#What is a simple example of quality assurance?

[yesimwriting]

I bet santiago is jealous to high heaven this lowly mortal woman has his maitres attention. He already was hostile towards Louis do you think he’s going to be way worse towards reader

bestie learning that she's just been lucky and that all vampires aren't willing to befriend her 💔

i love santiago as a character and am excited to give him his moment <3 (also first claudia interaction, i love her sm and i think i accidentally made that really obvious)

also i think this ended up being more vibes based than plot based

----

The instincts that guide one towards self preservation are much easier to suppress than most realize. For example, all it took to get you to agree to enter the heart of a coven of vampires without the one vampire that would care enough to keep something from happening to you was the invocation of your pride.

Things had seemed so simple, so straightforward when Armand first came to you. He told you that your presence at their show would be much less distracting if you were to sit in on their rehearsal first. The offer felt like an excuse to arrange some sort of accident to get rid of you without alienating Louis, but when Armand took your hesitation as a sign of fear, you weren't left with much of a choice.

You shift slightly, forcing your shoulders to relax against your seat. While you're not narcissistic enough to assume that your presence is enough to captivate an entire theatre of immortal beings, you are out of the ordinary; and while the vampires have been working through their show and taking Armand's notes with no true acknowledgement of your presence, there's a quality to their occasional glances that makes it difficult to believe that your every move and thought aren't being heavily scrutinized by every person on stage.

Letting out a breath, you carefully pull your hands apart. The desire to squeeze your fingers together again is a sign of nervousness that's difficult to ignore, so you settle for holding onto the armrest between you and Armand.

Your other hand finds your lap as you turn your attention back to the performers. Murderous glances aside, the group is almost entertaining enough to keep you from overthinking your presence.

Before you can convince yourself to solely focus on what's happening in front of you, something settles against the back of your palm. As subtly as you can manage, you tilt your chin just enough to see Armand's hand over yours.

Oh. You blink, turning your attention back to the stage. You don't know what to make of the unexpected contact, or the fact that his touch is not only not repulsive but also slightly assuring, and this isn't exactly a safe place for mental reflection.

"Santiago." Armand's voice is enough to keep you from your thoughts. "What is the point of redirecting your blocking if you're not going to follow it?" There's an irritation pressed into the words that you're not used to hearing.

A blond man, presumably Santiago, takes a step forward. You don't realize that you're studying his reaction until his eyes meet yours. He holds your gaze for less than a moment before returning his focus to Armand, "Are we not going to mention the girl?"

There's no way to shield yourself from such a direct comment. You blink, doing your best to ignore the traitorous warmth beginning to crawl up your neck. It's instinctual to try to discreetly pull your hand back onto your lap, but Armand's hold on you tightens.

"No," the word leaves no room for argument. If Armand's concerned about the curiosity of others he gives no indication of it, his expression as measured and blank as it was when he was discussing director notes. "We are not."

As either a way of proving his point or maybe reassuring you, Armand squeezes your hand once. "Instead of worrying about the girl, you should worry about your understanding of the final half of the show." He shifts slightly, his gaze shifting between the performers and the copy of the script on his lap. "Because the slightest distraction seems to be enough to shatter your understanding of what we've discussed, we'll be re-reviewing our performance from the beginning."

There's the briefest moment of stillness before the performers begin bending to his will. Their obedience lacks hesitation, but there's a quality to Santiago's movements that borders on overly tense.

You're not familiar enough with the dynamic that exists between a Maître and his coven to decide if the exchange was meant to be significant, but something about the way Santiago glances at you before turning tells you that he's blaming you for it.

In a weak attempt at dismissing any potential unease before it can root itself in your chest, you shift your focus onto a much more comfortable source of apprehension. Armand's focusing on the pages of the script in front of him. He has not let go of your hand.

"You're a greater distraction than you should be." There's a pointedness pressed into the syllables that you can't quite interpret.

Maybe this an opportunity for you to politely slip away before anyone's patience wears too thin. "I could go home, if that'd make things easier."

He straightens slightly, turning his head enough to look at you, "Already retreating?"

The comment, though incredibly transparent, is unfortunately effective. "No." He doesn't seem convinced, and you can't exactly blame him for his doubts. "I'd just--I'd hate to get in the way."

Something about his expression tells you that he doesn't exactly believe your defense. "If you're worried about being in the way, you could shadow Claudia."

The suggestion is more relieving than you'd ever admit to it being. Claudia, who did briefly smile at you after your arrival before noticing Armand by your side, is the only person here that definitely likes you.

You nod once, feeling a little better at the prospect of getting to be around Claudia, even if you have to help her clean the theatre, or whatever she's usually ordered to do. "Okay."

Armand turns his head towards the other side of the auditorium, where Claudia is dutifully sweeping. "Claudia." She immediately lifts her head at the sound of Armand's voice. "You're familiar enough with the girl, why don't you take her to the dressing room, and have her help you organize the makeup products?"

She nods, "Yes, Maître."

Even though Armand's instructed her to go with you, she picks up the dustpan and adjusts her hold on the broom so quickly, a part of you almost expects her to leave you behind. You wouldn't hold it against her if she did, her life here seems challenging enough without her having to worry about being marked as an associate of the strange mortal Armand is randomly subjecting his coven to.

Armand squeezes your hand once before letting you go. Doing all you can to keep your mind from lingering on the gesture, you push yourself to stand. You begin to cross the auditorium, and even though the performers are still preparing to restart their show, you can't let go of the feeling of being watched.

When you're finally standing next to Claudia, the set of her mouth angles itself upwards into an expression that's nearly a smile. She doesn't attempt to greet you any further before turning.

You follow her around the aisles and through a door. Claudia doesn't really look at you until the two of you are fully alone, "What are you doing here?"

Her tone's a little sharp, but not exactly harsh. You can't tell if she's more shocked or concerned. "I don't know." It's as honest an answer as you can manage. "Armand asked--"

She studies you for a second before continuing down the narrow hall. "And you said 'yes'?"

You let out a flat sigh as you move to follow her. "He didn't exactly accept a 'no'."

She's quiet for a moment, her lips pressing together as she takes in your response. "But you're--you're okay, right?"

The question leaves you feeling a little more sentimental than it should. Claudia's not exactly in the position to do much of anything, let alone defend you, an intruding mortal, and she's still trying to do what she can. It's enough to make you push against any instinctual unease.

"Yeah, I'm okay." You don't realize how much you mean the response until you've spoken it out loud. You've been more concerned about how you're being perceived than preserving your life. Things could definitely be a lot less okay. "I get to see you, and I saw some of the show and--everyone's really talented."

Claudia watches you for a second, but when your expression--or maybe even your mind--give no indication of genuine fear, she eases enough to turn her head forward. "Okay," she stretches out the word's last syllable. You're just starting to think that Claudia's going to leave it at that when she tacks on a quiet, "It might be nice to have some company."

You let yourself smile a little at that. "Yeah."

She pauses in front of another door, her hand reaching for the brass handle. "Does Louis know you're here?"

Hm. When Armand invited (or forced) you to accompany him to rehearsal, he didn't provide much context. Outside of informing you that Louis wouldn't be at the theatre for rehearsal, Armand hadn't mentioned him.

"I'd...assume so." Claudia briefly raises her eyebrows at that. "I mean, I can't imagine Armand asking me to do anything without telling Louis first."

"Optimistic."

You lift a shoulder in a partial shrug. The assumption that Armand hasn't mentioned it to Louis doesn't feel too far fetched, especially because Louis has yet to show up to pull you out of here or at the very least, passive aggressively follow you around you leave of your own free will. But nothing bad has happened to you yet, and it's hard to imagine Armand going through the trouble of keeping something from Louis just to let you be.

"If he doesn't tell him, I will." It feels like a fair enough response. You're not sure what Armand's intentions are, but you do know that you have no intention of keeping a long term secret from Louis. "I'll call him tonight."

Her eyebrows draw together slightly at that. "You didn't call him before?"

The suddenness of Armand's appearance didn't leave you with much time for long term thinking. He had been standing there, daring you to finally prove that no matter how much you might try to seem comfortable with what Louis and Claudia are, your humanity will always come first.

It wouldn't have been a difficult thing to run inside and call Louis, but doing so would have made you seem like a frightened pet. "I was already outside when Armand found me."

She watches you for another moment before finally pushing the door open. The room she's led you seems comfortable, the dim lighting and dark color pallet existing in the space between eerie and aesthetically fitting.

"I'm just reorganizing some stage makeup." Claudia steps into the room. "It's easy enough, you don't have to help if you don't want to."

The comment prompts you forward. You step forward, ignoring the over-awareness of the fact that you're not supposed to be here as you cross the door's threshold. "I don't mind." You exhale, permitting yourself to look around the room as you continue forward, "It might be nice to have something to do."

She's already next to the pile of makeup and used brushes resting on the nearest counter. "You're not used to this."

Something about her delivery of the words makes you feel like she isn't referencing the obvious. Still, you ask, "Used to what? The theatre?"

Claudia picks up one of the smaller palettes. "Feeling out of place."

The response leaves your skin feeling a little warmer than you were a moment ago. Of course you're that incredibly transparent. Not only can they tell that you're uncomfortable, they can also tell that you're not accustomed enough to the feeling to know what to do with it.

You keep your eyes focused on the counter. "Guess not." The admission feels strangely vulnerable. "I mean--there are plenty of places I don't fit..." The explanation feels oddly stiff. "I left home because I didn't really fit the--the life my parents wanted for me, and I don't fit the formal parties that are just my aunt's incredibly transparent attempts at finding me a husband but I'm used to knowing what I'm supposed to do."

That was...a bit more transparent than you needed to be. "That--that probably doesn't make much sense."

She pushes a few palettes towards you. "It kind of does." You focus on picking up some of the items that Claudia's distributed. "Guess it's not as easy as it seems to be so liked all the time."

Her tone makes things feel a little easier. "It's completely exhausting."

Claudia smiles a little at that, "Well, I hope you're not too exhausted to take those makeup palettes to the vanity over there."

"I'm definitely not too exhausted to try."

You grab the rest of your proportioned products before turning towards the vanity. Most of the products seem to be for exaggerating features rather than correcting anything. Not worrying about skin blemishes seems like a major benefit of immortality.

You lay out the palettes on the vanity while waiting for further instruction. Most of the palettes look like products meant to highlight and contour skin, but there are also a few fun shades of eyeshadow. There's a deep red, a shimmery purple, and a bright blue you know a little too well.

You pick up the eyeshadow palette, holding it out towards Claudia. "This color feels familiar."

She lifts her head enough to look at you. Once her eyes land on the palette, Claudia sighs. "I know." It's the kind of usual dismissive acceptance of the role she's been assigned. "I'm not sure eyeshadow's right for me."

You frown, attention shifting between the eyeshadow palette and Claudia. You know she hasn't been able to physically grow past the age of fourteen, but her features aren't so incredibly young that don't suit makeup at all. Besides, the point of the little girl costume is to make her look as exaggeratedly young as possible, of course the stage makeup she's supposed to wear with it is meant to further amplify her physical youth.

"I don't think so." You glance at the palette again. "If anything, the makeup's one of the better parts of your costume." She looks over at you again, unconvinced. "It's fun." When she doesn't seem to feel any better about it, you continue, "But if you want a more conventional look, I think the shimmery purple would look nice on you...or anything cool toned."

She's quiet for a second, her focus shifting onto some of the used brushes. "Really?"

"Yeah," you tell her, "There's a lot you can do with makeup." You tap your thumb against the palette's cover. "If you want, we can do makeup together sometime."

She smiles a little at that. "Yeah, we could do that sometime."

"Okay." The idea is actually really nice. "I could bring some of my makeup over, or you could come to my aunt's flat. We can tell her you're a friend from art school."

Her lips part, but before she can respond she's interrupted by the methodical sound of careful footsteps. Your body--ever the traitor-- immediately tenses. You squeeze the makeup palette in your hand.

The footsteps only come to an end when a figure appears in the doorway. Great. It's the blond guy that is definitely holding a grudge against you. "What's going on in here?"

You're a little too relieved when Claudia answers for you, "I'm just organizing the makeup."

He turns his head enough to briefly look at Claudia before refocusing on you. "And the girl's keeping you company?"

The question creates a silence you're not sure you're meant to fill. Santiago seems to take the lack of response as a sign of complacency because he begins to walk forward. "I haven't met the new pet yet."

It takes more effort than it should to keep from rolling your eyes. "Hi." The word is so flat it borders on passive aggressive.

Something behind his expression seems to change at that, the corner of his mouth tugging itself upwards in a way that might have felt like a smile if it wasn't for the sharpness of the look.

Santiago moves forward, his steps unhurried as he crosses the dressing room. He doesn't stop until he's directly in front of you. "It's a rare thing for us to entertain a guest like this." An aggravated tension coils itself around your lungs. You squeeze your fingers into your palm in an attempt at dismissing it. "Especially such a lovely one."

You remain as still as possible as he extends an arm towards you, his knuckles just barely grazing the side of your face.

"Santiago." The sound of Armand's voice comes strangely close to making you feel at ease.

You can't bring yourself to turn your had to look at who may or may not be helping you. Santiago returns his hand to his side. He takes a small step away from you, "I'm only introducing myself."

"Which is not what you were asked to do."

Santiago shifts slightly, angling himself to better face Armand. Now that you're not being openly watched, you feel comfortable enough to turn your head towards the doorway.

"We were given time, and I was going to touch up my concealer." The defense is delivered with a heavy flatness. "The girl was already in here. I was only being polite."

Please. You're so focused on keeping your facial expressions neutral, you almost don't notice Armand's gaze shifting onto you. It takes you a moment longer than it should to realize that he's waiting for you to corroborate this version of events.

While the thought of subtly pointing out Santiago's exaggerations isn't entirely unappealing, you're not looking to make enemies. Besides, there's no independence or maturity in immediately tattling.

"Yeah." The syllable borders on almost overly chipper. "He was just being polite."

Armand's expression doesn't ease, but he does hold your gaze for another moment before looking at Santiago again. "If that's all," he finally says, "You're dismissed." And then, without so much as turning to look at Claudia directly, he says, "Claudia, you're dismissed as well."

She's quick to nod, setting down the brushes in her hand before stepping towards the door. Her instinctual reaction must remind Santiago of his own obligations because he begins to move forward as well. Armand steps further into the room, creating the space needed for the others to leave.

The newfound solitude leaves you feeling like you're meant to say something. "Don't they need you out there?"

"We're taking a short break." Right. That's why Santiago came here. Armand takes another step forward. "Some of my performers stepped out for something to eat, I find it helps their energy." The set of his mouth morphs into what's almost a smile, like the reality of what they are is an inside joke the two of you share. "Either way, they can wait."

You nod once, a hesitant acknowledgment of his words. "Right." Once again, you're left with nothing to say. "I liked the parts of the show I saw."

"We've been working on it for some time." The unspecified amount of time could mean anything coming from him. He takes another step towards you. "Are you alright?"

You're not sure what to make of the question. It could be his way of reveling in your general uncertainty or another attempt at prodding at what he believes to be false bravery.

"Yeah." It's an honest enough response. Social uncertainty and confusion aren't exactly concerning, not when considering what this trip could have been. "I don't scare easy."

"Clearly," the response is delivered with the kind of complacent sustain you're used to. The familiarity is almost enough to be comforting.

The tired passive aggression you're used to is more easing than it should be, because it encourages you to bring up something that's likely best left alone...at least while you're here, your life completely at his disposal. "Can I ask you something?"

His expression remains neutral, but something about the silence that follows makes you feel like your formality has thrown him. "You might as well."

"Does Louis know I'm here?"

His eyebrows briefly draw together at that. "I thought you weren't his pet."

The response leaves an uncomfortable warmth burning its way up your neck. "I'm not."

He takes another step in your direction. "If you don't need his permission, why does it matter where I take you?"

While it's true that you don't need Louis's permission to do anything, he is your friend, and he does worry. Even beyond that, this is more his world than it'll ever be yours...it just seems like a good idea to let him know.

However, you're not sure how to make these points without sounding like exactly what Armand is accusing you of being. Besides, the two of you have been getting along perfectly fine, and you'd like to keep it that way.

"I..." You begin slowly, struggling to undo a tension you didn't mean to create, "I guess it doesn't."

He watches you for a moment before responding, "Do you know what you're wearing tomorrow night?"

The change in topic, though abrupt, isn't unwelcome. Discussing outfit choices is much easier than worrying about accidentally offending him. "I have a few options, but I'm leaning towards the red dress I wore out with Louis about a week ago."

"Hm," he hums once in acknowledgement. "If you'd like, I could stop by your flat and help you find something to wear."

'Like' feels like a strong word for the situation he's describing. While you've had Louis over, and you definitely don't mind the idea of Claudia being inside of your home...it isn't easy to imagine offering Armand the same courtesy.

He's never hurt you, but you have other people in your home--and it doesn't feel right to potentially turn them into targets.

You frown, allowing yourself to openly watch him. Thinking that he'd get himself invited to your great aunt's flat for the sole purpose of killing everyone inside isn't...as fair as you should be. Objectively, he's likely a lesser risk than Claudia, or even Louis, because he's lived long enough to have greater control. And...he already knows where you live. If he wanted to hurt anyone in your home, he could manage doing so without an invitation.

Still, as long as you're staying with your aunt you live by certain rules. There is no lie that you could tell that would make a strange man visiting you so late in the evening okay.

"My aunt would--" Right. He possesses every ability that Louis has. "You can come in through the window, same as Louis." The summary is more for yourself than for him.

"Okay." The acceptance feels fragile. "That um--that sounds nice."

----

i love the paris timeline and lore sm

also armand getting ready to steal claudia's friend 😭 he can never let her be

[bevy-obeyme]

Character Study - Lucifer, The epitome of pride and how family makes you risk everything. {{Part 1}}

— Spoiler Warning for Lessons in Original Obey Me —

Art by https://x.com/pyunrim/status/1687472597787897856 on twitter/x

As we are all aware, Lucifer was once a greatly admired Seraphim who was also God’s favourite. An ethereal angel with three pairs of wings and yet he disgraced himself - why?

First things first, we all know that even during Lucifer’s period of stay in the Celestial Realm, you’d be surprised to see he still retains most of his qualities during his 'angelic years’.

For example, during Lesson 52-3 when Satan (''Sully’’) and MC go back into the past during a dream, we meet the Seraph as shown above.

It is evident Lucifer still held a sense of pride and superiority, not afraid to exert his authority and influence to get MC and Satan to help with his bidding, as well as portraying himself to be mockingly condescending at first.

However, even Lucifer himself wasn’t opposed to breaking the rules as during Lesson 52-5 he directly goes against the rules in the library to satisfy Satan’s curiosity in books.

This conveys that Lucifer ( even with his high ranking position ) cared not for petty rules and as such wasn’t afraid to dismiss them or rule them out when it came to a favour.

Later on in the same lesson we see that same lesson that Lucifer is still quite cunning, actively playing along to the disguises Satan and MC have brought up and tricking Satan into opening a blank book that acted as a restraint.

Whilst it does not differ from what Lucifer would’ve done in the present, his goal is noticeably much more genuine and appears to be more honest of what he wanted to ascertain which was to find out if Satan was a demon and therefore if he was a danger to the Celestial Realm. In addition, we see that Seraph Lucifer is able to let go of his pride without as much struggle as he apologises to Satan without hesitation or spite. This implies that back then, pride wasn’t as powerful to Lucifer. Even if he did carry more than the average angel, it was balanced out by his honesty and genuine intent.

So we have assured that Lucifer is not much different to what he was like in the Celestial Realm, so why did he fall?

The answer is rather simple; Love. Or rather, his strong dedication to family.

The brothers were very much mischievous as they are now - Mammon was originally a troublemaker under Michael’s care who was then subdued when Lucifer took him in. Belphegor snuck off to the human world often as he was fascinated and ended up dragging Lilith along with him.

Despite the annoyance this caused, Lucifer referred to them as '’small’’ problems which Raphael was actually quick to quip at according to Lucifer. However, he confirms that he never minded and it is evident the eldest even covered for his siblings during their mishaps. Until.

Lilith met a human. We learn during Lesson 15 the history of Belphegor’s hatred for humanity and Lilith’s perish - which was linked to humans.

Falling in love with a human as an angel was heavily against the rules as celestial beings are only meant to guide humans and offer their utmost devotion to the Father (God). Having a lover would surely meddle with duties and especially that of Lilith’s choice being a human - a race both demons and angels alike deem weak and inapt.

Despite this, we see that Lucifer does not hold a bias towards his sisters’ choice as many would have and actively supported her.

He did at first put on a caring and what may have appeared stern face when he went to check on his sisters’ lover, but ultimately, it is understandable. Lucifer was the eldest and Lilith was their only sister and the youngest at that - he wouldn’t want danger to come to her if she had chosen a dangerous man to fall in love with that she could potentially become victim to which explains his protective tendencies - much like that strict father that insists to meet your boyfriend and asses him.

[watarfallar]

*gay braincell tossing*

Scar: Do you have any idea what you’re doing? Grian: Why start now?

Grian: I love you. Scar: I love me too.

Grian: I literally cannot believe I let you talk me into this. Scar: I literally said “I have an idea,” and you just went along with it without question.

Scar: Snow got me feeling some type of way. Grian: That's hypothermia.  Scar: Damn, the paramedics told me it was the magic of Christmas.

Grian: Surgery is basically just stabbing someone to life. Scar: Please never become a surgeon.

Scar: *gets set on fire and screams in agony* Scar: Nah, I’m just kidding. Fire does nothing to me.

Scar: Damn, the power went out. Grian: Don’t worry, I got this. Grian: *stomps foot* Scar: What-? Grian: *Sketchers light up*

Grian: We either die free, or die trying! Scar: Are those the only choices?

Scar: I’m totally useless. Grian: You’re not totally useless. Grian: You can be used as a bad example.

Scar: Fellas, I gotta know for science. Is the opposite of red green or blue? Grian: Technically a mix of green and blue? Scar: So blurple. Grian: That's implying you're mixing blue and purple. Scar: Would you rather have fucking bleen? MOTHERFUCKING GRUE? Grian: You were confusing before but now I'm scared.

Scar: Why is it so hard for you to believe me?! Grian: ... Scar: Oh, right. The lying.

Grian: You’re not jealous, are you? Scar: No! Grian: Good, ‘cause I consider my fake relationship with you a lot more meaningful.

Scar: And what did we learn, Grian? Grian: Tackling someone isn’t the correct response to being asked a simple question.

Scar: You know, it’s fine to admit you were wrong. Grian: *Sipping their drink after accidentally adding salt* I just like the way it tastes.

Scar: You are a solid 11/10. Grian: Aw, thank- Scar: Which is 1.1 because you look like shit.

Scar: And have you learnt anything this Christmas, Grian? Grian: …Not really. Scar: Nothing? Grian: Tell you one thing I have learnt—Christmas; ultimately, commercial holiday. Who's the real winner at Christmas? Amazon. they have drones now! Tiny little dystopian slaves delivering iPads and headphones. I ordered a toaster; It was on the doorstep five hours later! Do we need that? It was 4.99! For a toaster! I mean, someone's being exploited there.

Grian: Kill him. Scar: This is the kind of quality advice I look for.

Scar: There are no friends when playing board games. I am here to win.

Grian, texting: Scar, will you please go to sleep? Scar, texting back: What makes you think you didn’t just wake me up? Grian, yelling: I CAN HEAR YOU CLAPPING TO THE FRIENDS THEME EVERY TWENTY MINUTES SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP! Grian, texting: Just a hunch :) You goin’ to sleep soon? Scar, texting: I’m trying Grian, yelling again: TRY HARDER I HAVE A 5:45 AM MEETING TOMORROW BITCH Grian, texting: Okay, don’t stay up too late or you’ll be cranky :)

Scar: I’m a masochist, not a loser.

Scar: Wow, that was quick thinking on that phony sacrifice stuff. Grian: Oh, that was all real. Scar: Wait, you were trying to help them kill us?! Grian: If I’m gonna be sacrificed, I’m gonna do it right.

Grian: *spins around in chair ominously* I’ve been expecting y- *chair continues to spin* shit *tries to stop spinning* shit *tries to grab a table to stop spinning* sHIT *falls out of chair*

Grian: I’m not stupid, you know. Scar: Well, you’re doing a really good impression of it!

Scar: Why do you think I don’t like you? I do. I would kill for you. Scar: Ask me to kill for you. Grian: ...First of all, calm down-

Scar: Grian, you’ve tried 37 times and you’ve failed every time. Give it a break. Grian: DO I HEAR “FIRST TRY PART 38?”

Grian: I know how this must look but I can assure you we have a perfectly logical explanation. Scar: Yeah! We’re cowards!

Scar: *holds a gun out to Grian* Grian: I-I don't believe in guns. Scar: Well, trust me, they're very real. Now take it.

Scar: I owe you one. Grian: That’s ok. You can just date me and we’ll call it even.

Grian: I hate you with every inch of my body! Scar: That’s not a lot of inches.

Scar, to Grian: You drink too much, swear too much, and your morals are highly questionable. Grian: … Scar: You are everything I’ve ever wanted in a best friend.

Scar: I need a long word. Grian: T-rex but the long one.

Grian: I see the red flags, I acknowledge that they're there, and then I completely ignore them.

Grian: You know you've made it when you see your picture everywhere you go. Scar: Those are wanted posters!

[radioisntdead]

You know that trope of “I know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy-” so on and so forth? Well, that, but it’s actually true because reader wants to help his best and closest friends at the hotel. It can be a bit of found family fluff, and include whoever you want, you got free reign here toots.

Some examples are Angel getting more time off work because reader ‘knows a guy’, Husk getting more premium alcohol because reader ‘knows a another guy’, Nifty getting better and higher grade cleaning equipment, Charlie and Vaggie getting better advertisements, Alastor getting fresh boars and Pentious getting new parts.

When directly confronted about it, reader just gets all coy and says, “I know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows another guy, who knows a guys cousin, who knows a girls aunt, who knows-”

Good evening my dear! I had so much fun writing this! Lowkey based the reader off of Todd from Bojack horseman also my apologies for this being a little short.

Oh, I know a guy!

Hazbin hotel x reader,

Warnings: shenanigans! Mild ooc Also the ending is a little muddled because my brain stopped working because it's 3 am and I'm hungry.

In hell, pure unbridled and unchained loyalty was hard to gain, and genuine friendship was harder to find.

And someone like you, someone filled with simple kindness, someone who just did things for others expecting nothing in return was nearly impossible to find.

You accidentally befriended Sinners and hellborn alike, and that granted you with connections a ordinary sinner wouldn't have!

You found the Hazbin hotel after an incident where you were shot out of a circus canon and crashed through one of the walls, and you decided to stick around!

You get a free hotel room and there's a chance of redemption and to seeing the pearly gates of heaven? That's a pretty good deal in your book!

You gave no warning for when you'd use for connections to improve the hotel or to just make things better for your fellow hotel residents!

Husk complained about the horrible quality of alcohol?

The next day a shipment of high quality luxury alcohol came in, at first they thought it was a mistake but were assured that it wasn't, The imp who delivered it greeted you with joy as you addressed him by name and began to ask how he was, how his wife and kids were, etc etc.

You accidentally ran into Charlie and Vaggie during date night? You call up a guy and get them VIP seats for a sold out show they wanted to see.

One of Alastor's old radios break? And he's about to murder someone? You know a guy who can fix it right up, make it good as new!

Niffty's cleaning supplies are beginning to break? you make a phone call and suddenly industrial grade cleaning supplies are delivered to the hotel, She's filled with pure unbridled glee!

Angel dust is complaining about Valentino overworking him? No worries you know a guy! Valentino is shot dead the next day.

Sir Pentious needs a very specific, very outdated and extremely hard to find part for something? You know a guy who can get you one for dirt cheap!

Eventually after you had gotten the hotel a whole build board advertisment the residents came together to discuss what exactly you did to get them what you did, because as far as they knew you weren't an overlord or even threatening for that matter! Angel dust swears he saw you cry over accidentally killing a bug once!

Several theories were made, Niffty and some of the egg Bois stalked followed you for a time!

And you didn't even notice! Honestly they were concerned about that because the egg Bois weren't exactly... Discreet, several of them died.

Eventually they just decided to rip the bandaid off.

"Okay guys so, hear me out on clown dentists, I know some clowns that could be great dentists!" You said waltzing on into the hotel, to be greeted with the people you have begun to regard as your friends, and dare you say, family, circled around the lobby couch like they were preparing for an intervention.

You tilted your head confused and before you could open your mouth to say anything you were grabbed like you were being kidnapped by a slasher killer and thrown onto the couch.

"That's an idea but let's put a pin in that for now because we have a couple concerns about how exactly you get some stuff, like that build board for the hotel!" Charlie started up carefully before Vaggie continued,

"And the time you got us free tickets for that show, thanks again for that but those tickets are expensive."

You shrugged, "I know a guy who's sister's boyfriend's cousin's aunt's poodle is in the build board business, and it's no problem, if you wanna see another show just let me know and I can get you two more tickets! It's no biggie! I know a guy!"

An eyebrow was raised "For completely free? No tricks?"

"Or at a huge discount! And no tricks!" You innocently grinned,

"What about the luxury alcohol you got the bar?" A glance was given to the cat that ran said bar, who was drinking a bottle of said luxury alcohol,

"I know a guy who's married to a Alcohol maker's daughter's daughter in wrath! They have loads of extra alcohol just laying around!"

"What about the parts you got for Pentious?"

"I know a guy who's married to his brother's girlfriend's twice removed cousin's poodle's dog Walker's mother's-" "This is getting ridiculous," "gREAT GREAT GRAND MOTHER'S Chewbacca's queer icon nephew's unicorn who owns a shop."

Were you joking? Or were you complete serious? They genuinely couldn't tell.

"Ya' got the purple pimp killed, I owe ya' one and I don't care whatcha' do in your free time but it is a concerning because ya' know the other two Vees?'' Angel popped in.

"I know a guy who knows a girl who knows a Chicago deep dish pizza who knows a new York style pizza guy who knows a cannibal in cannibal town who knows Rosie's hat gremlin who knows another hat gremlin who knows about hat creature that had a vendetta against pimp grimace!"

"What the fuck."

"Don't question it! I don't mind using my connections for you guys! Your practically my family anywho!" You get up from the couch, "I'm gonna go put together a sinterest board for my dentist clown idea, bye!" You said before booking it up the stairs and into your room, leaving confusion, a very touched Charlie from being called family, questions technically answered and concern for what the fuck clown dentists were.

Good evening folks! I hope you enjoyed this! It became a little funky with the dialogue but that's alright, Either Mob Alastor headcanons or an angst fic is coming up next so tune on in for that! As always thank you for tuning in and goodnight!

Pssssst, you should totally join our discord server

[prettieinpink]

Urgent ask, how be a baddie as a extremely under confident person

BECOMING YOUR BEST SELF WITH LOW CONFIDENCE

i have no idea what ur definition of a 'baddie' is, so this post may have not been what you've been looking for, but I tried my best

A lot of us struggle with confidence, and it can be the main factor that holds us back from growing to be our best selves. So, I’ve created a guide on improving ourselves even with low confidence.

UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS NOT UNREPLENISHABLE. Confidence is like a cup of water, tea, coffee, hot cocoa, or whatever your favourite beverage is, it can always be refilled. While you don’t have to ‘fake till you make it’, remember that you do not live with a restricted amount of confidence.

ACCEPT IT. Whatever way you have to, crying, journalling, venting, you have to accept that you are a person who struggles with low confidence. However, instead of identifying yourself as that, identify yourself as learning to self-love.

E.g. ‘I’m so insecure’ → ‘I am still learning to love myself.’ ‘Why can’t I be like them?’ -> ‘I will learn that I do not have to be someone else.’

CONSIDER NEUTRALITY. You don’t have to live on this odd scale of loving yourself or hating yourself all the time, and letting it define you. Instead of what it looks like, what it can look like, what it can do, see it as a special vessel that homes your soul.

For example, my body can digest the food that nourishes my soul, my hands can write text messages to my loved ones which reassure my soul that they know they are loved etc. Seeing it in this perspective grows a deeper meaning and appreciation for your body.

I like to see my body, traits, and life as a gift from God. Me insulting these things, is an insult to him.

INDULGE IN YOUR STRENGTHS. When we have low confidence, it becomes almost second nature to focus on our weaknesses. Instead, try to actively focus on your strengths. If you don’t know what your strengths are at the moment, just focus on things that make you happy.

It would be beneficial to add one thing that you know you’re good at on your list of what to do. Something that you’re assured you’ll like doing and the outcome.

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. Eat a well-balanced diet, make an effort to achieve good quality sleep, exercise when you can, reach out to your loved ones daily and incorporate things that make you happy.

Just these simple things can improve your quality of life by far, however, our intentions to do these things may be impacted by our low confidence, and therefore we are unmotivated to do these things.

If that is the case, take little steps in doing each thing and remind yourself that intentional self-neglect is a form of self-harm and destruction.

[mesetacadre]

How do you avoid becoming a doomer with politics? I want to be more politically active but the current political climate makes me feel depressed.

talked more about this here but essentially, nothing is static. Conditions change all the time, the quantity of organized people can fall and rise (with parallel but not necessarily 1:1 development of quality). What today seems like an impassable wall, tomorrow (not literally tomorrow) will more and more began to be seen as a necessary step for an improvement to happen. The fact that there exists a scientific method of analysis of history and capitalism also acts as an accelerant; how much time passed between the first bourgeois state and the first formulation of scientific communism, 50 years? That is unprecedented in the history of modes of production, and it only took another 50-60 years after that before the first relatively permanent instance of the next mode of production.

The way I see this, inaction and pessimism feed into each other, pessimism favors inaction, and inaction reinforces pessimism, by limiting your perception because it limits personal experience. And that cycle can only be broken by first stopping that inaction, since it is possible (not always) to force yourself to act against your general feelings. And then, only by working against that inaction and finding an organization/party or general line of action that works for you, can you begin to sustain an action-optimism cycle (of course, it isn't this simple and I would not call my outlook to be optimistic, but this is the best way I can think of explaining this). This cycle is, in my experience, very fragile, and somewhat often I continue to act through periods of relative pessimism by inertia and by the continuance of the responsibilities that bind me to my party most strongly. I can keep talking about the way society and the economy evolve, but at a personal and more inmediate scale, this is the only way to avoid "doomerism", at some point you're going to have to start acting if you want to avoid it, and rethoric can help, of course, but you'll only start to internalize it once you experience becoming an active part of these mechanisms. For me, it sometimes feels like a hobby, other times like a chore, and most times like the best thing I could ever do with my life. But it's crucial that you're not only driven by blind hope. The amount of effort and time you can contribute as an individual will vary wildly, depending on your own personal circumstances, and in my experience the most common type of organized person you'll encounter is the one that can only really dedicate a few days a week or a couple of hours every few days.

There is some nuance to "you have to end your inaction" too, of course. I'm not saying to join the very first group you encounter and dedicate every minute of free time to it, but you also can't be waiting for the perfect opportunity or org to come along. I contacted my ML party on a Tuesday during a winter academic break, while I was only just beginning to stabilize out of a suicidal episode but still depressed, and while considering myself mostly an ancom (I was very lost in that regard, my beliefs were not truly emergent from any proper anarchist core, but I digress). You don't need to have read x books or need to have encyclopedic knowledge of your local movement to begin to organize yourself, and you also don't need to believe 100% in the emancipation of workers. The best time to begin is the next time you have some free time to research and begin to contact some orgs/parties, that's as best as I think I can put it. I can't assure you that it'll be straightforward, but I can assure you that you can't get out of doomerism just by thinking about it.

If it's too daunting, think about those executive dysfunction "tricks". Joining A Party can sound very big an unapproachable, but you can break it down into looking, for example, for "Communist Party of [your country]". Look at their socials, see what they do and say, maybe you find an offshoot org that looks better, or run into a completely unrelated group. Then you contact them, ask when they're doing something in your area or if they can invite you to some kind of meeting, etc. Be willing to contact them if you find a couple of drawbacks too, sometimes rumors turn into the thing everybody says about x or y org, without really reflecting reality. Have criteria, of course, if some org is talking about immigrants like they're invaders, for example, it is probably not worth your time. Everything depends on what your local scene looks like. Getting experience at a mediocre org is still better than staying at home and looking on at the state of the world like it's hopeless. this isn't a very well-structured post, I've been writing this across a few days when I can, I hope it's helpful

[oiblackestsheep]

Introverted Sensing (Si) is More Valuable than You Think it is

I touched on this a little in another post I made, but it wasn't the main focus, so I'm making this it's own thing.

Introverted Sensing (Si) is most frequently referred to as using tradition as a way of perceiving things that lead to your judgements later. Some examples include following instructions to a T (or being unable to do things without said instructions), making lists, keeping daily planners, and referring to the past (often times personal memories, but can also be previously reported data) to inform the present.

These examples aren't necessarily wrong, but they are sometimes twisted in a negative way that can makes this cognitive function (and the associate types ISTJ, ISFJ, ESTJ, ESFJ) become interpretted as simple, thoughtless, repetititve, useless, boring, and "basic".

There is a much deeper side to Si that I think needs to be talked about, so that's what I'm going to do.

Introduction

Now, the flaws I listed above, also are not necessarily wrong. High Si uses can embody all of those negative traits, but it is much more rare than the iNtuitive bias would have you believe, because those negative traits come out when Si users are at their absolute worst.

And how often is anybody truly at their absolute worst?

I choose to think of Si predominantly not as tradition, but as a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).

Standard Operating Procedure and Si

What is an SOP? An SOP is a detailed step-by-step list of instructions that you follow from start to finish in order to obtain a completely finished, fully function product/result.

Sounds very Si, doesn't it? That's because it is! And SOPs are absolutely mission critical to so many things in our daily lives because they ensure that a certain level of quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) is in place at all times. Some things absolutely need to be the exact same every single time because there is very little room for error and products need to consistently pass quality checks in order to be viable for general public use.

SOP Examples

If you don't follow the instructions exactly right, the cake you are baking will taste very badly. The furniture you are building will not be fully functional, or even unsafe to use. The scientific experiment you are doing will include bias, contamination, or simply will not work, and you won't produce any results.

Si is incredibly vital because by ensuring that everthing is done the exact same way every time, you should expect the same results every time. So when you do not get the same results, it is incredibly easy to notice, and focus heavily on why results are different than expected.

This is how we learn and make discoveries.

Conclusion

We aren't wrong about Si or what it means. We aren't wrong about it's potential pitfalls. We are wrong to focus so heavily on pitfalls and not focus on how effective and essential Si can be when it is being used productively.

Yes, Si can be very dry sometimes. But it is an essential dryness. It is intentionally dry and repetitive because it minimizes the possibility for error. And it constantly updates and innovates its step-by-step instructions as new information becomes available so that the instructions we follow are the most effective as possible.

Si ensures our success. We don't have to change what Si means, we have to change how we choose to view it. It may not always be the most exciting cognitive function, but it makes the world go round, and we need to appreciate the high Si users just as much as we do everyone else.

[dhjdfgshhdfjs]

Custom Bobbleheads: The Art of Personalized Keepsakes

Introduction: The Rise of Personalized Nostalgia

In an era where digital dominates, there's something profoundly charming about holding a tangible piece of personalized art. Custom bobbleheads have emerged as the perfect intersection of nostalgia and modern personalization, offering a unique way to commemorate special people, pets, and moments. These delightful nodding figurines have evolved from sports memorabilia to become cherished keepsakes that capture personality in a way few gifts can.

This comprehensive guide explores why custom bobblehead have become such a phenomenon, detailing their creation process, most popular uses, and what makes them stand out in today's gift market.

The Anatomy of a Perfect Custom Bobblehead

What Makes These Figurines Special?

Unlike mass-produced decorations, each custom bobblehead is:

Meticulously handcrafted to capture unique facial features

Fully poseable with hundreds of customization options

Built to last using high-quality resin materials

Infinitely personal down to the smallest detail

Evolution of the Craft

Modern custom bobbleheads benefit from:

Advanced 3D scanning technology

Precision laser cutting

Food-grade paint applications

Durable spring mechanisms

From Concept to Creation: The Manufacturing Journey

Stage 1: Design Consultation

Photo submission guidelines (minimum 3 angles)

Pose selection from hundreds of options

Outfit and accessory customization

Special requests (pet replicas, fantasy themes)

Stage 2: Digital Sculpting Process

3D modeling with 0.1mm precision

Virtual proofing system

Multi-angle render approvals

Scalability options (from 6" to 24" tall)

Stage 3: Production & Finishing

High-resolution 3D printing

Hand-painting with archival-quality pigments

Dual-layer protective coating

Quality assurance testing

Unconventional Uses for Custom Bobbleheads

Beyond Gift-Giving: Creative Applications

Wedding Innovations

Interactive guest book alternatives

Table number holders

Groomsmen proposal gifts

Corporate Solutions

Employee recognition awards

Trade show booth attractions

Office morale builders

Memorial Tributes

Pet memorials with urn integration

Legacy keepsakes

Retirement commemorations

The Psychology Behind the Popularity

Why We Love Personalized Figurines

Tangible connection in a digital world

Nostalgia factor invoking childhood memories

Self-representation as art

Conversation piece value

Market Trends & Demographics

45% growth in personalization industry since 2020

68% of buyers are aged 25-45

Wedding sector accounts for 32% of sales

Pet memorials fastest growing segment (+27% YoY)

Choosing Your Perfect Bobblehead Artist

Quality Indicators to Look For

✔ Lifetime guarantee offerings

✔ Museum-grade material certifications

✔ Portfolio of realistic human faces

✔ Transparent production timeline

Red Flags to Avoid

✖ Stock photo "examples"

✖ Unrealistically low prices

✖ No physical address listed

✖ Limited customization options

The Future of Personalization

Emerging Technologies

AR integration for "live" bobbleheads

Biodegradable material options

Voice-activated motion features

Miniature 3D printing for jewelry

Market Projections

Expected to reach $1.2B by 2028

Asia-Pacific fastest growing market

Luxury customization segment expanding

Conclusion: More Than Just a Nodding Head

Custom bobbleheads represent the perfect marriage of art and personal expression in our increasingly digital world. They've evolved from simple novelties to meaningful keepsakes that capture the essence of individuals in a way photos simply can't. Whether used as heartfelt gifts, unique decor, or professional tools, these personalized creations continue to win hearts across generations.

As technology advances, so too will the possibilities for personalization, ensuring custom bobbleheads remain relevant in an ever-changing gift landscape. Their enduring appeal lies in their ability to make us smile while preserving precious memories in physical form - a rare quality in today's ephemeral digital age.

[haggishlyhagging]

Because of our social circumstances, male and female are really two cultures and their life experiences are utterly different—and this is crucial. Implicit in all the gender identity development which takes place through childhood is the sum total of the parents', the peers, and the culture's notions of what is appropriate to each gender by way of temperament, character, interests, status, worth, gesture, and expression. Every moment of the child's life is a clue to how he or she must think and behave to attain of satisfy the demands which gender places upon one. In adolescence, the merciless task of conformity grows to crisis proportions, generally cooling and settling in maturity.

Since patriarchy's biological foundations appear to be so very insecure, one has some cause to admire the strength of a "socialization" which can continue a universal condition "on faith alone," as it were, or through an acquired value system exclusively. What does seem decisive in assuring the maintenance of the temperamental differences between the sexes is the conditioning of early childhood. Conditioning runs in a circle of self-perpetuation and self-fulfilling prophecy. To take a simple example: expectations the culture cherishes about his gender identity encourage the young male to develop aggressive impulses, and the female to thwart her own or turn them inward. The result is that the male tends to have aggression reinforced in his behavior, often with significant anti-social possibilities. Thereupon the culture consents to believe the possession of the male indicator, the testes, penis, and scrotum, in itself characterizes the aggressive impulse, and even vulgarly celebrates it in such encomiums as "that guy has balls." The same process of reinforcement is evident in producing the chief "feminine" virtue of passivity.

In contemporary terminology, the basic division of temperamental trait is marshaled along the line of "aggression is male" and "passivity is female." All other temperamental traits are somehow—often with the most dexterous ingenuity—aligned to correspond. If aggressiveness is the trait of the master class, docility must be the corresponding trait of a subject group. The usual hope of such line of reasoning is that "nature," by some impossible outside chance, might still be depended upon to rationalize the patriarchal system. An important consideration to be remembered here is that in patriarchy, the function of norm is unthinkingly delegated to the male—were it not, one might as plausibly speak of "feminine" behavior as active, and "masculine" behavior as hyperactive or hyperaggressive.

. . .

The arbitrary character of patriarchal ascriptions of temperament and role has little effect upon their power over us. Nor do the mutually exclusive, contradictory, and polar qualities of the categories "masculine" and "feminine" imposed upon human personality give rise to sufficiently serious question among us. Under their aegis each personality becomes little more, and often less than half, of its human potential. Politically, the fact that each group exhibits a circumscribed but complementary personality and range of activity is of secondary importance to the fact that each represents a status or power division. In the matter of conformity patriarchy is a governing ideology without peer; it is probable that no other system has ever exercised such a complete control over its subjects.

-Kate Millett, Sexual Politics

[jcmarchi]

A Few Ways That Cloudways Makes Running This Site a Little Easier

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/a-few-ways-that-cloudways-makes-running-this-site-a-little-easier/

A Few Ways That Cloudways Makes Running This Site a Little Easier

It’s probably no surprise to you that CSS-Tricks is (proudly) hosted on Cloudways, DigitalOcean’s managed hosting arm. Given both CSS-Tricks and Cloudways are part of DigitalOcean, it was just a matter of time before we’d come together this way. And here we are!

We were previously hosted on Flywheel which was a fairly boutique WordPress hosting provider until WP Engine purchased it years back. And, to be very honest and up-front, Flywheel served us extremely well. There reached a point when it became pretty clear that CSS-Tricks was simply too big for Flywheel to scale along. That might’ve led us to try out WP Engine in the absence of Cloudways… but it’s probably good that never came to fruition considering recent events.

Anyway, moving hosts always means at least a smidge of contest-switching. Different server names with different configurations with different user accounts with different controls.

We’re a pretty low-maintenance operation around here, so being on a fully managed host is a benefit because I see very little of the day-to-day nuance that happens on our server. The Cloudways team took care of all the heavy lifting of migrating us and making sure we were set up with everything we needed, from SFTP accounts and database access to a staging environment and deployment points.

Our development flow used to go something like this:

Fire up Local (Flywheel’s local development app)

Futz around with local development

Push to main

Let a CI/CD pipeline publish the changes

I know, ridiculously simple. But it was also riddled with errors because we didn’t always want to publish changes on push. There was a real human margin of error in there, especially when handling WordPress updates. We could have (and should have) had some sort of staging environment rather than blindly trusting what was working locally. But again, we’re kinduva a ragtag team despite the big corporate backing.

The flow now looks like this:

Fire up Local (we still use it!)

Futz around with local development

Push to main

Publish to staging

Publish to production

This is something we could have set up in Flywheel but was trivial with Cloudways. I gave up some automation for quality assurance’s sake. Switching environments in Cloudways is a single click and I like a little manual friction to feel like I have some control in the process. That might not scale well for large teams on an enterprise project, but that’s not really what Cloudways is all about — that’s why we have DigitalOcean!

See that baseline-status-widget branch in the dropdown? That’s a little feature I’m playing with (and will post about later). I like that GitHub is integrated directly into the Cloudways UI so I can experiment with it in whatever environment I want, even before merging it with either the staging or master branches. It makes testing a whole lot easier and way less error-prone than triggering auto-deployments in every which way.

Here’s another nicety: I get a good snapshot of the differences between my environments through Cloudways monitoring. For example, I was attempting to update our copy of the Gravity Forms plugin just this morning. It worked locally but triggered a fatal in staging. I went in and tried to sniff out what was up with the staging environment, so I headed to the Vulnerability Scanner and saw that staging was running an older version of WordPress compared to what was running locally and in production. (We don’t version control WordPress core, so that was an easy miss.)

I hypothesized that the newer version of Gravity Forms had a conflict with the older version of WordPress, and this made it ridiculously easy to test my assertion. Turns out that was correct and I was confident that pushing to production was safe and sound — which it was.

That little incident inspired me to share a little about what I’ve liked about Cloudways so far. You’ll notice that we don’t push our products too hard around here. Anytime you experience something delightful — whatever it is — is a good time to blog about it and this was clearly one of those times.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Cloudways is ideal for any size or type of WordPress site. It’s one of the few hosts that will let you BOYO cloud, so to speak, where you can hold your work on a cloud server (like a DigitalOcean droplet, for instance) and let Cloudways manage the hosting, giving you all the freedom to scale when needed on top of the benefits of having a managed host. So, if you need a fully managed, autoscaling hosting solution for WordPress like we do here at CSS-Tricks, Cloudways has you covered.

[madeitlate37]

Winter of ‘83 by Lewis Lovhaug (Part of the Channel: Linkara-Atop the Forth Wall)

(Note: Full disclosure, this is probably going to be the last consistent post. But I may still post the occasional review, Prehistoric Emergence in particular because it recently became another favorite series of mine.)

With that aside, the Winter of ‘83 is an Analog Horror film—approximately an hour in length—about a mysterious threat related to snow. Because I couldn’t make a post this close to the usual “winter break” and not do one that was winter-themed.

It helps that this one has a legitimately good concept, and a good execution of that concept with effective uses of repetitive sounds and a compounding mystery surrounding the origins and nature of the threat. This time, since the visuals are not typically fantastic—particularly when actually showing the threat—I’m going to focus on how this series uses sound and other techniques to boost the execution of its ideas.

First, though, let’s go over the spoiler-free section:

• Science, if your someone who loves science in horror—and it’s typical contribution—you may like this one

• Unreliable sources, the majority of the story is told through police reports and a struggling news station. The news station in particular has no reason to actively harm others, but does have reason to stretch the truth to keep their channel and jobs, which can make it hard as an audience member to trust their word.

• Nature-themed threat, it’s not a demon or a full-on alien, and it uses nature to its own end, which makes it feel more threatening.

• Smart-threat, rest assured that this threat isn’t like the aliens in that one movie that are vulnerable to water but who then went to a planet that’s about 70-80% water. This threat knows what it’s trying to take down, what it can use to do that, and has the means to execute those strategies in an effective way. The solution that’s attempted to take them down isn’t simple, either.

• Uncanny-valley, this one’s a little off because as I mentioned, the visuals aren’t stellar, so the film relies on sound a lot more. But you can still clearly tell with those sounds what is a person and what isn’t. This part of the sound in particular is really good at building a sense of dread.

• Rural area, not dominated by farmland necessarily, but it is a very small town with a lot of spacing in-between buildings. Which, considering how the threat works, makes it very easy to corner people.

Now, for the more in-depth part:

I’ll start with the visuals because that’s what I’ve been talking about already. The voice-acting and the use of sounds to make up for a lack of visuals is really well done in this Analog Horror. As said, they aren’t great. The YouTuber: “EmortalMarcus” even admitted before reacting to it that he initially dismissed it because of the cheesy opening, and the ending reveal of the threat doesn’t necessarily do the buildup a favor.

But, the creator and crew know this. So instead, they rely on building everything else while using visual scenes for more “establishing” or “hidden-attack” scenes. Not necessarily the way Vintage Eight does with their Analog Horrors where there’s no visuals at all. You do still see the setting, but there’s rarely any sign of the threat in it. Unless it’s covering a council meeting, it’s even rare to see a person, and the landscapes often look lifeless as a result. Even with this lack of visuals, they’re still used to portray a sense of isolation because of this threat, and the other qualities of the film only amplify this.

The biggest example of the good use of sound is that they essentially use it to create a “theme” for the threat. If you hear the sound, you know that it’s nearby.

The kicker? It’s just one sentence: “Hey, can you help me with this?” Said in a casual manner by what sounds like a middle-aged man.

The dread associated with this sound, however, is done in one scene to establish its connection to the threat. You hear it once, and it’s a little ominous already because the one holding the camera is in the middle of a parking lot at night. But then you hear it again, repeatedly. And it’s said in the exact same tone, same pitch, same intonation, everything. Every time you hear: “Hey, can you help me with this?” it sounds identical to the last time you heard it.

This ties into what I said about the uncanny-valley being portrayed through sound, you know that the characters can see it, but all you have are the sounds that these threats make. In this first scene, once you catch onto the repeat, it becomes clear that this creature does not have it’s own voice, and is instead mimicking what it heard from a person in the hopes that it will attract a victim.

In this same scene, the sentence gets further away the more the person tries to follow the voice to help the person. Using this sound, it’s not only pretending to be a person to get a victim’s attention, it’s using that attention to lure the victim to where they’re least likely to get help.

So, these are effective ways to handle the fear surrounding a threat that can’t be shown, at least not clearly.

Now, as bluntly as possible: The threats are snowmen.

There is more nuance revealed about them that makes them seem much more dangerous, but the only times you can really see them are when they are snowmen. And as stated above, the film does a phenomenal job to make you legitimately fear these snowmen.

For people who wish to make an Analog Horror but are afraid that the visuals won’t be great, Winter of ‘83 and all of Vintage Eight’s series’ are fantastic examples on how to use other senses to build horror. In Vintage Eight, it was that sense of isolation and confusion from rarely seeing the world outside of that computer monitor. In this film, it was the use of repetitive sounds and “themes” that built up the threat. It all just depends on what kind of feelings you want to build and what kind of fear you’re going for.

But, that’s pretty much all I can gush about with this film. Not one I expected to like so much, but is a pleasant surprise and definitely worth watching all the way through. Because on top of what I already said: The pacing is great, and similarly to the Tangi Virus, there’s enough of a variety in footage/recordings to prevent redundancy and keep momentum.

If you’re looking for something winter-themed, or that’ll make you scared of Snowmen, give this one a try.

As always, Linkara-AtopTheForthWall’s Channel is available here to watch the film, (it is also available as a miniseries).

No preview this time as I’ve reached the end of my planned list, but if I do post again it will most-likely be Prehistoric Emergence.

Cheers!

[tkimaginations]

How would be his reaction to physical touch and his love languages 

@eboni-napalm, @hwoarangs-gf (explanation: I decided to put them together because the asks were similar and to avoid repeat the same ask). 

Physical touch.

If you are in a relationship with Kazuya and you are the clingy part of it because Heihachi treated him badly and didn't care about him, he would be surprised at first. He would look at you with a harsh and critical gaze. 

His daily bad humor and seriousness wouldn't help either, because if there is a day when you are feeling very clingy and he feels that you are suffocating him, he would transform into his devil form and fly away from your shared home. Even being an evil person with a controversial relationship with his relatives and family, he would never dare to lay a finger to hurt his love. 

Be patient, as it would take a long time for him to get used to it. I think it might take around 2-3 years for him to start tolerating and not feel as irritated with his lover's physical demonstrations. 

After this period of accepting and understanding the way and the personality of his partner, maybe he would think about returning the physical touch. However, it would be mentally conflicting and take time for him to convince himself that he is not being "less masculine" for demonstrating that he cares and loves too. His deceased dad wasn't the best example of someone who showed love towards him, his mother, and/or his grandfather. 

Showing a new side of him that he never showed, one day he called you to talk, feeling confident enough to express his feelings towards his cold personality. He explained that he loves you too, but he has great difficulty expressing it like you do—through hugging, kissing, and stealing kisses from him. He mentioned that he has never had someone who cares and likes him for being himself like you do, since his last relationship with Jun. You responded, assuring him, saying, "It's okay, bae. I won't force you to show love like I do, but it warms my heart to hear that you love me too." Since you started dating, he had never directly said, "I love you." 

He felt relieved, and for the first time in the long three-year relationship, he smiled spontaneously at you and kissed you, all on his own.  Love languages.

Being the leader of G Corporation, he would be a billionaire, with the gains from the worldwide war against Mishima Zaibatsu. Getting used to your physical affection, the way he would reciprocate is by spoiling you with expensive gifts. He would directly ask you what you like to be gifted, and the next day(s), he would show up with various G Corporation employees carrying your gifts to your mansion. This surprise would initially scare you, and you would tell him that it wasn't necessary since you had your own money. However, he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Acts of service would be quite common too. When he isn't busy with fighting Jin, destroying something or someone, or working on his G Corporation projects, during his free time (thanks to his high stamina from his demon powers), he enjoys serving and helping you out. This might include helping when you're tired from work or school, and even assisting with tasks like reaching for things or providing support during your period (if you are Assigned Female At Birth (AFAB)). In these moments, he reveals a kind and gentle side that only you know.

Quality time would be one of the ways he shows love and appreciation for you, simply by spending time together. Whether it's training with him, watching TV series together in the bedroom, or sharing a meal, these simple activities bring pleasure to both of you, especially to him.

[gadgethubone]

'AI Reels Academy' Review - Make $350/Day From Short AI Videos!

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[waldronconstruction]

What Adds the Most Value to a Bathroom?

When it comes to home remodeling, one area that can significantly boost your property's value is the bathroom. You may wonder, “What adds the most value to a bathroom?” Whether planning a complete overhaul or just a few strategic updates, understanding the key elements that enhance a bathroom's appeal and functionality can make all the difference.

Why Focus on Bathroom Remodeling?

Bathroom remodeling is not just about aesthetics; it’s also about creating a space that functions well for your daily needs. A well-designed bathroom can improve your home’s resale value and make your day-to-day life easier and more enjoyable. People often spend considerable time in this space, so investing in it can lead to a more pleasant and satisfying experience. Let's dive into what elements can maximize the value of your bathroom.

1. Quality Fixtures and Fittings

One of the first things that can elevate your bathroom is the quality of fixtures and fittings. Consider investing in a stylish vanity, energy-efficient faucets, and a modern showerhead. These features not only enhance the aesthetic appeal but also improve functionality. For example, a low-flow showerhead can conserve water without sacrificing performance, making it an attractive option for environmentally conscious buyers.

2. Stylish Tile and Flooring

Regarding flooring options, tiles can add elegance while providing durability. Choosing the right tile can transform a bathroom from ordinary to extraordinary. Natural stone, ceramic, and porcelain are all popular choices offering various styles. Additionally, heated flooring is an attractive upgrade that feels luxurious and can be a selling point for future buyers.

3. Ample Storage Solutions

Nobody likes clutter, especially in a space meant for relaxation. Ample storage can make a bathroom more functional and visually appealing. Consider built-in shelves, cabinets, or even under-sink storage solutions to organize the space. Custom cabinetry can also add a personal touch while maximizing available space, making it a wise choice in bathroom remodeling.

4. Modern Lighting

The right lighting can dramatically change the feel of a bathroom. Layered lighting, including task, ambient, and accent lighting, can create a warm and inviting atmosphere. Consider installing dimmable lights for versatility, allowing you to set the mood for a relaxing soak or a quick morning routine. Upgraded lighting fixtures can also serve as stylish focal points that enhance overall design.

5. Energy-Efficient Features

In today’s market, energy efficiency is key. People are increasingly looking for features that help them save on utility bills. Installing energy-efficient toilets, water-saving faucets, and LED lights can be appealing selling points. These upgrades not only benefit the environment but also lower costs for homeowners, making your bathroom more attractive to potential buyers.

6. Updated Shower and Bathtub Options

A beautiful shower or bathtub can be a significant draw for any bathroom. Walk-in showers with frameless glass doors are on-trend and can make the space feel larger and more luxurious. If you have the space, consider adding a soaking tub or a whirlpool feature; these can be seen as indulgent and luxurious, adding to the overall value of your home.

7. High-Quality Waterproofing

A vital yet often overlooked aspect of bathroom remodeling is waterproofing. Ensuring that your bathroom is adequately sealed and protected from water damage is essential. Not only does this prevent costly repairs down the line, but it also assures potential buyers that the bathroom is well-maintained. Proper waterproofing should be a priority in any renovation project.

8. Fresh Paint and Modern Colors

Sometimes, a simple coat of paint can work wonders. Opt for neutral, modern colors that appeal to a broad audience. Light colors can make a small bathroom feel larger, while darker tones can add a touch of sophistication. Pairing your paint choice with stylish accents, such as mirrors and artwork, can further enhance the space.

9. Smart Technology

Integrating smart technology into your bathroom can set it apart from others. Features like smart showers, automatic faucets, and heated mirrors can provide convenience and luxury. These tech-savvy features can attract buyers who appreciate modern living and are willing to pay a premium for a home equipped with the latest advancements.

10. Attention to Detail

Small details can make a big difference in your bathroom remodel. Consider adding crown molding, decorative trim, or high-quality hardware to give your bathroom a polished look. Quality materials and craftsmanship reflect well on the home, showing potential buyers it has been cared for.

Conclusion

In summary, if you want to add value to your bathroom, focus on quality fixtures, stylish flooring, ample storage, modern lighting, energy efficiency, updated showers, waterproofing, fresh paint, smart technology, and attention to detail. By integrating these elements into your bathroom remodeling project, you can create a space that is not only beautiful but also functional and appealing to future buyers.

Ready to transform your bathroom into a space that adds value and enhances your home? Visit Waldron Construction today to explore our expert bathroom remodeling and custom design solutions! Let’s get started on making your dream bathroom a reality!

[openlyfurrynightmare]

The Thrissur Tech Experience: Where to Buy Your Next Laptop with Confidence

Laptops have become indispensable tools for work, study, entertainment, and communication. Whether you’re managing business operations, attending online classes, editing videos, or simply browsing the web, a reliable laptop is your daily companion. But finding the right laptop starts with finding the right place to buy one. And when it comes to dependable, local expertise, a trusted laptop shop in Thrissur is often the best place to begin.

Thrissur, the cultural capital of Kerala, has transformed in recent years into a tech-savvy city with increasing demand for quality electronic products. As students, professionals, and entrepreneurs look for better computing power, the local laptop market has evolved to offer not only competitive pricing but also unmatched customer service and support.

Why Local Stores Still Matter in the Digital Age

While online shopping platforms offer convenience, many customers now realize that they often sacrifice personalized service, after-sales support, and the ability to try before buying. Visiting a reputable laptop store in Thrissur gives you a hands-on shopping experience that is hard to match online.

You can physically check out a range of models, evaluate screen quality, test keyboard comfort, inspect build materials, and speak directly with experts. These in-person advantages help you make an informed decision—especially when buying a long-term device like a laptop.

A Wide Range of Options for Every Type of User

Every laptop user is different, and local stores recognize this by stocking a variety of models tailored to specific needs:

Students often look for lightweight, budget-friendly laptops that can handle basic tasks like browsing, attending classes, and running productivity software.

Professionals may need machines with faster processors, longer battery life, and multitasking capabilities.

Gamers seek high-refresh-rate displays, dedicated graphics cards, and strong cooling systems.

Designers and content creators need vibrant color-accurate screens and powerful GPUs.

At a top-rated laptop shop in Thrissur, you’ll find popular brands like Dell, HP, ASUS, Lenovo, Acer, Apple, and MSI. You can compare models side-by-side and get suggestions based on how you plan to use the device.

Expert Guidance That Makes a Difference

Not everyone is a tech expert—and that’s okay. The friendly and knowledgeable staff at a local laptop store in Thrissur are trained to help customers make the right choice. They take the time to understand your needs, answer your questions in simple terms, and explain what each specification really means in real-world usage.

For example, if you don’t know the difference between an SSD and HDD, or whether 8GB RAM is enough for your daily tasks, you can get clear, honest answers from people who genuinely want to help.

Quality Assurance and Genuine Products

One of the risks of buying electronics online is accidentally purchasing refurbished, used, or counterfeit products. But when you buy from a certified laptop shop in Thrissur, you’re guaranteed to receive brand-new, factory-sealed laptops with valid bills, genuine warranties, and access to brand-authorized service.

This is especially important when you’re making a significant investment in a laptop for work or study. Peace of mind matters, and local stores ensure transparency and accountability at every stage of the purchase.

On-Site Services and Accessories

A good laptop store doesn’t just sell laptops—it offers full support:

Software installation

Operating system setup

Antivirus and security configuration

RAM and SSD upgrades

Troubleshooting and repairs

Data backup and recovery services

Plus, you’ll find a wide range of accessories like bags, external drives, USB hubs, wireless mice, cooling pads, and more. Everything you need to get started—or to upgrade your current setup—is available under one roof.

Competitive Pricing and Payment Flexibility

There’s a misconception that local stores are more expensive than online sellers. In reality, many local stores in Thrissur offer highly competitive prices, especially when you consider the added value of personalized service, bundled accessories, and initial software setup.

Some stores also offer:

Easy EMI options

Student discounts

Corporate and institutional purchase programs

Exchange offers for old laptops

This ensures that customers from all walks of life can afford a quality laptop that suits their needs.

The Trust Factor

When you buy from a well-reviewed laptop shop in Thrissur, you’re not just another sale—you’re part of the community. Local shops build their reputation on customer trust and long-term relationships. That means if you ever face an issue or need assistance, you know exactly where to go. No automated messages, no long wait times—just real people who care.

Many families, businesses, and students in Thrissur return to the same store for years because they’ve built that trust over time. It’s a relationship, not just a transaction.

Final Thoughts

Your laptop is one of the most important tools in your daily life. Choosing where to buy it is just as crucial as choosing the right brand or model. By visiting a reliable laptop store in Thrissur, you get hands-on service, expert advice, genuine products, and a dependable support system that stays with you long after the purchase.

So if you’re in the market for a new laptop, don’t settle for impersonal shopping experiences. Step into a trusted laptop shop in Thrissur and experience the difference for yourself.

[julietalayna]

DIY vs. Professional Resin Driveway Installations: What’s Best?

Resin driveways have surged in popularity across the UK, offering a sleek, durable, and customisable alternative to traditional materials like concrete, tarmac, or gravel. Their seamless finish, permeability, and low maintenance make them an attractive option for homeowners looking to enhance their property’s kerb appeal. However, one critical decision remains: should you opt for a DIY resin driveway installation or hire professionals? This article explores the pros and cons of both approaches, helping you decide which is best for your needs, budget, and skill level. We’ll delve into the key considerations, costs, installation processes, and long-term outcomes to provide a comprehensive guide.

Understanding Resin Driveways

Before diving into the DIY vs. professional debate, it’s worth understanding the two main types of resin driveways: resin-bound and resin-bonded.

Resin-Bound Driveways: These involve mixing resin with aggregates (such as gravel or crushed stone) to create a smooth, permeable surface. The mixture is trowelled onto a prepared base, resulting in a durable, weed-resistant finish that complies with Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) regulations.

Resin-Bonded Driveways: Here, a layer of resin is applied to a surface, and loose aggregate is scattered over it. This creates a textured, non-permeable finish that resembles loose gravel but is fixed in place.

Both types require precise installation to ensure longevity, which is where the choice between DIY and professional installation becomes critical.

DIY Resin Driveway Installation: Pros and Cons

DIY resin driveway kits are widely available in the UK, marketed as a cost-effective way to achieve a professional-looking finish. These kits typically include resin, aggregates, and instructions for small to medium-sized projects. Let’s explore the advantages and drawbacks of going the DIY route.

Pros of DIY Resin Driveway Installation

Cost Savings: The most significant advantage of DIY installation is the potential to save on labour costs. Professional installation can cost £50–£100 per square metre, whereas DIY kits start at around £20–£40 per square metre, depending on the quality of materials. For a 50-square-metre driveway, this could mean savings of £1,500 or more.

Flexibility and Control: DIY allows you to work at your own pace and make design choices, such as aggregate colours and patterns, without relying on a contractor’s schedule or recommendations.

Satisfaction of Self-Completion: For hands-on homeowners, completing a driveway project can be rewarding, offering a sense of accomplishment and a personalised touch.

Accessibility of Kits: Many UK suppliers offer UV-stable resin kits designed for DIY enthusiasts, complete with tools like trowels and mixers, making the process more approachable.

Cons of DIY Resin Driveway Installation

Skill and Experience Required: Installing a resin driveway is not as simple as laying gravel or painting a wall. It requires precise mixing of resin and aggregates, proper ground preparation, and even application. Mistakes, such as incorrect mix ratios or poor base preparation, can lead to cracking, uneven surfaces, or premature fading.

Time-Intensive: Preparing the ground, mixing materials, and applying the resin can take several days, especially for larger driveways. Curing times (typically 24–72 hours) further extend the project timeline.

Risk of Costly Errors: Improper installation can result in issues like water pooling, cracking, or loose aggregates. Fixing these mistakes may require professional intervention, negating initial savings. For example, failing to remove cracked concrete or using non-UV-stable resin can lead to a driveway that fades or degrades within months.

Limited Warranty: Unlike professional installations, which often come with 10–20-year guarantees, DIY projects typically lack such assurances. If issues arise, you’ll bear the full cost of repairs.

Physical Demands: Resin installation involves heavy lifting, mixing, and trowelling, which can be physically demanding and require specialist equipment, such as a forced-action mixer.

Professional Resin Driveway Installation: Pros and Cons

Hiring a professional installer ensures your driveway is laid by experts with the tools, experience, and knowledge to deliver a high-quality finish. However, it comes at a higher cost and requires careful contractor selection. Here’s a breakdown of the benefits and drawbacks.

Pros of Professional Resin Driveway Installation

Expertise and Quality Assurance: Professionals have the experience to handle complex aspects of installation, such as ground preparation, drainage, and precise resin mixing. This reduces the risk of errors and ensures a durable, visually appealing finish that can last 15–25 years with proper maintenance.

Time Efficiency: Professionals can complete a resin driveway in 1–3 days, depending on the project’s size and complexity, compared to the potentially longer timeline of a DIY effort. Their efficiency minimises disruption to your daily routine.

Warranties and Support: Reputable installers offer long-term guarantees (often 10–20 years) and post-installation support, providing peace of mind and protection against defects.

Customisation Options: Professionals can create bespoke designs, incorporating intricate patterns or multiple aggregate colours, which may be challenging to achieve with a DIY approach.

Compliance with Regulations: Resin-bound driveways must comply with SUDS regulations in the UK. Professionals ensure proper drainage and compliance, avoiding potential legal or environmental issues.

Cons of Professional Resin Driveway Installation

Higher Initial Cost: Professional installation is significantly more expensive, with costs ranging from £2,500 for a small driveway to £10,000 or more for larger or complex projects. This can be a barrier for budget-conscious homeowners.

Risk of Poor Contractors: The resin driveway industry is largely unregulated, and inexperienced or unscrupulous contractors can deliver substandard work. Issues like uneven surfaces, cracking, or non-UV-stable resin can arise if you don’t choose a reputable installer.

Less Hands-On Control: While professionals offer design input, you may have less control over the process compared to a DIY project, particularly if the contractor’s schedule or methods don’t align with your vision.

Key Considerations for Choosing Between DIY and Professional Installation

When deciding between DIY and professional resin driveway installation, several factors should guide your choice:

1. Budget

DIY is undeniably cheaper upfront, but the savings may be offset by the cost of mistakes or repairs. Professional installation, while more expensive, is often a better long-term investment due to its durability and warranties. Consider your budget not just for the initial project but also for potential maintenance or repairs over the next 15–25 years.

2. Skill Level

Be honest about your DIY skills. If you have experience with landscaping or construction and access to the right tools, a DIY project might be feasible for a small driveway or patio. However, for larger or sloping surfaces, professional expertise is often necessary to ensure stability and drainage.

3. Driveway Size and Complexity

Small, flat driveways or pathways are more manageable for DIY installation. Larger driveways, those with slopes, or areas requiring intricate designs or extensive groundwork are better suited to professionals who can handle complex sub-base preparation and drainage requirements.

4. Time Availability

DIY projects require significant time and effort, especially for inexperienced homeowners. If you need a quick turnaround or want to minimise disruption, professional installation is the better option.

5. Long-Term Goals

If you plan to sell your home, a professionally installed resin driveway can boost property value by 5–10%, thanks to its durability and aesthetic appeal. A poorly executed DIY project, however, could deter potential buyers.

Installation Process: DIY vs. Professional

DIY Installation Process

Site Assessment: Evaluate the existing surface (e.g., concrete or tarmac) for stability and drainage. Remove any cracks, weeds, or debris.

Ground Preparation: Excavate 150–200mm of soil, lay a compacted sub-base (e.g., Type 1 MOT), and add edging if desired.

Mixing and Application: Mix resin and aggregates in precise ratios using a forced-action mixer. Trowel the mixture evenly onto the prepared base.

Curing: Allow 24–48 hours for foot traffic and 72 hours for vehicles.

Maintenance: Regularly sweep and pressure-wash (max 150 bar) to prevent moss or staining.

Professional Installation Process

Consultation and Design: Professionals assess the site, discuss design options, and provide a tailored quote.

Groundwork: They excavate, repair, or replace the sub-base, ensuring proper drainage and stability.

Installation: Using high-quality materials and specialist equipment, they mix and apply the resin, ensuring a smooth, even finish.

Curing and Finishing: The driveway is left to cure, with professionals ensuring compliance with SUDS and offering post-installation advice.

Aftercare: Many provide maintenance tips and warranties for long-term performance.

Maintenance and Longevity

Both DIY and professional resin driveways require some maintenance, though resin-bound surfaces are generally low-maintenance compared to block paving or gravel. Regular sweeping and occasional pressure washing (using cold water and a fan-type lance) prevent moss, algae, or staining, particularly on lighter-coloured surfaces. Avoid harsh chemicals or de-icing salts, which can damage the resin.

Professionally installed driveways typically last 15–25 years, thanks to high-quality materials and proper installation. DIY driveways can achieve similar longevity, but only if the installation is flawless. Issues like poor sub-base preparation or non-UV-stable resin can reduce a DIY driveway’s lifespan to under 10 years.

Environmental and Safety Considerations

Resin-bound driveways are eco-friendly due to their permeability, which reduces water runoff and complies with SUDS regulations. They’re also slip-resistant, making them safe for families, especially in wet UK weather. However, DIY installations risk compromising permeability if drainage isn’t adequately addressed. Professionals ensure proper drainage and can add anti-slip aggregates, like crushed glass, for enhanced safety.

Learn more: The Do’s and Don’ts of Resin Driveway Installations

Conclusion: DIY or Professional?

Choosing between DIY and professional resin driveway installation depends on your budget, skills, and priorities. DIY is a cost-effective option for small, straightforward projects if you have the time, tools, and confidence to execute the job correctly. However, the risk of errors, lack of warranties, and physical demands make it less suitable for larger or complex driveways.

Professional installation offers superior quality, durability, and peace of mind, with guarantees and expert craftsmanship ensuring a long-lasting, visually stunning result. While the upfront cost is higher, the investment often pays off through enhanced property value and minimal maintenance.

Ultimately, weigh your skills, budget, and long-term goals. For a flawless finish and maximum longevity, professional installation is usually the best choice, but a well-executed DIY project can be a rewarding alternative for the right homeowner.