#my projects are usually code so i need to keep track of lots of documentation

[rocketlanterns]

So I use a browser extension on ff called simple tab groups, which lets me bundle a bunch of tabs into different contexts and manage them as groups.

On my normal setup, I only have like 3 tabs, but when I want to work on one of my projects, I can open the group that I keep that projects documentation in, and have it all handy instantly, and when I'm done I can switch back to my usual socials and just right click + discard the group to unload everything.

I run between 40-80 tabs but never more than 20 at a time, and that's only for the worst of documentation stuff.

when you are done with a tab you can close it. every browser in the world has a feature that lets you open recently closed tabs. also there is browsing history. need to visit a webpage often? may i introduce you to the bookmarks feature. there’s no reason to leave your tabs open. hoarder behavior.

[itlivesproject]

hiii! your project is AMAZING and you're all so talented 😭😭 but i have a question if you feel comfortable with sharing. which apps/programs you guys used to recreate the game? I'm interested in developing my own games but have no idea where to start. can you give me some tips? 🙂 tysm anyway!

If you want to make a standalone visual novel, then the program we use, Ren'Py, is perfect! It's free and designed specifically to make visual novels easy to make for everyone, including beginners. I had literally zero understanding of programming when I started working on ILW and just figured it out through tutorials, asking questions on forums, and trial and error.

This is the Ren'Py link.

Because this is long, under the cut I'm sharing some things you'll need to think about if you want to make a visual novel:

Your team:

You don't have to have a team of people helping you with this. You can do it alone. However, I will say that ILW would not be what it is if I had just tried to go it alone. It is so much better than anything I could've dreamed of when I first got the idea. More people on a team = more ideas, more constructive criticism and feedback, and more heads going in together to make a better product. But if you want a team, you need to make sure you maintain an attitude and environment that is open to suggestions and contributions from others. Be ready and willing to throw out ideas you like if it no longer works or someone thinks of something better. Nothing kills the creative spirit faster than defensiveness and competitiveness, so to have a well-working team, open-minded members and sharing your ideas and criticism in a positive way is extremely important.

Art:

This is one of the first things you should really nail down, because if you start working on your game but never figure out the art, everything else will go to waste. For most VN creators, they usually hire out for art. For us, since this is a free fan project, our artists worked for free. We were also lucky to already have a bunch of backgrounds and assets from Choices that our artists could edit, so we didn't have to make dozens and dozens of entirely new backgrounds. If you're going to have to hire out, I'd try to really compress the amount of art you'll need - plan ahead and cut down unnecessary characters who'd need sprites, maybe use a silhouette for unnamed characters, and limit the amount of backgrounds you'll need, because backgrounds take up a lot of space, they take up a lot of time to make, and they're expensive.

Programming:

Obviously, programming is a big thing. If you have enough motivation, you should be able to figure out a lot of this on your own. If you use Ren'Py, be sure to read the documentation, watch a lot of basic tutorials, and just get into the engine and start getting your hands dirty! It seems like a lot at first, but once you get the feel of it, it's actually not too complicated. When it comes to programming, I recommend simplifying everything as much as possible. When I first started ILW, I didn't simplify things much (because I was figuring things out) so what I used to do in three lines of code I now do in one. Limiting the amount of code you ultimately end up writing GREATLY diminishes possibility of errors and bugs. Also, try to get as organized as possible. Make as many folders, subfolders, and text files as you need. Don't try to put the whole script in one file, don't put all the images in the same folder. Good organization goes a long way to making everything a lot easier to keep track of.

Game structure:

Piecing together a branching game is honestly quite a puzzle. Before going into working on your game, you should sit down and figure out game mechanics. What points do you want to include? Personality? Relationship? Romance? Skills? Some kind of narrative scale akin to blood vs shadow? Figure out what points systems you want to include and then figure out how that's going to impact the story and where. When creating love interests, don't just create a character and assume they'll fit themselves into the narrative. Focus on the character as a character first, meaning determine how they fit into the story's narrative, and then think about them as a love interest second. If you do this, it will make them a better character and a more satisfying love interest. Finally, start the game knowing how much variation you want. Do you want something with immense, diverging endings? How much variation do you want within one scene? Because interactive fiction is so determinant on player choices and there can be so many routes, it's not a good idea to just go with the flow and see what happens, because otherwise you won't be able to reconcile all the different routes you likely created. So figure out the overall structure for your story in terms of mechanics before you really start on planning.

Planning and writing:

Once you have the previous stuff figured out, then you can start actually planning the story and eventually, writing it. Again, I'd recommend you figure out the previous stuff first because if you start planning and writing immediately, but then it turns out you can't solve the programming, or can't get art, then all this work will have been for naught. My advice on planning: do NOT skimp out! Additionally, to make the love interests feel more important to the story as a whole, I would recommend the technique of arc outlining, which is essentially when you take each love interest separate from each other and plan out scenes that tie into the story to further their individual character arcs. Doing this makes it easy to figure out where tender relationship and intimate moments can go, and those moments will be more interesting because they're connected to an actual plot point instead of just being like "it's sexy time!" Once you have your plans, you can start writing. Depending on how long your story is, writing can be really difficult. It takes a lot of time and thought, and burnout is real.

Music:

You'll want to figure out how you'll get music for your game. Again, creators usually hire out for this. On the Ren'Py forums, there's actually a specific topic for music that helps you network with composers who are looking for jobs. For us, again, since we're a fan project that's not making money, we could use 1) Choices music 2) tracks from a music library I have a deal with and 3) as a composer myself, I wrote some original tracks. Also, if you're looking for free sound effects, freesound.org is actually perfect for that. It's where I got the siren, forest, and ghost voice SFX!

Distribution

Distribution can be tricky! For ILW, we originally wanted it to be playable online, but we eventually removed that option because 1) saving online was complicated 2) the quality wasn't as good and it couldn't run smoothly and 3) we didn't want people who could download it, play online and have a bad experience instead of downloading it. If you offer an online option, most people will take it. For indie games, I think using something like Steam or itch.io is the way to go. Unfortunately, that will make it so it's not available on Apple products, but to get it on Apple you have to package it specifically for Apple which is difficult, and you have to pay $100/year to be allowed to have it up on the app store in the first place.

Hopefully this helps! This is really just scratching the surface, but here are some things to think about if you're interested in making your own visual novel.

[idrellegames]

Hi! I'm so curious about your writing process! I was wondering, do you have like, drafts of random scenes that will come up later, or do you keep everything entirely in your mind until its time to put it in the game? I personally always write drafts for the scenes i like even before its time for them in the plot but then i get so distracted by these 😅 Anyway, you are incredible and I hope you're having a nice day!

Hiya! 💗

My writing process for Wayfarer is pretty different from how I usually write. I typically prefer writing in chronological order, but on small(er?), contained projects I sometimes jump around depending on what I want to write on a given day. I have a two-act play where I wrote the first act and then the third act and left the second act for last because it was the hardest. 😅

But because Wayfarer is as much a game as it is a web novel, the scope makes it impossible for me to skip around. The number of variations and the way they compound to create unique results and outcomes makes it necessary for me to write in chronological order. I can't start working on scenes from later chapters because I'm not sure where exactly the emotional throughline of the characters is going to land before I've written the material that precedes a specific scene, and I'm also not exactly sure which variables I need to track because I haven't created them yet.

For a project as large as this one, I rely heavily on a rigorous outlining process. I have a master beat chart that gives the rough overview of the major events in each chapter and the most important plot points of each act. I don't go into the nitty-gritty details here, the master chart is specifically for the overall plot of the game.

I have smaller beat charts that go into greater detail for each Act so I can have a clear sense of the pacing (plans for romance/friendship scenes and main character side quests go here). And then when I start working on a chapter, I create a full chapter outline and smaller separate, detailed outlines for each major section and the branches within that section. These are usually done in a way so as I'm writing each branch, I can quickly check off all the things I need to account for as I complete them.

When I'm actually writing new material for the game, I work in sections leading up to a bottleneck (a bottleneck is when all relevant paths/choices lead back to the same scene).

So, for example, right now I'm working on a large endgame sequence in Route B where Aeran and the MC have to return to the Count (returning to the Count is a bottleneck, it's a plot event that will always happen). This sequence is divided into three sections, depending on the player's previous choices. Each of those three sections are further subdivided into branches that split again depending on skill checks before they bottleneck back onto the same path.

The game's mechanics often mean I'm dealing with 4 outcomes per choice. Even though the player only sees 2 choices (like a Strength choice and an Agility choice), the passage actually leads to 4 possible outcomes (i.e. 1 for passing Strength, 1 for failing Strength, 1 for passing Agility and 1 for failing Agility) or more if there are alternative, non-skill based choices.

It becomes a lot to keep track of, so I colour-code everything in my Word document. I also make a list at the start of each major section or branch that covers all of the possible results so I don't miss anything. It basically turns into a game of "Did I do all the orange choices? OK, yes, we can move on now." 😂

Once I've finished all the material for a branch, I'll put an X next to it so I know I've written it and move on to the next branch. I also include notes about any approval changes or variables I need to flag here so I don't forget them when I start coding. I don't like coding directly in Word, it just makes things more difficult to read and keep track of when I start putting new game content into Twine.

I keep an Excel file that tracks all the variables (their names and whether they're a boolean, a string, an array or an integer), what choice they track, what sequence/area they first appeared in, and whether or not they will continue to be used after the end of the chapter. I unset variables when I'm done with them to help keep the game's memory size down (Wayfarer is going to be huge, so any excess stuff in the background needs to be trimmed).

When I'm writing a scene, I try my best to stay in that scene and not worry about anything outside of it. Otherwise, I would get easily overwhelmed by the amount of content I have to create to stay true to the game's vision.

When I have really specific ideas for a scene that occurs much later in the game, I usually jot them down alongside some rough dialogue for later reference (I have a few Mel, Ren and Calla romance scenes that currently exist in this form). I also keep a journal or a stack of paper next to me while I'm writing so I can write down any ideas that may spring up for later incorporation. Writing them down right away and moving on helps me keep my focus where it needs to be.

I also keep a separate sheet for any edits/changes to code/lore changes for existing material I may think of as I write. When I work on a patch for the game, I always tackle the things on that list first before I move on to bug reports.

And that's about it. 😅

[junglekarmapippa]

Chapter 1: When is a mission not a mission?

Jen sat in Alex's office, looking around her. She hadn't been to her ex's office in a long time, since he usually talked to her in the Squad Room now, and was amazed at how little it had changed, although it really shouldn’t have surprised her at all. Alex was a creature of habit and he took change hard.

It had always amused her that Alex kept both plants and mementos in his office, since they gave him away as the sentimental type he was and tried so hard to hide. She could see a prototype of a morpher, some photo cubes and -- her heart skipped a beat -- the engagement ring he had given her –the one she had given back- displayed in a little glass box on a shelf behind his desk. It made her feel uneasy, especially after the last few months, so she looked away from it, looking at the plants on the other side of the room instead and wanting Alex to come in as soon as possible.

She had to wait a few more minutes before the door opened and Alex walked in, a file tablet of files in his hand.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, closing the door and walking towards the desk. "Got caught up in something, as usual."

She smiled. "It's alright. What's going on?"

He pressed a button on his console on the desk and the crystal wall that kept the interior of his office visible from the hallway went opaque. "I need your help with something."

"An opaque wall something. It must be serious." Jen knew that Alex didn’t like to lose his view of the squad room, so he only made the wall opaque for very serious or high-level confidentiality meetings.

"It's not serious, but it is important,” he placed his hands on the desk, folded over the tablet he had brought in with him. “Have you ever met Commander James Robertson?"

She sat in silence for a minute, trying to remember if she had seen him at the debriefing of the Ransik mission, which most of the commanders had attended. She shook her head. "I don't think he was at the Ransik debriefing and I don’t exactly hang out with commanders. And I’ve been away, so, no."

"He probably wasn't at the debriefing. James is the head of the Applied Sciences Division. He barely ever goes to debriefings, no matter how important the case."

"Do you know him?"

"Well. We met when he asked for my help testing the Time Shadow Megazord. We've become good friends since then."

"So, the Applied Sciences Division. I'm not sure there's much I can do for them, I’m not a particularly science driven person."

"Yeah, well, this isn't about the Applied Sciences Division. This is about James." Alex took a deep breath and looked directly at her eyes. "I need you to do something for me."

"Do you need me to do something for you or something for James?"

"Let’s say it’s for both of us," he looked down at the file on his desk. "James conducts research aside from his work in Time Force and he's working on an interesting project right now. A very important project."

"What kind of very important project?"

"He's trying to document and study as much as he can about the Venjix Event -- the near extinction event from early in the 21st century."

"I know what the Venjix Event is."

"Well, he found information on a woman. He could only find her by an alias, and he asked me to ask you if you'd interview her for him."

"Interview her for him? How?"

"Travelling back in time." His face expressed clearly just how obvious he thought that fact should have been to her.

"He wants me to travel back to the 21st century and interrogate someone for his research?" Jen said with a raised voice to show she was more than just slightly annoyed by the request. "I have real work to do here, Alex. Real criminals to catch! A city to rebuild! We just came out of a war!"

"I know but-"

"But nothing. The answer is no. If he wants to interview this woman, he can do it himself." She got up to leave and Alex stopped her by calling to her.

"He fears it might happen again." She turned to look at him and Alex continued, "He thinks the technological moment right now is perfect for an event similar to the Venjix one." He pointed at the chair. "Please."

She sat back down. "I still don't understand why he can't do it himself."

"Like I said, this is research he's conducting aside from Time Force for now. He will admit it's a bit of a crazy theory if you asked him right now. That's why he wants to know as much as he can about Venjix, especially where it came from and how it was defeated before presenting it to the other commanders."

"And he can't leave his post at Time Force, but I can."

"It's not just Time Force he has to worry about, it’s more complicated. But that's not why he asked me to ask you. He wasn't at the Ransik debriefing but he read the transcripts. He thinks your knowledge of the time period and your capacity to work alone as well as a part of a team are impressive, and he thinks you show great empathy, which makes you ideal for the kind of interview he needs." Jen fixed her eyes on him as he spoke of her capacities. "I have to say I agree with him."

"So he doesn't want someone to go to the past to do this interview he wants-"

"You. He wants you to do it."

She blushed slightly. "I'm flattered, but even if I agree, how will I get there? It's not like Time Force will lend me a time ship to do research, no matter if it's for a commander."

"You won't be using one of Time Force's ships. You'll be using one of James' ships." She looked at him, frozen in shock. She couldn’t imagine how someone could own a time ship, it wasn’t like the technology was accessible to the general public. Let alone more than one.

"One of James' time ships?" She heard herself repeat.

"Yes, his research labs have a small fleet," Alex said nonchalantly. "As for the permissions, don't worry. That's where I come in."

"And who will take care of my cases while I am gone? Alex, I need some time to think this through."

"I will."

Her eyes went wide. "You? You will take my cases?"

"Personally. And I will do my best to close as many of them as I can."

And by that he meant all of them, Jen knew. Whoever this James Robertson guy was, he meant a lot to Alex if he was willing to be back on the street just so she could do this for him.

"He's a really close friend, isn't he?"

Alex didn't answer immediately. He got up and paced up and down the office a couple of times. He stopped and looked at her, as if he was trying to find the right words. "Shortly after we met, I found out, and not from him, that it was James who saved my life after Ransik attacked me. It was technology he had developed that saved me. He didn't bring it up or cash in on it, and I don't think he knows that I know he saved my life. It's his technology that keeps me alive, Jen, and yet, he has never mentioned a single thing about it."

"He sounds like a very humble man."

"He is. He saved my life and if he asked me to shake Time Force from the foundation so he could test a theory, I would do it. I'm not letting you leave this office until you say 'yes'."

"If he means that much to you and if he asked for me specifically, how can I say 'no' to the man who saved your life?" She had gotten up and was standing very close to him.

He stepped away from her and sat down again. He took a couple of deep breaths while Jen sat back down. "Good, thank you. I’m sorry that got a little—anyway, here are the details." He handed her the tablet he had been holding when he came in. "James will program one other stop in your ship. There's someone he'd like you to pick up before you get to Corinth. Another asset for the interviews, I honestly don’t know how he finds these people."

Jen did a quick scan through the information in the tablet. The names of the people she had to interview, information on the specific time period, the coordinates to Corinth City and a very long list of equipment. "All this equipment is at my disposal for just a couple of interviews?"

"From James' labs, yes."

"You keep saying 'James' labs' instead of Time Force's-"

"That stuff doesn't belong to Time Force, Jen. This is not a Time Force mission. You’re not been ordered by James or me to go on this mission. This is an everything goes research mission. James is asking you, on the side, one person to another, to conduct a research mission for him. All that stuff belongs to James, not Time Force." He opened his drawer and pulled out a black box. "However, this does belong to Time Force," he said, opening the box and holding it so she could see its contents. Inside was her morpher. She looked at it, her heart racing. She hadn’t seen or worn it in almost two years. "I think you should take this, just in case. Take good care of it."

She took the device carefully and felt like she was being reunited with an old friend. He put the box in front of her. "You can't put it on while you're still in this time. Time Force can track it and you haven’t been cleared to use it again. But It's still locked to your DNA." She put the device back in the box and closed it. "It's almost lunch time. Have lunch and meet me at the main gate. I'll take you to James' labs."

"Do I at least get to meet him before I leave?"

"He was very adamant that he would be too busy elsewhere to meet you before you left. Which is code for 'I need an alibi and I will make one'."

She smirked. "So he can throw us under the bus if things go wrong?"

It was his turn to smirk. “Actually, he’s giving me an alibi too and you were never here so…”

“I see. Mischievous little commander.”

"Well, I know you are not a gossip kind of woman," Alex said getting up to lead her out of the office. "But he’s very mischievous. A total ladies’ man. And gentlemen's man too, he’s not picky." She laughed. “He says he just doesn’t like to dine alone, make of that what you will.”

He opened the door to indicate she should leave.

"I'll see you after lunch."

"See you."

After lunch, Alex drove her to what he kept referring to as 'James' labs', which turned out to be a very famous multibillionaire interplanetary applied sciences company that produced everything from ships to medication. Jen remembered something that had been in the news recently about this company.

"Alex." He grunted to let her know he was listening. "Wasn't this the pharma company that created the test for that alien plague that was causing all those deaths these past few months?"

"The test, the treatment and the vaccine. All developed personally by James."

"He developed them himself?" She scoffed, as if a such thing was ridiculous. "I'm sure that's what he told people-"

"The press release credited the research team of the pharmacological division for the development," Alex told her, briefly taking his eyes off the road to glance at her. "But James did it himself. I know that for a fact because his assistant kept calling me to drag him home. I never could, not until he was finished. He slept on the floor, ate poorly, and wouldn't stop talking to himself. I thought he had lost it. But then he developed the test, and right after that, the cure and the vaccine.

You'd think that was enough but he wouldn't go home until he was sure all three would be available to anyone who needed them-"

"For free," Jen interrupted. "I saw it on the news. Very generous of him."

"That's James."

When they arrived, Alex got out of the car and she followed his lead. Jen waited while Alex talked to a nice looking young man who smiled at her.

"Sergeant Scotts," he said, walking up to her. "I'm Charles, Mr. Robertson's assistant. Everything has been set up for your mission."

Jen was barely paying attention to him. She was looking around, searching for the gigantic portrait of James Robertson that was bound to be somewhere. Her eyes fell on Alex and Charles, who were looking at her as if waiting for an answer.

"Sorry, I got distracted by the surroundings."

"Yes, the atrium can be quite a sight," Charles commented with a smile. "Mr. Robertson has very fine taste and it is important for him that his employees like their work environment." Jen wondered why there was no portrait and asked Charles about it. The young man let out a little laugh and smiled. "That's not how Mr. Robertson does things."

"He’s as private as he can be, it gives him room to do things his way," Alex told her.

"Please, come with me," Charles said and they followed him out of the atrium towards one of the transport pods which took them through the various buildings, until finally stopping in a hangar where Jen finally saw the ship she would be using for this mission.

She was expecting something similar to the bulky, round, and yellow time ship Time Force had, but this ship was very different. It was much smaller, sleeker and the overall design was very elegant: a flat, arrow-like body with shiny silver finish. She was fascinated.

"Wow," she whispered, staring at it enthusiastically.

"The newest model. Interdimensional storage units allow for less weight and bulk, and it contains our most advanced engine and state of the art time travel technology," Charles recited. "And she's all yours."

"She doesn't need a big crew, then?" she asked, her eyes still glued to the ship.

Charles exchanged a look with Alex and cleared his throat. "I mean, she's literally all yours." Jen still didn't look away from the vehicle.

Charles looked at Alex for help. "He means the ship belongs to you, Jen."

That got Jen's attention. She looked away from the ship and over at Alex. "What do you mean the ship belongs to me?"

"Mr. Robertson thought it would be a nice thank you for accepting this mission," Charles explained.

"What am I supposed to do with my own time ship?" Jen asked him. She looked at Alex. "Why is your friend giving me my own time ship?"

"He read the transcripts of the Ransik debriefings," he reminded her, giving her a meaningful look. "Perhaps he thought you'd like to visit someone in your time ship."

Jen closed her eyes. "Alex, this is really not-"

"Necessary?"

"-kind of him," she said. "It sounds like a cruel thing to-"

"Do for someone who is in love with someone from another time?"

"-do to you," she finished.

He looked at her and his expression softened. Then he smiled at her. "You win some, you lose some, Jen." He looked at the ship. "I will take care of the permits every time you want to see him."

Jen didn't know what to say. This kind of thing was the reason she had fallen in love with Alex in the first place. He had arranged it so she could visit Wes whenever she wanted to, instead of cutting her out of his life.

“This was your idea, wasn’t it?” She looked at him as he looked at the ship to avoid answering. "I can't accept it." Both Alex and Charles looked at her but for different reasons. "I will use it for the mission but I can't just keep the ship. I'm sure Commander Robertson will find better uses for it." There was a question in Alex's eyes. She looked away from him to stare pointedly at Charles who got the hint.

"I'll go double-check everything is ready for you, sergeant," he said, walking towards the ship. Once they were alone, Jen and Alex just stared at each other in silence for a moment.

"I'm over Wes,” she said bluntly.

Alex looked at her, confused. "Sorry, what?"

"I'm over him," she repeated, averting her gaze. “The war, what happened, the things I did…” she took a deep breath.

There was no need for any more explanations.

"He wouldn't be the first love of your life you got over."

She closed her eyes, hurt by his words. "Alex, I'm sorry. I really thought-"

"This is not the time or the place to have this conversation," he said. She nodded. "We'll talk when you come back if you want, but know that James will not let this stand. He will repay you somehow for helping him and he won't take no for an answer."

"Understood. I didn't pack or anything, what if it takes me longer than expected?"

"Knowing James, there are enough clothes of your size and style packed inside somewhere," he replied, glad to change the subject.

"How would he know my size?" she wondered as she walked towards the ship. "Did you tell him?"

"It's one of his many talents," Alex commented, walking behind her. “He’s a ladies’ man.” Alex smiled and shrugged. “And a gentleman’s man too, he’s not picky.”

"Okay. I guess he probably has been with enough… ‘ladies’ to guess sizes.”

He heard her sarcasm and shook his head while he smirked. “He just doesn’t like to dine alone.”

“Right.”

“Let’s get you going, we don’t have much time,” he said and led the walk to the ship.

The inside of the ship was somehow even more spectacular to Jen. It was brightly lit, the controls were elegant silver buttons on black glass panels and the many holographic screens were sharp and easy to read. It seemed like a good example of the fine taste Charles had mentioned James had.

There were seats for five people inside the ship, but it was obvious that only one person was required to fly it, the pilot’s seat was easily recognizable.

"It seats five," she commented.

"Passengers," Charles told her. "She pretty much flies herself once she's been programmed. She will respond to verbal and tactile commands and-" He pressed a button on the console and the screen showed a list of items. "-you can access all the equipment by pressing here and then lightly placing your finger on the item on the hologram."

Jen scanned the list of items more carefully, it was the same Alex had shown her in his office. Some of the equipment seemed like odd things to pack for a research mission. She mentioned this to Charles.

"All the ships are kept ready in case of an emergency. They’re kept stocked with various equipment Mr. Robertson thinks may be useful."

Charles had said it before, but this time Jen noticed that Charles didn't refer to Commander Robertson by his rank. "Why do you call him 'Mr. Robertson'? You addressed me as ‘sergeant’."

Charles lean face went slightly red and he glanced at Alex, before returning his attention to Jen. "James, I mean, Mr. Robertson doesn't like it when people address him by his rank."

"Or as 'Mr. Robertson'," Alex added, looking at Charles. "He asks everybody to call him 'James'," he told Jen.

“And everybody does," Charles added with a shy smile.

"Except his butler, who keeps referring to him as 'Master James', making him cringe every time," Alex pointed out and both he and Charles stifled laughs, clearly remembering instances when this had happened.

"Why can't he just program his butler to call him James?" She asked. Surely a man of such wealth and wit knew how to program a household robot. Or had someone to do it for him.

Charles and Alex exchanged another knowing look. "James' butler is not a robot, Jen."

Jen just looked at them and then her eyes fixed on Charles. She could see he clearly wasn’t a robot either. She had assumed he was just a hyper-realistic android. Clearly James Robertson had a lot more money and charm than she had thought.

"You're not an android," she told Charles.

He shook his head. "One hundred percent human."

"And you are one of James'…" she stopped herself. She didn't want to call him 'servant'.

"I serve James with great pleasure, sergeant. It's no big deal. His closest staff are all humans."

"James doesn't entirely like robots. He tolerates them as the part of life they are but he prefers working with humans," Alex told her. "The story of his personal staff is fascinating but we'll save it for another day because whatever alibi he's giving himself for this won't last much longer. You need to leave."

"Just sit down and buckle up. Put your right palm on the reader. The ship has been locked to your DNA and fingerprints, and, like I said, she will fly herself," Charles instructed. He handed her a black gauntlet for her left hand, which had a beautiful pattern on it. "This control gauntlet will also give you access to the equipment from wherever you are outside the ship and he wanted you to have these." He handed her two small metallic bars. "James has been developing them for Time Force. Quantic police batons. If they come in handy, you can tell him how they do."

"Why would I need these?" she asked, looking at Alex. He had given her her morpher back too. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

Alex shook his head and looked at Charles who smiled. "You know me, I prefer to cover all the bases. These are just precautions in case you run into trouble."

"Right," she said, not entirely convinced they were telling her the full truth. “How do I use these?” She asked Charles, showing him the bars. They were the size of a pair of batteries but were remarkably heavy.

“Think of how long and heavy you need them to be and they’ll take subatomic particles from the environment to change and fit your needs.”

“They’re magical police batons?” Jen mocked, looking at the little bars.

“Quantic.” Charles corrected and moved towards the door. "I was told you travelled in a Time Force time ship before. You will find your travel in this ship a lot more comfortable."

"Comfortable?" She really doubted being spun around at top speed could under any circumstances be comfortable.

"She doesn't spin, Jen," Alex told her with a smile, as if he had read her mind, he moved towards the door too. "You won't even notice she's moved."

With that, both men exited the ship. When they were a safe distance away, the palm reader glowed green on the black glass, indicating the ship was ready for departure. Jen stared at it and swallowed. She felt like she was losing her mind. This James Robertson character sounded like the most eccentric billionaire she had ever heard of and here she was leaving everything behind for him without even meeting him.

As she put her hand on the reader and the ship started the launch sequence, she thought that maybe she could keep the ship after all.

[eponymous-rose]

Monday!

I’ve been a bit scatterbrained at work lately so I thought it might be fun to document what I do in this, a “typical” week at work during the summer. 

I’m a tenure-track professor at a research-heavy university, which means that while I do teach a very small number of classes (3/year, one for each quarter except for summer), most of my time is spent as a researcher and as a supervisor for graduate students doing their own research. It’s my first year doing this, so things are a little weird even without, you know, everything else going on.

So! Today started with some e-mail management, which included things like discussing some new research with a reporter (even after today’s discussion she seems to think it’s worthy of a press release once the paper’s accepted!), setting up a meeting to talk with a new grad student who recently moved to town, coordinating some “write right now” sessions for next week where I’ll be working on projects intensely with colleagues as “accountability partners”, and responding to a couple of students looking for grad student positions with the names of some colleagues who will have positions open next year (I unfortunately won’t---part of my job is coming up with the grant money to pay my grad students, and right now two is all I can afford).

Next was some supervisor work! One of my graduate students is already putting together materials for his first paper based on his preliminary Master’s research, but while he does have a publication from his undergraduate work, this is his first time really leading a project like this. He asked for some feedback on the first 6-7 pages of the paper he’s working on, so I jumped into the Google Doc and read through it, highlighting particularly clear descriptions (of which there were many!!) and playing Reviewer #2 where needed to point out places where explanations needed a bit more oomph. We’ve got a one-on-one Zoom meeting tomorrow, so I also did a little more reading about a (virtual) conference where he may or may not want to present in January and looked into who he might want to ask to join his Master’s committee in the fall.

And suddenly it’s already lunchtime. Oh dear.

Due to a combination of bad luck and the internet outage last week, I have four journal articles to review in a seven-day period. An easy review for me (solid, short paper) typically takes 2-3 hours, whereas a hard one (especially a possible rejection) can be 8+, so a lot of my own research is on the backburner this week while I whittle down these reviews. This is definitely atypical: usually I have at most 1 or 2 reviews on the go at any given time. But this week, while I’m waiting for reviews on a manuscript of my own, honestly isn’t a bad time to get caught up on the bleeding-edge of the field, so at least there’s that!

First order of business this afternoon (after yet more e-mails): complete the easiest of the reviews on my list. It’s actually my second time reviewing this paper after the authors made some revisions, and it’s a fun situation where it’s a multidisciplinary paper and my expertise is really only needed for a small subset of the research. After re-reading the twenty pages of comments and replies, and reading quickly through the paper as a whole, I’m able to stamp it with my seal of approval and send that judgment back to the editor.

Okay. Final job for the day: write a first-pass review of the next paper on my pile. Typically when I’m reviewing a paper for the first time, I keep a Notepad file open in the other window and jot down thoughts as I go---lots of these wind up getting deleted or shifted around (”where do these data come from? oh, you literally explain it in the next sentence, never mind”). There’s always a lot of side-hops on the first read-through, including trips to Github to play around with provided code and data, and many, many trips to journals and conference preprints to hunt down dimly remembered citations that the authors might find useful in their revisions. And it turns out, hey, overall this is a good paper, but it’s missing some content it needs to be really rigorous and repeatable; pretty classic Major Revision decision seems to be what’s on the horizon. I jot down a few notes to myself so I won’t forget my thoughts, and... it’s 5 PM. Time flies. Second read-through will have to wait until tomorrow.

Definitely a quiet Monday (no meetings!!!), but there’s a lot going on for the rest of the week!

[iphoenixrising]

hey we haven’t heard anything from you in a while. everything good? How’s life treating you? All my love for one of my favorite batfam writers!💗💗💗

Hi babe.

Ah sorry, I’ve been super busy at work and with kiddo :( I mean, I’m still writing when I can, but it’s just time and motivation. My project has really taken off (reads as: expanded) and most nights I’m chipping away at the massive amount of documentation for not only a Java-based framework, but an entire Platform *sob* So, it’s just such a huge amount of old articles and brainstorming sessions and meeting minutes and just ugh. I mean, it’s kind of interesting to try tracking all these things down and figuring out how they’re going to work together since the developers (from 12 to 50-ish, my God and now they want me to read markdown and do pull requests for comments and shit because this is my fucking life) are still working on the platform services, the development environment, and all these fucking tools I’ve never heard of (Kubernetes, wtf is this thing??) so I’m learning a foreign language almost tbh.

Did I mention *sigh*?

ANYWAY, also some of the things I’m working on that are like Batfam are a little more...I dunno, just things that a bit harder for me I guess, but even if I write just a sentence or two, I still count it as a win.

But like...I said something about a Sentinel / Guide Au, and even though I’m at what would be a good stopping point, I’m not very happy with it :/ So, if you’d like to see kind of what I’ve been doing, I’m going to throw down what I’ve got below the cut. 

Warnings: 

DickTim, Angst

Sentinel/Guide Au

**

After he brings B back from time, send the Dark Knight back to Gotham, he gives in to things long overdue, and trains with Shiva–

–to be an effective Guide.

Years of suppressants made it literally hell without them, trying to keep his shields up, trying to push out the telepathic traffic suffocating him the second he opens up just a crack.

Shiva, of course, had been her cheerfully murderous self, plying him with the full onslaught of a powerful Sentinel.

"You will be drawn to us from now on, Little Bird. You will want to protect us, bring us back from the abyss. If you choose to allow your powers as a Guide rein free, then you must learn to fight against the urges."

The fucked-up part is–

–she's right.

If he wants to stay in the life, wear the cape and cowl under the new name, go back to the Titans (since they've been looking for him again, fly-bys and searches for his tech), then he needs to learn how to deal with what he can do and how to deal with the instincts that come along for the ride.

It's not enough that Shiva is in the middle of hunting down a few former students ("They have made...the wrong choices." 

"That's rich coming from you, you know."

"We all have a code, Little Bird, and I am no different.")

but they managed to run into a few other Sentinels along the way.

He'd like to say he'd taken his ass beating like a pro at this juncture in the vigilante game, but the reality is, they'd had to take shelter in a shitty lean-to, so he could be tragically, metaphysically hung-over.

He gives up the cowl and suit, utility belt and sundries. He goes as a wrecked teenage American boy, changing it up from the last time he trekked behind Lady Shiva and took on her adversaries. He tries not to think about Dick or Jason, Dami or Alfred, tries not to think about the confused look on B's face in his safe house, drying his hair after a long shower, trying to readjust to the current timeline.

("You aren't going back to Gotham?"

"I still have things to do."

"...there's something you aren't telling me."

"There's a lot I'm not telling you."

"Come to me when you're ready, Tim. No matter what, you're always going to be one of my Robins.")

Instead, he learns how to keep himself, and the Sentinels around him, safe and sane while trying to stay two steps ahead of the next fight, the next clue, the next "training."

In Shanghai a few months later, he knows it's time to move on when people part ways for the brightly clad superheroes coming en-masse down the packed street for him.

Well, moving on it is.

Going back to the Tower, away from the Bats and Gotham and the Rogue Gallery (thinking about facing the Joker this raw and open is fucking terrifying), was the best he was going to get considering the circumstances.

Those circumstances being the pointed twitch over Kon's eye and Bart's very intense gaze.

"You were supposed to call, asshole. The OG Batman has been back in Gotham for like months and you've just been, you know, chilling with Lady Shiva?"

Tim, who is so out of bullshit at this juncture, feels better after a hot shower and some old sweats with a Superboy t-shirt, throws up his fucking hands.

"All right, fine. I never told anyone. I...I've been on suppressants since I was a kid, just like my mom. Guides..."

"It's not that bad anymore!" Cassie tries helplessly, the first to actually reach across the table for his hand.

The instant connection makes them both gasp. It’s a shallow one, just a dip under her natural shield (he knows it’s Cissy, the Guide that’s been helping her until now, bringing her back whenever she hits a Zone, recognizes the touch of their Arrowette), just a skim over her immediate emotions  this thing now untried and how utterly calm he makes her just by hands lightly placed. 

"O-ooh," is soft while his fingers tighten, his eyes sharpen, his shields constructing around her, his instinct to protect.

"Not necessary," Gar chimes in, still leaning against the door between the kitchen and communal entertainment room, "we're all good in the Tower, T."

Is what shakes him out of it, hastily pulling away from Cassie's hand.

"Wow." Wonder Girl breathes out, eyes soft and half-mast, looking at him dreamily.

"Nope." Because he can already feel the headache coming on, how her hand tries to grab back at his.

“We could fight better together, Tim!”

“Do you even know how strong a Guide has to be to take care of four Sentinels?”

In one terribly creepy singular move, Bart, Kon, Gar, and Cassie give him that look.

You know, aimed at his face.

"No one," Bart cuts in, eyes wide at the exchange, of Tim's aura warm and inviting suddenly stronger, reaching out... "Tim, T. No one has to know."

The flash of fear, a residual from the tunic, makes him hedge back a subtle step back.

Kon pointedly grips him by the bicep, over his shirt while Bart moves enough that his shoulder bumps into Tim’s ribs, halting the possible escape attempt.

“Okay, okay, backing off. New powers are about a bitch, not like we all haven’t been there once or twice.” Kon soothes over, taking small steps and tugging until Tim is moving with him closer to the communal kitchen where his seat is empty at the island, and they can possibly get proof the guy actually eats.

“Amen,” Cassie throws up a hand and is already digging through the fridge until she finds–

–the last grape Zesti.

Tim’s eyes narrow dangerously on that singular can, his body moving before his brain can take over because he’s sliding on his old chair, the can cold against his fingers, too thirsty for caffeine that he can’t even.

Sure, it’s a trap, but with these guys, at least he knows it.

“I’m very not ready to do anything remotely Guide-like in the field,” the soft ca-saaaa as the can opens. “You want me to sleuth, fight, and strategize, then I’m all for it.”

Bart is just suddenly in Kon’s usual seat beside him, spinning around in tight, fast circles, “you mean you’re thinking about coming back? To the life?” 

“Dude, that would be stellar.”

Tim side-eyes his besties, “it was never in the plan to-to stop.”

“Can’t blame us for assuming, you know,” Gar grins toothily, “no Red Robin for a while, my dude.”

Tim goes quiet, staring down at the can between his hands, shoulders hunched over.

“At least,” Raven’s voice is smooth and soft, comforting, “tell us why now, Tim?”

“Why now?”

“Why begin training as a Guide now?” She clarifies, sliding into the seat across from her, and the coolness of her aura, not a Sentinel, but something purely Raven puts his frayed nerves at ease, makes it easier for him to find the words.

“I turned 18,” and he can’t look at them while he admits to it, “and...and I figured out who my Sentinel is after Ra’s kicked me out the window.” (I was fine going out that way. It was fine. I was saving Wayne Enterprises from the League of Assassins, I was fighting the good fight. It shouldn’t have happened that way...why did it have to happen that way?)

“Oh,” and Cassie’s eyes get huge.

“Ra’s al Ghul is your Sentinel?!” Bart fairly screams.

“No dude,” Tim rolls his eyes and finds his can suddenly fascinating. “It’s...Dick. He’s...yeah. It’s him.”

“I didn’t hear that,” Kon hurries, standing shock-still, “I didn’t hear any of that.”

“Not him,” Bart is gritting his teeth because dammit, why couldn’t Tim have been his Guide? The universe was totally, wholly unfair.

A muscle in Tim’s jaw flexes, his nose pinkening along his upper cheekbones. He blinks watery eyes, takes a deep, deep breath to try and keep himself under control. 

“Yeah,” and Tim sighs a little, the ache in his chest more acutely painful when he thinks about that moment waking up in the Cave, Dick in the Batsuit without the cape/cowl combo smiling down at him, still painfully unaware of the connection drawn tight between them.

(He doesn’t need me. He’s got Babs and Dami. His Guide and his Robin.)

Getting the absolute fuck out of the Manor had been his first order of business once he’d come to, just sprouting whatever placating bullshit Dick needed to hear to let him go without much of a fight (this time).

Finding Bruce and staying the hell out of Gotham hadn’t helped the pull he inexplicably felt, or the pressure of minds around him that had sent him to Shiva in the first damn place. His Guide abilities were overcoming the suppressants, so he was out of time...and out of options. 

Still, even with the training, he occasionally has the dreams at night. Not the usual array of awful nightmares from his real life, Jason shooting him in the chest at point-blank to make sure the job gets done this time, Bruce dying right before his eyes, turning into that skeleton husk Superman brought to them thinking it was the real thing, Damian sneering at him with the katana held high, spitting out how it’s time the real Robin took his rightful place just before bringing the blade down–

No, no, it’s even worse than those.

It’s shadowy hands touching him, the warm wet of a mouth over his skin and scars, gentle voice in his ear telling him how beautiful he is, how much he’s needed, wanted, how it’s not just because of what he is or what tunic he used to wear, it’s all because he’s Tim. He doesn’t wake up when his dream self realizes it’s Dick over him, those blue eyes taking him in, pinning his wrists down to look over every inch of his naked body. He doesn’t wake up when Dick starts preparing him. He doesn’t wake up when Dick kisses him hard and desperate. He doesn’t wake up when the tears dry on his face and their bodies line up.

“Mine,” his dream Sentinel doesn’t even hesitate, “Don’t ever run from me again. Do you understand me, Tim?”

Just before Dick pushes, he wakes up, panting and hard, his instincts going crazy enough that he has to meditate to calm down.

Cassie gently wraps her hand around his shoulder, making sure they don’t have skin-to-skin contact this time. “I’m sorry,” she smiles gently at his frown, “I know you and Dick have had some...issues in the past few years.” But he can read the guilt in her face. Back when everyone thought Bruce was dead and his cape had been yanked out from under him, Dick had sent Cassie to try talking some “sense” into him. She still feels awful for jumping on the same train everyone else had been riding, the ‘that guy is suffering from depression’ instead of believing he might actually be right. 

(It still stings though, doesn’t it?)

He doesn’t say anything back, just looks out one of the big windows and pulls out of her hold to take a drink of his Zesti.

“But,” Gar quickly jumps in, “you’ll stay in the Tower and fight on the team again, right? Like, no more trips with World’s Deadliest Assassins?”

Tim visibly hesitates, pausing with the can up to his mouth. 

Slowly, he lowers it, his eyes taking on a cold calculation that is and isn’t like their old Rob. “Like I said, I can’t be a Guide for anyone, and I mean that. Second, I told you the truth in confidence, so I expect everyone to keep my secret. Third, I’m not anywhere near ready to go to Gotham or face the Bats, so for now, I’m fighting under the radar. If those aren’t acceptable stipulations, I’ll grab some of my clothes from storage and be out of your Tower.”

“Storage?” Kon glances around at the team, “Tim, buddy, why do you think we’d have your stuff in storage?”

“I assumed Dick would already approach you about making Damian part of the team,” his tone is absolutely empty, emotionless. “And there’s no way both of us could be here at the same time, so...” he lets them put it together from there.

The look of utter devastation on Kon’s face makes him feel slightly better.

**

Coming back when Cassie, Bart, and Kon have his back, just like they were closer to the end of their YJ run, makes the transition easier than it realistically should have been.

And it really might just be how low the dose of suppressants are now, or that he feels comfortable stepping into Robin’s role on the team, just with a different name, a different mask. It might just be how Bart has a tendency to hover with that hummingbird energy coming off him even when he’s seemingly standing still, maybe it’s Kon’s TTK pressing at his back even if the guy is across the room, maybe it’s how he and Cassie have leadership meetings where they just binge watch reruns of Gossip Girl and eat ice cream to bemoan their woes. 

But maybe, it’s how he can feel them pulling at his shields unconsciously. Maybe it’s how he can sometimes push back enough, can skim just the edges to get impressions of angry, sad, depressed and gently erect a mental shield without delving deep without permission, can give them the space they need from their intense senses and powers. 

Just another way he can be the regular guy on the team, working under the radar. So much a part of his role in the first damn place. 

He doesn’t realize it becomes something normal until they take the good fight a little too close to Gotham for his liking, but the choices were few and Luthor is such an incredible ass hat that Tim actually plays it down, dresses up as CEO Tim Drake to divert their baddie while the team takes apart his latest weapon of mass destruction on the down-low.

What he absolutely doesn’t expect is to leave the lobby of one of the most posh restaurants in Metropolis–

And walk face-first into Dick Gryson’s chest.

(Technically, it’s Nightwing, but really, this doesn’t make the sitch any better.)

A hand, black with blue fingerstripes, covers his mouth, and the sound of a grapple retracting is a pending oh no that he doesn’t fight the vigilante pretty much kidnapping him off the street in broad daylight. 

He can only thank God it isn’t skin-to-skin contact because his inner senses are flaring this close to the Sentinel, his Sentinel, that he has to grind his back teeth to keep himself in check. He pulls away the second they land it on solid rooftop, shoving his sleeve back to check the team’s status on his hidden wrist computer. 

Mission success! 

“Imagine my surprise,” Nightwing growls, hand on his shoulder to spin him around, “when I find you having lunch with someone like Lex Luthor instead of taking my damn calls, Timmy.”

Stepping out of that hold is subtle because Tim is looking over the side of the roof, adjusting his tie to try putting some distance between them. “I’m undercover. Those are the things people like us do when we’re running an Op, Nightwing.”

Those whiteouts narrow on him, a trick only Dick can really pull off effectively. “None of that tells me where the hell you’ve been for the last year since you left to find Bruce, found him, and didn’t come back.”

His back straightens, eyes looking away when the irritation and heat of anger hits him harder without the nice little cocktail of suppressants and stabilizers, makes his own shields tremble at the burning sear along the edges of his consciousness. 

Instead of saying something he might come to regret, Tim sucks in a breath through his nose and works through the bolt of pain, gathers his shields around himself to keep the Sentinel from unerringly lashing out at him again.

“What the hell are you even doing here? Recon on Luthor? For which nefarious plot?”

A black and blue hand slashes the space between them, “not even important, Tim. So, how about you call your team and tell them you’ve got some Bat business because we? Need to talk.”

“I’m sorry, what now?”

“You heard me. I’ve been trying to get in contact with you for weeks.”

“I sent back your case files, asshole–”

“Not about cape and cowl shit, Tim!”

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about right now,” even though he does, he really does. He just doesn’t know why it has to happen now.

Nightwing, however, has had enough of the talk and with a whip of his arm has a bolo out and thrown, his natural speed as a Sentinel might be slower than someone like the Flash, but it still has Tim wrapped up tight faster than he can realistically dodge.

The sight of the vigilante Nightwing swinging through Metropolis with the CEO of Wayne Enterprises over one shoulder would be big news in the city if anyone had been bothered to really look up.

**

The hotel is nice Tim thinks while wiggling around on the bed where Dick pretty much dumped him. His fingers are already getting the bolo loose from around his upper body by the time Dick has the mask off and the Nightwing suit unzipped to flop around his waist.

The Gotham Knights t-shirt underneath is a new one since the old faded one got blown up in that little explosion in the ‘Haven a few years back.

Dick lifts and sets a chair down with a pointed clack, sitting down to watch Tim squirm his way up. He’s got the bolo loose enough to brace his palms.

“What part of I’m in the middle of an OP–”

“Don’t care,” Dick cuts him off ruthlessly, those blue eyes hard and jaw tense. “I honestly don’t give a crap about the Titans right now.”

“Well I sure as hell do thank-you very much,” Tim pulls the bolo off, tosses it across the room with an angry flick, facing his former mentor, former partner, former friend with those old feelings creeping up his throat to make the taste in his mouth coppery and bitter.

“The only thing I care about right now is that I finally caught up to you. The last time I even saw you was that swan dive–”

“I’m aware. Being kicked out of a window is pretty memorable, even for people like us,” he keeps it deadpan, keeps the anger and irritation, the feelings of shit like betrayal and it must have been so easy to throw me the fuck away.

“The point is, smart ass, you left the Cave and haven’t been back. You only answer my emails about cases and bad guys. But when I ask you to come back home, which I have, Tim, I don’t even know how many times, and I get nothing! We need you–”

“Why would I come back to Gotham for you?” Is what spills out of his mouth, something bitter and foul. “You’ve already got a fucking Robin to be your little brother, remember?”

Welp, there goes playing it cool.

But watching Dick jerk back like Tim had landed a physical blow was more satisfying than he wanted to admit.  

“Are you kidding me right now? You’re still angry about that? I’ve explained to you exactly why–”

The irritation in Dick’s tone, obvious disgust when he leans back and crosses his arms over his chest is just about enough.

“You explained it just fine. You made your choice, so everyone just has to deal with it, right? Yeah, that’s really being my equal.” 

Tim makes himself stay deadly calm and cold, moves his legs away from Dick’s to stand and take a few steps away from the seething Sentinel to adjust his tie and try to get his hands to quit trembling. 

“I can’t believe you’re acting this childish, Tim. I’m really disappointed with you right now.”

“Glad we’re on the same page, Dick, disappointed in each other,” but it strikes him anyway in the small, sad place where he held on to the hope they could still work everything out somehow and at least go back to being friends. A small part that’s been slowly dying in degrees, and that last hit is enough to make it so absurdly painful.

(All those years in the R, fighting the good fight, being brothers, having each other’s backs, and it all ends here, doesn’t it?)

“What? I did everything I could do for you! I–”

“If that’s what you want to believe, then that’s fine. I don’t have any reasons to argue with you,” staring at his own reflection in the mirror, seeing the red start to creep over his cheeks, his eyes get overly shiny, Tim Drake straightens his spine and flexes his own shields. 

He keeps himself together enough to turn on a heel and walk calmly to the door.

“Tim, just...okay, just wait. Let’s talk this out–”

He doesn’t even turn, hand already on the knob, just pulls open the door and takes a hasty step through. It’s only the first step, but Dick is still just suddenly there, trying to snatch at Tim’s wrist with a bare hand, managing the brush of fingertips over a pulse.

“Don’t leave like this,” Is the last thing Dick says before the electric shock slides up his spine, the pull to all his senses almost has him on his knees.

The touch has Tim lurching away, jerking his wrist up to cradle against his chest, the red burn of Dick’s emotions beating at his shields harder with just a simple graze.

It ends with Dick still in the doorway, braced against the frame, gaping, and Tim leaning heavily into the wall across the hall, a wince on his face.

Stupid metaphysical connections and shit.

The touch hadn’t been enough to, you know, like bond them or anything, but it’s widely believed True Pairs didn’t even have to touch to get impressions from one another.

“You asshole,” he seethes at that shocked expression. 

“You feel like I betrayed you,” is low and thick, Dick’s eyes a little dazed with what he picked up through the momentary connection, “it hurt you so much when I made Dami my Robin because I didn’t even talk to you, I didn’t trust you. You think I just threw you out of my life. How could I ever do that to you...?”

If Tim was a better Guide, on a higher dose of suppressants, he would have been able to keep himself closed off enough that if they did manage to touch, he could have kept Dick out of his shields, wouldn’t have given him the ability to skim over shitty emotions.

If Tim was a better Guide, he wouldn’t have the urgent need to run.

But welp, here they are.

As the thought takes shape in his brain pan, that he’s in his civilian day-ware and can run down the hall while Dick –still half in Nightwing– is trapped in the doorway, his knees firm and his eyes dart wildly to the side, giving himself away.

And since Dick was Batman, is Nightwing, is a Sentinel, he sees the writing on the wall and absolutely refuses to let it happen. Dick shoves with his arms, darts out into the hallway, makes his suddenly weak knees work enough to shake up Tim’s plan, seizes the apparent Guide, his Guide, in a princess hold and get back before the door even starts to close.

“Put me–!”

But Dick folds his legs to sit with his back against the door, and wraps both arms around the struggling third Robin. He can hold onto Tim better than a bolo anyway. 

The push at Tim’s shields is a pressure he isn’t used to dealing with, and it’s painful to fight against it rather than just let the tentative connection open. His hands curl into fists in his lap, trying to strain against the arms pinning him while concentrating on strengthening his shields. 

He doesn’t realize he’s whispering, “no, no, no,” under his breath. 

“Please,” Dick lays his forehead down on top of Timmy’s head, “please don’t go. Not now. I’m finally...Tim, I get it now. I swear, I get it.”

“...doesn’t matter. Too late.”

“That isn’t fair,” the smallest shift and Dick is breathing against his throat, making him shiver, “I just found out you’re...a Guide. My Guide. We haven’t even started yet. It can’t be too late if we haven’t had a beginning.” It gets worse when Dick breathes in his scent deeply, a noise coming out of his chest.

“We have had a beginning,” he bites out, fists tight, concentrating on keeping his shields strong but flexible, “we’ve had years–”

“And I’m not ready to throw all of that away.”

The pressure against his mental shields finally eases up as Dick raises his head, gives him a little shake to make him look up. 

“You already did, remember?”

“I didn’t... I never threw you away. That’s not what I meant or wanted. Yes, I should have handled things better. I know that now, and I’m sorry I hurt you. I was sorry before, I just didn’t know how to tell you, how to make it better between us.”

Tim’s eyes narrow, and he doesn’t let up in case this is one of those diversionary tactics to put him in a false sense of security. 

(They fight bad guys. Sometimes, they have to cheat, and he wouldn’t put it past Dick to do just that.)

“I don’t know what you think is going to happen here,” he finally tries, staring up into those blue, blue eyes (I trusted you once, and fuck if I’m going to let you do this to me again). “But whatever it is, you’re wrong. I’m not going to come back to Gotham and be your Guide. I’m not going to bond with you because the universe says I’m meant to be some kind of magical counterbalance.”

Dick’s expression crumples, his arms go a little slack. 

“Tim, we’re...we’re a True–”

“I don’t give a fuck about True Pairs, Dick, not anymore. Babs has been your Guide since you both presented. She wants the job, she can damn well have it.”

It’s not a fight to push against Dick’s arms the second time and stand up out of his lap.

“You’ve loved me since the moment you put on the cape, Tim. I know you have.” When what he means is I know now.

“I loved you before that, you asshole, and you betrayed me. You don’t get that chance again.”

Turning away shouldn’t be this easy now that Dick knows the truth, but it is, and the very last parts of him still hoping, still craving, are just as easily–

–wiped out.

Dick’s eyes are watery when the door hisses and creaks upon opening, and it’s an automatic thing, reaching a hand up just expecting Tim to take it.

“Tim. Timmy, please.”

“Good-bye, Dick,” is already fading with rapidly retreating footsteps. At least he can keep some of his dignity because Dick will never know he falls the fuck apart as the elevator goes down.

**

Author’s notes:Here’s why I don’t like this: 1. I want to talk more about why Tim chose Shiva as the Sentinel to teach him how to be a good Guide. Like, I want to explore that dynamic more because I’ve never really had the time or space to write Shiva as we see her in Tim’s Robin run.2. I wanted to go more into the expanded senses of Sentinels and how to - hell, I dunno, make it seem to be a little closer to cannon maybe? Like point out some of Dick’s greatest escapes and be like part of that is due to his Sentinel power. 3. Dick says some shitty things, and I don’t give him any context. Like, at that point, he legit believes he did the right thing at the time, and look! Tim’s Red Robin so everyone wins! But yeah, once he got under those shields, the truth shakes him up. 4. I dunno, this au might not be for me. It doesn’t feel very different from some of my other angsty things I guess but meh. Who knows, I might fix it someday :D 

[faejilly]

I was tagged by @la-muerta​ & @facialteeth​ & @thedivinemissema​ for the WIP/Title Game

rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. send me an ask with the title that most intrigues you and interests you and i’ll post a little snippet of it or tell you something about it!

AND THEN  by @shadoedseptmbr​ @msviolacea​ & @ravenclawnerd​ for the “stories you want to write... but for some reason haven’t yet”

so this will be a mish-mash of both? The WIPs will mostly have blurbs in this case (to fit the second meme) but you are still welcome to ask follow-up questions, if you’d like ;) Assuming you make it through the list, it is uh. Not Short.

Anyone who would like to play with their WIPs, please consider yourself tagged in either or both of these. :D

Misc Fic Folder:

“untitled document” - where I’m working on fictober fills so I have word-counts for my GYWO tracker. I am not working on these because Brains Are Dumb and also Going Back To Work Is Exhausting

I made a file called “YULETIDE!” which has nothing in it but I’m determined to finish this year so that is definitely technically a thing in the Unending WIP List of Doom worth mentioning. (Tho obviously that’s all I could say even if I had started, because anonymous.)

“coda-fics, rewatch!” -yes, that exclamation mark is important! it’s to keep me motivated! (it didn’t work). Much like untitled, this is for putting stuff so I can do word count tracking even if I don’t know what I’m doing. Currently I think it just says “MARYSE” because I was working on my SH 1x6 coda-fic and then got distracted and haven’t typed anything up yet. (Yay notebooks? Boo notebooks? Not even sure at this point.)

WNIP (works not in progress) Folder:

“TOG” - I had one vivid mental image of how Nicky & Joe met (blood-stained evil smiles?) but then no idea for a follow-up story and also the fandom is insane and I’m not sure I want to deal with all of *gestures vaguely* all that

“Shan Xia Notes” -for a TTRPG that never quite got off the ground; she was a semi-tragic selkie who was still in love with the evil queen/lady who stole her skin and I got to play her for like one session and she was surprisingly chaotic neutral, which wasn’t at all what I’d been expecting. But the game never really got off the ground, so I never had enough info to really delve into writing backstory fic

“post-Kruschev” -Kruschev’s List was the last episode of Scarecrow & Mrs King, and I was debating writing an epilogue in place of the s5 we never got, to try and tie up some loose ends, but the fandom’s three old-ladies in trench coats and I never quite worked up the gumption to get it anywhere

“Code Realize warm as silk sequel” -there is literally nothing in this file except “SEX! Only a little angst” because I wanted to write some “we can’t actually touch each other” smut but never actually did. 🤷‍♀️

BioWare (also all Not-In-Progress Anymore)

“seb/adelaide”, “Theia” & “DAI Erana” -these WIP folders were cannibalized for ficlets for the last few times I did fictober, and while originally I had ideas for longer epilogues for all three of them, at this point I don’t think any of the remaining bits could support a story any longer.

”whispers in the dark” -Maia Ryder never really got much fic at all; the cancellation of any further Andromeda stuff was really disheartening, and at this point I’d have to play the game again, and I don’t think I’m gonna manage that any time soon

”TSP” -a Mass Effect 3 Shepard AU collab project that kind of went off the rails, and our mutual brains/lives never quite seem to line up so we can try and rebuild it ”Ngaio & Tane” -my one truly ruthless Shepard (Alliance background, who romanced Traynor) whose father Tane Shepard was, I think, in PsyOps, and I wanted to figure out their complicated relationship but never really did know where I was going with it

”JE Zu & Yaling” -so I’ve rambled about my Tragic Sagacious Zu Romance Thoughts regarding Jade Empire more than once (#Icy Yaling should have most of it) but apparently I want to yell about it more than I want to actually write it? Whoops.

”CI sequel: 5 times fic?” -Cruel Intentions is a kinkmeme fill that I started and then it sat for like five years before I actually finished it, and I liked the ending, but it does leave a giant fucking question mark in terms of how those people got from there to where they are after the game, and I kind of wanted to write a proper h/c fic rather than just... leaving them wallowing in all that trauma?

But I didn’t. I don’t even remember for sure how I wanted to frame the 5/1 of it all, besides it being something sad about allowing people to see you or touch you in some way. (Prayers maybe, since I think there was definitely some Sebastian & Fenris & faith stuff going on in there.)

“candles” -Merribela prompt fill that I never was happy with? Not sure what I might do with it at this point, so it’s just sitting there all sad and lonely and neglected-like.

Shadowhunters

pt1: WIP LIST ONLY

“Persuasion” -so I keep trying to write Persuasion AUs in many fandoms because it’s my favorite Austen, but I think I like it too much, I have no real solid concept of how I’d transform it, and if I don’t have anything else to say about different characters within that framework, I have no push to actually write anything? Also this SH version of it suffered from MASSIVE scope creep when I started outlining and it got too big for me to handle so I like, killed it twice? Whoops. This one is really probably never gonna happen.

“oosdt sequel” -I wanted to write more about the Forest That Eats People and Magnus & Alec as Guardians Between Worlds, and also some background Magnus’ Found Family & Lightwood Family Feels (maybe some clizzy?) and I left a Madzie plot-thread dangling from the first one on purpose even but I think this one had too many ideas and not enough focus so it’s sort of sprawling all over a doc with a lot of “???” in it

“procedural-ish” -this was originally going to be a sex-farce. and then it turned more serious. and then maybe kind of copaganda which was uncomfortable in terms of the Everything That Is The News in 2020, and then maybe it was more a Mafia AU and at that point I had self-inflicted tone whiplash and I wished the voices in my head were a little more forthcoming about their plans so I stopped before I brained myself on my computer monitor in frustration.

“I had rather a rose than live forever” -I started a reverse!verse Malec (Shadowhunter!Magnus, High Warlock!Alec) for bingo last year, and I couldn’t quite get it together in time, so I made a moodboard inspired by the bits I’d started instead. I may see if one of my prompts from Bingo this year help me finish it?

“fall fright fest (practical magic  au)” -exactly what it says on the tin! almost exactly a year old & neglected! IDEK ANYMORE (I talked about this one with the WIP meme last time tho: here)

“priest!kink theology?” -I thought it was gonna be smut? I like priest!kink. I have made other people like it and yell at me even! But then I kept diverging into demon!Magnus thinking about Priest!Alec’s faith and as usual, IDEK ANYMORE *laughs*

(If they’re remotely canon-adjacent or divergent, a bunch of these are in here because I need to rewatch the show to get the pacing/timing/tone right and I haven’t, and I don’t know why, because I enjoy the show, but BRAINS! Are Dumb! So I guess that’s it?)

“I do” -I have tried to write this damnable Malec arranged marriage fic like six different times. I have signed up for fic exchanges and bangs with it, I have rewritten massive sections, trying to change tone or structure or POV or whatever, and it basically comes down to they like each other too fast and I keep not gutting it enough to get back to a useful pace, but by the time I realized that I was on take six and kind of sick of it. I may get back to it eventually

“wing!fic” -canon divergent in early s1, trying to deal with the consequences of Simon’s kidnapping as the Truly Serious Event that it should have been. It uh. Got heavier than I expected with those consequences (considering it was originally just supposed to be Alec’s wings flirting with Magnus) and also see above re: rewatching for pacing.

“2x20 aftermath/date night/pandemonium porn“ -yes that is the actual wip title. It used to be “spite fic” because I was originally inspired by fighting against a lot of fic!Alec characterization that was clearly based more on the books and ATG syndrome than the Alec in the show, which is the Alec I know and like and want to read about. BUT, pacing and etc. again, I think. Also I have somehow entirely lost my knack for writing porn, which makes it difficult to finish something originally intended to be smut!fic. Or even teasing almost!smut.

“rubbish heap” -so this is about three different fics that I realized complemented each other really well so they’re now all in the same file as I try to turn them into the sequel of “with an if in its soul”. It includes amnesia, parabatai lore shenanigans, a s3 rewrite, and some truly awful Owl adjustments that make me wince in horrified authorly delight and pain. BUT, as with the other ones in this file, the scope is large and I normally write short-fic and I kind of just threw up my hands in exasperation. I may have to break it back up into the three different fics instead, if I ever actually want to write it. Them? But also I need to take better notes on s3 to make sure I have what I need in here.

SH Pt 2: Started posting or not yet in hiatus because it’s actually almost ready to be a thing in the real world! maybe!?

“kisses (firsts)” -I actually started publishing this one, a “series of firsts” that was supposed to be kind of relationship milestones and kind of an excuse for smut, and then there wasn’t that much smut and I lost momentum and also dear lords & ladies the timeline is stupid, wtf. I may not ever add to this one, tbqh. It doesn’t stop in a terrible place, and they’re all ficlets so they stand alone all right.

“clizzy epilogue” -this is blank atm, it’s more a reminder for me to keep poking away at my “girls who can’t breathe air, only fire” collection BECAUSE I WOULD LIKE TO ACTUALLY GET TO THE CLIZZY AT SOME POINT

"mer!alec" -pts 2-4 of a series, but apparently having an actual plan gets in the way of me *writing* the thing, and I haven't managed to throw the half an outline far enough away from my brain to be able to write again. Or something like that.

"ibhww" -if broken hearts were whole is a soulmate fic I started a million years ago, and purposefully set aside to finish some other WIPs because I thought they'd be quick, and now it's just buried under two and a half years of regret and shame so it's hard to get back to it

"iafy" -i am for you is a delightful & frothy semi-epistolary fluff piece that also just lost momentum because Life & 2020 & etc. It's far and away the most popular thing I've ever posted on AO3, which also makes me feel weird sometimes, and I feel like the fact that there's no grand conclusion planned, just a bit more fluff and settling in, might end up being disappointing? Basically, it's the first time I think I've psyched myself out about reader expectations, and until I get over that I'm going to have trouble finishing the last couple chapters. (There really are probably only two more chapters though. IT’S SO CLOSE, I wish I could just... write it. And yet?)

“fake-hating” -I do not like fake dating as a trope that much, I just do not get it, but I love outside POVs and arranged marriages and there’s this delighful tumblr post about how they wished there was more fic about people who were together but had to pretend they werent’, and uh. This may be that? Eventually? I’m not exhausted by my failure to finish it yet, so it’s still in the regular folder rather than the hiatus folder, even though nothing’s been posted for it.

AND I THINK THAT’S IT?

Not as terrible as it could be, but still. MANY WORDS THAT MAY NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY. Posting the equivalent of one’s old ratty sketchbook is always a weird feeling. :D

[peanutparade]

Someone asked me what my process was, and I’m not sure I gave her a satisfying answer in the PM, so here I will attempt to explain how I make a game from start to finish.

*Please note the the drafts above are not for the same story, but for the purpose of illustration.

**Also please take this advice with a grain of salt. I’m not a published author (though I do know a bit about the publishing industry), and I’m definitely not a perfect writer. This is my process, and the things I try to keep in mind when I’m writing, and you may find this advice to be complete garbage.

Step one: Get an idea for a story. I can’t really give any tips on how to go about doing this. I tend to take inspiration from other works of media (classical literature is my favorite, though I have taken cues from more contemporary sources as well).

Step two: Consider who your characters are going to be. It’s okay if you only have one or two characters in mind at first. I’m pretty utilitarian about my characters, so most of them don’t get created until step three.

Step three: Open a word document and just start typing shit out. (I use Google Drive so I can access it from anywhere, and for another reason which I’ll get to later.) Don’t stop to think, don’t even breathe. Just type. Any idea that comes into your head goes in the document. Some of it won’t make sense with everything else, some of it will contradict other things, some of it will be vaguely defined. You will fix that later. This is the most important part (especially the way I write), because it’s where you’re going to get an idea of how your story starts and how it ends, as well as cement your cast of characters. If you need a scene where your main character goes to a lighthouse, then you know you’ll also need to come up with a lighthouse keeper (see my comment above about being utilitarian with characters. I’m no authority, so if you do things differently, that’s fine, but I don’t like making characters that don’t serve a purpose).

Step four: Annotation, annotation, annotation! (This is the other thing I use Google Drive for, as it has a comment feature that I heavily rely on.) Go through all your scribbling and make notes for yourself. Be a little hard on yourself here, because this is the part where you’re going to try to make everything you’ve written in Draft 1 cohesive. This will be a long process, as you need to think about how all of this is connected, as well as think about what sort of arcs your main characters are going to go through. I read somewhere once that ALL of your characters have to go through an arc, but that’s a bunch of wacky nonsense. Some characters are minor characters, and thus do not require depth. The only character arc that MUST be included is the main character’s arc. Remember: character arc ≠ character motivation. ALL major characters (protagonist(s), love interest(s), villain(s)) MUST have motivation for what they are doing. The motivation doesn’t have to be anything too complex, just so long as the audience understands why the characters are doing what they’re doing. (Minor characters with motivation can make the world feel more real and lived in, but they can also make the story feel bogged down. Brevity is key here, and sometimes less is more.)

Step five: Draft 2 All of that plotting you just did? Throw it away! Just kidding, don’t actually throw it away. BUT you’re going to rewrite your plot outline, tidier this time, and only refer back to Draft 1 when you get stuck. Feel free to come up with new ideas during this time; Draft 1 is not your story’s final form. If you think of scenes or quotes, feel free to include them in this draft, but you’re mostly just outlining right now. (As you may notice in the image above, Draft 2 is also subject to annotation.) Draft 2 is where you should be solidifying the themes of your story. Character arc(s) should tie into and support this theme. This is also the draft where you should be catching any plot holes (especially if you don’t have an editor/beta reader), as once you’ve begun actually writing the story, any problems here will only compound as you go.

Step six: Write the story It’s pretty straightforward. Follow Draft 2 (and any additional annotations you made on Draft 2), and go scene by scene and write. I never skip around, as it makes it hard to keep track of what characters know at what time, but I know of authors that do skip around, and they seem to do okay. You’ll have to figure out what works best for you.

Step seven: Edit, edit, edit! Aside from the obvious (typos and spelling errors), look out for:

Scenes that are too long or too short. Counterintuitively, these may be the result of the same problem: a lack of purpose. Ask yourself, “Does this need to be here?”

Long-winded info dumps. Consider the old adage, “show, don’t tell.” Whenever information can be conveyed through action or reaction, write it that way. If you can convey two things at the same time (i.e. something about a character and also something about the world--bonus if these two things are actually unrelated to each other), do it.

Information that your audience wouldn’t logically have being the key to resolving the plot. Especially in sci-fi and fantasy stories, if the conclusion of the story relies on knowing something--even if it’s something that the characters all know--you need to make sure your audience also knows this, or else they will be frustrated. Keep in mind the Rule of Threes.

And that’s the story portion done. If you’re making a visual novel/dating sim, there are other steps you need to do. (I usually do this stuff while writing the story so it doesn’t get tedious, but if you’re hiring people to do this other stuff, you should probably have the writing done ahead of time. If you’re hiring writers to help you, you should have Draft 1 done, at the least. Your writers can probably take it from there.)

NOTE: Any job you don’t do yourself is something that will cost you money. If you can find other aspiring creators to volunteer their time to your project, good for you, but please do not approach anyone directly unless you plan to offer to pay them (”for exposure” is not payment).

Step eight: Character sprites Major characters are going to need to be represented visually in your visual novel (go figure!), so... draw some people? I know some people make character design sheets, but I just jump right in, and then later, make microedits to the sprites as the mood strikes me. The design sheet thing is probably a smarter way to do it. I use photoshop, and I would strongly encourage keeping hair, clothing, and facial features on separate layers until you know exactly how you plan to code them into your game.

Step nine: Backgrounds Same as the sprites, except places instead of people. I’m bad at this, so I have no right to give anyone advice. I use a 3D interior design app to create a guide for what I want rooms to look like, and then I use that to get my vanishing points and furniture sizing right. This method is 50% tracing, 50% wishing I was dead. I do not recommend it.

Step ten: Audio If your game will have voice acting, get that together now. If you’re composing your own music, you’re more talented than I am. For my first game, I utilized royalty free options (incompetech and bensound), but now I hire a composer (I do still supplement my soundtrack with royalty free options if it’s for something inconsequential). I don’t use many sound effects, but when I do, I just look for free options online.

Step eleven: Coding I use Ren’py because it’s free and easy to learn (provided you don’t want to do anything too complicated). There are tons of resources online to teach you how to use Ren’py, both from official sources and unofficial sources. I’ve never posted in the forums myself, but the people there seem very kind and helpful if you get stuck. (If anyone wants to see how I code, specifically, I’ll do a Part Two for it, but I have to warn you that my games are the coding equivalent car repairs done with bubblegum and duct tape.)

Step twelve: Playtesting Make sure your game works. It’s pretty straightforward. You can even recruit some guinea pigs--I mean, friends to help you. (I don’t have any friends, so I do this part on my own.)

By this point, a year or so will have passed (give or take, depending how long your game is, how much time you have to work on it, and how much of the work you plan to do by yourself), and with any luck, you’ll have a game! Posting your game on itch.io is free, but putting your game on steam will cost you $100.

Like I said to the person on patreon who originally asked me about my process, making a visual novel is a lot of work, but I encourage everyone to at least try it and see if you like it.

I look forward to hearing your stories!  ♥

[prettywordsyouwrite]

Using A Writing Log | Scheduling

The best way I keep myself on track as a writer is planning out ahead. Of course, planning ahead comes with some downsides but on a whole, I rely on having a schedule to know what I’m posting and where.

I write a lot of my stuff ahead of time where I can and so this log doubles as a reference for what I did and what I want to achieve.

And because I’m a bit over the top, I keep a digital one and a paper one. They serve slightly different purposes and I’ll explain what I do with each of them.

Please note: This is a personal schedule, and it may not work for other writers and that’s okay! I’m sharing my method simply because I’m asked so often how I do it and have had interest in it from fellow writers looking to expand how much they post online. I’m not promoting my method as being the best for you, but maybe it’ll give you an insight how scheduling in a way that suits your needs can work (more on that can be found HERE)

 Paper format:

For me, I like to learn by writing concepts out by hand. So for me, even though I’m a visual learner with colour codes and all that, my first way of taking in information is by writing/reading. I have dedicated pages in my writing bullet journal for each month where I plan out in pencil what I would like to achieve. Sometimes it’s lofty, and when I get closer to that time period I may need to change things around. But I like this space for planning out the start of projects on a calendar format. It helps me see the whole picture I’m trying to create.

At the end of all the scheduling process, I will colour code what I’ve actually written into my monthly bullet journal setup so I can have a quick reference at any time as I don’t always carry my writing bullet journal around with me.

(All the text at the bottom relates to my September theme in my bullet journal in this picture and isn’t a usual thing I do on this page.)

Digital format:

When I’m done with my draft planning on paper, I’ll transfer it to a word document. In here, I can colour projects grey when things are completed and can keep my desk clear of books whilst I write with a simple check to this document at any stage during a writing session. 

I believe this format will suit a lot of writers as a handy desktop tool to have if they’re scheduling different projects at a time.

So here’s insight into how I schedule one month out! I actually keep plans for more than just the month I’m working on at a time, especially if I’m ahead in my writing (currently I’m not really more than a week ahead of myself due to needing a sudden hiatus during August). For me, I’m planned out loosely until the end of 2020 in my writing bullet journal and October is tacked onto that digital format but I just thought I’d show what one month looks like. 

If you’re interested to see more, feel free to let me know and I’ll make another post with more photos or a video or something!

[beautyslave17]

Produced Houses

. Is It Worth Making A Top Quality Build?

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Content

How The Property Improvement As Well As Repair Solutions In London Job.

Rj Repair Services.

Beginning Your Project.

Tiny Orangery Conservatories And Also Glass Conservatories.

This did not take place and also at 1920 on 13th Jun he mentioned he reimbursed the cash but would certainly take two days to clear, something my financial institution educated me would only take about two hours max as was a financial institution transfer. Having sent out messages today giving more opportunity to reimbursement I left adverse comments on Facebook. He has actually ultimately taken the page down, not the actions of a person that is genuine. I understand he made use of to trade as WBA Cleaning as well as Maintenance according to his invoice he sent. Please do not make use of NewLook building services Ltd based in Chesterfield.

Are orangeries warm in winter?

No - orangeries are not cold in winter, in fact they are very warm. Orangery roofs are highly thermally efficient, meaning that orangeries are warm and comfortable, whatever the time of year. building contractors local are as warm as any other room in your home – even in winter.

However, every sector has its cowboys and also plainly the structure trade is an industry. You'll be functioning closely with the builder of your new house for a minimum of six months, and you want to ensure you know with that you're. agreeing to work. The exhilaration of beginning construction on your new house might make you wish to hurry with this procedure, yet take your time; it's certainly worth it. Double check that the building contractors you want are actively constructing in those areas. If you're moving to a McMansion in Arizona, it won't be useful to fall in love with a builder that just constructs little residences in Alaska.

The very first tip-off is if they asked to be paid in cash, or cash-in-hand all with a pledge on no BARREL to be paid. There are, usually, a minimum of 100,000 grievances each year about them. They wreck points for completely trusted contractors, as well as for all the discuss them, they're in the minority-- it simply happens to be a minority that gets a great deal of promotion. When builders have an excess of finished new buildings, there is commonly higher inspiration to market.

If you are an accredited building contractor or tradesperson in NSW, you require to get residence building payment cover for each house structure job over $20,000 including GST. If you fail to show you have relevant site-based experience in a wide range of structure construction job, we can not accept your application. This includes dealing successfully with sub-contractors, customers and also others. As soon as you recognize what licence kind you want, and also you have actually examined you have the right credentials as well as experience, you can get a permit or certificate.

Just How The Residential Property Improvement As Well As Repair Solutions In London Work.

If you pick among these uninhabited brand-new residences, switching over out specific attributes for upgraded variations is often a straightforward procedure, as well as the home builder might agree to include a few of these upgrades as a reward. Don't depend on the builder to tell you when that factor has actually been gotten to. Instead, appoint Thame builder to check out the work and confirm that what you are paying for deserves the cash, and is full to constructing codes. Structure agreements are written by specialists accustomed to building terms and trade techniques. As well as it's likely that individuals who have put together the file you are informed is there to secure you, was, or is, a builder or market expert.

What is the difference between an orangery and a sun room?

The most striking difference between sunrooms, conservatories, and orangeries are: Orangeries are supported by solid brick-built pillars, low-level walls and/or an insulated internal pelmet. Orangeries tend to feature bright & airy roof lanterns, although these can be added to conservatories too.

While you don't want a home builder that purposely takes a long time to finish a task, neither do you want a builder who is eager to do the job quickly, or that regularly knocks off early during the task. Making your Certificateor Diplomain building as well as building and construction must not gobble every one of your time and savings.

Rj Repair Providers.

Are orangeries warmer than conservatories?

Orangeries tend to be a little warmer than conservatories because they have brick walls which can be insulated to keep in the warmth. Because of the brick walls, the heat will have a harder time escaping. The cold will also have a harder time getting in thanks to the insulated walls.

Sign-up to our newsletter and keep up to day with everything home building/ layout associated including information from your much-loved neighborhood home building contractors. If you are a person that holds a structure or swimming pool building licence or certificate, you are needed to do Continuing Specialist Development. Your permit will certainly be automatically suspended if you do not adhere to an order by a court or the NSW Civil or Administrative Tribunal to pay money for a building case.

Do glass box extensions need foundations?

The principal of a glass room does mean the base required is fairly flexible as you do not actually require foundations as you would for a conservatory or brick built extension but only require concrete pads where the support legs are situated.

Most rogue builders do not bring insurance, either, which once again could function to your detriment if an accident took place. Cowboy contractors are merely rogue investors, of course, usually with little or no knowledge of structure, so you wind up with a messed up work-- that's if it's ended up in all. Experience as a Proprietor Building contractor, or as the owner of a Proprietor Building Contractor Authorization, is not appropriate to satisfy the functional experience needs to get a permit or certificate as a contractor. From this moment forward, Checkatrade worked to assist display the best tradespeople from around the UK and has continued to do so since.

Beginning Your Project.

These internet sites hold the information of countless home builders and structure business. Home builders' scores on these sites are based upon the responses from clients, so the much better the task done by the home builder, the greater the ranking. Keep an eye out for boards on building sites in your area, yet always do your own research study also.

Do conservatories need foundations?

Like other new extensions, conservatories must have foundations in place. Foundations are necessary for transmitting the building's weight safely to the ground. Without adequate foundations, the structural integrity of a conservatory is severely affected.

As the day progressed we heard nothing and also I started to try to call. Ultimately he addressed and reiterated his purpose to do the job. When he fell short to do so or even allow us know as it was obtaining later wouldn't show up we realised something was incorrect. The following day after countless efforts through message and also calls,, he eventually agreed to refund the money after 1430.

Small Orangery Conservatories And Also Glass Conservatories.

Let The Sunlight In! Everything You Needed To Know Regarding Sunrooms

They are cowboy builders.They took our deposit worth ₤ 5000 as well as vanished. We took care of to track them down and also found they own one more registered business called NewLook plastics Limited.

Does an orangery add value to your home?

An orangery can increase the value of your property by almost as much as adding a traditional extension. On average, an orangery will cost upwards of £20,000, but it can be cheaper, depending on the size, style, features, and materials you choose.

Newly Constructed Houses.

Information regarding general building work permits and certifications. lately conducted a study finding that possibly 2.5 m people have had a conflict with their building contractor or designer in the past 3 years. does not claim the number of individuals it checked so, if you read my current short article The dangers of studies, you must understand to take the number with a pinch of salt.

It's a help, as well, if the builders and participants of some profession group-- although check that too, given that cowboy structure companies have been known to fake membership. Ultimately, never ever pay in money, as well as absolutely never ahead of time-- you need to only spend for work that's been finished. The very best thing is to learn to identify the cowboy home builders early, so you can transform them away-- it saves a great deal of difficulty later.

Anybody building a brand-new residence needs to sign a contract, as well as while the builder states it is "typical documentation", to lots of people, it's anything however. Besides the late shipment of the ownership a number of other malpractices are complained versus the building contractors.

Inspect online for testimonials as well as get comments from individuals that have actually used the home builders prior to. We reserved WBA building as well as building based in Cheltenham using Facebook search, to provide and also fit a garden bar at expense of ₤ 550. The Thursday beforehand he got in touch with to state as the climate was poor he would not be able to execute the job. Nevertheless, on the Saturday we called him as well as said as the weather condition looked great would he be concerning finish the work. This he stated he would as well as would certainly call 30 minutes in advance so we really did not have to wait in.

Also, the warranty solution has actually been really fast when required.

Beazer Houses - Exceptional experience with the sales group and also the constructionOmar E.

Exceptional experience with the sales group and the construction manager cooperating with me on all queries.

Victoria was currently the biggest market in the country for new detached residences as well as the state has actually uploaded a near-record variety of beginnings in 2017/18.

They don't feedback as well as we could not acquire anyone to help accessibility services.

Brain was our sale's rep. He was excellent in assisting us seal the deal.

It needs to be a fulfilling experience that arms you with important knowledge and also establishes a straight path to your job advancement. A degree from an Australian university (in building, construction, building task management, building management, used scientific research, amount surveying, or building and construction business economics). The level must require the applicant "to undertake the equivalent of 4 years' full time research and also a required job placement".

[datamattsson]

A Vagrant Story

Like everyone else I wish I had more time in the day. In reality, I want to spend more time on fun projects. Blogging and content creation has been a bit on a hiatus but it doesn't mean I have less things to write and talk about. In relation to this rambling I want to evangelize a tool I've been using over the years that saves an enormous amount of time if you're working in diverse sandbox development environments, Vagrant from HashiCorp.

Elevator pitch

Vagrant introduces a declarative model for virtual machines running in a development environment on your desktop. Vagrant supports many common type 2 hypervisors such as KVM, VirtualBox, Hyper-V and the VMware desktop products. The virtual machines are packaged in a format referred to as "boxes" and can be found on vagrantup.com. It's also quite easy to build your own boxes from scratch with another tool from HashiCorp called Packer. Trust me, if containers had not reached the mainstream adoption it has today, Packer would be a household tool. It's a blog post in itself for another day.

Real world use case

I got roped into a support case with a customer recently. They were using the HPE Nimble Storage Volume Plugin for Docker with a particular version of NimbleOS, Docker and docker-compose. The toolchain exhibited a weird behavior that would require two docker hosts and a few iterations to reproduce the issue. I had this environment stood up, diagnosed and replied to the support team with a customer facing response in less than an hour, thanks to Vagrant.

vagrant init

Let's elaborate on how to get a similar environment set up that I used in my support engagement off the ground. Let's assume vagrant and a supported type 2 hypervisor is installed. This example will work on Windows, Linux and Mac.

Create a new project folder and instantiate a new Vagrantfile. I use a collection of boxes built from these sources. Bento boxes provide broad coverage of providers and a variety of Linux flavors.

mkdir myproj && cd myproj vagrant init bento/ubuntu-20.04 A `Vagrantfile` has been placed in this directory. You are now ready to `vagrant up` your first virtual environment! Please read the comments in the Vagrantfile as well as documentation on `vagrantup.com` for more information on using Vagrant.

There's now a Vagrantfile in the current directory. There's a lot of commentary in the file to allow customization of the environment. It's possible to declare multiple machines in one Vagrantfile, but for the sake of an introduction, we'll explore setting up a single VM.

One of the more useful features is that Vagrant support "provisioners" that runs at first boot. It makes it easy to control the initial state and reproduce initialization with a few keystrokes. I usually write Ansible playbooks for more elaborate projects. For this exercise we'll use the inline shell provisioner to install and start docker.

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config| config.vm.box = "bento/ubuntu-20.04" config.vm.provision "shell", inline: <<-SHELL apt-get update apt-get install -y docker.io python3-pip pip3 install docker-compose usermod -a -G docker vagrant systemctl enable --now docker SHELL end

Prepare for very verbose output as we bring up the VM.

Note: The vagrant command always assumes working on the Vagrantfile in the current directory.

vagrant up

After the provisioning steps, a new VM is up and running from a thinly cloned disk of the source box. Initial download may take a while but the instance should be up in a minute or so.

Post-declaration tricks

There are some must-know Vagrant environment tricks that differentiate Vagrant from right-clicking in vCenter or fumbling in the VirtualBox UI.

SSH access

Accessing the shell of the VM can be done in two ways, most commonly is to simply do vagrant ssh and that will drop you at the prompt of the VM with the predefined user "vagrant". This method is not very practical if using other SSH-based tools like scp or doing advanced tunneling. Vagrant keeps track of the SSH connection information and have the capability to spit it out in a SSH config file and then the SSH tooling may reference the file. Example:

vagrant ssh-config > ssh-config ssh -F ssh-config default

Host shared directory

Inside the VM, /vagrant is shared with the host. This is immensely helpful as any apps your developing for the particular environment can be stored on the host and worked on from the convenience of your desktop. As an example, if I were to use the customer supplied docker-compose.yml and Dockerfile, I'd store those in /vagrant/app which in turn would correspond to my <current working directory for the project>/app.

Pushing and popping

Vagrant supports using the hypervisor snapshot capabilities. However, it does come with a very intuitive twist. Assume we want to store the initial boot state, let's push!

vagrant snapshot push ==> default: Snapshotting the machine as 'push_1590949049_3804'... ==> default: Snapshot saved! You can restore the snapshot at any time by ==> default: using `vagrant snapshot restore`. You can delete it using ==> default: `vagrant snapshot delete`.

There's now a VM snapshot of this environment (if it was a multi-machine setup, a snapshot would be created on all the VMs). The snapshot we took is now on top of the stack. Reverting to the top of the stack, simply pop back:

vagrant snapshot pop --no-delete ==> default: Forcing shutdown of VM... ==> default: Restoring the snapshot 'push_1590949049_3804'... ==> default: Checking if box 'bento/ubuntu-20.04' version '202004.27.0' is up to date... ==> default: Resuming suspended VM... ==> default: Booting VM... ==> default: Waiting for machine to boot. This may take a few minutes... default: SSH address: 127.0.0.1:2222 default: SSH username: vagrant default: SSH auth method: private key ==> default: Machine booted and ready! ==> default: Machine already provisioned. Run `vagrant provision` or use the `--provision` ==> default: flag to force provisioning. Provisioners marked to run always will still run.

You're now back to the previous state. The snapshot sub-command allows restoring to a particular snapshot and it's possible to have multiple states with sensible names too, if stepping through debugging scenarios or experimenting with named states.

Summary

These days there's a lot of compute and memory available on modern laptops and desktops. Why run development in the cloud or a remote DC when all you need is available right under your finger tips? Sure, you can't run a full blown OpenShift or HPE Container Platform but you can certainly run a representable Kubernetes clusters where minishift, microk8s and the likes won't work if you need access to the host OS (yes, I'm in the storage biz). In a recent personal project I've used this tool to simply make Kubernetes clusters with Vagrant. It works surprisingly well and allow a ton of customization.

Bonus trivia

Vagrant Story is a 20 year old videogame for PlayStation (one) from SquareSoft (now SquareEnix). It features a unique battle system I've never seen anywhere else to this day and it was one of those games I played back-to-back three times over. It's awesome. Check it out on Wikipedia.

[fontasticcrablettes]

How I Use Scrivener

Wrote this up for a friend, figured I’d post here in case it helps anyone else!

If you haven’t heard of it, Scrivener is a writing program that’s great for organizing long works.  It’s what I use to write anything that has more than one chapter.  It has a tonne of features, and honestly I don’t even use half of them.  This is how I use it to write though. 

Ok, so this is basically what the interface looks like:

You write in the middle.  Documents and files are stored in the left, and the window on the right is for toggling things within the scene, jotting down notes, and some other cool things.  Lots of things.  Let’s break this shit down:

First: how to just write shit without worrying about all the neat features.  When you first start Scrivener, go to New Project and get a box like this:

This is showing you all the templates you can choose from.  I have a personal template that’s set up for how I use it.  I’ve never used the non-fiction or scriptwriting ones (Like I said, I haven’t used half the features this baby has).  It doesn’t really matter which one you use because you can change it all later anyway.  If you aren’t sure, just go for blank.

Select blank, type your project name and where to save it, and then click create. (Tip: The project will create an entire folder with sub-documents.  I like to make a folder for each project, and then put the scrivener folder in that folder, because you can’t import images that are already in the scrivener folder.)  You’ll get this screen:

You can just start writing here.  I’ll show you how I organize it though.  

I like to make one folder for each chapter.  Then, each scene gets its own page.  You can create a new folder by click on the arrow next to the big green plus sign.

If you just click on the plus sign, it will create a new document.  You can also change folders to documents and vice versa by right-clicking on them later.  Create a document for each scene - basically, anywhere you’d put a page break, create a new document.  They line up in order in all your folders like this:

I name the folders with the chapter title.  You can either name you individual scenes (i.e., “Yuri goes to the store”) or let it auto-generate a title from the first sentence of the scene.  This is what I usually do.  Or, if you write out of order, you could create place-holder scenes and title them with what generally will happen there once you write it.

The cool thing about this is that you can move these scenes around easily. If, for example, you decide to end a chapter earlier and want to move the last scene to the start of the next one, just click and drag it into position.  

Click and drag and hover over another scene (rather than between them) to nest your document within another one.  This lets you use documents as folders of their own.  I usually use this for notes rather than the manuscript itself (like, one page outlining a city, and then sub-documents for neighbourhoods within it).  

At any time while writing, your entire list of scenes and chapters is available at the side.  Need to double-check what someone said five chapters ago?  Easily find the exact scene you need to re-read by finding it in the list rather than scrolling up through thousands of words in one big document.  

I like to colour-code my scenes my point of view.  Yuri is black, Flynn is blue, Estelle is pink, etc.  You can do this over on the right window, in this box:

When you open a blank project, the top box there won’t say Point of View.  It just says Label and will have different coloured boxes.  Click the arrow and then hit “Edit...” to get to this box

Change the title of the label and create custom colour labels here.  You don’t have to use this for Point of View; it’s just what works best for me.

Then, to get the colour to show up in the binder (the right bar where all your folders are listed, hit F6.  That will toggle the little doc icon being coloured. F5 will toggle the colour appearing over the entire title, like this:

The Status box is for giving docs stamps - things like “DONE” or “TO DO”.  It’s mostly useful in the corkboard view.  

The Document Notes box is where you can write things down that pertain to just that scene.  I use it to jot down a list of information that needs to be delivered in a conversation, for example, or I stick sentences I’m moving around over there until I find a better place for them.  Use the arrows at the far right side to switch to Project Notes, which is like that but for the entire project and will be the same in every document.  

The index card at the top is where you can write a summary of the scene if you need a reminder, or if you haven’t written it yet.  

The camera icon takes you to the snapshots.  This is for if you’re going to make some edits but you aren’t 100% confident in them.  Take a snapshot before you start and it will save the document as it is.  At any time, you can go back and check your previous version of the document and use Roll Back to bring it back again.  There’s a little folded corner icon on any document that has snapshots. 

I never use the other tabs in the inspector here.  I think they’re mostly for non-fiction writing (References, footnotes, meta data, etc).  And hit the I at the top to toggle the inspector open or closed. 

“Include in Compile” and related check boxes are for when you’re compiling everything into one document at the end.  Don’t worry about this for fanfiction; I find it easier to just copy and paste from scrivener.  

Moving on from writing, you can also keep all your research and reference notes within Scrivener so that they are easy to refer to while-writing.  I put mine in the Research folder.

You can create documents to write things up just as you would in the Draft folder, or import image files, pdfs, even entire web pages.  

Something I like to do is create a calendar.  It makes it easier to keep track of the passage of time in long fics.  Create a regular document, then insert a table with 7 columns and 4/5 rows.  It can be as elaborate as you want.  Right click on the document within the binder and go to “Change icon...” to make it stand out.  

I usually don’t use the Characters or World folders for fanfic, but for original stories that’s where I put all my worldbuilding notes, character profiles, histories, etc.  

These three buttons at the top control the mode you’re in.  The place document is just writing mode.  That’s the default.  Then there’s Corkboard mode, which is how I often do outlining.  Create a new folder outside of the Manuscrupt, label it “Outline” (and change the icon if you want), and then create a document for each point on your outline.  If you’re in Corkboard view, creating a new document will create a new index card (which turns into a document if you go back to Editor view).   

This is where those Status labels I mentioned earlier come in.  I mark a thing Done on the outline to check it off.  The cool thing about it is that all documents are automatically index cards.  Here’s my draft showing all the folders as individual index cards:

If I move cards around on the corkboard, they automatically move around in the binder as well.  So I could spread out my entire story, scene by scene, on index cards and stamp them with completeness, label the PoV character, and summaries of the contents, and then shuffle them around right here.

The last mode is Outline mode.  I’m more of a visual person so I don’t use this as much.  I just use it to show me how many words a chapter has because it’s the quickest way to get that info. 

You can toggle what columns you want visible on this screen.  Total Word Count isn’t there by default; you have to tell it to show that. 

Other cool things:

The built-in Name Generator found under Tools

Go to Tools > Options to change the fonts, colours, sizes, appearances etc.

Press F11 (this button)

To enter fullscreen mode.  You can change the appearance of this under Options but it lets you write in a customized fullscreen view to help concentration.

Press ctrl+shift+’ to enter split screen view.  This lets you write in one window and have reference material (or another scene) open in another. ctrl+’ takes you back to one screen.  

The last important thing is Typewriter scrolling.  This makes it so that when you hit enter, the lines shift up and keep your writing centred on the page.  You never hit the bottom of the screen, you never have to scroll up to re-centre yourself.  It’s great.  I only turn it off if I’m editing because then if you fix a type near the bottom of the page it snaps that to the middle and can be annoying.  I always forget how to turn this on but here it is:

Honestly this is just an overview of the most important features to me.  This program is huge.  I’ve been using it for almost 10 years and I’m still discovering new things about it (maybe because I am a person who never reads manuals and just figures shit out as it comes up but shhhh).  I love it a lot and feel free to ask me how to do a thing because I can’t write without it now.  

[heavenlydreamerblog]

In too Deep

Chapter 21

I can’t believe it’s Friday again! Hope you all have a great weekend and let me know what you think about this latest chapter! Party day’s almost arrived for Lexy! 

You can check out previous chapters on my Wattpad account: https://www.wattpad.com/user/HeavenlyDreamerBlog

I pulled into the parking lot and switched off the engine. My phone vibrated from deep inside my bag. I sighed, digging past paperwork and my diary before eventually finding it nestled underneath a tub of body cream and a spare pair of old socks.

I noticed it was a missed call from the office. “Hey Jess,” I answered as she picked up the phone. “I’m on my way in now. Is there a problem?”

“No problem my end. What about you though? Where’ve you been for the past 36 hours Lex? ”

I decided not to answer that. “I’ll be 15 minutes max. I’m just picking up some coffees and I’ll be there. Is Carrie in the office?”

“Yes!”

“In that case I’ll make it three coffees to go,” I shouted before ending the call.

********************************* 

I pushed open the door to hear Carrie shouting down the phone – hopefully to a supplier not a client – and Jess tapping away on her keyboard. She looked up as I cursed, coffee spilling from one of the mugs on to my jeans.

“Here, take these will you Jess,” I called, trying to balance bags, coffee and files in my too-small arms.

My desk was full of post-it notes and paperwork piled high next to my laptop. “God Jess, I haven’t been gone that long! What’s all this stuff waiting for me?”

I listened to her talking about new clients while I rubbed at the coffee stain down the front of my jeans. I’d showered at Jared’s before leaving but the memories of what happened weren’t quite so easy to wash away.

“So where have you been Lexy?” The abrupt turn in the conversation caught me off guard.

The look of confusion on my face must have spoken volumes. “Lexy, have you been listening to anything I’ve been saying for the past five minutes?”

“Sorry Jess,” I muttered. “This party’s gonna be the death of me. I’ve been going over last minute details with Jared this morning. We’re almost there, it’s just the little things he’s demanding that are taking up my time now.”

I sighed and pulled out my desk calendar. I preferred old school writing into little squares rather than using my phone. I pointed to today – March 7. “Ive got two more days before the party. Two more days Jess.” My voice was a whisper. Wow, surely nobody screws up better than me. Two days, two brothers and two colleagues who need me in the office working round-the-clock to clear a never-ending workload.

“Lexy, come over here for a moment!” Carrie was off the phone and straight on to the next task, which for my sins seemed to be me.

“Hi Carrie, what’s up?” I asked, pulling up a chair at the side of her desk.

“Christ Lexy, you look fucked. What’s been going on while I’ve been away? I need updates.”

If only she knew how fucked I was. I took a deep breath. “Let me get my notebooks and I’ll tell you where I am with everything.”

I walked back to my desk and sifted through piles of paperwork before finding the relevant documents.

I sat back down and spent the next twenty minutes filling Carrie in on the party planning and reassuring her we were on schedule for delivering the ultimate Hollywood bash.

“OK. Stop there for a minute,” she said. I held my breath for as long as Carrie held my gaze. It was too long and I looked away.

“So what’s it been like working for Jared Leto?” The question was a fully loaded pistol waiting for me to pull the trigger.

I paused, thinking how best to answer without prompting any further probing questions.

“Well, he’s been demanding and not the easiest person to work with,” I replied, looking anywhere other than at Carrie.

“It’s taken up a huge chunk of my time but as I’ve just shown you, we’re almost there.” I hoped this would satisfy her curiosity.

I looked up to see her eyes locked on mine. “One moment Lexy. Stay there.” She pulled out her phone and tapped on a contact.

Silence and then I heard the phone picking up the other end.

“Hi, it’s Carrie from Blue Sky Party Planners. You OK?” I listened, smiling at the way she schmoozed her clients, soothing their egos while promising them the world.

“So I’m told it’s all going to plan yes? I was wondering if it’s OK for me to pop over and take a look. Yes, I’ll bring Lexy with me because she’s been in charge of this project from the beginning. Lovely. See you in an hour. Bye Jared.”

WTF! My expression would surely have me hanged in the court of Carrie. “Ummm, surely you need to be getting on with work here Carrie?” I stammered, fidgeting with the hem of my shirt while trying boldly to hold eye contact with my boss.

“Yes, but I’ve still got time to check up on my clients and Jared’s top of my list for the next couple of hours. Grab your bags and paperwork and let’s go.”

I swear she was out of her chair like a rocket launching into space, a roar of fire and energy dragging me in her wake.

Jess looked up from her desk and I cursed the smirk writ large on her face. Good luck! She mouthed the words while wrapping her hands around her mug of coffee – yeah, the same bloody mug I’d so kindly brought her just moments ago.

I glared at her and mentally made plans to kick her ass in the house later.

 *************************** 

“So Lexy, is this party over budget or are you managing to keep to Jared’s detailed costings?”

The questions kept coming thick and fast and my mind was kept occupied for the entire drive over to Jared’s place. My lap was covered in paperwork, the contents of my bag had spilled out over my feet and I was a complete mess.

Before I knew it, Carrie had pulled up outside and keyed in the pass code which Jared had obviously given her to gain entry. The gates opened and Carrie pulled in, parking up behind Jared’s beaten up truck.

I’m constantly amazed at the woman’s energy and ability to leave me standing; or in this case sitting in the car, unable to move. She’d bounded up to the door and rang the bell, leaving me to sort through the mess of paperwork.

“Jared, so lovely to meet you darling!” I looked over to see Carrie doing her usual air kissing and kissing ass while I desperately tried to restore order in the car.

“Where’s Lexy?” Jared’s voice cut through her schmoozy greetings as Carrie pointed towards the car. All I wanted was for the ground to open up and swallow me whole. I hadn’t had time to go home and change, my jeans were now stained with coffee, my hair was a dishevelled mess and I didn’t feel up to facing Jared, especially with the forced of Carrie in tow.

But Carrie was now in charge and I knew they were talking about me. I looked up to see Jared walking slowly towards the car. With his back to Carrie, he grinned before opening the door.

“Let me help you with that,” he laughed, smiling at my obvious discomfort.

“I couldn’t stop her Jared,” I whispered looking over at Carrie. “I’m so sorry if we’re wasting your time. I’ll try to keep her on track and get away as soon as possible. I promise!”

“Don’t rush on my account baby.” He bent over, scooping all my shit back into the bag.

“And on no account will you call me baby in front of Carrie,” I replied sharply. “This is the business end of the deal and she wants to know we’re on top of things. OK?”

“That’s fine with me baby girl,” he nodded before looking back over his shoulder and then dropping his head to land a soft kiss on my lips.

“Shit J! Do you listen to anything I say?”

“Sshh. Emma’s taken Carrie inside. We’re OK.”

I swear that man could talk the pants off a nun. “Take my bag and let’s get inside before Carrie comes looking for me.” I swung my legs out of the car, turning round to scoop up my papers before heading into the house.

***********************

“So this is the poolside with the bar and DJ,” I explained, showing Carrie Jared’s chilled back yard before leading her inside. The caterers will be inside. They’re arriving tomorrow to prep the food.

“We’ve arranged a valet service, photographer, cloakroom and ....” I dropped my voice, “a special surprise upstairs ... but Jared knows nothing about that, so keep it secret.”

“What in God’s name have you planned Lexy?” Carrie’s voice was low and stern. “And is it covered by Jared’s budget? Please Christ say yes.”

I nodded and placed a finger on my lips, spotting Jared walking down the hallway.

Carrie turned and walked towards him. “So, are you pleased with what Lexy’s achieved so far?”

He glanced over to me and smiled. “I couldn’t be a happier man Carrie.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek before raising his finger to beckon me over.

“Honestly Carrie, this woman’s bent over backwards to meet my every demand. I think I’ve totally exhausted her.” He dragged me into his arms and hugged me in front of her. Was this a test to see how far he could push me? I laughed nervously and shoved him away.

“All in a day’s work Jared,” I muttered, feeling caught between a rock and hard place.

“Jared! You’ve just made a member of my staff blush!” Carrie’s voice seemed to echo down the hall. The woman has no filter on that mouth.

Being the total gentleman for a change, Jared smiled and led us back to the kitchen.

“Have you got time for some tea because there’s something else I need to discuss before you two go.” Jared pulled out two bar stools and gestured for us to sit down.

I sipped some tea and waited for him to start, wondering what other demands he had planned with just a day to go before the party.

He spoke slowly as if not wanting us to miss a word. “First of all Carrie ....” he looked at me before continuing. “Lexy’s been amazing and I couldn’t have asked any more from her. You’re really lucky to have her and I hope she’s appreciated.” He leaned over and put his arm around my shoulder. “I’m proud of everything she’s achieved while working for me. And I mean everything.” I felt his hand squeeze my shoulder.

This was so loaded I didn’t know where to look. I cleared my throat and looked at Carrie, who knocked that same goddamn look straight back at me.

“Thanks Jared. It’s been a complete pleasure.” The words came out confident, belying the utter confusion swimming around inside of me. “You said you have something else to discuss,” I prompted, wrapping my hands tightly around the mug of tea.

“Yes Lexy.” He walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. He padded back over to the bar, in no rush to let me know what else he wanted from me.

“The party will be brilliant. I know it’ll be amazing,” he assured me. “What I haven’t planned though is how to get Shannon here without giving the game away. And so I thought this was where I could use you.”

He smiled as he watched my reaction. I tried to keep my face neutral but I could feel my cheeks burning up and my stomach churning.

“What are your plans,” I asked tentatively, hardly wanting to hear the answer to my question.

“You will be his date for the night.” The words were delivered clearly and concisely. There was no question, it was a statement and he watched me with those blue eyes, waiting for my response.

“Here, have some water.” He offered me his bottle, allowing his fingers to brush over mine as he passed it over.

I breathed slowly and deeply before answering. “How will that work then?”

“I promise you it will work Lexy. You’ll love him. I’ll introduce the two of you tomorrow and then we’ll organise it from there. And more importantly ... this way you get to meet my brother before the party,” he explained, his voice soothing, but making me aware there would be no discussion. This was a done deal and I would comply with his wishes.

Carrie raised an eyebrow, her lips resting on the rim of her mug as she watched the scene play out in front of her.

“This seems all a bit above and beyond the call of duty don’t you think Jared?” She was watching to see how he’d react to her questioning.

Jared stared her down. “Carrie ... most of what I ask of Lexy is above and beyond our contract ... but I’m your client remember.

“Lexy? Are you OK with my plans?” His eyes met mine, demanding an answer.

I felt dizzy and drained with everything happening  so rapidly. “Yes, we’re OK Jared. I’m just getting my head around everything. When will you speak to Shannon?” I asked, watching Carrie, watching me.

We broke eye contact and turned as Jared reached over the bar for his phone. He keyed in his code and hit the call button. “No time like the present is there. I’ll speak to Shannon now and organise things for the two of you tomorrow.”

I panicked. “Jared can’t this wait for a moment? You haven’t given me time to even think about what you’re asking of me,” I gasped, listening to the phone ring ... and then connect.

“Bro! You got a minute?”

Oh for the love of God, beam me up! This surely wasn’t happening. I walked out to the poolside with Carrie in hot pursuit.

“Do you want to tell me what’s going on Lexy?” Carrie grabbed my arm, forcing me to face her.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost. What’s the problem and what’s with Jared making all these demands on you?”

Dammit. I could feel my eyes welling up with tears. This was neither the time nor the place for having a minor breakdown.

“Can you just leave me alone for a moment Carrie, Please!” I begged, turning away, wanting nothing more than to hide away from this monster of a problem I’d brought on myself.

What did they say? Something about being the architect of your own downfall. Shit! I was up there at the very pinnacle of the mountain waiting for my fall from grace.

I looked over at Carrie, silently begging her to give me space.

She reached into her bag and removed the car keys, holding them up for me to see. “I’m going back to the office Lexy. What are you doing?” She watched and waited for my response.

But she didn’t have to wait too long. Jared’s voice sliced through the late afternoon breeze.

“Lexy, we have to talk!”

Carrie raised her eyebrow. “I have to go Lexy. Call if you need me and don’t take any of his shit,” she whispered, giving my arm a slight squeeze for reassurance.

I nodded, taking a deep breath to steady myself before going back into the kitchen.

Carrie said her farewells and left me and Jared alone and in silence.

I stood by the open door, my body silhouetted by the dipping sun outside.

Please go easy on me. That’s all I could think. His features were inscrutable, his blue eyes drilling into my soul. “Baby, baby girl. Come here,” he said, leaning against the wall, waiting or me to make the next move.

I held my ground though, determined not to let him get to me. “Have you discussed your plans with Shannon then?” I asked, glaring at him.

“What if I have Lexy?”

“Cut the crap Jared!” I was losing patience with his games. “What did you say to him?”

Whatever they’d discussed, I had to brave it out now. I closed the distance between us, not wanting to show any of the fear that was balling up in the pit of my stomach.

We were standing toe to toe, my face turned up to meet his steely gaze. “What ... did .... you ... discuss Jared.”

He paused, choosing his words carefully. “I told you what I needed from you Lexy. Tomorrow  you WILL meet my brother and you WILL work out a way of bringing him to the party. Do you understand what I’m asking of you?”

His hand gripped my arm, pulling me closer. “And you will do anything necessary to get him here. I mean ... anything!”

I nodded, looking back towards the open door and the great outdoors.

“And Lexy.” His fingers loosened their grip, reaching up to brush over my face. “Let’s have no secrets between the three of us.”

As usual, here’s the tag list. Feel free to drop me a message if you want to be tagged in future chapters xxx

@letsbeautifuldisaster @llfd1977 @nikkitasevoli @letojokerownsme  @wolfgirl624 @beautorigin @jaredlxto @i-writeandread @darlingdiary87 @reikihealermary @msroxyblog @lifeonmars30 @myxtina @pixieriding @lostinletoland

[olegloshkin-blog]

First experience developing a game.

Hey there!

I’m Oleg Loshkin, a Game Dev student currently studying Games Programming at the SAE Institute in Geneva. I’ve got a brief background in illustration and after finishing up my current training I intend on studying Entrepreneurship with the goal to become an Entrepreneur in the Swiss video games industry.

For this post I’m going to talk about a recent experience relating to game development which is  my first experience in leading a game development team for a 3 months project during the first three weeks, until the stage of having a game prototype which is the stage our team is at during the making of this post.

To give you some context, the SAE Institute is a multimedia private school that offers training in Game Art and Game Programming. I am currently studying in the latter section.

By the end of the first year we are tasked with the creation of a full fledged game that is to be put on Steam and actually sold.

The process begins with people from different sections of the school being put in small teams of three people and two weeks later, the team pitches their idea for the game.

Based on that pitch, half the teams are eliminated and those without a project are to find a place in one of the remaining teams.

One week after that, all teams must showcase a prototype of their game and this is where the scope of this post ends.

Now, this is exactly the kind of experience I needed to acquire considering my aspirations, and so far, the project has taught me a LOT.

I am a pretty introverted person. I have only started to come out of my shell a few years ago, and having to lead a team, organizing people, making or sometimes enforcing decisions, ensuring that things get done on time is quite a deviation from my usual way or doing things.

So let’s start from the beginning: the game’s pitch.

Since I wanted to make the most of this experience, I’ve ended up being the one to take the leading role in our small initial team, and we ended up going with my suggestion for the game’s base idea: a platformer where you play a dinosaur heroine that chews chewing gum. That was the base idea.

From there on we started developing that basic idea and… we went waaaaay too far with it.

By the end of the first week we had “plans”, if you can call it that, to make a platformer meets an RPG that meets a brawler with waaaaaay too many features and gameplay mechanics that we would never have the time to implement in just three months. We were just excited to make a cool new game and just didn’t have the experience to realize that the ambition was set way too high.

Thankfully, we had access to some professional, heart blending yet true feedback in the shape of our Game Programming teacher who during our first meeting with him promptly destroyed all these exceedingly high expectations.

When you’re that invested in a project, even if you get ready for it, it always hurts to hear people point out the obvious flaws in your project, and the worst part is that when the feedback is true, you really don’t have the easy resort of just saying “That person’s doesn’t know what they’re talking about, I’m right, I’m gonna do things my way!”.

You’ve got no other choice other than suck it up and do what is necessary to address the issues even if it means abandoning aspects of the project you were really looking forwards to.

So by the end of the first two weeks, instead of a huge orgy of features of a game, we were left with a simple, yet doable project: a platformer where you play around with a chewing gum as a toy. No overly complicated story, no excessive amount of irrelevant characters and a simple and concise gameplay.

Then comes the pitching session. It might be an odd idea for players but for game developers, the pitch of a game is one of the most crucial elements of a game: this is the sole element that determines whether a game will exist or will disappear.

No Man’s Sky has demonstrated this idea perfectly: what has driven the project’s development wasn’t the mechanics or the gameplay footage nor was it the company working on the game.

The game gained it’s hype through it’s pitching, so much so that when the actual game came out, people were disappointed to discover the shortfalls of the project, having built up an amazing idea of the game in their mind only to discover that in reality, game development is much harder than just making promises.

Needless to say, keeping all that in mind put on me quite a pressure: whether the project lived or died relied on my performance in front of the jury. By the end of the pitching session, only half the projects would be kept alive, and considering the projects of other teams, there were quite a competition.

I had done writing the presentation the day before and just barely had my speech down. Leading up to our team’s turn I was on edge and the speech kept flying out of my mind.

Once it was our team’s turn, I walked out in front of the class with the mental state similar to getting ready to get hit by a truck. Yet once the presentation started, under the effect of the adrenaline (and Xanax I had taken earlier), everything just came back up whenever I needed it.

I went though the presentation smoothly, and while I didn’t perform the presentation with the eloquence of a Hollywood actor, I didn’t mess up the presentation by standing in front of the class like a deer on a highway in front of a car as I feared I would.

A few stressful hours later, the results were announced: we were not eliminated!

My reaction to these news was in hindsight quite funny:

“Oh sweet we’re not eliminated, wooahoo!”

”...”

”Wait. Oh no. We’re not eliminated, that means I’ll have to be the lead on this project for over two more months!”

As satisfying as the temporary victory was, the stress leading up to this moment had taken quite a toll on me.

But for now, I had no time to process any of it as everyone moved on to a session of brief interviews where the members of the eliminated teams had the occasion to talk with those that were left, suggest their candidature and get the team’s mails to later get into contact with them.

A brief note before I move on with the recruiting segment of the project’s timeline:

There were quite some talented artists that worked on the presentations of the other teams. There was a team for instance with gorgeous artistic direction showcased during the presentation, a team that has been eliminated to everyone’s surprise.

The team had by far the best visual presentation of their project, but they were nonetheless eliminated: The presentation wasn’t timed well.

While it was very clear, it was just way too long, and by the end of the five minutes they had to show off their project, there was still a lot of the presentation to be done with key elements like marketing. The team just didn’t have the time to say everything they wanted.

As a result, the jury just wasn’t able to attribute any consideration to various aspects of the project and therefore eliminated the team to everyone’s surprise.

This is a very good example of the importance of the pitch: if the team had the time to complete their presentation, they’d certainly be amongst the confirmed projects.

But back to recruiting. One thing that quickly became obvious to me over the recruitment period that lasted a few days is that you shouldn’t be asking for very specific roles when recruiting. We were looking for an Environment Artist, a Game Designer, a Games Programmer and a Technical Game Designer.

However, as people started joining the team, different configurations of roles would make more sense than others, so much so that an artist that initially proposed their candidature for the post Environment Artist ended up being a Character Artist.

Depending on the people you “hire”, the dynamics of the team changes and the roles of the different people in your team need to be switched around, so it is much better to just ask for “an artist” or “a programmer” rather than for a very specific role.

As we started to work together as a team of 8 people, things got much more difficult.

We have pretty much been accepting every candidature sent our way and in the end we’ve ended up with people of very different skills, very different schedules, very different work styles and different habits of communication.

As a result, in order to allow everyone to work as a team properly, as a manager I had to put a lot of effort into tracking everyone’s availabilities and progress, and I had to spend a lot of time just keeping everyone up to date with the project’s current state. In itself that isn’t particularly problematic.

In the end however, if working in a team with four people working at 25% yields a 100% total performance, producing the same effort in a team with two people working at 50% instead would yield more than 100% total performance.

A smaller team means that communication is much easier, there’s much less need to get everyone’s agreement to take a decision and you’re less likely to have to wait for a coworker you need to talk with to show up for work . All these factors mean that the same effort would produce more total progress since more of the effort is spent on the actual work and less on communication.

For these reasons, it is better to hire a few invested people rather than a lot of average people.

This situation, with way too many cooks cooking the broth has been worsened by an organization problem. Prior to having multiple Game Programmers in the team, I was the only one coding. Once the new teammates have arrived, I had been already concentrating on management rather than on code but the system I had laid down for the Game Programmers was way too complex and not documented enough for them to use it properly.

As a result, over the next week of the project the feature implementation followed the same bad pattern: I’d ask for a feature to be implemented. The feature would be done completely detached from the system that I had laid down. I would discard the work done by the programmers and redo the code myself integrated in the system.

This has led to a lot of frustration from both sides. The programmers were discouraged by constantly getting their efforts thrown into the bin and I was frustrated from feeling like I had to do the work my coworkers were supposed to be doing all the while exhausting myself and not leaving me any time to live a life.

This completely killed communication during a few days leading to the release of the prototype as I had no more time available to do my manager’s duties.

In the end however, we’ve successfully showcased our prototype, and whilst we have gotten a fair bit of negative feedback, we’ve also received some good ones.

From there on we’re currently rethinking the way our team is organized to remedy the problematic situation and so far things are going much better.

In conclusion, the start of this project has already taught me a whole lot and my general disposition as a project lead has changed. I have become more exigent, am going straight to the point and am much empathetic towards my teammates.

[thils-studyblr]

Back to school - What’s on my phone?

Okay so I don’t know about you guys, but I used to be obsessed with what’s on my phone videos. And with back to school season being at full force, I have decided to make a what’s on my phone, but talk about apps I use for school, and anything that helps me stay productive/active (including routine)

For this post I’ll have a bunch of screenshots, so sorry in advance if it’s long. I’ll order them by category, so you can easily find whatever you might be interested in.

This is my homescreen/school folder (some apps are covered up because of privacy reasons). Wallpaper by @emmastudies. It also shows most apps I’ll be talking about in this post.

Planning/Time Managment

App #1: Wunderlist

It’s a basic to-do app, but I now also use it for keeping track of other tasks. In the app I have 4 different lists. Main (for basic tasks), schoolwork (homework and essays), social media to do (which has 5 sub lists; youtube, studyblr, langblr, studygram, and main instagram), and to buy (for groceries, but also my school supplies checklist, makeup checklist, ect.)

It is really easy to keep track of everything, as it allows you to add due dates, reminders, notes, and even attachments to your tasks. You can also add sub-tasks, so if it’s a step by step task you can add those in too. And the best part, you can sync it with other users, so if you have a group project you can add them to the task or list (if you have multiple tasks together) and keep track of each other’s progress too.

I definetly recommend this app for anyone that needs to be more organised.

App #2: Days--

Sadly this app isn’t actually available in the app store anymore, as the maker of the app discontinued it. However, you can still get an apk to install, which I will link here. (Download on your pc or laptop, scan for any virusses, then send to your phone to install. It was save for me, but you can never be too carful)

I use this app for events and big tasks. It’s kind of like a countdown app. I added in each event or big tasks, and it orders it by when the deadline/event is, so I can see how much longer I have to either prepare or finish it. I also added in birthdays so I can see how much longer I have to prepare a gift/party. The color coding option in the app is also really nice. I color coded it as follows:

Red = Events (mostly concerts)

Yellow = Birthdays

Green = Release dates (music I look forward too, movies, ect.)

Blue = School stuff (first day of school, tests, ect.)

Purple = Other

Although I mainly use it for looking at how long until my next concert, it’s actually really useful to plan study/work sessions for school tests or projects. Instead of having to count days/weeks towards due dates and than devide my time up, I can just look at the app, see how long I have left, and devide it up then. And because it takes up barely any space, I feel like it’s a nice bonus to have on my phone that isn’t necessarily an essential, but it’s also not in the way of any other apps.

App #3: Google Calendar

Now this I don’t really need to explain. It’s a calendar. It syncs with your Google account, and it has a really clean interface with a lot of options for personalisation.

For privacy reasons I didn’t take a screenshot of my own agenda, but I did add pictures from Google themselves.

App #4: Quality Time

I don’t know about you guys, but I usually spend way too much time on my phone. So I got an app that warns me when I have spend either too much time in total, or on one app in specific. You can set your own time limits for each app (or set it as unlimited) and a limit of how much you want to be on your phone in total. It won’t shut you out of apps after the time has run out, but it does keep track, which is really useful in my opinion.

Here I have added a screenshot of a few days ago. 

Studying

App #1: Forest

A lot of you already know about this app, but I’ll still talk about what it does a little bit. Basically, you plant a tree, and you can’t use your phone until the tree has grown (you can set the time that it takes to grow yourself). If you do touch your phone before it grows, the tree dies. It helps with concentration, as it eliminates phone usage while studying.

Here is my forest from today. I like to use it for more than just studying (working out, reading, ect.), so my forest time is a bit long today.

App #2: Memrise

I talked about this app before, but I’ll talk about it again. It basically is an app that you can use to learn a new language! It has a bunch of languages included, and is really easy. It also feels a bit like a game because of the levels/experience system it uses. The more you practise, the more your character levels up! It also sorts it’s vocab lists by category, so you aren’t just learning random words, which is nice. (I just finished learning how to use regular verbs, and after that I’ll start with describing my emotions/thought in Spanish)

App #3: Quizlet

This is an app that literally everyone should have. It basically is a community driven flashcard app. Need to practise vocab? Make a flashcard set, or see if someone else has on that topic already. Need to learn dates of the French Revolution? Make flashcards! It is really easy to use, and has a bunch of modes you can use to learn your topic, including multiple choice, writing it out, and matching (matching is great for learning dates in my opinion)

I used this app at least once a week last semester, so I definetly recommend it.

Miscellaneous

App #1: Sleep Cycle

This app has literally made me into a morning person. It tracks your sleep pattern, and calculates the best time to wake you up! Set the limit on when you have to be awake, and the app will wake you up at the best time within 30 minutes of your limit. It tracks your movement in your sleep using either the movement censor or the microphone in your phone (you can choose which).

Not only that, I personally also really like looking at my graph of how I slept throughout the night.

Other apps you might want to put in your school folder:

Audio recorder (for lectures)

Office apps (word, powerpoint, excel, ect.), or another app that covers the same document types (for example, Polaris)

Calculator (I also recommend you check out Photomath if you’re doing any math related subjects)

And that’s the end of this post!

Like I said before, you probably already knew of most of these, but for those who didn’t I hope this was helpful! Any apps you’d recommend? Use the comments or reblog to let others know!

My links: Tumblr | Spanish Langblr | Amazon Wishlist | Instagram | Twitter | Printables | Masterposts | Back To School |  Personal blog

[wordpressandsocialmedia]

The 10 Best Google Chrome Extensions for Better Social Media Marketing

To help you boost your social media marketing, we've compiled a list of the top ten Google Chrome browser extensions. These resources will help you focus, locate new customers, and make educated marketing decisions. They've all been useful to us at different times, and we hope you'll like them too.

But first, let's take a look at why you should use Chrome in the first place.

Why should you use Google Chrome?

We recommend that you look at Google Chrome. What is the rationale for this? Because it is usually recognized as the best browser on the market, and rightfully so. It, like the other browsers, is free to download. But it's also incredibly fast, compatible with all devices, and stores all of your email, analytics, and other data in one place. It also allows you to download as many plugins as you like, which is particularly useful for our purposes.

It is the most widely used browser on the market, according to research. Let's look at extensions in more detail. That is, after all, why we are here. Extensions are little programs that help your browser function better when you're using it. Extensions are very simple to install.

To find the extension you need, go to the Chrome Web Store and search for it.

The following are the best 10 Google Chrome extensions for better social media marketing:

Grammarly

Grammarly is an application that allows you to edit and polish your writing without having to do additional homework like you did in high school. This program will check every aspect of your work, including grammar, pronunciation, and other frequent mistakes. You must either type or copy/paste your content into their editor to use their regular website. Then you're offered ideas on how to improve your situation.

The Chrome extension, on the other hand, acts like an extended arm, allowing you to access some of the pages you visit on a daily basis and giving you with suggestions while you type your email or blog post.

Hashtest

However, there are times when a hashtag is required. On Instagram, hashtags allow users to see additional photographs that may be of interest to them. So, if you're going to utilize hashtags, make sure they're relevant. In this case, Hashtest comes in handy. In real-time, this approach would assess the correctness of the hashtags you're considering. This is a fantastic tool to utilize when you're about to create and post a post and want to know which hashtags are doing well.

It also allows you to copy the best performance to your clipboard, so the whole process should be quick. Because of their magnitude, the #marketing option is superior in this scenario. Even if you don't use this item frequently, it's always a good idea to have it on hand in case you do.

SEMRush

SEMRush is a useful tool that any advertising may employ. The entire platform is built to give you a quick snapshot of your site's Google search traffic and results. Organic search results, sponsored search results, backlinks, and a variety of other useful information about the website are all available.

The extensions add to the already useful features of this program. To put it another way, you're getting a two-for-one deal. You may acquire fast information about your domain or a competitor's domain by using two extensions. The first is SEMRush Page Rank, which is rather simple. At the top of the phone, there is only one small button. The actual value, on the other hand, is represented by the number displayed. That score, which appears to be updated on a regular basis, reflects how highly SEMRush's algorithms rate the page.

You may get a quick assessment of the page's authority and status without launching SEMRush, entering in the URL, and then searching for the information on your own. It saves you time by providing you with important information at a glance. To get a quick overview of the tab you're on, use the Open in SEMRush function. SEMRush saves you the hassle of having to manually punch in a URL every time you launch their software.

You can acquire the information in a matter of seconds, which will help you stay organized and on track.

Boomerang

Boomerang is a Chrome extension that assists you in managing your email flow. It's not the same as the well-known video looping program. It allows you to plan your emails so that your recipients are more likely to see and respond to you the way you desire.

Marketers have been issuing invitations and attempting to determine the best moment to issue them. However, without the ability to schedule emails, writing them at the correct time has proven difficult.

Let's say you want to be the first person to get an email on Monday. Typically, you'll need to get up around 5 a.m. to ensure that the email was prepared and delivered on time. When you use Boomerang, on the other hand, you can sleep in knowing that your email will be delivered on time.

That's just one example of how you can utilize the function. If you use it, it's entirely up to you and your imagination.

However, there is another element of Boomerang that I find extremely useful: the ability to observe how quickly your email is being responded to.

Oktopost

We aim to show Oktopost to the world's social media needs. Although it focuses on B2B social media management, the apps are useful for anybody in the sector who uses social media. Furthermore, the plugin enhances Oktopost's appeal by allowing you to swap articles and posts directly from your browser. As a result, you'll have a one-of-a-kind tool for curation and maintaining the freshness of your social media posts.

It's also simple to operate. All you have to do is click on the extension's tab when you're on the page you want to post to.

A drop-down menu will emerge with a quick overview of how the article will appear when shared. All you have to do now is write your caption and submit it—no more navigating between tabs to keep up with what's going on.

Keywords Everywhere

Keywords Everywhere is a free plugin that will help you save time when it comes to keyword research and analysis, helping you to reach the ranks you desire faster. This plugin allows you to check the cost per click for any term across hundreds of websites as well as the Google keyword search volume. You won't have to waste time searching for and downloading information from multiple websites, which is a huge time saver. To share or keep track of the keywords, you can save them as a PDF or Excel document.

Save to Pocket Extension

Do you ever find yourself reading something amazing but lacking a convincing reason to share it?

When this happens, you can use the Save to Pocket extension. This extension makes it simple to save posts that you'd like to come back to and use in a future project. If you're a social media marketing manager, you can even save anything to curate later.

Because the extension allows you to save by segment, you won't have to worry about being disorganized. If you use the extension both personally and professionally, you won't have to trawl through hundreds of bookmarked links to get what you're looking for. This isn't how you'll get stuck.

This addition transforms it into a useful planning and analyzing tool in a pinch.

Save to Pocket is a clever approach to put important stuff on the back burner, even if you don't need them right now.

Facebook Pixel Helper

Facebook Pixel Helper is a Chrome extension that is available for free. It can be downloaded here. It keeps an eye on websites in the background to determine if the Facebook Pixel code is active.

First, let's go through why it's so vital to have Facebook Pixel operating in the background of your e-commerce business.

Most notably, it enables Facebook to monitor what is happening outside of their ecosystem. Typically, Facebook only observes what its users do in their app or on their domain - facebook.com. The Pixel, on the other hand, sends any website that has it enabled functional behavioral data on the user and what they do outside of Facebook's typical purview.

Your ad campaign will be based on the information you gathered and supplied to Facebook. The more data collected by the Facebook ad system, the more and faster it can spend your money on traffic.

Based on the data acquired by the Facebook Pixel on your website, you may also create tailored visitors.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator 

LinkedIn is a wonderful tool for B2B organizations to boost income. It's also a win-win situation if you can discover a method to make LinkedIn even more appealing. The LinkedIn Sales Navigator extension was chosen as a result.

It gives you a comprehensive database of your Gmail contacts. Although this may appear insignificant, it will make it easier for you to keep messages current without having to trawl through your 5,000-address mailbox. Upgrading to the paid service adds more features to your Gmail account, such as networking and lead saving. So, if you utilize LinkedIn Sales Navigator, you should definitely check out this software.

Ubbersuggest

This free plugin is compatible with Ubersuggest, my SEO tool. For paid advertising, it gives you access to SERP statistics on relevant terms, search volume, and average CPC.

They're always working to improve their tool, and they'd love to hear your feedback!

Conclusion

By now, you should have found at least one Chrome extension that can help you be a better social media marketing manager. We hope you'll find Google Chrome to be a useful tool for navigating the web and getting the most out of it at the very least. Whether you're attempting to stay on schedule, study, or fine-tune a tweet, there are lots of tools to help you succeed.

In this article, we just covered the best Google Chrome extensions for better social media marketing, but there are plenty more. What you need to do now is track down your coworkers and ask them to help you accomplish your job more efficiently.

We believe that if you have the correct tools, you can develop your talents.

Try the Demo version of FS Poster to see the difference.