#but realistically longer than that when you take into consideration setting time etc

[littlespoonevan]

does anyone in the world care about anything more than amaury guichon does about making absurdly realistic sculptures out of chocolate?????

[sandwormrp]

Opening Day: May 10th

Happy May! We're not far from opening day now! *kazoo noises*

You're probably wondering if I have more gifs up my sleeve. The better question would be how many times can I write *kazoo noises*

If you want to be tagged on opening day, leave a like/comment/emoji

This is a premium rated 3/3/3 community-driven site, we require all members, characters, and faces to be 18+ years of age.

We support writers in all shapes and sizes. We're LGBTQ+ friendly, and will have plenty of nsfw themes included, though it's optional. Those who aren't interested in writing mature content are more than welcome here!

Here's some of the guidebook rules;

► Site Culture

Our vision is to be a relaxed-paced site where characters progress and develop at their own pace. We're all human at the end of the day. Family, work, and life, in general, will sometimes take over. As a whole the site is more receptive to new members who make an effort to socialize, build connections, and basically show they are intending to stick around.

Joining a new group is always nerve-wracking, it can be terrifying to share! Showing an interest will bring that back around to you. We'll also do our best to make you feel appreciated, welcomed, and included here.

Do want to stress; when we say relaxed paced we mean it. Some members will take this very literally. Patience is a must for this site. Try to look for members which suit your pace of writing better.

You can check out the 'posting frequency' roles on profiles and introductions, members can change them according to what fits them best. Life gets in the way sometimes and we respect that the site can't always be a priority for people.

► Player Conduct

All we ask is that you take the initiative to participate if you want to find new characters to write with and try to stay in touch in our chat. We believe you get out of roleplay whatever you put into it.

We’re all here for our love of writing. Do your part in out-of-character chats to keep the community happy and healthy. You and your needs are important and valid! Speak up when you need help. We want everyone to have a good time. Just keep in mind this is a hobby for us all, staff included.

We expect you to be 18+ and able to manage your own relationships/plots with other writers. Show interest in others, ask questions, and you'll get the same in return!

Plenty to do to garner interest, like putting time into creating a relatable character that can also tie into others stories, contacting other writers on discord with interest in their characters will make others want to plot with you more, throwing out a couple of open threads will set the bait for others to bite, and so on.

Communication is key!

► Character Conduct Godmod / Power Play / Metaplaying

It's frowned upon to handle another character without the players consent, especially when it comes to fights. We highly recommend communicating beforehand with your writing partner. This is to give you an idea of where you both want the thread to go, and keep an open line of communication on what you're comfortable with as the thread progresses. This should be done with every new writer you work with. You'll find that you can get comfortable with some writers and no longer need to check in to do things. Starting with consent and communication first will make for happy players and awesome threads all round!

This also needs to be taken into consideration for characters vs environment. Be it creatures or NPC enemies. Make it as realistic as you can. No character/house/ship etc should be stronger/better than the lore's canons. One or two characters aren't going to easily take down a team of trained enemies, or against other characters, so make the struggle really happen! Show weakness, find alternative solutions. Your character doesn't need to win every battle, making them imperfect will bring about a more balanced storyline and development for them! Try to give your character a personal mission of their own and some flaws for them to overcome. Give them weak points, quirks, hobbies, pet peeves. Make them as realistic as you can so that they're interesting to play with.

Metaplaying refers to using player knowledge your character wouldn't have otherwise known. Sometimes events, secret messages, missions and general plots might take an unexpected turn for your character. Very much like life in general, it isn't always going to go to plan, so try to roll with it! We're big on finding another way around the problem, so you can totally do that too.

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No activity checks! Stick around as long as you like. Come and go when you please. No pressure to write. Go at your pace.

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Be sure to do at least a monthly bump of any requests you may want to keep active. There's no strict guidelines of when you can or cannot bump. Once a week is our rule of thumb, but if it's over or under - we won't hold it against you.

► Kanly Formal feud or vendetta under the rules of the Great Convention carried on according to the strictest limitations.

Kanly is a form of legalized warfare between two or more houses, so long as it does not claim lives of non-house civilians. Kanly is recognized by the Emperor and the Landsraad, and when so, the two houses can go at each other within the boundaries described above. In the lore, the appearance was that the Harkonnens wiping the Atreides out with a straight up surprise attack, with overwhelming numbers (and at great cost). As far as the rest of the Imperium is concerned, it was a brutal (but acceptable) war of Kanly. Build up allies with other people. Establish some in-character enemies. There are no heroes or good guys in this story. Your houses gains are another houses losses. We operate under the assumption that no house has clean hands - no matter how noble or just they appear. As always, make sure communication with others is a priority and that everyone's on board. If win/loss outcomes cannot be decided amongst yourselves, staff can roll a dice for you to help determine outcomes.

If you want to be tagged on opening day, leave a like/comment/emoji

[mochamamii]

yandere!taeyong: monster.

part two: Here

▹ a/n : I tried to write something a little outside my comfort zone. I've been enjoying writing Yandere stuff lately and I wanted to do a realistic take on the after effects of being kidnapped by a Yandere, and ultimately becoming pregnant. Like I always say, this is an example of a unhealthy relationship. In no way do I think Taeyong or any other member of NCT behaves this way.

▹ triggers : this gets kind of dark and It's very angsty. There's no smut but it gets a little suggestive at the end. Mentions of unwanted pregnancies, extreme weight loss, kidnapping, abusive relationships, etc. Please take all of this into consideration before you read. 

▹ description : yandere!taeyong kidnapped you and has been holding you hostage for months. Unfortunately you wind up pregnant and Taeyong has pledged to build a life with you, and your baby as a family. When Taeyong presents you with a choice, you realize that you’ve become permanently trapped by Taeyong forever.

your perspective

I grimaced as I looked back at my reflection in the mirror. My skin was extremely dull and paler than usual due to the lack of sun I'd been getting.

I looked nothing like myself, I had dropped a significant amount of weight in just a couple months. It's been hard keeping food down lately, I don't have an appetite for anything, and whatever I do eat I immediately throw up.

My arms and legs looked more like sticks than actual limbs, and places where I used to have feminine curves were replaced by hard angles.

I had even suffered some hair loss due to losing a drastic amount of weight in such a short period of time.

My grimace turned into a scowl as my eyes traveled down to my swollen belly.

I was reaching seven months pregnant, close to entering my third trimester. My body had become so thin and frail that it looked like I'd topple over due to my large belly.

My fists clenched tightly as I stared down at my stomach, as if the thing growing inside me could see me glaring down at them.

'I want you gone.' I thought to myself.

If I'm lucky, maybe this monster inside me will die of malnutrition.

I pinched my arm to shake the dangerous thoughts from my head.

I cut the bathroom light off and exited the bathroom, forgetting what I had originally went in there for before getting distracted by my own reflection.

The clock's hand on the wall just outside the bathroom moved towards the six, and everyday just like clockwork, the keypad to the front door beeped and swung open, revealing him.

The reason my belly is so big.

The reason there's a monster growing inside me.

Lee Taeyong.

"Honey! I'm home-

Taeyong paused as his eyes fell on me, "Ah, there you are. Were you waiting on me?" He questioned with a wide smile as he kicked his shoes off.

My eyes drifted down to the black plastic bag in his hand, I ignored his greeting and silently pointed to the bag.

Taeyong chuckled as he approached me, placing a kiss on my cheek, "You're impatient today aren't you?"

Taeyong leaned down to my stomach and placed a tender kiss on my belly, "Hi baby." He whispered.

I felt like vomiting.

"Appa's home now." He said with a smile before standing.

He headed over to the table in the middle of the living room, placing the bag down. I followed behind him closely, my curiosity getting the best of me. He kneeled next to the table as he fished out the contents of the bag.

"Don't you want to see?" He questioned as he paused to look up at me.

I blinked at him blankly, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of an answer.

Taeyong smirked knowingly at me before patting the spot on the couch before him. His eyes followed me as he watched me enter the living room and take a seat in front of him on the couch. He never moved from his original spot on the floor as he continued rifling through the black bag in search of something.

"It's been a while since you've painted your toenails right?" He asked as he pulled the contents from the bag to show me an assortment of brightly colored nail polishes.

I sighed as I peered down at my toenails, the paint on them was still there from when I did them a few weeks ago, although now the paint had started to chip and peel in different places. I couldn’t stand the sight of my toenails when they got like that, I was actually thankful when my belly had gotten so big I could no longer see my own feet.

I couldn't do anything about fixing my toenails anyways seeing as I stopped being able to reach my toes a while ago.

"Don't you want me to paint your nails for you? Won't that make you happy?" Taeyong smiled as he looked up at me excitedly,

I had to fight the urge to smack him.

I don't remember the last time I felt genuine happiness. And he's the reason.

Him and this fucking fetus inside me.

He searched my eyes for something before settling with a sigh, "Y/N...I'm trying..."

Try harder.

That's what I wanted to say to him.

His hands moved to clutch mine, lovingly interlacing our fingers together.

"I'm trying really hard to make up for what I've done in the past...But I can't if you won't even speak to me." He trailed, his thumb brushing over my skinny knuckles.

What did he want me to say?

It's okay Taeyong...I forgive you Taeyong for ruining my life.

If that's what he was waiting on me to say he'd die waiting to hear those words from me.

"I'll pick a color for you okay?" He said with a smile.

He squeezed my hand before pulling away to look back at the different colored polishes.

"Hmmm...blue?" He pondered, he turned to wave the sparkly blue polish at me in hopes of a response.

"It's okay if you still don't feel like saying anything. I'll keep trying until you forgive me." He smiled.

Don't bother.

He crossed his legs in front of me, placing my feet in his lap.

He carefully used a cotton ball and nail polish remover to take the paint already there off.

Taeyong continued to make mindless chatter and simple conversation as he removed the paint from my nails, none of which I responded to.

I had gotten so good at training my ears to drown his voice out that it was easy for me to forget that he was even there at times.

That was until my ears caught on to one thing he said.

"What?" I questioned, my voice came out weak and raspy from not being used in a while.

He looked up from my toes to meet my gaze. His eyes doubled in size in shock of hearing my voice for the first time in a while.

"Hm?" He questioned,

"What did you say? Just now?" I questioned, my fists clenching.

He paused momentarily as if trying to remember what he'd just said, "I said..."

"Our family will be so happy, you'll forget about your old one." He said it in such a matter of fact tone, as if it was just a guarantee.

It was so simple and he probably didn’t even mean it in the way that I took it, but I couldn’t fight the anger that started to brew in me.

"Are you crazy?" I spat out, yanking my feet away from him.

"Baby...don't be like that..." Taeyong said trying to reach out for me.

"Stop calling me that! I am not your baby, and we are not a family!" I screamed.

I couldn't stop myself as my fists raised up and I began pummeling them at him in a fit of rage. Taeyong fell back a little, surprised by my sudden attack.

He acted quickly on his feet and grabbed my wrists in his hands and yanked me up from the couch, "Y/N, stop. You're going to hurt the baby if you don't calm down."

"It's not a baby. It's a fucking monster." I hissed.

His face fell into a look of sadness, "Don't say that. That's our baby you're talking about."

I pulled my wrist back out of his grasp and landed a harsh slap to his cheek.

"I hate you. And I hate this baby because of you. It's going to turn out to be a disgusting monster just like you are." I seethed.

"Y/N....please." Taeyong said gently, trying to get me to calm down.

But I had only just started, and I was ready to let my anger take over.

"How dare you say I'll forget about my family? Are you sick in the head? You must be." I spat.

At this point tears started streaming down Taeyong’s cheeks as he soaked in my words. 

"Y/N, It's okay... I'll fix this, I'll fix everything so that we can be happy, okay? So that you can forgive me." Taeyong said between pathetic sniffles.

It only made me angrier to see him cry, I should be the one crying. He did this, this is his fault.

"No. Nothing is okay here. I could never be happy with someone like you. I could never love someone like you." I stated firmly.

I watched as Taeyong clenched his jaw, the grip he had on my other wrist tightened.The look on his face slowly morphed from sadness to anger.

"So what now, huh? You want to leave me? You want to leave so you can go back to your family, and your fiance? Is that it?" Taeyong asked with a dry chuckle.

I tensed up at the mention of my fiance.

His words were sharp and dripping with venom as they spilled out past his lips.

"Taeyong-

Before letting me finish Taeyong pulled me over to the door, punching in the code on the keypad before swinging it open.

I was hit by a cold gust of wind as the December air touched my skin.

The thin pajama set I had on did nothing to shield me from the cold weather.

"If you want to leave so bad. Go. See how much your family misses you when they see you're pregnant with my kid." Taeyong said with a twisted smirk.

I looked between him and the door. For the first time in a while I could see directly outside, I could see something other than the four walls I'd grown so used to seeing everyday.

Cars zipped past along the street, people walking along the sidewalk completely oblivious to the horrors taking place inside this house.

This is what I'd been wanting so desperately for months now.

The opportunity was being laid out right in front of me, ready for me to reach out and take it.

My heart was begging for me to run. Begging me to run far away from this wretched place and never look back.

I started to take a step past the threshold of the door before I was stopped by an abrupt kick in my stomach. A painful cramp shot up my spine as the monster inside me kicked a second time.

I couldn't go back home.

Not like this.

I couldn't go back to my family, my fiance, pregnant with my kidnappers child.

I couldn't do this to them.

I won't.

I’d already put them through the pain of losing their daughter, I couldn’t be the reason for my family’s embarassment by coming back pregnant. I had nowhere to go, and I knew I was defeated.

"It's all your fault." I said just above a whisper as I fell to the floor, my knees buckling under my weight.

I couldn't fight the ugly sobs that racked through my body as I thought about how horrible of a situation I was in.

Taeyong looked down at me with what I assumed to be pity before closing the front door.

He turned and squatted down to my level.

"I'm all you've got now, your family won't want you in their lives once they know you're pregnant. So be a smart girl and accept that this is your life now. Me and this baby are your only family now. Understand?" Taeyong questioned as he used his hand to wipe away my tears.

"Fuck you." I hissed in response.

Taeyong snickered, his lips curving up into a devilish grin.

"Soon. I don't want to risk hurting the baby."

[thatweeboverthereisthirsty]

hello Luna! I wanted to ask you if you think twisted wonderland will end with chapter 7, and if there will be a sequel?

   Hmmm.... I think that there will be seven chapters dedicated to student overblots. Malleus obviously being the last one. I also think that there will be some sort of 8th chapter to cover whatever happens to Grim and how the MC gets home. The build up with Mickey and Grim and all the sketchy stuff surrounding Crowley is definitely going to need to be explained before TWST ends as well. 

   I think the best way to explain how I feel TWST will close up is through examples.

Foreshadowing:

    I am a very proud fantasy reader so I tend to notice quite a few patterns in these types of storylines. The amount of foreshadowing is enormous and usually only makes sense after the climax of the story. 

   The prologue is often overlooked in most books and stories but it is likely one of the most important parts in a fiction story. The prologue for TWST has several lines and imagery that key us into the foreshadowing. 

   For example: Crowley says that we are all running out of time and when you pay attention to the intro when he asks you to take his hand a clock strikes a specific amount of times.

Relationship development and closure:

   Another important example of foreshadowing is when Crowley is crying about how the MC got Ace and Deuce to work together. Throughout the story lines it’s been obvious that the students were unused to teamwork and incapable of holding healthy relationships. The climax will likely include quite a bit of teamwork with all of the dorms working together to reach a common goal. 

   Although many of the students improved after their overblots, very few relationship matters where addressed afterwards unless absolutely necessary (scarabia’s brief explanation). It is highly likely that any strained relationships will be directed in a positive direction through circumstances that are TBA. 

   That said it is also highly unlikely that these relationships will be directly and vocally addressed. Open ended relationships are key in making a good story line because it leaves the reader to their own conclusions. When a reader comes to their own conclusions it is likely that they will create a future image that allows them to be pleased with how the story ended. It is a very effective way to let each individual reader become pleased with the story as a whole despite the fact that everyone has different tastes in stories.

Character development:

   It will be the same way with individual character development as well. A lack of vocal and direct development will be replaced by character choices, hidden changes in word choices, and emotional expression to display how a character is acting differently than in the beginning of the story.

   Even with no specific closure on whether or not a character really has changed. The reader will perceive the outlook of that character in a way that caters to their own tastes. 

   Overblot development is a given but something else we should keep an eye out for is character development in characters that didn’t overblot themselves. Hidden character arcs and development is another commonly used writing tip that adds the necessary layers that makes a story interesting.

   There will be certain characters that will very obviously be different when interacting with themselves and others, but the truth behind that is that depending on how complicated a characters personality is makes the development necessarily more or less obvious in order to incite the proper emotions within the reader.

Happy/Sad ending:

   Speaking of emotions, it is going to be a coin toss about how the ending affects the readers. Since the company we are dealing with is Disney it is entirely possible that everything ends on an almost eerily happy note. However, based on the plot and how popular story lines originated in Japan usually end, it is equally likely that there will be some sort of loss, betrayal, plot twist, etc. that will leave the reader with a few negative emotions as well.

   If this is the case then it will likely involve a character or goal present from the prologue. Crowley, Grim, and the Aduece duo are likely subjects of this negative event. A situational disaster could also turn things. The MC has been trying to get home from the beginning of the story so a plot twist along the lines of MC’s death, the way home is made clear and then some how it is permanently inaccessible, none of the story was real from the start, are all ways that TWST could end using the MC themselves as the negative event.

   It is nearly impossible to predict exactly what the ending will be, but it is likely that what we think is going to happen is the exact opposite of what will happen. 

   What we can predict is that all of the questions based on events (overblots, mickey, grim, etc.) will be answered in some way with an explanation that connects all of the events together.

Sequel???:

   Whether or not a sequel is made depends entirely on the conclusion that we receive. Since most storylines have an ending planned before they even start writing, it is unlikely that the producers will change too much about it. If it was originally planned to simply end then it’s likely that the last chapter will be the end of TWST. 

   However, due to the popularity of TWST and how open ended some of the side character arcs will likely be left. It can be assumed that TWST will likely continue to produce content, even if it isn’t direct story stuff. Side stories about characters during the school year and after the end of TWST are not entirely out of the question. More events set in the timeline where MC is at TWST is also highly probable. 

   If an english version is made, these probabilities rise considerably. Not only rerun events, but new ones will be essential to the popularity of the game when(if) it is released in other languages.

Anime:

   Another question that has been brought up frequently is whether or not TWST will be made into an anime. I would say that it isn’t impossible. The fact that TWST isn’t an otome game and that there aren’t different routes available based on the players choices makes it very easy to be turned into a different form of media. Depending on how popular it gets will also affect this. 

   Disney certainly has the money to fund the producers enough to create an anime. So financially it isn’t a problem. The only thing that would stand in the way would be demand. TWST is already hugely popular in Japan. To the point where cafe’s themed after it are being created. This popularity brings in a lot of money and possibility for TWST. If americans and others bring TWST’s popularity up this way as well then it will be extremely likely that the creators take advantage of this possibility and expand TWST’s media.

   Another reason that Disney might push for the producers to create more is that they are currently struggling with new content. Disney’s most recent productions and a large quantity of their future productions are and have been set as remakes and sequels. It is fairly obvious that they have been at a block for a while now considering the lack of new content being put out.

   TWST is still fairly new and can be exploited because of that. The fact that it is catered towards teens and older makes it even more likely since stories that people won’t grow out of tend to stay popular much longer than productions with simpler plot lines directed at children.

In conclusion:

   All of the above is purely theoretical and based off of educated guesses from me with all of my background knowledge. The fact is that where TWST goes is entirely left up to how it does when the official plot line ends. 

   What I can say is that we shouldn’t expect any sort of sequel or anime or further for a while. If any of these things do happen it will likely take place after an english version is released if one is released at all. 

   TWST is an incredible game with a perfectly capturing plot line and realistic and interesting characters. The amount of potential that it contains is far more than some other games of this type that I have seen. We can’t say for sure what it will become but I know personally that I expect the ending to be just as satisfying as the rest of the story. 

(I’m not sure if this is the answer you wanted but this is just my personal view. I hope anyone that reads this is happy with the information and theories that I have provided!)

[lilydalexf]

Old School X is a project interviewing X-Files fanfic authors who were posting fic during the original run of the show. New interviews are posted every Tuesday.

Interview with aka "Jake"

aka "Jake" has 83 stories at Gossamer, but don't miss her website for fics because a number of them come with cover images and/or illustrations you can't see at Gossamer. She's written some of the most epic and well-known stories in the fandom, including Abaddon's Reign and The Mastodon Diaries. Big thanks to aka "Jake" for doing this interview.

Does it surprise you that people are still interested in reading your X-Files fanfics and others that were posted during the original run of the show (1993-2002)?

It does surprise me! It just goes to show the series has amazing staying power and there are many excellent writers in the fandom who were able to capture the essence of Mulder and Scully and expand on XF canon every bit as successfully as the writers of the TV show. Some even more so.

What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?

Like any online community, there were upsides and downsides. But what impressed me most were the lasting friendships that spilled into real life. Overall, the folks I encountered in the fandom were kind, helpful, talented, and inspiring. I’m still in contact with many of them and even meet up regularly with a couple of people who I consider my closest friends now, though we live far apart. Readers could be especially encouraging, poking authors with virtual sticks to get them to write more and faster. An amazing group called the Mastoholics formed to spur me on while I was posting The Mastodon Diaries as a work in progress. Several of them traveled to my house for a mini-con after the story was finished. Other folks called betas provided invaluable editing advice to authors. I was lucky to have several very good ones, but especially appreciated mimic117 and xdksfan. They went beyond proofreading; they pointed out confusing passages, missing plot points, and anything that seemed OOC (out of character). This polishing was a vital step before posting. To think they did it for nothing but the love of fanfic. It was a considerable time commitment.

Social media didn't really exist during the show's original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)?

There were several key sites for posting and discussing fic when I started writing in 1997. These included Ephemeral, Gossamer, and Haven. Several sites issued writing challenges, like Haven, The Project, and The Church of X. Others gave out awards, like P1013 [Lilydale note: short for Prometheus1013] and the Spookys. I Made This! Productions invited authors, including me, to write episodes for virtual seasons of the show. I recall joining a couple of listservs early on, too.

What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general?

Overall, it was an uplifting experience. My writing improved tremendously thanks to honest feedback and several key collaborations, particularly with co-authors Brandon D. Ray and the Secret Squirrels. I’d never written anything longer than an office memo when I started my first fic. I had nowhere to go but up. These gifted and generous authors helped me grow as a writer. Collaborating with them made the experience of writing even more creative, exciting, and special.

What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show?

The first episode I watched was The Field Where I Died. It hooked me immediately. Back then, there was no way to go back and watch the earlier episodes. It wasn’t until several years later I was finally able to watch the first 3 seasons on DVDs.

What got you involved with X-Files fanfic?

I stumbled upon Ephemeral where I read a fic called Acadia by RivkaT, which was set in Acadia National Park in Maine. If I recall correctly, it was a casefile with an emphasis on Mulder and Scully’s relationship. It felt like an episode of the show. I was thrilled to find a seemingly endless supply of XF stories that allowed me to extend my enjoyment of the TV series. It wasn’t long before I considered writing a story myself, a case file, although as mentioned above, I had no previous writing experience, just the desire to write down and share my ideas about Mulder and Scully.

What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom?

I haven’t been active in the fandom for quite some time. I have no idea where writers post or readers go to find fic. That said, to keep my mind off the pandemic and other disheartening news this year, I began writing a new fic, which I plan to add to my site in September.

Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?

No, I never joined any other fandoms.

Who are some of your favorite fictional characters? Why?

Sadly, no fictional characters have captured my heart and attention the way Mulder and Scully did.

Do you ever still watch The X-Files or think about Mulder and Scully?

Yes, I do still watch XF. Before Seasons 10-11 aired, I rewatched the entire series and both movies. I enjoy the stories as much now as I did back in the day.

Do you ever still read X-Files fic? Fic in another fandom?

No, not for ages. I’ve never read any stories from other fandoms.

Do you have any favorite X-Files fanfic stories or authors?

There are so many great authors and I’m hesitant to name them for fear of leaving someone out and hurting their feelings. Like a lot of fic writers, I was inspired by Prufrock’s Love beautiful way with words. Mountainphile wrote taut, realistic case files that I admired. David Hearne took on unique perspectives. To name just three.

What is your favorite of your own fics, X-Files and/or otherwise?

I think my best writing may be in my long, post-col story Abaddon’s Reign. The story I most enjoyed writing was The Case of the Exuberant G-Man. It was a fun story that seemed to write itself.

Do you think you'll ever write another X-Files story? Or dust off and post an oldie that for whatever reason never made it online?

As mentioned above, I’m finishing up a new fic now and plan to post it on my site on or near the anniversary of the airdate of Season 1’s episode Squeeze. My story takes place in 2023, 30 years after Eugene Tooms was mangled to death in an elevator. I wanted to explore the idea of Tooms returning. How would that be possible? And what would Mulder’s and Scully’s lives be like five years after losing their son at the hands of CGB Spender and learning Scully was pregnant once again? I honestly thought I’d never write another fic but here we are.

Where do you get ideas for stories?

Often from the unanswered questions left by the show, the off-screen scenes we didn’t get to see.

Do your friends and family know about your fic and, if so, what have been their reactions?

The majority, no. Years ago, I told my sister I was writing XF fanfic and she looked at me like I’d grown two heads. We didn’t speak of it again. More recently, my sister-in-law discovered my work. She’s a big XF fan and still reads fanfic, so her reaction was very accepting. Back in the early days, fanfic wasn’t considered serious writing and had a pretty bad reputation, which honestly didn’t jibe with the truly fine quality of some of the writing in the fandom. Sure, it wasn’t all good but there were some real gems.

Is there a place online (tumblr, twitter, AO3, etc.) where people can find you and/or your stories now?

All of my stories are on my site at akajake.net.

Is there anything else you'd like to share with fans of X-Files fic?

Just that I’m pleased there are folks like you who are helping to continue the tradition and fun! Thank you for interviewing me and giving me the opportunity to stroll down memory lane.

(Posted by Lilydale on September 1, 2020)

[pacificcrestservices]

Benefits of Being an Independent Insurance Agent

Even during a pandemic, people still need insurance.  Cars are still on the road, houses are still subject to the same amount of risk, businesses still face uncertainty toward loss, theft and hazards and your life and income still need to be protected.

No matter the state of the economy, insurance will always be necessary – which makes a career in insurance an enduring, recession-proof, pandemic-proof profession.

Before we get started: Let us talk briefly about the differences between captive and Independent insurance agents.

·   What is a Captive Insurance Agent?  Captive insurance agents are contracted to work for one insurance company and can only sell that company's policies.  Captive insurance carriers include Farmer’s, State Farm, Allstate, etc…·   What is an Independent Insurance Agent?  Independent agents are contracted to work with a variety of insurance companies and can sell policies from multiple providers.  The independent markets include, but, not limited to; Safeco, Travelers, Hartford, Progressive, Nationwide, Liberty, and Foremost.

·   What’s better?  Captive or independent?  Obviously, it is hard to be impartial as this article is being written from the perspective of a Captive agent that went independent.  But these considerations play a definite role in our overall assessment: higher compensation, more carrier choices (to win more deals); and the ability to build & own a business that can last generations.

What are some of the benefits to being Independent instead of Captive?

Unlimited Appointments! -  Realistic? It comes down to time

Many independent insurance agents emphasize the number of carriers they represent as the backbone of their agency to offer their clients choice.  Unlike the Captive insurance agent which represents a single carrier, the choices the independent agent offers their clients allow them to better compete on price and coverage with their competitors – and ultimately win more deals.  However, this comes at a cost.  If an agent secures a preferred appointment that requires a minimum production requirement of 5-10 policies a month, how many preferred appointments can that agent have before the production requirements outweigh the need for more carrier appointments?  And, what if the carrier is no longer competitive in the marketplace?  The agent will still need to provide the carrier their established volume to maintain the appointment.

Commissions: Higher for independent insurance agents

Often, an independent agent receives anywhere from 20-40% higher commissions on comparable policies because they pay for all the expenses of their business.  They supply their own office organization, create their own claims department, develops their own databases, IT systems and infrastructure.  The carriers they represent do not train or support them–they expect the independent agent to know how to run an agency, and to have the resources to maintain it.

Contingency and Profit Sharing:

For an independent insurance agent, this can be a significant portion of their compensation.  Carriers will use the criteria of profitability, growth, and retention to determine the level of profit sharing an agent receives in most cases.

·   Profitability is determined by the business practices of the agent.  The agent must write sufficient business so that the premiums collected are greater than the costs of providing the insurance along with the claims that were paid.  If the agency is profitable to the carrier, the carrier can share the profits with the agent.  But an agent whose business has high loss ratios is unprofitable.  Such an agent’s book might include homeowner policies on dilapidated houses, auto policies for careless drivers, policies with customers who make frequent claims.  If there is little profit to the carrier, then there is little to share with the agent.

·   Growth is important in any business.  The agent whose customer base is expanding, who is writing more policies and bringing in more business, is expanding the carrier’s reach and building the brand.  If the agent does not increase the amount of business in their area, the carrier may begin to wonder if a different agent could do better.  The agent is the distribution channel for the carrier.  By appointing the agent and investing time and resources the carrier will want a continuous return on investment.

·   Retention refers to customers renewing their policies.  A high level of retention indicates that the agent’s customers are happy with the service they provide.  Low retention indicates to the carrier that the agent is not only losing business to competitors, but also damaging the carrier’s brand.

·   Note: most new independent agents building an agency will not receive contingency or profit sharing until their growth, retention and profitability meet carrier guidelines – which could take years to qualify.

Flexibility, Autonomy and Control:

The independent agent has flexibility, autonomy, and control over their business because it is their business.  The independent agent will choose the location and size of their office.. The agent will pay for and arrange their own advertising and marketing plans.  They will set their own office hours, determine their own office environment, and establish their own business culture.  The independent agent in Honolulu might wear a Hawaiian shirt to work; the Tulsa independent office might have Western art on the walls; and customers in the Boston independent office might find Red Sox pennants in the lobby.  The independent agent can customize their office to the needs and interests of the customers they serve.

Building a Legacy:

The independent agency belongs to the independent agent.  The value that they have built into the agency belongs to them because it is their business.  They can sell it, pass it on to a family member, or make whatever changes in ownership and participation they want.  The carriers represented by the independent agent have no influence over the independent agent’s disposition of their business.  However, when selling or transferring to another person the carrier appointments will need to be qualified and approved on an individual basis.  The independent carriers always want to know the character/reputation and ability of the agent they will do business with.  For the independent agent, the value of their business grows in perpetuity.  

Cost and Return of Investment:

Both captive and independent agents have office and staff expenses.  Since independent agents bear the additional costs of underwriting, claims, and IT systems, the costs of doing business are often higher for the independent agent.

Offsetting the additional cost is the 20-40% advantage in commissions and profit sharing the independent agent enjoys over the captive agent.

Because the independent agent has the flexibility to sell or transfer ownership of their agency, on their terms the return of investment can be greater than that of the captive agent who cannot.  

The biggest challenge with becoming an independent insurance agent or starting an independent insurance agency is you are often all alone to figure things out.    

Most people start their own business because they believe they can do it better than the person they are currently working for, they are entrepreneurs, or just very skilled at their trade and this convinces them that they will continue to be successful.

Being entrepreneurial or skilled in your trade is just half the battle with business ownership.  If you are an exceptional salesperson and you can focus all your time selling, chances are you will be successful.  Unfortunately, as a business owner, your time is divided into areas that are non-revenue generating as well.  Doing your accounting, teaching yourself new concepts, setting up your network, tracking your sales, establishing partnerships and other business activities do not bring your business more money, but they are necessary.

There are options to minimize your pain managing your insurance agency, become more efficient, get established faster and to put more money in your pocket.    

Pacific Crest Services is an alliance of insurance agents established in 2004.  The core of our business philosophy is helping insurance agents with all aspects of business operations, training, development, support, and strategy to allow them to build their insurance practices beyond even their expectations.  We help take care of all your business concerns so you can focus on what is important – growing your business.

To learn more about becoming an independent agent with an alliance of agents like you, visit www.pacificcrestservices.com

[optimismrpt]

Any chance I can ask for a few more tips on what to look for within applications?

Even though I assume you are one of the people that already asked for my ‘what to look for in apps’ on private I’m going to restate some points just to make this post comprehensive for anyone! I’ve made the old sections in italic, and the new sections in regular font if you want to skip to those. And this only applies to plot heavy skeleton rps. I won’t pretend to know anything about any other type of rp. 

This got very very long so I’m putting it under the cut! 

The most important is that the applicant seems willing to talk to you. This could be asks, ims, or even a little note in the app! Writers who want to make it clear what their intentions/desires/goals are ooc are going to be the easiest to work with! Plus it gives you an idea of how flexible they are! Those who dig their heels in when you offer up alternative suggestions are probably not good to work with. You want to find someone who has direction, intention, and ideas but don’t treat your ideas (or anyone else’s) as lesser than their own. 

Call for humor! I’ve found that I have trouble with people who take themselves and their characters too seriously. This means that they often won’t be up for plotting since they don’t want their character to be anything less than graceful. Humor is a really good sign that a writer is fun, creative, and understands their character. And having memes associated with the character doesn’t really count for this, because although memes are fun they are not generative and specific in the way that written humor in an app can be. 

One of the aspects of an app which is easy to spot on sight is the length. I don’t disregard any app based on length but obviously if the applicant didn’t meet the minimum requirement then they can’t be accepted. However, if an applicant goes way over what was asked of them I tend to shy away from that as well. Generally, I think a good app length for a skeleton rp is between 2k and 3k words. With longer apps I do read every word and take it into consideration, but the main reason why I prefer medium sized apps will be explained next,

For plot heavy skeleton rps, the application should feel like a set up, or like the first half of a story. Sometimes applicants get so wrapped up in their character they write an app like a novel synopsis, and it gives the character an arc with a beginning, middle, and end already accomplished. That’s cool in it’s own right, but it doesn’t create a very good jumping off point for the character’s arc in the rp. Look for apps that create conflict, have unresolved issues, and seem like the character is in the first stage of their journey. That way, the rp can follow them as they get to a point of resolution. 

One of the new parts of apps that I’ve been integrating is asking the applicant to list 3 to 5 potential plots for the their character. I’ve had some people tell me that they have trouble coming up with plots for their characters in advance and tend to just let things happen, which is totally fine!  But it’s just not right for the style of rp I run which is fast paced and plot heavy. So you want to look for someone who comes in strong with an arc in mind for their character and lots of plot ideas. 

But an important caveat to this is that I find I have the most luck with applicants who are open to multiple possibilities. So they send in one plot and a similar alternate plot. (Ei. Beth becomes a mother or Beth becomes a leader of an organization and functions in a maternal figure to her employees). It’s good to know that a player has ideas but is flexible and willing to adapt. If the applicant seems like they have one journey in mind for their character and they aren’t willing to waver on it, you probably won’t have the best time trying to work them into a narrative that changes and evolves. Because in rps the entire situation can change at the drop of a hat (if an important character goes inactive or something like that) you need to find players that can go with the flow, change their vision, and work with you to find a compromise. 

One last thing on the subject of suggested plots, beware any player that comes in with a specific ship in mind. It’s one thing to say ‘I want my character to learn how to be vulnerable and fall in love over the course of the story’ and another to say ‘I want my character to end up with this other skeleton’. Because if that’s one of the first plots on the applicant’s mind and it doesn’t work out (maybe the other writer isn’t on board for the ship) the applicant might be disappointed or discouraged to a point where they leave. In summary, look for a player that suggests plots that keeps other writer’s feelings and desires into consideration. 

There’s some old rp practices that I brought back for retiredhq and actually had a lot of success with. The first one was the para sample, which I think is a great way to get insight into the applicants writing style and the vibe of the character. Headcanons can be good for background, but the para sample gives the admin a more realistic idea of what the character will actually be like in play. 

And the other old rp practice I’m bringing back in 2020 is the password in the rules! I feel like that was phased out a couple years ago and I understand why. At this point many people have been in rps long enough to know the basics: don’t godmod, don’t bubble rp, etc. But because the way I run rps tends to be fairly unconventional the rules hold a lot of essential information. And I think, when an applicant applies, it’s sort of like checking the ‘I agree to the terms and conditions box’ meaning that they have read the rules and consent to them. So I put in a password to be sure the rules have actually been read. Because I don’t want to find out two months late that the applicant didn’t actually read the rules and isn’t comfortable with the admin playing their character as an npc after their departure, or some other aspect of gameplay. 

And finally, one of the biggest red flags is someone not sticking to the skeleton! If someone blatantly disregards one or more aspects of the skeleton that is an instant strike against them. I don’t like it when people have ocs that they adapt to fit a skeleton because most of the time that means that they don’t really care about the skeleton and your ideas. However, if they contact me about changes to the skeleton in advance and ask if some edits are alright then that’s actually a really good sign! I want people to play a character that they are happy about and I’m willing to change up any skeleton. I just need to know the applicant is willing to work with me instead of against me.

[uncloseted]

What is the best way to find what career path you should take in life? I know ultimately its a choice I’ll have to. make myself but I lack direction and seem to have multiple interests (in like everything...), I wish there was a way to pinpoint what my realistic options were like a place or a site that would take into account my interests, my desired salary, my actual skills, etc.?

So first things first, I think it’s important to say that your field of study/career doesn’t necessarily have to be your passion (and for that matter, what you study at uni doesn’t necessarily dictate your future career- a lot of people have degrees they never use).  I know that many of us have been sold this idea that a career can only be satisfying if it’s our “passion”. I think that’s a convenient narrative for aggressively capitalistic countries (the US being the biggest offender) because it sets a standard that we should be willing to do anything for our passion-career (unpaid internships, working for less than our labor is worth, doing unpaid work, putting up with toxic work environments, unreasonably long commutes…), since we’re not doing it for the money, we’re doing it because we genuinely love our jobs.  Maybe your passion is making dolls from corn husks or golfing or people watching or something else that’s not easy to monetize, and that’s totally okay.  It’s okay to have a job that you don’t love and aren’t super dedicated to because it allows you to do the things you do really love.  Your work shouldn’t have to be your life- work should allow you to live your life.

Anyway, I do have some thoughts about how to find a career that works for you, whatever that might mean. First, I would look into the Japanese concept of ikigai- your “reason for being”.

When searching for your ikigai, I would suggest making a list (no matter how short), of the things you love, the things you’re good at, the things the world needs, and the things you can be paid for.  Look for overlaps in each category, and try your best to think creatively about how you can combine the different categories.  For example, maybe you love movies, you think the world needs to know about global warming, and you’re good at organization.  Your ikigai in that case might be to be a coordinator on documentaries that focus on global warming.  It’s a job that pays pretty well, and also incorporates the other sections on your list, so it’s likely to feel fulfilling.

Moving away from ikigai, there’s this story that I think about a lot.  One of my great uncles told it to me, and I always assumed it was a story from his life until one day I discovered it was actually a chain email called The Parable of the Mexican Fisherman and the Banker.  I still think about it a lot, though, and it’s shaped the way I view work, so maybe it will be useful to you as well.  It goes like this:

An American investment banker was taking a much-needed vacation in a small coastal Mexican village (in my uncle’s story, the fisherman is from Kalymnos and he dives for sponges) when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. The boat had several large, fresh fish in it.

The investment banker was impressed by the quality of the fish and asked the Mexican how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.” The banker then asked why he didn’t stay out longer and catch more fish?

The Mexican fisherman replied he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.

The American then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman replied, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos: I have a full and busy life, señor.”

The investment banker scoffed, “I am an Ivy League MBA (in my family the school is always Harvard), and I could help you. You could spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat, and with the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats until eventually, you would have a whole fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to the middleman you could sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You could control the product, processing and distribution.”

Then he added, “Of course, you would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City where you would run your growing enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But señor, how long will this all take?”

To which the American replied, “15–20 years.”

“But what then?” asked the Mexican.

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You could make millions.”

“Millions, señor? Then what?”

To which the investment banker replied, “Then you would retire. You could move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

The question that this story prompts for me is, if you had unlimited time and resources, what kind of life would you lead?  Where would you live?  What would you spend your time doing?  Who would you be with?  Would you have pets?  Kids?  What would your daily routine look like?  Maybe the answer for you isn’t a university degree or an office job.  Maybe it’s not millions.  Maybe it’s diving for sponges on a Greek island or being a fisherman in Mexico.  I think it can be helpful to put together an image of that perfect life and then try to reverse engineer the best way of getting there instead of putting the onus on the job you have to shape what kind of life you want to lead.  Maybe you really want to have kids, so you need a job that will have a good parental leave policy or that has flexible hours or that will pay enough to support the family you want to have.  To me, those considerations are just as important as whether or not you feel interested in the job you do every day.

I would also think about the opposite- what kind of life could you absolutely not stand living?  What kind of workplace would drive you crazy?  Knowing what your “hard nos” can help you to narrow down the potential field of options. For example, my hard nos include anything to do with venipuncture, jobs that require me to be organized on behalf of other people, anything that’s heavy on performing/public speaking, jobs where people have high expectations of me (incidentally, this is the reason I’m not a therapist), and any environment that wants me to work more than 40 hours a week.  For some people, all of those are totally doable, but for me they’re not, and that’s okay.  There’s no reason to spend your life doing things that make you miserable.

The last thing I’m going to suggest is the CareerExplorer quiz.  I like this quiz in particular for a few reasons.  First, it’s a really comprehensive test, and so I think it can help you find the language to describe what you’re going through, what your hard yesses and hard nos are, and what you need in a work setting. Even if the answers the test gives aren’t perfect, I think it provides a framework to think about career options because of the questions it asks.  The other reason I really like this test is because so far it’s been 100% correct for everyone I know, even those with more obscure careers, so it seems to be more exact than other career aptitude tests out there.  And the user interface is really nice as well, which is a bonus.

Hopefully some of that is helpful in your decision making process.  And if you ever want someone to bounce ideas off of or help coming up with careers that might be a good fit for you, I’m happy to help.

[fumusdamnatorum]

A Not So Brief Overview on the Ballistics of Dämmerung

((To be absolutely clear: no one asked for this. Not one. I am writing this out of pure rant/boredom. You don’t need to read this. In fact, I legit implore you to skip this cause I’m just going to talk about gun stuff and how that affects Silas’s primary weapon and kinda-sorta justify the decisions I made. RWBY pretty much negated regular physics, so all of this is basically irrelevant. I’ll still tag it as headcanon, but just let it get buried. Please. You will end up with more questions than answers. Run while you can.))

As I was updating Silas’s weapons, I got semi-bored/curious and had a revelation: that he isn’t just using regular iron sights but also telescopic sights. And such, realistically speaking, you would want to have a set zero for such precision weapons. 

Effectively speaking, Silas is a skirmisher. His whole deal is to go in and fuck shit up and leave just in time for lunch. However, this form of Silas is rare. Rather, he takes much more of a sniper role. Note, I said “sniper” not “marksman”. His abilities go past being proficient with marksmanship. As a hunter, he also does a considerable amount of sneaking around and possesses fieldcraft knowledge needed to sustain and blend in environment over a long period of time. Thus, not only he needs to know how to snoop around, but Silas needs to know how to shoot very, very far. In order to apply such marksmanship, he needs a finely tuned weapon to do such.

Dämmerung, in its rifle configuration, is based on the Russian variant/contract run of the Winchester 1895 lever action rifle. I’ve taken to the applying the creative liberties done in Battlefield 1 by also adding a telescopic sight. However, since the real “sniper scope” in the game only has a 2x magnification, I based the real magnification on a 6x magnification scope used by the Sharps rifle, but keeping the actual profile/shape of the PPCo scope cause it looks cool. The round it shoots is based on the latest 7.62x54R round, which has the bullet projectile weighted at 151.2 grains.

The reticle he utilizes is also based off the one in the BF1 game. Personally speaking, I hate it because I’m too lazy/am bad at math to make correct adjustments when shooting at range. That’s why on my own personal rifle, I have a scope that has windage and elevation marks as such that allows me to adjust for holds, versus what Silas has to deal with in the picture above.

Anyways, back to the topic on hand. Where was I? Oh yeah, zeroing. So, I decided to leave Silas’s zero at 200 yards (182.88m) for both sighting systems. Why? One, consistency. Two, because most ballistic trajectory charts mainly work in yards. As far as I know, Remnant also uses yards. Unless I find other material saying “Remnant uses meters” I will be sticking with yards. 

So why 200 yards? Personally speaking, I have a 50/200 yard zero on my own carbine. Yeah, there might be some bias there, BUT it’s justified.

Most engagements would be somewhere within 500 yards. However, ranges can also be drastically affected by variables such as physical barriers, wind, humidity, etc. So we can cut that down to about...300 yards. There is also a factor of Grimm running towards Silas, so that would be a fast, moving target closing in from 300 yards. Silas would want to only make corrections for much longer range shots past 300 yards, especially if they break out towards the 500-800, 900, or even 1000 yard mark. Plus with fast moving Grimm, he would want to shoot more and fiddle less with adjustments. The disparity in the event Silas had to use Dämmerung from 200 yards inwards is minimal. Point of Aim is essentially Point of Impact, plus or minus a couple of inches. (See chart below).

Yes a 25/300 yard zero utilized in traditional militaries is preferred to push the capabilities of the rounds much further. Adjustments up to and past 300 yards is near minimal. However, looking at everything between say 25-260 yards, there is a disparity of up to 5 inches in elevation difference between Point of Aim and Point of Impact. It is minimized the closer the target gets to 300 yards. Yeah, he can always reach for his revolvers, but a 100 yard pistol shot at a fast moving target is pretty difficult (such as Beowolves or Sabyrs).

At the end of the day, I do believe that a shooter must know their zero and appropriate holds for their zero. And such, Silas is one to possess that knowledge. Any mistakes and missed shots are on him. That more or less sums up why I keep both iron sights and telescopic sights at 50/200 yards in the weapons page. Grimm are unpredictable, and unpredictable means fast/erratic movements that spend no more than a second standing still. The flexibility at close-intermediate range offered by the 50-200 zero offers a shooter like Silas to react appropriately. 

Thank you for coming to my TEDxTalk. If you’ve come this far, as a token of apology, like this post and send me an IM saying you read it. I’ll write a drabble between our OCs as an apology. Length will vary.

[mvdipetsch]

Outside of London; A Guide.

Hello, friends! I think there’s a semi-substantial amount of roleplays based around England, but honestly 90% of them are in London and while that’s great, England is made up of a lot of cities and I figured I’d show some #representation. 

In this guide we cover: Housing in England, location and travel! 

Disclaimer: This is based off of my experience and the experience of those around me. Most of my knowledge is concentrated around Birmingham, as that is where I grew up, but I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Stoke-on-Trent, Blackpool and Liverpool so I feel that I have a semi-decent shot at helping out. 

If you found this guide helpful, please reblog this as it helps to show me that there is interest and I’m not just shouting into a void. If you have any suggestions or comments about things I could/should cover in these guides please let me know! Any specific questions? Shoot me an ask and I’ll do my best to help you out. 

Location, Location, Location. 

England is divided into counties. There many of them, and realistically they don’t affect anything. All it really means is that your resources (police, fire, ambulance, charities, etc.) are organised by that one area. For instance - the buses in my city are all organised by Network West Midlands. They deal with every bus service (if it’s an NXBus) in the West Midlands. Ultimately, it doesn’t really affect anything. 

From my city to my university, it’s a 3-ish hour drive. That is a long drive. I know some people regard that as nothing, but when everything is so close together, it’s a lot. It’s not really a drive that people would make a lot - this is why train transport (while not that big) tends to be used to get from city to city. 

Only really in the inner cities are things that expensive. When you move away from the main city, things can get pretty affordable, but the inner city is still often really accessible via bus, driving or even train. When I’m at my boyfriend’s I’ll get the bus into the city centre, but when I’m at my mom’s sometimes it’s quicker to just jump on a train. Train tickets are also pretty inexpensive if you’re moving within the city. It’s when you’re heading to smaller cities that the problems arise. For instance, I can get to London for under £10, and to Liverpool for not much more. However, for me to get from Birmingham (a major city) to my University (a not-so-major city of about 200k) it’s £60+ with a change. On coach, it’s £14 with a change + it takes 5-ish hours (there are direct coaches that cost £30~ which is still significantly cheaper than the train) University students will commonly take a coach to and from their university to their hometown if it’s ridiculously priced. 

The higher north you go, typically the cheaper it is. This is dependent upon where in that city you are, but the general consensus is that north = cheaper. Obviously if you’re in Manchester city centre then it’s going to be a bit more pricey, but the general cost of living / food / etc. is seen to be cheaper the more north you go. A good way to judge how expensive a place is, is by how much the bus fare is. Birmingham bus fare is £4.00 for a daysaver (one ticket, on the bus as much as you like) but when I was in Liverpool I paid something like £1.20 for an U18 ticket. That’s a big difference. (For reference - Birmingham is the smack-bang middle of England. Liverpool is about 2 hours north, near Manchester.) 

Typically, when it comes to travelling; 

Driving

Cars in the UK are predominantly manual (with a gear stick) but we can still get automatic cars. Manual cars are also cheaper than automatic and you can drive an automatic with a manual license but you cannot drive a manual with an automatic license. 

My mom lives seven minutes from her work (she timed it, she’s got no life) but there are people who live up to thirty minutes away and have to take the motorway. This means that if there’s a massive accident, you can sit there for six hours, bored out of your skull

It’s also worth saying that if you live in a/the city centre, you’re not taking your car to work. It’s ridiculously expensive and parking is so few and far between, it’s really not worth it. People can and do drive, but plenty of people will also opt for a train or bus.

Buses

If you don’t drive the bus is often a very viable option. Buses will commonly run from 6:30/7 until 11:30/12 (at least where I am) but you can get night buses or buses that run later, they’re just a bit rare. 

Students (in college or secondary school, typically) are VERY common on buses. As in public buses. Unless someone has an impairment and go to a special school suited to their needs, you make your own way. Which often means that you jump on that bus with every man and his dog. 

Sunday service is real and it’s a pain in the arse. Buses that run every 10-ish minutes during the week drop to 20 between 9 and 5 and then drop to every 30 minutes after that (sometimes even every hour.) This means that if you miss your bus... you can be waiting for a very long time. 

Trains

Train’s are far more common for longer commutes. Also trains aren’t really that common for secondary school students (they either get dropped off in a car, walk or take the bus) but college students can and do take the train. My best friend takes an hour’s train ride to and from her college every day, and a lot of my teachers will get the train to college (my college is in the city centre, so it’s pretty logical.) Regardless, trains aren’t as common. 

Housing

Houses in England are attached. It is rare that you will see detached (stand alone) houses. Most houses will share their walls with their neighbours, unless they’re the end house in which case they’re called “semi-detached” cause... only half of them is attached. That tends to mean that if your neighbours have a baby, you can hear them crying. You can hear when the tv is too loud and all that kind of stuff. 

When you move out, there tends to be a few options in terms of who actually owns where you live. The options normally are:

Council. 

You sign up on the website, the council give you a priority rating and a set amount of points. These points are determined by the people in your household and your needs. A single mother with two kids will get more points than a single person with no dependants.

There is also a ‘bedroom’ tax, which states that you have to pay a tax if you live in a council property and are seen as having more bedrooms than you need. If, for instance you have two children of opposite genders that are aged seven and three, you have to pay extra tax for that third bedroom because it’s deemed as unnecessary. However if you have two children and they’re of different genders and one of them is over the age of ten (10) then you do not have to pay the tax. If they are of the same gender, then it is until one of them is sixteen (16).

Council and Housing Associations are most beneficial to those who are receiving benefits or are not working enough to cover rent by themselves. 

Housing Association

The way a housing association works is effectively the same as a landlord and the council. You apply on the council website for the aforementioned points and begin to bid on properties. When this happens, you may bid on a property that happens to be owned by a HA. The HA then acts as your landlord. HAs are pretty okay, dependent upon the area + such. When you live in a HA, any housing benefit you receive will immediately be paid from the council to the HA. This can cause issues if your money gets fucked up (which is more common than not because the housing system in the UK is BROKEN.) 

Private Rent

Private is when you have a landlord. I mean, that’s pretty self-explanatory really. You have an issue? Call the landlord. I’ve never had a landlord so I can’t really comment much on this. I will say that most landlords likely won’t accept housing benefit as a form of payment.

Private own. 

This is just the whole mortgage, thing. You know how this goes. 

There are a few different types of housing options when it comes to England and I’d imagine that this is pretty true for up and down the city.

Blocks of flats.

Blocks of flats are huge high-rises. They’re not as common anymore but there are still quite a few knocking about. If you remember the tragedy of Grenfell Tower, that was a high-rise. 

Blocks of flats can be owned by the local council or be privately rented. I’ve never lived in a flat, so my knowledge isn’t the best. They all tend to have names and there’s normally at least two together. 

A ‘flat’ is basically an apartment. So it’s a bunch of different flats (which, in high rises, commonly have two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room and a bathroom) High rises have a lot of flats in them. Commonly there’s at least 13 floors, with between around four and six flats per floor. So you can get a lot of people in a high rise. 

Maisonette. 

A maisonette looks like a wide house. It’s normally one to two floors, with flats that have three (or more) bedrooms. Maisonettes are considerably bigger, in terms of the flats inside, and consist of maybe two flats per floor. Maisonettes can also be council, privately rented or housing association. 

Bungalow.

A bungalow is a home without any stairs. They can be council, privately rented or privately owned. Bungalows aren’t that common anymore, but they’re great for people who have difficulty with stairs and such. Also most bungalows are actually pretty decent sizes too. 

Houses.

Houses in the UK are broken down into one of three categories:

Detached

Semi-Detached

Attached

This is literally just based upon how many of your walls are shared with your neighbour. Detached houses are really uncommon in the UK and are usually found in richer areas. Semi-detached is mainly just the house at the end of your street, so semi-detached and attached are the main two. 

Also it’s pretty common that you only have windows of two of the four house walls. Even if you’re in a semi-detached house, you’ll only have front and back windows. 

Houses can be privately owned, privately rented, housing association or council.

Most houses follow a similar layout. Typically three bedrooms, with either one bathroom or a room just for the toilet + then the bathroom (with a bath + sink + such.) It’s also super common for one room to be a ‘box room’ which is normally pretty small. My room at my mom’s house is the ‘box room’ and it fits a 3/4 bed, a chest of draws, and a metal rack that I use as a bookshelf. There is not a lot of room in there. 

And there you have it! I think I covered most things regarding transport and housing in the UK, and I really hope that it was as informative as possible. Stay groovy, my dudes. 

[dottie-wan-kenobi]

Hey! A bit ago I saw that you were wondering if anyone was interested in a tutorial on dialogue?? And I just wanted to say that I would totally love to learn how to write dialogue/banter like you do, if you’re still interested in creating that tutorial of course

Hi yes of course I’m still interested!! But before I jump in, let me say that this is by no means a be-all-end-all, and this is just what works for me. If it works for other people, that’s great! If it doesn’t, that’s totally valid! Maybe this could be a jumping off point for other pieces of advice, idk. But anyway, let’s gooooo

Okay so I’m gonna be pulling out a bad example of my own writing, and a good example for each point, which is extra but will hopefully show the differences, & I’ll be doing it without putting anyone else down so yeet!

SAY IT OUT LOUD, MAKE SURE IT FLOWS, MAKE SURE IT MAKES SENSE

Another point to this one is, can you imagine real life people saying it? If the answer is no, then you gotta rework it. If the answer is yes, then yay!

Otherwise I’m not really sure how to explain this. Making sure it makes sense is easy enough, and saying it out loud is too, but making sure it flows is different. What I do for this is maybe not the best advice, but I use less periods. Commas, dashes, and ellipses keep it from being choppy. Also, adding words/phrases such as ‘well’, ‘like’, ‘I mean’, ‘uh/um/er/etc’ can help connect sentences/thoughts together in a realistic way.

BAD EXAMPLE:

“Bruce shrugged. “I knew, but didn’t realize, I guess. I’ve known he was young since I first learned about him.”

Clint, who was blanching, said, “he looks like a kid. Or an underage father. Think about what he had to go through as a kid, though."” - posted on July 1st, 2014

Why it’s bad: (Ignoring the horrible blocking dskljflksdf)

It doesn’t flow! Bruce’s line here feels just a little off, probably bc I was trying to put information where it shouldn’t have been (more on that later), but even without the second sentence, it’s still off. Time to reword, then; I’d change it to “I learned about it when I was studying him, but I kinda…forgot.” Idk about yall, but I can see Mark Ruffalo saying this, shrugging sheepishly. This flows a lot better and in my experience, it’s more likely someone would say this instead of “I didn’t realize, I guess”.

Clint’s lines should be combined, and there should be some diction added in. “He looks almost like a kid, or like, an underage father. God, think about what he had to go through!” Way less choppy & has some rhythm to it, instead of sounding like a robot is saying it.

GOOD EXAMPLE:

““Stop texting me weird stuff so late at night.”

“It’s not weird,” Sam denies immediately, “You just don’t appreciate it.”

“Why would I appreciate—” Steve reads carefully off his screen, “—Buzzfeed’s ‘Which Possible Illuminati Member Are You?’ quiz?”

“Because everyone thinks you’re in the Illuminati anyway, so why not see if you get yourself, you know?”

“Okay, but at four am? What were you even doing up that early?”” - posted on March 2nd, 2019

Why it’s good:

This is one of those I suggest reading out loud to understand the flow. Banter, at least in this case, is like slapstick comedy, and it’s gotta go back and forth without going way off course (unless that’s the desired effect!). Steve says something, Sam picks something specific to react to & adds a comment that makes it seem like they’ve maybe had this conversation before, and from there, they pass the rhythm to each other. Going from the second-to-last to the last lines is part of the flow; Sam makes a point that Steve doesn’t want to refute, so he continues it in another way. “Okay, but” is like the hinge connecting one flow to another. I’m just talking in circles now but anYWAY THIS IS BACK AND FORTH.

TRY TO FIT THE CHARACTER

Think specifically about the character, and if it sounds like something they would say or not. That’s kinda hard at times, so just make sure you aren’t having them say things you can definitely NOT imagine them saying. I’m gonna go with Batman because we all know him enough to know what he absolutely would never ever say.

BAD EXAMPLE:

Batman says, “And I was like, ‘oh my god, is this serious? You’re just turning yourself in?’ And he said ‘hell yeah I am!’ and I almost died from the shock!”

Why it’s bad: 

Batman is a character who doesn’t ramble and wouldn’t retell an event like this (by paraphrasing it & recounting exact exchanges). He’s a very stoic person, and this whole thing is more emotionally open and telling than he would be comfortable with. And while this flows, I can’t picture him saying it unless it’s a heavily AU’d version, which is generally not what you want.

GOOD EXAMPLE:

Batman says, “The Joker turned himself in last night. I assume he’s planning something, something big if he’s willing to go to Arkham for it.”

Why it’s good: 

This is a lot more subtle with the emotions, and a lot more monotonous, which is what Batman would probably want to sound like when recounting an event like this. He WANTS to sound like a textbook or police report, which are serious and straight to the point. But he can still add his thoughts into the mix, e.g. “something big…”, which shows how he’s kind of surprised and is thinking about what it means.

YA CAN’T ALWAYS INPUT INFORMATION INTO THE DIALOGUE

Sometimes you really want or need to share some information with the readers, and an easy way to do that is with dialogue, right? Sometimes! This, like everything else, hinges on flow & the realisticness of the words. Some pieces of info need to be conveyed through thoughts or actions, and some of it just shouldn’t be shared, no matter how much you might want to include it.

BAD EXAMPLE:

“Bonnie asked, “so…Original vampire? What does that mean, exactly? If you don’t mind my asking, I mean.”

“It means that my siblings and I were turned into the very first vampires after the death of my youngest brother. Also turned were my father, sister-in-law, and nephew. All vampires in existence come from us.”” - posted on March 6th, 2017

Why it’s bad: 

The OG vampire in question here is Elijah, and while it makes sense for the character to quickly summarize it, it doesn’t flow. He would probably react firstly to Bonnie’s last sentence, then answer more concisely, “It means that my family and I are the first vampires in existence.” Maybe with an additional comment about them being the source of all other vampires, but not much more. Being so specific chops up the rhythm and makes it harder to understand, almost, ‘cause that’s a lot of people to keep in consideration.

GOOD EXAMPLE:

““What are you talking about, Kev?” Cheryl sets her phone down, the picture of fully-invested. “Schools don’t just shut down in one day.”

Kevin flops into the other chair, breathing calmed for the most part. “Apparently they do. Dad told me they arrested a teacher there for selling Jingle Jangle to students, and when they were going through his office they found meth. The basement was being used as a meth lab. The whole thing’s being quarantined and shut down until further notice.”” - posted on August 2nd, 2018

Why it’s good: 

It flows!!! For being secondhand information, it’s clear enough to understand without bombarding readers with extremely specific details. It reads almost like an online article, with enough feeling to make it interesting, while still explaining exactly what’s happened.

DIFFERENT MOODS/DYNAMICS

Something to think about when writing dialogue is what mood your characters are in, and what kind of relationship they have with the character(s) they’re talking to. If person A is in a bad mood and talking to someone they like, they might try to tamp down on the mood in order to be nice. If person B is in a great mood and talking to a stranger, they might be pretty exuberant and friendly. Etc etc. Gonna use Superman as an example (this is extremely cheesy but it shows the difference).

BAD EXAMPLE: (Mood)

Extremely annoyed, Superman tells Lex Luthor, “Lex, you’re crazy! Trying to take over Metropolis with a hair growing scheme is just stupid! I’m leaving!”

He goes on to his date with Lois, now as Clark Kent, and says with a smile, “Sorry I’m fifty-seven minutes late, Lex kept me at work! Anyway, how was your day?”

Why it’s bad: 

Okay I know this is cheesy I’m sorry I wrote this at 2 am last night lkdjflksjdfhskjdfhjashf ANYWAY. Superman goes from talking to Lex, who he doesn’t like and is quite annoyed with, to talking to Lois, who he does like and presumably isn’t annoyed with at all. The problem here is that you usually can’t turn moods off like a switch. Even though Superman likes Lois, he wouldn’t walk into the date perfectly happy. The annoyance from dealing with Lex would stay with him (though it would probably fade the longer the date went on). I think instead of smiling, he would be rolling his eyes a little and complaining like, “I swear, he’s so inconsiderate….”, instead of immediately jumping into “how was your day?”

GOOD EXAMPLE: (Dynamic)

Superman laughs as Robin does a flip off his shoulder. “Good job! Maybe next time we could try it from a little higher up,” he winks.

Robin cheers, “Yes! Thanks, Uncle Clark!”

Superman nods and leaves, finding Batman in the hallway. Seriously, he says, “Batman.”

“Superman.”

“Did you get your report done? They’re due by this afternoon.”

Why it’s good: 

Again with the cheese that’s my bad lmao. This is mostly to show that characters are gonna sound different when speaking to different people. When talking to Robin, who is a child and quite a friendly one at that, Superman is teasing and joking around. Then, when he talks to Batman, who’s a grown man and also his coworker, he’s more serious and to the point. Both situations fit his character but show he’s got different relationships with different people.

IN CONCLUSION, uhhhhh yeah follow these points and hopefully dialogue will come a little easier. Experiment and have fun with it (these aren’t rules, but guidelines!), and if there are any questions I’m happy to clear them up/answer them/whatever lol.

[4nime6-blog]

Cool Hip Anime!

Anime

Large sparkling eyes, brightly coloured frizzy hair, obscure nose and high facial expression reminds us connected with only one factor.

Anime

Can you do you know what the item is?

If your response is actually Anime, then STOP, to see an otaku's brain!

Cartoons (pronounced: "Ah-nee-may") will be a form of animation typically from Okazaki, japan. They have got their own style this means you will show that in peculiar and wonderful ways. Cartoons also has its very own sense associated with comedy along with has a unique thought processes. It can get actually strong and serious, as well as it could truly be silliest (like: "Lucky Star", "Kill Me Baby") in addition to craziest (like: "Death Note", "Gintama") thing a person have ever before seen. Many Anime demonstrates are centered on popular mangas (Japanese Comics), just putting any not much more life into these people. Cartoons often covers far more serious issues than normal cartoons. In the united states, cartoons tend to be considered a form regarding enjoyment meant for youngsters. In Okazaki , japan, people involving all ages (no, not necessarily newborn babies! ) see anime. Most shows and flicks are centred for youngsters, teenager or young older people, but you can also get many cartoons that are made with regard to older crowd even business people and housewives!

The phrase "Anime" is the close pronunciation connected with "animation" within Japanese, exactly where this expression references just about all animation. Outside the house Japan, cartoons is applied to refer specifically toon from Japan or Western disseminated animation style usually characterized by colourful visuals, attractive characters and fantastical designs. Japanese animation commenced inside 20th century. Katsudo Shashin is claimed for you to be the first Japan animation. The 1923 Fantastic Kanto earthquake triggered wide-spread destruction including demolition associated with earliest Anime Companies as well as anime works; departing Kouchi's Namakura Gatana because the most well-known surviving animation. The 1st cartoons television series was Otogi Manga Calendar aired by 1961 to 1964.

This introduction to anime ended up being in category four while I watched "City Hunter" in a T. Sixth v. channel, Animax. Though I could see anime (as a make a difference of fact the particular multiple of anime is usually anime) like "Doraemon", "Shinchan", "Avatar-The last airbender", "Summer Days and nights with Coo", "AstroBoy", "Dragon Ball-Z", "Naruto" in the past just before yet I did definitely not recognize the profound perception regarding anime as this was dubbed throughout Hindi (rather I would point out "contaminated" instead of "dubbed" by means of old, ridiculous man noises in Hindi who also would break unnecessary, slap-stick jokes deviating viewers through the plot and also terrain you in a hotch-potch of indianised anime). My very own sister ( three yrs young than me even though I actually refuse to confess she is older when compared with me) took weird curiosity in Japanese anime similar to " Tears to Tiara" and "Stigma of typically the Wind" aired in Animax: that we thought strange from that time while the "patriotic inertia" will stop me from receiving something but Indian products. I got first repelled by often the proven fact that all the words casts have been in Japoneses and to understand history I had to consider difficulty of reading the actual Subtitles in english and had to help correlate the particular speech using the video proven; regarding which great deal involving attention seemed to be required. That was impossible personally in order to do both those exhaustion tasks at the very same time, so I delivered to my old Capital t. V. channels: Cartoon Community, Nickolodeans, Hungama, Pogo, Come back and Jetix.

After some sort of very long hiatus, in type seven, My spouse and i again started out experimenting our skills with understanding anime which often converted out to be a new success, when I 1st delighted in anime including "Hayate the Combat Butler" along with "Fairy Tail". Also! This kind of sweet poison! Following a total hectic day time in school, expenses, floating around classes, art in addition to audio classes, and full various other heck lot of routines; I waited only to be able to settle-back and relax for you to watch these kinds of anime. From that time, nothing was of importance to me; not also my parents, close friends as well as teachers. In that online realms of pleasure My partner and i could equipment my failures and sufferings as effortlessly as I got obtained in successes. Nothing irritated me, except when We were required to attend phone telephone calls or to wide open entrance, if any guests will come when the anime indicates were ongoing. However, cartoons hardly did affect this studies as after seeing two hour long plan, I suffered from PARTS (Post Anime Depression Syndrome) that I suffered typically the sense of guilt of wasting moment that has been more intensified through my very own mother's rebuke (I wish to describe this circumstance as "Kata Ghaye nuun-er Chheta") and this also guilt might propel my family to review harder, concentrate and also perform for longer hours this also occurred as daily schedule in my opinion; so I can easily get the best of most connected with the students be that researching or swimming or even any different work.

Hence to all parents, I actually would like to ask for allowing your kids to help watch anime because it proved helpful out for me (maybe I use strange wirings within my human brain! ). Enjoying anime would help an individual to hone your fictional, vocabulary and analytical expertise. More importantly, it would certainly serve as a enormous source of entertainment, at the very least way beyond the little league of daily Indian soap.

Understanding the culture associated with origins is very crucial to realize the plan, be it Japanese cartoons, Korean language Aeni webtoons, China's Manhua Anime or Us sitcoms (which I endured after i was novice inside observing anime). If anyone have watched virtually any cartoons, you will probably discover that often the characters respond differently along with things throughout general (like properties, vehicles, eating etc. ) are usually bit different from everything you used to. Probably the actual most readily evident distinctions between Japanese computer animation in addition to others is the a muslim everywhere huge eyes (bigger in comparison with nose), brightly girl locks, some well-endowed character types as well as exaggerated emotional movement and also gestures are regular regarding anime. Being hand-drawn, cartoons is separated coming from actuality providing an best path intended for escapism directly into which followers can involve themselves having relative simplicity. The production of cartoons focusses less on the particular cartoon movement and considerably more on the realistic look involving settings like "The Yard of Words".

The particular beginning and credit sequences connected with most anime are combined with Japanese rock or take song which maybe related to the anime series, simply by popular bands. "Nanairo Namida" by Tomato n' Pinus radiata of anime "Beelzebub" along with "Just Awake" of cartoons "Hunter X Hunter" are a few of my favourite anime tunes, which you may try out.

Since there are several sorts of cartoons, one will need to classify these individuals with different genres, some associated with them are generally: Action, Audio, Mecha, Experience, Mystery, Bishounen, Yuri, Yaoi, Akuma, Seinen, Shoujo, Shounen, Kodomo, Piece of Existence and a lot of more. Whether you're the die-hard anime fan (like me generally labelled seeing that "otaku"), a casual watcher, the interested onlooker or perhaps commoner from non-anime website: cartoons genres shall supply you actually with some simple knowledge which help you in order to venture the cartoons planet with ease and joy.

I am going to be able to share some remarkable rates of anime which will etch my heart usually are:

• Motoko Kusanagi regarding "Ghost in the Shell a couple of: Innocence"

"We weep to get blood of a pet although not for the our blood of a species of fish. Endowed are those with any tone. "

• Shinchi Akiyama of "Liar Game"

"People SHOULD be doubted. Many people get me wrong this specific concept. Doubting people is simply a part of getting for you to know them. Just what quite a few people call "trust" is absolutely just giving up about wanting to understand others in addition to that extremely act is definitely far more serious than questioning. It is actually 'apathy'. "

• Hachiman Hikigaya of "My Teen Passionate Comedy SNAFU"

"If simple truth is cruel

Then

Lie needs to be kind

Then

Kindness need to be lie"

You can observe anime with T. /. by opting-in to Animax, Aniplus, AnimeCental, TV Tokyo or online on internet sites like animehaven. to help, kissanime, Funimation. com, Netflix, Crunchyroll. com, hulu, Vimeo and so forth.

ENJOY WATCHING CARTOONS!

[foeseekerwriter]

Let’s Shred Voltron

Here’s a rather rambling, non-comprehensive breakdown of the ways VLD has royally screwed over its entire cast. Because I’m fed up and needed to get some of this off my chest so I could move on with other projects.

Allura is now a Workaholic Married to the Job. This girl is being made to do everything—be the team’s main diplomat and the leader of the Voltron Coalition (whose alleged size and scope makes the UN look like a children’s play group; this unto itself is a job for at least ten people), be the heart of Voltron by encouraging the rest of the team and giving them advice, pilot the Blue Lion (which entails plenty of dangerous and exhausting aerial and hand-to-hand combat), generate wormholes, be the “support brain” with her knowledge of alien tech/culture/races/etc.—the list could probably go on. This poor girl has been turned into the show’s workhorse, and not even realistically so either. She should be exhausted, worn out, maybe not broken—at least in her resolve—but completely drained by being pulled every which way all the time. But she’s the same enthusiastic, inspiring, almost peppy girl we met at the beginning, which implies that either Alteans have utterly incomprehensible reserves of energy or that the writers don’t care about writing her realistically, they just want her to do all their work for them.

This noble princess has also now been effectively dethroned, with the loss of the Castle and her crown—despite the fact that there are Alteans still out there who, now that Lotor is gone, will quite possibly be looking to her for leadership. This loss of any significant position of power or status aside from being the pilot of the Blue Lion was made abundantly clear when Allura, technically the ruler of the Altean diaspora and leader of the Voltron coalition, was put into a Galaxy Garrison cadet uniform. This was an insult to all the paladins, but most especially to Allura, as it indicates she is now subservient to a government military organization for a country and planet she isn’t even a resident or citizen of (a la the Avengers submitting to a government agency via the Accords in CA:CW). Allura has been stripped of any and all reasons for recognition except her status as a paladin. That (aside from her doing almost all the work to get everything done) is the only reason she still remains relevant.

She’s also been put into relationship roulette. I am thoroughly convinced that Monsanto was setting her up to be paired with Keith during the first two seasons (they spend a lot of time together, and aside from Keith and Shiro’s relationship theirs was developed by far the most out of anyone on the team during that time). Then, when the fans didn’t jump on board that ship and (at least when Allura was involved) tended to look more toward Lance or Shiro as possible romantic interests for her, they did their usual waffling routine and backed off, sticking a toe into the Shallura pool (the “hand touch” bit in S2 and the seesawing tension between Allura and Kuron) before doing their level best to get Shiro out of the story completely and sticking Allura with Lance instead. Now, I’m not against the trope where the guy has a crush on the girl and the girl at first doesn’t like him but eventually comes around (see Han Solo and Princess Leia for one of my favorite examples of this being done properly), but in this particular instance it feels more like the girl being turned into a plot device and stuck with whatever guy the writers decide doesn’t have enough payoff in the story otherwise. It’s fully possible that, written right, Lance and Allura could have ended up together quite plausibly. But the way it has actually been done—extremely arbitrarily with little development of their relationship or healthy growth of either character—it’s a travesty for both of these wonderful people.

Shiro has been taken from his position as The Leader and The Hero, which he filled far more effectively than Keith (see my Sorting Hat Chats analysis of the characters, as well as below) and been turned into fourth tree from the left (right alongside Coran, Krolia, and Romelle). He’s been given the consolation prize of piloting the ridiculous and totally stupid and unnecessary Atlas, but aside from that he—rather like Allura with her status as Blue Lion pilot—has no other relevance to the story.

Plus (and this is a major bone I have to pick with Monsanto) he was arbitrarily given a magic muscle disease that has never been mentioned or alluded to at any point before S7—and then Word of God revoked its existence in the show’s present time because “he’s technically a clone so he’s magically cured.” Aside from this appalling behind-the-scenes wand-waving being an absolute and total writing mortal sin, it makes absolutely no sense because Keith apparently knew about it and yet made no mention of it for six seasons, even when his friend, who apparently needed magical wristbands to keep him healthy, was in an alien prison for a year with no treatment. Shiro should be a total decrepit wreck in 1x01 after going that long without proper treatment. Yet he’s not only fine, he’s able to engage in hand-to-hand combat with five enemies less than two days after escaping (see the 1x01 fight in the cruiser hangar). This is deus ex machina at its absolute and total worst.

And… okay, I’m going to really rant for a bit. Buckle up, buttercups, it’s about to get messy.

So down to brass tacks: Shiro and Adam’s relationship. I don't care if you want to view it as romantic or platonic. Any way you slice it, portraying this relationship as loving, affectionate, and admirable in canon or fandom is an insult to anyone who has loved ones willingly going into danger or away from home for long periods of time—astronauts, military members, law enforcement, firefighters, pilots, sailors, students studying abroad, missionaries and social workers in foreign countries, heck, let's throw in a good chunk of scientists for good measure, as well as the canon characters Colleen and Katie Holt, the McClain and Garrett families, and Mr. Kogane. And that's just the first ones that come to my mind. There are many, many others.

Let’s take a look first at exactly what was involved in the infamous “don’t count on me being here” scene. Shiro has some weird disease that means his health is going to decline in a few more years (see the bone picking above). Despite protests from higher-ups (which, this being a military organization, an admiral saying that a lieutenant cannot/should not participate in a mission should have utterly slammed the door on even the possibility of Shiro going), Shiro has decided to go on the Kerberos mission. Back in 1x05 Sam Holt referred to being in space for “the next two months”. Because Pidge, normally a very accurate scientist, said “it takes months for our ships to get out here” in 1x01 when passing Kerberos, I’m going to give Sam the benefit of the doubt and assume the “two months” is referring to the trip to Kerberos only. So, two months there, two months back, probably no more than two weeks exploring (this is to a degree a token voyage, after all; presumably after its success more rigorous explorations would be conducted). So I’ll give it a generous total time of five months, at most. Five months. Foreign exchange students are gone from home longer than that. And, considering the amount of contact modern astronauts are able to have with people back on Earth, I highly doubt the Kerberos guys were radio silent during their trip. And despite his apparent muscle problem there are no health ramifications for Shiro going on the mission (as in, going won’t make his condition worse). So we’re looking at five months of long-distance relationship, essentially. This is way, way better than many people with loved ones in, say, the military get.

Now, "Don't count on me being here when you get back"—this is emotional manipulation, plain and simple, using threats to the relationship as leverage to get what the speaker wants out of the other person. It is almost identical to saying "if you do X I'll never speak to you again" or "if you do X I'll break up with you", a common verbal threat tactic in abusive relationships. I have a good friend who was in a relationship like this, and the ugliness of that breakup has ramifications even years later, both socially and in my friend's mental well-being. I also knew other people in (non-romantic) friendships with somebody who used similar types of phrases and manipulation to get them to do what she wanted. The strain ultimately tore apart the friend group. These sorts of phrases and tactics are red flags of the highest degree and indicate a relationship that is in no way, shape, or form healthy.

So. Adam doesn't want Shiro to leave for the five-month trip, ostensibly for Shiro's health. But we have no indication that the Kerberos Mission poses any sort of risk to Shiro's health, preexisting medical conditions included. Which means what's really at stake here is Adam just doesn't want Shiro to go and is using any possible reason or tactic, no matter how flimsy or manipulative, to push that goal. This is horribly self-centered and appears to be based entirely in a selfish desire to have Shiro around as much as possible for as long as possible without any consideration for Shiro's desires and dreams (it's made pretty clear that the Garrison, space exploration, and the Kerberos Mission have been Shiro’s dream and goal for years if not his whole life). To even consider this as anything less than selfish possessiveness is dangerous and downright insulting to Shiro, as well as to every single person who has loved ones gone for long periods of time and/or in dangerous circumstances.

Net result: no matter how you read Shiro and Adam's relationship, we should all be glad that Shiro GOT OUT.

(And relationship drama is possibly one of the oldest, cheapest methods for easy plot tension out there. It requires little to no effort on the part of the writer and can create lots of drama without anybody getting developed, just lots of “but you said you loved me!” type stuff ad nauseam. The families of the other paladins have gotten developed, or at the very least been given cameos; why not, instead of using a cheap relationship trick to give fourth-tree-from-the-left Shiro any sort of interest in S7 at all, give us some background info on him? All we know about him is that he worked for the Garrison. We know nothing about his parents, if he has any siblings… we could have gotten so much more, and yet the writers stuck us with this idiotic hogwash.)

Okay, mini-mega-rant over. Moving on…

Keith’s been strongarmed into a leadership role for which he is painfully not suited. To make this square-peg-in-round-hole setup work the writers have copy-pasted a good chunk of Shiro’s personality on top of the erstwhile lone wolf, turning Keith into a schizophrenic who oscillates wildly between inspiring noble leader and the shy, blunt, anger-prone guy we all came to love in the first two seasons. (That is not to say Keith is incapable of being a good leader; see aforementioned Sorting Hat Chats analysis. But this is not the way to get Keith to be a good leader.) To prevent this poor jerry-rigged human from being completely outshone, Shiro has, as I said before, been stripped of almost all personality and pushed as far back into the scenery as possible without disappearing entirely (and Monsanto has outright said they think he’s dumb and boring and wanted to get rid of him. But they were afraid of fan backlash when, for some weird reason, the fans actually liked him. So they didn’t kill him off and opted instead to be their usual spineless chicken selves and not pick a plotline, nominally keeping him around while making Shiro pretty much useless).

Lance is being made to operate as “Voltron’s right hand,” which runs counter to the lore established in S1 and 2 and, thanks to Keith’s writer-induced schizophrenia, means he’s actually leading Voltron by proxy because Keith has latched onto him as the strategist and moral compass (when Keith’s “Shiro personality” isn’t coming out). This has locked Lance into a particular role, when he actually operates best shifting to fit whatever role the situation calls for (again, see the Sorting Hat Chats analysis for more on this). The poor guy is really starting to come across as dragged over the coals and put on the rack; he’s take an awful beating at the hands of the writers and is worn down and damaged with no sign of relief. He seems to be getting Allura as a consolation prize, but as I said before this is a disservice to both of these characters and really just throws Lance’s suffering in his face.

Hunk and Pidge have largely been left by the wayside. Hunk was barely a step up from joining the line of trees in the first place, as the balmera arc was the only place he really shone (he’s had a few bits in episodes here and there, maybe—maybe—once a season, but more as a “look, we haven’t forgotten he exists!” thing than any sort of real character development). And Pidge, once she completed her “find my family” arc, faded into the background right along with Hunk. She tends to be a smidge more prominent than he does, if only because she’s the computer geek—and because she’s the team’s other girl, since Monsanto is all over that doggone “representation” bandwagon—but she’s largely served her purpose and now is simply the tech whiz plot device.

And… oh, good Lord. Don’t even get me started on the rest of the cast. Coran has never gotten a huge amount of development, but to be fair he’s always kind of been a goofy Alfred so it makes sense that we wouldn’t peel back his layers too much. He’s nominally interesting but largely there to help the other characters do their thing. But all the Holts have pretty much just been pawns in Pidge’s arc—we’ve seen so little of Matt Holt as to have no real idea of his personality at all (most of what we “know” is actually fandom-developed), and although Sam proved useful for the “return to Earth” bit he’s only gotten a little more development than his son. Krolia too was pretty much just a plot device for Keith’s arc and finding the Altean colony; since then she’s just disappeared into the scenery to become second tree from the left. Romelle has earned true MacGuffin status, as the literal only thing she has done for the story is reveal Lotor’s treachery (despite the fact that she, along with Krolia, is a powerpack of a character and could probably take down the empire single-handed if given the opportunity).

Plus the villains have been shortchanged along with everyone else. Part of the reason, I think, so many people loved Lotor as a bad guy was because he actually had a pretty good motive and a well-developed personality. He was a whole person. Zarkon kinda was, a bit, since he was obsessed with the Black Lion and that at least gave him some sort of drive. But Haggar? Who, by the way, we haven’t seen since S6? Sendak? Pshh, please. Why on earth would Monsanto bother to give the bad guys motivation and personality? That would distract from Keith’s leadership arc, and Allurance! And—and space wolf! And explosions! And look, Voltron has a new power, so don’t look at the man behind the curtain through the plot holes you could drag a planet through!

I am so done with all this nonsense. So I’m going to go fix everything with fanfiction. Bye.

P.S. “Monsanto” is my admittedly derogatory version of “Monsantos”, the contraction I’ve often seen used to refer to Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim Dos Santos, the executive producers and master-not-minds of VLD.

[cartellashca]

How to Navigate through Global Shortages as a Lash Tech

The global shortage we are all experiencing right now is very problematic most especially for lash techs and lash lovers. Because we all have certain lash products, tools, and accessories we use. Some of them even come from other countries like South Korea which are experiencing reduced production. 

But with the shortage, it is a bit harder to order from other countries. But don’t worry, I collected 4 tips to help you maneuver around these global shortages that all of us are experiencing right now.

Why are shortages happening 

Because of Covid-19, there is a global shortage for almost everything. Such as the lash supplies and tools you use in your lash extension applications. Why? Because many factories and manufacturers of many lash supplies are located in places like South Korea, Taiwan, Germany, and other countries which were hit hard by Covid-19. These factories are shut down and/or reduce their production because their employees are getting sick and to keep up with the World Health Organization’s requirements.

As a result, many shipping companies cut their schedules to anticipate the decrease in the production of these factories. This proved to be a mistake that affected the lash industry and spa services greatly. The demands for these products and lash supplies didn’t decrease. But the supply is low. The result, a shortage.

In addition, with the floods and Highway 1 closures in BC, the supply chain has been further disrupted.

Prioritize orders

As a lash tech, you need to learn how to prioritize the products you need or are about to finish. It is good practice to re-order products when you are halfway through them, especially if they are essential in doing lashes, such as lash adhesive. 

Timing is key. When you are ordering from other countries, they will estimate how long it will take for your order to arrive, but keep in mind that delivery estimates are not guaranteed. Consider ordering locally, from places like Cartel Lash, located in British Columbia. Ordering from local businesses ensures that delivery times aren’t as long because of the proximity to you, also many businesses offer curbside pickup. 

As a business owner, learning how to prioritize is also a great business strategy especially in these trying times.

Stay on top of inventory

Always be on top of your inventory. Track all the products, tools, and accessories. List down all the products you always use and are important for you to provide the best services. For example, lash adhesives, cleansers, sealants, primers, eyeliners, eyelash extension removers, tweezers, etc. 

Make sure you are not running out of these products and supplies or your operation will be affected. List down all the products you order from other countries versus the ones you can order in your location. For all the products made from other countries, you might need to order them ahead so they will arrive on time. Take into consideration the shipping time and how long it takes to arrive at your doorstep.

Keep track of expiry dates

All lash supplies have specific expiration dates and shelf life. This will depend on the product and manufacturers. For example, lash adhesives. Lash glues contain cyanoacrylate, which is the bonding agent found in all adhesives, this ingredient breaks down over time. The longer they are in storage, in a not-so-ideal environment, the cyanoacrylate will break down faster than anticipated. Meaning, your lash adhesive will lose its efficiency and will not perform well.

My advice, before you put your lash supplies in storage take note of when they arrived and their expiration dates. Arrange them per expiration date, where the products that will expire sooner are at the front. This way, you can easily monitor and keep track of all the expiration dates of the products in your storage and also know which ones are running out.

Set realistic expectations for clients

When your clients order a product from you, it is best to set realistic expectations. For example, if a client is looking for a specific brand of lash cleanser for sensitive skin and you are almost out. You have to let your client know that you are almost out of this product and you will need to order more. Don’t tell them it will arrive the next week if you are not sure it will arrive then. Be realistic. It will be more of a hassle for you and your client if the product they ordered experiences shipping delays. 

A good rule of thumb is to add a week or 10 days to the estimated delivery date. This way, even if the products arrive a few days later, your client will not be upset. And if they arrive earlier, your client will be pleased.

The global shortages are felt all over the world and in all industries. All we can do is adapt, work through it and move forward. The businesses that make adjustments and are realistic with their limits, will not perish and can still prosper even in these trying times.

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Cartel Lash 

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104-3787 Canada Way, Burnaby, BC V5G 1G5, Canada

  source

https://cartellash.ca/blogs/news/how-to-navigate-through-global-shortages-as-a-lash-tech

[jewelgrow]

How to sell homes fast Oceanside?

Selling a home is a complicated process that demands considerable preparation. If you follow some of the guidelines you will be able to sell homes fast Oceanside. Below are some of the guidelines that will help you to ease down the procedure of selling your home:

Choose your real estate broker cleverly

You must find a broker you will be comfortable with and be able to cater to your requirements. A reputed broker will be able to handle lots of properties at one time. Speak to your friends, co-workers, and family if they can recommend some broker. Make sure you interview them before making the choice. Whenever you choose, ensure they have proper knowledge about the market of your area and have a valid license.

Set a practical price

The price that is too high will not attract buyers and will keep the property on the market for longer than required. Hence, it is essential for you to set a competitive and realistic price. Make sure you compare your home with the others in the area which are for sale or have recently been sold. Take into account the factors which can impact the value of the property like-kind of building material, year of construction, condition of the building, etc. If you are planning to sell your home yourself, call an evaluator, an expert who determines the right price. Setting the right price helps to sell homes fast Oceanside.

Market your property efficiently

Placing your home in the market needs efficiency and organization. You can take the benefit of different media available like newspapers, magazines, newspapers, websites, classified ads, social media, etc. Upload as many pictures as possible to display your home at its best and from every angle. If you hire an agent, he or she will take care of these things.

Properly clean from top to bottom

You need to give your property a proper cleaning before opening the doors to buyers. Make sure you clean the windows, carpets, ceilings, walls, sinks, and other such things of your home. You need to make your home dirt, dust, and odor-free. Make sure the first impression makes a lot of difference when it comes to selling homes Fast Oceanside.

These are some of the things you can do to sell homes fast Oceanside. Apart from these, there are many more things that you can do to sell your home fast. But, it is always a good idea to seek the assistance of a good real estate agent.

Aquity Real Estate, is the San Diego based real estate boutique. The company asissts in creating value in their real estate investments with calculated and customized strategies. 

[biopsychs]

What I Learned From University (1st Year)

FIRST YEAR

Everyone is super friendly, especially in the first few weeks → Introduce yourself to the people sitting near you for the first few weeks of lectures. Everyone is looking for a friend or at least someone to talk to!!

If you commute, make that time productive → My bus ride was an hour there and back each day. It sucks but I would try to be productive for at least half of the commute. I have a post about being productive on public transport here.

On that note, stay on campus as long as possible each day → As soon as I got back home I would procrastinate every little thing. Stay in an already productive environment for as long as possible.

Maybe don’t buy your textbooks used → I thought I was being smart by buying used textbooks (most schools will have a buy and sell facebook page for textbooks). I ended up having to pay for access codes in order to do my online homework – access codes that cost ~$70 separately and came included with new textbooks anyways. Email your prof or talk to someone who has recently taken the class to find out if you need an access code. If you do, your best bet is to buy a new version of the textbook (unless you can get a seriously cheap used textbook).

Print off your timetable and find all of your classes before the first day → This helped me so much! I found exactly where all my classes were before the first day of class. I wrote down little tricks to help me remember where everything was (i.e. my calc lecture is in the arts and science building which is also where the only subway on campus is).

Don’t knock living at home to save money → If you’re lucky enough to have a college or university close to home at least consider living at home. Getting your own place or living in dorms is expensive. (But if you have to find off campus housing on your own, don’t leave it too late or you might not find a place)

Figure out the best way to take notes for each class → You have to customize the way you study for each class, all depending on the prof and the content. I hand-wrote notes for some classes (chem, calc, and physics), but not others (psych and bio). If you’re writing by hand you can always just annotate your textbook notes or lecture slides (if they’re posted before class). If you fall behind while taking notes, just leave a gap and check out a friend’s notes after class.

Adjust your expectations → Don’t expect to get straight A’s, like you might have in high school. You can strive for straight A’s but be realistic as time goes on. For classes I struggled with, I expected to be near the class average. If I was a lot lower than the class average then I would know to invest more time.

Make time for physical activity → If we’re being honest I hardly exercised during uni. Go for at least a half hour walk each day and try to start a physical activity routine. Get a friend and join a sports team, go to a fitness class, or commit to some form of a daily workout with them! You’ll feel bad bailing on someone else, plus working out is more fun with other people.

Review content throughout the semester → Reviewing little bits of content will save you a massive content review right before finals! Look through old notes while you wait for your daily coffee or take 15 minutes to watch some khan academy videos on stuff you learned in the first month of classes.

Think seriously about how much you can handle → Don’t take on too many responsibilities at once and consider all of your options! I worked weekends and some week nights throughout the school year. Looking back I should have worked less because my stress levels were way too high. Also, quite a few people I talked to took 4 classes instead of 5, for their first semester of university. I don’t think I would have done it, in the end, but it’s always something to consider.

Have fun but be responsible at parties → Always go to parties with people you trust!! If you didn’t do much partying/drinking during high school (like me), remember to pace yourself when drinking! Eat before you go out and have some water between each drink, till you find your limit. Don’t let yourself be peer-pressured into anything but also don’t be afraid to have fun! And check out if your uni has a safe walk program (someone will come and walk you back to your dorm or your car if you feel unsafe or nervous for any reason)

When procrastination hits, aim to be productive in some way → The only reason my biology mark was so high was because I would study biology whenever I got sick of studying for physics and calculus. If you know you need to study but just can’t do it, start by being productive in some other way – study a subject you do like, do your laundry, organize your study area, etc. Get your brain to start thinking productively.

Labs are difficult so be prepared → I had so many labs first year. Some tips: eat and hydrate before labs, never assume you can finish your prelab last minute, be nice to your lab partner, always remember lab safety (don’t be the person trying to wear shorts in the lab, TAs will not hesitate to kick you out), don’t rush through an experiment but be efficient, and ask for help (even if you feel like you’re bothering your TA).

Please go to bed early. Sleep affects everything → I was so dumb and would never go to bed early even though I had to be up at 6 am almost every day to catch the bus. Lack of sleep will catch up to you eventually!! Also, all nighters are not necessary, unless you make them necessary. I prioritized and never had to stay awake too late. And never pull an all nighter the night before an exam (you’re better off getting sleep and resting your brain).

Bring a water bottle everywhere → Buy a decent water bottle and always carry it with you. Even though my uni is small there are still tons of spots around campus where I can refill my water bottle!! Stay hydrated my friends!

A practice problem a day keeps the F away → This saying probably works best for science classes, but I guess a reading a day will get you somewhere too. Do something for every class each day, even if it’s just a practice problem or a quick reading. Develop a routine!

You’ll have lots of midterms → I was under the impression that midterms happened just once a semester (I thought I would have one week where I had a midterm for each class). That was not my reality. I had 2 or 3 midterms for each of my classes scattered throughout the semester. Study really hard for your first set of midterms till you get used to the high expectations!

Don’t worry about what other people are doing or thinking → This is mostly in regards to social media. I was bummed when I looked back on my first year of university, because I felt like I hadn’t done anything fun compared to other people. You only see the image that other people want you to see. You don’t know how hard someone worked or how hard they didn’t work. Just focus on you and how you can affect positive results in your life.

Other people literally don’t care about your appearance → My friend’s little sister visited campus and asked us “Why is everyone wearing sweatpants?” People literally don’t care. Dress nice and put lots of makeup on one day, because you feel like it, and wear sweats the next day.

Start essays and reports as soon as possible → You never know what might come up so be prepared for the worst! Outline your essay or graph your data as soon as you can.

Eat healthy and do meal prep → You can eat healthy during university! Set aside a couple of nights each week to do meal prep. Cook food in bulk to save money and don’t eat out too much. Try to have at least 1 serving of fruits or veggies with each meal or snack you eat!

Find a good study spot on campus → Explore your campus and figure out your favourite places to study. I had a couple of spots where I would always meet my friends to study and quiet spots where no one would bother me. Studying outside or in an area with natural light is always good.

Don’t be afraid to talk to your profs and TAs → This is the number one thing I’m going to try to do more of in my second year. TAs are chill to talk to and they can tell you tons of useful information on what upper year classes are like, which professors are good, why they chose to go to grad school, etc. If you’re struggling in lectures or labs, talk to your prof or TA! Make an appointment and be sure you can tell them exactly which concepts you’re struggling with or at least where you got lost. One of my profs told us he just waits hopefully during office hours for someone to come in. (Also profs love it if you ask them about their research or any topics they seem passionate about during lectures.)

Explore all the resources your university has to offer → My university has a program that is basically people bringing their dogs around for students to pet, in order to relieve stress. It actually works and gave me something to look forward to! Just be aware of your options so that if something in your life changes you know where you can go to ask for help.

Get a planner and utilize it → There’s no excuse not to have a planner of some sort. Use your phone, get a bullet journal, or buy a cheap planner. Have somewhere where you can record important deadlines and make to do lists. I also recommend back planning all of your studying at the beginning of the semester. Write down your midterms and finals dates and write down how much you’re going to study each day leading up to the exam. This way you’ll be able to look ahead at each month and figure out what needs to be done (i.e. getting an essay done early because the due date falls during a busy week of midterms)

This post ended up being a lot longer than I expected whoops. Take the things I said into consideration but remember that everyone’s experience will be different. Good luck to everyone heading to university!

My Other Posts:

AP lit tips

high school biology

organization tips

physics doesn’t have to suck: how to enjoy and do well in your required physics classes

recommended reads

reminders for myself

using your time wisely on public transport

what i learned from high school