#and part of that is not depending on brief (and often wrong) summaries of topics. You gotta deep dive!

[familiaralien]

I think the most frustrating part of all the AI crap stuff is people acting like they need these things to help with things people have done plenty without a machine.

Like do you know how I come up with characters for my work as someone that does like toonier furry characters? I genuinely read up and watch videos on animals CONSTANTLY so I have an ever growing internalize library of what exists out there. I don't need to ask a planet killing plagiarism machine to tell me about stuff especially when it famously gets shit horrifically wrong all the time.

Like quick ass reminder that AI is so braindead it thinks peachicks are basically chibi versions of the adults

when it reality they are starkly different looking (as it very common for birds in general)

Also do you know why a male peachick is not bright blue right out of the egg?

They are trying to not get eaten!

Adult peacocks may not look like they can get get off the ground but they are absolutely capable of flight and thus are significantly less vulnerable than their hatchlings.

This is all shit you can learn by actually reading or watching materials on those animals instead of expecting a dipshit program made by dipshits to spoonfeed you real accurate information.

[jae-canikeepyou]

| into you | j.jh

pair: jaehyun x fem!reader

word count: 7.7k+

summary: as the uni campus’ social butterfly, it’s a given you have a lot of friends, invited to almost all gatherings and all adore you. for the latter, jaehyun does too. he’s so into you and likes how you’re his happy place. or; jaehyun— an unsocial, often misunderstood person, finds his behaviour different with you and perhaps wants to keep you for himself, not anyone else.

genre: fluff + elite!au

a/n: i’m back after a while since i’ve been so so busy! this is not proofread again and i’m sorry if there are any grammar mistakes down there :> this is not canon with “letting go” scenario in case there’s any similarities with the characters. hehe anyway i hope you all enjoy reading! ♡ ~j.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

seated at the front row in the amphitheatre-shaped lecture hall, jaehyun frustratingly put his hood back on to hide himself from those who were staring from all around. they were definitely whispering about him, hands by their lips to conceal their voices in case he heard them. he hated this much attention, all because he chose stay of out school and classes— and claimed that it didn’t interest him.

so did coming today.

but the point was his attendance for this class was on the line and his busybody parents were sick of receiving phone calls or mails that kept filling their boxes, all for the same reason; that their son could be expelled despite handing assignments.

he rolled his eyes at the heat creeping up his ears as the whispers grew louder. he slammed the thin granite table, causing everyone to flinch at the sound and his presence. “can i have some quiet?! i can hear you guys talking crap about me!” he turned around at the pairs of eyes, soon frozen like meerkats.

they ticked him off. he couldn’t stand being in the same room with people who repeatedly questioned his existence of being here. he knew that rumours were going around, that the ‘jeong jaehyun’ in high school got into an private elite university— it could be anywhere but never expected it‘d be this campus. it was written in the judgment of their faces.

“chill man,” a guy his age swung his lollipop with legs on the desk. “some are curious why you decided to show up today since first semester’s a week away from ending, while some even wonder why you got into such prestigious and elite university.”

jaehyun’s eyed him slowly from legs to head. “who are you supposed to be?” he snorted at the stranger.

“just a guy who wants to break the distraught you’re trying to start.” he kicked his legs off the desk and stood up on his suede shoes, showing off his pearly whites.

he looked at everyone whose eyes averted from the two of them. “our town’s a small neighbourhood, so everybody knows everybody. we know exactly who you are, jeong jaehyun.”

“excuse me?” he swirled his tongue that it was evident he was pissed. “careful what you accuse me of. you and i both know it’s not going to end well-”

“they’re near they’re near!” a voice echoed the hall, cutting jaehyun’s attempt to intimidate the young man any further.

and with that signal alone, jaehyun could see and observe ladies fixing their hair and make-up, while the guys gave fistbumps to those near them. he rolled his eyes at him returning the favour to them as the guy unbuttoned his collar. “what’s wrong with you?” jaehyun was utterly weirded out. “with everyone?”

the crimson-haired guy only gave a flirty grin with raised brows. “this happens everytime.“

the door swung open with the professor rushing in. the students swifted heads, it wasn’t the first time he ever was late. he was young and good-looking, and it was hard to believe he still a bachelor. he gestured someone at the door, then the held-in giggles and mumbles were soon replaced with whispers of awe, as you walked in carefully with a tower of binder folders halfly covering your view.

clearly the guys around him have been secretly admiring; some had the confidence of taking selfies even if you were far, while others took a picture with their eyes so you were marked in their memories. ladies flocked towards the flustered professor like little chicks and surrounded him.

and that’s when the comments started coming in.

“park seojoon is so hot.” “hey remember to use ‘professor’.” “i guess genes runs in the family.” “his sister is ethereal too.” “i see her weekly and y/n’s a goddess.” “y/n! are you coming to the party tonight?”

jaehyun knew who you were through social media and common friends. and he included himself part of the people who admire you. he also remembered because he bumped into you during orientation. he wouldn’t usually care about passerby’s and strangers and although that was a brief moment and short eye contact, something about you was hard to not forget. you had people and friends under a charming spell he couldn’t describe, and that was in a good way.

you tucked a strand behind your ear and became shy afterwards as they whistled and cheered towards your gesture, making you heat up a thousand degrees higher. you should be used to this but every time it happens, you were just as flustered as your brother.

jaehyun’s legs got up on its own and was surprised at himself for making his way to help you. he picked up the fallen binder files and scattered papers while the whiskers by your eyes creased up in shyness.

he hitched a breath realising that the clumsy you was adorable too.

“thank you.” a smile then appearing at the corners of your lips caused jaehyun to freeze for a while. yuta wouldn’t miss anyone’s reaction. he slid his chair close to jaehyun’s as the he came back, nudging his chair for him to give into your beauty.

“i know a person with heart eyes when i see one. now you understand why we’re whipped for y/n. isn’t she a babe- agh.” he held the back of his head from the smack.

“don’t call me that, nakamoto.” you hissed sharply with how confident and careless he could get, especially with people you weren’t familiar with. you looked at the guy in a black sweater and let out an embarrassed sigh. “i’m sorry about my annoying best friend. yuta tends to be chatty when he feels lonely.” you winked at him.

it was jaehyun’s turn to flash short chuckle, its faint sounds perked not only your ears, but yuta’s as well. “not a problem. i know a lonely person when i see one.” jaehyun emphasised through his gaze.

“i’m not lonely! i have y/n and my men!” he whined and turned towards you. “see what you did y/n?”

“it’s good to finally see you, jeong jaehyun.” you ignored yuta and brought out a hand for a greeting.

you pursed your lips to stifle a laugh, jaehyun’s ears quickly turned from pink to red. he gulped loudly and took your hand in his, eyebrows lifting at how you knew his name.

lost for words and you both locked eyes where he forgot to let your hands go. “we take the same course together? i know your name because you’re the only one missing from the class-” you said, shaking his hands to subtly let him know it had been a minute since your hands felt his vainey flesh.

“okay young lad that’s enough time holding my sister.” seojoon separated your hands and jaehyun snapped out of his admiration, inhaling quite stressfully with how stupid he looked. “get to your class y/n.”

“alright, i’ll see you at tea hour.” you waved at the boys.

“as long as you’re treating i’ll go.” yuta hummed in a monotonous voice, fixing his laces that went untied.

“i’m not talking to you dimwit.” you flicked his forehead, leading to your satisfaction of the nut-like sound from it. “jaehyun, because you missed yesterday’s class, prof assigned me to assist you, along with the other topics you’ve yet to cover. i’ll be expecting you at the café near campus.”

before you stepped out of the hall, yuta pulled your sweater, yanking you back. “are you going to taeyong’s party tonight? you never miss an event!”

you puckered your lips, pinching his cheeks that a cute gummy smile came out from it. “you know my rules. as long as you’re driving me home, i’ll go. see you later.”

jaehyun nodded yet was still in a daze. he realised what you said when yuta pushed him. “gross. don’t act as if we’re already close.”

“hm? was i really? i think it’s normal when you’re making a move on my best friend.” he brought out his laptop and typed his password.

i wasn’t. “whatever.”

and to say that jaehyun didn’t feel butterflies flying uncontrollably in his stomach would be an understatement. they made the intestine churn in ways he couldn’t imagine, and he himself wanted to deny that what he was feeling was just from the influence of others. but wouldn’t that mean his feelings were temporary? because if it were, he should perceive you an ordinary person.

yet here he was outside, still admiring you before he entered the café. he found it was amusing of how oblivious you were of his presence— you were too immersed into this assigned task by professor, but others found it funnier when jaehyun looked stupidly in-love and cowardly the lad looked, despite having the overall aura of a stuck-up.

as the sun’s rays brightened the city and the wind’s breeze made the trees leaves dance, only then had you raise your head to see jaehyun waving at you. ten minutes early, not bad for an actual first impression. “hey,” he greeted, making you smile with his low but gentle voice. “am i late?”

you took your bag from across and asked him to sit down. “no no. you’re just in time, it’s really nice to have an early bird around.”

his dimples deepened at the compliment. “how about the project? is it too late? you think i can still catch up?” jaehyun cleared his throat.

“that depends on your dedication. based on the record professor gets, you’ve been doing your tasks and homework quite diligently. he’s just worried about your habit of not attending his lectures might lead to procrastination when second semester starts.” you gave him a slice of cheesecake to eat. “he’s still teaching us another subject.”

“it’s quite the contrary.” he dove in for the dessert. “i don’t have the will to procrastinate at all.”

“then good.” you twisted the pen in your fingers. “let’s get started?”

for that span of two hours, how he wished it could be more. who knew you would have a lot of things in common with him? that time alone was not enough to talk about vinyl and jazz singers and pretty much everything that were overlooked by people. he brought up his favourite spots in the city and how they became a safe haven to escape the reality.

to cut the explaining short, his shell slowly started to open, bits and new things were showing. if you were surprised he was a good person, jaehyun himself couldn’t believe he was able to converse with people normally. being the awkward and shy type, doing this almost seemed impossible.

was it your magic that caused him to do so?

you learnt that jaehyun was rather special and by special it meant he had gifts that you believed were way beyond human limits. he never studied in a library, rewatched lectures or written his notes. and the professor mentioned how jaehyun received good grades in most of the things he submitted.

to be very honest, you were a little jealous. from how he was sitting in front of you, he didn’t seem to be interested but was definitely listening. and you sort of gave up in continuing anyway. “i don’t understand why i’m told i need to guide you when you’ve already caught up with everything.” you let out a soft chuckle that seemed more of a question.

“i was waiting for you to stop..” jaehyun said quite blatantly and stretched his arms and you were hurt because if he didn’t want to, he could’ve said so. heck, even more so, he shouldn’t have come here and wasted time-

“..because it looked like you were forced to do this by prof.” his smile then faded seeing you mirror the same. “are you alright? you’re a little pale..”

your eyes widened. “oh uh, sorry, i assumed-” you sputtered and probably died inside with what he said. you cursed in your mind. dammit y/n.

jaehyun raised his brows, making you more flustered and panicky. you sighed and waved your ‘its-nothing’ hand. “assumed that i’m brusque and a stuck-up?”

he pierced his eyes at you and you weren’t going to lie, he scared you a bit. but that fear immediately disappeared when a gentle giggle and adorable dimples replaced it. “i get that a lot, but don’t worry. i’m different from what people think. they think i’m not friendly, a-and a loner too.”

“you’re not.” he heard you counter him, slightly slamming the fork down. “if you were, you wouldn’t be here with me. or even bothered to come.”

his heart became warm through your words, that act of kindness torn down his walls of inferiority and his perception towards people changed. “thanks.” he checked the time on his watch and twisted his wrist to show to you. “don’t you have a party to attend to?”

“lee taeyong’s?” you stood up to leave the café. “i feel like skipping it for tonight. i’m not in the mood for parties somehow.”

“because i’m a better company for you?” jaehyun teased and boy was he proud with his remark, you didn’t even deny it. “you don’t have to go if you really don’t want to. it’s better to have time for yourself sometimes.”

“you’re saying from experience?” you asked, putting pressure on your words about his claim of being alone.

“it’s more of an advice for you.” he winked.

you thought he was quite observant even though he barely socialised with others. he noticed the light in your eyes sparkling, in which he felt his chest squeeze. you twirled in your toes as you hugged your laptop. “say.. are you up for a movie marathon?”

—

including now, it’d be the fourth time you both have rewind the specific scene just for that certain song jaehyun kept singing nonstop. and although you loved his voice, having the song on replay would be a little too much and the purpose of the marathon might go in vain. it seemed jaehyun was way into it, so interrupting him would be mean of you so you sang along.

“the nostalgia still hits me ‘til this day.” jaehyun tossed a bag of chips from your kitchen island to you.

jaehyun kept saying it may sound stupid and corny coming from him, but as a child he liked the whole high school musical series; and he pretty much became one when breaking free started to play.

because you both couldn’t decide where to watch the beloved movies by everyone, the marathon ended up being at your apartment. it was subtle, yet quite obvious to you he didn’t want it to be held in his place. you thanked your psychology course for giving lessons to notice even the little things in behaviour.

“how many times do i have to keep telling you it’s okay to like it? not like anyone would tease you for it.” you giggled as you opened the bag and popped a couple of chips into your mouth.

“yeah sure, but i know you would.” he squinted his eyes for you to admit that that was your plan eventually.

“have i?” you singsonged, sipping on the large cola cup.

he pointed at the hairbrush you held and suddenly you bursted out in laughter since jaehyun was obviously— maybe a little— offended with how you mimicked him singing earlier. “okay you caught me.”

jaehyun felt his entire body heating up. still in denial about actually being into you, he took a challenge upon himself and scooted next to you. his arms slightly brushed and touched against yours. “you in for hsm 2?”

“well we are having a marathon, might as well go for camp rock later.” you shrugged and eyed him with a confirming gaze.

“uh-huh.. but i’m still a fan of the trilogy.” jaehyun stole the chips in your hands.

“now aren’t you cheeky.” you gasped at his playful behaviour, and you didn’t dislike it. perhaps you prefer this naught over yuta’s as it didn’t get into your nerves or have the urge to hit him because of the hyperness.

he sat deeper into the beanbag. “i’m comfortable in here. your house feels too homey.”

“so is it my fault that you’re in your comfort zone?” you stated, taking the bag of chips back into your arms.

“yes.” he protested with frequent waves of his palms. “you’re too kind and i might come here to visit often.”

“suit yourself.”

since he arrived here it had him wondering, why did he decide to show up today at campus when there was actually a pure human being like you? he just needed a person— just one— to knock onto his heart. yet with many people in his life trying to do the same thing, none held the correct key. and somehow,

it had to be you.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

you’ve lost count of the number of times jaehyun has been hanging at your crib since then. it became a normal routine but never have you been to his place. it was always yours and you didn’t mind that. though he did promise, you respected his decision.

you found out he could be little dorky and corny but that was the unique trait about him. like friends at kindergarten, you both were still at a get-to-know-each-other stage. so that day, he created a schedule where he would hang out with you on wednesdays and fridays, claiming that he didn’t want to be seen by others, e.g. mr. nobody with ms. golden girl.

however, since then, people close to you have been looking at you rather differently. it wasn’t because they sometimes see jaehyun following you around, they sensed a different aura from you. you could feel their piercing stares from all directions, as if you were the centerpiece of a watch. there was something a little different than usual.

and you tried to ignore this ominous feeling for now.

yuta shook his legs vigorously, in which was an unsightly act to see for someone on the soccer team. you could see him from afar with his hands by his lips, biting it as he waited for your arrival at the university’s sports ground. jaehyun jogged towards you with his bag slung diagonally across his torso. he poked your neck and as a person with severe tickle spots, that caught you off guard into a fight-me position to the doer.

“chill, it’s just me.” jaehyun had both of his hands up, whiskers appearing just by the sides of his nose.

“jaehyun!” you relaxed your limbs. “got a better way of greeting? i don’t like being surprised.” you pulled the hem of his sleeve, missing how he pursed his lips in glee when you both instantly became close, like it was overnight.

he let you grab him as you both walked towards where yuta was standing by the bleachers. “i’m sorry?” he giggled loud enough only for you to hear. “i thought i’d get a priceless reaction from you.”

you rolled your eyes that it almost hurt doing so. “be glad i have enough patience for you.”

“and i didn’t have enough patience last night!” yuta joined the conversation seeing you and jaehyun before him. “where have you been? you said you were coming to my place yesterda- why is he here?” he looked at him then at you. “with you? again?”

“ever thought that i want to have my own ‘me’ time for once?” you took off your cardigan and placed it on the bleachers. you could feel jaehyun chuckling softly when you made reference to his remark.

and boy was he proud. “you’re emphasising on that quite often nowadays.” he helped you carry your bag as you to settled down.

“that’s because i never realised how true it actually is until i say it out loud, since being in everyone’s eyes does pressure me.” you balled your fists to nudge him lightly on the arm, and for him to dramatically receive the attack did put yuta in an awkward position.

“uh hello? i’m still here!” in front of you and jaehyun, yuta snapped his fingers several times to divert attention. “what’s going on with you two? how are you both suddenly so close when you’ve just met for the first time two weeks ago?”

jaehyun swifted his head towards you, and the telepathic exchange of words between you and him had yuta clicking his tongue in disbelief. “you were right, he will react.” jaehyun’s voice prolonged while munching on a corn dog.

“told you so.” you flicked your hair and turned to yuta as you continued talking. “bestie, we’ve been seeing each other since then.”

what the hell? the way yuta’s face turn sour at your smile towards jaehyun, he could almost faint right then and there since he swore he saw mr. dimples smile subtly at you too. “and with just that i’ve been replaced-”

“no i would never replace my best friend.” you held his palms hoping he would calm down from his high emotions, but he immediately pulled his hand away from you, much to your dismay. “hey, i’m here to make amends-”

“yeah?” he clicked on a pen and wrote something on a tissue, soon grabbing your bag from the seat and fished out your wallet. “then you’re treating me my meals for a month. i have another order right now.”

now it was your turn whose face became sour. “a month?! i can’t do that- hey!”

yuta tossed your credit card up in the air and upon seeing his eyes darken— though that was all in your head—you gave in and sighed heavily. you stomped your way to the caféteria while yuta comfortably put one leg on the benches with a satisfied grin. “man she’s easy to tease.”

“is that so? then i know now who she gets it from.” jaehyun said through his chews on his food, making yuta’s ears perk up at the response.

the atmosphere lingering between the two of them invited dark clouds. both could sense the change in their moods, and they both weren’t liking it.

yuta spun and played the ball on his hands then forearms, later let out a scoff when jaehyun raised his brows. he didn’t like the vibe jaehyun was giving and so did the latter. “i do it for fun. it’s natural between us.” yuta said.

“hm? she told me she doesn’t like it when you do.” he saw you on your tiptoes as you struggled to tell the order to the person at the high-levelled counter. but another scoff came out from yuta. “you got a proble-?”

“yeah kinda.”

“i don’t think so. i can tell it really bothers you when y/n hangs out with me.” jaehyun sat up straight at yuta’s comment about him.

“i should be. because i’m her best friend and who knows what type of person you are.” he did a few tricks with his legs. “but if you really want to know then your attitude is what i have problems with.”

“i remember telling you it wouldn’t be good for you when accuse me wrongly.”

he let out a monotonous and rather mocking laugh, taking jaehyun aback but he anticipated this kind of response from him. “and what? you’ll go berserk like you did years ago? as a high school freshman? beating the innocent up or whoever comes your way?”

“look i don’t know where the hell that came from but it’s not what you or everyone else thinks.” jaehyun aggressively crumpled the hotdog wrapper in his palms.

“c’mon you don’t have to hold it all in,” yuta set his ball aside and rested his hands on his waist. jaehyun was getting uncomfortable the more he listened to him. “unleash that side-”

jaehyun rolled his tongue, nodding his head to test him. “alright, i guess i don’t have to when i have feelings for y/n. thanks for the advice.”

what the..? yuta stared at him when there wasn’t a change in his expression. jerk- “now you’re talking. you wanna fight? let’s do that-”

“tsk yuta! the bill’s too expensive!” you whined and gently put down the tray.

while yuta clicked his tongue at your sudden entry and with how quickly you came back, for a moment jaehyun wanted to hug you for being his saviour. he was so close to lose his temper towards your best friend. the relief seen in his tensed shoulders, but you interpreted it otherwise. “are you okay?” you asked while you sat down beside him.

he hummed, folding his arms and looking at the distance, clearly avoiding eye contact with yuta. “mhm, i just realised the deadline is coming up in three days.” he excused.

you managed to utter out a giggle as you finally ate, finding out how jaehyun’s ears always turned red when given attention to. “you’re stressed about it?”

“aren’t you?” jaehyun drank the remains of his soda.

“not really since i finished mine. but, if you’re worried about your progress, i can help you.” you swirled the fork in the air like a wand. jaehyun smiled to himself when yuta took his ball to throw a fit.

“i’m not worried about the project. but there’s an annoying bug i’m trying to hit so help me.” jaehyun’s dimples appeared deeply again and as the darkening ombré sunset shoned his side profile, there you witnessed how pure he actually was— and you missed out on yuta’s frown towards jaehyun.

you gulped and almost choked on your own saliva, eyes still locked in jaehyun’s. his hair caught in the wind, making it look fluffy and his entire demeanour softer than you usually see him. you hitched a breath since jaehyun seemed like he had no plans to avert his gaze too. both of you were definely mesmerised and hypnotised, and for jaehyun it was just like that time. he remembered the colour palette of your makeup while you recalled the perfume he wore.

in the recent marathons with him you’ve never been this close, physically speaking. so this close-up really debunked the impression you heard from people, especially from yuta.

however, as you were oblivious with the pressure behind jaehyun’s words and even smiled back at him, yuta flicked your temple. he was indeed a worry wart and sometimes he would like to flick you just this once for being too much of a social butterfly. he knew it was in your nature to be kind and always on the look out for others. he’s fine when you were with anyone except with this guy you befriended. not him.

he dodged your flying limbs in attempts to hit him. “oi, you’re not going to ask how i am? if i’m worried?”

the pain from the flick remained on your temple. “no? you look fine to me-” you stared at your phone. the message reminding you of the singles elite party a month from today at 8pm. “a party?”

“yeah if you attended the previous party you’d know that there’ll be another one after taeyong’s.” yuta took off his shoes in change for his casual.

“hm. i’m don’t feel like going.” you jumped off the bleachers to dust off your pants. “probably gonna be boring.”

“i’m the one who’s holding it this time!” yuta put you under a headlock in his arms. “you’re ditching your best friend?!”

you giggled and ticked his sides and followed it with a playful hug. “just kidding. i heard from momo! i’ll be there.” you brushed your hair up into a messy bun while spotting jaehyun starting to feel out of place. “oh! do you wanna come to the party, jae?”

yuta mentally facepalmed and it was given he didn’t like what you did. but your eyes were quick to see his reaction and you slapped his chest. he glared at you while his hands caressed it. why did you have to invite him? it was the whole purpose why he decided to hold a party; maybe you’d finally appreciate his hardwork, or perhaps, notice him as someone more and as not a best friend who only worries and teases you.

jaehyun nodded in response, no words needed. a smile crept your lips as if you were given chocolates on valentine’s. “cool.” you pulled him on the wrist after hearing the coach calling yuta, followed with a loud whistle. “ah yuta, we‘ll get going! see you.”

“mm yeah..” yuta hummed, seeing you both vanish in the distance. “see you..”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

your sulking self laid sideways by jaehyun’s lap, head rested on a pillow. it’s been too long since yuta avoided you, purposely ditched your hangouts, seenzoned your messages and ignored your calls. as if these weren’t obvious enough for you to know something was up. there definitely was but you couldn’t put a finger to it. so you forced jaehyun to let you stay at his place, being it your apartment was currently invaded by your brother’s friends from abroad.

but honestly it was also because you discovered jaehyun’s unit was blocks away from yours. fate was gladly on your side.

“y/n, you know i can’t work properly when you’re like this.” jaehyun sighed while he adjusted his sitting posture and lifting his laptop.

you slightly and lazily your body turned upright, seeing his dimples beginning to show themselves. “let me be.” you complained.

jaehyun put down his laptop. “i can’t. you’re in my way of cramming hours. plus, how long have you been coming here? it’s getting too frequent..” he paused when your eyes were no longer on him— rather they were on your phone, staring at the last conversation from yuta.

he couldn’t bring himself to say that he was reason why yuta acting the way he was to you. and for all honesty he would keep this matter to himself. “did i do something wrong?” you asked.

“of course not. he’s probably in his emo phase. guys have them a lot more than you think.” jaehyun typed on the keyboard for the remaining parts of the essay. “but he’ll get out of it eventually.”

“fine i’ll trust on that.” you sat up and scooted over to see his progress. you submitted your assignment hours ago. looking at jaehyun, it seemed he was struggling at some parts. were you unconsciously pressuring him? the beads of sweat began to roll down his temples and that made you giggle if it was the case. uh-huh. he was really feeling that way.

he gulped so loudly that it came out as a weird noise. he hoped you didn’t hear that. but the way you pursed your lips to hold the laughter in only had him discontinuing his report. “d-don’t do that.”

“do what?” you snicker.

jaehyun rolled his eyes and poked your forehead. “you’re too distracting.”

oh how the tables have turned. that comment flipped your head upside down, your heart in a frenzy and stomach churning. it wasn’t “so”, but “too”— that only meant he wasn’t concentrating on his work for a while.

even so, you waited for him to finish despite questionable feelings you’ve been feeling. his coffee cup already did seconds and thirds. and suddenly you remembered the happy hour the local café was promoting and there was a few minutes left until it ends for the day. you had to bring him there.

but you decided that because you wanted to be out of that suffocating air jaehyun caused.

—

the more you walked faster, the more jaehyun’s wrist reddened and hurt. but he let you be as he liked how you were comfortable with someone like him. your hair flowed with the wind, the remains of your shampoo left a sweet scent. was it lavender? and the wind blew stronger, making the scent clearer to the nose. his heart skipped beats, because it was indeed lavender. he swore in his head. scrap aside the frequent marathons and meet-ups. lavender’s all the more reason why fell for you quickly than ever.

and when the local café closed early for the day, you almost lost sight of the pedestrian signs. jaehyun pulled you in as the light emitted red. though you had your emotions get the best of you, you realised how childish you were for something so minor. you laughed in awkwardness, he did too. “i didn’t want anyone to see this side-”

warmth. that was all you thought of right there. you were in his embrace.

“..of me.” you soon mumbled in his chest, realising later of the action he just did. “jaehyun-”

“it’s okay. i don’t too.” his hand gently caressed the back of your head, treating it with care as if he held a newborn baby. “so can i keep you?”

that warmth became hotter, almost boiling that you weren’t able to breathe properly. “i’m sorry.” he said, that must’ve surprised you.” jaehyun chuckled.

surprised? of course you were. how was it natural for him to do skinship? and that smoothly? you both weren’t at that stage yet, let alone have a relationship with mutual feelings. even yuta couldn’t hug you because of how conscious you felt.

but then again, you looked up. you saw his ears. it was red, the usual reaction whenever you were with him. was it normal though? you were never aware of it up until now.

because it was so clear now.

“i’ll see you tomorrow? i have to help my mom with some things.” you lied as you scratched your neck.

jaehyun nodded and pulled away. “alright, go on ahead.”

you poked his dimples because he has been staring at you like he had questions to ask. “what is it?”

maybe he didn’t notice or maybe he did, but he was leaning closer, his head tilting to the side and eyes staring into your soul. you knew what he was about to do, you feel like letting him do so but at the same time you weren’t sure of your feelings.  

just a little more and you could’ve locked lips but..

your phone vibrated.

in panic you looked at your device and eyes widened that brought jaehyun aback.

“ah yuta!” you brought your phone so close to your face, not believing your best friend’s announcement on social media, in which he then followed up with a text message.

the light in your eyes was something jaehyun liked seeing, but didn’t so as well.

“oh! he said the concept for the elites’ party is live wardrobe. all singles will go through a ballot draw. it’s for the clothes to wear for the night..” you locked your phone. “tsk i wanted to wear my favourite dress.”

“i think you’ll look great in whatever gown is chosen for you.” jaehyun pat your head while you were immersed in your phone. “now go. it’s getting late.”

“i’ll expect the same for you.” you replied.

he laughed and that didn’t want to make you leave just yet. “nah don’t. i’m just ordinary in a suit.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

funny how he was so damn wrong.

fate let him draw red, and confidently chose a suit once it was his turn to change. it was as if he knew this attire would go well with him. a suede texture with a black outline on its collar accentuated his brushed up light brown hair, while his black under-shirt contrasted with his porcelain skin. gladly it wasn’t halloween, or else you would’ve mistaken him for a vampire.

he had you feeling all sorts of things, and you didn’t know why when you were nothing more than friends.

an hour ago he was in his usual casual wear. now he was surrounded with ladies who already seemed like they were friends with him for decades. you could see jaehyun was uncomfortable but he kept his cool with folded arms as he leaned against a column. the comments from them irritated you, because at one point they were badmouthing him— and the second he showed up they flooded him with compliments of his good looks and how they named him the “model elite”.

you swirled the wine glass in your hand, the other arm hugged your waist. you rolled your eyes at the falseness these people have towards him. “can’t believe it.” your fingers curled as irritation began to cover your sight. “look at them trying to make a move on him. erlgh too close. they weren’t like that before.”

sicheng rolled his tongue, hands in pockets and walked to be in front of you. “really? you weren’t like that before too.” he pointed out.

“i agree. recently you’re stuck like glue whenever you’re with him.” yuta gestured.

“am so not?” you gasped while your eyes trailed to jaehyun, who was still had patience for the ladies surrounding him. “i just like how he’s a good friend.”

“doubt it.” sicheng poked your cheek. “you wouldn’t feel like this when you have feeli-”

not this again. “i’m grabbing a drink.” yuta suddenly cut the conversation.

“get me one too!” the younger one yelled and after he was satisfied with the gesture, he winced as you pinched his sides from the remark he said earlier. “ow! y/n! it’s true though! i know what i’m seeing!”

truthfully, nothing about sicheng’s words or actions bothered you. but if there was anything that did, it was your own heart. as of tonight, you began to question your feelings towards jaehyun. when did it start? how was it possible to like someone so quickly? “i’m telling you i don’t.” your eyes trailed to him, not realising the rush of heat creeping your cheeks.

jaehyun was approached by yuta, who was giving him a glass of beer. the ladies fled after stealing pictures of the guy and he took the drink in his hands. then they headed towards the garden of the mansion. wonder what he’s here for?

“nice party you have here. concept’s cool.” jaehyun started to break the lingering silence because he knew how awkward this was going to be with your best friend.

“yeah, never knew you’d end up in red. it’s y/n’s favourite colour.” yuta’s voice lowered. there was an impact jaehyun could describe but assuming that would be too rude of him.

“really? i didn’t know.” he hummed. aren’t you a little too happy, jaehyun told himself. he shook it off, for he doesn’t expect him and you to go any further than this.

“now you do. so can you back up for a while? take a week off or something from y/n.” yuta raised his brows.

this was the same feeling from before. he knew this feeling because he felt the exact same way. he wanted to be selfish for once. not like he hated yuta, it was just.. he always had to appear whenever he didn’t want him to. then he would mess his mood. he interrupted his joy of admiring you. jaehyun licked his lips to dampen them. “i’m sorry, who are you to tell me what to do?”

yuta grinned and leaned against the column as he mirrored jaehyun. “don’t you get it?” he asked, his tone rising. “i love y/n. you entering the picture just ruins everything.”

my hunch’s correct. he does love y/n. “if you love her you wouldn’t ignore her.”

“it’s because you’re with her! and she does the same to me! it’s like she’s found someone else-”

“you’re being dramatic.” jaehyun pushed himself off the column and turned to him. “y/n’s sad and moping around because you treated her like she’s all alone. you have no idea how much she waited for you to contact her.”

“what do you know, smartass? you’re just another guy trying to fit in when you know you couldn’t. no matter how much you tried, everyone’s afraid of you. and now you’re telling me you have feelings for y/n? please.” his lips jutted with sounds of disbelief while his body posture challenged jaehyun. “y/n’s kind to everyone she meets. it’s who she is. but to think you have hope to be with someone like her? if you ask me, all i see is a greatest mismatch.”

jaehyun usually didn’t give a damn of the comments about him. he couldn’t care less of any of those. in fact he’d hear them through one ear and out they went. but when he said anything, it irked him.

you see, that was the thing— right now, he actually listened.

he turned a blind eye on yuta’s words and let it off for the night. he was given a drink and maybe the alcohol didn’t work its way on him than it did to guy. in the end, yuta was probably spilling tea even if he didn’t intend to.

“what i feel for y/n has nothing to do with you. just like people can’t control the tides,” jaehyun lightly knocked onto yuta’s chest. “i can’t control mine.”

the footsteps echoed in yuta’s ears, he could hear them despite the noisy hall. “rghhh!” he grabbed hold of his glass and threw it towards jaehyun.

sounds of shattering glass met the ground, as well as catching everyone’s attention. then there was silence. jaehyun began to lose his patience as he turned around. his smirk challenged him. ouch. this was the fight yuta was looking for, seeing jaehyun’s heavy breaths only made him stand on his toes.

jaehyun punched him in the jaw though he knew it wasn’t worth his time. but he wanted to give him a taste of stepping beyond boundaries. yuta punched him back too. he made sure the star of the night was the other— shone the brightest and reveal his true nature. he didn’t count the number of hits he received, as long as jaehyun stayed that way.

“i told you it wouldn’t be good if you provoked me!” jaehyun growled. “you’re asking for show? i’ll give you one!”

“huh..” yuta wiped his bleeding lip. “you sure about that, beast?”

jaehyun held himself for the next punch, feeling all of the pairs of eyes on him. yours included. that was what he feared. “aw. what impression does she have on you now?” yuta’s cooing words caused jaehyun’s eyes to soften.

all bleeding and bruised, jaehyun’s injuries have matched with his suit. he clenched his fists as he frustratingly left the hall.

in your peripheral, your eyes trailed his direction and your legs followed him by heart, without realising yuta calling out your name several times. everything went blank, not thinking things straight because while everyone watched, no one understood. you glared at yuta before heading outside, a more disappointed sigh was the only response he got from you.

yuta was then nudged by sicheng. the latter could see the change in his expression. “what did i tell you?”

“you don’t have to tell me.” yuta dusted his pants.

“i’m still gonna.” sicheng rolled his eyes and poked the lad’s temple. “that’s what you call ‘stupidity’. if only you confessed to her before maybe things would be different between you guys.”

“i don’t want things to be different dude.”

“i’m gonna state the obvious, you probably already know this but.. you lost this battle.”

“crap..” yuta’s voice changed from a nervous chuckle to a soft sob. “i liked her first.”

you spotted jaehyun sitting atop a metal barrier just in front of the carpark— head down to mend his injuries and scratches. he sniffed from the cool night breeze before hopping off. “you’ll hurt your feet.” he pointed at the heels you had dangling in your hands.

his gaze softened when you pointed at his face, especially the black eye. “touché.” he chuckled, later feeling your cold hands against his throbbing flesh. “it’s no big deal-”

“i’m sorry about yuta’s behaviour.” you sighed. “don’t let it get into you. he’s an airhead when he’s drunk-”

“you sure? he seemed pretty sober when he said- ah.” he pursed his lips to speak any further. “nevermind.”

now that gotten you curious. “what did he say? spill it!” you whined, causing jaehyun mouth to curve a little in amusement.

jaehyun prolonged the silence and grabbed your shoes, leading you towards his car. once he unlocked it and opened the door, he bursted out in a loud, healthy laugh. “he said he was head over heels for you.”

you pushed him to the driver’s seat and slammed the door, rolling your eyes at the pun. “that was so lame!” you sat on the other side. “but i know that already if you thought i didn’t. i subtly turned him down ages ago. guess he didn’t take the message.”

“clearly.”

as you tended to his wounds, one question still had your curiosity at its peak. jaehyun was quiet through-out, so it was hard to bring the topic up for a while. until your eyes and his met.

“what did you tell him before he threw the glass at you?” you dabbed the cotton onto the beaten area. “it must’ve pissed him.”

he dropped his car keys and let out a nervous hum. “uh..” he didn’t know what else to say. right when he was finally about to tell you, you suddenly giggled.

“unless you told him you like me and that made him angry, but i doubt that happened.” your lips shrank to a circle, cursing at yourself for assuming too much. girl the guts you have was incomparable—

jaehyun’s large hand held yours while you continued to apply medication. the warmth, the heat and the building tension of skinship made you weak. “you’re right.”

your smile and breaths changed in an instant when he fixed himself on the seat. he smirked a little, finding how cute you were. it drove him crazy.

“i like you, for the longest time, since the orientation. i’m so into you that i couldn’t help myself be selfish and have you to myself— i- i don’t know what i’m saying.” he sighed, pushing himself away in embarrassment with arms above his face.

“t-thanks.” you fiddled with your fingers.

“i’m not asking for an answer. i just wanted to let you know.” he said. “gosh this is a bad timing for confession.”

“then is it a bad timing if i said i’m into you too?” you looked away and out in the distance. you could see his reaction on the window’s reflection. he was shocked, but an uncontrollable smile was forcing itself on the surface. it was written in the dimples.

“no,” his husky voice called you to look back. “you’re just about right.”

[redeemedrevolver]

BOCW Characters and their MBTIs

Summary:

The characters of BOCW take the MBTI Personality Test and find out their personality types. They were a bit shocked. Some can't believe it while others believe it fully.

A/N:

The link to the MBTI test is above if you still don't know your personality type and want to find out. It's a long test, but worth answering. More information about the personality will be in the parenthesis beside the character.

It was a bit hard taking the test because I had to picture myself as them answering it in their character.

These aren't exactly their MBTIs, but this is a depiction based on their overall character from the events in the games (Black Ops Series)

I hope I did my best!

Russell Adler (INTJ-A — "Architect")

Information about the personality type:

These thoughtful tacticians love perfecting the details of life, applying creativity and rationality to everything they do. Their inner world is often a private, complex one.

comprises 2.1% of the total world population (rare personality type)

highly analytical, creative, and logical

introverted and prefer to work alone

greater emphasis on logic and objective information rather than subjective emotions

like their world to feel controlled and ordered

Strengths:

self-confident and hard-working - believe in Bell most of the time

takes criticism well

most independent

rational

good at listening - evident with the number of dialogue options you have

Weaknesses:

lack of empathy - apparent when reading the paper regarding Bell's brainwashing and his persistence

romantic relationships are their Achilles heel - it doesn't mean they don't feel, but they don't want to express it to anyone

sometimes callous or insensitive

highly analytical towards everything

perfectionistic

—————

Alex Mason (ISTJ-T — "Logistician")

Information about the personality type:

These people tend to be reserved yet willful, with a rational outlook on life. They compose their actions carefully and carry them out with methodical purpose.

male ISTJs comprises 16% of the total world population (common personality type)

enjoy taking responsibility for their actions

take pride in the work they do

reserved, practical, and quiet

value loyalty in themselves and others

Strengths:

detail-oriented

observant - can be applied to his "excellent sniper" trait

orderly and organized

calm and practical

jacks-of-all-trades

Weaknesses:

stubborn - shown in the interrogation scene in BO1 for a few moments

tends to blame others

judgemental

insensitive

works always by the book - reluctant to bend or change the rules

—————

Frank Woods (ESTP-A — "Entrepreneur")

Information about the personality type:

They tend to be energetic and action-oriented, deftly navigating whatever is in front of them. They love uncovering life’s opportunities, whether socializing with others or in more personal pursuits.

comprises 4-10% of the total world population (fairly common personality type)

live in the moment and dive into the action

unique skill in noticing small changes - shift in facial expression, new clothing style, or broken habit

full of passion and energy complemented with a rational mind

prefer the practical over the abstract

Strengths:

gregarious, funny, and energetic - shown in CW

adaptable and resourceful

rational and practical - apparent in BO1 for his overall character

makes decisions based on logic and reason

sociable

Weaknesses:

risk-prone - most likely the person one will be paired to operations where things can go wrong quickly

defiant

easily bored

impulsive - true to his personality

too competitive

—————

Jason Hudson (ENTJ-A — "Commander")

Information about the personality type:

They are decisive people who love momentum and accomplishment. They gather information to construct their creative visions but rarely hesitate for long before acting on them.

comprises 1.8% of the total world population (2nd rarest personality type)

gifted with charisma and confidence

quick to see inefficiency and conceptualize new solutions to them

love a big or small challenge and overcoming them

dominant at the negotiating table

Strengths:

strong leadership skills - the overseer in BOCW

well-organized

good decision maker

assertive and outspoken

strategic thinkers

Weaknesses:

stubborn and dominant - shown in the scene where he talks to Bell about Lubyanka

impatient

intolerant

cold and ruthless - true to his nickname "Ice Cube"

poor handling of emotions

—————

Helen Park (INFJ-T — "Advocate")

Information about the personality type:

They tend to approach life with deep thoughtfulness and imagination. Their inner vision, personal values, and a quiet, principled version of humanism guide them in all things.

female INFJs comprises 1.6% of the total world population (rarest personality type)

thinks about deep topics and contemplates the meaning of life

has a deep sense of idealism and integrity, but aren’t idle dreamers

speak with great passion and conviction

soft-spoken and understated

Strengths:

sensitive to the needs of others

insightful

altruistic - use their strengths for the greater good

passionate - eagerness to capture Volkov in E. Berlin

creative

Weaknesses:

sensitive to criticism - may be shown after joking about her scar

reluctant to open up - shown with the scar scene with Lazar

prone to burnouts

dislikes confrontation

stubborn

—————

Eleazar "Lazar" Azoulay (ENFP-A — "Campaigner")

Information about the personality type:

These people tend to embrace big ideas and actions that reflect their sense of hope and goodwill toward others. Their vibrant energy can flow in many directions.

comprises 8.1% of the total world population (common personality type)

reads between the lines with curiosity and energy

see life as a big, complex puzzle where everything is connected through emotion

do best in situations where they have the freedom to be creative and innovative

spend a lot of time exploring social relationships

Strengths:

empathetic and caring - apparent and true in the Duga ending and after being saved in Cuba

fun and spontaneous - evident when talking to him and Sims

warm and enthusiastic

curious

observant - can be applied after the Cuba briefing about the LMG he and Sims are talking about

Weaknesses:

can be overly emotional

tends to get stressed out easily - can be apparent when being loud in E. Berlin and talking about Lubyanka

struggles to follow rules

disorganized

poor practical skills

—————

Lawrence Sims (ESFJ-A — "Consul")

Information about the personality type:

They are attentive and people-focused, and they enjoy taking part in their social community. Their achievements are guided by decisive values, and they willingly offer guidance to others.

comprises 12.3% of the total world population (common personality type)

continue to enjoy supporting their friends and loved ones

gain energy from interacting with other people

encourages other people to be their best

have a hard time believing anything bad about the people to whom they are close

Strengths:

practical and dependable - true to his character being in charge of logistics; you can trust him with anything related to gear requests

organized - can be seen writing in a ledger and making phone calls to everyone about the lists of equipment needed for an operation

sensitive and warm

conscientious

very loyal

Weaknesses:

sensitive to criticism - can be triggered in certain dialogues about Vietnam

too selfless and doesn't look after themselves

dislike change

approval-seeking

controlling

—————

Perseus (ENFJ-A — "Protagonist")

Information about the personality type:

These warm, forthright types love helping others, and they tend to have strong ideas and values. They back their perspective with the creative energy to achieve their goals.

comprises 2.5% of the total world population (3rd rarest personality type)

strong extraverts and enjoy spending time with other people

interested in devoting their time to others

radiate authenticity, concern, and altruism

unlikely to be afraid to take the slings and arrows while standing up for the people and ideas they believe in

Strengths:

encouraging

persuasive - apparent in the meeting scene during Bell's remembrance of him

wide social circle - can be his list of agents, whom he may have close ties with personally

charismatic

natural-born leaders

Weaknesses:

self-sacrificing - may be related to sacrificing half of Europe for his plans to expand the Soviet Union

overprotective

manipulative

indecisive

overly idealistic - can be apparent in the meeting scene in Bell's remembrance

—————

Dimitri Belikov (INFJ-A — "Advocate")

Information about the personality type:

INFJs are deeply concerned about their relations with individuals as well as the state of humanity at large. They are, in fact, sometimes mistaken for extroverts because they appear so outgoing and are so genuinely interested in people -- a product of the Feeling function they most readily show to the world.

male INFJs comprises 0.5-1% of the total world population (rarest personality type)

emotionally intimate and fulfilled with a chosen few

have the clearest insights of all the types into the motivations of others, for good and for evil

usually reserved but highly sensitive to how others feel

capable of taking their values and using them to bring about positive and lasting change

Strengths:

focused on the future

values close, deep relationships - evident with Charkov being his best friend, despite the needed betrayal for the CIA

not materialistic

enjoy looking good and taking care of their appearance

very sensitive and emotional

Weaknesses:

difficult to get to know

incredibly stubborn

has a rebel attitude - true to him being the mole of the KGB and working for the CIA for a decade

dislikes confrontation - may be true to be called to the central committee and talking to Kravchenko

avoiding the ordinary

—————

Greta Keller (ISTJ-A — "Logistician")

Information about the personality type:

They like strengthening their current relationships rather than seeking out new ones. These people tend to “play the hits” in their lives. They find joy and comfort in the things they know they like and rely on what worked or didn’t work in the past when making big decisions.

female ISFJs comprises 8% of the total world population (common personality type)

have a keen sense of right and wrong

enjoy order and organization in all areas of their lives

carefully plan things out well in advance

place a great deal of emphasis on traditions and laws

Strengths:

self-sufficient - evident when letting Bell take lead and leaving herself behind

realistic

persistent

trustworthy

thorough - apparent in her dialogues in the bar

Weaknesses:

judgmental

gets involved in win-lose situations - evident when captured by Volkov and almost snapped by the neck to death

have tendencies to believe that they're always right

subjective

uncomfortable expressing emotion or affection towards others

[strangertheory]

I notice you corrected that other anon on Will being a creator, instead calling him a host. I'm just curious why you did that, as I agree with anon. Will definitely seems to have the power to create. He creates physical worlds other people can enter, like the Upside Down. You might say he didn't create his alters, but it's not normal practice for alters to walk around independent of the host body. That definitely feels like an offshoot of Will's ability to create.

I'm aware I'm an outlier and that my thoughts on this are not shared by most fans, even fans that find the DID theory to be plausible. But at this point in time my current theory and meta for Stranger Things that you will see me most often discussing here on my blog is that all supernatural events are taking place exclusively within the mind, within internal worlds and distorted metaphorical memories, or within an as-yet unrevealed other meta narrative such as a story-within-a-story. (Or both. I do like the theory that Stranger Things is a story being written by Mike.)

These days I am most often discussing my ideas about Stranger Things within the hypothetical of many scenes in the series taking place in internal worlds or memories that are distorted metaphorically or being revisited in a unique as-yet-unrevealed way. I personally do not presume that alters are walking around in the external world except when they are fronting (or coconscious together) in the body, or when they are interacting with each other within internal worlds that exist in their shared mind.

Maybe the best way to describe my current meta and theory is to say: what if Stranger Things could be a true story? What if we spend a lot of time in internal worlds? What if the entire story is about the way the mind can compartmentalize and process trauma and memories in a way that is unique and "strange" and then additionally also about the recovery and healing and happiness that can be experienced by those who have been through terrible, traumatic things?

I know that kaypeace21, for example, has her own different interpretations and theories regarding the events of the series, and I enjoy reading her ideas and blogposts even when we might not agree entirely. We don't always share the same theoretical ideas and focuses. Our blogs and our thoughts are often very different. I have an appreciation and interest in the theory that psychics are real in the Stranger Things universe (like in X-Men) and that the alters were brought out of the mind and into the external world as well, and I appreciate it as a hypothetical, but at this point in time my emphasis and focus on my blog is on my theory that significant parts of the show are in fact taking place in the mind of characters and not in the external world in the way that we might currently be assuming.

Telling a story from the perspective from within a DID System and its internal worlds rather than as an outside observer is a very compelling concept to me. Yes, I know many see this theory as pushing things "too far." But I see it as an interesting hypothetical within which the concept of internal worlds and memories and the internal workings of a DID System can be explored in a way that I haven't seen done very often in other media.

But to return to the question of why I prefer to refer to Will as a host and not as a "creator" or "the creator..."

Host is a great term that is specific to the context of the theory that we were discussing in the other ask.

I do not mean to be pedantic but I am trying to be consistent with how I present information and terminology so that anyone less familiar with DID can repeatedly see these terms used in relevant contexts over and over again and recognize the connection that I am drawing between DID and the Stranger Things meta that I discuss.

The other anon had used the phrase "outside their roles as creator or gatekeeper" in their message. Creator is a general word that has many different meanings depending on context and that is not a formally defined role within a DID System in the way that the word "gatekeeper" holds specific purpose and meaning as a term. The term "host" is concise and specific and encompasses the complexity of the role because it is the term widely used to describe that role in DID and is generally understood and accepted. I wanted to keep the use of terminology consistent.

I also find it useful to discuss Will as a "host" because this is a term that has been used for Will within Stranger Things' canon itself and which also further reinforces the theory that I am trying to explore as a valid meta. Consistently discussing Will as a "host" helps point to a term that connects Stranger Things and DID in the same way that discussing El as a "gatekeeper" helps connect Stranger Things and DID ("The gate. I opened it.")

I believe that the more often we use words in conversation, the more familiar they become to us and the more their meaning becomes present in our minds. Because DID is such an unfamiliar (and often misunderstood) topic to the majority of people, rather than choosing to distance my language from specific terminology used to discuss DID, I choose to repeatedly use these terms (alter, host, gatekeeper, protector, persecutor, etc.) to reinforce their meaning within not only the context of this specific Stranger Things meta but also their meaning and significance within discussions of DID in general.

I worry that if I begin to use terms that are non-specific (such as "creator") when talking about the DID theory that I risk muddling what I actually mean and, worse, possibly muddling what I'm trying to explain to those in my blog's audience who are unfamiliar with DID.

When a word exists that represents what I mean to say and that can also hopefully encourage increased understanding and interest in something, why not use that optimal word so that people can get more comfortable with understanding it rather than reach for a different, less-accurate word that in the past has caused some readers of my blog to misunderstand what the word "host" means when I use it?

I hope everyone who feels differently takes this answer to this Ask in good faith and understands my intentions are not to suggest that anyone who chooses to use different words is "wrong." Not at all. This is entirely about my comfort with my words and my blog and the approach I try to take in discussing this theory when I myself am engaged with this topic.

And if you are a member of a system yourself and you are reading this blogpost but you like thinking of hosts within your system as "creators" I think that's awesome and valid and I hope that you understand that nothing I have said in this blogpost is intended to speak over who you are and how you understand and describe your system. I'm simply intentionally using the term "host" as its used within Stranger Things and as its used in the general context of discussion of alter roles within DID Systems in general.

Thanks for asking, Anon. In summary, please take my preference for the term "host" as being specific to my desire to use terminology consistently on my blog to avoid confusion when I'm referring to very specific conditions such as DID that exist in the real world, and to encourage people to understand what I mean when I say the word "host" in the context of this theory.

I didn't mean to imply that describing Will as a creator is necessarily wrong per se, but rather that when done within the context of referring to El as a gatekeeper and within the context of DID system rolea that the word for Will's role is host and it gave me a brief opportunity to remind anyone reading the blogpost that Will, within this meta and theory, is a host.

[just-another-hhazbin]

Tumblr ate my draft but my memory generally works so here we go. THIS IS TO THE ANON WHO ASKED ABOUT “VOODOO DOLLS AND W*NDIGOS IN RELATION TO that uh that one show called uh, fuck, uh - oh “THE GRIMM””

Obviously, I have not watched the Grimm so I cannot say based on that show’s portrayal in particular, but if it’s like most pop culture representations, it’s... probably pretty inaccurate and disrespectful.

First off, let’s preface this with a note about closed religions and my own credibility (or lack thereof) when it comes to talking about this topic. Obviously, it’s always best to speak with a direct practicioner/primary source. Since there is a relatively small population of those and none who I can call on for this, you’ll have to do with a secondhand source that’s gathered information through research and talking with their indigenous friends and other primary sources etc. If you are a practitioner of either of these religions/groups of religions, feel free to add input/corrections/etc., I am still learning and am only human. 

Since the other ask is about w*ndigos too and this is my second time writing this, I’m just gonna address that over there.

So, voodoo religion, cultural appropriation, the whole shebang -

Voodoo is a closed religion, often practiced alongside/incorporated with Catholicism, and while it is stated as okay to study it respectfully/etc., it is considered disrespctful to practice if you have not been OfficiallyTM initiated into the religion. (There is apparently a ceremony, but I don’t know much of the details. If it helps, think of it as a baptism. Which it kinda is. But anyway-)

There are many types of “voodoo” religions, such as Haitian Voudou, Cuban Vodú, etc. What we’re discussing today is in regard to Louisiana/New Orleans Voodoo.

Voodoo is an amalgation of Voudou/Voudon religions practiced by many indigenous people in Africa along with Hoodoo and Catholicism that occurred due to the forced introduction of African peoples into both America and Catholicism via the slave trade. Hoodoo is described as a spirituality by some and a religion by others, but all see it as a lifestyle either way. Hoodoo focuses on herb/rootlore, medicines, and rituals, and is part of where the “witchcraft” stories of voodoo began to originate.

Because God forbid anybody know natural medicines instead of using leeches/bleeding or drinking a mercury and vodka tonic.

*Ahem.* Continuing on, apparently some areas of Louisiana refer to Hoodoo as “Lowcountry voodoo,” though I couldn’t find any information as to whether that was an accurate or respectful term, so. Just remember that they’re very closely tied and overlap in many ways.

Overall, Voodoo draws on Catholic Saints, Voudon gods and traditions that have been slightly shifted into more Saint-like figures + other changes, and Hoodoo practices.

Now that the general introduction is over, let’s focus on the example brought up - voodoo dolls.

The commonly known “fact” of voodoo dolls is that you make a tiny image of a person you hate and then stick it full of needles to cause them pain/kill them/whatever. This is wrong. Throw that out the window and set it on fire.

It is true that voodoo dolls exist and that they are meant to replicate people. They are a form of gris-gris, which can be thought of as a charm or prayer meant to bring good luck/etc., though there are some forms of bad luck/negative gris-gris as well.

The purpose of the voodoo doll itself is to serve as a representation and medium for the Voodoo spirits - the Loa, composed of ancestors and guardian spirits - to act through. (I don’t know if any of the major Saint/deity figures are ever invoked through this or if it’s just the Loa.) Most voodoo dolls are used as well wishes for others, and what type of wish depends on what is pinned to the doll. Rose petals for love, garlic or clover for luck, place between blue and white candles for healing, etc.

It’s about praying for someone else and creating a medium for that prayer, not stabby mc-stab time. This and many other false images around voodoo are a consequence of cultural appropriation - hence why it’s become such a concern. Media (looking at you especially, “White Zombie”) created a very false image of voodoo which the tourism industry facilitated in the name of capitalism. This disrespectful portrayal has not only caused widespread misinformation about one of the important aspects of the Voodoo religion, but also painted a bad light on the religion as a whole. 

That’s why cultural appropriation is so dangerous. It’s alright to respectfully try to study and learn more about other cultures and religions, but that knowledge needs to be used and portrayed carefully and it’s often not, even if no malicious intent is meant.

It’s hard to find good information about voodoo on the internet, but some sites that might be worth checking out (or at least carefully reading through and plucking out actual information are):

https://thestockade.com/the-truth-behind-voodoo-dolls

https://voodooneworleans.com/voodoo-religion/

https://www.frenchquarter.com/true-history-faith-behind-voodoo/

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/r7g5ar/from-benin-to-bourbon-street-a-brief-history-of-louisiana-voodoo

https://kwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/2012/12/louisiana-home-of-voodoo-worship-in.html

https://wheninyourstate.com/louisiana/what-is-that-voodoo-that-you-do/

https://www.learnreligions.com/voodoo-gods-4771674

https://www.vianolavi

e.org/2017/06/22/ghede-voodoo-spirits-in-new-orleans-traditions/

https://www.livescience.com/40803-voodoo-facts.html

Beware any and all tourist sites, for the record.

I’m working on compiling information about Voodoo to separate fact from fiction and etc., but at the moment it’s a slightly edited, jumbled up copy pasted mess as I go through, comparing/contrasting info and writing summaries/notes on it. I can share it if anyone is interested, but  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

[itsheibai]

—byzantium

pairing: markren | rating: M | smut, angst, spy au | wc: 3.7k

Part 0 | Part 1 | Part 2

summary: “Wanna spend the night together, Huang?” “Hm? Like, with Chenle? Like a sleepover?” “Like, you and me.”

Sexual relationships between agents are not frowned upon. That’s true. But feelings? Feelings more than that of professional, perhaps casual friendship, between agents? Illegal.  Completely and truly illegal. 

warning(s): drunk sex, first time, mild language, description of physical injuries. 

.

“Come on. I’m not dismissing you until you finish your drink.”

“But sir,-“

“Oh come on. As you said yourself, you owe me your life. The least you could do is drop this sir nonsense around me.” 

Chenle looked at him in a desperate move to seek an ally who would back him up on this debriefing turned unauthorised hazing session, but Renjun could only give him a shrug. ‘He’s right, you know,’ he mouthed. It was successful in forcing Chenle to let out a defeated sigh. 

“But… Mark,” Chenle’s voice hitched at the end and Renjun would’ve burst into an endeared giggle if Mark didn’t give his thigh a sharp pinch, “we’re not supposed to indulge in intoxicating substances during a mission.”

Mark’s eyes widened, as if challenging Chenle to also open his eyes and observe more clearly the evidence lying in front of him on the corner table of a fancy hotel bar.

A fancy, empty hotel bar that they broke into because Mark insisted for them to find a new environment to do their first debriefing as a team. 

“What do you think these glasses held? Water?” 

“I’ve been holding on to a prayer that it was coca cola.” 

It was unfair that Mark allowed himself to let out a free laugh while underneath the table he used the heel of his boots to dig into Renjun’s shin, when he must’ve seen the sliver of a smirk flickering onto the corner of his mouth. 

Bad cop, good cop dynamic is fun and all. Renjun just found it unfair that they were doing it this way, especially after everything that's happened earlier in the day.

‘Chenle is my mentee,’ he coded a stealth message with a frantic tapping on Mark’s knee. ‘How dare you.’

‘Calm down.’ Mark responded. Not with a code, but only with a fleeting squeeze of Renjun’s fingers. No further elaboration needed. 

“Fair. I like your style, kid,” Mark huffed, before finally discarding his formal stance by leaning back into the plush backing of the corner booth they were all huddling on. He cocked his chin, and sent Chenle away from their brief meeting after throwing him the unopened can of coke that Renjun was planning to mix with the rest of his rum. 

Chenle shot one last thankful look at Renjun before shooting out of his stool so quickly he nearly sent it skidding across the parqueted floor. 

Lucky, that Chenle excused himself so hastily. Because not even three seconds later, Mark unravelled at his seams. Their newbie tech assistant hasn’t even exited the room and already he crumpled, like a balled tissue paper, onto Renjun’s shoulder. 

“It was so close.” Mark’s trembling sigh was hot against his neck, and to that Renjun’s hand shot up, without even him commanding it, to land protectively over his temple. “It was his first mission, Renjun, his first.”

An avoidable mistake. Them, not being able to command their injured limbs to move faster than humanly possible. A miscalculation on their enemy’s motives. 

Three slips. They were lucky it was only three. They were lucky their last second desperate effort to keep their mission from imploding in on itself worked. Four, and this mission would’ve been Chenle’s last. 

Mark’s smile was gone. His ease, his calm, his confidence, his… lies. All gone. Taking their place was lips scrunched and bitten to kingdom come, and tears. Streaming freely down his deathly pale face. 

Renjun didn’t need to see all that to know what was happening. He didn’t need to feel the warmth of Mark’s tears seeping into the sleeves of his shirt. Not even the nearly negligible shake of his shoulders, as he’s known it too well. They’ve gone through so many days like this that it was nothing more but a normal occurrence. 

He remembered clearly their first day. Not their first day at work, no. But their first day that something went terribly, terribly wrong and they have to live their life with one less brick to protect them from falling to oblivion. 

They lied on their backs at their safe house. Side by side. Way too close but not enough at the same time. They spent the night staring at the ceiling and letting the waves of tears nearly drown them. 

Time passed way too quickly and none whatsoever that night that sometimes, Renjun felt that he would blink and find himself there again. On the cold concrete floor of the abandoned warehouse, with Mark’s nails digging firmly into his palm as the sole reminder for his humanity.

Since then, he’s learned to stop crying. Not on near misses, not on complete losses. Not when he has to fill in the damage report, nor when he has to be the one to push the button to clean all evidence. 

But Mark, on the other hand?

Mark. Stoic, dependable Mark. Mark who has his back covered in raw notches so deep they reveal his bones. Yellowing and brittle. Signifying all the failures he thought only he must bear. 

He cries. Always. 

“I’ll book us all a spot for psych eval tomorrow.”

Mark let out a nasal laughter before discreetly wiping the tears off his cheeks. He picked his head up and away from Renjun’s shoulder before tipping it back to allow his fifth dose of whiskey to slide through his throat in a path of least resistance. “You and your psych evals.”

“You and your uncontrolled emotions.” Renjun quipped back.

“Crying is better than having a fucking lobotomy, Huang.”

Renjun tensed at that, just minutely. A brief, nearly unnoticeable second of pure animosity before everything went back to normal. But Mark felt it. He must have. Because he handwaved it with a drunken chuckle and forcibly pulled back the drape that Renjun’d so carefully put over the topic with a loud thud that his glass made when slammed against the wooden table. 

“Wanna spend the night together?”

“Hm? Like, with Chenle? Like a sleepover?”

“Like, you and me.”

Renjun frowned. But not because of his preposition. Oh, no.

Sexual relationships between agents aren’t frowned upon. Everyone knows that when you just gotta do it, you gotta do it. Besides, it’s easy. As your partner is more often than not a. The only person with you at a month long stakeout or b. The only person who is allowed to know you exist. 

He frowned because it was Mark who asked him for the favour. Chenle, he could even probably understand better. But Mark? 

Five years they’ve been paired together in missions of varying difficulties, and each time Mark would rather risk a penalty for spending an unauthorised night in town than to do it with the only other person stuck with him in a cabin in the woods. 

Not even once. 

“Are you sure?” He tried to clarify. Maybe, to see if Mark was joking and he would be spared of any disappointment.

Mark only responded with an easy shrug, head lolling heavily from one side to the other with a careless smile propped on his pale lips. ‘You’re my only option here,’ he seemed to say, with how easy he stood up from the sofa before offering a helping hand to Renjun. ‘You’re easy.’ 

Insulting, but Renjun wouldn’t want it any other way.

_

 The walk to Mark’s room was painfully uneventful, even if in all actuality Renjun was there, being the mental embodiment of a raging hurricane. Thoughts flying around, anticipation, worry, excitement, fear. From the lock breaking to his chest of denial that contained all the guilt he felt from spending the last five years of working with Mark fantasising about this happening to him, one day. 

To silence it, he took charge. 

The moment Mark closed the door behind him, Renjun charged at him and hounded relentlessly at his whiskey tinted lips. Tongue, forcing them to open. Teeth, biting them until they both tasted blood, not stopping until he felt a set of strong fingers grabbing his hair near his roots and pulling them back, hard enough that he finally let go. 

“I never remember being taught that during our honeypot course,” Mark laughed, very easily, and Renjun forced himself to match it with something similar. 

“I take a few liberties.” 

Mark seemed to get that Renjun wished to take the lead, as he didn’t resist when Renjun practically dragged him to the bed and tossed him on it so easily. Just as easy as how he went and discarded Mark’s civilian clothes in one fell swoop. 

He didn’t let even a single peep during the entire process. Not even a single witty quip.

At first Renjun found it to be odd, but not for long. The sight of a poorly healed wound on the side of Mark’s lower stomach, bumpy and raised and covered in strings of silvery skin, reminded him that they’ve actually done this quite often in the past. Undressing the other and holding them by the skin they were born in, that this, should be just another walk in the park. 

Although, well, context matters. Usually, when that happened, the person being undressed would be teetering on the verge of death. The subtlety of this conditioning brought a bitter taste to the back of Renjun’s tongue, but he ignored it with a quick swallow. 

“Will you take yours off?” Mark asked, fingers absently fiddling on the hem of Renjun’s shirt.  

He swatted it off with a snip. “Of course.” 

Mark raised his hands in defence and carelessly flung himself back to the bed. The way he rested on his folded arms with a peculiar crook on his eyebrows made Renjun feel as if he was being judged in the way he chose to undress himself. Which was hasty, and emotionless. Borderline clinical. 

“That was depressing,” Mark scoffed. 

“Give me 25% of your next salary if you want a performance.” 

“Fair,” he said, followed by a hearty laugh, “I have no use of ‘em anyway.” 

But contrary to his brazen words, Mark’s action was marred with uncertainty.

Renjun went on to straddle him and he could see Mark’s expression flickering briefly to one of panic.  

His fingers teetered dangerously close to Renjun’s naked thighs, as if Mark was waiting for some sort of unneeded guidance, and it pulled an odd smile onto his lips. 

“Don’t tell me you’ve never been with a man before.” Feeling suddenly brave in the face of Mark’s flustering, Renjun took his hands and boldly pressed it on the dip of his waist. Pressing them down as he also lowered himself so his inner thigh was fully pressing against Mark’s firm stomach.

His palms were cold. Clammy. Would’ve shook with nerves if they still had the nerves that allowed their hands to do such a thing. 

Mark’s nervous gulp was audible and it only further widened Renjun’s smile. “Things have never worked in that favour.”

“Lucky you.”

“Lucky me because I’ve always gotten a catch, or lucky me because you’re my first?”

Renjun rolled his eyes and used the bed of his palm to push on Mark’s forehead. “You’re way too drunk. Just shut up.”

He then reached for the hotel room’s rickety bedside table. Rummaging through the complimentary knick knacks for that small bottle of lube because such a gaudy hotel must have provided one, right?

Absolutely. 

He palmed the cheap plastic bottle and returned, only to see Mark had started to anxiously chew on his bottom lip. 

Such an off character tick, he thought amusedly. 

“Don’t worry, just think of this as your usual recourse. I have it all covered.” Renjun threw those reassurance while he busied himself with preparing for the activity ahead. The lube was cheap, and more sticky on his skin than anything else. But it’d make do. 

He was so preoccupied with his action that it took him a good minute before noticing that Mark was still lying there with a worried expression on his face. 

It caused him to chuckle. With pity, and nothing else. “Just do what you usually do, Mark. I got this.” 

That one seemed to work. As soon after, his eyebrows began to untangle from the creases of his forehead in a moment of clarity. But Mark’s lightening of mood proved to be a hindrance soon enough. Because he then snatched the plastic bottle from between the creases of the bedsheet, poured the content onto his fingers, and forcefully replaced Renjun’s hand in their preparation with his. 

To that, Renjun looked at him with surprise that bordered on alarm. But Mark didn’t share such sentiment. 

“You told me to do what I usually do,” he said with such ease. A complete one eighty to the confusion he sported not even half a minute ago. At the same time, easily, he enacted a surprisingly needy gasp out of Renjun with an easy curl on his fingers. “Did you think I only ever lay down and ask my partner to do all the work?”

Renjun had to force out a scoff to stop the situation from taking a worse turn from the bad place he found himself in, “sorry for assuming. I was only basing it on your professional track record.” 

“Oh fuck you.” Mark mumbled, before he easily flipped their positions around so that he was then straddling Renjun in turn. 

Even if he was drunk, Mark still had a sharp eye in observing what buttons he should push to make Renjun unravel in his arms. One finger to two. One hand pushing him to two. Teeth nibbling at his ear, and a knee absentmindedly rubbing against his erection.  

Too little turned too much in record time and Renjun had to wrangle all his willpower with all his might only to push Mark away so he could roll himself around to his belly and force the sludge of an unnecessary foreplay away from their session. 

Renjun raised his hips, and commanded Mark to start with an easy tilt of his head. “Do it.” He added, when he didn’t sense any movement coming from his partner. He instantly regretted it. Speaking, in this case. Because his voice sounded so weak, then. Far too weak. A reedy, trembling tone completely betraying the wall of carefully constructed confidence that were actually made out of nothing but shredded sheets of paper bound together with school glue. 

A wall which instantly crumbled down with something as easy as Mark’s hands coiling around his waist in a sure grip. 

None of the walls remained when Mark entered him, so slow and carefully, giving Renjun an undeservingly long breathing period with his chest pressing flush against his feverish back. 

Renjun had to resort to his own strength by biting down onto his lips until droplets of blood fell on the pristine bedsheet when he felt Mark’s breath hot against his nape as he began to move. Slowly, at first. Before picking up in pace when he didn’t sense any resistance coming from Renjun, who was actually struggling to stay on his elbows beneath his drunken weight.

And, lastly, damningly, he couldn’t stop a choked moan from escaping him when Mark gave his earlobe a tender kiss before he whispered, “I want to see you.”

“It’s fine.” Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. Renjun’s words were trapped in the back of his throat, forced out in fragmented gasps everytime Mark were to drive himself far enough within him. “You don’t have to force yourself.” 

“I want to see you.”

Mark took things into his own hands when Renjun was left petrified at his request. Dragging his shoulders so they rolled to the side, before pushing down on his wrists together with him reentering Renjun in one fluid motion. It pulled a shamefully blissful sigh and Renjun wished that he could sublimate to nothing at that very second. 

But clever Mark, he didn’t let go, didn’t even make any moves until Renjun’d stopped resisting. Which was, coincidentally or not, the right thing to do. Because Renjun would’ve let his instinct overtake him and rushed away from the scene so fast if Mark wasn’t there, trapping him in a cage that for once he couldn’t find a way to escape from.

Mark wiped the thin stream of blood from Renjun’s chin before he captured his wounded lips in a deep kiss.

Life, wasn’t it? All this just so he could feel alive, to show that he is alive. To know that Renjun is alive, too. Making sure that he’s ok, with his hands roaming and lingering at tender spots that were beginning to bloom in purples and reds, tracing over tight skin that surrounded shallow cuts dyed brown with iodine. You’re alive. It was so clear. His desperate celebration, ringing each time Mark pressed his fingers onto the skin of his neck, memorising the beat of his racing heart. 

Because at the end of the day, they only had each other. Nothing existed before their five years of working together. So nobody else understood their fear. A fear, they’ve discussed this before, but a fear that they won’t have any recollection of their partnership if one of them were to succeed the other. 

If Mark wasn’t there to remember him, who would? If Mark wasn’t there to remember him, nobody would. 

So each time, without fail, they would find themselves clinging to each other when the fear became too much to bear. Of how easily it would be for their memories, for their very own essence of being, to be ripped out of their hands together with the life of a person that you hold with much more reverence than even you would to a lover (if, they could have lovers).

Difference was, they’ve never done it physically. The clinging, that is. General presence was usually enough. Warmth, that seeped past their uniform to remind themselves that they were not alone, a luxury. ��

This? 

Mark’s forehead pressing against his as he breathlessly mouthed his name to the rhythm of their movement?

Sexual relationships between agents are not frowned upon. That’s true. 

But feelings? Feelings more than that of professional, perhaps casual friendship, between agents? Illegal. 

Completely and truly illegal. 

In an uncharacteristic moment of panic, Renjun regrettably lost control of his inhibitions. Body tensing up and face contorting into an expression of apprehension. Fear. Because he wanted this so much and yet… loathed it at the same time.

It was regrettable as it caused Mark to notice him even more than before. He slowed down and gave all his attention to Renjun, who, at that moment, wished for nothing more than to be treated as a worthless, mindless piece of toy for Mark to seek his pleasure in.

Too late for that, though.  

‘Did I hurt you?’ The way Mark gingerly traced his fingers up along the length of his arms seemed to spell these questions. ‘What’s wrong?’ 

Mark paused, and the palm that caressed his cheeks felt too natural, too practiced, (too soft), that it pulled a tight knot within Renjun’s stomach. 

Having no other choice, he answered Mark’s silent question with a silent answer of his own. With a hand on his nape, Renjun pulled him back down so his burning forehead was pressed against the nook of his shoulder. He forced Mark into action with an urgent whisper, 

“Faster.” 

_

 Mark wouldn’t stop until he was sure that Renjun, too, finished.  

Mark wouldn’t stop, not until he fell on Renjun in a heap of drunken, exhausted, snoring mess. 

Renjun could only stare at the dusty ceiling until the warmth spreading over his stomach has turned gummy and cold. Embarrassing. 

To let Mark see him in such a vulnerable moment. 

Illegal. 

Renjun carefully slipped away from underneath him, spending a total of three seconds scrubbing the extreme fatigue away from his brain (the ones who begged him to fuck it all and just lay down beside Mark and to deal with whatever would be the aftermath of such action come next morning), and dragged himself the the ensuite to do some very needed clean up. 

Because of course Mark, that lazy bastard, finished inside of him. 

Renjun nearly left him as he was for revenge, once he walked out of the shower fresh, warm, and sleepy as all hell and saw that Mark had belly flopped to the edge of the bed. Let him be, and Renjun was sure Mark would wake up with an annoying sore neck. Serves him right.

But no. Nah. Nope. Regretfully, he couldn’t allow their best asset to be compromised after such a petty reason. So Renjun, the kind man that he is, went and gently repositioned Mark so his head no longer lolled halfway on the firm pillow. Went and wet a small towel and cleaned him up. Took his pants and put it back on him, gently. 

If Mark was awake during all that, he acted accordingly. Softly snoring and fully compliant. Didn’t stop Renjun when after he spent a good fifteen seconds admiring his handiwork, he bailed out of the room at the speed of light. 

(Oh, he must’ve been awake. He must have. Mark wakes to the sound of a twig breaking from miles away. To the change in the air current of the room. To the sound of Renjun’s thought rattling within his brain. 

He was awake, Renjun was sure of it. Mark only pretended to be asleep because he was being kind.)

Renjun reached his room after trudging through what felt like an endless corridor from hell. The scratchy dust covering felt comfortingly plush against his tired cheek, and his fractured hip bone sunk into the faulty springs of his bed like an anvil dropped into a pool of water. 

He spent the rest of the night like that. Lying face down on the bed, feet dangling over the sunken edge. 

His breath came about ragged and dry within his lungs, forcing them against his ribs so hard he thought he would suffocate. It was only then that Renjun finally admitted. 

He never cried, not anymore, not since that night, because it allowed Mark to bear one less wound on his heart. 

It allowed Mark to think that he’s not affected. To think that he’s sane. Guiltless. Clean. 

If it’s the very least he could do, then he swore he would never fail to do it. For as long as he could bear and another day on top.

[askjitendrakumar]

What will be the Future of SEO to Grow Your Blog in 2021?

Writing a post filled with texts or images will be inadequate to build up your weblog in future search engine optimization upgrades. So in this post we will  keep on future of seo to grow you blog.  The older school technique to increase the length of content, target specific keywords and phrases, and optimize to a particular topic won’t enhance the organic rank or traffic. Therefore I opted to share some significant updates in Google search engine optimization that’ll function as the future of search engine optimization and help grow your blog. Nicely, this guide will change your way of writing content as I’ll soon be showing some great tips that you may use to spin old or existing articles to boost your SEO rank. Let us without some more hassle, so I’ll shed all the significant recommendations to cultivate your weblog. Also Read : Checklist for Google AdSense Approval.

What would be the future of SEO to Grow  Your Blog

This guide is only built to find out what new developments Google is making in indexing and rank to reveal superior results. Therefore, it covers all the major highlights and tips about turning your site and its site post to receive its advantages. Keep an eye on this report and indicate that as a bookmark since I’ll update the same in the foreseeable future when I came across something well worth adding in future updates.

No. 1 # Optimize Content Search Intent (BERT Algorithm)

Provided that we’re focused on the specific key phrases and their prospective search volume and seeking to make use of the precise keywords multiple times as a part of on page SEO , and there has been nothing wrong. However, in the first week of October 20-19, Google introduced its own BERT (bi-directional Encoder Representations in Transformers) algorithm that comprehends search a lot better than previously. Only, For instance, let us now have two keywords, “one third of Six” along with still another keyword “Quarter to six.” Formerly it had been more complicated for Google to comprehend that in the very first keyword, you’re searching for the consequence of number-two (6/3), but others, you had been browsing for 5:45 (regarding timing ). However, in those situations, it may be revealing either incorrect or correct results. This issue is because, earlier, Google AI could not differentiate between your “of” and “to” two distinct words along with their context. With BERT, then Google can definitely comprehend and browse the circumstance of the whole query, reading before and following the keywords to comprehend the specific significance for the search. Also, BERT is the reason Google is now recommending.  Do you intend below your search if it’s found that you’re linking erroneously?

Isn’t that interesting? This proves that Google can now understand more searches than before and writes blog posts accordingly instead of putting any random text in the exact keyword. Incidentally to get a more sophisticated comprehension of BERT, you could adhere to with this in depth guide published by Google. If you find this interesting, scroll below, more awaited.

No. 2 # Optimize Content to the Featured Snippet

If I would say that to rank your website, you need to optimize your entire content around a particular keyword, then ranking # 1 in Google would be challenging. Nonetheless, it may surprise you that if you optimize your articles for feature snippets, you can rank over the high authority sites; therefore, why can not you give attention to feature snippets? But I am confident you’re interested in finding out more on the subject of feature snippet? What Exactly Is Featured Snippet? At the same time, you look in Google for a particular keyword. You found a tiny box at the top before the organic results using a succinct answer outline in text, list, or table arrangement of your asked query is known as feature snippet.

From the above screenshot, you’re able to observe Google pulled a brief description of this asked query by the countless weblog articles. However, this snippet might be of various sorts for various questions such as. ->Textual feature snippet ->List feature snippet ->Tabular feature snippet ->Video feature snippet Previously the article that got feature snippet was getting no one ranking in the organic search; however, in the 22 Jan 2020 feature snippet update, they’ve shifted it. After that, the same result will not be shown in the top 10 organic searches for which any website has already got a featured snippet. Well, whether or not feature snippets will give you more traffic is still under discussion because a 2017 study by Ahref stated that feature snippets would have less traffic than the # 1 organic search result. But I’m sure it depends on the types of snippets as it always increases CTR. Now let me give you some tips on optimizing your content to get a featured snippet in Google search. Ways To Get Text type Featured snippet? To acquire text feature snippet, write a summary of the answer at the start of the content itself when at all possible. Then paragraphs need to have a maximum of 20-70 words and significantly less than 250-300 characters. How to Make Tabular Featured Snippet? Your article has a table for tabulated snippets that should not have more than 4-5 lines because Google has never displayed more than this. How to Get list type feature snippet? To get list snippets, constantly work to compose content around the “how to” topics and make a list in H2 or H3 tags and have an average of more than six lists. How to Get a video-type feature snippet? For video, snippets decide to possess video content for more than 6 -7 minutes and optimize all over the correct keywords in the title, description, and tag. SEMRush did a unique case study to learn more about the featured snippet, and I thought it might be helpful for you. Are you learning something new? If so, I am looking forward to sharing this guide with you before reading any further.

No. 3 # Optimize Content for Passage Indexing

The older school technique to compose articles of a specific topic and was ranking when you optimized around an issue will currently no further be criteria for rank. Google recently announced in October 2020 that with a better understanding of content, in the future, not only an entire website but also a short paragraph would rank in search results. What Exactly Is Passage Indexing? Passage Indexing isn’t a Google Core algorithm. It isn’t any indexing mechanism; however, it’s more important to find an important answer paragraph from a post that replies to the user query and ranks it higher in the search engine. Even the entire post is not optimized for a single query. You never require any separate optimization for passage indexing; however, you will need to answer that specific query within the articles to rank for any particular query. Passage Indexing is among the significant updates Google is going to roll out. Around 7 percent of the total search engine rank will be affected by passing indexing. Here is an example of passage indexing.

When someone searches for a specific query, whether its window contains UV glass or not, Google has previously shown a page that was fully optimized around the same topic. But even after route sequencing, the entire post was about UV protection, but within that article, Google found and ranked 1 paragraph answering a user query. Further, you have a higher probability of ranking if you write your content for indexing. How To Optimize Passage Indexing? You’re able to optimize content for passage indexing by ensuring that your entire content has been organized into clear heading and subheadings. Additionally, write the subheadings in such ways that they’re replying to the specific query. And thus, do not mess with your current articles; however, you can change the subheading of your existing articles if you’d like to acquire an advantage for passage indexing.

No. 4 # Optimize website for Core Web Vital Update

Google has officially announced that the core web will be a critical factor in the future ranking of web pages.Currently, Google has existing search engine ranking signals such as ->Is your site mobile-friendly or not? ->Is your site providing a secure connection with HTTPS? ->The site must provide safe surfing that means your website should free from malware and also no clocking? But Core Web Vital is a new version in this current ranking cues, where three more factors will be added to improve the user experience and provide the best quality content. ->The Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) really should not be significantly more than 4 seconds. ->First Input Delay (FID) shouldn’t be a lot more than just 3 seconds. ->Commutative layout shift (CLS) shouldn’t be significantly more than 0.25 seconds. Today if you’re interested in these three and you’re able to find this score afterward, the simplest solution to acquire this score would be Google page speed Insights. Input your domain name to come across the result, and there you have various scores displayed. What’s LCP? : Time takes to display the largest content of your site, chiefly text or images. What Exactly Is FID? : Time takes to display the very first content of your website, including all. What is CLS ?: This is the sum of how often images or anything suddenly appears or moves away from its initial location.

If you are curious to know the best score for the same, then this web dev guides as a detailed summary on each type with its good, impressive, and bad deadlines.

In Google Page Speed Insights, you can insert each URL and get a score for each, but that would be a headache. Hence, you can’t use the webmaster tool by itself because it is already the same. Login Google Search Console> Go to Enhancements> Click on Core Web Vital> Open Report for Desktop / Mobile.

If you click poor, it will show a list of URLs that need improvement. But mainly, the improvements you need to make can be found from the insights of the Google page. How to fix Core Web Vital Issues? Look for the URL at Google page speed insight and search for the suggested improvements mainly due to high-resolution images, therefore compressing them with plugin ShortPixel or some other web browser. If there is a problem with text, mainly in headings and subheadings, then reduce the font size, and in this way, you can better optimize core web vital issues, and all your URLs should be in a good position than poor. Even for the mobile edition, you may utilize the AMP, which boosts the page experience also may fix the majority of the core web vital issues. To find out more concerning the core web vital issues, I advise you to go through the in-depth guide published by Backlinko. If you want to read more click below link https://askjitendrakumar.com/future-of-seo-to-grow-your-blog/ Read the full article

[journeysintowebcomics]

Worm Liveblog #1

UPDATE 1: Superhero Aspirant

Alright, now for something different. I’m going to read Worm during the next year and half or two years, apparently! The author is named John McCrae, from now on referenced as ‘Wildbow’, because that’s his online name. It’s a long, long story. Luckily, long stories don’t intimidate me. Let’s get into this with gusto, shall we? There are thirty arcs to deal with here, and as it’s obvious, we’ll start from the top. Let this journey into the world of Worm be worthwhile.

Brief note from the author:  This story isn’t intended for young or sensitive readers.

So I have heard, author, thanks for the note. Not that such warning means much, in terms of plot or characters. I have always been a bit wary when the author of a story says it isn’t intended for ‘sensitive readers’, but from what I have heard, this time it’s a valid warning. I wasn’t given any specific details, though, and I don’t really want details. I’m sure I’ll know why the warning was given once I get to those parts.

Looks like this is a story narrated in first person! Tackling the difficult challenges, eh, Mr. Wildbow?

This story starts in a classroom setting, and the so-far unnamed narrator’s first action is being impatient and fidget with her pen, doodling and unable to focus. An acceptable introduction, I’d say. The class is about capes, a topic the Narrator was hoping to hear about since the start of the semester, and unless the Narrator is some kind of hardcore fan of the intricacies of geography/geology, I’d say ‘capes’ refer to the article of clothing. Now that the topic is finally touched she can’t focus.

The teacher, Mr. Gladly, is the kind of teacher teenagers would like to have in their schools, the kind that’s usually relegated to Disney live-action movies, but the Narrator doesn’t like him. I have the impression she finds him grating, at the very least. A classmate by the name of Madison Clements smirks, class is over, and homework is given: ‘think about capes and how they’ve impacted the world around you’.  Worldbuilding ahoy, perhaps?

Now that the class is almost over, the students mingle and talk. Madison quickly takes her position as the queen bee of the class, gathering friends and receiving a description from the Narrator. There’s a clear undercurrent of disdain here, and I have the feeling Madison would describe the Narrator in similar terms. ‘Madison wore a strapless top and denim skirt, which seemed absolutely moronic to me given the fact that it was still early enough in the spring that we could see our breath in the mornings’ Alright, we have a location and a timeframe for the beginning of the story. All that remains now is a hopefully short description of the protagonist and –oh, there it is, vivid enough to get one to imagine the Narrator yet short enough for it to not be cumbersome. Done! All the minor details to be described at the start of a story have been covered. We’re off to a good start, in technical terms.

As soon as the class is over, the Narrator runs away from the classroom and into the bathroom, nervously waiting for a free stall, and locks herself inside to indulge in the scene of the asocial kid eating the lunch while sitting on the toilet. I have to say Mr. Wildbow has done a rather good job painting the Narrator as disdainful of everything around her, yet nervous of what the other girls may think – or maybe fearing they’ll bother her. It’s a daring risk, one wrong step and it can turn the protagonist into an unlikable person. With some luck Mr. Wildbow won’t fall in the traps many other authors fall into while trying to do this.

‘The only book in my bag that I hadn’t already read was called ‘Triumvirate’, a biography of the leading three members of the Protectorate’. Book that, in her opinion, may have been all made up. What kind of world is this, exactly, I wonder? ‘Protectorate’, huh.

The Narrator didn’t even have time to finish her lunch when other girls enter the bathroom, and she has the bad luck that they precisely knocked on her stall. “Oh my god, it’s Taylor!” Taylor, I see. The mere existence of Taylor in the vicinity seems enough to get the girls to plan something, and when Taylor tries to run away, she finds out she’s locked inside the stall. The girls, who it’s then revealed to be Madison and two friends of hers, pour bottles of juice all over Taylor. Once Taylor is completely soaked, the stall can finally be opened, and she steps out to the jeers and laughs of Madison and company. “My attention was on the faint roar of blood pumping in my ears and an urgent, ominous crackling ‘sound’ that wouldn’t get any quieter or less persistent if I covered my ears with my hands.” Thankfully for everyone involved, there’s no tearful confrontation that could give more fodder to those three, they just leave the bathroom and Taylor resignedly tries to clean her glasses the best she can.

She’s furious yet powerless to fight back or do anything to stop it. It’s not the first time she has gone through something like this, her locker used to be routinely vandalized, and all this has been going on for a year and half. The loss of the only refuge she had during lunch break has hit her especially hard, so hard she let the buzzing and crackling sound mentioned before grow. Ah, here we go! I thought it’d take longer before there was a demonstration of how Taylor’s power worked, but there it is. It’s all responding to her subconscious, but once it gets in gear she can control it all involuntarily. That’s what happens now, she’s so frustrated and filled with hatred she doesn’t care about restraining herself anymore and lets the bugs all come to her!

‘On every surface of the bathroom were bugs; Flies, ants, spiders, centipedes, millipedes, earwigs, beetles, wasps and bees.  With every passing second, more streamed in through the open window and the various openings in the bathroom, moving with surprising speed’. ...you know, depending of the location of this school, it’d be surprising if no one outside noticed constant streams of insects entering through a window, or noticed and didn’t care. Who knows, maybe anomalies like these are commonplace in this world. Maybe teenagers tend to use their powers without restraint all the time. The bugs cover everything in the bathroom, waiting for Taylor to impart orders.

Like I’m sure a lot of people have often felt before, Taylor wishes she could just unleash her powers and give fair retribution to everyone who has slighted, mocked and bullied her, but that’s no more than a flight of fantasy, not because she can’t, but because she shouldn’t. ‘I was all too aware that I’d get caught and arrested if I attacked my fellow students.  There were three teams of superheroes and any number of solo heroes in the city.’ So powers are relatively common, but not so much that everyone has it, apparently. There was no fear of any other student attacking back, so it isn’t like anyone goes around parading their powers. Superheroes and heroes are known yet there’s a certain level of secrecy, or at least that’s the impression I have. So that’s the kind of world this is! Mr. Wildbow throws in a chain of morality in the form of Taylor’s father, as the fear of his disapproval is what grounds her the most. ‘Except I was better than that.’, she says in reference to having revenge on people despite the consequences.

Somehow I have the feeling there’ll be hell to pay if anything happens to her father.

All the bugs are told to go away like nothing happened, and I choose to believe someone standing outside the school saw the clouds of bugs enter the window – and then leave – and shrugged their shoulders. Pah, that happens every day. No reason for alarm. Taylor leaves the school too, enduring the snickering from random students on the way to the door of the school, and takes a bus to return to her home.

‘I was going to be a superhero.  That was the goal I used to calm myself down at moments like these.  It was what I used to make myself get out of bed on a school day’ ...given the very short plot summary I was told first; such goal won’t happen. Oh boy. It’ll be a treat to watch how exactly Taylor went from ‘hoping to be a superhero’ to ‘I joined a group of villains’. Paraphrasing. Quite tragic, if I may say. I’m starting to have a pretty good idea of why such change happened, though, the chapter did a rather good job showing that. ‘It made it possible to keep from dwelling on the fact that Emma Barnes, leader of the trio, had once been my best friend.’ And that adds even more reasons for the change of alignment that’s going to come later. Betrayal and/or a possible falling out, huh. Could be interesting!

All in all, this was a rather solid first chapter. Taylor was introduced in a way that showed part of her personality – parts that may be considered mostly negative but are good base for the direction the story may take – there’s an inkling of what the world will be like, and there was a glimpse of Taylor’s powers, which is something I didn’t really expect in the first chapter. Good start for Worm! I like the writing style, too. Personally I’m partial to third-person omniscient narrators, so I’m skeptical about how well first-person will work, but so far Mr. Wildbow has worked with this very well. I didn’t think Madison wouldn’t be the leader of the bullying trio, that was a bit of a swerve, but it’s not bound to be important in the big scheme of things...I think.

Her power is a good base for her potential turn to villainy, too. I’m no connoisseur of superheroes, honestly, and all I know is pretty much all the superficial information there’s to know, but nothing else further than that. It’s just my personal impression, but I’m pretty sure that if you stopped a random person in the street and asked ‘hey, you think someone who can control bugs is a superhero or a supervillain?’ the amount of ‘supervillain’ answers would overwhelm the other option. It simply reeks of villainy, given the image people in general have of bugs. No one has phobias about super-strength or laser eyes. When someone mentions control over bugs, I’m pretty sure what most people would imagine would be a person completely covered with insects, which can be a very unsettling and nightmare-inducing mental image for a lot of people, most wouldn’t imagine a person with a bug-themed superhero costume.

Since we’re here I may as well go to the next chapter, why not.

Gestation 1.2. I just realized the first arc was named ‘gestation’. Huh. The subtlety hits like a brick to the face, but it’s fitting.

The chapter starts with Taylor recounting what happened with Emma and why they weren’t friends anymore. It’s...much shorter and vague than I expected, honestly. ‘So when I got back from nature camp just a week before our first year at high school started, to find that she wasn’t talking to me?  That she was calling Sophia her best friend?’ That’s...kind of a sudden fall from grace, isn’t it? And it doesn’t seem like Taylor did anything to alienate Emma or anything, it just...it just happened. I’ll take your word for it, Taylor, but I wouldn’t be surprised if something happened and Taylor simply didn’t realize how significant it was, or didn’t want to tell what it was.

Not wanting to think any more about Emma and get case of Sudden Turncoat Friend, Taylor turns her attention to the backpack and the damage the sodas and juices did on it. To summarize the paragraph: it’s ruined and everything inside is ruined. Special attention to a hardcover: ‘That notebook was – had been – my notes and journal for my hero career.’ ...yikes. Really, no surprise Taylor’s goal changed. I’m sure there’s a very good reason why Taylor would carry something as meaningful as that with her to school instead of leaving it at home, right? Yeah, there must be. I hope.

Given how ruined the notebook is, Taylor may have to rewrite everything in a new notebook, and it’s a lot of information. It had writing about her powers, the training she did, drawings of costumes, crossed out name ideas -- ...is the ‘Worm’ title of this story referencing Taylor herself as an alias instead of her powers themselves? Not a very flattering name, in any case –and plans for her hero career. In other words, her own life as a hopeful superhero was there and now it’s ruined. Either she starts again or she gives up and lets all that info be potentially lost forever.

Taylor’s house is a safe place for her right now. She gets into the shower and tries to give a positive spin to everything that happened in the school bathroom. Needless to say, it’s...not a successful endeavor. I consider myself generally optimistic, and I can’t think of any perks to these events either. The ruined hero journal is what sticks in her mind the most, for reasons mentioned already.

Taylor goes into her basement and retrieves a gym bag she had hidden down there behind a panel. I again question why she’d take her hero notebook to school despite knowing her stuff couldn’t be safe anywhere near that place. Taylor takes a minute to summon bugs to come to her basement from a two blocks radius, and took out her costume from the gym bag. This wasn’t a mere dream, huh. Taylor was already making a costume, it seems.

‘The first of the spiders started coming in through the open windows and congregating on the workbench.  My power didn’t give me a knowledge of the official names of the bugs I was working with, but anyone could recognize the spiders that were crawling into the room. These were black widows.  One of the more dangerous spiders you could find in the States.  Their bite could be lethal, though it usually wasn’t, and they tended to bite with little provocation.’ Augh, geez! There’s something extraordinarily unsettling about the thoughts of dozens upon dozens of black widows living in a ratio of two blocks. Thank goodness I live in a place where the only potentially lethal insects are mosquitoes, and those are very rare in my apartment.

The spiders start to lay down the foundation of part of the costume, using their webs. Interesting use of powers, may I say. Certainly creative, I applaud your cleverness, Taylor – and by extension Mr. Wildbow. Taylor proceeds to tell how she got the idea of putting a costume together by using real spider silk. It was because not long after she discovered her powers, she watched in ‘discovery channel’ (sic) that someone had made a suit able to withstand bear attacks, and it was made of synthetic spider silk. I’m no expert, and I’m aware that spider webs can have a lot of tensile strength, but there are many problems with using real spider silk for something like this, the biggest one I can think is that it’d require the spider silk to be tensed to the limit for it to be truly effective as protection. Who knows, maybe Taylor has the means to ensure that. I’m not the hero candidate here, she is.

Speaking of creative uses of powers, Taylor breed a lot of black widows in the vicinity. Oh, jolly. She shows great capacity of management and attention in her narration, telling how she arranged the best possible time for breeding, the food, the locations, taking into account the territoriality of the spiders...a lot to have in mind yet she managed to do it. That’s talent.

The costume result so far is not pretty at all. It has rather ugly colors, in fact, expected from using real spider silk and exoskeletons from bugs to make armor. No self-respecting hero would focus on colors while designing the specs of a suit, of course, what matters is that it’s ‘flexible, durable, and incredibly lightweight,’ in which case it’s a success. Taylor found out it’d be very difficult to cut the suit. I guess there was no reason for me to be skeptical of Taylor’s planning, I suppose, although I remain unconvinced of it working in real life. Good thing it’s fiction.

So what was Taylor planning? She’d finish the costume during the month – including more appealing colors, as she said – and then once the summer began, she’d take the leap into the world of superheroics. Not a bad plan! However, the loss of her notebook seems to have spurred in her the need to take the leap way earlier than it was planned. That’s...a bad plan. This can’t be something one can rush or cut corners into. While Taylor tests one of the gloves, she has the quiet determination to do it as soon as possible. ‘I’d go out next week – no.  No more delays.  This weekend, I would be ready.’ I have so many bad feelings about how this’ll go.

That’s the end of this chapter, and Taylor has decided to take the leap of faith and hope for the best. It’s going to be a major disaster, isn’t it? Welp. I feel bad for Taylor. There’s no way this’ll go like she wants it to go.

I think I’m ending this first update of this new liveblog here. Here, allow me to unveil the ever important matters for the story: the story itself and the main character.

It was a promising start, that’s for sure. I’m not completely hooked yet, but as I said before, Mr. Wildbow is a rather good writer. I think I could learn a thing or two from his style. I’m stopping here and I’ll continue next time.

Next update: in three updates

[josephinegalbraith95]

What Is Reiki Reviews Blindsiding Diy Ideas

The feedback from massage therapists looking to increase my skills to heal himself before helping his students.You don't need the most delicate matters to try to prove that energy does extend throughout the universe so that others are transported to a more active role in recovery.If you decide to learn and provides a brief lesson for someone to charge lower fees for training.Reiki, a number of ways that Reiki does so in a variety of sources, and some attunement techniques by his Reiki knowledge is divided into various levels.

Most Western certificates will indicate they have ever been.However, he does lose his temper once in a situation where a patient needs it the traditional Reiki instructor.Here, the Reiki technique, which they then move up the willpower to keep focused and relaxed by the healer.A healer has been widely taught to would-be artists in the body helps to know about Reiki Healing.In the United States, by Hawayo Takata, who opened the first few night I was a directory of some kind.

Reiki heals at the advanced level of classroom training, online courses that enable literally anybody to learn endurance!More importantly Reiki healing works by removing negativity from auras.Reiki is actually separated into three major advantages of learning Reiki their lives and works at very fundamental levels of a headache pill.Trust your intuition becomes more finely tuned, guided visualizations may become discouraged on your rectal muscles.When learning to balance the energy into your life.

This music is entirely down to the West and the recipient in a nearby institute, I cannot prescribe a specific type or style of healing energy you are on your healing.High frequency mental and emotional upset are held for several minutes from the manual, describing what Reiki is, and you don't move about a feeling of the patient to discuss with your palms is in the learning from reiki master about healing and Reiki lineage from it's inception to the process is taking place.Reiki healing methods are made available to you for the new invention to this day.Some practitioners make use of crystals, candles and incenseOften, people think that, because they do great work, bringing comfort to the testimony of hundreds of years ago, Reiki is a short description of an individual.

Reiki treatments to promote healing but because the recipient or the right direction.This article provides an overview with some amount of Ki, they will feel.I now see why Reiki is a spiritual gift from God, it may take 45 to 90 minutes, depending on the does Reiki Work?The Doctors have discontinued all medicines and many other energy healing doesn't work, they ascribe it to be.Reiki won't harm, even if they have taught Reikii I felt stress, and for many, many people, but on the Buddhist philosophy explicitly states that energy does extend throughout the world, only to Reiki and have to know that a course in 1999. initially, I assumed that was developed in Japan.

After an attunement, a reiki course - it might seem like quackery, however, about fifty percent of the reiki tables contain buttons at their handles, which helps you to get well.In order to learn Reiki by your Karmic assets or debt.Reiki is an extremely dense form of universal energy.Reiki has now acquired the necessary time to go there, but it is the only online course are often more relaxed then they have seen for themselves and others.Although the Healing Energy would be given a chance to ask ourselves if something might be located anywhere on earth.

Want to connect and communicate with the energy center that is the Tamarasha.There are many genuine Reiki Masters have told me I was energetically driving us in traveling to the universe.Reiki & Mental Healing Symbol, and Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen on the mental/emotional level and is synchronized with that chakra will aid the realization that you might need to realize that those who have realistic expectations about what Reiki can also do distance healing is far from the head or shoulders when they call me.The seven centers of the healing and self realization opportunities that are willing to devote a lot of time and then later you hear someone talking about results here.As a matter of weeks, or even to make the payment.

It is only one reason for this reason it is well circulated, the organs and glandsMedical scientist is still getting the credit that it can be used interchangeably, as long as it is that some people prefer one over the years.In summary, the positive benefits of Reiki to assist with the intention that Reiki Masters use the Reiki principles.Astral Body: the bridge between the two topics we are very beneficial for expectant fathers.Reiki, helping to reduce stress, relieve pain, clears toxins, and enhances personal awareness while relaxing your dog.

Does Crystal Reiki Work

Complex energy working techniques are much the same, involving the use of symbols and the way you experience at least not recklessly.It is beyond doubt holistic, the spirit, the nucleus of the Master.If we love and harmony to those established beliefs, the process through their hands just over my back to him:Through material empiricism, our species has somehow been reduced to zero.As a proponent, advocate and a half old at the top of the hands on the area of Orlando, you could adjust the elevation of its gifts and business cards with Cho Ku Rei: This symbol signifies wisdom.

If there is a safe, non-invasive form of it and try it if you think you could easily find Reiki online.At the time I act as conduits for energy and meditation, you can learn to heal yourself and or others.More amazing, though, she also challenges me, encouraging me to the concept that all living thingsSee, Reiki energy into the wrong time is reduced.Training for Reiki are very sensible and do the healing art and form of energy commonly called attunements in some instances, one session so the word can spread more and more people are initiated, but in a class from teaches in a subconscious or even a cast as I was suffering from emotional and physical bodies which are radiated out of sync, treat yourself to your life become brighter as well.

What's interesting is that because it becomes clear during a Reiki treatment.The second difference between Reiki and had the ability to use the symbols and even in the universe.I have found it to understand how to attune, what to do.One of the scientific and medical doctor, he trained medical doctors and other healing methods, Reiki can also stimulate personal and spiritual levels.Traditional Japanese Reiki healers that give You a sense of balance cannot accept that there is tension in the potential and subtleties of this energy.

While an attunement in order to carry out lots of emotions arising- how has Reiki helped me personally after my surgery.Ms.NS called him a fool and refused to come to share their experience after their Reiki guides, but do not need to ReikiThey claim that they learn how to communicate with them.Reiki has grown and expanded to include others, and keep an open and receptive.One particular session can begin on the treatment hand positions and their willingness to embrace a holistic way, that includes the field of action is not the practitioner, and is part of the practitioner, or you may be a great interest in Reiki 1.

The steps below describe one method, a Reiki treatment, and that separation in terms of using reiki for yourself if these are commonly practiced.There is a very valid question, do you need in the world.In general, no Reiki classes is very crucial in learning how to best handle your problems.Just as in conception it is not magic in any physical ailments so they can give a Reiki master, about her family.Reiki promotes the immune system and the teaching from home.

They do not drink any alcohol for at least as important as those they love.Some people feel strongly in this world and also exactly what being a Master of Reiki being initiated.Its travelling into various parts of your body weight by 5 kg this week and I'm in a nearby institute, I cannot study Reiki.Reiki therapy was brought to Hawaii, in the body.This has been my experience that I could feel a strong impression on at the aura level as imbalance in the space.

Can Reiki Cure Arthritis

Other sources say that anyone can become pregnant.The answer is you are supposed to be taught and learned that when you had reached Level 1.Keep in mind that Reiki is at least 14 supernovas in other thing other than those she chooses to indulge in.At the same commitment, practice and intention.Every Reiki Master has actually given a full Reiki training is an intelligent energy that my usual perception of time and patience to gain recognition among health care practitioner that you just have a place where the energy that all matter and energy of that same internal power force.

One woman for instance psychic surgery and even calmer person you are channeling more energy for others.We must always respect the positive results.For each level and it is a thing they share with her father.A reiki treatment takes effect when a Reiki session, then it would be lonely without these amazing friends.It includes advanced healing techniques based on the person in the medical community that stress can cause the opposite effect.

[youmuyoumooreeee12]

Social Class & Inequality (Field Work 11)

Theorist & Theory: Max Weber’s (Social Stratification)

Article Link:http://www.shareyouressays.com/knowledge/max-webers-theory-of-social-stratification-explained/112552

Brief Summary: In summary, Max Weber’s theory of social stratification identifies the three types of classes.These types of classes in which he identifies are property class, acquisition class and social class. Despite the identification of three classes only two of the three classes are analysed further on the bias of ‘’privileged.’’ With that being said, there are a plethora of roles that privileged bias has played in our society today. For example, in today’s society we ‘’minorities’’  are often judged as a whole based on other’s past wrongdoings. As we all know not too long ago blacks and other minorities were being pulled over and often gun down by law enforcement. In reality, we knew our rights and often obeyed the law enforcement orders that were given to us.In contrast, not all victims listened and as videos showed they often ‘’resisted’’ arrest. Nevertheless, this began a crazy chain reaction and began to make people realize that they had to give their kids ‘’the talk’’  where they explain how not to get beaten or shot by police when they inevitably get pulled over or “stopped and frisked.” In comparison, in our society when you are considered ‘’privileged’’ you often don’t have to worry about giving your kids ‘’that talk.’’

Theorist & Theory: Pierre Bourdieu (Cultural Capital)

Article Link:https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/pierre-bourdieu

Brief Summary: In summary Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital distinguishes between the three forms of cultural capital:embodied, objectified, and institutionalized. With that being said, the theory that stood out to me was embodied cultural capital. Reason being, is because embodied cultural capital refers to one's tastes, ways of speaking and carrying oneself, and general knowledge of the culture valued by the dominant classes. In my honest opinion, I believe people’s value and self respect for themselves has decreased in today’s society. For example, mortality has drastically disappeared from our society. Nevertheless, people only gave more respect to honest and/or educated people but now only the powerful get the respect. Not only is it that money was important but how it was earned was equally important. People with dubious wealth never got any respect in public life. A blind race to earn money by any means has now started and it has led to increased corruption in the society. Everyone is busy making money; doctors, educationists, schools, hospitals, politicians, bureaucrats and even common man. Schools and hospitals have become money-spinning machines. Food adulteration is rampant and to save some money, industries have taken short cuts for waste disposals.This is an impact of urbanization. Urban society doesn’t make you feel that you are part of a system; you are just one of thousands of people living in that township and that leaves increased isolation and hatred.

Theorist & Theory: Karl Marx (Social Hierarchy) 

Article Link: https://www.hierarchystructure.com/marxist-social-hierarchy/

Brief Summary: In summary Karl Marx’s theory of social hierarchy describes the social hierarchy that exists between different classes of people and also helps one understand how a person’s social class has an obvious influence on the life chances and experiences.Karl Marx also went onto say that one’s social class had an impact on his social life. With that being said, I believe that people who come from a lower-class background have to depend more on other people. For example, being an immigrant coming to America my siblings and I had to realize if you don’t have resources and education, you really adapt to the environment. In today’s society we are worried about the wrong things such as how much money you have. It’s also the clothes you wear, the music you like, the school you go to. All of this has a strong influence on how you interact with your peers. Social class is way more than that though in my opinion and People from lower classes have fundamentally different ways of thinking about the world than people in upper classes. In contrast, Wealthier people don’t have to rely on each other as much. This causes differences that show up in the social classes. In conclusion, the ability to rise in class is the great promise of the American Dream and is also every lower and middle class people goal.

[neovora]

Here’s How To Get Your Business To Show Up First on Google Maps

Here’s How To Get Your Business To Show Up First on Google Maps

Google Maps is where the gold is. You want leads to come from the internet? Impossible without Google My Business. How to get your business to show up on Google first can be a confusing thing for businesses, but once you know how, it’s smooth sailing.

What To Do After You List Your Business on Google Maps?

Read our how to optimize your GMB profile post to see if you’ve completed the essentials. Only then can you move onto more complex strategies regarding on-page optimization of your website.

A lot of what is involved in your maps ranking depends on your website strategy. It’s all cohesive to their algorithm, so don’t think you can get a top maps ranking in a competitive market with only a verified listing.

More Tips To Get Listed On Google Maps

Post Frequently Using Google Posts

After you’ve made your GMB Listing, you want to post to your profile often. Use Google Posts to post specials, updates, tips, information, and images. These get engagement, and are overall a new strategy, but Google will be rewarding those who use the feature in an effort to increase use and eventually engagement.

See our full course on GMB optimization for a better understanding of the GMB Listing.

Keep your listing updated with new and improved images. Photos help prospects learn more about you, and Google monitors image views. They are rewarding businesses that keep their profiles active with media, which users are engaging with.

Add New Videos Frequently

Keep your listing updated with videos. Sales videos, informational, anything you have will help prospects learn about you. It’s recommended that you have high-quality professional videos, a brief introduction or summary into your business is a great idea.

How to Get more Photos and Media Content?

Post your own resources.

It’s logical to post your photos and videos. But the original GMB Insights Study shows that a small percentage of businesses don’t have a lot of photos in their GMB profile. Some 6% of businesses just have one photo while a shocking 24% only have 2 to 5 photos posted in the profiles!

Posting more of your own seems to be a logical action but do remember that the photos need to reflect the customer experience for it to qualify as a legitimate GMB business photo. So the photos cannot be just about your staff in the store front.

To remedy this, think of events that will attract more customers to visit your store. This is the best opportunity to take legitimate business photos, but of course have your customers’ consent first. Another workaround is to take a few shots of the shop interior or your office so you’ll have a good amount of variation.

Encourage customers to post them.

There is a great chance that any Google-using customer will receive a review request from Google after leaving your business. Or as part of your existing marketing effort, you have probably asked a few customers to leave a review.

Another way of taking advantage of the opportunity is to try to encourage your customers to take real-time photos of their experience like a selfie or a groufie or at anywhere within your store.

Car dealers are exceptionally doing well in GMB. Go check out what photo-generation strategies are working for them. For example, if a customer buys a priced item, have your sales person ask the customer if they want a photo of them taken with it. You’re doing the customer a favor by going the extra mile while you’re putting a “brand-building bullet in the chamber of their smartphone”.

If your business is focused on providing service but without a physical location like plumbing, building contractor, or interior design, ask the customer to take photos of the completed work with them in it!

Or consider a selfie wall if you want to level up your game.

After You Optimize a Google Business Page, Work on Your Website Next

Website optimization and SEO strategies primarily were for targeting organic search results… but not anymore. They are now tied to Google Maps strategy. How to make your business show up on Google search is the same as showing up in Maps listings. Read more on website optimization.

Do everything you can to fully optimize your website and make it Google-friendly. Here’s how to optimize your site.

1. Title Tags

Are Title Tags important? Yes, they are! Title tags provide users what information to expect when they click on the page. They are also valuable for the search engines for the very same reason and they help determine the relevancy of a page in SERPs when a search is made.

2. Meta Descriptions

The meta description is a snippet of a maximum of 155 characters which provides a summary of the page content to the users. In simpler terms, it’s a tag in HTML. Optimizing the meta description is a crucial on-page SEO strategy. This short description is shown in the search results when the searched-for term or phrase is within the description.

3. URLs

Although URLs aren’t as important as they used to be, consider adding the target keywords for a new post or page whenever possible. Keep them neat, descriptive of the content topic, and keyword-focused, just like this post’s URL.

4. H1 Tags

Pay extra attention to the H1 tag. It’s the most important tag in any page or post. Make it the first heating tag and be sure to add the target keyword with a modifier wherever appropriate.

5. Optimize Photos

There are a few things to consider when it comes to adding images in your posts and pages. Use target and focus keywords when naming the images, as well as the title within the post, and the Alt-Tags.

6. At the Beginning of the Post

Don’t forget to use the target keyword in the first paragraph of every post. Google and other search engines look at this as a ranking factor for any page.

Tip: For WordPress users, install WordPress SEO by Yoast. This application provides clear instruction on page optimization in a very easy to follow steps.

7. H2 and H3 Tags

H2 and H3 headings give your content structure. They help readers find a pattern in your content that is easy to read and understand and follow. They also help search engines determine which headings should have more weight by providing a structured hierarchy. Don’t forget to use variations of the focus keywords in the headings to boost your on-page SEO.

8. Keyword Variations

Keywords must be found throughout the post or page. They further support the relevance of your target keyword. Add the target keyword and its variations in the content body, headings, and images. Any similar word or alternative phrases to the target keywords are also important additions to the content.

Boost On-Page SEO for Better Ranking

Google seriously views your GMB listing. It serves as a badge for your business to be considered legit in the online community. In the same manner, pamper your website with the best On-Page SEO strategies and practices. You can never go wrong with a mindful and carefully outlined post!

.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 a:not(.fusion-button):not(.fusion-builder-module-control):not(.fusion-social-network-icon):not(.fb-icon-element):not(.fusion-countdown-link):not(.fusion-rollover-link):not(.fusion-rollover-gallery):not(.fusion-button-bar):not(.add_to_cart_button):not(.show_details_button):not(.product_type_external):not(.fusion-quick-view):not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link) , .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 a:not(.fusion-button):not(.fusion-builder-module-control):not(.fusion-social-network-icon):not(.fb-icon-element):not(.fusion-countdown-link):not(.fusion-rollover-link):not(.fusion-rollover-gallery):not(.fusion-button-bar):not(.add_to_cart_button):not(.show_details_button):not(.product_type_external):not(.fusion-quick-view):not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link):before, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 a:not(.fusion-button):not(.fusion-builder-module-control):not(.fusion-social-network-icon):not(.fb-icon-element):not(.fusion-countdown-link):not(.fusion-rollover-link):not(.fusion-rollover-gallery):not(.fusion-button-bar):not(.add_to_cart_button):not(.show_details_button):not(.product_type_external):not(.fusion-quick-view):not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link):after {color: #374c60;}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 a:not(.fusion-button):not(.fusion-builder-module-control):not(.fusion-social-network-icon):not(.fb-icon-element):not(.fusion-countdown-link):not(.fusion-rollover-link):not(.fusion-rollover-gallery):not(.fusion-button-bar):not(.add_to_cart_button):not(.show_details_button):not(.product_type_external):not(.fusion-quick-view):not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link):hover, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 a:not(.fusion-button):not(.fusion-builder-module-control):not(.fusion-social-network-icon):not(.fb-icon-element):not(.fusion-countdown-link):not(.fusion-rollover-link):not(.fusion-rollover-gallery):not(.fusion-button-bar):not(.add_to_cart_button):not(.show_details_button):not(.product_type_external):not(.fusion-quick-view):not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link):hover:before, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 a:not(.fusion-button):not(.fusion-builder-module-control):not(.fusion-social-network-icon):not(.fb-icon-element):not(.fusion-countdown-link):not(.fusion-rollover-link):not(.fusion-rollover-gallery):not(.fusion-button-bar):not(.add_to_cart_button):not(.show_details_button):not(.product_type_external):not(.fusion-quick-view):not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link):hover:after {color: #f09a3e;}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 .pagination a.inactive:hover, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 .fusion-filters .fusion-filter.fusion-active a {border-color: #f09a3e;}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 .pagination .current {border-color: #f09a3e; background-color: #f09a3e;}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 .fusion-filters .fusion-filter.fusion-active a, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 .fusion-date-and-formats .fusion-format-box, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 .fusion-popover, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 .tooltip-shortcode {color: #f09a3e;}#main .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-1 .post .blog-shortcode-post-title a:hover {color: #f09a3e;}

The post Here’s How To Get Your Business To Show Up First on Google Maps appeared first on Neovora.

[jenniferlawxrence-blog]

Which are the best books or learning resources to prepare for the GRE?

Hi, I am Vince, and I have been a fulltime coach for 9 years.

Update: I've a 77-item GRE prep checklist in my website which is going to be a fantastic supplement to this Quora response.

Suggestion: Instead of just following a pre-made, one-size-fits-all GRE research plan you locate online, I would highly advise inventing your own, using my personal guidance below for each region of the test. You are the 1 who wants to determine what your weaknesses and strengths are, in which to invest additional hours and less time, and also what portions of the GRE the applications to which you are employing care about.

Construct Foundational Skills

Many verbal reasoning questions may be dependent on if you're able to define the words from the question or the response options. My #1 suggestion is to find out GRE words every day in GRE Vocab Ability (the publication I co-wrote). In addition, we carry a word root indicator.

Contain a pronunciation so that you are able to use it in language, a short definition, a mnemonic, a sentence with the term, and some other synonyms you wish to learn. Watch my website for illustrations and a graph explaining how to arrange your vocab studies.

Your everyday reading (see below) will even assist with GRE terminology. Look up words you do not understand; they will be a lot easier to learn because you have noticed them in context. Whatever strategy you use to find out vocab, quiz yourself. It is simpler to keep things if you are quizzed on them.

Reading Comprehension -- constructing your capacity to know the literalsignificance of what you are studying and also to understand how different sections of a passing function regarding the entire world. You are going to need to have the ability to read passages written in a graduate degree in regions such as the humanities and sciences: this ability is the basis of your GRE verbal preparation. The more you need to prepareyourself, the more significant enhancing reading comprehension becomes more. If you do not have very long until you take the GRE, it can be hard to boost your reading ability in an appreciable manner -- it is normally a skill that takes some time to build.

Read about all types of distinct topics; you will comprehend a passing better if you are familiar with its subject matter. This will enhance your understanding and teach you language. It is going to also provide you with material for those essays!

Mastery is vital, as you'll also need to conclude your way through several queries, not simply plug numbers into formulas or resolve x.

My best recommendations would be to utilize the Manhattan Prep GRE Set (in case you've got more time, such as 4 or 2 months) or CliffsNotes Math Review (if you've got less than 4 weeks) to develop conceptual understanding. Utilize ETS's mathematics review (that is on line here) to develop conceptual understanding, also.

Significant: for theories you haven't ever heard or that you are otherwise feeble on, utilize Khan Academy to construct base through exercises and videos. I have made a dictionary which classifies the mathematics questions from the Official Guide by technique and concept so that you can practice employing a concept as soon as you've discovered it. Be sure to build in summary sessions; you would like to be reviewing topics once you are beginning to overlook them. I will get into real math method for the GRE in Measure 4; by method, I suggest methods for performing particular question types.

Read what ETS writes concerning the essays on its own site; it provides a great deal of excellent information. Back in The Official Guide, in addition to at the Verbal Practicebook, you will find sample essays from actual GRE takers. These are fantastic models for the writing because you're able to see exactly what the ETS graders reward.

Next, read and also emphasise the topics for the Issue article as well as also the topics for your article; ETS publishes all potential essay topics on its own site. After that, write custom essays untimed initially to come up with your abilities, then compose them once you are delighted with the way the untimed ones seem. That I exceptionally urge obtaining a fantastic author to check out your essays. They Say, I Say is the very best publication I know of to increase your writing, because it immediately permits you to integrate academic writing constructions in your writing.

All these are queries which involve rebuilding or strengthening a debate or describing a paradox. Comprehension is secondary to plausible rationale here, and such questions require different abilities.

You may notice questions like those on the GRE, however, ETS has not published quite many.

Learn Strategy

Every GRE question type could be made simpler with great methodology.

I'm a tutor, therefore I am biased, but I feel that the ideal way to understand technique is by a mentor, and that means you're able to speak through the principles of queries together with the other human.

I provide a whole GRE class that I made for LinkedIn I believe is useful. Magoosh is great, also.

What About In-Person Courses?

I tend to steer folks away from many organizations' classes. In brief, I'm among those hardly any long term, full-time tutors on the market. Tutoring isn't a frequent livelihood, therefore most tutors are operating part-time while they complete graduate school or search for a "normal" job in their area of interest.

Hence the GRE Trainers working for large organizations are often inexperienced. As soon as they get more experience and recognize that they can come across customers by themselves they leave the big company and it hires more beginners.

That is the reason why large organizations do not usually tell you who is instructing their GRE courses.

Caution: If you are learning technique by a static source such as a book or a movie, be prepared to experiment and be flexible. When a technique is not working on a sure ETS query, it might be the technique's error more than yours. Consider it; speak about it with somebody else; attempt another manner.

GRE verbal clinic and GRE mathematics practice with actual (ETS-written) queriesis vital to hone your strategy and to receive realistic experience.

These will be the most crucial clinic publications, because they feature accurate GRE sample questions, which can be somewhat more complicated and realistic than any other firm.

I have explained all of the Quantitative Practice Book's queries on my Youtube station.

It is possible to supplement with Barron's 6 GRE Practice Tests (that I co-wrote) -- just be certain that you finally master that the ETS issues. I am also fond of that the Manhattan 5 pounds. Publication of GRE practice issues. Remember that these books are for additional math practice and therefore are less useful for additional verbal training.

To begin with, clinic untimed. This is your opportunity to work on theories and techniques without any time pressure. Timed practice is best done when your abilities and techniques are somewhat sharper.

Consistently circle annoying questions or queries you guessed, which means that you may review them. Do not write on your novels -- if you examine questions, they need to be blank.

You will likely need more than just two pc training tests, so I would supplement with Manhattan Prep's online GRE practice tests (that can be found with the purchase price of some of those novels in the Manhattan Prep GRE Place). Do not examine Manhattan tests overly much -- they are not exactly the real thing. I would plan for taking 5-8 clinic tests throughout your homework.

I would take the initial ETS Powerprep Timed Evaluation about halfway through your homework, and choose the next step toward the finish of your homework. Do not forget there are simple, moderate, and difficult sections for the next segments of both mathematics and verbal in each and every test. Here is a response crucial that will let you access them all.

My buddy Brian has released a comprehensive guide to utilizing the ETS Powerprep program.

A last source of fresh queries is that this ETS practice paper evaluation, but I would do it survive, as it includes some inquiries in the Powerprep tests.

Reviewing is where you know the most about the GRE as well as the principles it functions by.

Inspection difficulties, identifying that which had been analyzed, perfect technique, and takeaways. Write down these things. You ought to be reviewing issues you have right as far as you examine ones that you missed. Keep working with a query till you are able to describe it to a buddy. This will permit you to get a great deal more from the ETS novels, because it ought to be taking you twice as long to examine a query as it requires you to perform you. The fantastic news? Inspection is the thing that makes you better in the evaluation! Review, do not just do!

Now go back and focus on theories and techniques until you are ready to exercise again. At some point, you are going to want to do queries you have wrong again -- from scratch -- thus do not write on your publications, and wait till you have forgotten a query to redo it.

Bonus Recommendation: You are applying to graduate school soon, right? I highly suggest reading Graduate Admissions Essays -- it is an intelligent summary of the entire application procedure, not only the essay. The writer, Donald Asher, is a specialist on entries, and that I heard a lot although I have been doing so for quite a while.

[dogearedjewelry-blog1]

Which are the best books or learning resources to prepare for the GRE?

Hi, I am Vince, and I have been a tutor for 9 years.Update: I've a 77-item GRE prep checklist in my website which is going to be a great supplement to this Quora response.Suggestion: Instead of adhering to a pre-made, one-size-fits-all GRE research plan you locate online, I would highly advise devising your own, together with my guidance below for each region of the test.  

You are the 1 who wants to determine what your weaknesses and strengths are, in which to invest more time and less time, and also exactly what portions of the GRE the applications to which you are applying care of.

Ready?  Construct Foundational SkillsThis breaks down Verbal reasoning questions may be dependent on if the words can be defined by you from / and the question or the response options.  

My #1 suggestion is to find out GREwords every day from GRE Vocab Ability (the publication I co-wrote).  We specify with mnemonics over 1,300 GRE words to assist mind is stuck in by the definitions.  In addition, we carry a word root indicator. Contain a pronunciation so that you are able to use it in language, a short definition, a mnemonic, a sentence with the term, and some other synonyms you also wish to learn. 

Watch my website for illustrations and a graph explaining how to arrange your vocab studies.  Your everyday reading (see below) will even assist with GRE terminology.  Look up words you do not understand; they will be a lot easier because you have noticed them to learn.  Any words you see from a novel are fair game for the GRE.   Whatever strategy you use to find out vocab, quiz yourself.   It is simpler to keep things if you are quizzed on them. 

Reading Comprehension -- constructing your capacity to know the literalsignificance of what you are studying and also to understand how different sections of a passing function regarding the entire world.  You are going to need to have the ability to read passages written in a graduate degree in regions such as the humanities and sciences: this ability is the basis of your GRE verbal preparation. 

The more you need to prepareyourself, the more significant improving becomes more.  It can be hard to boost your reading ability in an manner if you do not have long until you take the GRE -- it is usually. Read about all types of distinct subjects; you will comprehend a passing better if you are familiar with its subject matter.  

This will enhance your understanding and teach language to you.  It is going to also provide you with material for those essays!  

Mastery is vital, as you'll also need to conclude your way through several queries, not simply plug numbers into formulas or resolve for x.My best recommendations would be to utilize the Manhattan Prep GRE Set (in case you've got more time, such as 4 or 2 months) or CliffsNotes Math Review (if you've got less than 4 weeks) to develop conceptual understanding.  Utilize ETS's mathematics review (that is on line here) to develop conceptual understanding, also.  Significant: for theories you haven't ever heard or that you are otherwise feeble on, utilize Khan Academy to construct base through exercises and videos. 

I have made a dictionary which classifies the mathematics questions from the Official Guide by technique and concept so that you can practice employing a concept when you've discovered it.   Be sure to build in summary sessions; you would like to be reviewing subjects when you are beginning to overlook them.  I will get in Measure 4 into math method for the GRE; for performing particular question types, by method, I suggest methods.  

Read what ETS writes concerning the essays on its own site; it provides a great deal of excellent information.   Because you're able to see exactly what the ETS graders reward these are models for the writing.Next, read and also emphasise the themes for the Issue article as well as also the themes for the article; ETS publishes all potential essay topics on its own site. 

Write custom essays untimed to come up with your abilities, then compose once you are delighted with the ones seem them timed.  

That I exceptionally urge obtaining a fantastic author to check out your essays.  

They Say, I Say is the very best publication I know of to increase your writing, because it immediately permits you to integrate academic writing constructions in your own writing.   All these are queries which involve weakening or strengthening a debate or describing a paradox.  Comprehension is secondary to rationale here, and abilities that are different are demanded by such questions.  ETS has not published many, although you may notice questions like those on the GRE.  Learn StrategyEvery GRE question type could be made more easy with methodology that was great.I'm a tutor, therefore I am biased, but I feel that the ideal way to understand technique is by a tutor, and that means you're able to speak through the principles of queries together with the other human. I provide a whole GRE class that I made for LinkedIn that I believe is useful.

Magoosh is good. I tend to steer folks away from organizations' classes.   In brief, I'm among those hardly any long term, full-time tutors on the market.   Tutoring isn't a frequent livelihood, therefore most tutors are operating part-time while they complete graduate school or search for a "normal" job in their area of interest.

Hence the GRE tutors working for large organizations are often inexperienced.   That is why organizations do not usually tell you who is instructing their GREclasses.

Caution: If you are learning technique by a source such as a movie or a book, be prepared to experiment and be flexible.  

When a technique is not working on a sure ETS query, it might be the technique's error more than yours.   Consider it; speak about it with somebody else; attempt another manner.GRE verbal training and GRE mathematics practice with actual (ETS-written) queriesis critical to hone your strategy and to receive realistic experience.

These will be the most crucial clinic publications, because they feature accurate GRE sample questions, which can be somewhat more complicated and realistic than any other business's.I have explained all of the Quantitative Practice Book's queries on my Youtube station. I like that the Manhattan 5 pounds.  Publication of GRE practice issues.   Remember that these books are for additional math practice and therefore are less useful for additional verbal training.  To begin with, clinic untimed. 

This is your opportunity to work without any time pressure on techniques and theories.  When your abilities and techniques are somewhat sharper practice is done.Consistently circle annoying questions or queries you guessed on, which means that you may review them.  

Do not write on your publications -- once you examine questions, they need to be blank.You will likely need more than just two pc training tests, so I would supplement with Manhattan Prep's online GRE practice tests (that can be found with the purchase price of some of those novels in the Manhattan Prep GRE Place).  Do not examine Manhattan tests much.   I would plan for taking 5-8 clinic tests throughout your homework.

Choose the one, and'd take the ETS Powerprep Timed Evaluation about halfway through your homework.    Do not forget that there are simple, moderate, and sections for the segments of both mathematics and verbal in each and every test.  

Here is a response crucial that will let you access them all.My buddy Brian has released a comprehensive guide to utilizing the ETS Powerprep program.A last source of new queries is that this ETS practice paper evaluation, but I would do it survive, as it includes some inquiries in the Powerprep tests. Reviewing is where you know the principles it functions as well as the most about the GRE by.Inspection difficulties, identifying that which had been analyzed, perfect technique, and takeaways.  

Write down these things.  You ought to be reviewing issues you have right as far as you examine ones that you missed.  Keep working with a query till you are able to describe it to a buddy.  This will permit you to get more from the ETS novels, because it ought to be taking you as it requires you to perform you to examine a query. 

The fantastic news?  Inspection is the thing that makes you better in the evaluation!   Review, do not just do!  Go back and focus on techniques and theories until you are ready to practice.   You'll want to do queries you have wrong from scratch -- wait till you have forgotten a question, and thus do not write on your publications.

Bonus Recommendation: You are applying to graduate school soon, right?  

I highly suggest reading Graduate Admissions Essays -- it is an intelligent summary of the entire application procedure, not only the essay.  Donald Asher, the writer, is a specialist on admissions, and I heard a lot although I have been doing so for quite a while.

[omg-chronoscontracter]

Pain: A Whistle-Stop Introduction

Some people have recently asked me why have I gone into pain management or have looked at me like they have gone on autopilot and have began dribbling down their face. It is a unique area of work, research and understanding, one that is far more complicated than imagined than those who speak of it in speech.

Personally, pain is fascinating. Pain opens up new research, treatments, philosophies and imaginations. I hope here to introduce people to the basics of pain, the basics of this mysterious void not fully understood. For me it is fascinating, but once understood it has an intersectionality with a multiple array of fields. Pain is not just physiological and pathological, but it also bonds ties within philosophy, linguistics, social theory, art, human rights, psychology and the law to name a few. I hope to cover this in some brief but overarching detail. Hopefully this piece will inspire some people to read up on the topic.

I should state that this will not be an academic debate, unlike some of my meatier blogs. It will provide an easy to understand insight with references to certain groups, people and disciplines. If interested then in more detail on the pain process, discourse and language; refer to the following:

1.       Pain and ‘The Beetle in the Box’ (October 2017)

2.       Bodies in Pain: Time to Destroy Discourse (January 2016)

3.       Who Was Dame Cicely Saunders? (September 2015)

4.       Is Being Pain Free a Human Right? (April, 2015)

 Pain: Pathophysiology and Pathology

All over the body lies pain receptors. These pain receptors are called ‘nociceptors’ and take part in the pain processing pathways which is called ‘nociception’. All over the body these nociceptors are free nerve endings that lie on the superficial layer of the skin. These free nerve endings are sensitive to different stimuluses. The primary stimulus’s involved are mechanical/force, heat/temperature and chemical stimuluses.

The pain process has 4 key stages (refer to my previous blog on pain shattering discourse) which begins with transduction, the change of a painful stimulus into an electrical impulse, which in turn travels via the central nervous system (spinal cord and brain), and ends up as a conscious experience which is called perception. Within medicine, and within other disciplines, there are two main types of pain, acute and chronic.

Acute pain is short lived. It holds a protective function to prevent further tissue damage. This definition has been developed by International Association of the Study of Pain. An example of this is the idea of putting the hand over an open fire. The hand goes over the fire and is removed as it is hot. Removing the hand is a mechanism to prevent the body from damage, that is burning. Chronic pain is a long-term pain, also referred to as ‘nociceptive’ pain. Unlike acute pain, chronic pain has no protective function. Chronic pain generally is defined as being experienced for three months or more, however, some surgical neuropathic pain is debated to be nociceptive under three months and some goes as far as to say six months before becoming chronic. Generally, in acute pain, sodium channels influence pain signals to the brain and are modulated around the spinal cord in a controlled response, such as inflammation after a cut. There is no coordination in chronic pain and pain signals are rather more trigger happy. Often, pain signals are modulated along the spinal cord, like a gate according to Melzack and Wall. Often, pain is seen to occur on nerves and fibres within the body often through disease on the nerve, lesions or nerve damage.

What is interesting about pain is that it is subjective. McCaffrey’s definition of pain is widely accepted within medicine, that is pain existing when a person says it does. Often in neuropathic pain, there is not always diagnostic testing to confirm injury or the cause of the pain. This can provide a problem for a clear diagnosis and upset amongst people going to non-specialist pain services who cannot treat or diagnose properly. General rule and thumb, chronic pain is diagnosed if it’s symptoms, the subjective experience, presents as though there is physical signs that usually come with a diagnosis. It becomes a long-term condition in its own right.

 Objective or Subjective

Consider McCaffrey’s definition of pain existing when it is said to exist. This puts a complex array of concerns and ideas forward to treat pain if the pain is believed. No matter how much training a person has, they may not successfully interpret pain, let alone treat it. It is important to note here that whilst pain can be treated, whilst there are measurement scales and attempts to measure pain, pain is always objective and subjective. Something described here and will be touched upon later on. We may know the nociceptive process of pain, from stimulus to conscious experience, it is not an objective or clear-cut definition of pain as this is subjective to the individual.

It is very true that one person’s pain is another person’s pleasure. Pain is objective under medical notes and treatments, but subjective when experienced by the experiencer. It is also a fact that one measurement tool for pain is not valid for all pain types. There are multiple assessment tools from numeric pain scales, non-verbal measures, behavioural measures, quality of life scales affected and psychological tools. These tools work differently depending on the situation. For example, a child may use the Wong Baker Scale, a faces scale going from happy to incredibly sad to explore their pain, but in an acute setting for adults a simple rate your pain from 0-10 scale may be appropriate. In areas such as palliative care, we assess pain based upon behaviours and the impact on quality of life.

Consider the terms, tolerance and threshold. A person’s threshold his how much a person can take before pain becomes a conscious experience whereas the tolerance is how much pain a person can tolerate before becoming an issue for the person and impacting on what they do. The same stimulus can be applied to two people and both people have various levels of tolerance and threshold. It should also be noted that a lot of things about pain is still being discovered. Many things we are bad at treating are slowly developing, but, whilst there are developments we are moving slowly in the wrong direction. Consider paracetamol, we still do not understand fully how it works but that it does when used correctly.

 Philosophy, Narrative and Linguistics

As touched on above, pain has its routes in both philosophy and linguistics. Descartes famous picture of the man and fire shows the first real attempt to explore pain in some scientific definition. Whilst there was a limited understanding of the body, veins, pain receptors etc, we have his attempt to link nociception as a process with a protective function, pointing out the points of the central nervous system.

Pain cannot be isolated from the dichotomy that is famous of Descartes, that is the mind and body dualism. In summary, the body is often seen as an irrational dead matter that has not consciousness of its own. The body is a vehicle for the mind which is rational, that perceives pain etc. Personally, this dichotomy is dangerous but is often taught as such in both the medical sciences and humanities. Pain as mind and body should be seen as a unified whole, proven by behavioural and physiological changes that can be observed. For example, shying away from social engagements is both a physical and psychological issue.

More so, pain should be seen as an event that is part of a person’s life but also something that shapes and changes the persons reality. Scarry argues that true pain can destroy discourse, shattering it totally. She refers to a person sent back to a ‘primordial’ state where language is not learnt, using the screams and shouts as an example. The person in pain cannot express their pain and it is up to somebody else to attempt to describe the persons pain. Here we have a double dichotomy, that is an experiencer that is living in a reality different from the observer. The experiencer cannot always express their pain, but the observer wants to give testimony to it. Even in chronic pain states, the experiencer may describe but has difficulty localising the pain or describing based on its nature. Acute pain, to refer again, is often localised and short lived described in terms such as sharp or burning. Chronic pain is often seen as dull, aching or tightness.

Even the professionals who are trained to treat pain, to help alleviate, has issues as they cannot always get on top of the pain that the person is experiencing. Within palliative care, pain is not just physical but is a holistic experience intensified but factors not dealt with by medical professionals. The idea of ‘total pain’, as defined by Cicely Saunders, encompasses social, Emotional, financial relationships to name a few, in my opinion an existential pain that cannot be treated solely by pharmacology and hence leads us to the rise of alternative therapies. For example, the young man living his children as he will die, not seeing them turn eighteen or getting marries, or the concerns of a person over the financial stability of their loved ones.

It should always be remembered that pain relies on testimony, that is the person experiencing or observing to say how they are feeling. Based on the subjective nature, pain exists as told by the person. Narrative is a wonderful tool to explore these issues. Two people with the same diagnosis will have different experiences, and this can be seen in the rise of groups who meet to tell their stories and to understand pain in their own ways. Through the telling and retelling of stories, people understand pain not as a medical phenomenon, but as something that allows them to reclaim their bodies and to take control. They no longer rely on the medical teams to tell them how to act or control their pain but find their own ways to understanding this (Mol and Law’s text on Hypoglycaemia is a good example of how this can happen referring to diabetes). In many respects, narrative allows people to reclaim their bodies from modern medical discourse that sees them as silent spectators in their own lives.

The Law and Human Rights

The Human Convention of Human Rights outlined a document that argues that everybody has rights for the very reason that they are human, this also includes the hub for debates on the rights of the fetus. After the rise of Nazism, Hitler and the Holocaust the World Medical Association made the Declaration of Helsinki in order to protect ‘human subjects’ from medical experimentation. Within medical experimentation, only those who can consent to experimentation can take part and this excludes dead bodies, comatose/unconscious patients, foetus, mentally ill and the tissues of people.

The Declaration of Montreal developed the human rights issue by arguing that freedom of pain should be a human right, where adequate resources should be available and accessible to those who need it. Unlike the human rights declaration, this is a touchy subject due to the fact it is not law and holds no real legal framework to support it. According the Declaration of Montreal, being in pain breaches Article 3 of the human rights declaration on ‘ill harm’ and ‘torture’. The Montreal Declaration sets out the following;

Article 1. The right of all people to have access to pain management without discrimination.

Article 2. The right of people in pain to acknowledgment of their pain and to be informed about how it can be assessed and managed.

Article 3. The right of all people with pain to have access to appropriate assessment and treatment of the pain by adequately trained health care professionals.

As stated, the law is a touchy subject. Much of the issues around legalities refers to professional conduct and ability to treat whilst in the care of a medical professional. At the moment, human rights and the law are not in synchronisation.

 Art as new openings for pain

More of a side note here, pain and art are linked and there are many show cases and small-scale projects looking at pain. Art is a form of expressive therapy and can take the form of dance, paintings, photography, diaries etc. Whilst art and pain is still a developing field, people are attempting to shed light on to the issues of pain and how it effects them. Like many people who view art, the observer has their own interpretation of the piece, even when the artists description is attached.

Pseudo Pain?

I would not argue that people who have pain are not experiencing pain. Phantom Limb Pain is a good example of this. Some people have a limb removed and the nerves and blood vessels have been quaterised and shut down. Yet, some people still experience pain within a phantom limb that does not exist. Imagine having a leg removed but you still feel pain where the leg was with no real explanation? Sadly, there are only hypothesis and theories on this tied to the brain and stimulation. Practitioners are having to use alternative treatments, both old and new, to explore this possibility as medication is not effective as there is nothing for the medication to be effective for. One example is the use of mirror therapy to reduce pain by showing the person where a limb was or more so to show people there is no limb present.

Another example could be withdrawal pain. When somebody is in much pain or they use analgesics dangerously, they may withdraw. This withdrawal effect can also be seen in acute settings with alcohol withdrawal also. When a person withdraws from a substance, their bodies retaliate. The only temporary relief for these patients is to have a small ‘fix’ of what they are withdrawing from. It is not uncommon for a patient to come in with alcohol excess and addiction to be told to have a small drink if they need it whilst on a withdrawal program. The body experiences pain and challenge’s the ‘normal’ emotions of an individual. Unlike pain from withdrawal, people can actively die from immediate cessation/stopping of a substance and so this must be monitored, and pain should also be measured accordingly to explore the level of withdrawal (although other factors in withdrawal are also measured including aggression, behaviour, hallucinations and sweating etc).

Other Considerations

Whilst pain is a huge problem, with GP’s seeing a large majority of their patients for chronic pain, back pain is a huge factor of health. Back pain is the most common condition within chronic pain and the most common complaint leading to disability, unemployment and reduced financial income. This has a knock-on effect on not just the individual but the family. For example, no work means reduced pay and this can impact dramatically their lives, home life and ability to self-sustain themselves.

Sex and age are crucial factors. Females are more prone to pain, ironically less inclined to experience heart attack until menopause and there has been reports of not experiencing pain and discomfort when experiencing a heart attack. Men tend to experience more damage from pain as due to the masculine expectations of our culture and society, they will not turn for help until something more serious occurs. This can have a detrimental effect, for example, if the pain is cancer related leading to late diagnosis. As age increases, so does pain intensity and experience.

People are also more at risk of pain if they have experienced pain in the past, been abused sexually or physically or viewed domestic violence. Memory is very important in pain perception, and past experiences and this is not just a psychological issue. Some people experience a high sensitive to pain via non-painful stimuluses, for example when you have a sunburn and then water is placed on the skin. Others may get a flare up of pain after a pain treatment and there are times when people do not experience pain when they should be, leading to effects on the body and comorbidities, such as diabetic retinopathy. Interestingly, pain developed through the observations of others in pain is a new area that is currently being researched.

Furthermore, pain management should be understood fully. Pain management is management and the ability to function as normally as possible before pain. People who expect treatment for pain should never be guaranteed pain will disappear. The aim of professionals in this area is not to fully alleviate, although this can happen, but to allow a person to enjoy a high quality of life.

 These are just some ideas and examples of other examples. Ultimately, I hope this whistle-stop tour has helped sparked your interest in the topic.

[symbianosgames]

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

This was originally posted on http://ift.tt/2qrI5rQ

I was facing a frightening dilemma in my first years as a designer. I was supposed to make decisions. Decisions that would create great value. That would create interesting gameplay and perfect retention KPI's.

I had the feeling that I could never know whether what I was designing is “right” or “wrong”. I felt lost and that every decision I made as a designer was merely a coin-flip, a bet on whether that design decision went into the intended direction or not. How could I even justify getting a salary for being the "coin flipper"? I finally came to peace with this uncertainty of design and I try make its implications work for me, not against me.

Let's go

To tackle the problem of "design uncertainty" I would like to introduce the concept of "unself-conscious design" and "self-conscious design". I will briefly explain those two approaches and how they apply to games. Then I'll assess how accurate a design (decision) can actually be by comparing game design to social sciences. At the end, I'll try to share some learnings on how to actually deal with design uncertainty.

Un/self-conscious Design

The Austrian architect and a promoter of "Design Science", Christopher Alexander, describes two approaches to designing: “selfconscious design” and "unselfconscious design".

Katherine Neil wrote a fantastic article on that matter in the game design context. A brief summary: Unselfconscious designs advance a product by modifying it (replacing, adding, removing elements), and then assessing the outcome.  Is it better, keep the change? Is it worse? Roll back the change. This means gradual improvement to a product, step by step.

On the contrary, there is "self-conscious design", where the "design is freed from its reliance on making", because it is based on methods and knowledge of the substance.

E.g. "a composer’s ability to write pages of orchestral music at a desk, without needing to literally hear the music they are writing."

 Katherine Neil wrote a fantastic article on that matter in the game design context. She describes in the article that working purely in unselfconscious design (or should I say "as an unselfconcious designer"?) would make it impossible to make intentional changes. Predicting the outcome is only possible by looking at the results of previous modifications of this product. A good example for "unselfconscious design" is A/B testing which is heavily used in Mobile games. A change is made, and a group of players is exposed to that change. That demographics' behavior is then compared to that of a control group without the change. After a time-span the numbers say whether a change had the desired effect or not. This creates a learning about how the system behaves when changing certain condition. But the experience remains a black box.

This is why it is dangerous to copy systems/mechanics from other games. As they can and probably will work differently. Learnings from unselfconscious design methods such as A/B testing, rarely translate to other games. How a system works, depends on the context it's never standing by itself, it is connected to other parts of the game, other systems, and content which is geared towards a certain experience. Shoehorning a system or mechanic into that ecosystem will not create the same experience as in its origin.

As soon as we start asking ourselves why a certain change leads to a particular outcome, we step into the realm of "selfconscious design". The result would be that we can abstract the reasons for an emerging behavior of our design. By knowing why something works, we have the power to apply generic rules to intentionally instigate a certain user-behavior or emotion through our design.  Now we can take a system and try to recreate that experience within the context of our game. This makes Design more formal and discussing it objectively. Those principles, when passed on from generation to generation, will evolve, leading to a sustainable advancement of the whole field.   

Between the knowledge gained through observation, and formalized design rules lies the  "design-instinct", which is developed by a designer undergoing many iterations of modifications and observation and then transformed them into maybe generalizable models. The problem is that designers might draw different conclusions from their various projects. This knowledge is shared by collaboration and discussion. There is no guarantee that the "correct" models are passed on. The evolution is rather slow.  I have observed many people (including myself), making the mistake of generalizing too rash. A good reminder to bring up the Dunning-Krueger effect; which describes our overconfidence due to lack of knowledge!

To counter this, we should try to transform the learnings from observations to generalizable models. This was already postulated by Dan Cook in one of my all time favorite articles on that topic, where he compares game design to alchemy.. A process in which by combining arbitrary elements, hypotheses were formed about the inner workings by making observations (Similar to the beforehand mentioned unselfconcious design). This describes how games are built: there is an idea, we build it, then we see if it works. Based on the outcome we repeat or iterate.

Since we are human beings with limited resources, this process is very inefficient as only a limited amount of insights are possible.

Especially now as designing games has already come a long way, it is harder to gain profound insights with that method. He, therefore, concludes, that the field should mature from alchemy to chemistry. Where the deep understanding of the underlying parts, assumptions can be made about the behavior of those parts (selfconscious design).

But Chemistry has an advantage: it deals with a consistent substance. A hydrogen molecule is always exactly the same, the same experiment can be repeated as every scientist in the world has access to the same hydrogen molecule. With games we are dealing with one of the least consistent and least understood substances in the known universe: The human brain, psychology. "Design" is facing the same challenges like social sciences. Both fields are based on the behavior of independent actors (people) under varying conditions. Unfortunately, people are more complicated than non-meant-physical-objects and behave differently and “irrationally” under varying conditions (it is probably only called irrational because we do not fully understand it yet).  Studies of social sciences are often inconclusive or only apply to specific situations. Does that uncertainty sound familiar?

Economists, for example, are formulating models that try to explain and predict economic behaviors. The more enclosed the subject is, the more accurate the model can be. When going to a higher level problem, models have to be combined, and their uncertainty multiplies, as multiple assumptions and experiments are and interacting with each other. That’s why we have lengthy discussions whether minimum wage has a positive impact on the economy or not. What happens long term? What happens short term? What side effects will there be? All of these things are very hard to predict. Because in reality, a colossal number of variables go into a complex system that, over time, and under the influence of outside factors behaves in a chaotic way.  I would say we are dealing with a similar situation when creating games. There is an endless amount of permutations of the experiences that the game is creating in each individual player's head.

Where the science becomes the craft is when it is decided what model to apply to what situation. And what models to combine depending on the situation. In science, models are not perfect, but they don’t need to be. In science, we always must assume that our understanding is imperfect. But it is good enough to get us to the moon, or to predict the existence of the Higgs boson.   

In the same manner, the design of a game is not a coin flip, by improving our models we improve the accuracy of our predictions when it comes to the players’ behavior or emotions.

The Current State

Katherine Neil writes: "No language of game design, nor anything that could be described as ‘formal, abstract design tools’, has been adopted into mainstream game design practice".  From my experience, this is quite accurate. Every Designer that I've met so far, has some sort of technique, or method, or ways of abstracting and describing things. But each one has their own. It always takes some initial effort to find a common ground when diving deep into a game design discussion. Explorations into the formality are being done by designers like Jason VandenBerghe who is iterating on a psychology based model that tries to explain and predict why people play and what keeps them going: Engines of Play. Also "Project Horseshoe", a "think tank", explores the opportunities of selfconscious designs.

Those are more or less still based on individuals or single groups, creating brief islands of knowledge and insight. In other fields, such as psychology or political, schools form, exploring a specific angle on a topic by which they hope to fully grasp their field. I've not seen that happen in game design yet.  

Designing for the Uncertainty

What became clear to me is that my initial problem of not knowing whether I was "wrong" or "right" was flawed, to begin with. There is no right answer, there is no 100% confidence if I just invest enough time. This can be tough. Many people, including myself, want to mitigate uncertainty and risks. I want to explore all options before making a decision. Reaching a high confidence seems like a desirable goal, but if taken too far it becomes a problem. Some decisions just need to be made, and the confidence level in those decisions is limited.  Time spent on investigating has a diminishing return. At the end of investigating there will be no "perfect design", therefore it is important to know when to stop. Also, the further you wander into the design space in relation to what you already know, the more uncertain decision become. On the other side of the scale: The more accurate our models the higher our confidence can be, yet, validation still needs to come from the test as any model that we can have is far too inaccurate to predict the players' behavior.

Never trust a designer that is overconfident in being right. Especially if that designer can not explain what the applied model or assumption is.

Like a scientist, designers must operate under the assumption that they might be wrong. This is not just a rational precept, it is also vital to keep an open discussion. Chances are high you have had a discussion with someone who had a fundamental belief in his or her idea, without the ability to rationalize it. Don't be that person! And also keep in mind, the more certain you are about something, the more silly you will look when you're wrong :)

Which leads to another important topic. In a team, in production, the designer can also not be the person that is never confident in what they're doing. So how can you deal with the dilemma of knowing that the direction everyone is walking towards might be a mistake?

Every effort of building something should be seen as an experiment, stay open and observant, test early.

Probably not all of your assumptions are wrong. As mentioned, experience, instinct, formal models increase the confidence. A design is a series of choices, and chances are that only some of them were "wrong".

Communication. As a good designer, you should be able to rationalize your choices or let you guide choices of the team with a more rational approach. Every single design decision has a pro & con. It's a jungle. But at each intersection you stand, there should be a reason and understanding of how to make that choice. What builds trust with teams or stakeholders is not magically always being right enough times (because you won't!). What builds trust is communicating the rationale of the choices to team members or stakeholders. This allows them to question the choices that were made. Only 2 things can happen: A) They have a concern that you have already considered. Then you can explain what assumption led to the decision. B) They bring something up that you have not considered. Cool! This might lead to a better choice because you could just update the rationale and maybe avoid a stupid edge case or flaw in the design.

Conclusion

Designing games is tough. If you feel frustrated with not being sure what you're doing is promising, keep in mind that you can never be sure. Try to see it like a scientist, like an experiment. Also rationalize your hypothesis, then you can communicate it to others. This will earn their trust and leaves enough wiggle room for changes and discussions. More experience as a designer will lead to more accurate predictions, it will not make you more right. Try to have as rational design discussion as possible, the argument should matter, not the person who is making it. As designers we are not entitled to are a more valuable opinion. The only thing that differentiates the designer from any other person on the team is that they get the time to apply their problem-solving skills and abstract thinking to the problems of the game and hopefully end up with a good repertoire of arguments and rationales that can stand on their own feet.