises and a weird scar? Yeah, that kinda tracks. It's probably pretty hard to rewind time, plus release Jake from the stasis if the stasis isn't their doing. I'm not sure if you meant the red eyes from crying carried over from the last timeline too, but ultimately I don't think that exactly matters.

Weird that the scar doesn't look like a scar, though, but a raven. Either your entity was trying to cover up a scar so people wouldn't ask questions, the raven IS the scar, or there was some sort of symbolic/spiritual damage the entity couldn't heal that left a physical mark. ...Or maybe I'm just overthinking things.

Yeah... I'm glad we're talking again too. I hate holding onto grudges and things like that, but Jake needed to know that keeping things like that from me wasn't okay, so I sort of made myself hold onto it a bit.

Anyhow, nothing's really happened here. Jake suggested I check out the creepier rooms again, specifically the nicer looking one with the death symbols, and if anything starts happening I can run right back out. He pointed out that given the knife and the altar, if I'm meant to die, it isn't there.

I replied that it was pretty clear my entity didn't actually mind if I died, and that I've read enough of the Dresden Files to know that if something is too pretty or too good to be true (ie that room), it IS too good to be true, a monster is about to jump you, and you need to get the hell out of there.

I'm exaggerating, but that room is giving my DnD-er senses serious DNFW vibes. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but... yeah.

Hope your Jake takes the news well.

—Yuvon (I'd add Jake but he fell asleep while we were talking about this XD I need to have a talk with him about overworking)

(The letter tucks itself in the paper clip with the others.)

[casually-inlove]

Hello. In one of your responses, you wrote: "I also have things that I don't necessarily agree with." Can you tell us about it? I am very interested in your representation of this manhua. What do you think is written well in the story, and what is not? What would you add or remove? What is missing and what is too much in history? I would very much like to know your TianShan headcanon. I have too many "wants". I'm sorry if I was rude.

Dear anon, this was not rude at all. Indeed, you have many questions, so much as I try to be concise in my posts, this one is going to be very lengthy. Let me start with a little disclaimer. Everything below is entirely subjective. It is in no way meant to undermine anyone's enjoyment of the series, nor is it supposed to be an attack against the author. I value the comic's episodic nature and light-heartedness myself, otherwise, I would not have stuck around. It is also true that for the past half a year my interest in it waxes and wanes. Besides, I am well aware that certain groups of fans grow dissatisfied with the manhua direction. That said, I must state once again, OX has every right to write the story as they please, while the fans, no matter how displeased they may be, do not have the room to make demands of the author. So then, without further ado, some of my quibblings follow below. Beware of the wall-of-text.

1) The plot and characters get stagnant at times — these two go hand in hand. I suppose it is a prevalent gripe with 19 Days, and I am sure everyone has experienced it at least once. Some of it stems from the very way the story is told: the manhua timeline moves slowly in comparison with the readers' timeline. It works for depicting slow-burn relationships and subtle changes in the characters' outlooks. The problem is, more often than not, the latest chapters are inconsequential to either plot or character growth. They do not have the substance or the conflict to them. When OX had introduced the characters, while undoubtedly charming and loveable, they were practically walking tropes. Jian Yi, the bubbly airhead. ZZX, the stoic childhood friend. HT, Mr Popular. As time passed, OX did the clever (and the right) thing — they have subverted these stereotypes, by showing us that the characters are not who they appear to be. Thus, we learned that Jian Yi is a lonesome, affection deprived kid who on occasion dreads going back home because it's empty; his bright grin is there to hide his sadness.  We also learned that HT had a dysfunctional family and had been exposed to violence since a tender age; we also learned that he used to lead an empty life devoid of close interpersonal connections and passions, etc. I am not going to write about Mo because it is obvious and self-explanatory.

That sudden change in the perspective is what made those characters fascinating. A few of these developments co-occur with the addition of the “darker” mafia/gangster subplot. Indeed, the introduction of the criminal legacy theme (which is true for Jian Yi, He Tian, and Mo to an extent) allowed to show the wounds and troubles these characters had to face. It also dangled the prospect of an intriguing plot direction — a mafia-related story that is disguised as a school-themed slice-of-life. It was the underlying gangster plot-line that hooked me up; I kept asking myself: Are they connected (the Jian family, the He family)? Were they responsible for what happened with the Mo family restaurant? Will their backgrounds converge at some point? How does Jia Yi's kidnapping fit into all this? That sort of stuff. Alas, right now that subplot seems to be put on a backburner, which is a shame because this is the plot-line that leads to future events, such as Jian Yi's disappearance. The kidnapping is still going to happen and the threat looming over Jian Yi is still real, yet OX does very little to explain anything about it. Naturally, revealing everything at once is out of the question, but if it were me, I would have opted for unveiling bits and pieces now and then. To start with, it would have propelled the plot forward. Apart from that, it would have given the readers some food for thought and kept the intrigue fresh — they would have been cracking their heads to piece the puzzle. Finally, the characters' darker backgrounds provide the opportunity to give them development. For instance, how would Mo's view of He Tian change, if he learned that the latter had to face his warped father to save Mo (ch. 245 and further on)? Or how would Mo react, if he learned that He Tian lost his mother (presumably) due to his family shady dealings? Would it make him understand the other boy, relate to him on some level? Etc. 

The comedy and fun, light moments are precious, but I miss those moments when the manhua challenged my impression of the characters. Right now, the plot stagnates in the sense that we know that someone is threatening Jian Yi, but we aren't being given any clues or updates on the matter, as if the whole thing wasn't important. So, in response to your question “what would I have removed”, I would say that I would probably drop quite a few school-centric chapters in favour of “criminal” subplot. Just a bit: maybe show Mr Jian's messages, or Jian Yi's mother discussing the situation with him, or He Cheng receiving some reports on the situation.  

The character recent portrayal also disappoints me on occasion. They started as stereotypical manga characters, then they were given some depth, and now they are close to becoming yet another set of stereotypes. Yeah, I get that Mo is a tsundere and enamoured He Tian is an idiot in love — OX has been depicting them as such for the past year. It would be cool to take a look at other facets of their personalities now and then too. While it’s understandable that only a few weeks have passed since the beginning of the story, OX should remember that years have passed for the readers; keeping the audience engaged should be among their priorities.

I suppose I do have a bias here because as an adult I have little interest in all things school-related, and in general, I am not too fond of slice-of-life (I typically avoid reading it).19 Days attracted me because it had some universal themes, like dealing with past and legacy, finding your path, healing from the old scars, learning to handle difficult relationships within a family, and of course its low-key “mafia” subplot. It could be that OX truly doesn't have a meticulously chapter-to-chapter thought-out plot, hence why the manhua meanders at times, or it could have something to do with Mosspaca's internal agenda. Perhaps, it is the latter and the company somehow insists its artists stick with simplistic plots for the sake of keeping their target audience. Even so, there's a catch here, which was brought to the attention by @agapaic: the original reader audience has aged up already so to keep them hooked it would be wise of OX to “mature up” the comic as well. Not in the sense of 18+ content, but in the sense of introducing more mature subjects alongside the comedy and slice of life. Perhaps, they are not looking to keep the fans but to attract the new, younger ones. Who knows.

2) Drama and comedy imbalance. It is a pet peeve of mine which I consider to be one of the prominent manhua flaws: there is lots of slapstick comedy which ends up being out of place on occasion. I do realize the comic is humorous, however, there is no denying that OX introduced themes and topics that are no laughing matters. Jian Yi's and He Tian's loneliness, bullying and ostracizing, extortion racket, absentee parents, youth gangs and violence — just to name a few. There is a lot more, but you get the picture.

It is also obvious that three out of four main characters carry the remnants of childhood trauma with them, which directly affects their present selves. All the same, these topics practically fizzle out as soon as they get introduced, or get swept under the rug with comedy. Considering the humorous nature of the comic, it is given that dispersing some grimmer topics with playfulness will be used now and then. To my mind, however, OX relies on that abrupt drama-to-comedy switch too heavily, which makes the transition steep and often out of place. At times, it creates an impression that the author does not take these issues seriously. There have been numerous episodes when emotional moments were subverted and then dropped, without gaining climax and closure. For instance, the moment that sticks out to me the most is when He Tian attempted to tell Mo why he liked him. The visuals made it clear that it wasn't easy for He Tian to say out loud, yet OX never gave the intense moment the needed closure.

Mo brushed He Tian off and the latter just rolled with it, as if it never took him any courage to say those words, and then everything was swiftly engulfed by slapstick humour (the ball-slapping scene). A panel showing a glimpse of He Tian's face sinking to indicate he was somewhat let down by Mo's nonchalant response would have been appropriate — in fact, it would be natural for someone to get hurt when their confession is taken lightly. Likewise, I half-expected OX to show a bit more of He Tian's reaction towards Mo's story about his meeting with She Li. We got to see his expression darkening when he learned that She Li gave Mo the ear piercings, yet this time — mind you, when Mo suggested that She Li might have murdered someone — we never see He Tian react much. For the record, it was He Tian who asked She Li a rhetorical question about being able to take responsibility for taking a life.

Furthermore, I believe that someone romantically invested in another human being would have naturally shown more inquisitiveness upon hearing a story like that. Sure enough, some would say that Mo would not have liked talking about a traumatizing event, and that is fine as well — just show it. A single panel of He Tian being concerned and trying to inquire further and Mo refusing to talk would have been a very neat detail that could have potentially smoothed the transition into humour, while keeping our heroes in character.

3) Sometimes there is too much focus on the couples. The manhua has introduced several reoccurring supporting characters which are directly linked to our main quartet. For example, Mo had bonds before meeting our boys: his henchmen, the Buzzcut. Likewise, He Cheng was the one to raise He Tian; he shaped the boy's outlook on life.  These characters all played important roles in making our boys the people they are today, and yet we know so little of their bonds. Maybe the Buzzcut is unimportant in the larger scheme of things, He Cheng, however, is not only linked to He Tian, but he also plays a part in the underlying mafia/gangster subplot. It would have made sense if he was the one to shed some light on the situation with Jian Yi and He Tian's traumatic past. I would have loved to see our boys interact with other people as well — it would have served to show the variety of relationships out there: friendships, familial bonds, mutual respect between the leader and underlings, etc.

Anyway, I am going to stop now. I could name a few more, but this text is already more than 2000 words long. I have made some posts with my nitpicking before, so if you wish you can read them here.  

link & link 

Once again, this is all entirely subjective and it is not meant to be perceived as me saying that the manhua is poorly written and no one should enjoy it. Writing and creating compelling plots is a tough job, especially when it comes to long pieces. It also goes without saying that the author should keep their target audience and marketing goals in mind. 19 Days appeals to a great number of people of all ages and that means that OX succeeded in creating something compelling. Their writing is indeed flawed at times, but there is no way around it. It is impossible to excel both at being a great artist and a good writer. While there may be things that each of us would want to change (when comes to characters or the plot), it is still important to remember that it is not our creation. We can only decide whether to keep reading and enjoy what we get or move along. There is no point in attacking the author or generating constant pessimism.

[forkanna]

WARNING: I did tell you that Rise and Ai will have some views on gender and sexuality that I don't agree with. Well here they come in the next few chapters. Please take everything my characters say with a grain of salt; these are simply very realistic reactions and opinions, even if less than ideal.

[AO3] [WATTPAD]

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Why could she suddenly hear "Purity" playing in the background again?

"You… huh?" Rise finally managed. She had no idea how long it had taken her to say that much, even though it was practically nothing and she had already said that.

"Maybe… ugh. Now I'm embarrassed."

"What- now you're embarrassed?"

"Yes! Because clearly, it did something for me and it didn't do anything for you, so I'm all alone in caring about this, and I feel so stupid!"

Frantically waving her hands, Rise scooted a little closer as she hissed, "Wait, wait, slow down for a sec! I never said it didn't mean anything to me!"

"You did!" she sniffled, trying to recover from her emotional outburst.

"No, I said it wasn't the end of the world, and it's not that big a deal! But I… I'm not going to pretend I didn't feel anything at all. I did. You just seemed really upset about it, so I was… trying to let you know everything's okay."

Ai was glancing over at her occasionally now, clearly unsure of what she should do. Her mouth opened and closed a few times indecisively. "Ugh. I'm ridiculous. This is ridiculous, I don't know why we can't just be normal friends. What is wrong with me?"

"Um… can I ask you a question?"

"Might as well."

"Is this… Class S yuri, or… did you really…?"

They both looked at each other in shock for a moment. Rise was positive that they both were feeling the same thing, as well: the same sensation one gets standing at the edge of a deep precipice, fighting down vertigo and the unhealthy urge to throw oneself down. She couldn't help tracing the contours of Ai's stunningly beautiful face with her eyes, her proud chin and soft lips…

"O-of course it's just a Class S phase. I've never had a close friend, and everything got mixed up. It's probably similar for you, so we just… we have to work on not getting carried away. Right?"

"R-right! Yes, I…" Rise tried to get ahold of herself. This was too silly; they barely knew each other, all things considered. Brand new friends, fresh out of the shrinkwrap. So what was the use in going so crazy about them misreading signals and sending the wrong ones? They could sort this out.

"Great! Glad we settled that." Ai cleared her throat. "And I'm sorry for trying to blame you for everything."

"Oh, it's okay, we were both a little… y-yeah." Rise chanced a nervous giggle. "Sorry I smacked you."

"Hey, it's not like I didn't deserve it. You were right. Do… you want to…?"

When she didn't finish the thought, Rise prompted, "What?"

"Aiya? We, um, could stop by Aiya for a couple of beef bowls. O-or something." She grimaced. "I already feel like we wasted enough time fighting because I'm an oversensitive asshole."

Rise smiled and moved close enough to put her arm around her. "You're fine. And look; we're fine, too. Nobody's dying!"

"Yeah," Ai laughed very quietly. Rise could swear her cheeks were rosier, but that could easily have been from all the crying.

"I would love to go with you to Aiya. Like, we're friends! We should totally start hanging out like normal friends and stuff. Like, you could even come with me if I'm meeting up with Yuki-chan or Naoto-kun sometime."

For whatever reason, that made Ai stop smiling. But she cleared her throat and shook her head hard. "No. It's fine."

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to… offend, I ju-"

"Wait, wait. I meant… it's fine for you to ask me. I should hang out with other friends besides just you. This is normal. I was… kind of…"

Why did she look so embarrassed? "Go ahead."

"I was talking to myself. Stupid. Trying to reassure myself that normal people hang out in large groups, and it's not you trying to ditch me. I'm sorry."

"Awwww, no need to be sorry." She cuddled her closer, and felt Ai stiffen briefly before letting out a sigh. She could hear it, her ear was so close… "We'll figure this crap out, buddy!"

"Buddy," she snorted. "Don't go too crazy, Risette."

"And you're not a fan." They both laughed and they embraced — really, truly embraced this time, no holding back, no letting the awkwardness hold them back. And it was good. Rise still felt her heart beating a little faster, but that was definitely the kind of thing that could be ignored. And she would — until such time as it went away. Even if it didn't, she could take it; she was tougher than she looked.

"Okay, let's go before I get grosser," Ai half-laughed, half-hiccuped as she drew back. Rise could see she had been crying again — and was already trying to wipe the tears away before she realised what she was doing. "Wh-what?"

"Just… trying to help." She pulled back and got a handkerchief out of her bag instead, handing it to her. "Sorry. Here, this is probably better."

Nodding, she started dabbing at her eyes with one hand while the other fished out her compact. The sound of lamentation as she saw her mascara was loud, but she still just nodded and put the compact away. "Well, I did promise myself I'm going to be less vain. Let's go to Aiya."

"You got it! And it's on me!"

"Wha- no way, I will fight you for that check!"

"BRING IT!"

                                                    ~ o ~

Everything was fine. Rise had been a little worried about how the evening would turn out, given how anxious they both were after their odd brush with lesbianism. No such issues. They were still just getting to know each other, and what better way to do that than over a steaming bowl of rice and beef?

Ai was a pretty interesting girl. She really didn't seem the type to like daifuku — Rise liked them, too, the sticky red bean paste and rice dough was so much fun to chew. But they were so very traditional, and Ai was a thoroughly modern girl who revelled in trends. Between that, her love of Korean dramas and old city pop, retro games, and hatred of aromatherapy, it was interesting how much they had in common even though a few things they definitely didn't. She loved uncovering this more well-rounded picture of the girl she wanted in her life more and more.

The week wore on, and Rise tried to track Ai down whenever she could to help cement their growing bond. They even hung out with the others a few times, and though Kanji and Yosuke kept getting nervous when she would snap at them for making some off-colour comment, generally everything went well. And by much the same token, Rise hung out with Ai's friends — or what passed for them. Kou and Daisuke had seemingly decided to give her another chance as manager. Yu had told her before that she basically just sat in the corner doing her nails, but she was doing much better at actually engaging with the team, by all accounts.

Thursday was different. Ai was gone again, and didn't respond to texts. Eventually, she did get a message back in the evening…

EBI: Sorry I just needed a day

RISE: What's wrong? RISE: Anything I can do? ;-;

EBI: No I'm…

RISE: Ai-chan?

EBI: Listen it's really dumb but my mom called. EBI: And I just needed a little time to get out of my head

RISE: Oh you ditched again? RISE: You're going to get in trouble you know…

EBI: Listen I know you're going to lecture me but just save it EBI: Oh too late you sent yours before I could send mine

RISE: I'm sorry, I just don't want you to fail and get held back

EBI: Yeah I know. EBI: Thanks. :heart:

RISE: You could have told me and I'd ditch with you

EBI: What? No. I wouldn't want you to miss class because of me

RISE: Are you ditching tomorrow?

EBI: …probably

RISE: Where are we going?

EBI: Come on I told you that's not necessary. This is my damage and my weird thing and I have to face it EBI: And sometimes I need to be alone.

RISE: OKAYYYY okay

EBI: Fine. I'm probably going into Shinjuku this time

RISE: I'm really sorry for pushing RISE: Wait what? RISE: ALL THE WAY TO SHINJUKU?!

EBI: Hey I said I needed space and Okina isn't cutting it EBI: And I promise I'll be fine

RISE: ...when and where? Straight to Yasoinaba Station?

EBI: Rise… EBI: Alright I guess I can't stop you

RISE: Really?

EBI: Pain in the ass EBI: Yeah fine… 8AM don't be late or I'll leave without you.

RISE: YAAAAAAAAAAY~ RISE: We're gonna have the best time just you wait!

EBI: Uh huh EBI: Lol you're amazing.

RISE: Huh? Why?

EBI: Nevermind EBI: See you tomorrow.

RISE: Can't wait Ebi-chaaaaaaaaaaan~

EBI: UGH

And that was that. The pop star curled up in her bed with her big plush Jack Frost, grinning into the stuffing as she contemplated what the next day could bring.

                                                    ~ o ~

"What the hell are you wearing?"

"SHH!" Rise hissed at her as she strolled up to Ai on the train platform. "I'm incognito!"

"Uh huh. Can you take those big sunglasses off? It makes you look like a cartoon character."

Rise pouted as she pulled her shades off. At least most of her hair was still stuffed up into an oversized cap; no trademark pigtails to tip off Shinjuku residents that a famous idol had gone truant for the day. "Don't make fun of me. I'm not used to skipping."

"Weak. But I guess it still looks okay, it's just very… Parisian?"

"Whatever. You look cute, though."

"Oh, this?" Ai said airily, swishing out her long bohemian skirt around her heeled boots. Also seemingly suited to colder weather, but her top was a light blue babydoll tee; somehow she pulled it off, even though it was so much less ornate. Her bag was also a little simpler than usual. "I just rolled out of bed and was this fabulous."

"Right," she giggled, bumping her with her hip. The formerly-grumpy girl finally cracked a smile. "This is cute, but you usually have super pricey Prada or Anello or whatever."

"Hm? Yeah, I like this kind of bag. It is Anello — well, Legato Largo. It's more functional."

"Totally." The train pulled in just then, and Rise stepped forward to board once the doors opened, following Ai's lead. "Where are we off to?"

"Shinjuku."

"Well, I know that," she laughed. "But I mean, did you have anything in particular in mind? I mean, it's kind of… a rough neighbourhood, a little."

"Not if you stay out of Kabukicho. And we will," she reassured Rise with a raised hand. "Believe me, I'm even less interested in being jumped than you are."

"Why do you think I'm 'interested' in being jumped?!"

Ai snorted as she held onto a strap and the train took off. "I didn't say you were! Just… because I'm- nevermind, I just meant I don't have a death wish."

It didn't take them long to get to the bustling streets of Tokyo, and switch train lines to run up to Shinjuku. The same way Rise had been relieved to get to Okina, she was even more full of life now that they were really in a thriving metropolis again. So many sights and sounds! Grinning, she turned and grabbed Ai's hands, dragging her forward.

"H-hey, slow down!"

"You're the one that wanted to come here!" she giggled. "So why so slow?"

"Okay, okay, GOD." Taking a deep breath, she brushed down the front of her clothes needlessly, even though they had barely been rumpled, if at all. "Wherever you want. But I do want to stop in somewhere eventually."

"Where?" No response. So instead of dwelling, Rise just sang out, "Okaaay, then let's goooo!"

                                                    ~ o ~

The day was everything she had secretly been hoping for. They dipped in and out of lots of shops, buying one or two things but mostly browsing. Took advantage of the big city to grab foods that weren't readily available in a small town like Inaba. Stopped to speak to some of the more colourful inhabitants. Rise knew vaguely that a lot of gay men hung out there, but she didn't expect to see so many in flamboyant colours, openly acting so, so… feminine. It was both bizarre and exciting. Were there really this many people in the world who bucked societal norms so openly?

All along the way, Ai was becoming more and more comfortable with her. She still sniped and snarked but there was a playfulness to it that surpassed her previous efforts. They further eroded their anxieties about the accidental lip-lock and started to hold hands and pull each other over to see something instead of being horribly shy all the while. Progress was progress.

Finally, a little after they had enjoyed steaming bowls of udon for lunch, Ai dragged her down an alley unexpectedly. Rise asked if this was where she was finally going to get them "jumped", but Ai only laughed that off.

"No, but seriously, where are we going?"

"You'll see… okay… here."

"'Crossroads'? Okay, cool. Is it a karaoke bar?"

"Not… quite. But I promise we won't be long."

The interior was dimly lit, and everything seemed tinted red. There was a sort of warm atmosphere, combined with a raciness because of the low mood lighting. Rise was fascinated; she had been to a few more upscale places because of her work, and some of the venues she had performed at had bars inside, but this was the first standalone public house she had entered. Mostly because she was a couple of years too young to really be doing that…

"Hey, sugar. You lose your way?"

While Rise was still goggling at how deep the voice was that had come out of the kimono-clad woman behind the bar, Ai was smiling and turning fully in her direction, hands clasped so politely in front of her. "Not yet. But you did help me find it once."

The woman squinted for a moment, then gasped and pressed a hand to her chest. "Little Ebi-chan? Is that you?!"

Rise half-expected them to run together like in a movie and embrace, but they didn't; Ai just smiled wider and plopped herself down on one of the bar stools. "It's me, Ai. In the flesh."

"Whooo! I see that, wow. Well heck, you got no business in here; you're no performer."

"No, definitely not," she admitted with a laugh. "And you helped me see that, Escargot-san."

"PFFFFF," she scoffed very loudly, waving one of those meaty hands. Rise couldn't help thinking that this bar definitely didn't need a bouncer because the hostess herself was so strong-looking! "You'll call me Lala or you'll get outta here. Now, I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna serve you two a drop, since your little friend there doesn't look any older than you. Want a lime-and-tonic?"

"Sure. One for both of us."

"Oh! I…" Rise cleared her throat. "Can I have a cherry, if you don't mind?"

"Sweetie, for you? Two cherries." Rise giggled a little, pleased at the concession. While she made the drinks, she asked, "What brings you back to the neighbourhood? Haven't seen you for a couple of years."

"Oh, I heard from Mother again." Even while Lala was sighing, she passed over Ai's drink, and she stared down into its sparkling depths. "Had to get out of my head. I tried bumming around Okina yesterday, but it's just too…"

"It's the sticks, honey. Of course that's not gonna be enough of a distraction. You need flashing lights, dancing, drinking- well… not drinking," she said firmly, pointing at her. "And I'd better not hear you started trying to sneak booze at any of the other places around here, neither. Everybody knows everybody in this neighb-"

"Okay, okay, wow," Ai cackled before taking a sip. "Mm. I promise not to try to scam drinks from other bartenders."

Lana nodded firmly, satisfied for the time being. Then she turned to Rise. "What's your story, sugar? In the same club as your gal pal?"

"Huh? Oh, I… no, I haven't joined her club; they already have a manager."

For some reason, Ai looked worried about this. Why? They both knew for certain that she had no interest in the basketball club — even just being their manager like Ai was. But her answer seemed to satisfy. "Really? Well hell, that's quite a performance you're putting on, queen! All that contouring, and those are fabulous!"

She had gestured to her chest. While Rise was blushing and looking down, Ai cleared her throat and hastily said, "N-no, Lala, she… don't you know her? This is Risette! You've probably, um, probably seen her v-videos, or heard her songs?"

"Oh, it's Risette, is it?" Lala chuckled, waggling her fingers like she were casting a magic spell or sprinkling glitter. "I used to have a thing for Cher — don't even say it, I know, I know. Walking cliché. But I'm sure you can guess how well that went over; I gave that up eventually, settled on this." She fluffed her violet-hued hair… which shifted. A wig?

"No, I mean she's really Risette. Rise Kujikawa? Like, we're going to school together." Nothing. "The Quelorie Magic ads?"

Now Lala was blinking and looking at her again. "Hmm, really? The hair's not right." Hoping to help clear this up and move things along, Rise took her cap off, letting her pigtails fall. They were messier, but she was still more comfortable with them that way than with her hair down. "Ahhh, there it is! Well I'll be- you two ain't kidding, are ya? This would be a pretty weird prank if you were."

"Nope, it's me," Rise laughed awkwardly. Still a little thrown off by some of their word choices — what contouring? What performance, and why were her boobs being complimented?!

"And no, we're not in the same clubs. In fact, I don't think she knows much about my club at all."

The way those words were emphasised threw Rise off even more. Conversely, Lala's eyebrows shot up, and she looked between them for a moment… before gasping. "OH! Ohhhh, well then, that's fine. Just found a famous friend when you moved to the boonies!"

"Y-yeah," she finally sighed in relief. If Rise didn't know any better, she would swear her friend was sweating now; maybe that shine on her temples was just a trick of the light. "It's pretty wild; I mean, she grew up there, but I don't think anybody expected her to go back after she made it big."

"Nope," Rise said distantly.

"Sorry," she whispered. "I, um… I probably shouldn't tell your whole life story."

"It's fine! So, um, Lala, you have a wonderful bar here. Crazy good atmosphere!"

The bartender was still smiling at her and chuckling as one of the curtains rustled that led to the restrooms, Rise assumed. She barely glanced over. "Well, thank you much. Real lovely soul for an idol; they usually end up kinda bitter." Then she did turn to the side properly. "Hey, you'd better stop stinking up my back room, gaijin."

"Whaaaaat?" called out the lively redhead in the yellow dress. Not that her bobbed hair could possibly have been that vivid shade of crimson naturally — though she was an American, so it was entirely possible. Rise had a hard time telling Westerners apart, but there was no way someone that gaudy couldn't be from the States. "Come on, Lala-san! I have to get on my perfume, where else will I?"

Her Japanese was just quirky enough, both in terms of word usage and her bizarre accent, that the others laughed. "You're a riot, sweetie. But congrats, I guess you're part of Ai's club for real now."

"YES!" The woman saluted, other hand on her hip. Then she laughed. "What club is that? The Love Club?"

"Close enough. Erica, this is… Ai-chan?" Ai nodded. That was funny; Rise could have sworn they were old friends of some kind, and she forgot her name? "Ai, this is Erica… An… Andeshi…"

"Anderson," she provided in her normal accent. "Boy, it's weird using English again after all that time Nihongo-ing!"

"Uhhhh, right," Ai laughed, clearly having no idea what she was hearing.

"Hey! I'm Risette, and I want to be the star of your heart!"

That single line made the woman's huge brown eyes shoot even wider. "Whoooaaaa! Holy Schnikes, your English is really good, like you sound like a Yankee and shit!"

Stammering, she managed, "Sorry! I do not… understand…" Then she switched back to her native tongue and hissed, "I just learned that part for a show and like, a handful of other phrases; I'm really sorry."

"Ohhhh, it's okay," she laughed with a huge grin. Something about this woman instantly set Rise at ease; like she was almost as used to doing that as Rise herself. "Why did you learn that?"

"You missed it, honey," Lala laughed. "Risette here's a big idol. And yes, I have seen you strutting your stuff on the news; you're killing it, girl."

"Oh, thanks," she laughed, having already forgotten about that thread of conversation. "But yeah, that was one of the phrases I had to learn for my New York City concert — even though that's the only one I performed overseas. I also learned, 'Everybody having fun tonight?' and 'I love you all!' and a few more."

Erica laughed and applauded, as if she were performing a particularly impressive trick. "Amazing! You might know only a small English but you sound very good!" As the others chuckled again, she turned back to Ai. "So what did she mean? Lala-chan. You and me in the Love Club."

"O-oh, um…" She glanced at Rise, who arched her eyebrows at her. "Ugh. Come on, I'll tell you back here."

While Rise blinked, Ai led the redhead over to a booth in the corner. They were both roughly the same height, though Erica was taller by a hair. Figuring there wasn't much point in watching them whisper to each other, she turned back to smile at the host of the bar.

"Ai-chan didn't tell you why she brought you here, did she?"

"Nope," Rise offered lightly as she tugged one of the cherries out of her glass. "Just that she wanted me to see this place. Maybe you were some kind of tutor? Helped her pass some class? I don't know."

Lala laughed heartily as she wiped down the bar. "Close enough. You know, I'm honestly kind of relieved."

"Huh?"

"Back when I knew this little squirt, she didn't know which way was up. And I could tell she was heading for a fall; she lucked out with her parents, but she was going to throw herself so hard into her new life that she would forget who she was. But it looks like that straightened out eventually."

"Uh… huh," she said dubiously, turning to look at Ebihara again. Now those two were hugging tightly. She would hug some complete stranger and not her? Though the longer she looked…

Erica's expression was taut and pained. It looked like a couple of things they had talked about were less than fun.

"You've got a pretty special friend, Risette. Just go easy on her."

"I will, Escargot-san," she said right away, turning back so she could bow properly.

"Woweeee, everybody's so formal today," she chuckled as she turned to head into the back. But just then, footsteps approached, so she paused in her action to wait and see what happened.

"…and don't you be worried," Erica was saying, her arm around Ai's shoulders. "I wish I could stay and help but I have to go back to Chicago. And I promise, it will get better. Look at me, over thirty years, and I am very happy! And strong, like a wrestler! And beautiful!"

"And humble," Ai laughed, and the others laughed with her. Then she reached up to rest a hand on Erica's upper arm. "But seriously, I could never thank you enough. It's so… nice knowing I'm not alone. Even if I would have to move to the USA to be less alone in a literal sense."

"Oh, you're alone. I'm in a class all by myself — Boss always says this. He even loves my feet because I am so special." When the others exchanged curious glances, she cleared her throat and said, "No! I mean, he takes care of them, with nice shoes! Sneakers?"

"Ohhhhh," Rise said, laughing a little too much to try to hide her confusion and discomfort. She felt like Yukiko. "I was about to say, that seems a little over the line if he's your boss!"

"Yes! Though I am sure he would love them if I gave him a chance. Look!" She slammed her leg up on the bar, and Lala was already rolling her eyes in mild exasperation. "See? Beautiful!"

While Rise was politely examining the pedicure shown off by Erica's strappy sandals, she caught sight of Ai out of the corner of her eye — and noticed she was blushing hard. So either she was a candidate to love Erica's feet instead of this Boss character, or she was being powerfully reminded of something embarrassing. Rise tried to recall a hazy memory, some story about Yukiko and Chie… she only wished she could remember what it was.

                                                    To Be Continued…

[commodorecliche]

Hey Lindsay, I've read a few of your fics and I love the way you write :) I've been trying to write a story but i'm just stuck at the outline. So, I was wondering if you could, perhaps, make a little tutorial or a walk-through your process? I'd like to have my story points defined before I start writing but I don't have a structure that I can follow and I really love your style *-* It's okay if you don't feel like it though. I understand. Thank you in advance ^^

hey there friend! i’m not sure when you sent this ask today, i so hope you haven’t been waiting all day for my reply!! i just saw it.

first things first - thank you so much for your kind words about my writing. they really mean the world to me. and i am SO EXCITED to hear that you’re working on your own fic. that’s amazing!! 

now to the meat!

so i don’t know if i have specific or... super organized... process, per se, and i don’t really do a ‘strict’ outline, in the most traditional sense of the word (meaning i don’t have a document full of numbers and bullet points and such). and everyone’s process is going to be a little different, so bear in mind, what works for me might not work for you. but once you get the feel of writing your story, you’ll get a better sense of what your own writing process is. and you’ll figure out what works and doesn’t work for you. the way i do things might not work for you, but that’s totally okay, you’ll come into your own as you go along. and hey, maybe this will work for you! who knows!

but what i generally do when i start a new fic is:

1: i type out my rough and basic idea. i like to do this (and most of my outlining/drafting) in all caps, it helps keep me focused and helps me organize what i have ‘drafted’ and what i have properly written lol.

so for example, um, In the House We Remain, my first idea was jotted out like this, at the top of my document: SAPPY GHOST STORY, AZIRAPHALE BUYS A COTTAGE THAT CROWLEY USED TO OWN, CROWLEY DIED THERE. CROWLEY WAS AN AUTHOR AND HIS BOOKS ARE STILL IN THE HOUSE, WHICH IS HOW AZIRAPHALE GETS TO KNOW HIM.

that’s my base level idea, and i kept it at the top of the document.

2: from there, i start thinking about what are some MAJOR scenes i want to have happen. not the minute details, just the major scenes that were popping in and out of my head when i was daydreaming about the fic. these can be as minimal or as thorough as you like. for In the House We Remain, i had a pretty set idea on how i wanted the story to progress from start to finish, so i had a lot of scenes already in mind.

using the same fic as an example, these are some of the scene ideas i wrote in my fic document, underneath my top line idea: SCENES: - AZIRAPHALE SEES THE COTTAGE (ANATHEMA IS THE REAL ESTATE AGENT) AND HE LOVES IT. HE BUYS IT THAT DAY. (DEFINE THE LANDSCAPE AND HOW THE COTTAGE LOOKS, PROBABLY WANT A POND IN THE BACK, THAT COULD BE HOW CROWLEY WAS MURDERED. COTTAGE SHOULD BE COZY AND DREAMY, A LOVELY THING SET OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COUNTRYSIDE. LOOK UP PICS FOR REFERENCES.) - GUNNA HAVE TO MENTION SOMETHING ABOUT THE HOUSE THAT’LL CONNECT TO HOW CROWLEY DIED, SOME VISUAL INDICATORS OF HIS SPIRIT. MAYBE WATER STAINS ON THE FLOOR? LIKE DRIPPING WATER MIGHT POOL AROUND A WET PERSON’S FEET? AM I GOING WITH DROWNING AS CAUSE OF DEATH? DUNNO.***COME BACK TO THIS. - WHILE UNPACKING AZIRAPHALE SEES A BUNCH OF UNFAMILIAR BOOKS IN THE STUDY AND IS CURIOUS ABOUT THEM. - AZIRAPHALE TALKS TO ANATHEMA ABOUT THE BOOKS AND THE AUTHOR. LEARNS THAT CROWLEY IS THE AUTHOR, AND THAT HE OWNED AND DIED IN THE HOUSE MYSTERIOUSLY. - AZIRAPHALE READS THE BOOKS, LOVES THEM, FEELS A CONNECTION WITH CROWLEY. - AZIRAPHALE SOMEHOW CONNECTS WITH CROWLEY’S LINGERING SPIRIT IN THE HOUSE (DETAILS TO COME) - THEY START COMMUNICATING. CROWLEY REVEALS THAT HE WAS MURDERED - I WANT THIS TO BE AN EMOTIONAL SCENE, AZIRAPHALE VERY UPSET AND DISTURBED BY WHAT HE’S BEEN TOLD. ALSO AFRAID CAUSE HE’S MADE CONTACT W/ SOMEONE WHO’S VERY DEAD. MAYBE HE EVEN CALLS ANATHEMA AFTER TO REVEAL THE NATURE OF CROWLEY’S DEATH. - NEED SCENES OF AZIRAPHALE GROWING OLD IN THE HOUSE WITH CROWLEY’S GHOST, THEN EVENTUALLY DYING AND ACTUALLY UNITING WITH HIM. SAPPY, EMOTIONAL, THE WORKS. - AZIRAPHALE AND CROWLEY’S SPIRITS LINGER IN THE HOUSE, EVEN AS A NEW COUPLE MOVES IN.

those were my major scenes that i needed to write and that would make up most of my story.

3: flesh out the aforementioned scenes. break these scenes down individually and think about them, picture them like a movie in your head. when aziraphale sees the cottage, what’s happening around him? has he gotten out of the car? what is the weather like, is it a dreamy setting? should the wind be gently rustling the trees and his hair? is he in awe? does he take a moment to take in the exterior of the house. what does the house look like? picture that entire scene from start to finish, then jot down your thoughts. remember, you aren’t actually doing Proper Good Writing out. you’re just getting the ideas down and the draft ideas fleshed out. 4: once i have those scenes fleshed out (always typed in all caps for me lol), i start the actual ‘writing’ process. I drop the all-caps, start using proper grammar, and go into I’m Telling A Story Mode. I usually try to start writing at the beginning, because i tend to visualize my stories as movies that play in my head. i need to mentally see it progress as i write it, like i would do if i were watching a movie or reading a book. but sometimes that doesn’t happen - sometimes beginnings are the hardest part. if you struggle with the beginning, skip to the first most fleshed out scene you have, the one you feel most comfortable with, or whatever scene you feel REALLY ready to write. this writing doesn’t have to be perfect (it definitely won’t be lol). but you’ll start to get a feel for how you want to actually present this story and these scenes once they’re all finalized. you can edit it and make it prettier later, but for now, just get some words on the paper as if it were a story you were ready to tell. 5: once you have your main scenes fleshed out, you need to start making connections between them. stories need depth and background, so you need to be able to go “okay, i have aziraphale loving the house and buying it, then i need him to find the books in the study, how am I going to connect those two scenes?”

you can do this part either as you go along (example: you’ve written your first Major Scene, and you want to progress onto your next scene, so you write the connections first, then once you have the connection scenes done, you can then move on to the next Major Scene from your draft) OR you can get all your major drafted scenes written, and make your connections AFTER those scenes are done. you just gotta see what works for you. 

i prefer the first method, i try to write the major scenes and the connection scenes as i go along so that i have a natural flow. that also allows me to make some changes to a later Major Scene before i actually write it. (example: hm, i was gunna have Aziraphale do XYZ in the next scene, but with this connection, I think having him do ABC in that scene might work better).

if you don’t have a clear-cut idea yet for how to connect your scenes, go back to the all caps ‘drafting’ mode, where you’re just throwing ideas on the page in between, like: ‘AZIRAPHALE HAS JUST MOVED IN AND IS READY TO UNPACK, I NEED HIM TO BRING HIS BOOKS TO THE STUDY TO START UNPACKING THEM AND SHELVING THEM. THAT’S WHEN HE SHOULD NOTICE CROWLEY’S BOOKS THAT HAVE MYSTERIOUSLY APPEARED ON THE SHELVES.’ from there, go back into ‘proper writing’ mode when you’re ready, and flesh out that scene - what is aziraphale doing while he’s unpacking? are his boxes of books already in the study, or do i need him to have a reason to bring them into the study? maybe a mover accidentally placed one in the wrong room. this is your connector that will get you between scenes. 6: once you have all your scenes done in a proper first draft, go back, do re-writes, add new things that you think you might need, take out things that aren’t necessary, check your grammar and spelling, and do your final proofing. (read your story out loud too - it’s the easiest way to catch typos, errors, or weird phrasing)

7: don’t be afraid to write ANYWHERE. many of my ideas for scenes popped up in the middle of a work day, and every time that happens, i text myself. i send myself a text, all caps, with the scene idea, and i don’t open it until i’m ready to write. it helps me keep track of things. i did a lot of writing in notebooks, on post-it notes, wherever really. i even have googledocs installed on my phone so i could access a fic from anywhere if i had a sudden idea. and if i had something new to add to the document, i put it in all caps, so i would know i needed to address it later.

8: act things out! seriously, i’m not kidding. act your scenes out with yourself. especially dialogue scenes. have those dialogues with yourself, think about how you want dialogue to progress, and talk those ideas out in a way that sounds natural to you. that’ll help you write your dialogue later. (the number of times my husband has walked in on me running through some dialogue aloud......... goodness).

9: don’t be afraid of music :) maybe it’s silly, but i make a playlist for every fic i write because i like to listen to music to get me into the correct mood for what i’m writing. it helps me a LOT. maybe it won’t be as helpful for you, but always worth a try.

and that’s really.... the extent of my process. it’s a little messy, i know, and maybe it’s not the best advice. and i just hope that it at least a LITTLE bit of sense... but i hope it will at least be of some help to you! if you’re confused about anything, please don’t hesitate to message me. 

or if you want to chat one-on-one, that’s totally fine too. i 100% don’t mind if you send me a chat message. i’m always happy to help.

[ill-be-istj-if-no-one-else-is]

(1/) It's the dominant-confused Anon again. I'm in fact uncertain if I am a Si (ISFJ) or Ni-dom (INFJ) and would really love to hear your thoughts on it.

(2) I think I may have Si in my functional stack because:In general, I deal with unfamiliar situations by taking a few steps back, trying to get a gist of them, and then relate it to some similar event experienced in the past. I often procrastinate and work in bursts, since my energy is sporadic and my motivation comes and wanes a lot. Though, it's probably out of laziness, since I've found out that following methods and procedures can ensure the success of most of my enterprises.

(3) At work, I can get easily confused about which course of action to take. So I always need to envision the steps, the method I will use, and the result I would like to get. Then, and only then I will feel comfortable enough to take action. In general, I need a lot of mental preparation to get started on anything. However, I dislike planning in details. I'm more interested in having a general outline of what I'm going to do.

(4) I have serious difficulties with novelty in general and take great comfort in routines and what has been already experienced. You will rarely see me trying to engage in new things, be it a new field of work, a new place to discover or a new hobby, because to do so means uncertainty, possibility of failure or disappointment, which I tend to avoid, sometimes to unhealthy extremes.

(5) I can be incredibly fretful about the future and feel unprepared for all the things that are to come, which result in me being risk-averse and indecisive.I'm absolutely not sensory-aware and attentive to the environment. I've always been clumsy and accident prone, and need to learn to seriously slow down my mind in order to live in the present moment.

(6) However, I think I may have Ni because:I love exploring the potential in ideas. My mind always seems to "float" somewhere, in a near future, thinking of what I will do, whick task is the next, etc. The most effective way I found to engage with the external world is to scan it for interesting patterns and connections. Doing so renews me with a sense of optimism and freedom.

(7) I have a habit of thinking out loud and write my thoughts down on paper. This helps me in sorting through my scattered thoughts.I tend to talk and think in an abstract way rather than focusing on specifics. Also, I tend to rely a lot on metaphors and comparisons.

(8) I memorize things more easily when I get first a general overview of the subject at hand. It's also important that I know WHY I should learn it and how I could apply it in real life. Only then, do I feel comfortable diving in the details.

(9) I prefer to take my time when it comes to making decisions, looking first for a "feeling" of what the good decision is, then I dive in depth to see the pros and cons of each choice. Most of the time, I prefer to keep my options open in fear of missing out great opportunities. If two choices are presented to me, I would stall deciding until the last possible moment, prefering to take my time in examining the pros and cons of each choice, to prevent any regrettable consequence.

(10) I'm good at starting things. Finishing them; not so much. There are plenty of unfinished projects sitting in my to-do list. I suspect my lack of follow-through may be due to the fact I always start envisioning the finished product. In my mind, this already happened - the project has been already been done, which then makes me loose any motivation to work and actualize the idea.

(11) (Sorry, here's the rest of my message) I always need to start my days with clear objectives in mind, because I dislike being aimless. That said, this need to plan only happens for the NEAR future, not for the long term, like planning 6 months or 6 years ahead, because doing so is a real challenge. Though to be honest, I suspect this is also because I'm often fretful of the long term future in general, and thus tend unconsciously to avoid thinking of it.

(12) At work, I've been told I lacked follow-through and needed to pay more attention to details. At work, I yearn for stimulation and love using my intuition to solve problems, at the expanse of certain procedures which I find too stifling. I have a habit of keeping my focus on the bigger picture, but overlook a lot of details in the process, making mistakes. When I read, I tend to skim over the text to find the important informations.

13) And that's all. In your opinion, what is my dominant function; Ni or Si? Or maybe is it another function at work? I hope those are enough informations. For brevity's sake, I've taken the liberty to not include the infos related to the auxilliary and tertiary functions. Feel free to let me know if you need them, though!

------------------------

Going through the paragraphs:

2. You may very well have Si in your stack based on how you interact with the past, but procrastinating and working in bursts is often seen as a sign of high Ne, so I will be keeping that in mind.

3. Wanting to plan but only the big picture doesn’t seem like high Si, which does want to address details. This could fit with either high Ne or high Ni.

4. I’m not sure if I would attribute this to MBTI, particularly since a fear of failure seems to be the driver rather than discomfort with the unfamiliar. In particular a healthy Si user would usually be slow to switch jobs but often likes to explore low-pressure novelty like a new hobby or new place to discover. Depending on the severity of these feelings, this might be related to certain enneagram cores, or might be a sign of larger anxiety.

5. Both healthy Ni and Si are future-focused, but decisive. If anxiety is a factor (and I am not a mental health professional, if you think it might be, please go see one) then that could possibly explain it.

6. This fits better with high Ne. High Ni is not externally focused and high Ne is, and high Ni additionally tends not to move from one topic to another very quickly.

7. Not particularly indicative of any type

8. Also not particularly indicative of any type; most people want reasons for what they’re doing.

9. This is extremely in line with high Ne - most decisions attribute Ne procrastination to exactly this sort of fear of not choosing the best one.

10.  Also extremely in line with high Ne - intuition leads people to see the actualized thought as sufficient without needing to create it in the real world.

11. Fits more with my possible consideration of anxiety than with MBTI. It is worth noting that most people do some level of planning, and Ni/Si vs. Ne/Se differ more in the flexibility of said plans.

12. Fits with high Ne (lack of follow through) and intuition generally (difficulty with details).

Depending on whether you’re more confident in the axis (Ti-Fe) or whether you use feeling over thinking, either high Ti or high Fi is a possibility based on the above, but you show far, far more evidence for high Ne than for either Si or Ni.

[hangonimevolving]

The Iron String.

“Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.”

--Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self Reliance

Here we are. It's August. Five months plus since the start of the U.S. pandemic, lockdowns, and general disruption to society. Over 5.26 million confirmed cases in the United States alone to date, and 167,000 deaths. Our world around us has changed.

Much of the last two months of summer for me were spent in an agonizing holding pattern concerning the almighty School Question. What would happen in the fall? Would schools be reopening? If so, how would that look - would we just act like life is normal, or would there be modifications to help prevent transmission of the virus? If so, what on earth modifications are even possible for young children that are reasonable, and to which little kids can even feasibly adhere given their ages and needs? If it proves too difficult to reopen schools, what would be the plan? Would there be some sort of virtual learning program, and how would it differ from the shifts that happened this past spring, with teachers scrambling to educate themselves on distance-learning technologies and teleconferencing utilities in order to teach a room full of kindergartners on Zoom? Surely, with several months to ponder the possibilities and plan for vairous contingencies, schools would be more prepared with better, more structured and thought-out plans for fall, than what they had in the spring... right?

Er, wrong. WRONG. The short version of how this situation ended, at least in our geographic area, is that the public school system (and my own kids' small, family-owned private school) made the decision to reopen to face-to-face teaching by the middle of July. Late in the game, both also hastily threw together a virtual option for students - but the virtual option was tantamount to a continuation of the fly-by-night Zoom teaching that had been put into effect at the very start of the lockdown.

I for one was entirely disappointed and disgusted with this. With SO much time to plan, this is really the best that could be done?! Bruh, NAW. I wasn't having it.

So blah blah blah, hem, haw, blah. Research, research, research. Reading, millions of review websites, forums, blogs, legal defense funds, Department of Education website, nonprofits, clubs and associations and collectives.... a phone call with an old friend from high school with over 10+ years experience, and a series of long and informative text message exchanges with two other friends, one a veteran with over 15+ years with three now-adult children, another a mom about my age of children about my kids' ages, facing this situation just like me and working through options just like me...... and, after all this, I knew exactly what I would be doing. What WE would be doing, in our family.

By June 13, it was official, and it was all systems go.

Ladies and gentlemen.... I am officially a homeschooling mom. Like, a LEGIT homeschooling mom. As in, I am doing a 100% parent-led homeschooling curriculum plan, FULL-time, with my two children.

I won't lie. In a million, bajillion, baskillion years, I don't think I ever intended to find myself in this place. I'll also say with honesty, that I have admired from afar the rare few homeschooling families that I somewhat know, and the flexibility and creativity with which they approach academics and learning in general.

I have also been increasingly dissatisfied and frustrated with the academic progress of my own children... Dr. Spouse and I have had long discussions where we've tried to speculate on the things that we haven't been satisfied about in our kids' schooling. The list has been long. But even as we were able to identify specific shortcomings in our children's particular educational environment, I've felt a rising sensation of control-freakism and bootstrapism in my chest, that has whispered to my conscience: "if you feel something is wrong here, don't sit around waiting for someone else to fix it. And, when you articulate your concerns in a constructive, non-threatening, but clear way, and people have smiled and nodded and claimed they'd follow up on those items, but in the end, they havent taken those concerns seriously - then it is time to man the f&* up and TAKE CARE OF THAT SHIT yourself. Because YOU are the only one you can trust. YOU are the only one who can do it right, in your own view. So either do it, or stop feeling dissatisfied about it."

So here it is. Our original plan, prior to the pandemic, was to switch the kids to the local (A-rated) public elementary school for this coming year. We had hoped that a change in environment, teachers, and the accountability of being a reputed school in the public school system, would mean more organization and oversight, and that hopefully this would translate into better academic progress in our kids.... but the pandemic changed all our plans, and besides, I don't know if more "in theory..." type things ever really translate to palpable, effective change at the individual level (at least not for me anyway, I never have such luck).

Rather than seeing this weird, surreal circumstance has having forced me into the homeschooling decision (which, maybe it sort of did) - - for reasons I can't explain, I dove headlong into it, with great excitement and hope. I can't really figure out how I have been as enthusiastic or jazzed about it as I have been - - but lookie, I'm jazzed! Seriously. From the moment we made the decision to do it, I felt like a 1,000-lb. weight was lifted from my chest. No more feeling anxious or on the edge of my seat about decisions that are being made outside of my control. In this matter - I stopped waiting for other poeple, and I TOOK CONTROL. For my own kids, anyway.

I'll write a detailed post at a later time about some of the particulars of the homeschooling plan that I am using, the research I did, the materials I ended up purchasing, the knowledge and insight I required while in the preparations phase, and other stuff. But, for now - I've droned on long enough. I'm gonna share some pictures now.

To bring it back to the start of this post - - with this homeschooling plan, I have found my iron string. I literally felt this resounding, reverberating sense of CONFIDENCE the moment that I decided to do this, and effectively brought Dr. Spouse on board. NEVER, in my life, have I felt so right about a decision. I feel a tremendous inner harmony about it - like I've come home to myself, if that's not too weird to say.

Sooo.... here are pictures of Week 1 of our great homeschooling adventure.

Obligatory "First Day of School" picture....

Our newly-tweaked home office - - now serving as our homeschooling classroom!

Particularly proud of our new training clock, our large-format calendar, and the "today's date/weather" board that I made with vinyl die-cuts from my Cricut, some chalkboard-surface Contact paper, and some rainbow sparkly duct tape :)

Spanish class: kids use a fun new app for two class sessions a week

Dey working on simple addition/subtraction with Teddy Bear Counters

Dey slaying his worksheets in Handwriting class - we're doing both print letters and cursive

Vev learning to tell time, and to recognize and convey the time in both analog and digital notation

After reading several history textbook chapters on the origins, diets, nomadic lifestyles, housing practices, and modes of dress among prehistoric humankind - we did a "History in action" lesson where the kids were given 10 minutes to construct a shelter out of a "mammoth skin" (blanket), "two tree branches" (pool noodles), and several large "rocks" (throw pillows). They didn't need the full 10 minutes :)

Vev enjoying one of his first chapter books - an "I Can Read" reader during a Language Arts learning block

After a week reading science textbook chapters about the earth's atmosphere, we conducted science experiments to better understand the properties of air! The boys had a "paper race" using construction paper and pieces of cardboard as fans, to race two paper structures across a finish line. They discussed their expectations and each articulated a hypothesis about which paper would travel faster, prior to conducting the experiment; afterwards, we determined whether our "guesses" (hypothesis) were accepted or rejected :)

This is just a smattering. There's been so much, and in only four days. I can't believe how much we are able to learn and cover in our homeschooling time. And the crazy thing is, we are able to do Phonics and Grammar, Reading, History, Read-aloud time, Math, Spanish, Handwriting, and Science in only about 3 hours per day. We integrate things like art, movement, current events, and practical life skills into pretty much everything we do, but on occasion we are even able to do a discrete, planned-out period of time for these topics too.

The iron string is taut, and secured in its proper place. We are ready for it to guide us through this school year.

[sstarkiid]

do all of the lovesick asks bitch. expose urself

wow, ok.

read more thing bc this is long and embarrassing

1: Do you have a current crush?

Two actually but who's counting

2: How long has your crush lasted?

Uhh a few months n then the other one is weird i can't answer that lmao

3: 5 songs that you have associated with your crush?

I'm……..not that sappy I can give u like one

Ice prince : Runaways by ATL

Space boy : Stars by Fun.

4: Do you think they've ever liked you back?

I mean. It's very likely.

5: Will you ever reveal your feelings to them?

Yea probably

6: What’s holding you back from making a move?

It's not that I haven't made a move but like. I am Fear.

7: Are you frightened by your feelings for them?

A lil

8: Do you think they could ever love you?

Maybe???? but i’m kind of an optimist

9: Do you love them?

Lol next question

10: Have you ever had a crush on someone you really shouldn't?

DEFINITELY. I CAN'T NAME ANYONE SPECIFICALLY BUT THE ANSWER IS PROBABLY YES.

11: Do you think anyone currently has a crush on you

...IT'S VERY LIKELY.

12: Ever had a crush on what you thought was a platonic friend?

Hi Jared

13: What would you do if your crush revealed they felt the same?

I'd probably need a second to process it but like probably hug ‘em idfk

14: Has your crush ever hurt you?

Nope!!!!

15: Have they made you cry by breaking your heart?

Nope!!!!!!!!!

16: Why do you like them?

Ice prince is fun to tease idk we go back n forth a lot but he's also a softie n listen he's dramatic enough to keep up w/ me

Space boy tells u like it is and he seems kinda scary or not,, nice at first maybe but he's actually also soft !!

They're also both hot as hell oh my god

17: Do you think you'll ever get over them?

I mean. If I had to I would but...  I don't WANT TO.

18: Do you have 1 specific song that is strongly associated with a certain memory or interaction with them?

Mmm not really?? Not yet?? It'll happen dw

19: The moment you knew you had feelings for them?

We both got scared of the firework finale on the 4th and I squeaked and he like held onto me n it was really funny n cute n I was just like “ok this is a thing now great”

Uhh I was doing the typical girl thing where I send screenshots of a conversation to a friend only the friend is his sister so………..i blame her it’s literally all her fault

20: What would they have to do for you to stop liking them?

Murder someone probably

Or y'know

Something equally as shitty n illegal

21: Have you ever fallen asleep with them?

Yea. Both. Napping is cool.

22: Held their hand?

Mmhm! Both but like that's not that weird

23: Kissed their cheek?

Yup. Both.

24: Kissed them on the lips?

Yeah. Both. Actually.

25: Gone down on them/ they've gone down on you?

N O P E

26: Had sex with them?

Nuh-uh.

27: Where on your body have they touched you?

This is…. A weird question I don't like it

28: Does their touch set your skin on fire?

Fire.

Ice prince.

Fire.

HM.

29: Do you get butterflies when they touch you?

Ok maybe

30: Do they make you smile like no one else can?

Y e a

31: Does their presence calm you?

Mmhmm.

32: Does it make you go crazy being around them and not 'being with' them?

Not… until recently but---

33: Are you friends with your crush?

Both of ‘em!

34: Have you always been friends?

Uhh I guess w/ Ice prince yes but not the other one

35: Last thing they messaged you about?

One was abt a dog, other one was abt coming over to hang out

36: Best phone call with them?

Hands down any call when I've been driving so I make my brother talk to them instead those are always fun

37: Last time you hung out with them?

I. I literally started answering this in one of their houses.

38: Ever been drunk together?

I DON'T DRINK

39: Fondest memory of them?

The fireworks show n then probs a few days ago when we just drove around n talked abt stuff

40: Ever made a mistake with them?

Mistake??????????? i don’t make those

41: Regretted not making a move?

Every day of my life but also I have literally kissed both of them so which is the truth

42: If you could go back in time to that moment, what would you do?

Nothing ‘cause I'm a big baby

43: Do you think that would change your current relationship with them?

Nope

44: If you could get a 100% honest answer from them, what 3 questions would you ask?

ok first FUCK THIS QUESTION

Ice prince

Do u. Actually wanna date or am I just the most gullible person ever

.......................so how do you feel about polyamory

Do u actually hate the puns or do u secretly enjoy them I need to know.

Space boy

Are you aware that you can literally text me for anything at any time?? Bc u should be

Were you ever afraid to talk to me?

Will you promise to talk to me before doing stupid shit so that at the very least i can tell u that ur an idiot,,, but like. affectionately.

45: Did they wish you Happy Birthday on your birthday?

My birthday is in like another month and I didn't know either of them really last year so they better

46: Have they ever tried to make a move?

?????????

Idk tbh

47: If so why did you miss it?

‘Cause I'm clueless as hell

48: Have they ever been infatuated with a friend of yours?

Don't think so

49: Are they single?

Lol yeah they're definitely single

50: Where were you when you felt the most for them?

IT'S ALWAYS WHEN THEY'RE SLEEPING they both just look so cute n peaceful n I get all mushy n wanna protect them but I'm weak as hell so

51: Any specific place you associate with them?

Mmmm not really

52: Films that make you think about them?

Disney films in general

Marvel movies for Ice prince bc NERD

53: Have you picked up a habit because of them?

I don't think so but it's also not unlikely

54: What was your first impression of them?

Ice prince seemed antisocial and idk abt space boy we were like 5 yrs old technically so who knows man

55: Has it altered since then?

LMAO YES

56: Do you remember the first thing you talked about?

Probably musicals bc I can't shut up ever and he was confused

And uhhh no unless u mean like when we started hanging out bc it was candy

57: First time they touched you?

COLD

HE DID IT TO SPITE ME AND IT WAS FUNNY BUT IT WAS SO COLD HOW

And I'm 99% certain I made him high five me before we ever spoke bc I'm a nuisance

58: Have they ever lied to you?

Not that I know of

59: What are their eyes like?

Ohhhhh my GOD

really......clear?? that’s not like. a good way to describe em but u know when u look up at the sky and it’s like. wow there are no clouds!! n then u feel the breeze and it’s kinda cold but it’s not unpleasant it’s?? p nice??? like. that.

cool as FRICK like what the hell i’m actually jealous they’re a rly pretty nice shade n then suddenly it’s!!! different!!!! and it’s like!!!!!!!!!!!!! a surprise a v good surprise which is fitting u just gotta look a lil and he’s full of lil surprises

60: What are you most attracted to about them?

well,, for one they’re both hot as hell, so. that. in general.

if u know anything abt me i’m a sucker for pretty eyes

i also like the “soft but pretends to not be” because i think it’s cute they’re also really good to cuddle with

61: Can you see a future with them?

well i can’t see one without ‘em so something’s gotta give here right?

62: Have you sabotaged things between you two?

i freaking hope not

63: Why? What were you afraid of achieving? Love? Happiness? Content? Disappointment?

why does this thing assume you said yes to the above question that’s kinda rude

64: Could they make you happy?

already do

65: Do you dream about them?

if we’re friends and you haven’t appeared in one of my dreams and done smth weird or random are we actually friends??

side note does daydreaming count LOL

66: What's something that only you two do?

i don’t think i “gently bully” anyone nearly as much as i do ice prince also the only one who actually can cuddle w/ me properly in the summer i’m js

uuuummmm go on random drives in the middle of the night so tht zoe can make out w/ ppl instead of texting our sorry asses

67: Does liking them make you feel vulnerable?

you. have. no idea.

68: Have they ever given you anything?

food has definitely been exchanged and shared. i’ve stolen sweaters. uh.

69: Have they ever used you?

.........not that i’m aware of??

70: Have they abused and manipulated you due to your feelings for them?

nO WHAT TH E

71: Have you ever spent quite literally all day and night thinking about them?

that’s......a bit much i might be pathetic and somewhat desperate but like i do kinda have a life

72: Have you ever accidentally nearly walked into moving traffic cause you were thinking about them?

no but i’ve walked into walls because i was tired and thinking abt stuff so that’s a thing i probably have done

73: Ever worn anything knowing it would draw their attention to you?

YEAH LMAO I DO THAT ALL THE TIME IN GENERAL i like attention fight me

74: Have they ever made you feel so safe and content everything else slips away?

y e ah

75: Ever held you so close you could feel their heartbeat?

mmhmm

76: Truthfully do you think you belong together right now?

[taylor swift’s you belong with me playing in the distance]

77: Have they ever seen you completely vulnerable?

um. no.

78: Do you trust them?

i would trust all of my friends with my life

79: When you see them what feelings are strongest?

i just get?? really happy n i turn into a little kid i swear to god how does he put up with me

n he makes me feel really calm n content n just. good. u know.

80: Are they in love or interested in someone else?

d e a r l o r d i h o p e n o t

81: If they asked you to kiss them, would you?

in a heartbeat

82: Will they be in your life a year from now?

they BETTER BE

83: A moment where you so nearly gave into your feelings for them and did something about it?

i have literally kissed both of them and not because of dares what kind of,,

84: Do they know you have feelings for them?

i’m not exactly,,, subtle

85: Do you have a favourite picture with them?

no but i have favorite pictures of them

86: Your ideal date with them?

hey. concept. a double date. but like. instead of 2 couples it’s just me w/ both of them wow

87: What's their name?

it’s rly obvious that i’m talking about porter and connor fuck you

88: Have you ever been in their room?

i’ve been in connor’s but porter n i mostly chill other places

89: Shared a secret with them?

yeah but it’s not a secret if i tell the internet now is it?

90: Have they ever made you a promise and broken it?

don’t think so

91: Have they ever disappointed you?

nope!

92: Whats the most problematic thing about them, which you overlook due to your feelings for them?

uh. idk. porter’s kinda closed off to other people at first i guess that could be problematic. i’m patient w/ that shit so it doesn’t bug me as much idk

general relationships or lack thereof w/ other ppl tbh for both of them i think 

93: Have you ever had to compete for their affection?

no

94: For as long as they're in your life could you handle just being friends?

that’s what i do with p much everyone else but another way to approach this is if u couldn’t be together would u shut them out and the answer is no?? bc that’s kinda shitty

so yes

95: Ever looked for a sign to make a move?

every?? single second of every day but once again i have literally kissed both of them uh

96: What's standing in your way from being with them?

general anxiety

a single conversation

...lmao

97: Would you let them use you for sex?

this implies that,, they don’t care abt me and only themselves n they’re not really?? like that so?? it wouldn’t happen like that??

realistically knowing myself i wanna say no but i probably would which is Not Good i know

98: Ever had a bad feeling about them that's screaming for you to get out while you still can?

no. like. literally the opposite. wtf

99: If you could go back in time, would you avoid ever meeting them?

NEVER

100: You have 1 wish about them, what would you wish for?

that porter finds someone who makes him feel warm n fuzzy on the inside even if it’s not me

n for connor that one day everything is stable and everything is ok

anyway hey jared U SUCK

[andymieintus]

Oh my God 4 TIMES? Talk about all of them! Or just your favorite parts I'm sorry if you don't want to

omg okay

im gonna put this under a read more because theres four different stories and theyre quite long but basically this is the story of my budding acquaintanceship with andy mientus

just stick with me here because they keep getting better with each time

so the first time i met him was at the bway flea market in september and it was just a quick lil meet and greet thing with him and michael and tbh michael was SO NICE and i was SO NERVOUS that i don’t even think i made eye contact with andy once

then the second time, this is where it starts getting wild (this was less than a month ago wtf)

so i went to go see wicked in orlando and after the show i walked around the building to find the stagedoor. and once i found it i went back to my car, which was in a parking garage about a five-minute walk away. once i got there, i grabbed the gift i had gotten for andy (i don’t wanna say what it was because yall will think im ridiculous for buying this for him but lets just say it was a gift he had expressed wanting and it was vvvvv expensive) and then i walked back to the theater. so i was walking to the stagedoor when i saw the group of people that had been there earlier walking towards me (away from stagedoor) so i was like “oh no did i miss him oh no oh no oh no” but then i looked behind the group of people and ANDY WAS RIGHT THERE WALKING TOWARDS ME

so naturally im like !!!!!!! and hes just texting and walking and im like do i approach him?? do i not approach him??? but i wasn’t about to let my anxiety stop me from meeting him so i was like “oh! andy! hi!” and he looked up at me and he’s real cute and he was like “oh, hi!” and then he walked over to me

and i gave him his gift and he was super gracious about it it was super sweet and then i asked how he was and he was like “i’m good, i’m feeling a bit under the weather right now” and i told him to feel better ya know things like that and we got a picture it was cute

and so it was kinda just the right moment for us to part ways so we were about to do that when it turns out we were going in the same direction. i was going back to the parking garage and he was gonna wait on his uber and so we ended up walking side by side

so he was like “so how did u like the show?” and i was like wWELL because i had missed the first act due to forgetting my tickets at home and having to go back and get them because im a dumbass and i told him this and he goes “OH NO and most of my parts are in act one!!!!” and he was laughing and my heart melted i just love him and i was like IM SORRY but u were still great in march of witch hunters and everything and he was like awww thnx

and so then we said our goodbyes and he thanked me again for the gift and he was like “well hopefully you’ll get to see the show again sometime” and i was like “oh yeah definitely” knowing full well that i already had tickets for four more dates in tampa

so then we parted ways and he was just standing there and i was standing at a crosswalk like twenty feet away and i had to wait for it to say i could go and i just. we made eye contact it was awkward but then it said i could walk and i RAN

but IT GETS BETTER so i went back to my car and tweeted him thanking him for stopping and everything and then i started driving home and i called my best friend to rant to her about the whole thing

so after i hung up the phone all i saw on my screen was a twitter notif that said

Andy Mientus

Also, I’m sorry if I was a little despondent- my stomach is

and i FLIPPED OUT and checked my twitter and he had followed me and everything and i immediately called my best friend back and was like like WHAT DO I DO and she was like “well u could start by reading the dm” 

so basically andy had opened my gift and he was FREAKING OUT idk if i wanna post the full thing on here because ya know privacy but he was so sweet and he had sent me this paragraph saying that the gift was “crazy generous” and he was like r u sure u don’t want to keep it for urself??? and then he said “No one has ever given me something so generous before so I’m like, panicking lol” and then he apologized for if he seemed tired because his stomach was acting up, which he said hes “a wuss about”

so i literally pulled over to respond to this boy’s goddamn dm and i was like no u keep it i got it for u things like that and he responded saying wow thank u and then he told me that he wanted to post about it everywhere but he didn’t want people to think they should spend a bunch of money on him to buy a shoutout and then like five minutes later he complimented my art and the stones i got him as well and i just responded like omg no i never expected u to post about them and even if u do u don’t have to say it was a gift or anything

so that was the first night and im still so… shook

but the third time i met him got even better,,, (this was this past tuesday)

so i went to go see wicked in tampa and earlier andy had tweeted me saying that yes he was gonna be on and he was gonna stagedoor that night so i was hype

so after the show i went down to stagedoor and there were literally only two other guys there. and the stagedoor is kinda like,,, its a clear glass door and you can see into this lobby area from outside and i saw andy in the lobby area and he was talking to like a security guard or smth and i was like ohshitohshitohshit because i knew he was about to come out and i think its natural to get nervous when things like this happen

so he finally walked out and he went up to the two guys standing a little bit away from me and he goes “hey man.” and they talked for approximately 2 seconds and then andy looked at me and he just…….. okay andy has this face he does where he get really excited and he opens his mouth and his eyes get really big its like a mix between the :o and the :D face and HE LOOKED AT ME AND DID THAT

so the next thing i know, andy mientus is walking towards me with his arms open and he’s hugging me and im hugging him and my face is in his jacket and hes like “HI!!! how are you??!” and im like “IM SO GOOD”

and he says “so u finally saw act one” and i was like “i did” and he was like “howd you like it?” and i was like IT WAS SO GOOD and i told him that hes actually a pretty good dancer and his eyes get all big and he puts his hand over his heart and he goes “REALLY?” and i was like ya!! and he told me “oh my god thank u so much i had to work so hard to make it look that way” it was the purest thing

and idk how it came up but i told him that i was coming back to see the show on friday (which was like,, two days ago now oh my god) and he goes “friday? ur seeing it on friday?” and i was like “yea friday night”  and he goes “…….would youuuuu wanna go on a tour backstage with me that night?? because we do this thing with broadwaycares where the actors give people who donate a certain amount tours backstage and if u wanna just tag along we can just hang out”

and at this point my brain is going a mile a minute and i was like “omg yeah sure” and i probably said “that’s awesome” and “that’s so nice” at least eight times each

and he was like “okay great! u can just walk in through the stagedoor that night and tell those guys in there that ur with me and they should get it all figured out” and i was like…….. this is my life now

so that was about it for my third time but THIS FRIDAY was my most recent encounter with mr. mientus and whew what a story

on my way to the show, andy dmed me again on twitter and he was like “whats ur name for the list tonight?” and i told him while freaking out because not only did he remember that i was coming but he remembered my twitter and then he was like okay cool i don’t think you’ll need ur ID or anything and then he sent me another message that said “Enjoy the show and see you after!”

so after the show, i was nervous as hell and he dmed me right after he had gotten offstage apparently and it just said “Come through the stage door” like yes andy i know but i didn’t actually see the dm until i was going home lol

so i walked to the stagedoor and i saw andy in the back of the lobby area just chillin and im just now realizing that he was there to pick me up aw and so i walked in and the security guard at the desk next to me started FREAKING OUT he was like “WHO ARE YOU YOURE NOT ALLOWED IN HERE” and andy started walking over and he was like “oh no shes with me” and i kinda just gestured towards him and the guard let us go lol

so we walked back to where andy had been standing which was near some doors and he goes “hey” and i was like “hey!” and then he opened his arms again and i thought to myself “i love my life” before hugging him and then he called out to the security guard that had just yelled at me and he was like “hey can we get buzzed in” (referring to them opening the doors for us to let us go backstage) and he said to me “thanks for coming!” and i was like “thanks for having me” and apparently the security guard had not heard him earlier so andy waves his arm over towards the desk and shouts “HEY CAN WE GET BUZZED IN” but then someone opened the door from the inside so he was like “oh! nevermind lets go on a touuuuur follow me”

then we went through the doors and he was like “so this is backstage” and hes like walking in front of me and HE WALKS SO FAST I WAS TRYNA KEEP UP and usually im the fast walker but no and then he showed me the hair and makeup department since the door was open and then we went through some double doors (he held the door open for me what a gentleman) and suddenly i was on stage right backstage of wicked

so the other people who were supposed to be going on the tour had to be gathered up and guided backstage and everything so me and andy had time to talk for like literally ten minutes and we talked about where hes currently living and the election (i talked about politics with andy mientus rt ur goals) and the show and all of the huge props around us and things like that we went over a variety of topics

then all of the people who were going on the tour arrived and there were probably like 8 of them and they all just walked in on me and andy talking and i wasn’t even mad that they interrupted us i was like…… i feel like i shouldn’t be here but it was all good

so i wont go through the whole tour but just know that andy is THE CUTEST TOUR GUIDE most of the people on the tour had literally no clue about anything in theatre (andy had explained to me that this would probably happen) so he explained stuff really well and he knows so much about wicked and the show and im never gonna watch it the same way again

so once the tour was over (it was probably like twenty minutes long) he was like “well i think that’s it! thank u guys so much for coming and donating and seeing the show i hope u liked my tour” and then he was like “now im gonna walk u guys out to stagedoor… maybe you’ll get to sign some autographs for people” and everyone laughed but i was just like ur stupid

and then he led us out but on the way he showed us the wardrobe department because it was open and the sign in sheet and stuff so that was cool and then we got to the door to enter the lobby area so he was saying bye to all of us and holding the door open to let us all out and when i was going out he looked at me and went “hey” and i was like “hey” and he went in for a big hug it was the best moment of my life and singlehandedly saved my 2017 and he was like “i’ll see ya” and i was like “oh im coming back im seeing the show again next weekend” and he was like “oh okay great!!! i’ll see u then!” hes the sweetest lil angel and then i left so yeah that’s been my life as of late

tldr; ive hugged andy mientus three separate times and he knows who i am and hes the most kind person you will ever meet and i can’t wait to see him again

[neptunekiid]

hey, i really love your blog!! and i'm really curious about you so could you answer all of the questions.. i understand if you can't, thank you if you do!!!

awww thank you so much :) since i'm really bored sure but sorry to everyone that doesn't care because this will probs be long af0. height: 4 ft 10in, i know i'm really short but i kinda love being short 1. age: 17 2. show size: 5 in womens and i can't fit into men's shoes3. do you smoke?: no4. do you drink?: no 5. do you take drugs?: no6. age you get mistaken for: like 13 7. have tattoos?: yes, i have three! i have a message from my papa on my right arm in his handwriting, a yellow rose on my thigh and underneath i have "in bloom" in kurt cobain's handwriting8. want any tattoos?: yesssss i have so many more tattoos planned and i'm so excited for them 9. got any piercings?: i only have my ears and their stretched to a 4g and my septum. i actually have clear plugs in my ears rn and i think they're really cool 10. want any piercings?: i'm getting my medusa before my prom, i really love the look of constellation ears so i think i wanna start something like that and i want my nips done when i'm 1811. best friend?: dekotah (follow her, her blog is sea-ofsound and we have really similar blogs so if you like mine you'll like hers!) 12. relationhip status: it's really fuckin complicated 13. biggest turn ons: in general- humour, beards (man you have no fucking idea how much i love beards dude), women in suits (if i women is wearing a suit i will nut), tattoos and getting tattoos, kindness especially to children (if i see you being nice to a kid or like playing with a kid i will prolly fall in love), tall peoplesexually- HAIR PULLING, literally anything else that involves getting dominated *oops*14. biggest turn offs: if you're mean i fucking hate you15. favourite movie: ouuu let's right a list because i have soo many (probs missing a lot) rocky horror picture show, donnie darko, it, scream, the shining, get out, monsters inc, pulp fiction, corpse bride, my neighbour totoro, saw, mean girls, lilo and stitch, now and them, hot chick, edward sissorhands, probably a bunch more but these were the first that came to mind 16. i'll love you if...: you're funny, nice to kids, call me cute pet names 17. someone i miss: my papa 18. most traumatic experience: losing papa 19. a fact about your personality: i'm very easy to make laugh 20. what i hate most about myself: physically- acne personality- i make myself vulnerable a lot even if i know it's prolly a bad idea and i'm way too anxious and shy 21. what i love most about myself: physically- my tattoos, eyes and tits personality- i think i'm very kind and look out for those i care for 22. what i want to be when i get older: i don't really know yet (even though i'm in grade 12) i think i wanna be an elementary school teacher and go to university for a bachelor of arts in english 23. my relationship with my siblings: i have one sibling and were so close! he's like one of my best friends and i love him so much 24. my relationship with my parents: we have a good relationship now but a couple years ago we still had a pretty good relationship but there was a lot more problems 25. my idea of a perfect date: literally doing anything chill with a person i care about 26. my biggest pet peeves: rude people 27. a description of the girl/boy i like: funny and tall 28. a description of the person i dislike the most: idk if i have someone that i dislike the most i mean there are people i don't like... i mean actually trump nvm29. a reason you lied to a friend: i only lie to friends if it's not to hurt there feelings 30. what i hate most about work/school: my store closed so i don't have work rn and school just annoying people and math 31. what my last text message says: thank you 32. what words upset me the most: just slurs \33. what words make me feel best about myself: baby girl, babe, princess, names like that 34. what i find most attractive about women: literally everything!!!!!!! girls! are! beautiful!35. what i find attractive in men: literally everything!!!! boys! are! beautiful!36. where would i like to live: probs like vancover 37. one of my insecurities: that no one actually likes me 38. my childhood carer choice: kindergarten teacher 39. my favourite ice cream flavour: chocolate 40. who i wish i could be: i honestly don't know 41. where i want to be right now: my house (and i am) 42. the last thing i ate: a croissant43. sexiest person that comes to my mind: posty 44. a random fact about anything: the oldest guinea pig was 15

[god-and-janjo]

How To Make A WordPress Website – Step By Step Tutorial

How To Make A WordPress Website – Step By Step Tutorial

Hi my name is Marty and I'm here with LetsBuildWordPress.com, and I've put together this step by step tutorial video to show you the easiest way I know to build a website. It's going to be built on the same platform as used by Forbes, Jay-Z and Katy Perry, and by far the best thing you don't need to know any HTML coding or JavaScript or anything like that to build the website. Rather than just talking about it I'm going to show you the website we're going to be building in this step by step tutorial video. So this is the exact site I'm going to be showing you how to build today step by step without missing anything. I'm going to show you how to add your own picture in here to the top, this is known as the header. I'm going to show you how to add text and pictures to pages. I'm going to show you how to add a page with a video on it, and the video will be embedded from YouTube. So your visitors will be able to come on here and watch the video, then underneath they'll be able to click here and leave a reply. I'm also going to show you how to add a page with a contact form on it so your visitors are able to fill out their name, email address and message. Then when they click send it will be sent to your email inbox. I'm also going to show you how to populate the sidebar with things like a search bar, pictures and menus. I'm going to show you how to do all of this now. Okay so I've put together a checklist of things we're going to need to do to get your website up and running and looking as good as that website we just saw. I'm also going to cover the cost of anything that isn't free. So the first thing we need to do to get your website up and running is get hosting. Hosting is basically a computer that's left on 24 hours a day 7 days a week with your website loaded on to it, this is so people can gain access to your website even when your computer is switched off. Hosting is something you do require if you're going to run a website and will usually cost around $7 a month, although I am going to show you a way to get your first month hosting for only one penny. The next thing we'll be doing for your website is getting a domain name, and a domain name is basically the title of your website with www. before it and .com after it. So for example Google's domain name is www.google.com that's their domain name and it is something you do require for your website. A domain name from where we're going to be getting it will cost you $12.95, only this isn't a monthly cost this is a yearly cost. So you're paying for your hosting once a month and you'll pay for your domain name once a year. The next thing we'll be...

See more here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEPjdEGIZxY

Web Design Idea You Could Use Today

If are unfamiliar with exactly what all web design is, you most definitely are not the only one in this idea. There are lots of people who either do not know what exactly website design requires or how essential it is with promoting a company. Review this post to get a great background concerning the subject. For multimedia presentations, capitalize on the brand-new HTML5 standard. Although HTML5 isn't quite as durable for animation and also games as Flash, it has the advantage of working stably on smart phone browsers, consisting of those contained in Apple accessory. HTML5 is also a fair bit leaner than Flash, so load times will certainly improve, too. Keep away from having a lot of animations on your website, although it could look quite. It will likely drive possible viewers away, although having your sales splash web page rotate, spin as well as blink might look great to you. When you include too many showy splashes like that, it makes your site look incompetent which is not the message you want to convey. Prevent cramming web page elements with each other. Each section of your page ought to be normally separated from each various other, as this makes the purpose of each part a lot more clear. The most convenient method to different parts is by utilizing DIVs, however there are different methods, including downright positioning (not advised), the CSS margin command, and drifts. Break up long text blocks. Having a big wave of text is unneeded for any site, especially when you could damage it up using images, or perhaps separating it into different web pages. Uninteresting your visitors will just make them leave, so keep things as basic as well as fresh as feasible. If the significant translation solutions work properly when translating your website, test your website to see. Some websites obtain numerous international visitors, and these site visitors sometimes utilize services like Google and BabelFish Mean equate the text to their language. Particular website design troubles, specifically inadequate web server side code, can destroy these solutions. Understand the background on your internet site. You don't want your text to be tough to read! A distracting background is ... well, sidetracking. Choose backgrounds that collaborate accompanying your site, as opposed to encountering it, as well as your message will certainly be far more clear to your visitors. Have a website map. These serve to your customers and also the search engines, as they give an in-depth overview of your entire site. It can be a quick guide for audiences looking for a certain part of your site, and permit you to keep an eye on its structure and also format. Discovering some basic HTML will certainly help you include some appealing additionals to your website. As an example, you could have words that follow your cursor, or a banner that blinks essential details. Ensure to transform the font styles as well as shades periodically, so you seem more included accompanying the website as well as its layout. When creating your website, you need to make use of cascading design sheets, or CSS. These style sheets can be applied to every website on your site, and will guarantee that the user experience corresponds throughout the web site. They are likewise effective for making quick style changes to your website as a result of the fact that you just need to transform the design sheet as opposed to making modifications on every web page. Created a great web page about you or your company and title it "Around" or "Concerning Us." Too many internet sites make use of dull, generic biographies. Make this area of your web site a lot more exciting. Goal to give site visitors a tiny peek of your personal background. Demonstrate how you started website design, individuals who inspired you to do this, as well as just what your company goals are. To cover it up, you were uncertain of the crucial part that website design plays in a company's success, now you have rather a good feeling for it. Preferably, this short article will certainly be ample to enable you to pass this details on and assist other people with the exact same concerns.

[god-and-janjo]

How to Set Up WordPress in Dreamweaver

How to Set Up WordPress in Dreamweaver

hello my name is Paul tranny and I want to show you how you can go ahead and set up a wordpress site on your desktop locally edit it in Dreamweaver and then upload seamlessly because that's actually what I do for my site which is where this tutorial is I administer this all using WordPress as well as this site and typically what you would do is you would go ahead and customize and maybe get into the editor under appearance and have to deal with this and this is what I don't like I'd rather use Dreamweaver to administer my site and then upload it when it's good to go okay so that's why I'd want to do this and the first thing you need to do is go to wordpress.org and then download the latest version okay which is what I've already done I've downloaded it it's right here I can unzip it and I can see all the files in here this is a clean WordPress site I'll double click on this readme file and I can dive into this but it already gets confusing because it asks me to upload everything and like I said I actually want to just work on it locally so what this means is that I need to set up a local server and I'm going to do that all with MAMP or WAMP if you're on a PC but basically it enables you to manage your websites locally so just go ahead and install MAMP or WAMP just like I've done here you can see it right here and I'll go ahead and start the servers and I can even open up the start page this tells me everything is running great gives me this localhost which I will be using but I'd also like to point out that it will put this particular folder called htdocs in the MAMP folder and this is really where all your sites are going to go so what I need to do is I need to go out to that WordPress folder that I've unzipped and then just drag it into that htdocs folder you can see it right down there okay and now I have mam running in fact I'll jump out here and I'll just type up WordPress so I drag that folder in there says hey you know what you need to set up a WP config file so we're part of the way there we have our server running locally we just need to set up a database and administer our site so let's create a configuration file so let's get into it as I click let's go I need a database name username password database host all of that good stuff so where do I get that well I'm going to open up that start page again and I can go ahead and click on PHP my admin' because this got installed and I can actually add databases right here ok yours might look a little bit different because I did change the theme okay but with that done I can go into databases I can create a new database called WordPress database has been created that's good so I can go back out to this dialog that I'm using database name is WordPress user name password database host table prefix well let's figure out how we...

See more here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_y0Gmsfqro

Web Design Idea You Can Apply Today

You absolutely are not the only one in this believed if are unfamiliar with exactly what all web design is. There are lots of people who either do not know just what website design involves or just how vital it is with advertising a company. Read this short article to acquire a great background about the topic. For multimedia discussions, take advantage of the new HTML5 standard. Although HTML5 isn't really rather as robust for video games and computer animation as Flash, it has the benefit of functioning stably on mobile phone internet browsers, consisting of those had in Apple accessory. HTML5 is additionally quite a bit leaner than Flash, so tons times will certainly boost, as well. Keep away from having way too many computer animations on your site, although it could look quite. Having your sales splash web page blink, revolve as well as spin could look great to you, yet it will likely drive possible customers away. When you add way too many fancy sprinkles like that, it makes your site look inexperienced which is not the message you wish to communicate. Stay clear of packing web page elements with each other. Each part of your web page ought to be normally divided from each various other, as this makes the purpose of each area a lot more clear. The easiest means to different areas is by utilizing DIVs, but there are different methods, including downright positioning (not advised), the CSS margin command, as well as floats. Separate lengthy content blocks. Having a significant wave of content is unneeded for any sort of website, particularly when you could break it up by using pictures, or perhaps separating it into different web pages. Boring your customers will just make them leave, so maintain things as basic as well as fresh as possible. If the major translation services work effectively when equating your site, examination your website to see. Some websites receive lots of global site visitors, as well as these site visitors sometimes use services like BabelFish and also Google Mean translate the content to their language. Certain web design problems, specifically inadequate server side code, can damage these services. Know the background on your site. You do not desire your text to be hard to review! A distracting background is ... well, distracting. Choose backgrounds that collaborate accompanying your site, instead of encountering it, as well as your message will be a lot more clear to your site visitors. Have a site map. These serve to your clients as well as the online search engine, as they offer a thorough introduction of your whole website. It could be a quick guide for viewers searching for a certain component of your site, as well as permit you to keep track of its design and also structure. Finding out some fundamental HTML will certainly assist you include some appealing additionals to your website. For example, you could have words that follow your cursor, or a banner that flashes essential information. Make certain to change the shades and fonts occasionally, so you appear more included accompanying the web site and also its design. When making your site, you need to utilize cascading design sheets, or CSS. These style sheets could be put on every webpage on your website, and also will ensure that the customer encounter is consistent throughout the internet site. They are additionally efficient for making fast design changes to your web site because of the fact that you only need to transform the design sheet rather than making modifications on every webpage. Created a great web page about you or your organization and title it "About" or "Concerning United states." Way too many sites use boring, generic biographies. Make this area of your site a lot more exciting. Purpose to provide visitors a small peek of your personal background. Show just how you began website design, individuals that inspired you to do this, and also what your company objectives are. Currently you have quite a good feeling for it, despite the fact that to wrap it up, you were uncertain of the essential part that web design plays in a business's success. Preferably, this write-up will be sufficient to allow you to pass this information on and assist other individuals with the very same inquiries.