#me now: ok but there's something about that 3rd modern one. it's. so simple. but. i. but i......

[fisheito]

hello... please consider... yakumo in:

the classic traditional style qipaos

the modernised and modified ones

bonus: modified hanfu

he would look wonderful wouldn't he? all the more delectable and sashimiable?

ahaha...ahah...AHAHHAH.AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

[beboped1]

Guards, Guards

This was one of my formative pieces of literature, so I've been excited to get to it. Still a great book, through and through, one of Pratchett's very best.

Guards, Guards

First Read: High School

Verdict then: Wow, I need to get my hands on every book this person has written. Vimes is the best.

Verdict now: Definitely my favorite so far, and I'd argue the best written so far also. While there are some cultural things that don't hold up in the current environment, this is still a shining example of Pratchett's ability to communicate with deep compassion the complexities humanity, all while producing genuinely inspired madness like L-space.

Before I dive in, a disclaimer:

In the modern US, a book about good cops will always play weird, due to the utter and complete failure of our police institutions across the nation. I read Guards, Guards a bit like Plato's Philosopher King - yeah, if every police leader was Vimes, then maybe ACAB wouldn't apply. But that simply isn't the case in reality in the US right now, and we really do need to tear the whole thing down and rebuild.

Ok, with that out of the way, y'all, Guards, Guards is so good. I was hoping this one would hold up, and it really delivered. What starts as a fairly straightforward parody of "outsider chosen one" type fantasy quick turns and morphs into something much stranger and more human. Pratchett's deep compassion and belief in the goodness of humanity here gets sharpened to a razors edge, directly challenging the reader to be a Vimes, not a member of the crowd.

At the center of it all is Vimes himself. We meet a non-functional alcoholic at the beginning, someone who has lost all hope and purpose in his life. But when an inciting incident in the form of the hyper-innocent idealist Carrot appears, he is pulled out of his myopia and drunkenness, and reminded of who he can choose to be. And by the end, Vimes is a man restored, someone who has found again his place in the world, who has carved out a place in this world which rejected him again and again.

But the journey to get there isn't straight and it isn't easy. One thing I'd forgotten is that Vimes goes back or tries to go back to the bottle several times over the course of the book. That struggle felt so real to me, where even when things were going well, still, he drank. The triumph at the end, the acceptance of Sybil's offer, the ultimate rejection of the drink, all of that feels so hard won.

Speaking of Sybil, oh man, such a great character. We get a lot less focus on her body than with previous female characters, and so much more focus on her as a person. Sybil is the first non-witch female character in the series who feels fully real to me - and whose story arc works. Even with the limitations created by sticking with Vimes' 3rd person limited perspective, everything about her makes sense. She's not a joke given some human traits - she's a real, fully human.

Ok, I'm rambling at this point. I really could just go on and on and on about this book, but I'll restrain myself to just one more paragraph on the characters - the "rank and file". Carrot, Nobby, Colon, and even the Librarian are just so phenomenally well sketched, given simple but clear core characterization, and then developed with such a light touch that you don't even realize how much you've fallen in love with them until the end.

Guards, Guards is so much more focused than any of the prior books in the series. The core theme is the power of self definition. Each and every core character - Vimes, Sybil, Carrot, Colon, Nobby, Librarian, Wonse, even Errol - goes on a journey in this book, a process of deciding who they truly want to be. Colon & Nobby decide that they don't just want to be the ones who run slow. Carrot finds his way to nuance, developing from an idealist who memorized the law book into a real community watchperson. The Librarian chooses to live up to what others expect of them. Vimes decides to stop forgetting, stop running into a bottle, and instead to fight for what he knows is right. Sybil decides to join the world, to look outside the safety of her dragons. Wonse becomes exactly who he chooses to be - someone ruled by the power they accumulate, rather than ruling with it. It's just so consistent, so beautifully sketched in so many ways. Even Errol and the Dragon exemplify this core of self definition. They are who they want to be, who they will fight to be.

The line-level writing continues to improve book on book, and he's got just some beautiful sentences in this one. The humor hits hard, not just non-sequitur or situation based, but really diving into character-centric humor. L-space is one of my favorite ideas ever. But the real jump up in craft over Wyrd Sisters and Pyramids here is the focus on the central thesis, and the way everything in the book exists in service to that central thesis.

I love this book. I will still suggest it as a starter to anyone who loves traditional fantasy. Revisiting it was just pure joy, through, and through.

[corpsentry]

january: an art retrospective

i did some stuff last month (but it’s a lot of stuff and there’s a photodump + some Serious Fucking Reflection, so it’s all below the cut)

so ok, let’s start with this. here are some heads. each head has a red arrow. that red arrow is what i call the red line of the devil. it’s the slope of the face from the side of the eye to the cheekbone and then down towards the chin. up until like 2 weeks ago, i couldn’t draw it. i couldn’t fucking draw it. i would edit over that part of the face over and over again until i was frustrated and tired and i had a raging homosexual headache and it still never looked right. notice that each head is different. notice that each head looks wrong.

at the start of 2021 i finally admitted to myself, as per the image above, that i was deeply, deeply unhappy with my art. what was the problem? i dunno. but i decided i was going to fix it and i was going to do so via another one scribble a day event wherein for every day of january i would find a photo of a human head, and i would draw it.

january 1st, 2021. i was embarrassed to tweet this even on my private account where like 5 friends and a rock would see it. in retrospect, you can also see all of my bad habits emerging like dicks from a hole in the ground. it’s disproportionate. the brows look flat. the eyes are slanting upwards. the entire drawing looks flat, like this isn’t a 3d person but a caricature of one.

january 2nd, 3rd, 4th:

on the 2nd i decided to start a separate thread for doodles and applied learning. here’s the first set of tests

the rest of the week is kind of uneventful so we’re going to skip those. fast forward to january 11th

this one is especially bad. i am acutely aware, suddenly, that i am not changing anything at all. i’m stressed and miserable about it because i’m still trying to see people as people and trying to draw people that look attractive and proportionate and hot. my friend, leny, reminds me that i need to think about faces in terms of planes. i have a moment. my other friend masha sends me some links to anatomy tutorials. i have another moment.

january 11th. applied sketch

january 13th is when i start the troubleshooting process. the link above drives me mad because i’m pretty happy with the face but then i realize that there’s something very fucking wrong with the shape of the head LOL and then i realize that i’ve never had any idea what the proportion of the face to the rest of the skull is so i grit my teeth and i open a new canvas and i

bald studies. it seemed like the right thing to do. can’t draw heads? ok draw some heads. look at some photographs. i traced each photo but tried to stick to straight lines so that i could replicate the shapes more easily. i broke each face down into shapes. i thought about airplanes

i got really excited. i started doing studies, then applied studies, then stylized studies.

sketches. i’m not sure what’s going on (as always) and it’s very rough, but they look different from the sketches i did on january 2nd. that’s a start

january 16th’s daily study. looks more like a person now. juuuuuust a bit

more applied studies

on the 18th i take a break and go stare at some lips because i don’t understand how the fuck they work. again, i focus on shapes, on volume, on the fact that these things exist in 3d. holy fuck lips exist in 3d. holy fuck we are real

january 19th. i’m working on it.

january 22nd. some sketches + a daily study. it has finally occurred to me that heads can tilt up and down and that things look different accordingly. yes i was not aware of this before. yes i have been drawing for over a decade.

january 23rd. by this point after doing my daily sketch i almost always go back and do an applied study which is basically to say i drew a lot of fucking links. this one looks kind of okay. i’m kind of proud

january 25th. links. trying to make sense of everything i’ve learned

26th, 27th, 28th. daily studies

january 1st. january 31st

The End Of The Photo Dump (dab)

ok NOW i get to talk about what i discovered while studying the shit out of human beings

FIRST OF ALL, there is something precious and magical about drawing shit without the explicit knowledge that you’re going to tweet that shit out to 45 people later. it takes the burden of perception off your shoulders and that does something to you, or at least that’s my theory. i told myself i wouldn’t post any of this stuff until the end of the month (if i wanted to post it at all) and kept everything off my public social media accounts and that meant i could draw ugly as hell without worrying about who would point and laugh, which i absolutely fucking did. a lot of these are fucking trainwrecks. most of these are fucking trainwrecks. why do they look like that?? why??? this doesn’t look like the work of someone who’s allegedly been drawing since they were in kindergarten, does it?????

here’s why: because that person took a huge motherfucking swing at everything they’d ever known about art and spent a month building something new in its place. the abstract explanation is that i grew up on shoujo and weird old anime and my understanding of anatomy was unironically kamichama karin and while i love kamichama karin, when kamichama karin is your rule even if you try to break it, you’re going to end up going nowhere. “you have to know the rules to break them”, yeah? well i didn’t know shit. the abstract explanation is i’ve been miserable about my art for a few years now because i saw other people doing things effortlessly which i couldn’t and instead of going back to the basics, i tried to do what they did (not plagiarism, mind you, i mean i literally tried to copy the red line of the devil i mentioned above because i couldn’t even make that happen) and then i fucking failed.

the simple explanation is this. i had to unlearn everything, and relearn it again (like some kind of new renaissance clown, what the fuck is this?)

take this for example. all my life i’ve drawn faces in the order: eyes, nose, mouth, face shape, head. this works for some people, im aware, but it was something central to how i had always drawn, so i decentralized it. i said fuck you to the old me and changed the order up. now i start with the nose, then the eyes, mouth, the chin line, and the sides of the face. now i force myself to think about the human head as a series of parts interacting with each other instead of a bunch of disparate features which i want to look pretty.

or let’s use this zelda from last year. something about this looked wrong last october, the way something about all of my drawings looked wrong, but i couldn’t pinpoint it for hell the way i couldn’t articulate Any of my feelings about the visual arts. now, looking back, here’s what i see. that nose is sticking out far too much given how she’s not really facing very far away from the camera. that ear at the back shouldn’t be there. her forehead is too big. she doesn’t have a forehead. what the fuck is up with the shape of her head?

so apparently reject modernity embrace tradition has its roots in alt-right terminology and i’m not very horny for the alt-right (you understand), but the spirit survives here. you know sometimes you have to admit that you have no idea what the fuck you’re doing and draw people for 31 days. i’ve spent my whole life drawing stylized people and while again there are artists who have no issue with this, i veered off the track of the Good and the Holy and couldn’t get back on. i had no point of reference because i’d never thought about what an actual human being looks like, so i had no way to fix what i knew in my gut looked wrong but wouldn’t come out better.

this was hard. this was like oikawa tooru swallowing his worthless pride and admitting that ushijima wakatoshi had gotten the best of him for the last time in his high school career, but in haikyuu!! by furudate haruichi oikawa tooru fucks off to argentina and then joins the argentinean national team, and you know what, i think i’ve made it to argentina (not the team just the country). as per the golden rule of dont fucking move until you’re at least two thirds of the way through the month, i only started trying to draw Shit shit on like the 22nd or something, but i was happy with that i created. i am happy with what i’ve done. i’ve posted like 2 things this month that involve people with what i now call ~applied Knowledge~~ and they’re, like, not perfect obviously (perfection is an unattainable ideal), but i’m fucking proud of them. i didn’t spend 5 hours hunched over my laptop adjusting the red line of the devil because it’s not a devil’s line anymore. because i finally sorta get how people work. because i sat down and i said ‘we are not going to fuck with this misery shit anymore’ and then i did that. it’s just a line now.

here are 2 collages tracking my painstakingly carved out progress from january 2nd to february 2nd because i’m a slut for collages

and here’s what i’ve done to my art! the same person drew these but also Not Really! you know! for the first time in a year i don’t immediately hate what i’ve drawn. you know what guys? art is fucking fun. zelda’s forehead doesn’t scare me anymore because i know how foreheads fucking work now, and i don’t know everything, and i’m going to keep troubleshooting stuff as i go (i want to draw a skeleton. like a. i want to draw a goddamn skeleton guys) but i’m honestly and genuinely proud of what i’ve done in the span of a month, and i’m also in disbelief. i started this month-long challenge out as a last ditch effort to make peace with my art because i’ve been tired for a long time and i was ready to kick the bucket on drawing people altogether. i didn’t think anything would happen. nothing’s happened for years. i’ve been miserable for years.

this was the caption for january 1st, 2021. i was super, super fucking embarrassed and it looks like super fucking shit, but you know what, i think i did in fact triumph over the bullshit. surprisingly enough, when you put in consistent effort into something, You Will See Results. didn’t see that coming, did you? i know i didn’t.

this isn’t a success story. it’s a happiness story. i never gave a shit damn about the institute of art or whatever, i was just mad at myself because what i saw in my head didn’t match up with what was on the canvas. and now it’s getting better. now i’m calibrating the compass. now drawing not just backgrounds but also people is exciting to me, and i can stick my links in your face and tell you ‘they hot’. i’m going to keep doing that. i’m going to keep going until i drop off the side of the earth and then spiral towards mars like some kind of fairy, and then i’m going to create something beautiful.

thanks for reading. here’s a pr department link for sticking around until the end

[onyxiana-is-obsessed]

uh idk if this is the request box but just found your blog and so happy that requests are open. i was wondering if you could do a shinsou x female reader, where shinsou finds out that the reader likes him and he takes her out on a date and teases her about her liking him. And the reader is just straight out cluless and just goes along with the day. And at the endof the day he confesses to her and its just all fluffy (T-T). ok hopefully that made sense. THank you and stay safe!!!

Thank you, and I hope you stay safe too! This was an adorable ask, I love Shinsou (he be my 3rd hubby) and ugh, just yes. I tried to make this fluffy! 2nd Anon, I hope you don’t mind me adding your request in here, this was fluffy, and you didn’t specify, so I hope you like it!Length: 2.1k wordsPronouns used: She/her

Full Name: (y/f/n)Quirk: (y/q)Age: 16

Cafe Confessions

Shinsou was an extremely observant student. He was quiet, minding his own business, but he always kept an eye out for something- anything. He’d finally been placed into the hero course in his second year and he was even more quiet than usual.

Now, (f/n) had an enormous crush on Shinsou, it happened ever since she saw him at the Sports Festival. His quirk was amazing and Midoriya almost lost within the first ten seconds. Even though he ended up breaking free of Shinsou’s quirk and won, (f/n) couldn’t get him off of her mind.

She soon found out that he was in General Education and even had a chance to fight with him during the joint training session classes A and B had. He was cold and stoic, he barely talked to her and even if he did, it was all relating to the training. He outright refused to answer any other questions.

Shinsou had made it clearer than day that he wasn’t in the hero course to make friends and that was something that seriously hurt (f/n)’s feelings. She tried her best to get over it and it hurt even more when she saw Shinsou actually talking to the others and not her.

None of that helped her feelings which felt like a runaway roller coaster that no one could stop. No matter how hard she tried to give up on him, her stupid heart wouldn’t let her. Every time he’d talk to her, she’d blush or fidget (she definitely stumbled over her words), and she always tried to be near him. Simple things like sitting next to him or standing next to him in a line or something.

Shinsou caught on pretty fast, he wasn’t an idiot. (f/n) barely tried to hide her feelings and at first, he scoffed at the thought. Him dating her? It wouldn’t happen because he wasn’t looking for a relationship. He was trying to become a hero, something that required intense focus, training, and time. There was no mention of a girlfriend.

However, the more Shinsou took notice of (f/n)’s crush on him, the more he started to notice her.

(f/n) was a very beautiful girl in his eyes. He really liked her (h/c) hair. Her (long/short) locks looked soft and he often found himself wondering what they felt like. Her bright (e/c) eyes would light up every time she got an answer right or if someone complimented her. The way she’d giggle when Kaminari would say or do something stupid was cute. She’d cover her face, sometimes she’d try to hold back her laughter but it wouldn’t work.

Things like that always brought a smile to Shinsou’s face. She was adorable and he wasn’t going to lie about it. However, over time, Shinsou learned the error of his ways. He started to like (f/n) too.

He was in denial at first. How could he like her? He was too busy, he didn’t need this. But… she was a really nice girl. She was caring, considerate, joyful, determined, and her quirk was amazing, especially the way she used it. It only took about a month for Shinsou to go from not wanting a single friend to contemplating whether he’d ask (f/n) out.

He chose the latter.

***

“Wh-what?” (f/n) asked, her eyes widening a bit.

“You heard me, let’s go out. I know there’s an ice cream parlor that opened up nearby. Want to go?” He was asking her out? Why? (f/n)’s cheeks were a bright red and her head was a fuzzy mess.

“Wh-why?”

“Why not?”

“Ok… sure.” Shinsou gave her an innocent smile and she wasn’t able to see past it. The two started walking towards the shop, making small talk, nothing concerning.

“How are your classes coming along, (l/n)?” Shinsou inquired, peering down at the girl next to him.

“F-fine. I-I’ve been having trouble with Modern History though.” She commented, looking away from him a little.

“Oh? I can help you with that, if you’d like.” She turned to him with wide, hopeful eyes and nodded.

“Yes, please! That would be amazing!” Seeing the hope in her eyes made him feel… good. He wanted to see more of that because it made him happy when she gave him that bright smile of hers.

Yep. He liked her.

The two arrived at the ice cream parlor and stood in line. (f/n) stood in front of Shinsou, her eyes glancing at the menu to pick something that she liked. They had a variety of flavors and toppings which made (f/n) want to try something new.

She was so busy looking at the menu, she hadn’t even realized Shinsou was much closer to her now with his head on her shoulder. He almost laughed at how clueless she was.

“I really like that mango ice cream, what do you think?” She asked, her eyes not leaving the menu.

“Mango sounds good. There’s also grape pineapple.” Shinsou commented, making (f/n) giggle.

“I’m surprised you still like grapes after…” Shinsou backed up, grabbing her shoulder and turning her around.

“You did not.” She giggled at his shocked look and nodded, her hand covering her mouth. “Yeah well, I’m replacing that stupid grape now.”

“I think we all prefer you anyway,” She giggled but slowly stopped when she realized what she’d said. Her eyes widened a little as her cheeks turned red, making Shinsou smirk and lean down.

“Wow, cute blush you got there, (f/n).” Her blush darkened at the way he used her first name and at how close he’d gotten. She was frozen, which made him chuckle as he turned her around, making her break out of her trance.

The woman at the register smiled at her little antics, clearly thinking the two were just an adorable couple.

“How may I help you?” (f/n) approached the counter first with a shy smile.

“Y-yes, h-hi. I-I would like (ice cream flavor) please!”

“Any toppings?”

“(Yes, (insert topping)/No thanks).”

“And you, sir?”

“I’ll have Neapolitan please, with just sprinkles on top.” The woman nodded and typed in their orders, giving them their total afterward. (f/n) reached for her (purse/wallet), but was stopped by Shinsou. “I got it.”

The two found a small booth and sat across from each other with (f/n) thanking Shinsou for paying.

“Of course, cutie. This is a date after all.” (f/n) froze and almost seemed as if she hadn’t been able to comprehend what he had just said.

“A… wh-what?”

“I asked you out on a date, (f/n).” He repeated not even bothering to hide the amusement in his voice. (f/n) fell silent for a moment as her mind went off on a tangent, trying to piece together everything that had happened. He had been a bit flirty. He did ask her out, completely out of the blue, and he didn’t specify if it was a friendly hangout or… a date.

“This is… a date? Why?” He smirked.

“You like me, right?”

“I-I don’t.” She lied, looking away with a frown.

“That’s a lie,” He chuckled, his lilac eyes gazing at her. “You don’t really bother hiding it, do you? You’re always blushing, you’re always around me, you always try to talk to me. Except you stopped recently, I’m not sure why.”

(f/n)’s frown only deepened at his words. Yeah, she stopped because she thought she was just bothering him. At first, that was true. Shinsou didn’t want to make friends so everyone was bothering him, but after a while, that changed. He found himself liking his new companions and especially the cute girl that always said hello to him, not an ounce of worry about his quirk.

That was another thing. (f/n) always willingly started conversations with him and no matter what, she’d always respond to him without any hesitance. It warmed his heart that someone looked passed his quirk, someone who wouldn’t let it scare them, even though he came off so harsh.

“I can’t help it,” She whispered, looking up at him, “you’re amazing. Your determination is impressive and kinda scary too, but in a good way. You didn’t let what others say bring you down, you’re always looking to better yourself and it’s amazing.” He only nodded, taking in her words. Before she could continue, their orders were ready. Shinsou quickly got them and returned to (f/n) who happily took a bite, trying to relieve the awkwardness.

“Hmm, I like this. The strawberry tastes good.” Shinsou stated, letting the ice cream melt on his tongue. With a mischievous giggle, (f/n) reached out with her spoon and took a small scoop before eating it.

“Ooh, you’re right.”

“Hey!” He tried to pretend he was upset, however, he wasn’t able to keep his laughter in. He broke and stole some of hers.

“Hey!” She giggled, leaning closer, “that’s mine!”

“Oh? It doesn’t have your name on it.” He teased, making her lean closer as she stole another bite of his ice cream. “You haven’t learned, have you?”

“Two can play at this game, Shinsou!” She giggled, making him raise an eyebrow.

“You’re blushing, (f/n).” She quieted, with a shy smile and looked down fueling his need to tease her.

“Shut up.”

“Could you… I don’t know, like me?” (f/n) almost choked on her treat, her eyes almost popping out of her head.

“Wh-what?”

“I think you do.”

“I-I don-”

“You can’t deny it with that huge blush on your face. Oh? And now you’re shying away. How cute.”

“Shut up, Shinsou!” (f/n) grumbled, pouting.

“Wow, even that pout is cute of yours.”

“Stop teasing me!” She mumbled, “I’ll fight you and I’ll kick your butt! I’ll do it!”

“Oh yeah? Don’t tempt me to use my quirk.” He said with a smirk.

“You wouldn’t,” She declared with a confident smile, “I trust you and I know you wouldn’t.”

“Say I won’t.” He challenged her.

“You won’t.” She responded without hesitance, making him smile a little. Even now, as he threatened to use his mind control quirk on her, she was still trusting. She still willingly answered him instead of backing away.

“Ah, guess you called my bluff.” He answered, taking another bite of his ice cream. “You’re a brave one.”

“Brave? Hmm… I think I just know you a bit better.”

“Know me?”

“I know you don’t exactly like using your quirk. Especially when the situation doesn’t call for it. You don’t trick people unless it’s necessary either.” Damn. She was right, but she was also special and held a soft spot in his heart, so of course, he wasn’t going to tease her like that. Well… maybe.

“Do you trust me, (f/n)?” He asked, abruptly, making her eyes widen. However, she hardly wasted a second before nodding.

“I do.”

“You barely know me.”

“You’re a hero, right? That means you only want to do good. I trust you as a hero, Hitoshi Shinsou.” Those were words he longed to hear, he’d always wanted someone to say something like that to him.

Shinsou was at a loss of words, his lilac eyes studied every inch of (f/n)’s face trying to find any little trace of deception. His eyes followed (f/n) as she took another bite of her ice cream, her eyes landing on the frozen treat as her spoon picked up another scoop. A hero. She saw him as a hero, something he’d begged everyone for, but never had to ask her.

***

Both (f/n) and Shinsou were walking back to the dorms when he gently grabbed her hand. Her cheeks flushed red again as she looked back and forth between her hand and Shinsou’s eyes.

“Wh-what a-are you do-doing?”

“There’s something I have to tell you, (f/n). And it seems like you haven’t been able to catch on.”

“Wh-what?” Shinsou’s arm gently snaked around (f/n)’s waist as he tugged her closer. Her hands landed on his shoulders as he held her in place.

“I like you, (f/n). I really, really like you.” (f/n) had no response except for a little squeak that escaped her lips.

“Y-you do?” He nodded, his fingers brushing against her jaw.

“I do.” (f/n) swallowed, her eyes meeting Shinsou as the two leaned in. After a few long seconds, their lips finally met. It was brief, a quick brush against each other and they pulled apart.

“I-I like you too.” She confessed, which made him chuckle and hug her.

“I know, oh now, don’t pout like that. You’re absolutely adorable.”

“Whatever, Shinsou!”

“Hey, (f/n)?” The girl looked at him and watched as his cheeks flushed red.

“Call me Hitoshi.”

“Ok, Hitoshi.” He loved the way his name sounded on her lips. Yeah, his classmates were annoying and it was a challenge for Shinsou to get along with them, but with (f/n) at his side, it seemed easier. He’d achieve his goal of being a better hero than everyone, with her right next to him.

[ketsuyuki-hibana-typed]

I just take one request so I'll go with modern one!

Sabito x Reader (Domestic ModernAU) (Slight NSFW warning)

Being Sabito's childhood friend means knowing almost all of the behaviours and habits, and so does Sabito. And when he finally confess to you after both of you graduated from High School, you were so happy because you've been waiting for this moment.

Being in the same university made it more easier for him to reach you out. Sabito proposed you to live in his apartment until both of you graduated and you happily accepted it.

He called this, 'A simulation before the real one.'

"What real one?"

"Marrying you." He winked. Damn, that's smooth please shut up.

And now, you and Sabito were in 3rd year.

When Sabito woke up in the morning, he will just play with your hair until you wake up by yourself.

"Mm... Morning, Sabito. Playing with my hair again?"

"Hm."

"If you're awake, wake me up too, geez."

"I can stare at your stupid face for hours."

"Seriously, what is that for."

You raised your body from your bed and stretched out, planning what breakfast you should make. Both of his arms snatched your hips.

"I'll make breakfast, you should get ready first. Your project will start at 8 right?" Sabito mumbled.

"Um yeah." You yawned, caressing his messy hair. "Thank you."

Today, the role reversed. He's the one who wore apron while flipping eggs and you helped him with the tables and coffees after done with your clothings.

"Sabito, you make lunch too?" You peeked from his shoulder. "Uwah, the legendary bear-shaped onigiri rice."

"Yeah, after you finished on your project, let's eat them together."

You usually went to uni with him, but this time, you'll go first.

"Why are you wearing scarf?" He crossed his arms, standing in front of the door, while escorting you to outside.

"You dare to question why?" With embarrassing and mad face, you revealed some hickies on your crooks. "Whose fault is this?"

"My bad." He raised his hand while smugly smiling.

"Grr..." You grabbed both of his shoulder, tip-toed and planted kiss on his neck, leaving red marks. "Fufu, fair play."

"Ugh.."

"Bye Sabito!" After another quick peck landed on his lips, you finally headed out to your university. He covered his reddened face with his palm, swearing that he will revenge you.

Like usual, you ate lunch with Sabito and your other childhood friends, Giyuu and Makomo at the mini park.

"You know, (y/n). The other day, Sabito was sleeping in the class and he called your name!" Makomo giggled. "I got the video!"

"Whaaat, show me, show me!"

"Wait, Makomo!!"

Being university student means both of you don't really much time to meet, but you always made sure to pay Sabito a visit on his kendo club activity.

But Sabito didn't want you to sat near his kendo friends, because of constant eyeing from the boys and death-glaring from the girls.

Nah, it's just his natural jealousy. You didn't really mind about them anyway, you just wanted to see him training.

"Why can't I sit with them? I want to befriend with your manager too."

"No. Just no."

"....I'll go home then."

"Wait, no! I'll lost my morality!!"

"THEN WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?"

So, here you are, seeing his training at second floor. When your eyes met with his, you grinned and smiled while waving your hand.

"Fight, Sabito!"

Then he waved back, making peace sign. That some sort of morale make him more brutal while swishing his wooden sword towards his team.

Sabito probably looked soft and all but he's really become fierce when it comes to other people. But apparently, this didn't apply to you.

He wanted to make sure that you got enough attention from him, even though both of you were busy.

So, dating-days is all of your choices. You're the one who decided where do you want to go.

He likes to take your picture from behind on dates and send it on InstaStory

"With (y/n), lol she's smol." "Bby would deadass fall into that water fountain." "Love it when she said 'Chimkin nugget'"

And please do not question about how he made long ass threads on his pinned Twitter, all contained about you and your photos.

You also have your own habit, like slipping your hand inside his hoodies' pocket, ran with your hand pulling his shirt while showing him something interesting, accidentally stepping on his back shoes.

Sabito literally loses his mind when he can't find your figure behind him while both of you walking, but he stayed cool and started looking for you. This is just your another behaviour when dating, but still, gave him heart attack.

Until he saw hands of yours waving on the air, the method he taught to you in case you lose him.

"Again?!"

"Sorry, I got distracted by the student disc- awawawawa." He pinched your cheek. You grabbed his hand while whining in protest.

"Tell me if you wanted to go somewhere, stupid!"

Dates will be always ended with shopping for 1 week-stocks

Sabito never let you bring a single groceries bag and often snatched it from you even though you said you wanted to carry half of them.

"What kind of man who let girl bringing these much?"

Both of you knew how to handling with eachother's moods.

One day, you slammed the door after a shitty day.

"He-"

You just ignored him and went straight to your shared room, slamming down your whole body onto the bed.

Sabito immediately knew that you're in super bad mood, so he prepared hot tea and your favourite snacks, bringing them to bedroom.

He lifted your body, and positioned yourself between his lap, rolling you around and making you hugged his body. After that, he will read books or played with your phones while caressing your back, letting you stay in silence until you started to tell what made you upset today.

Or, when he's the one who stressed, he will say nothing while hugging you from behind and put his head on your shoulder.

"Care to spill?"

"..."

"Okay, then. Anytime you ready." You'll do your usual activity inside the house with he clinging onto you, regaining energy by claimed that it's called 'recharging'.

Day-off like Saturday and Sunday is the most precious day. Well, not really, just doing a normal bunch of what couple would do in the apartment.

Also, he's literally... Your mom.

"Hang it here!" "How many times do I had to tell you to not put your pants and shirts on the chair?" "Don't forget turn off the water." "You haven't cook the rice? Geez, I almost done with the other foods!" "Your bra, missy. I really have an issue with that if you carelessly put them in the living room. What if someone's barge in?"

"I don't think someone will barge in unless they're thief, Sabito."

Not to mention how he forced and dragged you all the way down on Sunday to jogging and running.

"Ok, one more lap!"

"Wha-?! Didn't you just say that this is the last?"

"Go! Go! Go!"

Bathing together after long one day? Sure! But please bear with his groping on your breast when you bathe in with him on the tub.

"I'm not groping, I massage them. They said it will grow bigger."

"...where did you hear that. Also, I'm insulted, you know."

"Hmm, I don't really care but isn't it more-"

"Shut up, you pervert!" You splashed water onto his face.

Other affections like kissing and cuddling were done when both of you about to go to bed. He didn't kiss you outside the house because he wanted to feel the simple intimacy from you.

He usually offered you 'pillow-hand' when you're about to sleep or when you still wanted to talk to him with his feet cuddling yours under the blankets.

"The scar..." You slowly dragged your finger at the reddish mark from mouth to ear. "...If I'm not so stupid to go near the wild dog when we were 10, you probably don't have-"

"How many times do I have to tell you that this is not your fault?" He pressed his temple onto yours. "It was my decision to protect you, this scar is also my responsibility."

"But, I'm still not-"

"Oh, but if you kissed my scar everyday, it probably helps."

"You just wanted to be kissed, do you?" You slowly smacked his head while giggling.

"Yeah, maybe? Just- don't think about it anymore. It's all in the past." He butterfly-kissed your nose, telling you to sleep afterwards.

"Umm, can you pat my back?"

"If it made you at ease, sure." He started to move his hand, dragged his palm on your back.

Now, this is new. He didn't know you like it when he caressed your back.

Even though both of you have been together for a long time, Sabito is still eager to discover other real side of you more, so please be prepared.

[lockdownuk]

Lockdown Diary Part 1

A personal account during the lockdown in the UK due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

23/03/2020 8:30pm Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister, gives a live address to the nation to, effectively, put the country on lockdown to stem the spread of the deadly coronavirus strain, Covid-19.

Many of us have been self-isolating for days but this latest development within the UK in reaction to the pandemic feels very serious and very scary. I decided to keep a simple diary and where better but online.

Day 1: Last night Boris called it, today we’re doing it. I had started working from home (wfh) yesterday as had most people at my work (RCI)..last week I had been preparing laptops as fast as poss for everyone. Even just today, the idea of going into work seems alien and dangerous. Now lockdown (ld) means that it would soon be illegal to do so unless utterly necessary.

Online, FaceBook (fb) especially, is awash with reaction…a lot of calling out people who are out and about in greater numbers than 2, which is against ld rules.

Day 2: Just trying to let work occupy my thoughts and time which is easy enough ‘cos everyone I support (IT engineer) is new to wfh and is having teething problems with all the new laptops. Meanwhile, I keep abreast of comings and goings online…actually socially interacting more than I might otherwise, weirdly

Day 3: Highlight of the day is an online quiz organised by a chap called Jay Flynn on fb…a bunch of us took it as individuals while chatting on Messenger while Jay streamed quiz over fb live and YouTube. It was a good crack and I had two cans of Coors Light which got me pissed!

Day 4: Work is still mad - so many people with IT issues wfh…it’s challenging trying resolve all these probelms remotely but I am rising to it. I actually enjoy it. It satisfies my want for problem-solving.

The ld is in full swing but it’s very early days. The news is dominated, obviously, by Covid-19 and the ever changing stats of infections and deaths. Today, for example, the USA took over, from China, as the country with the most infections. I know there will be an end to all this and I am determined to be there, going out, getting pissed down the pub, gigging, shaking hands with my mates, hugging anyone and everyone who’ll let me - it’ll be a proper party. But I am filled with a dread that it’s going to be a fucking long time coming.

This evening was spent virtually with Foggy, Ham and Andy P…doing a quiz - a rehearsal for Foggy in the hope of doing one to a wider audience next week. It was good fun and great to have a few beers chatting with everyone, Later I video called Fog and we drank ‘til gone midnight, putting the world to rights. I was well pissed.

Day 5: First non-work day of the ld. Housework, daily walk, out for supplies (drop a script order off…queuing outside boots for 15 minues!, bread, baccy and booze). This evening, I’m listening to the next album in NME list of 1985 albums I’m working through - Grace Jones Slave to the Rhythm…fucking pain in the arse ‘cos it’s not on Spotify so I am searching for each song, in order, on YouTube. Plus eating and drinking, of course. Quick video chat with karen and Grace, Dan in the background. I wanted a tin of kidney beans for chilli but Karen hasn’t got one ffs. Burger it is. They are all playing scrabble - I’d love to join in…

Day 6: A quiet day…housework, cooking, daily walk. Highlight was a half hour chinwag with dad who, as I would expect, despite his 84 years, is coping and doing just fine. Most other people with a dad that age would have, on top of their own concerns, something more to worry about during this crisis….for me, it feels like I’ve got someone to turn to, should I need to.

Day 7: Work is starting to feel more routine but it’s a long way off being in the office, which is never routine anyway. That may seem surprising since I do IT support but it’s a varied role, especially at the modern dinosaur of an organisation that is RCI. I try to be as disciplined as possible but I miss not dressing for work, not driving to work, not needing to actually prepare lunch (until lunchtime). I don’t actually need to shower every morning. I don’t think I have to ordinarily but do because I’m mixing with others in the office. I certainly don;t need to now. I only mix with me, so showering becomes a chore but I’m doing it every other morning in the name of the aforementioned discipline. I am worried how long RCI can keep going before laying staff off. I dread being out of work full stop, let alone during this ld, or even thereafter. I think the economies of the world will need time to recover so finding work will be tough à la 2008. I think, if lay-offs were to occur, I’d be in real danger. Last in first out and all that. But, I’ll cross that bridge if and when I come to it.

Day 8: At work there was a large online meeting whereby the MD told us that RCI are going to furlough some staff. The UK, and Ireland staff will be consulted this coming Thursday and Friday (it’s Tuesday today). I shall be reading up on what the furlough arrangements are in the UK due to Covid-19. I know the government have set aside some money, I need to know what I might get paid and how to claim it. In the past, when I’ve been out of work, I’ve been entitled to jack shit other than JSA, This time around, should I be laid off as I expect, I might not have to eat into my savings, fingers crossed. Meanwhile, I have decided to knock up another blog with a photo of myself each day of the ld (from now on) - it’s a sister to this diary.

Day 9: Actually typing this on day 10. Yesterday was a strange day as I contemplate being furloughed (hope for the best, expect the worst)…I’d be paid 80% of my wage according to what the government have said to assist in the Covid-19 crisis…so, were that to be true, I’d be OK money-wise, although still earning way less than I want to prepared for retirement (I am currently still waiting for feedback on a pay increase request I put in at work last year!) I’m more worried about how I would fill my day if I wasn’t working. So, that being said, I flopped and moped about all yesterday evening after my daily walk and, without achieving much at all, didn’t find time to write this entry on the right day…so maybe I can fill my days without much effort!

Day 10: I was furloughed today, starting 5pm tomorrow (Friday 3rd April) and it’s fucked me off. I know it’s not personal but, actually, do I? They’re cutting back the Kettering Desktop team by one, redacted It seems obvious to do this by the ‘last in, first out’ maxim but what about money? others are on more than me (redacted). What about offering it voluntarily - others might go for 80% pay for fuck all - others have family at home to occupy the day  (redacted) . A little bit of me thinks it might be preferable furlough me  (redacted) …others seems to be a favourite and that annoys me. It annoys me because I think I shoot myself in the foot too often. I’m too vocal about some of the (redacted) decisions and practices at work, plus other reasons that I know but can’t be bothered to type. But, my point, is I don’t play the politically correct, corporate game and therefore forget to look out for my own best interests. FUCK.

So, as of tomorrrow evening, I’ve no work to do. The challenge will be to find a way to occupy my day. I’ve already registered to volunteer for the NHS during the ld…let’s see what becomes of that. And I’ve signed up for web development course. I’m going to get fucking pissed this w/e, starting early tomorrow evening.

Day 11: It’s day 12 as I am writing this entry…that might tell any reader, and remind me, that I did as I promised and got pretty drunk. I spent the day geting my work affairs in order i.e. clearing down support tickets assigned to me. I did a good job, nothing left to handover to the remaining team (Jim, Cristina and Mark) and onky one ticket put into the assigned pool. Some nice converstaions were had with associates, many of whom are, too, being furloughed. Nice words were said and Jim and Mark both were supportive in conversations and messages - they both know I don’t wnat this and, I think, they are both relieved it’s not happening to them. 5 pm arrives and I shutdown my work laptop for the last time for at least 12 weeks. After my daily walk, I video chat with Karen, crack open a beer, make Chinese chicken curry (fucking loads, fucking tasty), finish watching The National Theatre stream of One Man, Two Guvnors (really good, see twoinchreview) and the caught up with, and talked bollocks with Andy, Marc and Ham - we tried getting Rog in on it, no dice. I then watched The Heat (I fucking love that film), ate some more, smoked several single-skinners, drank, in total, three cans, seven bottles. I went to bed shortly after 4am. I felt resigned to my furlough and pleasantly wasted.

Day 12: A subdued day…didn’t wake until gone 1:30pm. Jaded but not really suffering. Mooched about, social media, listening to music, watching telly, farting about on the iPad. My daily walk, over the last fews days, has taken a twist…I am trying to run parts of it. Mainly short distances, 80-100m (I estimate) three, maybe four times. It’s fucking knackering me out. I used to run everywhere when I was a teen. Attempting to run now just makes me feel fucking old. Well, I am, so that’s about right.

Day 13: Another day like yesterday except I got up at 10:30 and didn’t feel jaded. The subdued feeling comes from the realsiation that the ld isn’t being treated as seriously as it should be across the board. The news and even posts by locals on FB (Oundle chatter group) suggest groups still meeting up. The weather this w/e has been a factor - 17°c today. I think a total ld will be enforced soon and that would fuck me off. My daily walk is pretty essential for me nowadays not least for the ‘good for your soul’ benefits that dad has always mentioned. Even today’s walk saw a car parked at the gates to the field on the way to Ashton and people on a blanket soaking up the sun, dogs off their leads and people (looked like a family) playing footy on South Road field. Individually they are not presenting any danger, what with the fact they are either living together or far away from others. But they are flaunting the rules and the more that happens the less likely they’ll carry on getting away with it, which will mean total ld for all! I finished the 50 1985 albums today. It mostly confirms to me that I only listened to two albums released that year (Kate Bush, The Waterboys) any other vinyl I spun would have already been in my collection pre-85.

The sausage casserole I made for tea was fucking lush - 4 birdeye chillies. I saw and spoke with Dan and Grace this morning, they were just coming back from a walk. I am pleased to fuck they are together and sorted out the issues they had earlier this year.

Day 14: My first day proper of furlough. Finished my two inch review of the NME 50 albums. Long chat with Rita, quick one with dad. Messaged Sam about Romiley’s present - she’s 10 on the 9th April (Thursday) - ordered some Lego thing from Amazon. Turned the car engine over (reminded myself the driver-side wing mirror is fucked) and moved it to another spot in the Co-op car park - bumped into Matt T. He’s struggling - no work coming in and he can’t claim any of the money on offer ‘cos he’s not being totally honest about his circumstances - made me realise I’m not that bad off…..but I feel depressed about it all, especially with the news that Boris has gone into intensive care.

Day 15: I began a diploma (?) course on web design with Shaw Academy (it was free). They have actual classes (which are recorded) which you schedule yourself. The first one was, I have to say, really interesting - I look forward to continuing. On my walk today, I saw a car parked at the gate to the field at the bottom of Riverside Close; it was branded with Cunninghams Estate Agent with a 01536 number. I am pretty sure I saw the driver walking her dog (unleashed) on the field. I took a photo and rang the number. Yes, I ratted the culprit out…fucking annoys me that I had to. Better than reporting to the police, all round. Hopefully her work will put a stop to her doing it and, the more people that adhere to the rules without the police getting wind of infractions, the more likely we’ll be able to continue to exercise away from home.

Day16: More online learning including checking out other sites (pluralsight) for more learning opportunities. Coded my first web page, basic but mine, in HTML and CSS. A few beers & smokes and watching White Boy Rick in the evening, interspersed with the usual social media / messaging shit, incuding this entry, of course!

Day 17: Typing this on Day 18. After a few beers last night while chatting with Fog (twice - the first chat ended with him ‘having’ to go to bed. Later, I noticed he was commenting on FB, so I video called him…round two of chatting!). I got quite fucking pissed. Bed around 4am.

Day18: Up at 1pm. Long walk today, 7 km. Anything over 40 minutes, I’ve realised, results in a hypo.

Day19: Well, having gone to bed at gone 5am I got up at nearly 1pm feeling far better than I should have. Breakfast followed by a walk, spoke with Karen (mowing her front lawn) and Dan. He and Grace have split up which is sad news but he seems OK. Went shopping (milk and sweets) and ended up with a shit load of booze, the post of which on FB was quite amusing. Homemade burgers for tea (they’re in the fridge as I type) - gonna try and make Five Guys…

Day20: The Five Guys burger attempt didn’t go as well as I wanted. I think less than 5% fat mince just doesn’t bind that well. However, I managed to get something resembling a burger into the bun and, with cheese, hot sauce and jalapeños, it was tasty enough. More of the same when I finish typing this entry. Strange Easter Day today, as I knew it would be. The best thing I saw today was a video Tom posted on FB of him and Molly doing a mashup of Starsailor and George Michael - Tom on guitar singing the former, Molly singing the latter. It was fucking fantatstic.

Day 21: Easter Monday. Surreal…it’s feeling very surreal now, this lockdown.

Two things that bother me right now:

i) The political point scoring on FB. I get it, I really do…people like to bring up ‘obvious’ failings in the party’s mistakes. For example, Marc posting comparisons between UK and Germany’s figures of cases and deaths due to Covid-19. I doesn’t make impressive reading for the government and it should be held accountable. But not fucking now!

ii) Will they introduce rotational furloughing at RCI? It’s only been a week, 11 to go. And, it bothers me that I was furloughed rather than Mark. Pathetic of me, I know! But, should it last the 12 week stretch, I want to go back to work and let someone else have the chance to have fuck all to do all day! That being said, I’m still learning web design through Shaw Academy. Even today, bank holiday, I revised Lesson 2.

Day22: Nice catchup with Dad today - he and Rita seem to be more than OK with lockdown. I actually cannot wait until we can meet up at The Farmers again!

Day 23: While I had a Corvee engineer come to the house today to do a gas safety check (I waited upstairs while he was here, self-isolation and all that), and had the fourth online web design lesson, had a trip to Boots to pick up insulin, got milk from Tesco’s, saw American Rachel and had a chat (while we both queued to get into Tesco’s) and had a very nice walk along a different route from the norm, in the pleasant sunshine and watched Contagion on Netflix - all today - I AM STILL BORED AS FUCK!

Day 24: I had plans for today - revise the last two lessons of Shaw Academy’s web design course, investigate a ethical hacking course, do some washing, clean upstairs (or at least the bathroom) plus all the usual stuff. Then, as a reward, have some beers. Well, guess what. I am not having beers this evening. I managed the laundry. Plus I manged to subtitle my YouTube perfect snabby video (something I have been meaning to do for a while, but, come on!) It took me fucking ages. But it is funny! So, a fucking far from fruitful day. Plus the government announced at least 3 more weeks of lockdown. There’ll be loads more, I reckon. Tomorrow…I promise I’ll be better tomorrow…

Day 25: I did do better! Firstly the Corveee man fucked the boiler which I only noticed late yesterday but still managed to get sorted today. I did some excellent revision and learning of HTML (tags) and CSS. I cleaned the bathroom and hall. And I discovered TikTok (fucking excellent dancing and funny vids) plus discovered a new FaceBook word game (Sam sent me an invite) called WordBlitz and I am pretty good. Having beers now (nearly 11pm).

Day 26: Today I found myself calling 111. I had a pain in my side last night, I thought it might be constipation! That not being the case (!), today I went to 111.nhs.uk and, following their questions, it recommended I seek out a GP straightaway. Once I let the website know that is not possible, it directed me to visit walk in centres. I spoke with Karen thereafter - for advice about whether it’s a good idea to enter such an establishment - I really don’t want to increase me chances of catching the Covid-19 virus. Karen recommended ringing 111 since the website does not take into account my diabetes (so bloody sensible a suggestion!)

After ringing and answering many questions, the lady said she’d get an OOHS GP to call. The doctor called soon after and it seems most likely I have a grumbling appendix (chronic appendicitis) and to ring again (well, 999) if the pain becomes unbearable.

I now have a bag at the ready for hospital which I really hope I don’t have to use. Today, I  have, therefore, done fuck all - not even a walk - but I am having a beer now (midnight) and shall attempt to sleep as well as possible and hope this pain subsides naturally…

It occurs to me that I turn to Karen when things become flumoxing - my excuse, this time, is she works at the surgery but that was mere convenience.

Day 27: My ‘appendicitis pain was the same when I woke up (10:20) but no worse. I managed to change bed clothes and clean my bedroom but didn’t risk a walk (in case something drastic happens when I’m in a fucking field).

People’s responses and questions online have been heartening (Rachel Harris, Susie Grange, Bethan, Jo, Tracey Weber, Debbie De Prisco and, not least Dan). As the day progresses, I feel better but not right. I spoke with Dad about it and, as I told him, I shall ring Oundle GP tomorrow. Meanwhile, I did Sam Clew’s FB Live quiz, which was good, and am now having a beer or two.

Day 28: The pain in my side has definitley diminished. I called the Oundle surgery today to talk about what treatment I should have for ‘grumbling appendicitis’. The reseptionist organised a call back from a GP - Dr. Cash. Basically, he said he didn’t believe the condition existed, that acute appendicitis doesn’t happen after the age of 35, and ‘his gut felling’ is it will all just clear up.

I shall seek a more sensible diagnosis after lockdown and hope it doesn’t flare up again before then.

Day 29: I sent an email to the team at work today (Jim, Mark, Cristina and Sueanne). I hadn’t heard from them and I wanted to check in and, also, make a point that I will be posing the ‘rotational furlough’ question to HR at some point. It was as I wrote the email that I realised it’s only been two weeks and two days of furlough, and that includes Easter! Seems so much fucking longer. Anyway, everyone replied and it was good to hear from them….Mark came off his bike and broke ribs and collarbone! Lesson 5 of the Web Design course with Shaw Academy. It’s becoming apparent that, if you don’t pay for the course ‘toolkit’ it’s all rather patchy! The instructor dives into lines of code (HTML, CSS and Java) with no explanation….I feel like I did on the ifrst lesson of further maths ate Stamford School! I shall soldier on and beef up the missing parts with W3Schools (a great website and learning aid for coding). Two quick points. I am no longer running any part of my daily walk; hurts too much. I am addicted to Wordblitz and TikTok. Day30: I am writing this on day 31, I just forgot yesterday! It was a non eventful day. I did watch Midnight Run (again!) and had a couple of midweek beers though.

[thewritingcaddy]

My Answers to the WIP Ask Meme

Original meme here

1: Summarize your WIP in 10 words or less.

A group of Ghosthunters confront a hidden government.

2: Post a line from your WIP with no context.

“Because you’ve been shrieking about it for the last ten minutes!” Their mother interrupted.

3: Does your WIP have a title? If so, explain its significance. If not, what are you calling it for now?

Not yet. I’m calling it Haunted Towers for now.

4: Describe the setting of your WIP.

1990s Britain. Set in the Cardiff-Newport area of South Wales.

5: Search for the word “knife” in your WIP. If you find it, paste the line and explain the context.

-

6: Search for the word “dream” in your WIP. If you find it, paste the line and explain the context.

"Debt for years and another three or four years of graft and you too can have the high-flying career of your dreams," Becky narrowly avoided a red light.

A teenage Siobhan is talking to a Sixth Former about A Levels and University. 

7: What are you most proud of?

Having anything at all in the way of work on this WIP. My fibromyalgia has hit me like a truck and I can’t believe my writing didn’t get sidelined. I fight really hard for it though. I was determined not to give it up because of fibromyalgia.

8: What is your biggest challenge?

Personally, the fibro, but I also struggle with depression and that obviously affects motivation, self-esteem and anxiety. The thing that suffers the most is my writing, because that is the thing I love the most, and that’s what depression seems to do.

From a writing angle, though, with this particular project, I want to write an ensemble cast, but I’m sure how that will work. I’ve never written an ensemble cast before, and the only time I can recall seeing it done was in Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, where it was done really, really well.

9: How would you describe your writing style?

My writing is fairly simple, I think. My worlds and characters are quite well-developed. My weakpoint is plot. I’m not a writer of stunning prose or anything. Other than not being super literary-fiction-ish, I don’t really know what my style is.

10: How would you describe your WIP’s narrative style? (1st person, 3rd person, multiple POVs, single POV, alternating chapters, etc.)

Ensemble cast, multiple POV, leaning on 3rd person at the moment, but I want to try out 1st, just to see. I want to keep all the POVs in one or the other and not mix them, but that does sometimes work, so maybe I should try it?

11: Which character do you have the most in common with?

Ember or Siobhan I think. Some elements of Anna.

12: Which character do you have the least in common with?

Millie.

13: Your characters are stranded on a deserted island. What happens?

Well, they are a team, and they are trained to work as a team in dangerous situations, so on a survival front, they would whip that island into shape! They’d swing instantly into action, gathering resources, building shelter, scouting out potential risks… They’d get along ok with each other too. They are also good at keeping calm, and not panicking and fucking everything up. The issues would come when they miss home, and when the introverts need a break from the extroverts, and when the extroverts need more fun and people around. Also, Siobhan and Liv are not normally on jobs with them. Siobhan is their headset voice, and Liv is their manager at the office. So with Siobh and Liv stranded with them, the whole dynamic would change, and most of the team don’t know Liv that well. They’d also really, really miss Siobh’s outside view of everything and their sensible headset voice! Although she would be there, she wouldn’t have the more expansive viewpoint to guide them with. If Siobhan wasn’t there, it would come down to can she access their surroundings to guide them, does her tech work, and can they still communicate? If they didn’t have access to Siobhan one way or the other there would be panic. She is their steersman! They need her more than they know.

14: Have you chosen birthdays for any of your characters? If so, when are they?

I’ve always done this for my characters, but not for this cast, for some reason.

15: Do you know your characters’ MBTI personalities?

No. I can’t do that 7 or 8 times. 

16: What would your characters be for Halloween?

Siobhan: A genie

Liv: When Liv is male he would go as an elf. When female she would go as a sort of candypop character. Like candy pastels and fun. Somewhere along the lines of Strawberry Shortcake in cuteness, but really modern, with candy pastels.

Millie: A ghost bride

Astro: A ghost

Neve: A witch

Anna: A vampire

Katie: An alien, especially E.T

Ember: A werewolf

17: Does your WIP have any themes or motifs?

Friendship and betrayal are huge in Haunted Towers. And the general aesthetic of British 90s as a motif.

18: What’s easier, dialogue or description?

I enjoy writing prose more than dialogue.

19: Post a picture or gif that describes your WIP.

20: Post a brief excerpt.

Alone in her car, Siobhan turned her CD player up. The music was older than her. Something her Dad had loved before she was born. She knew she shouldn’t be listening to it. Her mother, her friends and even her little sister had complained that she was holding on and making herself depressed. But Siobhan didn’t care. She wanted her dad, and since she couldn’t have him, then she would have this. She’d switch it to something more upbeat as she got near the office. There was that one set of traffic lights that always took forever. She’d use that as her cue to listen to her own, current stuff. By the time she got to work she’d be fine and no one would ever know. 

[vmedley90]

In-Processing and Housing

So today, I’m talking about how I, as a spouse, in-processed and our experience with housing. I’m putting these two together because they happen in-tandem; however, this post will be structured by topic. Feel free to read what’s most relevant to you.

TL;DR-

In-Processing: as a spouse, I didn’t do much to “in process”. First, I got every pamphlet from ACS that I could carry at one time. Next I got into IACS and got my SOFA stamp. Third, I rested. Haha! That was pretty much it. Everything else I’ve done and want to do is extra- not mandatory.

Housing: We shipped our HHG SUPER early- as in a month and a half before we left. So when we got our house, we were able to get our HHG the very next day. YESSSSS!!!!!!! We turned down our first offer and accepted the second. We weren’t picky; realized housing was trying to accommodate us as best they could; and military housing can never match your idea of “home”. 

The long story:

In-Processing: So by this point, you know that we couldn’t in-process right away. I can’t speak to this too much because he went through the process and not me. I can say that he went to a briefing early one morning and came back with lots of information and a two week schedule of briefings and such. Some of these included: setting up our APO (like the first day), getting into IACS (ID Card access), getting a USEUR license, and German language and culture. Be sure to speak with your spouse about things like TriCare coverage and what you would like in a house because he will more than likely encounter these things before you do as a spouse. Be sure to debrief with him each day of the in-processing because he will come across really good information that you can use to help get settled. 

He did the first step of the process which was to basically fill out some paperwork and get our name on the list. I was not with him for this. It will probably be the same for you and your spouse when you arrive as housing was on his in-processing schedule. 

As a spouse, as aforementioned, I really only had to get into IACS which required a trip to the Soldier for Life building in Graf. Super simple process. I also had to get my SOFA stamp because Bragg wouldn’t do it. That was also a really simple process that required a trip to the same building but to the Passport office. You can definitely get a lot of things done before lunch if you just get to the Soldier for Life building early that morning and just work your way through the different offices.

General note- the whole base basically shuts down between 11:30 and 12:00 for lunch. Handle your business before 11:30 or plan to wait until at least 13:00. Some places only open on certain days and at certain times so call before you go. Also, lots of places in the mall area of the PX and Commissary open at 10AM... some banks do too. Keep this in mind. I definitely got my feelings hurt thinking I’d be able to go do something at 8:00 only to find out it wasn’t open.

 In the first few weeks, you will be using your copy of the orders, a marriage certificate, passport, and ID fairly often so keep them handy with you if you plan to handle any official business. It is also good to have a Power of Attorney because some things can only be done by your spouse. For example, renewal of ID cards. Mine was about to expire so I went to the office to inquire about the renewal process. Babes had to be with me if I didn’t have a PoA. I was able to accept and deny housing offers without the PoA and luckily he was there with me to sign the paperwork for the one we accepted. So I’m not sure if it would be required for this step. Babes and I have decided to keep an active one even though he is home from deployment because it makes things super simple when we are handling business. I can handle whatever business I need to handle independently of him and he can focus on his daily tasks at work. 

Another thing I did to “in-process” was go by ACS and assess the services they offer and they offer ALOT!! It was overwhelming how many different services you can take advantage of through ACS. Like I said, I took EVERY. SINGLE. PAMPHLET. (Thanks for showing me the way Grandma!). Literally! That was the only way I could process what I needed and what I didn’t. It was all really good information and if I ever get a car I will definitely take advantage of all them. I also got a Spouse Checklist that was super helpful! I would advise giving ACS a good gander when you get here. They really take care of you out here! Everyone felt like family. They many opportunities to learn the language and culture, become acquainted to the area, and meet other spouses.

That’s it. I really didn’t do much to in-process but I believe the steps I did take were key to getting settled so quickly. Knowledge is key here!

Next up is Housing! HURRAYYYY!!! Everyone’s favorite subject!

We shipped our HHG extremely early. We scheduled our HHG shipment prior to our flight so we had no idea when we were leaving as they packed our things. We simply discussed how we would live after the goods were shipped and where we would stay until we left regardless of when that was. With that information in mind here is our timeline:

Nov 19: HHG Packed up

Dec 14: Move out of house

Dec 26: Car shipped from VA

Dec 27: Flight to Germany

Dec 28: Flight landed and bus to Graf

Jan 2: Begin in processing

Jan 7: Initial housing offer

Jan 11: 2nd housing offer

Jan 14: Accepted housing offer and got keys

Jan 15: HHG delivered and move in

Jan 21: Set up internet with Jobst

Jan 30: Internet hardware installed officially set up

So roughly 2 months after packing up our house we were resettled and pretty comfortable. Naturally there are a few creature comforts that we still lack- (wifey needs her face creams!!) but we are home for the most part. 

I think the key to this was shipping our goods super early. We decided to basically camp out in our living room to ensure our goods got here when we arrived if not before. That way, we wouldn’t have to wait too long to get comfortable again. We had two camping chairs and a good blow up mattress, blanket, and pillows. We used Styrofoam plates and plastic utensils. Food was kept to a minimum and we basically ate what was in the freezer. We only bought the healthy essentials like greens so we didn’t constipated from all of the noodles and junk food ahaha! Another key thing we did was pack our bags early as well so trying to decide what to wear was easy. We did this until we moved out. We left the bathroom the way it was when the movers came because we knew we were getting rid of most of those items and we wanted a little stability to our living situation after all of our things were gone. Everything that was left in our house was able to fit in his Wrangler and my PT Cruiser. We rented a small U-Haul because we had the washer and dryer to move but if we didn’t have those two large items, we wouldn’t have needed the U-Haul at all. 

The HHG pack up process was really simple. Someone came to the house about a week or so before we were due to pack up to look at the main items we had. We try to live minimally so we didn’t have a lot of stuff. A living room sofa set, a dining set, two bedroom sets complete with a vanity and tall chest of drawer, a book case, an L-shaped desk, and some closet racks. The moving company came super late- SUPER LATE. Apparently, they are always late but they are also very thorough. First they came in and started putting everything in boxes. For about an hour all we heard was boxes and packing tape. They packed up everything except our bathroom. EVERYTHING! A few pieces of trash included. I had heard they would, but having never experienced it, I was unprepared. We didn’t have to do anything but sit back and watch, we answered questions and gave guidance where necessary but we basically just tried to stay out of the way. 

Take pictures of everything major that is being shipped because if it can be taken apart- it will be. They dismantled everything and assured us the moving company here would put it back together which they did. Some items were a hassle because we didn’t know which table leg and screw went to which end-table-top. So, make sure you have pictures of your items to make this process easier and ask the moving company to label things as well. As they took things a part they packed it in small crates. In total we had about 6 or 7 crates. I think living so lightly also made getting resettled easier because you won’t have much to ship and unpack. OK, next on to how we got our house.

We’ve been married for almost four years now and this is our fifth address but our first PCS. Out of all those moves, this is the first time we’ve been able to choose a house together. We didn’t have a long extended conversation about what kind of house we wanted; we just felt it in our gut which is how we tend to do things in our relationship anyway. When we got our first offer, we were able to go there together and check it out and neither of us felt it was home. It wasn’t bad at all. In fact it was clean and modern. Very nice. So nice in fact it felt like a hotel room. Which is one reason we turned down. Our first offer was a 3rd floor apartment. Big no no for us. The outside looked like the barracks. A turn off. The ceiling was low and there was a huge support structure in the middle of the living room. We’re kind of tall and preferred not to hit the ceiling every time we stretched. Jeez. It was 2 bedrooms with a playroom/office and 2 bathrooms. No carpet. Modern and up to date appliances. Seemingly new flooring. Walking distance from the commissary and other frequently used services. It wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t for us. And that’s ok. 

Now, it’s just me and him; so, we knew we couldn’t be too choosy. You can take that route if you want; but, trust me it won’t end well. While I was declining the first offer, there was a different service member there desperately explaining why he needed a 3 or 4 bedroom house even though he wasn’t qualified to have it. Housing was like “nah bruh”. Not sure how that turned out. If you know you’re picky, just go ahead and find your own housing through a German realtor. There’s more work involved in getting resettled but it’ll be worth it because you’ll be more comfortable (in theory). We, however did not want to go through that hassle- we really didn’t have a reason to do so and it just didn’t seem worth it since this isn’t our forever home. Plus having the “rent and utilities” come directly from his check was and still is more appealing to us then having to have a foreign bank account with enough money to cover these necessities each month. Not that we couldn’t afford it but just the whole process of transferring funds and such didn’t (and still doesn’t) sit well with me. Hiccups happen and I prefer not to get burned on a technicality- know what I mean? 

Anywho. Back to the story at hand. We turned down the first offering immediately and while I was there the agent told me they had something else they could offer us that Friday. Pure luck. It was off-post (which we were trying to avoid) but it was quiet, more spacious, and would probably suit us. We viewed it and feel in love. It’s not perfect. We prefer a stand alone single family one story (ranch style) home and this is a duplex townhome but it’s spacious. Has carpet. A little older but has character. It’s got two bedrooms plus a playroom/office and two and a half bathrooms. I fell in love with the huge laundry room (huge to me at least) and our little cute back yard. We’ve had backyards before, of course, but each time they’ve had trees or a woodline at the edge. which makes the grass grow a little weird IMO. This is all soft, lush, green, grass. I may regret this when spring hits but for now I love it. We gave ourselves some time to think on it- you have 72 hours to accept or decline after viewing- and decided this was probably the best we could get, so, we accepted. Plus we were about sick of staying in the hotel room which for us was like living at a Comfort Inn. 

Note: there was a weird smell in the house which I thought was indicative of needing to be cleaned. They sent someone to look at it and that person determined it was fine. The house had been empty for almost a year and almost everything was replaced after being thoroughly cleaned after the last tenant. It was as close to new as we could get. I say that to illustrate this point:  If you want a house but think something is wrong with it, they will do what they can to make it more livable for your including new carpet, another cleaning etc. Just express your concerns and know that they can work with you within reason. 

So, after accepting, the agent asked when our goods would arrive to determine if we needed loaner furniture. I called the moving company and they informed me they could deliver the next day if we wanted them to so naturally that was the option I took. Your move-in date will depend, in large part, on when you can get furniture. Had we taken the loaner furniture, it would have been another week or so in the hotel because the loaner furniture wasn’t ready for us immediately. They really try to take care of you as best they can IF you are reasonable and willing to work with them. 

... and that’s it! Once we got our household goods, we were set. 

I know this was another really long post but I hope you were able to get some information that is helpful- or you were at least somewhat entertained. I’ll try to get some pictures up of the house soon but OPSEC and stuff make it difficult. Next up... Our trip to Weiden!

[ringtomb]

Ranking narrative artistic mediums Part 2

Ok where we left off was explaining how narrative can exist within an artistic medium, so I might as well say other artistic mediums that will not be on this ranked list. Painting, sculpture, fashion, photography, papercraft, cooking, and graphic design are a few that come to mind. Now lets keep going

LITERATURE

I think this being so low might be a bit disingenuous, because I really haven’t read that many books. But I feel I have seen enough from wildly different genres to comment on how the medium fails for me. The biggest problem is that there are way too many fucking books.

That may sound like a strange thing to say, but I want to lay down another point that compounds the issue I have presented. Most authors are inspired by previous books, so they write books that appeal to thier specific interest. Therefore you get books spawned from extremely incestious ideas and most of the time fail to appeal to larger demographics. I was reading a book called Wonderstruck and all I could think was “This person only reads fantasy children's novels” because there is barely a plot and a shit ton of setting description, a factor very prominent in fantasy children’s novels.

Another issue is the way that literature is treated by the academic system, which aggrandizes thematic purpose over narrative strength. Shit like Fahrenheit 451 and Lord of the flies that are terrible books without any appealing aspects outside of the ability to write high school book reports on them. This is why I think most people are turned off from reading, because were tasked with writing about them in a way that can defeat the fun of reading for most people.

There are books that I do enjoy, I’ve read the opening to Swann’s Way over 5 times because it’s so good, but also because it so hard to grasp on first read through, which sucks cause this is a book with about 1.2 million words so it’s gonna take a while to finish. And books like Madame Bovary understand how to describe a setting without being uninteresting. The problem with the medium is that anyone can be a writer, and most are not good at it, which makes me scared to pick up any book at all cause the quality is never immediately apparent.

MOVIE/THEATRE

I would say that this is significantly higher than literature because it’s mostly because I have a much more adept understanding of this medium. With that said I think a good movie is only strong in it’s ability to immerse you in it’s world. I was going to separate animated movies and live action movies, but with the technological advancement in CG greenscreen effects, the 2 are not so different anymore, at least with the financially backing of any of the modern blockbuster publishers today.

I will say that good movies are able to have quippy writing conveying simple ideas, and change which occurs in the character is often too rushed to my liking. That’s why the best movies focus on spectacle, cause what else are you going to do with that money.

I’m going to use Miyazaki for this example, cause for the most part I find a good number of his movies to be kind of boring. And I get there is an exceeding amount of craft that goes into each on of his films, which is outlined incredibly in Digibro’s  “How Hayao Miyazaki Maps A Setting”. But too me, none of what was being presented was saying anything of worth, and if the worth is in it’s existence then I guess I will forever remain untapped by his genius.

That doesn’t mean that I don’t find visually stunning moments engaging, but to imply that there is meaning in it outside of spectacle is ludicrous to me. I will say though that well written movies are something else to behold, because the run time elicits a much shorter margin of error when it comes to dialogue, which can make the times it’s pulled off like The Incredibles and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly that much more special. But again with literature, it’s mostly few and far between, but at least it’s more my fault this time.

VIDEOGAMES

Dude I love videogames, I have had some of the most fun playing Pokemon, or pulling off team wipes in Overwatch, or exploring the maze like catacombs of Hollow Knight are some of the most fun I’ve ever had. But do they make for good narratives? Kind of, and to that I’m going to bring up a scale which have two games at each end.

To the left we have Minecraft, and to the right we have Muv-Luv. Both to many are considered masterpiece games, each appealing for different reasons, but the factor that the scale determines is the amount of choice the player has.

In Minecraft you can literally do whatever you want, and the appeal is to literally be immersed by having your actions effect what happens in the game. It’s atmosphere cranked up to the maximum, and it’s a major factor in why Minecraft is one of the most critical and commercially beloved games ever.

Now we have Muv-Luv. Muv-Luv is a really long visual novel where the amount of actions a player can make that would actually effect the experience are few and far between. And even when a playthrough splits, most people seek out the routes they have missed to get the full story. It’s fully dedicated to it’s narrative, which most people find fantastic. And on both ends of the spectrum I am not satisfied.

Minecraft can be fun, but it only feels as much of an extension of me as it is me within the videogame, there’s nothing nuanced or contemplative about it, it’s just you but in the block world. And of course most games like this literally don’t have a story in mind at all, and I can’t fault it for not trying to have one. But in going to Muv-Luv you meet another issue.

Visual novels are usually portrayed in the first person, and this frankly confuses me. Most narratives are told in the 3rd person, and this works 99% of the time. We don’t have to be the characters to get invested in them, rather we understand thier circumstances and sympathize with thier struggles and celebrate in thier successes. So when you are thrown into the first person, you literally have to connect with what the character is saying, and this fails most of the time. If I’m supposed to be Takeru, and he says something I don’t think I would say, my suspension of disbelief is lowered that much and it frankly reminds me that I am indeed playing a videogame, and that’s something a videogame should never do.

So of course there are ways around this, Pokemon literally makes the main character never speak which is kinda lame. But in the realm of RPGs, I think games like Persona do the right approach and literally have the character you play as be it’s own character (showed in the 3rd person) and just allow you to move when the game needs to go from plot point to plot point. It retains the appeal of a videogame while having the ability to be a narrative, and that is where I live.

Videogames are higher here only because I do enjoy games just for game feel, but they do have the ability to pull off strong narratives as well, which is well appreciated.

Continued in the finale

[bethmunroemusic-blog]

10 Things I wish I knew before I joined a band

If you are a musician just starting out, then this article will save you time and money.

​​​

​1. Sort out your PRS account right now PRS (Performance Rights Society) pay musicians whenever their original songs are played in public. This means you can get paid for playing your own songs at gig. Lets say you play an average small show every couple of weeks, you're talking royalties of around £200 per year, and the payout increases as you get bigger gigs and play to more people. I remember back when I was unsure, was unfamiliar with how the whole thing worked - so I left it. Looking back now if I had signed up to PRS at the beginning, I'd have an extra £500 right now. You can't afford not to do this >>> www.prsformusic.com.

2. Be a hard-ass Keeping a band going takes a huge amount of work. Do not let any of your band mates hold you down with laziness, negativity, apathy or bad attitude.  You deserve musicians who are dedicated, hard working, professional, level headed, respectful and kind. This is your future, don't let anyone else take it away from you.  When I look back on my musical career, I see someone who stayed quiet and kept the peace with the wrong people, and repeatedly walked away with nothing but time wasted. It is one of the saddest feelings in the world to know that I let my entire career slide, simply out of fear of being called a bossy bitch. And I really, really, don't want it to happen to you too.

3. Practice, practice, practice My guitar tutor said: "A good musician practices until they get it right, a great musician practices until they cannot get it wrong." Mistakes happen live, it's actually not a problem with the right attitude - but walking onstage underprepared and terrified is bound to affect everything about your performance.  Practice your parts 100x until they're completely muscle memory and watch how much it transforms your performance. Everything will improve, both from the audience's perspective and yours. You may be nervous, but be over-prepared, and everything will fall into place.

4. Network It will always be the people around you that end up opening doors for you. Don't be afraid to send out lots of messages and emails, and make sure they’re clear, concise and professional. Your first message is often ignored, a good rule is to message 3 times, the 3rd say it’s your last message, and thanks for their time anyway. This approach is actually quite successful in finally getting a reply. Gigs will always be the best way to network. The gigs I landed at first were because I went to gigs, and physically introduced myself to the promoter. Be polite, smile, take a moment to describe your band and hand them a CD/card/bit of paper with your details, then message them a bit later reminding them who you are. This is the most effective way to get a gig. Other musicians can get you gigs as well, so it’s always worth introducing yourself to them. Just take a moment to say hi, compliment them and take a couple of minutes to let them know you exist, are a musician and nice human being. Lastly, the audience, if you're super friendly and seen at gigs, people will have a good impression of you before you've stepped onstage. Seriously, go to gigs, it's the best thing you can do to help your career. 

5. Do social media properly Promoters, managers and radio pluggers pay attention to how you handle your social media. Building an online fan base takes so much patience and work to expand into what you want. Facebook is terrible for self-promotion, and is not the main site you should concentrate on. Instagram is probably the best right now, (although there’s rumours about them restricting reach like Facebook, so be wary.) Spend time on each platform, learn the algorithms, patterns and behaviours of each site, keep engaging with others as much as possible so that you're bringing people in and not just hurling posts out into the abyss every now and then. Create content with personality, pictures work better than words, and videos work best of all, so let people see you, even just you chatting or a bedroom video of a new song. Let people into your life and make them feel like they know you. An important point: Set up social media for yourself as a musician, as well as for your band. The 2 pages can reference each other and bounce off one another, and if the band splits up, you're not suddenly starting from square one, which - trust me - is a massive pain.

6. Surround yourself with good people You deserve to be surrounded by people who are committed, respectful, and want the best for you. I’ve been in bands with some awful negative people, and I’ve been in bands with outright bullies that completely pulled my confidence apart. It happens often, and sometimes when you’re in the middle of it you don’t realise what’s happening. You will meet assholes everywhere on your journey, but the good thing is as time goes on you will be better equipped to recognise them.  ***Never stick to someone awful out of desperation, you are better off on your own than with someone who isn’t a good person.***

7. Play simple stuff well When I began playing guitar, I refused to let anyone hear me because I thought I was shit (I mean, I was shit, but that's beside the point.) I spent so much time doing exercises that I hated, so that I could 'shred'. I didn't even like it, I just felt like I was supposed to. I neglected the important things: being a solid, well-rounded player, building a unique style, knowing my stuff, and playing confidently. I sucked all the fun out of music for myself, simply out of insecurity and a need to be validated. When I went to study music I had to relearn playing simple stuff well. Learn great songs, not just difficult songs, find a balance of learning things you love and also learning the things you need to know to be a good musician - and practice it all to a metronome. Know your basic rudiments/chords/scales when asked, play in time and play with ease, this is what other musicians are looking for. It doesn't matter if what you play is simple, what matters is that you play it well.  

8. Budget, schedule, research and plan I know right? I'm sorry to be the one to say this to you. It's going to be a lot easier to reach your goals and do what you dream of doing if you set up a business plan, take small, logical steps, and always know what you’re doing, and why.  You are much more likely to get something done if you break it down into small, manageable chunks, figure out how each chunk is going to get done, and set deadlines. To try and keep a band afloat takes serious planning and organisational skills, practice budgeting and time management now, so that when you suddenly need to organise a tour or a new release, you aren't completely overwhelmed.

9. Ask for help People absolutely freaking loooove it when you ask for their advice. Never be afraid of bugging strangers for advice or small favours, as long as you are polite, flattering and succinct. Tell them you are unsure and would love their personal professional advice, not a problem if they are busy, thanks either way etc. If you’re struggling to get gigs or get noticed ask a more established band how they did it, or ask someone in the industry what they’re looking for, and if there's an area you could improve. All they can do is ignore your request, now is not the time to be embarrassed or proud. The same goes with loans or favours. Put yourself across as someone who's trying really hard to do something amazing, and people will want to help you. Be excited about this adventure, so that people want to join in. If you are nice and non-pushy they can only say no. If you are asking for anything from anyone, remember to keep it really, really, really positive, never winge or make excuses, you are there to sell this idea, this excitement of the fact that you are going to work hard, play great songs and change the world. Stay humble and remember you could always do with advice and help from people no matter who you are.

10. Be ok with failure You alone determine your future, even if your current band and the next 10 bands you join all fail. If you are going out there and making mistakes, and struggling through problems, and losing people you thought would help you, and falling on your ass, and starting over again - this is what you are meant to be doing. Breathe, you're doing just fine.  This is the amazing journey that’s been put out in front of you to mould you into a greater musician, a savvier entrepreneur, and a better and stronger person. This is your chance to prove to yourself how much you really want this.  I’ve seen so many amazing bands that gave up, just because they had a couple of setbacks or someone left the band, or it was too hard for them. This is the most common thing that will pull your competition down, and the longer you hold on without giving up, the more your competition will begin to fall away while you're still learning and becoming better than ever. If you don’t give up then you have a greater chance than anybody else around you. This could be the one thing that means you make it when other people don't. Hold on.  Beth Munroe is an Indietronica artist signed to WMTH Records. She is a guitarist, singer and songwriter, and has been a gigging musician for 10 years. She studied Guitar and Songwriting at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music, and has since been touring new material. For more see her social media: BethMunroeMusic.co.uk Facebook.com/BethMunroeMusic Instagram.com/BethMunroeMusic

[niall-is-my-dream]

The Bucket List - Chapter One

You unpacked the last of the boxes in the kitchen, looking around at the beautiful apartment you’d just moved into. It was on the top floor, open plan with a large living space leading onto a dining/kitchen, modern and sleek. You knew you were lucky to be able to afford this. Luck had everything to do with it. Winning that money had given you so many opportunities. 

You walked out onto the balcony off from the kitchen and gazed at the London skyline. The sun was setting and it was stunning. The evening London breeze was cool but welcoming considering you’d been lugging boxes all day. You’d had help though, your Mam and Pops had helped. They were wonderful people - Mary and Bob were your unofficial adopted parents. They ran the Irish pub “The Charm” down near Putney market. You’d rented a flat above the pub from them when you’d first moved here a year ago. Unsure what area to buy in you’d rented to get a feel of where you wanted to live. They’d taken you in with warm welcoming Irish arms, made you feel like their own child. They’d got a son Michael who was 33 and recently married and treated you like a sister. You’d been alone for many years now. Your mother passing away when you were 5 and your father when you were 19.

At 29 you were starting your life over, leaving your old one in Norwich behind. It was a relief to be away from there, away from your step mum and sister and that fucking stupid ex of yours. This was a new start and something you were excited about. You finally could explore and be who you wanted to be. Not trapped like before.

You checked the time almost 6:30 you’d better get ready to leave if you were going to get to the pub by 7. It was a busy night at the pub tonight, a local band were playing and you’d said you play piano for them on a song plus you’d said you’d help your Pops collect glasses and pull the odd pint for him behind the bar if he needed the help. You walked into your bedroom to change your clothes. Slipping on a pair of dark denim jeans, simple black vest top and black cotton cardigan. You checked your hair, a messy bun and applied some lipbalm to your lips. That’ll do, no need to dress up for the pub. You grabbed your bag, keys and phone on the way out slipping on some black leather flip flops.

The pub was only 10 mins away walking, you chose not to drive as you knew you’d enjoy a couple of drinks tonight as your friend Katie was out with her boyfriend and some of his mates. You’d only known Katie about 6 months, having met at the leisure club where you both used the gym and were part of a couple of dance clubs. She was hilarious and had instantly connected. You’d told her about the live music tonight and she said she’d come down with her boyfriend Willie and some friends for a few drinks.

You walked into the pub, instantly spotting your Pops behind the bar. You made your way over to him, discarding your bag in the back behind the bar and planted a kiss on his cheek.

“Hey Pops.” You said. 

“Hey baby girl.” He replied, in his strong Irish accent. “You get unpacked ok?”

“Sort of, still a bit of organising but nothing too major. Where’s Mam?” You asked. 

“Out collecting glasses and chatting to your friend Katie.” He said.

“I’ll go save Katie then!” You replied, with a laugh.

You made your way through the bar saying hello to a few people when you saw your Mam in the far right next to the stage. She was stood chatting to Katie who she had met a couple of times and a few lads. One you presumed to be Willie as you’d not met him yet and three other lads one of which you recognised, but couldn’t quite figure out from where.

You reached the table but heard your Mam already introducing you to the lads you didn’t know. “Here’s my beautiful girl, she’s single you know lads! Been trying to find her a nice Irish lad but she’s reluctant to let me match make aren’t you?!”

“Thanks for that introduction Mam!” You said, feeling your cheeks flush with embarrassment.

“She’s the most Irish English girl you’ll ever meet! A very good Guinness drinker to!” She added with a wink. “Wanted to adopt her but apparently you can’t adopt 29 year old women!”

Geez she was desperate for me not to be alone wasn’t she?!

You gave her a hug and she picked up the glasses from the table, said her goodbyes before heading off to the bar.

“Sorry about that!” You said, feeling ridiculously embarrassed in front of everyone.

“She is a proper Irish mammy isn’t she?” Said one of the lads in a strong Irish accent. “Got excited when she realised we were all Irish and 3 of us were single!” He added.

You let out a massive laugh apologising to them about your crazy Mam.

Katie introduced everyone, her boyfriend Willie, his brother’s Deo and Martin and their cousin Niall. They all said hi when it hit you. Holy fuck! That’s who you recognised. Niall, Niall Horan from one direction now singing and writing solo.

You tried to hide my reaction that you knew who he was, when Katie addressed it by asking if you were playing any of his music tonight.

“No, I don’t think we are. So you don’t have to worry about us ruining any of it!” You said laughing. He laughed too and asked what you were playing tonight.

“Oh I’m just playing piano for one song, the lads haven’t mastered it yet and I know it, so I said I’d help them out. I sometimes cover guitar and piano if any of lads can’t make gigs due to work and stuff but thankfully I’m not needed much tonight.” You said, trying not to sound smug about your skills on the piano.

“What instruments can you play?” He said, his blue eyes staring right at you. You felt my heart flicker and skip a beat.

“I play cello, piano, acoustic guitar, bass guitar and the banjo.” To anyone else this sounded like you were a massive geek and you'd hated your Dad for pushing you to learn them at first but you loved it now.

“Cool.” He said.

Just then you heard your name being called across the bar. 

“Annie, you ready?” It was James the lead singer of the band. 

“Yes mate, one minute.” You shouted back. “Sorry guys, gotta go.”

“Join us after for a drink?” Asked Katie. 

“Yes babe, will do. See you guys soon.”

You waved goodbye and walked over to James with a weird feeling that you were being watched.

The band played their first song whilst you went to the toilet, you stared at your reflection in the mirror. 

Now you were nervous. 

You never really got nervous, but with a bloody international fucking pop star sitting in the pub watching, you were now shitting your pants! Get a grip Annie you said to yourself. With that you walked out of the toilet and sat your bum in front of the piano for your song.

“Ready Annie?” James asked. 

“Sure am.”

You pressed the keys and started playing, James’s voice following along with you. Ophelia was one of your favourite songs and something you'd spent hours learning to play. James’s husky voice accompanied it beautifully.

You finished playing, you hadn’t fucked up in front of Niall and your Mam had placed Pint of Guinness on the top of the piano. You felt pretty good!

The pint was cold and you chugged down a quarter of it straight away, James introduced you to the crowd of about 70 who were in that night and you smiled at the applause raising your glass. You made yoir way over to Katie and the lads. Looking at where to sit you noticed Niall had moved along the bench to make space on the end for you.

“Thanks lovely.” You said, as you sat down. 

Good Lord he smelt good. Clean washing and coconut. You perched your backside on the bench trying not to sit too close to him.

“That was brilliant.” Said Deo. “Really good.”

“Thanks.” You replied.

“Didn’t know you could play like that Annie!” Said Katie sounding shocked. “Thought you just knew how to shake your backside and drink Guinness, quite a talented lady.” She let out a chuckle.

“Shake your backside??” asked Niall looking from you to Katie with a smirk wondering what she meant.

“That made me sound like some sort of exotic dancer Katie! We attend a modern dance class together on Wednesday night’s that’s what she means!” You say defensively whilst giggling.

“Here I’ll show you.” Said Katie, and she got her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through. “Lucy filmed us last week didn’t she?”

And with that she brought up the recording she had showing you both dancing to Mi Gente by J Balvin and Willy William featuring Beyonce. You both in your gym leggings, sports bra and vests dancing away and sweating like crazy.

“Oooohhh hello lets have a look!” Said Deo, and he took the phone from Katie. “Nice moves.” He said with a wink.

The rest of evening wasn’t as embarrassing, in fact it was really great. The pints flowed, as did the conversation. The lads were hilarious and Niall was in no way a stuck up celeb in fact he was just a normal guy. He laughed when he found out all your guitars all have names, Gloria being your favourite guitar to play and he even recommended a place to get a couple of them re stringed. You talked about music and how you wanted to travel. You told him that you’d just moved and you discovered you lived in the same building. Him and Willie on the 3rd floor and you on the top. This then of course got them asking questions, how exactly could you afford a £5 million luxury apartment in London? Luckily this was the moment my Pops came over.

“Sorry to interrupt sweetheart but are we still golfing on Tuesday?” He asked.

“Yes Pops, why do you want to change to another day?” You replied. 

“No." He said. "Just wondered if we could just go to the driving range instead of doing 18 holes, as my knees been playing up.” 

“You worried I’ll beat you again?” You said laughing. 

“Baby girl I always let you win.” He said, kissing the top of your head.  

“Ha! Yeah yeah! Get Mam to come with us and we can have lunch to.” You suggested. 

“Will do.” He replied, grabbing othe empties and shuffling off back behind the bar. 

“His knee? Cheeky bugger, I beat him really good last week. He’s probably been sneaking off for extra practice as his come back!” I said.

“You play golf?” Asked Niall surprised. “Yes, but not that well, better than my Pops anyway!”

“What do you play off?”

“15” You replied. “But it was higher. You golf?” You asked.

“Yes, since the band went on hiatus I’ve played more and I play off 9. Been part of a golf management team for a while to.“

"Cool, you can give me some tips then!” You said suddenly, feeling the effects of your three pints of Guinness. Realising you were almost flirting you then excused yourself to the toilet, with Katie right behind you.

“Alright flirty pants, I see you flickering your eyelashes at him.”

“What?” You said. “I was not!”

“Yes you were, I told Willie you two would hit it off!”

“Woah what?......... I said no fixing me up!”

“Oh come on Annie, it’s been so long since you’ve had any action you’ll be wondering if they’ve changed it! And anyway don’t you need some help from a hot bloke with numbers 24 & 25 of your bucket list?!” She said with a proper giggly laugh.

Yes you did need help with those from a hot bloke, and Niall was definitely a hot bloke.

Chapter two

https://niall-is-my-dream.tumblr.com/post/168016712543/the-bucket-list-chapter-two

[revertrapes]

Last week my manager asked me whether I could fill him to some meetings that he can't attend in the main office for this monday.

"Sure, why not"

It's not like it's the first time, and also the main office is located in central. Sometimes it's good to move out from your boring office and get some quick escape even tho it's just some meetings.

So here I am, just finishing the last meeting barely past 7 pm. Usually the meeting would take much longer and I had to stay and keep company my boss.

But since is still early afternoon, my boss asked me to visit a storehouse to catch up and check some lists.

"Don't worry, there will be Mr. Simon who will meet you there. There won't be much things to do, just deliver some documents and etc."

"Alright.

.

I thought it was near the main office. Taking the taxi itself took 50 minutes even though the street is crowded as late night rain in mountain.

Finishing the tasks also took more time that I calculated. It's already past midnight, and it's impossible to find transportation back to home.

"Just take a rest here, there's a nearby hotel. Not fancy, but still a hotel"

"Sure"

So Mr. Simon take me to the hotel he mentioned. He booked me a room, and say goodbye after gave me the key.

.

It's a really simple old hotel. Not fancy, barely functioning. Even there isn't any lift, so I had to use steel trailed stairs to the 3rd floor. There isn't much decorations on hall, just a single wilted flower on the corner. The smells isn't bad, but also doesn't feel good. It feels like there's a hidden pile of leaves hidden somewhere.

But at least I can rest and go back quickly in the morning. What you could expect from quick cheap old hotel?

When I enter the room, the interior also doesn't stand out too much. A queen bed, a television hanged on the wall, a working desk and plastic chair, a wardrobe and small rack to place your shoe, I think?

The only decorations in this room are a painting hanged beside tv and some tablecloth.

I throw my bag on the bed and changed my clothes. Good grieves I always bring some extra clothes in my bag. I quickly wash my face, but my luck, the taps suddenly stops.

"Oh come, on!"

Grumpily I take the towel and flung myself to the bed. The bed smells like an old linen. And I wonder how just how old this hotel?

I stare at my ceiling, and realize there's some extra decorations detail in the corner. It looks like a pattern... But the placement is too weird, it doesn't have taste. But it really catches my eyes and it leads to the painting.

I take a closer look to the painting. The classic painting, about a crowded market in the village. There are merch, a beggar, some children, and another busy people. I guess the painter won't take much hassle drawing their faces since they are all on their back.

I go back to my bed and preparing myself to sleep.

"Just take a sleep... quickly fall asleep... And continue tomorrow morning"

.

Or at least that was what I thought.

I can't even sleep. Everytime I close my eyes I can hear a scratch in the walls. Rat, ghost, or even fairy, I don't care, I just can't stand with contrast of the tranquil night and the noise on the walls.

I get out of my bed and take a look to the window. I checked my phone, it's a freaking 3 a.m and I can't sleep. I also notice some notifications and emails, and decide to open my laptop and just do some works.

And that's when the TV suddenly turned on.

"That's surprised me!"

I quickly search for the remote but cannot find it anywhere, so I decided to turn it off by the quick button beside the TV. The last time I got surprised by TV is when I ask the hotel's staff to set up it as a morning alarm since I'm not a morning person.

"Maybe the last setting is still left active"

.

My glance move from TV to the painting again. The painting is made from oil paint, but there's no cover on it. I put my hand on it and swipe it slowly, and I stopped when I feel something texture on it.

The texture is come from a woman face on painting.

"Wait, a face? I thought this painting is consistent about the concept"

I take a closer look, and have conclusion that maybe the woman face is painted later, either by the originals painter or not.

And there's something weird about the face.. Like she looks sad, but actually relieved. The Artist is sure is an amazing one to be able to deliver such emotion in a small spaces.

"Or maybe I'm just over analyzing when the artist just painted it randomly"

I decide to go back to work and hope morning can come faster so I can go back to my own bed.

.

At 6 o'clock I already finished my work and bath, and make up my bed. Being early is easy when you don't sleep at all.

I open the window to get some fresh air and turn on the TV. That's when I realized something on the painting.

Faces.

They all have faces.

Not just a woman, but all the villagers are.

And they have the same expressions.

"Oh shit"

I was debating with myself to keep calm or not, when I realize the woman before is putting some nervous smile.

And she's drawn bigger than before.

I'm sure before she was just a bystander behind the merch, but now she feels like a main object in the painting.

.

That solely send me a cold shiver, and quickly I put my jacket on.

"Let's just have a breakfast outside, let me get out from here first".

I quickly reach my bag and walk outside my room. Walking through hall feels like forever before I reach the stairs.

It was only half way down to second floor when I heard another noise. The handrail, the steel handrail, is making some noise. A noise you made as someone punch the handrail with drumstick as you get down the stairs.

But the noise is getting closer to me.

And faster.

"Oh God"

.

I ran, and ran to the lobby on first floor.

.

Seeing another human never make me feel so relieved before. I ran out of breath, not because the running but more likely from the nervousness.

The hotel staff just look at me without words. When I get my composure back, one of them just calmly said to me

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah... Maybe.. I guess"

.

"I wanna check out right now, please"

"Ok, one second, please have a seat"

I take a look at my surroundings. The lobby is at least better, warmer and has more sense in decorations.

Bugging my mind, I decide to ask the staff

"Excuse me... But I think you have to change the decorations please on the room, especially with painting. It gave you bad vibes to the customer."

"We understand, we humbly thank you for the advice."

"We are planning for some big renovations to the more modern and simple theme, but our late owner still have so many his beloved paintings left in this building"

I give him another confused look.

"Our owner is a painter, his home basically just a museum and he decides to put some of his work here"

"Ah.. I see"

"He is so compassionate with his work. Sadly after his long sick daughter died, he suddenly fell sick and stop all activities"

"But maybe you can change some painting here.. like the one in my room. It feels.. weird, feels like they watch you when you sleep? I know I'm just such a scaredy cat"

I give them my best nervous smile, hope they won't be offended. The staff look at me confused, but then reply me with warm sme

"But, miss... Ah, I think you mistakes something here. Don't worry too much, I think you only a little bit tired."

"...Maybe. I'm sorry."

"No, no, we really appreciate your advice. We hope you have a great rest and experience in our hotel. "

"Okay, I'm gonna book a taxi"

"Here let me help you"

Sigh. Maybe he's right, maybe I'm just overthinking and tired.

.

When the taxi arrived, the staff help me bring my bag and opened the door.

"Thank you"

"My pleasure"

I hold the back the taxi's door when he closed it for me.

"Wait.. Can I ask who is the owner?"

"Sure. The owner is known as RSF. It's his pen name as an artist"

Gulp.

"I know him... He's famous for his landscape painting, right?"

"True."

"Is he... Love to paint people?"

"So far as we know, we've only seen his work in nature genre. Like you only seeing tree, building, and flower?"

"...... Alright. Thank you"

I closed the door and ask the taxi to move.

And make a hard mental note, to not stay in this hotel again

[thesims4blogger]

The Sims 4: New Game Patch (May 25th, 2017)

Update: 05/25/2017 – PC Version 1.30.103.1010 / Mac Version 1.30.103.1210

Hello Simmers,

Welcome to the base game release for Parenthood! Which is all about those quiet family moments. Taking time to enjoy when things settle down. When all becomes quiet, and you can just take it all in, reflecting upon life…

..er, wait sorry. That’s like 20-30 years after parenthood begins (results may vary).

I meant to say, this is a hectic time. A time of crazy, noise filled chaos, where the concept of quiet exists for only 3 hours between 2 and 5 am. And where tension is worn like a badge of honor! So wear yours with pride, and let’s start with just a little bit of what’s new in this release…

What’s New?

The Load / Save menu has been updated to be… modern.

Save slots now use household thumbnails instead of a text list

Save backups can now be restored via this UI by clicking on the Recover Save option from the Load Game dialog.

Users can now see where on disk a particular save file exists by hovering over the File icon in the Load Game dialog.

You can now rename your save from the Load Game dialog.

The auto-save feature has been removed as it was not functioning properly.

The Save As dialog has also been modified to show thumbs.

The first option in the Save As dialog is to be used to create a brand new save, but you can also choose to overwrite existing saves.

No more will you have to remember which save your Goopy-Gilscarbo household was in – it’s all visual now!

Thumbnails however will be blank until the save is opened, and re-saved post patch release.

You can also click the button to copy the path to your clipboard.

The feature as originally implemented was confusing and did not function as expected by users.

Save now occurs explicitly at the players request either by choosing to save when exiting to the Main Menu, Manage Worlds, or Quitting. Or by choosing Save or Save As from the ESC menu.

New Lights in Buy Mode.

Three new lights can be found under Ceiling Lamps in the Object by Function, Lighting sort.

Round Confection Ceiling Light

Square Confection Ceiling Light

Campanulate Ceiling Lamp

And today I learned that campanulate is a real word…

And then on to what issues did we address…

General Issues

Children can now smash a dollhouse that is currently in use by another child…

Sims will no longer get a whim to get married if they are already married.

The Successful Lineage aspiration (within the Family category) will no longer fail to recognize if a child had previously completed the skill and aspiration requirements of the 3rd and 4th step.

Babies will no longer change skin tone when they are picked up.

The Georgina Outdoor Lamppost With Double Hanging Planter can now be turned off by the player.

Silence phone once again will silence your phone…

Along those lines (the texting part)… Children should no longer receive inappropriate text messages from adults.

The Connections reward trait will no longer prevent your Sim from purchasing career rewards unlocked by career levels earlier than the boosted connections career level.

The Cu Cu Cachoo display skull now costs 175 Simoleons.

Performance improvement: Movement level 1 toddlers should no longer contemplate the use of objects on floors they can't reach.

Toddlers will now also visually drink from their sippy cup when seated on the ground.

Fixed a Sim reset issue that could occur when one Sim chose to autonomously tell a story to another Sim.

Sims are swimming laps again.

Sims with the masculine preference for clothing will no longer randomize into feminine full body swimsuits while in Create a Sim.

We fixed an issue that could cause a toddler to inherit the emotional whim of nearby adult Sims after loading into a lot, which could result with the toddler acquiring a flirty emotional whim.

Sims facial features should no longer adjust after selecting a different eye color swatch.

Young Adult and Adult lifespans have been increased by 4 days each to accommodate the addition of Toddlers.

Industrial Reinforced beams will no longer appear through the ceiling when placed on the floor below.

With cheats turned on, you should now be able to modify NPCs in Create a Sim by shift clicking on them and choosing "Modify in CAS".

Lights that have had their color and intensity modified, and then set to auto-light, will no longer revert to their default color and intensity setting.

You should no longer have to reload your lot or travel in order to get fresh cuttings to properly function from within your inventory.

We fixed an issue with how the stats panel appeared…

We have adjusted the hairstyles for our premade Sims (such as the Goths) to not change drastically during outfit changes, where it would not make sense for their hair to change.

PlantSims are now able to sleep in tents.

You should be able to once again share to Twitter from the game.

…because frustration is best served shared.

It’s simple folks, “Happy spouse, happy house.”

Getting a child to do “work” once is tough enough, getting them to do it a second time… I’d suggest hitting up the kid exchange for a trade in.

Um, you still receive the calls, you just won't hear them.

Well, you can hear the call of course, just not the ring, beeping, or musical stylings of Lorde Swift von Iggy-Flay …

Of course, I guess you don’t really hear, it’s more of a read…

Kind of a one way thing, with a yes no response mechanism.

Who invented this type of phone anyway?

We have fixed various possible ways in which children might receive inappropriate text messages… if you are still seeing this issue, please let us know.

In addition , care was leveled upon the career levels in order to carefully level the rewards in care of the connections.

The walrus is not for sale.

Highly intelligent toddlers may still contemplate their place in the universe.

Toddlers with high wisdom may still contemplate their daily movements.

High strength toddlers may move in contemplation.

Toddlers with unusually high charisma may seek contemplation of others.

And highly dexterous toddlers may contemplate how they might also be like Mike.

Previously they would only drink it through some sort of liquid teleportation behavior that defies explanation.

Blue eyes? Of course sir, let me just push your nose this way a touch. No? Then brown eyes? Yes, wonderful choice sir. Let me just pull your jaw out a bit. No? But sir, no need to raise your voice, you chose brown, not me. If you wanted your jaw to stay chiseled you should have chosen green!

Unless you have a bad contractor… then there’s really only one thing you can do, get yourself a nice MLT.

My town? Hawaiian shirts and bunny slippers!

…the stats panel.

It's a button in the upper right of the Simology panel? Shows stats? And stuff…

…about your Sim, you, things you may have done…

It's been there since the very beginning.

Ok trust me, we fixed a visual something or other there. It’s better now.

This issue was fixed for all in tents and per pose.

Vampires

Vampire ears on the base form of a Sim will no longer disappear when the Sim enters live mode.

Fixed an issue that could prevent a Sim from gaining access to others' homes when they have the Eternally Welcome vampire power.

Sims that have been turned into Vampires should no longer have a non-functional age bar.

Toddlers born with vampire parents, will now maintain the eye color they were born with (or that the player had modified them to be) even after loading them into Create a Sim.

Eternally Welcome, except this time. And… that other time. Oh, and remember after the house warming party? Yea… definitely not eternally welcome.

City Living

A Love Guru from the Romance Festival that is married into a household will no longer remain immortal.

I’m reminded of the philosopher Socrates, when after an eventful night of revelry, he said “I married what?”

Vintage Glamour Stuff

Light from the Fiery Façade fireplace will no longer shine through the back of the fireplace.

Butlers will no longer appear on retail lots when they should be at home... butler’izing.

Asset Issues in Create a Sim

Hey folks, so along the lines of our Create a Stuff Pack program, I’m going to take a moment in this section of issues to provide a little insight into what the issue is, and who on the team might address them, so that you can see a little into how to evaluate an issue.

I’ll start by providing information about what the issue was and what was fixed, and then provide some insight into who would address the issue.

These two issues are considered tagging issues.

You can now wear necklaces with yfTop_SP08ShirtButtonOpen.

You can now apply a bracelet to your right and left wrist when wearing the level 5 business career outfit yfBody_EF01BusinessSuitMed!

Issues like these are fixed by the production team. In both of these cases, an asset was set to restrict the placement of another asset.

Production modified the tags, and now these assets no longer restrict placement.

These three issues are considered clipping issues. They generally appear to the player as one asset poking through another asset (and in some cases the character model itself).

Fixed a clipping issue with GP01BootFoldover and various pants.

ymHair_GP04Slashed will no longer poke through yuHat_GP04Toque.

ymShoes_AnkleSquareToe will no longer clip with ymBody_EF04ShirtSkull.

These issues are fixed by the art team. And are generally addressed by modifying one of the offending asset’s geometry (moving stuff around), or addressing something like weighting (how an asset lays against other assets).

The highlight issue fixed here, turns out is also a clipping asset issue.

Fixed a broken highlight issue that would occur when hovering over yfHair_ShortShave and yfHair_BuzzCutNatural while in Create a Sim.

It could be engineering, since highlights are handled by code, however in this case, it was a geometry issue with the hair assets that created the highlight issue.

This is a character layering issue.

Female Sims with a masculine frame should no longer have two belly buttons when in Create a Sim.

Keeping this short, but Sims have layers (like an Ogre). And if the wrong layer is added to the stack, you get issues like this. This issue is an engineering fix that required a different layer to be used in order to properly create the Sim.

This is a geometry vertex issue.

Fixed an issue that could cause some eye presets to stretch the geometry of various hair assets improperly.

This issue is addressed by an artist, and in this case was caused by a single vert (the angular point of a polygon) that was being incorrectly shared with a part of the face that caused the hair to stretch.

This is a texture issue.

We fixed an issue with a visible seam on the torso of female Sims.

This issue is addressed by an artist, and required the artist to modify the texture of the base Sim model. The texture being the paint over that makes a Sim look like a Sim, and not a wire mesh. And the base Sim model being the bare Sim without any assets.

Hope that provided just a little insight into some issues, and who fixes them. I know this focused primarily on asset issues, but I just wanted to dip our toes into the waters of development…

…wow, that sounded really cheesy.

Many apologies, and thanks again for your patience and time!

-SimGuruGnome

[colleydogstar]

A Ranger’s Tale - 7 - The Seamstress of Estorly

Story and all other character by @rollem-bones. As mentioned before, the log has a mix of 1st/3rd person tenses due to play styles.

Our story continues...

The gates of Estorly stand firm against the wilderness. Surrounding the Estor river, braced to the North by the great forest, and farmlands to the south, the town is a sturdy, modern city by their standards. Soft clouds rising from the cottage factories that run along the river, the firstmost visible thing from the forest that you can see on your approach. Above the gate is a sigil of an elk's head in a silver filligree. "That's the mark of Silberschmidt," Donnel tells you, patting the top of the heavy pack you've been given to lug as part of your dues for being the young kid tottering around with the Order. It's gotten easier, though, in the few weeks you've been trekking. But now, as the two human guards open the gates with solemn bow to the Order, you see the civilization of that you have been away from for so long.

 The main road is wide, with a spiderwork of narrow ways spreading outward like tributaries. A stone river running alongside one made of water. Large block buildings with great water wheels line the river. The buildings in the city are made of a mixture of wood, stone and plaster over simple brick work. While none hold a patch to the cities you remember from home, they are several floors tall, packed together and many have wide windows of carefully made glass. And people, so many people mill through the streets. Some carry tools, some papers, some simply talking. Men and women in suits, working clothes and dresses of many colors. Human and Demi live here, talking and mingling altogether in a steady, present din of cities that exist across all universes.

 Rhodie wobbles a bit as Donnel pats the pack, but she isn't about to fall over now after making it with the pack this far. She stares out at the town before her, like something out of the RPGs she'd play back home on her consoles, but right here in the flesh so to speak. She was expecting maybe something simple like the local renfair, but this, this is definitely a fully functioning town. She begins to laugh, clearly impressed, "Oh WOW, this place looks amazing!"

 "I'm looking forward to a good bath," Salicia laughs as the quartet pass under the gates and onto the main road. With the sights comes the smells. A dizzying array of scents hits your nostrils. For good, or ill, the city is place of odors. Not the least of which is the shear amount of people, but the food, the industrial grease and smoke from the waterside factories, to the general stench of existence. It hits like a brick, and then doubled over as a man shouts his wares and the scent of smoked meats and cheese barrels down. Nothing more than a food vendor, but then again, you have been outside of fresh food for a time.

 The Setter-demi's eyes light up as her canine nose picks up on the scents. She closes her eyes, "Focus, Rhodie, don't let it overpower." She takes a steadying breath through her mouth and exhales, before trying to take in all the scents, letting that new nose do its thing while trying to keep those canine instincts in check. With a little work she's able to start picking out the direction of the scents. "Factory... food... OK, better smells are that way." Her tail wags lightly, she might get the hang of this being a dog thing yet. "A bath does sound rather nice."

 A short laugh comes from Donnel. "Gel, you going to be able to make it to the Meister's home?" he asks. "Or is that nose of yours already wanting to drag you to the sausage man?" he claps you on the back, a bit harder than you might like.

 "I can make it! Just still getting used to the new sniffer in intense environMENTS!" The last part Rhodie squeaks out in surprise as Donnel's clap sends her stumbling forwards. She yelps as her body twists when she tries to recover and she winds up falling side first to the ground.

 Before you hit the ground, your fall is arrested by Salicia and Pritchard reaching out to grab the rucksacks you carry. Leaving you dangling for a moment by the straps around your shoulders. They both pick you up to your paws again. "Blast, gel, you're so peckish you got no balance," Donnel remarks, starting to walk over to the sausage seller. "You do need food in that gullet of yours." He's laughing the whole way, but you feel Salicia's hand on your shoulder. "Don't pay the old man mind, he's just getting comfortable."

 Rhodie is really glad her fur is red, easier to hide when you're embarassed...  in theory at least. She dangles there, hanging her head at almost eating a muzzle full of road, tail tucking lightly as she's picked back up. "Thanks..." She says sheepishly to Pritchard and Salicia. Rhodie looks over at at Salicia. "Comfortable. Well, that's good at least. Definitely an improvement since we first met, heh." She whispers to Salicia, "Not gonna say no to a sausage either."

 Pritchard looks off for a moment. "Salicia, could you go speak with Donnel. I think Rhodie may enjoy some Salarin Mustard," he says. The two look at each other a moment while Salicia seems to think before she nods and trots off at a jog to join Donnel. Once alone, Pritchard's hand sits at your back. "I don't wish to frighten you, but I feel it's in your best interest to speak with me about a matter concerning Meister Silberschmidt."

 Rhodie mouths the words, "Salarin mustard,' well something new to try at least then? She watches Salicia go, then turns her attention to Pritchard. "Yeaaaah, was wondering if there might be an issue going out with three, coming back with four. Not really a normal occurrence. Also wanted to ask what the proper way to greet the guy would be if I encountered him.. but I'm assuming this goes beyond that, huh?"

 "Meister Silberschmidt will be suspicious, yes. I also trust him to suspect you are Errantblood. To put it lightly, there's a certain appeal to that for some people, and he may seek to have you as a form of trophy," Pritchard says, speaking voice lower as he leans toward you to keep the conversation more private. "He is a man of means and ways. Do not be awed by him, nor be cowed. I will present what arcane protections I can, and I assert that Donnel will provide the political protection. But you must keep yourself, despite anything else."

 Rhodie's muzzle curls like she's about to snarl at the 'trophy' comment, yeah she is NOT a fan of that. "Don't broadcast what I am if I can avoid it, watch for temptation, keep on guard..." She thinks, "Arcane protections... So just because I've already been changed, doesn't mean the magic here stopped posing a risk then."

 Pritchard nods. "Yes, I'm afraid it hasn't stopped being a risk," he explains, taking your hand at seeing the snarl start to curl. "But you are not alone, and in time you will grow stronger against it." He looks to the side. "Donnel returns, I will explain much more as I can later, but remember to keep your ground around Silberschmidt."

 She nods as she listens, "Thank you for the warning, Pritchard. I'll do my best to stay out of trouble." She gives his hand a small squeeze. Even with all the other powerful smells in this town, she can narrow in on his if she tries. It's a good scent, one she has quickly grown to trust since that first night.

 Pritchard releases your hand as Donnel and Salicia return with what looks rather like a hot dog on a biscuit coated with a dull yellow mustard that reeks of a tart and sour. "Here you go, gel, don't know why you wanted that Salarin yellow, it'll blow your sinuses out if you ain't careful," Donnel warns as he hand over the biscuit toward you.

 Rhodie looks at the hot dog biscuit combo, and sniffs at it. "Blow my sinuses, hmm?" She looks over at Pritchard. "OK, you get one 'Make the newbie eat something superhot' prank. You get one." She holds up one finger for emphasis, "and only because I kinda like hot stuff as long as it has flavor." She sniffs at the food again, and after a shrug, she takes a bite.

 Wasabi. That's the first thing that comes to mind. Wasabi, with some kind of smokey meat that has a rich cheese melted inside of it. The biscuit is flaky and buttery, but it's all awash in what is basically like a more wet version of wasabi. Though, the scent is particularly bitter and potent, the flavor muted if anything to assault on your nose.

 She scrunches her face up initially, and rubs at her nose. OK, new dynamic of scent and taste working on this body, that will take some getting used to.  Rhodie turns her head and grunts, "H'oookay, definitely.. .definitely holding the Salarin next time. S'like the Wasabi we had back home but a lot more, urgh, moist." Still.. Donnel went and paid for this, like she's gonna let it go to waste as she takes a couple more bites to power on through it.

 The meat has a strong flavor, heavy smoked. The cheese as well. It's a rib-sticking meal despite its small size. It's also the most fresh food you might have had in a great deal of time. "Lick off your fingers before we get to the manor, gel," Donnel tells you. "But first, give me the packs. You've done enough carrying for the days. It's your first day in a real city. So enjoy yourself."

 Salicia hums to get attention. "Should we get her some real clothing first? Would you like that, Rhodie?"

 The demi-doggirl finishes the snack, licking her lips and fingers after, "Not that bad, but yeah, had the Salarin, will hold off on it now." She laughs at Pritchard, "That wasn't too bad, you still have your one to use in the future." She nods to Donnel and begins to set her pack down. "Hmm, clothes?" She asks, "YES! Clothes, please!" Her tail starts to wag, "I would very much like to not have to borrow your clothes the rest of my time here, cause I'd feel really bad about that!"

 "Salicia," Donnel starts, then looks at your tail. "And you say you ain't a gel," he comments to you with a knowing smirk. "You take her off to get her something good. Remember to save the chit from the tailor this time. I don't want to deal with a solicitor looking for past due. Again." He looks toward Pritchard and nods. "Silberschmidt's going to want to talk with you, so you have to come along with me."

 "A man turned lady has to have his priorities, Donnel," Rhodie jokes back, sticking out her tongue. She walks over to join Salicia, but looks back at the others. "Be safe, you two, OK?"

 Donnel looks puzzled, Pritchard smiles and nods. And the two women are left in the street. "C'mon, kiddo, I know a place that handles demis," she tells you. Soon you find yourself in a quiet shop. It smells of incense and cloth. An older woman sits behind the counter. Long and lean, a llama faced woman with her hands folded neatly. She looks at Rhodie and smiles, though she seems very human otherwise, her eyes have the horizontal pupil of the animals native to your planet. "Salicia, dearest," she speaks with a distinct drawl separate from the other voices you've heard here. "What is this slip you've brought me?"

 "Wow, 'kiddo.' No one has called me that since my dad..." She pauses, and shakes her head, "in a really long time." Rhodie laughs and follows after Salicia. She tilts her head slightly when she sees the llama lady, noticing the eyes. She didn't really think about the eyes not being human-like for some demis. Something else to ask about when the chance arises. Rhodie puts on her best smile, "New tagalong, hi!"

 "This is Rhodie. She's new to the Order," Salicia says. "And sort of got all her outfits lost in the forest. Hope you don't mind if I have you run up a receipt for me after getting her situated, would you Mamie?" The Llama lady titters at the story and looks down at you. "Oh you poor thing. Of course I can help you, and what's more," she says, leaning in and speaking a stage whisper, "I'm more than happy to bill it all to the Order should you decide to splurge, little one."

 Rhodie raises an eyebrow at the whisper, and lets out a nervous laugh. "Ah ahha, I'll ah... keep that in mind. Though I think I'd rather 'splurge' when it is my own money and not someone else's bill. ..When I have money again." She smiles, "Just..ah.. simple and comfy to wear, really. I'm not that extravagant a dresser."

 The next few minutes are a blur. A whirl of motion about you. For a middle aged woman, she moves with strange gangly limberness in a blur about you. A rush of feeling about you as your cloak and Salicia's tunic are pulled bodily off you. Soon you find a set of tan trousers and a light blue tunic, an embroidered hunter vest, hanging threads for tying dangle from the cloths. "Put them on," the llama lady says, eyeing you carefully. "Salicia, take to the door so that we are not interrupted."

 As her tunic is removed, Rhodie almost instinctively raises an arm to keep her chest covered. Which also gives her pause in that she thought to that. She quirks her head to the side at the new clothes. Oh hey, pants! Pants are a good way to start! "Yes, m'am!" Rhodie nods and begins to get dressed in the new outfit.

 The dressing is simple. The pants are soft skins, worked well. They seem capri length, and with a series of buttons in the back to adjust for tail size. The tunic is just that, a little long on your body, but it folds well under the vest. It's colorful. Blue, beige, and hunter. With a silver embroidery patterning on the vest. A pair of shoes are offered to you. Like boots, they're soft, but sturdy leather. They cover your paws but for your toes and the point of your heel, lacing tight about your calf below the knee. Safe for your pads, but letting your claws grip if they need to. "And a hat always finishes," Mamie says, offering a slouch hat, the sides pinned up for your ears. A long feather sticks from the banding.

 Rhodie wiggles her free toes, doing a short run in place after she gets the shoes on and laced up. "Oh my gosh, clothes that actually relatively fit again. How I've missed you." She laughs to herself, then looks at the hat. She takes it, looking it over, and then tries it on. She turns to try and look at herself as best she can without a mirror, then back to Mamie. "How does it all look?"

 "I have a looking glass over here," Mamie instructs, "Go on, model for me," she says in a steady voice. "Salicia, your new girl seems born for this. I'll retrieve a few more things while she poses," she says, though it seems Salicia is eyeing Mamie with some caution, she doesn't speak to you on the matter, letting you indulge yourself as you seem a little excitable over being in new clothing.

 "Yeah... born for it." She looks over toward Salicia, and then shrugs. Hey, you know what, clothes that fit, PANTS, and not having to borrow them. She is not gonna let a reminder of her situation get her down right now. She steps in front of the looking glass and looks herself over. She twists and turns to look at the outfit, and tries to get a look at how it sits with her tail, giving it a couple test wags for good measure. She then tries a few poses, mostly to see how well she can flex and move in the outfit.

 Fashion designed, it does allow for movement. Mamie arrives with a tailed coat "for formality". She also has a series of more simple dresses and frocks. From the bright blue formal gown and corset, to a simple white affair with a more feminine vest than the one you're currently wearing. Bands and decorations seem to follow with all of them. At least somewhere in there is a simple set of clothing meant for riding and exercise. "If you want something more fitting for the outdoors, I can customize for you specifically," Mamie says. "You're simply lucky that I have a young woman that is similarly set as you are, my dear."

 Rhodie looks at the gowns, rather nice looking to be honest. Can think of some girls back home that would look simply stunning in them. But for her right now... yeaaaah, not unless she has to. "Heh, well, all gotta be lucky at something eventually!" She jokes. "I'll settle for fits right now, honestly. I'd rather wait to worry about custom or specialty once I know I'm actually fully on the payroll and it can come from my pocket, and not just me on the tab."

 Mamie hums. "Dear, put on the dresses. I want to see you spin," she instructs, staring at you with those strange, square pupiled eyes. They're filled with intent, and with the bubbling annoyance at a craftsperson being snubbed by a layman.

 "Aaahaha," She laughs nervously. "I've never been big on dress-" Rhodie doesn't even finish as she sees those staring square eyes. "I mean, I don't.... I usually... Y-yes, m'am," Those eyes are weeeeeeeeeeird, and if it'll get them to stop staring like that... She reaches for the simple white gown and vest, changing as quickly as she can manage. She's only put on a dress before for a skit during a video for her channel back home, so it does take a bit of fussing to figure out the right way at first.

 The big gown is silly, not meant for the cramped confines of the shop. But the other one, you get it on and look at yourself in the mirror. A young woman in a calf length dress, a patterned vest that's been cut to tuck in your waist just a bit. To flow around you. A dipped neckline that shows off both a bit of fluff on your chest and the chest itself. In the pause, Mamie slips a narrow silver neck clasp about your throat, patterned with tiny moon cycles.

 Rhodie gets the outfit on, and starts the earlier requested spin, "See, me in a dress, nothing special... at..." She pauses when her turn lets her catch herself in the mirror.  She doesn't even bother finishing what she was saying as she looks at her reflection. The inside of her ears begins to redden almost as much as her fur. She cautiously raises a hand as if to touch her reflection. Is that really her looking back? The click of the neck clasp seems to snap her out of it. "Ah! Jewelry! Yes.. that's.. that is a thing!"

 "It is," Mamie says. "It bears the symbols of Navira. I sense that you may find solace in her." She smiles at you as you look at yourself in the admittedly slimming looking outfit. Rather than ren faire tavern wench, the cut of the outfit seems crossed between college art student and flapper."

 "Navira?" She asks reaching up to touch the clasp. "I ah, forgive me, I grew up rather... sheltered... in many regards. Does she have connections to the phases of the moon?" Rhodie looks back at her reflection. OK, doglady aside, if she had seen someone dressed like this back home, she woulda thought it looked kinda cute and wanted to talk with her a bit. The fact that it's now her in an outfit like that is a bit disconcerting, but...

 But it is you, and will be unless worse happens. The thought lingers as you look at your throat and the clasp around it. "She is the moon," Mamie answers. "But perhaps I'm more right than I know," she adds, turning back toward her cloth buried work counter. "She is the moon, the goddess of night, and the patron and guide of travelers."

 Patron and Guide of Travelers... yeah, she could probably use someone like that right now. "I... thank you, m'am. That is an extra step not many would probably take for their customers." She hates to admit she kiiiiinda likes the white outfit.

 Mamie has settled among her clothes. "Take the lot of it. The silver as well. Nothing is too fine for a young woman without any to their name," she says with a knowing smile. "I will bill the Order, Salicia. And come in the morning, I will have more suitable rough clothing for her." Salicia nods. "Will be here, Mamie. Won't we, Rhodie?" she asks. "You ready to head to Silberschmidts? Or want a bracelet to go with it?"

 "Yes, yes we will. Thank you again, Ms. Mamie," Rhodie says with a nod. "Ah, I will be. Just let me.." She looks at her reflection again, and shakes her head. "Let me get the other outfit on. If I walk up to Donnel like this, you know I am never going to hear the end of it."

 "I think you look fine, Rhodie," Salicia. "You know, Pritchard might think you look cute," she says, and pointedly doesn't give you back your clothing, rather instead carrying it with the rest of your bundle on her broad shoulder. "You can follow along and break in those new shoes," she adds with a laugh.

 "Y-yeah, he might... H-HEY!" She says when she notices Salicia starting to carry off her not-dress outfit. "Running off with my clothes is cheating!" She looks back at Mamie and gives a polite bow, "Thank you again, M'am." Then goes to follow Salicia. "Saliciaaa!"

 Mamie smiles as you leave. And you find yourself scampering in the streets after Salicia. The dress flows about your legs as you run. Your tail slips out through a subtle slit in the fabric. The vest holds your chest snugly and your ears flow like hair. You're faster than Salicia, and you catch up with her quite quickly. Feminine you may be, but you've been gifted an athlete's body.

 Rhodie runs after and easily catches up to her friend. Narrowed eyes, but slight amusement to her glare. "You know Donnel is gonna tease the hell out of me for this outfit after all I said about not being a girl."

 Salicia looks down at you. "And?" she asks. "Is there something wrong with being what you are?" she crosses her arms across her broad chest and looks down at you. Arms thick with muscle, worn hands, stern and handsome faced young woman that she is. Probably a bit younger than you had been, you think. And yet here she is, behaving as though your older sister. Though with what she has seen, and what you were doing with your life so many weeks ago, there's something to be said about her being older.

 "Well.. no, there is in fact nothing wrong with being a girl... beyond the shock of suddenly being one," Rhodie says. Is this what it would have been like to have an older sibling? Not sure if she missed out being an only child or not. "It just still feels weird, whole body does. And I dunno, seeing my reflection in this," She motions to the outfit. "It felt weirdly ok for a moment, which I guess is a good thing, but also I'm still furry? Which also factors into the shock adjustment. I KNOW this is me, I just have to get used to that."

 Her hand grips your shoulder. "You will. Perhaps not alone," she says, turning to walk at a slower pace. "Is there any more you wish to do before we return to the Silberschmidt Lodge?" she asks, looking back at you.

 Rhodie thinks, "Having never met a meister before, what's the proper way to greet one? Do I bow, kneel, what's the respectful way to do that? Customs are a crazy thing sometimes, want to make sure I don't inadvertantly anger someone in power."

 "I wasn't much one for ettiquette," Salicia points out. "S'why I took to the woods." She looks at the grand lodging still down the central street of the town of Estorly. "But I've met Meister Silberschmidt a few times now and I've done no more than a polite half bow. He's hiring me. I ain't no citizen of his towns. Donnel's a bit more polite about it, I suppose, and Pritchard don't seem to care much, but that's casters for you."

 She nods, listening. "So polite bow, can do that." She walks for a moment, then says, "I really want to stay with you three. I know that's been mentioned before, but.. I trust you guys, and right now you're the only friends I've got in this new world. I do appreciate all you've done so far."

 "Stick near us. Remember to wear the cloak," Salicia says, offering the hunter cloth to you as you stand before a large, well treed yard behind a set of high gates made of what looks to be pure silver in the faint shape of a deer's head through an art nouveau lens.

 Taking the cloak, Rhodie nods, and puts it back on. She lets out a whistle at the sight of the gates and designs. "Wow, that is really fancy looking. I kinda dig it."

 "Wrought by the Meister's grandfather. They're master craftsmen," Salicia says, standing before the gate. "I am Salicia, I come under the banner of The Order of Antler and Thorn. I have business with Meister Silberschmidt." As the words are spoken, a ghostlight brightens in the eyes of the deer shape. They flicker like fire before the gate splits in twain, parting for the pair to walk into the grounds. And as they pass through and the gates close behind them, Rhodie can note the smells and sounds of the city vanish completely. It is forest here, and the gate's eyes now turn inward to the grounds.

 Rhodie watches the signs of magic once again in the world as the eyes light up. That is never going to stop amazing her, ever. When they step through and the gates closes, she pauses, sniffing at the air and looking back. "Completely gone, like the city wasn't even there, wow," she says, genuninely impressed. "Smells kind of like the forests back home when we'd go camping."

[scarecroweyes]

Sabe’s tips for Writing Essays

So idk about y’all but my university never gave me any good outline structures for writing essays and I was just talking to @magnusburnsidesvevo​ about this and helping them break down their essay for school. I’ve always been fortunate enough to be really really good with writing essays so idk I thought I’d share my basic tips for writing school shit aw yis bby let’s go - LONG POST UNDER THE CUT.

1. Outlines.

Super fucken important. Not everyone needs them and some people hate them but if you hate essays and get lost/frustrated with research easily, this will be your saviour. Your basic outline should look sth like this:

Intro to topic (what it’s about, history/background)

Thesis statement/Topic statement (what are YOU arguing, what is the scope you’re focusing on) [This is sometimes smushed together with your intro] Point/Argument 1

Point/Argument 2

Point/Argument 3

Conclusion (summarize your arguments and why they prove your statement, acknowledge any limitations, make suggestions if you’re discussing an issue that needs to be solved, link everything back to your original thesis and REPEAT the thesis here)

Outline Example: (this is all purely fictional bc it is 5:50 am here pls bear with me)

Intro: Cats have been recorded as human companions as early as over 9000 years ago - but scientific research has shown that even modern felines are only semi-domesticated. Despite this, cats are some of the most popular domestic pets in the world. Stats on pet cat ownership.

Thesis Statement: I maintain that cats are the best animals for human beings to own as a domesticated pet. In this paper I will be analysing the social and physical health benefits that cats provide to their owners, as well as the nature of their relationship with human owners. Pt 1. Toe beans are amazing and good for your health

Pt 2. They can’t be manipulated into loving you so their love is good and pure.

Pt 3. Owning one as a kid can make u less susceptible to allergies

Pt 4. They give u nose boops and hunt for ur useless smol butt.

Conclusion: Cats are best pet because of all of the above and also I think despite their bad rep they are really complex creatures.

2. Research

Ho boy. Ok, so now you’ve got your points. Time for your research. Most universities will have some sort of database of available research papers but do not be afraid to find non-academic sources to bulk up your points - if I’m writing about cats having a good relationship with humans I might also find examples of cats saving human lives in addition to research about their social behaviour. Do note that most universities will have a minimum number of academic sources require tho.

When searching for my research I like to google papers using Google Scholar first, then copy the paper titles and search for them in my university database - because Google generally has better search algorithms. If the paper is not available and you have the time to wait (and think the research is important and useful) please just submit a request to your school library to acquire it I promise you they will actually listen to your request.

Find research that supports your argument AND counterarguments - if you want to really prove you’re doing your work thoroughly, examine counterarguments to your points and break them down. You can acknowledge the other side without conceding your point; you just have to explain why the other side isn’t quite as right as yours tbh. (If your essay has a shorter word limit then you might not need to do this)

Read the abstracts. Look - a lot of academic papers are filled with a ridiculous amount of filler words and very very redundant writing to bulk them up and make them appear more ~*academic*~ which really, only serves to make them stupidly difficult to read and digest, especially for a layman. (no seriously, this is an actual problem with academic writing). The abstracts will HELP BIG TIME. The abstract is basically a summary of the research done - reading it will help you understand the points they’re trying to make so that when you go through the actual paper you can see which points are most important. It also helps you skim over redundant information. To this day I have not read a single research paper word for word I can tell u. ORGANISE YOUR RESEARCH. Please do this. Bookmark them into different folders for different points. Rename them. (Toebean research 1. Toebeans are bad. Toebeans are good 3.) You will thank urself later when you have 12 different PDF documents to go through and 1009348230492834 tabs already open. 3. Actually writing.

Okay, so now it’s time to actually fill our your paper. Here is the most important part - DO NOT START WITH THE INTRODUCTION. Start with your first point. Why? Because you can’t introduce sth you haven’t even written. Das right bby, we’re jumping straight into your arguments.

Now it usually seems really daunting but writing out your points is actually pretty simple - use the PEEL structure. What is PEEL? Point, Example, Explanation/Elaborate and Link back to statement. (These need not be done in order)

Example:

Toe beans are an amazing phenomenon in cats that exist in nearly all species. The pads on the bottom of cat's feet provide traction and act as shock absorbers for their bones and ligaments when they jump and run at high speeds. They are also adorable and provide numerous health benefits to human beings. Research has shown that looking at paw pads 3 times a day makes humans less prone to: anxiety, depression and general yucky feelings (T., Kitt. 2017.) As such, just by simply exposing their toe beans, cats are already doing a great job at calming a person down, and besides the superficial benefit of looking cute, can actually contribute positively to a human being's health - making their status as best pet all the more plausible. (Elaboration on toebeans, point about why they’re amazing, example of their health benefits, link back to my statement about why this makes cats best pets.)

Once you have your points fleshed out - write out your conclusion. It could potentially change from what you had in your outline and this is perfectly fine! That’s what researching your topic tends to do; it can change your opinion/stance or the way you look at something!

Example:

While there are still many people who will maintain otherwise, most research clearly points to cats being the superior domestic pet. From the numerous health benefits afforded through cat ownership, to the complex, meaningful social relationships they develop with human beings, cats have demonstrated their ability to not only positively affect their owner’s physical well-being, but also act as reliable support systems for those that require it. While dogs are seen as more affectionate and unconditionally loyal, cats who bond with their humans actively choose to do so, much like a human deciding who to befriend. As such, the relationship becomes that much more meaningful - held up by a common desire to be around one another instead of blind loyalty. This is why cats make better pets than any other domesticated animal. Aw yis you got that concluded. Now you can go back and write your introduction and thesis statement to basically prep everyone for what they’re about to read.

Example:

Cats have been recorded as human companions as early as over 9000 years ago - but scientific research has shown that even modern felines are only semi-domesticated. Despite this, cats are some of the most popular domestic pets in the world, with recent statistics putting the number of cats kept as pets at around 5 per person on average (Ow, Me. 2016). As a point of fact, cats are only outnumbered by fish when it comes to pet ownership, but this is likely due to the lower costs and responsibilities associated with fish ownership, and the popularity of fish as a ‘starter’ pet. In this paper, I maintain that cats are the best animals for human beings to own as a domesticated pet. I will be analysing the social and physical health benefits that cats provide to their owners, as well as the nature of their relationship with human owners. This paper will focus mainly on examples based in the United States, as this is where a majority of research into cat ownership has been conducted, and allows me to account for any cultural phenomenon affecting research data.

Holy moly you’re almost done!

4. Clean up and referencing.

You’ve got everything down - now all you need to do is just clean up your grammar, check your spelling and make sure you’re ON POINT. Check all your point paragraphs to make sure you have a link back to your thesis statement.

Now, for referencing - MOST universities will have a standard list of referencing examples. USE THEM. While Microsoft Word and some internet resources will claim to do the referencing for you, they may not always be up to date OR your university itself may not be using that particular format. Trust me on this - don’t lose marks just because you didn’t want to look up your university’s referencing formats.

As an example, here is Murdoch University’s standard for Chicago referencing.

Single author Nicholas, F. W. 2010. Introduction to Veterinary Genetics. 3rd ed. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

So for my paper I’d write:

T., Kitt. 2017. Toebean or Not Toebean: That is the Question. 4th Ed. Pawxford: Meowy-Furball.

Some information may not be available. If you really can’t find the edition of the book you’re referencing (google is not always your friend) this is OK - just put in what you have.

5. You’re Done! + Additional Tips

Now all that’s left to do is just number your pages, double space it or whatever standard formatting is for you papers. Submit it for plagiarism checks!!!! Edit accordingly. The general rule is to keep it below 10% and try to avoid long sentences being marked as plagiarised.

As an additional tip - if you’re allowed to choose a topic for your paper choose something you’re either a) passionate/excited about or b) really salty about. I guarantee you, you will have a lot to write about it. All my papers were either me salting about the racism in media and lack of representation or things like representation in video games, or that one shitposting essay I did on memes (I got a high distinction for it and basically got to do an entire presentation where I just rickrolled and john-cena’d my entire class).

If you can’t choose your topic find a way to analyse it from a point of view/angle you’re passionate about. (e.g if you have to write about the idk corn industry or sth maybe you can find a way to talk about how it tied in to race relations) - always check w your lecturer first tho. If you really can’t choose then you just gotta buckle down and use those tips up thar.

Go out there and write those papers bbys I hope you all do well /smoochies/

[starryrein143]

Sweatshirt

Sweatshirt [NaLu OneShot] By: StarryRein143

Description: Casually walking at the mall with your friends when you accidentally bumped into a guy (literally) wearing the same sweatshirt as yours isn’t a coincidence, right? NaLu One shot. Modern AU.. I don’t own Fairy Tail!

Hi! I hope you’ll like this short story! I’m apologizing in advance for the wrong spellings, grammar and etc. English isn’t my first language! I don’t own Fairy Tail! Hiro Mashima does!

Lucy’s POV

It was a rather nice day. My friends and I, consisting of Levy-chan, Erza, Mira, Lisanna, Juvia and Wendy, were at the mall, just chilling and doing some shopping. We had planned this girl’s day for a week now. Escaping from the cruel prison of school is something we had been wanting to do. Being a sophomore literature major is truly stressful and nerve wracking, my friends experiencing the same problem. Only, they have different course and majors, except Wendy who’s just a junior highschool student.

As i said, we were planning this leisure time for a week now. That includes the clothes i was wearing; skinny jeans, black converse, and a blue limited edition Fairy Tail sweatshirt thrown over my white tank top. I would have worn shorts or skirts but seeing that it's the 2nd of December, i can’t exactly do that. I would have been frozen the moment i stepped out of my house. It wasn’t snowing but the cold breeze was enough to knock someone off their feet. If you’re wondering, ‘Fairy Tail’ is part of this famous video game that my friends and I are obsessed with. The name of the game is Fiore, supposedly about a magical world where you can create avatars and choose their magic. You can join guilds and team up with other players online. We do missions or requests to earn jewels. We're members of the leading guild in Fiore, Fairy Tail. We had been playing for a year now. Call us obsessed but we actually see our guildmates as family. Not too weird since behind those avatars are real people.

“Your sweatshirt is really cute, Lu-chan! I want one too!” My petite blue haired bestfriend squealed, fangirling over my sweatshirt. It wasn’t too eye catching, unless you knew what it meant. It was fairly simple, plain blue with a small golden Fairy Tail insignia at the top right in front and a larger one in the back; with the words 'Fairy Tail’ on above the symbol. The mark was supposedly a fairy with a tail. [Cover]

“Thank you. I bought in online. Waited for a whole week for it!” Fairy Tail’s official website was only selling five of these and i was lucky enough to buy it on time. All were same designs but different colors; blue, red, black, white and grey. I was lucky enough to have the blue one since it was my favorite.

“You’re so lucky! Although, i need to warn you. Keep a good eye on that because i might steal it!” My short haired friend, Lisanna, threatened, making me laugh.

“As if! I have you know, i hide this along with my other Fairy Tail merchandise on a safe!” Of course it wasn’t true. I do know how to share..

“Enough of Lucy’s sweatshirt. Let’s go and eat! I'm starving!” Lisanna’s older sister, Mira, said.

“Mira’s right. Where do you guys like to eat?” The scarlet haired accounting major asked, earning shrugs from majority of us.

“Ummm.. There’s this italian restaurant on the second floor. They sell really good pasta.” Suggested the young dark blue haired highschool student, Wendy.

“Juvia thinks pasta is nice.” Juvia always speaks 3rd person, don’t ask why. Even we don’t know.

“Then pasta it is!” I yelled enthusiastically. It was then we passed by the department store when a guy running out bumped into me. I lost balance and fell on the floor, butt first. The same happened with the guy that collided with me. I swear, i heard my friends gasped. Great. They bothered to be shocked than help me up.

“Ouch..” i mumbled, opening my eyes which i didn’t realized i firmly closed due to the impact.

“Sh*t! That actually hurt.” I heard someone said. Looking ahead, i saw a pink haired guy—yes, pink!—, wearing a red sweatshirt and pants, standing up just a couple of feet away. I watched him dust off his clothes, not that i want to look like a stalker or anything. It's just that this stranger actually looks hot and handsome. I mean, not everyone can pull off that hair color! He’s also cute!

“Are you alright, Miss?” I snapped out of my dazed when i realized that the subject of my thoughts was standing in front of me, offering a hand.

“Uhh, s-sorry..” i mumbled, accepting his hand. He lifted me up to my feet with little effort. Now infront of him, i noticed that he was a head taller. Also, he seemed to be my age. If not, a year older.

“Sorry for bumping into you. I was running away from my friends.” He apologized, tugging his white scaly scarf upwards to hide his pinkish cheeks. Wait, is he blushing? Probably just the cold..

“No worries. I’m Lucy, by the way. The girls behind me are my friends; Erza, Levy-chan, Mira, Lisanna, Juvia and Wendy.” I gestured to who-is-who before extending a hand and smiling at him. I don’t know why my friends were quiet, though. They’re usually noisy and social. Maybe they’re hungry? Not bothering to mind their stange behavior, i watched as his expression brightened, accepting my handshake. Wow, his hand is really warm.

“I’m Natsu.” He grinned at me, showing his sharp fangs.

“So, Natsu? Why were you running away from your friends?” Trying to start a conversation, i casually asked.

“Eh? Well, i kind of broke a glass figurine inside and left them to pay..” laughing awkwardly, he scratched the back of his neck. He looks really cute when he—

“Umm, Lu-chan?” Me and Natsu both looked towards my friends, more specifically to Levy who spoke. Weird.. earlier while introducing Natsu, they were white as sheet. Now, mocking and teasing smiles were on their faces. What’s with them?

“I don’t know if you noticed but you’re wearing match-” she didn’t have time to continue since someone interrupted her.

“NATSU!” a loud shout hang through the air as a group of boys ran out of the department store. Each face held anger as they glared at the nervous looking guy beside me. There were 4 of them; one with long black hair with many piercings on his face. He honestly look like a delinquent. There’s also one half naked raven haired guy. Seriously? Was he an exhibitionist? An orange haired guy wearing blue glasses. He kinda looks like a playboy. Sorry for judging. And lastly, the only calm person in the group was a blue haired guy with a weird looking tattoo.

“Eh? Sorry about that, guys! Hehehe!” I can’t help but giggle at Natsu’s carefree attitude. Strangely, my actions earned me the attention of the 4 guys. Mirroring my friends reaction, they were shocked. Blinking, they looked at me then back to Natsu. They did that for about 3 times.

“Umm? Why are you looking at us like that?”

“Bunny-girl, are you this idiot’s girlfriend?” The intimidating long black haired guy asked, pointing his thumb at Natsu. Wait.. Bunny girl?

“Uhh? No-”

“What are you talking about, Metal Freak?! Luigi’s not my girlfriend. I just met her minutes ago.”

“IT’S LUCY, IDIOT!” Smacking him on the head, i pouted. Is my name that hard to remember?

“Then why are you wearing matching sweatshirts? Swear, you two look like a couple.” Realizing what the half naked guy said, we glanced at each other’s clothes. True to his words, we were wearing similar sweatshirts! Difference is, his is red!

“Eh? Fairy Tail? You play 'Fiore’?!” Natsu exclaimed, making me raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. I’m guessing you do as well?” “Yup! I love that game! You’re a member of Fairy Tail?”

“Yes-”

“Ok. Before you two start flirting, i need to ask. Flame Brain, i thought that’s limited edition? How come she has one?” The raven haired one asked again. A tick mark appeared on my forehead at his words. How dare he?! I spent my monthly allowance just to buy this!

“IT IS LIMITED EDITION, YOU PERVERT!” i yelled, not expecting a duet from Natsu. Wow, did we just yelled at the same time? With the exact same words?

“Well, they have chemistry.” My cheeks reddened when Erza said that.

“S-Shut up..” it barely sounded as a whisper. They all heard it though, laughing at my blushing face.

“Hey, Luce?” A shiver came up my spine when Natsu suddenly whispered on my ear. Thankfully, our friends were talking among themselves, suddenly too busy to notice us.

“Yeah?”

“Let’s ditch them. I know a good coffee shop on the first floor.” I was surprised by his offer. Did he just..?

“Huh?” He rolled his onxy eyes at me before tugging his scarf once again, hiding his pink tainted cheeks and grin.

“I’m asking you out on a date, weirdo.” My lips twitced upwards at that.

“Alright then. Your treat?”

“Sure, let’s go?” He offered me a hand which i gladly took. Once in contact, he gripped my hand and gently tugged it before he start running. I followed him, not minding the stares we got since we were wearing similar sweatshirts. I got to say, we do look like a couple..

***

This was posted a while back in another website. Enjoy! 😘💗💋📖📝