#but there's plenty of tools to research that out there already

[carionto]

What comes down, must go up

For the vast majority of tools, specialization is the way to go. From the smallest cooking utensils to intergalactic habitation stations, when it is designed from the core out with a specific purpose in mind, it will perform exceptionally well if you stick with the plan.

Most of Humanity does not appear to agree. Now, they certainly do have and use plenty of highly advanced tools that can only function in one way (their dinosaur research space station that recently oriented itself around a Deathworld being a prime example), but a surprising number of seemingly precision tools are used in a myriad of unconventional ways.

Like, we've seen a fork used as a makeshift holder for yarn spinning, as a fishing tool after some minor modifications (bending and tying to some string), as well as in a performance after adding these things they call googly eyes. Or the infinitely complex subatomic splitter whose sole purpose is to reduce an atom from one element to a smaller one in a non-explosive way - it uses concentrated light emitters to achieve this. One Human configured it into a tattoo device.

In fact, we suspect Humans deliberately attempt to find as many uses for a single tool as possible, even when, and sometimes because (out of spite, perhaps?), another tool that does that thing already exists.

Their spacecraft are no exception. Those behemoths might even be the focus of maximizing adaptability for as many scenarios as they can possibly think of.

For starters - ALL of them are rated for atmosphere entry and capable of FOUR TIMES Earth standard gravity lift off. Including their largest planned vessels yet - the Colony Ships. The SMALLEST design will be TWENTY EIGHT KILOMETERS LONG and average height/width of SIX KILOMETERS. And they themselves don't even know how big their biggest will be, they just said:

"Eh, whatever will feel right at the time."

As for why everything HAS to be able to land AND take off even though it literally at least triples the mass of each ship, necessitating what we view as a massive waste of resources:

"If the planet turns out to be kinda... meh, the colonists will be able to pack up and try again with the same ship. C'mon, gotta think ahead with these things."

Not only that, but we also learned most are able to SUBMERGE AND WITHSTAND A KPA OF 142'000! The military grade ones are even tougher than that! They could dip inside gas giants and not be torn apart!

Wait...

[scanning Jupiter]

Please no...

[confirmation beep]

OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE! THEY'RE HIDING INSIDE A STORM!

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

I remember you doing something similar for other Genshin girls, but what are your headcannons for sleeping with Ayaka, Beidou, Dehya, Candace and Mona.

Not nsfw but fluff.

(Genshin Impact) Sleeping with Ayaka, Beidou, Dehya, Candace, and Mona

And just like the last post of this HC a year ago, I am dead tired writing this. We are just destined to repeat the same things, aren't we?

Ayaka fully relaxes into S/O's embrace as her head sinks into the pillow.

She absolutely wants to be the little spoon, and her heart will both melt and beat rapidly as their arms wrap around her waist.

(Ayaka) "Good night, my love."

Ayaka can't help but let out a small giggle as she makes herself comfortable.

She would have to wake up early and go back to attending her duties.

But for now? Ayaka can simply enjoy falling asleep next to S/O, the only worry in her mind of whether she would make them sleep at an awkward angle.

The futons in Inazuma are very low to the ground, and Ayaka's is no exception. However, it is a bit larger and elegantly quilted than a standard futon, giving the two plenty of space to stretch their arms in.

Not that the space is needed, given how closely they cuddle together.

(Beidou) "Finally, time to get some shut-eye. Come on, S/O! We have plenty of room for two!"

That's a lie.

The Captain's bed could only really fit Beidou, but that wouldn't stop her.

Beidou takes off her eyepatch and lets it rest on a nearby table, letting S/O rest their head on her rather large chest.

Her strong arms lock S/O into place as the ship rocks back and forth, almost cradling them to sleep.

The bed itself is comfortable enough if a bit stiff, though it is quite small for two people sharing it at once.

Beidou could rest easy, knowing that her lover was safe in her ars.

Beidou also has a tendency to snore.

(Dehya) "Oh man, I can't wait to sleep, it's been a long day...!"

Dehya stretches her arms before plopping onto the bed, scooting to the side for S/O to lay down next to her.

Depending on her mood, Dehya will hold S/O, make S/O hold her, or simply just remain close to them.

But most of all it depends on the bed. If it's a sleeping bag, she'll typically just lay close to them, but if they're inside an inn, then some sort of physical affection will take place.

She chuckes, seeing the relaxed expression on her S/O's face before closing her eyes.

The bed is quite warm thanks to Dehya's vision, making the cold nights of the desert seem negligible.

Her hair also will poke into S/O's face given how long it is.

(Candace) "Good night, S/O, rest well."

Candace will typically stay up a bit longer than S/O since she needs to keep watch.

She eventually joins them well into the night, trying to be as quiet as she can to not wake them up.

One hand gently caresses their cheek, smiling to herself knowing that her vigilance will keep them and everyone else safe.

Finally, Candace closes her eyes, arms instinctually wrapping around S/O to protect them in their dreams.

Her bed is stiff, yet inviting at the same time. Candace has no desire for anything beyond what she needs to rest, so at times it can be quite cold and rigid to sleep on.

But the moment she arrives to rest with them, both problems go away quickly.

(Mona) "Is it that time already? sigh "I need to finish writing this first, then I'll join you."

Mona usually sleeps in late due to her research or writing blocks.

However, she does truly appreciate the times she can rest with S/O by her side.

Not that she ever mentions that part to them.

With a very deep sigh, she immediately flops onto the bed, forcing S/O to hold her without uttering a word.

Her green eyes immediately shut as she falls asleep almost instantly.

Mona's bed is quite cold due to how often she isn't inside it. It sometimes also contains random books or astrology tools laying on top of their blankets, which S/O keeps finding everytime they lay down and think its clear.

It's honestly very normal with nothing noteworthy about its quality, but due to how cluttered it normally is and how much Mona works, it's the comfiest place in all of Tevyat.

[2024-grimoire-challenge]

January Week 2

Keep in mind, this challenge is going to more or less piggy back off of my 2019 challenge and go deeper into the subjects presented there, with some alterations and additions of course.

Some grimoires focus on one entire topic for a whole page. Say, an entire page dedicated to a single herb. Some dedicate it to a broader topic and fill in the page with info pertaining to the topic. Say, protection magic and everything that, in that witch's practice, has to do with protection magic.

And you know what? Both are fine. It is a matter of how you want your grimoire to look, work and feel, for you and your practice. So as the challenge goes on and my prompts say "make a page" that doesn't necessarily mean a whole new page just for that topic. It could mean to fill in more of a page you've already started. It is your grimoire. Make it your way.

Monday - Magic

Journal/ Research/ Introspection (New Page) - What is magic? How does it work? Historically, theologically, spiritually, so on and so forth. What is magic and how does one utilize it? What methodology do you perscribe to? Where does magic come from? How do you sense it? Can you sense it? Look deep, not surface level. Look into the hows and the whys. Make a page dedicated to this information, so that you can refer back to it if need be in the future.

Practical (New Page) - Let's perform a protection spell on our book, on our supplies and on our work space. You can find a spell online in a book or make one up yourself to use! Any of these options is fine. I recommend utilizing your lab notebook for this task. Write out the spell, all of its aspects, steps, ingredients, tools and so on. Record the information in your lab notebook, that way you can change and rework the spell as need be in the future. Plus, this will allow you to create a page specifically for this spell!

Tuesday - Witch

Journal/ Research - This is a personal subject for all of us, though the community has a large sway in our opinions on this. Ask five witches what a witch is, and you'll get five different answers. But we're not worried about four of those answers right now. We're worried about one. Our own. What is a witch? What makes one a witch? What does a witch do and not do? Define all of this for yourself, answer those questions.

Divination - Lets perform a divination for ourselves. What does the year ahead hold? No matter what method you use, tarot, runes, etc, perform a small divination for yourself or even for someone else, looking at the year ahead of us.

Wednesday - Personal Practice

Research/ Introspection/ Journal -Again, we're going to do a deep look into ourselves and our beliefs for this prompt. How do you perceive the world? Life, death? The energies in the world around you? How do you connect to and experience these things? What are the elements of life and the world?

Study (New Page) - Pick one of those herbs from the list we made and look into its properties. Where does it come from> How does it grow? Historically, what were its uses? Practical and mundane uses and properties, what are they? Is it used medicinally or are there culinary uses? What are the myths, legends and stories about the herb? Now, once you've looked into all of that, how does that information play into its magical uses and properties? All of this is about they WHY behind the info we find in generalized searches.

Thursday - Personal Information

Journal/ Introspection - Why are you a witch? What drew you to this path and walk of life? What are the aspects fo your practice? Is it the elements? Deities? Other powers? Flesh out your beliefs.

Astrology - Not every witch holds stock in astrology, so if you don't you don't have to add this bit to the challenge. But if you're interested, look up your natal chart. There are plenty of free websites to do so, and it is always interesting to find out. If you feel so inclined, add a page to your Grimoire about your natal chart, as the info can be helpful in later introspection and journaling.

Study (New Page) - Pick a gem from that list and look up its properties. Where does it come from? How is it formed? What are its chemical properties? What are its mundane and practical uses? What are the myths and legends, stories surrounding it? What has it been used for historically? How does all of that information play into its magical properties and uses? Make a page specifically dedicated to that gem!

Friday - Making it yours

Journal/ Introspection - How is your practice your practice? What do YOU bring to your witchcraft? What traditions and beliefs from outside your practice have influenced bits and pieces of your practice? As much as we hate to admit it, syncretism is a thing.

(Side note- if you’re not into crystals and herbs, feel free to replace those study days with whatever subject you feel like! No matter what it is, as long as it’s something going in your grimoire. Some examples would be tarot spreads, runes, languages, a specific “type” of magic!)

I know this is going to be a big project and if it would help everyone, creatively, I'll be more than happy to share a video showing some of my grimoire page design process.

Thank you all

Good luck and happy crafting witches!

-Mod Hazel

[songoftrillium]

Meet The (Updated) Writing Team

Hello Kinfolks! These last two months have been quiet for y'all in terms of updates, but BUSY in terms of the work being done by the sept of contributors to this project!

At the start of October I put out the call for help, saying that this project cannot succeed without the help and support of the Werewolf fandom. I'm happy to report that you as a fandom have responded phenomenally, and production on this series is now underway! These last few months have been dedicated to recruiting team members, and researching our book framework. We've about filled in the main core of the team, and have already gotten started writing Book 1: Cliath!

October through November has been dedicated entirely to research, both putting together a collection of citations we'll be using in this first book, and passing out initial writing assignments. This list is sure to grow in time, but for now we have plenty of work to do!

With that all said, I'd like to introduce you to the team that are showcasing the Gaians.

Amy Waller (she/her)

Bluesky

Ms. Waller is a freelance writer and massage therapist based in not-quite Northern Virginia, and is a contributor to D.W.A.R.V.S. . Werewolf the Apocalypse was her first RPG, and she loves the themes of shapechanging as self-actualization and of trying to balance instinct and wisdom.

Amy has joined the team to depict the journals of Cryptobiologist Esme "Leaping Ghost".

Bek Andrew Evans (He/They)

Linktree

Mx. Evans is a freelance writer and illustrator from Jackson, Mississippi. He explores themes of mental illness, disability, abuse, poverty, queer themes and the intersection of these statuses. He uses body and psychological horror, meticulous attention to medical details, and deep character dives as some of his favorite methods to achieve those goals.

Bek has been indispensible in book research, and will be taking his experience with M20 Sorcerer and writing for the Hearthbound, and fictitious news article citations.

Evie Emerson Smith (She/It)

Tumblr

Evie is a programmer and designer of video games living with her pack in Pittsburgh, PA. She uses primarily anthropomorphic characters to tell stories about identity, queerness, and the power of community.

She has joined the team as a technical writer, and contributor to the opening comic: Cracking The Bone

Excelgarou (She/Her)

Carrd

She's been described as a Werewolf: The Apocalypse academic, and wears this title proudly. She labors at all hours on resources for Werewolf fans - particularly as regards aggregating otherwise obscure information - such as the Build-a-Veteran tool or (especially) the Werewolf Index Project.

Excelgarou is our lead researcher, ensuring our book citations and narrative voices remain consistent through all editions. She has also been conscripted to write the introductory passage on the World of Darkness, and to redraft the Children of Gaia.

James E. Deeley (He/Him)

Linktree

Jim has been playing, running, and writing for tabletop roleplaying games since he was first introduced to them over twenty years ago. Jim has presented on the subject of writing for games since 2010, and has been contracted to write mechanics and to do character design by the likes of High Level Games, Lostlorn Games, and Renegade Game Studios, but is equally skilled at writing lore and narrative, skills honed over two decades of running roleplaying games and medieval studies, lending a deep historical context to his writings.

Jim will write the Western Concordat, showcasing the Silver Fangs, Fianna, Get of Fenris, and Glass Walkers.

J.F. Sambrano (They/He)

Patreon

J. F. Sambrano is an author of horror and (urban/dark/depressing?) fantasy and an advocate for indigenous rights. He lives in Washington (the state) and is originally from Los Angeles (the city); the differences are staggering but the ocean and the I-5 are the same. He is Chiricahua Apache (Ndeh) and Cora Indian (Náayarite). He may or may not be a believer/practitioner of real world magic. If he were, he would not be interested in your hippy-dippy, crystal swinging, dream-catcher slinging garbage.But magic is real, let’s not fuck around.

Beloved Indigenous World of Darkness author J.F. Sambrano is joining our team to depict the Bastet in the Dawn Tribes! A friend and frequent topic of discussion on this blog, we are honored to have him on the team to bring the Werewolf: the Apocalypse he's long-felt the world deserves to life!

LeeKat (She/Her)

Linktree

Lee is a freelance artist, writer, and English teacher based in Brazil. The bulk of her content is furry, homoerotic, and TTRPG-centric works. Her writing focuses on exploring the depths of emotion with tales of self-discovery, queerness, and finding hope in a desolate world.

A huge lover of Werewolf, themes of generational trauma and rediscovering oneself in a world of turmoil resonated deeply, as well as themes of spirituality and ancestry. Writing for this project, she hopes to bring others the same catharsis she felt through exploring the books and their many themes.

Mórag (it/its)

Tumblr

Mòrag is a writer and botanist from Te Wai Pounamu. It writes both botanical articles and horror stories, the former to raise awareness of ecological issues and the latter to explore what it means to be human, represent trans and autistic experiences, and addiction. It's horror writing is best recognized for its use of visceral first-person perspectives, body horror, and the grotesque. It is influenced heavily by works such as the Hellraiser films and the philosophies of Georges Bataille.

It has joined our team to write the story portions of the Song of Trillium, showcasing the legend of Tawatuy.

[slavicafire]

I started doing some research on Slavic wedding and funeral rituals as well as other things, and I noticed that most sources are mainly about Russia? Sometimes they mention traditions coming from more western territories like Poland, but a lot of them seem to be focused on Russia. I began to wonder why. Do you perhaps have any thoughts or information about that?

the first question goes towards you: what sort of sources are you reading? where are you accessing them, and who are the authors? are you researching in multiple slavic languages or just one? some sources are more accessible and easier to obtain, yes, but at the end of the day what you read depends on your skill and patience in research itself, too.

when it comes to russian prevalence in certain sources, the size alone plays a part in it: with how big russia was and is - how it encroached on multiple territories and peoples throughout the centuries, simultaneously sucking up their traditions and snuffing them out, and oftentimes being their only chronicler - and how powerful and prominent it was. we have precious little sources regarding slavic beliefs across the ages - it is much easier for your documents, chronicles, and even oral histories to survive and be studied by new generations, including foreign scholars, when you are the winning party and the conqueror; when you have the resources to preserve them, and the numbers to fuel their study.

it is also important to understand that historical and ethnographic studies have been used since, well maybe not the dawn of time, but close to that, as tools for nation building. with enough money and human resources, and strong enough propaganda foundations, those tools aim to create and/or rewrite the common consciousness of people by the state that rules them with high degree of success - and russia has certainly never shied away from using them. these are nearly inherently political fields - it's building national foundation myths and establishing seemingly innate qualities linking people the state wants to govern, from small things like the songs children are singing in school and what the text boxes at the museums say to steer the explanation of a given exhibition in a certain direction, up to justifying martial conflicts and horrifying ideologies. if nationhood itself is not already a horrifying ideology, that is.

it might seem like a bad faith stretch to attribute the prevalence of russia and russian sources in many slavic-related studies, historical or religious or ethnograpic, simply to its size and power and degree of success of state propaganda, but the more you delve into this subject the more probable it seems. for example, many texts on slavic customs (pre-christian or not) in english, especially older ones, rely quite heavily on rybakov - the champion of anti-normanism and, nowadays, an author understood widely as very eager to build the nation-myth no matter the cost to actual historical accuracy. if "accuracy" is even a term that can be used while discussing history - but that's a whole different subject.

luckily, today we are getting more and more studies, more research, more researchers - and while it might seem naive, I do believe plenty of them are actively acting against pure nation myth-building, and are eager to focus on lands and peoples different than russia. accessing their works is, as I've said, a matter of one's personal skill and patience while looking for texts.

[scrollsfromarebornrealm]

Prompt #16: Third-Rate

-----

If a woman wanted anything done right, she had to do it herself. It was annoying, it was tiring, but it was just the only way sometimes. She'd had it with the failures that were her husband, her children-the grandchild had shown some promise but that had ended up being a disappointment as well. Even the military had fallen below her already-poor expectations of them. They'd provided her with nothing but third-rate test subjects. And when they'd finally found something worth her time and energy, it had escaped. The tool that had been working on her behalf had been killed, and the general who had been 'in charge' of the project had stopped because of a newspaper snooping around.

And then Ameliance Levillier had started getting nosy. Athena had no choice then; she'd had to completely stop cold turkey. Distill years of research into a handful of notes and destroy the rest. Her children had somehow escaped her net, as had the grandchild. Still, there was an opportunity she had to only wait for eyes to turn away from her subject matter. For her husband to shove his head into the sand again.

Never in her wildest dreams had Athena imagined the barbaric wilds of upper Tural would provide her with everything that she needed. Space. Privacy. Aether in such plentiful abundance that she would never run dry.

And proper test subjects.

Including her runaway from all those years past.

The wife of Hephaistos Lahabrea reached out, fingers running along the too-thick stalks of the sunflowers that her carriage had passed by. She could feel the Weave vibrating just beneath her fingers, far too potent for weeds that grew out in the wilds. She'd encountered this magical signature before- and had witnessed the same results back then.

So, this is where they've been hiding. Athena lifted her gaze, letting it settle on the collection of buildings-let's be honest, shacks really! -that had the temerity to call itself a town. Her lips curved into a smile, her eyes gleaming with renewed fervor.

Perhaps she really did need to revise her negative opinions of country life.

[some-pers0n]

Hey guys here's writing of Mastermind and Starflight with Morrowseer there too ig. It's a rewrite of his intro scene. Yayyy. Will I come back to this and make it into an actual proper oneshot? Who even knows at this point. No formatting or anything, I just needed to get writing down before midnight for my daily words

"Ach!" The NightWing across the room hissed. "Make no more movements. I was tasked with solving this *crisis* that we have found ourselves in, and I intend on finding a solution before we are all buried in rubble. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more important things to tend to."

"...father?" Starflight spoke hesitantly.

He winced as he saw the dragon– Mastermind, the royal scientist– pause. He dropped his tools. "I swear to the *moons* if you don't stop pestering me with these strange..." As he craned his neck to face them, his words trailed off.

It was like staring at his own reflection. Starflight always felt out of place when it came to being the only NightWing in the cave, but here on the volcano? Every other dragons looked like him. Scales black as the night and wings made up of the skies above.

By this dragon was different. There was a light in his eyes that Starflight knew too well. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. His own father right before him.

Before he could properly get another word out, Mastermind lurched forward, grabbing him by the snout.

"Wh– what?"

"Hold still! I'm inspecting..." Mastermind murmered beneath his breath. He squinted as he looked over Starflight, jerking his head around and brighting his face up close to see. "Dark green eyes, splash scale pattern along the wing membrane, a rather perfect jawline..."

Without warning, he hugged Starflight. "Moons above! My son has returned!" He wrapped his wings around him, holding him close.

"Wh– what is..." Starflight was distracted by the sudden comfort and gentle embrace he had found himself in. Though, just as quickly as it had arrived, he let it go.

"My son! Morrowseer, I almost thought you to be useless by now, what with your little scheme."

"It's not a scheme, scientist."

"Oh, come now, don't get all formal." He scoffed. "I was led to believe that this little gamble of yours, personally setting up the Dragonets of Destiny and the formation of the Talons of Peace, was a fruitless endeavor. A waste of time and resources that, in all honesty, should have gone to my research either way."

"And what have you done in the past six or so years to make up for it?"

"Oh, plenty! You wouldn't truly appreciate it though. Yes, yes, indeed your mind is more for other, lesser matters." Mastermind's energetic eyes landed back on Starflight. "Which brings us to you! You already inherited so many of my most valuable traits. Although, you are missing my glasses. You also do not quite have the same, well, vibrato in your voice as I do. That's a problem for later. You'll adopt the accent and my very own spectacles soon enough, young newt."

He flinched upon hearing such an awful nickname. "My name is Starflight," he said.

"Starflight! Oh, Starflight!" Mastermind looked him over once more. "Hm, doesn't exactly strike me as a 'Starflight'. I would say you would be better off as a... 'Bigtalons'?" He laughed at his own comment. "I jest! I kid! It's only a rather common and boring name. Me? I fit the title of 'Mastermind' like a glove! You? Well–" He waved his talons– "I suppose I can't be upset at you. Rather, your cavegivers. Guardians, is that what you called them?"

Starflight nodded, slightly overwhelmed by how much this dragon was talking.

"Guardians, bah! What son of mine needs to be guarded? I doubted they were any good."

"They weren't. They were...not very nice." Starflight broke eye contact with him, staring at his talons.

"Oh, so you must have trauma of some kind from how you phrased it."

"H– huh?"

"It's obvious! Such a tone and hesitancy would mean you're inclined not to exactly talk about it. Play it down. It's basic behavioral psychology. You must also have been severely punished and have gone through rigorous and repeated trauma if you had left that cave in a state like this."

"Mastermind, I assure you the Guardians were not entrusted with five dragonets if only to harm them. It was to train them for the outside world. Pyrrhia is a cruel, uncaring reality that we live in."

"I agree with you, yes, but look at him!" Mastermind pointed to Starflight. "Healthy minds do not have a face like that. Clearly, despite growing up in far better conditions, he was subjected to enough mental trauma to become...this." He gestured in the general direction of Starflight. "No offense, of course."

[exchangestudentnova]

𝑩𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝑮𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒊 13 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒔 (𝑩𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉) 𝒑𝒕 2

Part 2 of the blue lock characters in Bleach AU!!

Part 1 is here

[ 8th DIVISION ] RESERVES AND BACKUPS

Role: The mass reinforcement division. When any of the other divisions require extra shinigami or reinforcements, the 8th is the division they turn to first.

Characters: Gurimu Igarashi, Junichi Wanima, Jin Kiyora, Reiji Hiiragi, Hajime Nishioka, Akira Endoji, Haruhiko Yuzu, Tetsu Sokura, Aiki Himizu, Shizuka Haiji, Yukio Ishikari, Kyohei Shiguma

Explanation: These characters currently serve as reserve characters in the neo egoist league.

[ 9th DIVISION ] COUNTER INTELLIGENCE

Role: They prevents information from leaking, as well as information being stolen. They are in charge of dealing with tactics and warfare against intelligent beings and massive hollow gatherings and creating counter tactics when Seireitei is under attack. They also in charge of the Seireitei news magazine.

Characters: Yoichi Isagi, Seishiro Nagi

Explanation: We have already seen how Isagi uses his intelligence to overpower the other players and Nagi wants nothing more than a simple job that does not require hard work. He'll love to work in the publishing department.

[ 10th DIVISION ] LARGE SCALE OPERATIONS

Role: The 10th Division is in charge of planning, coordinating, and executing large missions. They assemble shinigami from other division and send out reinforcements and information regarding the mission.

Characters: Gin Gagamaru, Michael Kaiser

Explanation: Gagamaru's flexibility and Kaiser's stats are both well suited for this division.

[ 11th DIVISION ] OFFENSIVE TACTICS

Role: The 11th Division is the frontlines. They are the most skilled in physical combat and are the most powerful and offer the most defense and offense. When Seireitei is under attack, they are first to deal with the enemy.

Characters: Jingo Raichi, Rensuke Kunigami, Shoei Baro, Ryusei Shido

Explanation: These characters are know for their strength and/or aggressive nature, making them a perfect fit for this division.

[ 12th DIVISION ] RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Role: The 12th Division develops new technology and spiritual tools. Members are tasked with research and collection of data and samples. They are also in charge of storing a mass amount of information known to Seireitei in their database. 

Characters: Anri Teieri, Jinpachi Ego

Explanation: These characters have done plenty research to create the blue lock project.

[ 13th DIVISION ] DEFENCE TACTICS AND SEIREITEI PROTECTION

Role: The 13th Division is the ones that actually send out patrols on a daily, frequent basis to survey Seireitei. If a threat occurs, they find and take care of it. They are the part of defence line of the Seireitei.

Characters: Ikki Niko, Aoshi Tokimitsu, Haru Hayate, Oliver Aiku

Explanation: These characters have good defence and are gentle in nature which will go well with this division's environment.

P.S: Maybe not many people might understand this scenario as you'll need the knowledge of both the anime, but I'll be happy if people could enjoy it^^ I tried to include as many characters as I could but there isn't enough information.

[blindbeta]

Hiii I was thinking of writing a magical cozy mystery (or just cozy mystery) featuring teenaged twins with the main character being blind. Didn't set out to create a premise like that, it kinda just happened, but I actually really like the idea and was wondering what your thoughts on it are

While I haven't checked these books out yet, there are lots of novels out there about blind detectives: https://www.aph.org/the-blind-detective-in-popular-culture/ Belgium has also hired blind police officers since before 2007 for their ability to distinguish & interpret sounds for wiretap info gathering

This sounds like a nice premise. I also feel that having twin detectives works well because the twins will already be well adjusted to anticipating and accommodating each other’s needs what with living together all of their lives.

This will be beneficial even if the character has been blind for a short time. Although from your description, it sounds like the main character has been blind for most of if not their entire life, giving them plenty of time to become inured to navigating the world as a blind person. If they were born blind or went blind as a young child, even better.

While popular fiction tends to favor characters going blind during the story, the longer the character is blind, the more adjusted they will be. A character who was blind for most of their life is going to skip a lot of typical angst and emotional and physical adjusting that frequently dominates narratives with blind characters.

Your character will already know how to live as a blind person. They seem to have experience as a detective at this point as well, even a teenaged one. Having a twin working with them is a bonus.

Also, remember that most blind people have some remaining vision. Your character could also be one of them. I say this not because your character needs vision in order to be a detective, but because they might still have some vision to draw on, such as for colors or light.

Additionally, your blind character could also be used to not relying on vision, whether because they don’t have much usable vision or because they were not expected to rely on residual vision growing up. If you go this route, your character could be used to navigating spaces differently or not be hindered in some ways the more sighted characters are, such as when navigating dark spaces or remembering maps/routes. Or, as you mentioned, relying on other senses such as hearing, increasing their ability to distinguish sounds.

I think this could work well for a cozy mystery even if you don’t add the magical element. Having your characters be teenage detectives also opens the audience to suspending their disbelief more, which will help them in being more open to learning about how your blind character navigates being a detective without ableist assumptions prompting some readers to dismiss it immediately. Unless they have read the other detective novels, of course.

I love the premise. I think as long as you can write a blind character well, the rest will follow. For example, do they use assistive devices and techniques? Do they use a navigation tool like a cane, a guide, or human guide/sighted guide? Do they interact with the blind community?

It seems as if you have read my blog and done research already, so you’re probably off to a good start. Good luck with your writing. I hope this helps.

[synchodai]

just dropping by to say how much i love your jacegan fic 🥺 i want to start writing my own fic but i've tried and every time i lose interest and finish it. i love how you give us such quick updates with barely any typos and a clean structure. what's your secret? do you use any tools like ai to write so fast? thank you!

Oh wow, first of all, thank you for the compliment! Second of all, do not, and I mean DO NOT, for any purpose use chatgpt, character.ai, or any large langauge models for your writing — just don't. It won't help your writing, it won't help you as a writer, and it won't help anyone alse.

To answer the question, I guess I'm a relatively quick writer because I've been writing for years and years now outside of fanfiction, so I have a process and the habit down pat, honed from creative writing workshops and the more rigid process of academic writing. With the process I have, half the entire project is basically done even before I post the first chapter.

My approach to writing is very similar to how most people draw and make visual art. You start with a rough and vague outline and then add the details in later steps. Outlining is a learned skill. For fanfiction, most free-write their work, but if I actually intend to finish anything more than 10k+ words, I need to have a plan and know where I'm heading. I really do recommend at least learning to outline, even if you are an intuitive writer who will end up mostly ignoring it.

Here's a rundown of my "steps" with examples taken from my current fic and a project that's still in the planning stages that I may or may not write:

#1: Outline the whole project

Plot the fic chapter by chapter, centering each chapter around one major event or info reveal. You can be as vague and messy as you want for this step since you're the only one who'll get to see your outline anyway.

#2: Outline the scenes you want per chapter

You don't need to list everything that'll happen at this stage. These are the key scenes that you daydream about while listening to music or taking a walk. You can picture these scenes on vivid 4k.

#3: Write summaries of each scene

I put each chapter into a seperate document with their key scenes already there. Here's the phase where you just start telling yourself the story. Again, this isn't meant to be read and seen by anyone but you. The goal is just to know how the events are connected and will play out. This is also the part where I do most of my research.

For example, under Chapter 4 - Jace Recovers, I wrote:

Jace wakes up in Driftmark/High Tide. Body aching, barely can move. [Research here how long it takes to heal from broken arm and medieval casts.] Sees himself in the mirror for the first time and doesn't recognize himself. Has as existential crisis but because he's Jace, he channels the dread into wanting to keep fighting.

This is very short since it's a scene with no dialogue, just one character, and just one major plot point. Some of my summaries are 10x longer, especially for things like trials, small council scenes, battles, and other big events.

#4: Actually start writing the prose

Because you've done step #3, you won't be staring at a blank document and actually know how everything will play out. Without having to worry about plot consistency or inaccuracies since you've ironed that out in the previous step, you can focus on just making these things sound evocative or beautiful or punchy or comforting or angsty or whatever mood you want to communicate with your prose. The summary that was 55 words ended up being 750+ words after this step, and I breezed through it in one sitting.

#5: Plug the prose into a text-to-speech program

I don't have a beta-reader so this is basically my beta-reading step. There are plenty of free TTS apps out there and any of them will do. The goal here is to catch typos, see which lines sound clunky, repetitive, or disjointed, and make corrections accordingly. I listen to my own writing while doing chores, walking, or any other mundane task, and I find it the most enjoyble part of this process because it fills me with such a sense of accomplishment having that sort of tangibility in hearing my work.

Just to clarify, this is the process that I've tailored for my own personal needs and preferences. Every writer is different — some need to have a mood board or reference images or find summarizing their chapters removes the joy of "discovering" as they write. All those methods are perfectly valid as long as they get you to actually put words other people can read on a page. But you can't discover your own personalized method unless you actually start writing. It will be slow earnings at first, but eventually you will craft it bit by bit through trial and error.

OTHER MISCELLANEOUS REASONS WHY I WRITE SO QUICKLY

My job is not emotionally or physically draining, so I have plenty of energy for creative pursuits. If you go home exhausted, don't force yourself to churn out words. If this starts feeling like a chore and not fun, that's your signal to rest and take a break.

I write primarily on my mobile device. Because of this, I can write during downtimes and my commutes. There are some writers who have to be in front of a desk, but I recommend at least trying it on your phone just to see if it works for you.

If I don't want to write about it, then I don't. Don't ever feel like you have to write about anything if you don't want to. If there's a big battle that happens but you get bored writing action? Just tell the readers it happened in one or two sentences — no need to devote a whole scene or chapter to it if it doesn't excite you. Same with time passing and travel. You don't have to fill the page with paragraphs explaining what the characters did if you just want to get them from point A to B. If it isn't fun to write about, then your readers most likely won't have fun reading it either.

I don't care if it's not the best that I can do. Often, I do think I could have written certain things better and added more. But eh, it's fanfiction. It's a hobby. The fact that it exists and I created something is already an accomplishment and the desire to endlessly finetune gets in the way of that.

I have a community of fellow fanfic writers I can bounce ideas off of. Honestly, I got lucky with this one and just got invited to random server one day. But you can usually find discord servers with fellow fanfic writers linked in your fandom's subreddit.

I don't have twitter, instagram, tiktok, or other social media time sinks that might distract me from my hobby. This one speaks for itself. Tumblr is really the only place you can find me.

Anyway, I think that's pretty much it. I suggest starting small with a one-shot or short story, and then expanding from there. Happy writing, and remember, the goal really is to just have fun and be proud you made something with your own two hands (so absolutely NO AI).

[indietourney]

Hello again, Indie Tourney III!

Phew... it's been a while since y'all heard from me. There's been a lot of new blog followers since the last announcement, and I'm really happy to be drawing excitement for all of our wonderful contestants ^^

As a tiny little celebration, I want to share with y'all sneak peaks as to how the graphic's development is going! I've just resumed development after a long period of figuring out stuff IRL, so I've just now completed landscape sketches for 3 realms so far:

Just Plain Adorable, being a super peaceful region, is forested in all manner of trees and crops. Plenty of natural features for inhabitants to share a cozy night stargazing together. I'm pleasantly surprised by how naturally stunning the huge mountain turned out. Care for a short hike anyone?

The "Flash"backs, an interesting scenario where I envisioned the Adobe Flash-shaped HQ of sorts and went from there. Some regions are reserved for the most prominent of Flash representatives like the farm of Duck Life(rs) and the Learn to Fly penguin's igloo. Consider this region their central hub to promote their legacy via podcasts and merchandise, including their signature Factory Balls!

LevelWare D.I.Y., since their representatives have an emphasis on custom level design, I envisioned them doing a field research project. Desks everywhere to station notes and portable tools, and all sorts of experimental features being tested out, including blocks and features drawn into life using magical crayons.

I'm already feeling excited writing this post, and I'm looking forward to drawing and sharing more of these developments with you all.

Look forward to the 'bloodbath', as one dear watcher phrases it! :D - Zettaflake

[upon-blades-twilight]

I knew from the very beginning that my goal was something nigh unachievable, but I couldn't bear losing another. Not again.

She was my light in the dark. Sweet and caring. Indifferent to what and who I was, even though my father was someone who her people literally worshiped. She was the one that reached out to me within that night of blanketed ivory.

She was the one that treated me like a human; reminded me that I am, in fact, half as such.

She was now ailing towards a dark end. An experimental being as these people greatly favored such twisted things. Secretly, mind you, but the marks laid plain on her body. Like water stains upon a page, they wrinkled and grew weak with time. What was worse was that these stains did not stop. More kept sprinkling upon the pages.

And here I am, once again, powerless.

I could burn the entire city, but it wouldn't stop the degradation that has already taken root.

The only option I could find was through my father's power. It was something unfathomable. Strength was something I had plenty of myself, but through research there was a possibility I could convert my father's strength into a tool. A cure. An elixir of life, maybe. It was a frantic and maddening grab for something so small and nearly impossible.

But I have failed, and I knew there was no future for her. If there is no future for her, then there is no future for me.

I only wished I knew sooner that my twin was alive and well. I was too far into my own plight and wrath by that time. Too late to be nothing more than a danger to him.

He had to do what needed to be done to save others. A contrast to someone like a me. Someone that was willing to lay waste to everything for a single person.

Did I want to fight him? Of course I did, but not to this extent. This was different.

At the very least, I know I can rest comfortably with the fact that I have awakened your gift of demonic powers. You'll be able to better protect yourself this way.

This is my will; my actions, and I will not suffer the possibility of dragging you down with me. Not after having pushed you beyond your own limitations.

I can only imagine how much you must detest me now.

It matters not whether if fate leads me to my redemption or death. This is where I choose to rest.

I'm sorry, Dante.

I'm sorry, Eloise.

[anamoli]

I've gone down a rabbit hole...

Currently, I've been trying to figure out how to work with the sample swatch of turquoise faux leather. It is a thin layer of vinyl that is backed with some white foam. Definitely not something I'd want to be visible.

It also has zero ability to keep a shape. I've been experimenting with inserting a piece of 20-gauge copper wire I have laying around from when I dabbled in wire wrapping. It's been really finicky, and I'd need a really thin seam allowance so that the seam doesn't show past the gold embroidery (I mean, don't even get me started on how that would go!)

I've tried different ways of folding the faux leather to hide that backing AND cover the wire, but I haven't found a way that doesn't make this little puckered corner:

Honestly, kind of a nightmare and not quite the finish I want to have, especially for those sharp corners on all the armor pieces. I thought to myself, "Okay, what if I just sew it down really tightly? That should work right?"

But my sewing machine is a very basic one I got from a sale at Costco for $200. It was not happy with sewing this stuff together. Fine. Hand sewing it is. I want clean, even stitches, so I did some light research on leatherworking and the general process for stitching with it. I learned about overstitcher wheels (first image) and awls (second image). The overstitcher (or spacing) wheels make even marks where the stitching should go and the stitching awl punches holes through the leather.

Fun Fact: apparently leather awls are different than conventional ones. Awls for leather work have a diamond point that'll cut through the leather instead of pushing through. That way there isn't a puckered back!

A company called Tandy Leather was mentioned often in leatherworking forums, so of course I visited their website.

$199 purchase required for free shipping though. 😠 Thankfully, there is a local shop not too far from where I work! So, I paid them a visit and this is where the rabbit hole begins...

First off, I was completely overwhelmed. I didn't realize that they had a really decent selection of dyed leather! Pretty pricey for my needs though, and I definitely do not need an entire hide of cow for this project. But one of the employees was really helpful and even directed me to some more affordable options that is the right size that I needed! He also told me about how to dye leather and all the different options available to get the finish I want.

And he got me. Hook, line, and sinker.

But let's do a cost and time analysis to show that this might actually be the best option for this cosplay.

Cost Analysis

Faux Leather: total of $95

$33: 1yd turquoise faux leather

$29: 1yd burgundy faux leather

$29: goddamn shipping

$ 4: 8yds copper 20-gauge wire

Real Leather: total of $57

$40: 2 veg-tan belly cuts (approximately 3-5 sqft each)

$ 7: 4oz bottle of burgundy leather dye

$ 10: leather finishing (this is to keep the dye locked in)

According to my spreadsheet, I really only need ~5 sqft of leather for ALL the armor pieces, and I could get away with only purchasing one belly cut that's on the larger side for some extra savings.

I didn't include a bottle of turquoise leather dye since I already have a bottle of turquoise Rit Dye ($5) for the rubber I'll be using in the crack climbing gloves. If the Rit Dye doesn't work out, I wouldn't cry over getting another bottle. I also didn't include sponges (used to apply the dye) or a buffing towel (to polish the leather) because I can just steal my sister's makeup sponges and I have plenty of microfiber towels.

The tools did cost a bit, BUT that's because I did get the medium-range quality tools that had interchangeable parts since I'm planning on adding leatherworking to my list of hobbies anyway.

For example, the overstitcher came as set with the handle and 4 different wheels for $20 and the awl also came as a set with the handle, 2 awl blades, a scratch blade, and a lacing blade for $30. There are definitely beginner-grade options that are $10 and $7 respectively. I also purchased a stitching groover for $17, but there are cheaper options around $10.

If we put together the materials and cheaper tools for working with leather, that comes out to be the same price as just the materials for the faux leather (~$85-95). However, it results in a higher quality cosplay and some tools that can be used for other projects.

Time and Effort Analysis

Overall, working with the leather is going to take a lot of time (which I have a lot of, for now...), but it'll look SO good and it's cheaper! Who would have thought?

I'm definitely eating my words that I said last month...

"No, I'm not going to purchase real leather..."

-- Me, an ignorant idiot, Jan 29th

[thothxv]

Computers in Media

Hi! I'm a CS student. I'm going to talk about some things with computers in them. What I think they got wrong, and what I think they got right. This will be shamelessly biased. And we'll be talking about accuracy, but as we'll see, accuracy is not always my priority. I just felt like rambling for a bit.

CSI

Well, you knew it was going to be here, the infamous scene from CSI:NY. And it gets so much wrong in just 15 seconds, and in a single sentence:

"I'll create a GUI interface using Visual Basic, see if I can track an IP address."

This is a bad sentence for multiple reasons. If you are a domain expert, you recognize that this sentence, inasmuch as it means anything, is just an absurd thing to say in 2008. If you're on the middle of a murder investigation, you don't make GUIs for something there are already many standard tools for. In addition, tracking an IP address through technical means in the context described (I read a plot summary for this) would be basically impossible. Getting the IP address would involve pulling log files and then getting the ISP to map that to a customer and location if they can. All of that is a legal process, not a technical one.

But this is also bad for a much worse reason: it's meaningless to a non-technical audience. Most of the people who look at whatever you make aren't pedantic little shits like me. They're people who don't understand the domain. They might have heard the term "IP address" before, but the rest of this is just fancy gobbledygook designed to wow them.

If you don't know what you're talking about, say nothing. "I'll try to track where the posts are coming from" would have been a better phrase to use here. No technical details, but if you know how that would be done, you can fill in the blanks. If you want some more technicals, "I'll try to get the IP address the posts are coming from so we can figure out where they are" is fine. If the audience already knows how IP addresses might be used you can obviously leave off that last part. This all works when computers are on the periphery of your story, of course. If they're central, you might need more detail.

Sneakers

Sneakers is a thriller movie from 1992 with comedy elements. It's about a quirky team of penetration testers (for those who don't know, penetration testers are groups companies pay to try and break their own security) who get hired by the government to go steal a mysterious box from a mathematician. It's a fun movie.

Except for a level of technical accuracy that is just plain weird. Sneakers takes liberties, plenty of them, usually for the purpose of giving the audience more of a show, but everything about its fundamental premise, everything about its macguffin, is just... correct?

The below scene is spoilers for Sneakers:

I love this scene, and I especially love the music, which is just great. As for the technical aspects, I have no idea what a "quadrant" is supposed to be, and the way the team would make the discovery would, in real life, be a lot more boring. But that quick, two-sentence explanation of how all this is happening, that is correct, and I don't think I could have said it better. And as the movie goes on, it becomes increasingly clear that they probably have a specific unsolved mathematical problem in mind that this box solves. At least, I have my suspicions. I don't think it's a coincidence that Leonard Adleman was asked to consult on the film.

But, they don't bother to explain any of that. They clearly did research, despite taking a lot of liberties and implying lie detectors work. But they don't talk about it onscreen, because to the audience, the technical background doesn't matter that much. It's the inverse of that CSI scene.

Funnily enough, the tale of Sneakers' production begins with another movie about hackers. One less interested in reality, but much, much more influential in shaping it.

WarGames

I don't care to rank things, so I won't. But WarGames is the most important movie on this list. Arguably, it's one of the most important movies about computers ever. For better or worse, WarGames shaped public policy, gave the public indelible images of what a hacker looked like and what they could do, and left a permanent imprint on hacker culture. DEFCON (the convention, not the US Armed Forces Defense Readiness Condition) is called DEFCON because of this movie. Wardialing is called wardialing because Matthew Broderick used that technique in this film. This movie had a direct impact on US security policy and on the development US laws around computer hacking. Kevin Mitnick was held in solitary confinement for a year because a prosecutor told a judge that if he got near a phone he could dial up NORAD and launch a nuclear missile, and the court bought it.

WarGames is a story about an AI that has been put in charge of nuclear missile launch control and could be dialed up over the phone. The AI could almost certainly not exist in 1983, and even with the lax security of the era it is extremely unlikely it would be connected to the public telephone network. WarGames doesn't care, because it's much more interested in its narrative and message than being accurate. And rightly so: it's a great movie as a result. But those choices had consequences that the writers probably couldn't have foreseen. it raised awareness and fears about computer security that were honestly kind of justified, but it also lead to the kind of mania and warped public perception of hackers that could lock someone in solitary confinement for nonsense reasons and result in overly harsh laws around computer crime.

But for all WarGames gets technically wrong, it also gets a lot of things right. Once again, the writing time consulted with all the right people, hackers and other computer experts. Approaches like wardialing were real, as were important computer systems exposed over the phone to anyone who bothered to dial in. The techniques used to crack passwords were and are very real, and can be quite effective.

And then there's the message. The idea that human judgement must be in the loop on major decisions, that trusting a machine alone is not acceptable, especially in the context of the madness of nuclear brinkmanship, where the wrong choice could literally end the world (although WarGames also takes a pretty explicitly negative stance on nuclear brinkmanship as a whole...). Sensors can fail, inputs can be wrong, someone has to actually look at the outputs and say "...really?" And this is exemplified by a scene in WarGames, right near the end, where Professor Falken has to convince the military to call off launching the missiles. He argues that what's on the monitors makes no sense, that the only logical reason for it all is a systems malfunction.

I bring this up because WarGames released on June 3, 1983. Three months later, on September 29, 1983, the world was saved by Stanislav Petrov arriving at the same realization when Soviet nuclear early-warning satellites detected incoming missiles that weren't there. If that's not chilling, I don't know what is.

For all its tangled legacy in popular culture, at least this new fear of random kids dialing into computer systems will mean they'll be made more secure.

...it will mean they'll be made more secure, right?

Why are you looking at me like that?

The Cuckoo's Egg

I keep bringing up this book, because it's great. The Cuckoo's Egg is different from everything else I've discussed, because The Cuckoo's Egg, despite reading like a bit like a zany cold war spy thriller, is non-fiction. This really happened. In 1986, an astronomer-turned-sysadmin at UC Berkeley really did discover and track down a computer hacker trying to break into US military computers to find information to sell to the soviets.

This does mean I don't need to talk about whether or not this book is accurate. It is. What stands out about The Cuckoo's Egg, in its depiction of computers, is its ability to be read by a lay audience. Unlike every other good example I've covered, which are movies that took a basically correct technical idea and ran with it while working hard to get the big stuff right and create a veneer of reality, The Cuckoo's Egg has to get into the nitty-gritty of some relatively technical subjects. The emacs movemail exploit, the differences between BSD and System V, password cracking, other technical subjects are key to the story and need to be explained. And it's very good at this. It explains enough to understand the story, but doesn't fall into the trap of overexplaining. It's very good at picking the right details to cover and the right ones to simplify or not discuss. And you can see the difference between it and the paper that the author wrote discussing the incident for a technical audience.

Jurassic Park

"It's a UNIX system! I know this."

In Jurassic Park we see a quintessential example of the Hollywood Computer UI. Everything is flashy 3D and UIs that make little to no sense in reality as something you'd actully use but look cool and scan easily on the big screen. Nobody in their right mind would use a faux-3D file explorer like this one. It's full of slow, clunky transitions, and that awkward slowness is fantastic for cinematic tension but miserable in real life. With a famously special-effects heavy movie like Jurassic Park, you can imagine that time and budget that went into making this fancy 3D visualization.

That's right, zero time and budget. I think this is more common knowledge now, but that 3D file explorer is a real program. It's called fsn, and it would have come packed in with the SGI graphics workstations that were being used to animate them dinosaurs, as a way of showing off the machines' 3D graphics capabilities. Of course, it's a total toy, just a demo really, and nobody would use it on a daily basis. It's real... but unrealistic.

Mind, I don't care. Film is a visual medium, and it's not a crime to use some visuals or visual metaphors that normally don't appear on real computers. Like I said, accuracy is not my primary concern... so long as it's not jarring or immersion breaking. And while it would never happen as depicted, hunting through the filesystem to try and guess the command to do something is something I've definitely done.

Mr. Robot

Didn't watch it much, but I feel like it would get brought up if I didn't mention it. Mr. Robot was well known for getting technical details correct. From what I've seen, it does in fact do this.

The same is true of all of the following:

Silicon Valley

The technical consultants don't want to be yelled at on Reddit. Apparently some people who work in Silicon Valley have had to take breaks from the show because it got too real for them.

Halt and Catch Fire

I remember a story I heard on a podcast about a programmer who wanted to watch this show with his son, and his son asked if there was normally this much sex in computers (the answer was no), and apparently just seemed bored by all the sex and asked if they could watch something else.

This more or less summarizes my opinion of Halt and Catch Fire. It seems to be pretty accurate from what I saw of it, but I stopped watching because I got tired of all the boring, boring, boring sex and related drama.

Okay, back to things I want to talk about.

Castle

Speaking of notorious hacking sequences:

...What could I possibly have to complain about? This is the best thing ever.

This is really a great example of those terrible nonsense UIs I was talking about. And that random pseudo-rubik's-cube visualization? Why? And don't get me started on "cyber nukes."

Like I said, visualizations are fine, but this is just silly. Even someone who knows nothing about computers would know this is silly. Maybe that's the point but it just... really pulls you right out of the scene. This would have worked way better if they were more vague about the specifics of the "hacking" and focused on the conversation and personal stuff.

In conclusion: Masterpiece. 10/10, no notes.

Tron

In 1982, the academy award for best visual effects went to... E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The Saturn Award went to E.T. as well, and only the BAFTA Award for Best Visual Special Effects even nominated Tron.

This is because the Academy believed that using computers for visual effects was cheating.

We've talked about real things, realistic things, and stories that don't care about being real but want to feel real. Tron is none of those things. Is it realistic? No! Of course not! It's nonsense! But who cares? Tron basically wants to be a digital Alice in Wonderland. It's just using computers to paint a cool world inspired by videogames. I wouldn't say there's much deeper meaning.

But it just looks cool.

[neopronouns-in-action]

Neopronouns in action: card/cards, which will follow the same rules as it/its for this example.

Replace it with card Replace its with cards Replace itself with cardself

EX:

"It is going to adopt a new puppy soon, as soon as it gets a fence set up around its yard so the puppy can go outside without it having to walk it. Its uncle is going to help set up the fence, since he has a set of power tools he's letting it use, since it lost its."

Becomes:

“Card is going to adopt a new puppy soon, as soon as card gets a fence set up around cards yard so the puppy can go outside without card having to walk it. Cards uncle is going to help set up the fence, since he has a set of power tools he’s letting card use, since card lost cards.”

This is also a free writing prompt!

===

Werewolves

It all started at exactly 4:32PM. Card knew that, because card had been specifically checking the time to write down when it got dark outside. It was a personal project, card’d been keeping track all year so far of the time when it got, in cards opinion, too dark outside to go out. Mostly because card hated winter, and hated having to be stuck inside for what felt like half th day, and so card had decided that card would write down the time each day, so card would be able to see when it began to get later and later as winter turned to spring and then, eventually, to summer.

So card knew for an absolute fact that the howling started at exactly 4:32PM.

And it sounded like it was coming from the woods right next to cards house, loud enough that even through the closed windows, card could hear the individual voices clearly.

There were at least four of them, maybe more, card couldn’t tell. But four of them stood out clearly from the rest, recognizable because of the different tones of their voices.

Werewolves.

There was no other possibility. Wolves were native to this area, but they weren’t scheduled to be reintroduced until next month. Card had had it marked on cards calender since the year before. There was going to be a huge party to celebrate it, to collect donations and raise further awareness and push for more reintroductions and protections for the native wildlife.

Card didn’t know of any werewolf packs nearby, or even within day-trip distance. Card had done cards research, hoping to find someone who would be willing to turn card.

The benefits of being a werewolf far outweighed the cons, as far as card was concerned, and card really didn’t understand how other people could think otherwise.

Now there were at least four werewolves, in the woods right outside cards house, howling up a storm, marking their territory.

Card had always wanted to be a werewolf, ever since card had learned that it was something you could become, but this was probably the worst timing in the world.

It was already dark out, too dark for card to just go traipsing through the woods looking for werewolves, and it was October, cards birth month, and it was that time of the month.

Card had thought cards luck had been terrible before! Every time there was an opportunity to go swimming? Oops, nope! Sorry, better luck next week! And now there were werewolves out in the woods! Card was too tired and in too much pain to go wandering around in the woods in the dark at night in the cold with cramps. That was just too high a price, especially if card didn’t even now if any of the werewolves would be willing to transform card next month.

If they would even still be here next month. Did they know about the soon to be reintroduction of the red wolves to this area? Had they come just for that purpose, or was this a coincidence?

In many of the other places around the country where wolves had been reintroduced, werewolf packs had moved in to protect them. Unfortunately, there were still plenty of people who hated wolves, and would kill them on sight if they had the chance. But the protection of a pack of werewolves－especially a larger pack, was a force to be reckoned with.

Propaganda-poisoned people with access to guns were afraid of wolves, but they were more afraid of werewolves.

The howling stopped suddenly, at 4:37 exactly.

Five minutes exactly of howling, which means they probably had a stopwatch with them, or it was a song they all knew by heart.

Card was just turning towards cards computer desk to see if card could find any information on werewolf packs that had moved into the area recently...

And then the window right behind cards computer was smashed inward, and all hell broke very abruptly loose.

[riashah01]

The Impact of Location on Sports Bar Franchise Success: Picking the Right Spot for Your Business

Understanding the Franchise Business Model

That's how many franchise business models have made their owners rich. You have a prepackaged business model with recognized brands and marketing and the support in day-to-day business from the franchise owner. This concept works wonders for sports bars, associated with a franchise because of brand name and marketing tools in place. However, even being a highly recognized branded option, the success of your bar franchise would be as good as the location you select.

The Role of Location in Sports Bar Franchises

1. Accessibility to the Target Market

Any franchise of a bar and restaurant aims to offer easy access to a base of prospective clientele. A location should be easily accessible to your target market, whether this be sports enthusiasts, local residents, or even workers. An ideal location would be one with high foot traffic, either around office complexes, entertainment areas, or residential neighborhoods. For instance, Studs Sports Bar and Grill have strategically located their outlets to cater to sports enthusiasts and local communities, and also because this enhances visibility of the outlets.

2. Proximity to Competitors

Understanding the competitive landscape is very important. While it is true that being close to other sports bars can indicate a booming market, it also means that there needs to be a way for you to set your franchise apart from those already in the market. Look at the density in which the sports bar population is located and what they offer. A medium level of competition in this regard could actually be the best as this allows for a huge market share without being overshadowed by the established players in the area.

3. Visibility and Accessibility

Another major factor in the success of a franchise bar is visibility. The more visibility a location has, the better chance of that impulse visit. Target sites where the signage visibility is excellent and the street visibility is high. The more accessible the more with plenty of parking and convenient public transportation, the more your franchise may see in terms of people passing through the doors.

4. Demographics and Local Culture

Being able to know local demographics and culture would allow one to customize their sports bar franchise in a way that would meet the preferences of their surrounding community. The age distribution, income levels, and way of life could provide valuable information. For example, a sports bar in a college town may have budget-friendly offerings that satisfy a young crowd, whereas one in an affluent suburb might be more upscale in atmosphere and menu offerings.

 

Picking the Right Location for Your Sports Bar Franchise

1. Observe and Quantify Foot Traffic

The more footfall, the more promising a location is. Leverage tools and big data to measure how much pedestrian and vehicular traffic a possible area has. Key locations for sports bar franchises are along busy streets, shopping centers, and entertainment spots. This information may also be obtained through market research and demographic studies.

2. Look at Nearby Amenities

This can be enhanced by being close to other popular facilities like gyms, cinemas, or shopping malls. Many people would often stopover in more than one place for an outing, so proximity to complementary businesses may drive extra patrons to your bar.

3. Evaluate the Local Business Economy

General business environment: In a location where one is considering to set up the establishment, assess the general business environment, local economic conditions, prevailing rental rates, and regulatory requirements. A local booming economy combined with business-friendly regulations from the local authorities sets up the ideal gesture for the survival and the general performance of the franchise.

4. Visit Potential Locations

Do not skip visiting the place before finally deciding on it. Get a feel of the area by watching the activity going on, talking with business owners, and understanding the atmosphere in general. First-hand exposure will help you get a feel of whether your sports bar franchise really fits in that community or not.

5. Franchise Requirements Considered

Every bar franchise will definitely have its own set of requirements and location criteria. Ensure that the proposed location meets all this and services the vision of the franchise. In some cases,bar restaurant franchises even have a location they support or recommend; this would also work in one's favor.

6. Parking Facilities

Parking is yet another consideration that can make or break your sports bar franchise. The more available and convenient parking spaces there are, the easier it becomes for customers to drop by your establishment, especially during peak hours. When scouting out a location, make sure there is sufficient parking space available in the area or with other businesses with whom you could share parking agreements. If your bar restaurant franchise is situated in a busy area with less parking, then you may want to add valet services or even partner with nearby parking facilities for that extra customer experience.

7. Liaisoning and Community Engagement

Effective liaisoning with the local authorities and community leaders can be a very important ingredient in your sports bar franchise's success. Good relations with the local government, neighborhood associations, and other community leaders will greatly help in circumventing red tape, getting the necessary permits, and acquiring the needed local support. Such community engagement can secure goodwill and a loyal customer base by way of hosting various activities, sponsorships, and other collaborative efforts.

8. Compliance to Excise Rules

Excise rules and acts on the selling of alcohol vary in each region and may impact your sports bar franchise feasibility to a big extent. One should be very clear about the excise laws of that area and whether the proposed location is in compliance. Distances from schools, religious places, residential areas, and licensing requirements should be taken into consideration. The place will help the sports bar avoid the law and enable it to carry on the operation smoothly. A case of Studs Sports Bar and Grill has been avoiding excise rules in different places, ensuring franchises operated legally.

Studs Sports Bar and Grill: Case Study

Studs is one successful example of a sports bar that has been wise to use location for maximum advantage; Studs Sports Bar and Grill is committed to creating a lively place for sports enthusiasts and hence prefers sites that create a balance between good visibility, availability, and accessibility as well as presence in a good number with other entertainment joints. Their well-thought decisions for location have played a role in making them successful in securing loyal basket and a firmer market presence.By examining the approach of Studs Sports Bar and Grill, one other in which their selection of location explains a lot. For example, placing themselves near sports arenas and residential areas, they have been able to attract niche category people who like sports as well as local residents.90% of the franchise properties have been finalized by the brand.

The Best Franchises to Own

As you think about the sports bar franchise opportunities available to you, take some time to assess the franchises that best match your goals and interests. The highest potential franchises to own are going to have vision alignment on your part, good brand support, and some proven history of success. You can go from a bar and restaurant franchise to a gaming bar; it is all due diligence and proper location picking.

Hence, location remains to be very vital for the success of any sports bar franchise. It means that you have to pick a prime spot that will be in congruence with the market out there, the one which will make sure that you have higher visibility supported by the local business environment. Studs Sports Bar and Grill have to be one of the best illustrative examples where strategic choices of place bring in profitability and growth. Keeping these insights in mind while you look through bar franchise opportunities, you will be able to make an informed decision about the opportunity for success.