#obligatory intro post to explain things

[cyo-gacha-adventure]

Just to explain a few things, this should help sort it out.

As extra background info before we start: the protagonist has a connection to the android so that only the protag can hear the android. The android is able to monitor them and comment on the journey but is not physically near them.

Along the adventure, there will be people met that can later possibly join the protag's journey. Once there has been enough met, we get to the "gacha" part. Party members will be selected using a picker wheel to make it random rather than a poll for them.

Thank you for the guidance in advance!

[silver--scar]

MEET THE SP OC

TW: Mild blood and mentions of sensitive topics

Welcome to my first entry on this list! Inspired by @skenisasleb 's intro posts for their South Park characters, I realized that I wanted to do the same since I thought it would be fun! I will be following a similar format to theirs within this post and future ones to come. This is part one after all :D

So everyone put your hands together for my first ever South Park oc, Ashton Roscoe! (Below is his outfits during certain "episodes" or "b-plots", whatever you wanna call them. I'll be happy to explain them if there are questions, but I'll only go over a few in this post!)

The Basic Life

Ashton Roscoe is an only child, living an average life in an average two-story home with average parents. They're maybe a little distant, but nothing too concerning.

He is one of the newer kids to South Park. Like, freshly new. He is left in a constant state of confusion with just how bonkers South Park can be and has yet to get accustomed into his new life. Otherwise, he has a pretty mellowed out mood with a hint of stubbornness.

He owns a massive cardboard fort deep in the woods of South Park. Who knows what goes on in there, and why he lays so many traps around the area? (It's role-play. It's literally just a place to keep his Stick of Truth items) And he likes to dig! But unlike Christophe, he digs for treasure. Bits and bobs. Doodads. Thingamajigs.

Relationships

There's nothing too special in Ash's bonds with his friends and family, and especially so being demisexual. He has three buddies, Lucio Connors, Robert 'Bubba' Hendrix, and Killian Manfred. Your typical, all guys friend group.

Out of everyone, he's most likely closest to Lucio due to them meeting when Ash moved in to the town. He helped Ash get around and learn everything there is to know with a kind attitude to boot, while Lucio greatly enjoys meeting someone who isn't a wackjob.

Bubba and Killian were already friends with Lucio before, so it helped Ash ease in quicker with the people around him. Bubba is the prankster who Ash tolerates. He always stands on guard around the guy, waiting for when he might strike with his next trick. It gets a bit mentally draining with it all, especially with the constant chatter about girls and dating or the next big prank.

Ash and Killian are a mixed bag. They get into arguments a few times, with who being in the right constantly switched around. But otherwise, they're tight knit, and they often defend one another during troubles. Ash appreciates Killian when they're on good terms and likes to listen to his conversations, but it wears thin when Killian gets zooted out of his mind and gets into his usual existential crises.

In terms of South Park? He tries his utmost to avoid the gang (i.e. Stan's and Tolkien's friends) and is pretty successful sometimes.

Lore Galore

Since Ash was my New Kid while playing the South Park games, it's only obligatory to go with those first. His personas are Ashpatch the Thief and Ezkaton!

These characters are something Ash put way too much effort in due to his affinity of escaping the world around him. He loves to play pretend.

Ashpatch is a thief class. He chose this because not only is he a natural at sneaking, he's an avid tinkerer. Most of his weapons, albeit rudimentary, are all handmade. He might put the things he nabbed to good use. At first, he just went by Ash, refusing to go by Douchebag but being too lazy to correct others around him. But later on, with his growing infuriation of Kupa Keep, Ash took the opportunity to switch sides the moment he saw it, donning the new name Ashpatch once he gained trust with the Elves.

He takes role-playing pretty seriously. As mentioned, he makes most of his weapons on his own out of objects he finds. If he wants something, he'll work his ass off to obtain it. Daggers, smoke screens, traps, you name it. Even though the other kids absolutely hate this, he doesn't care. He enjoys how it makes the games more authentic. And Ash even dressed the part, making an outfit to blend in the snow.

Ezkaton is his superhero persona, named after the word eschaton, meaning the final act of a divine plan. With a netherborn assassin class, Ash thought it was fitting to uphold an almost deity-like theme, and also because he's an edgy little boy... And also because he wanted to repurpose his abandoned Ghost cosplay, but he will never admit this.

His shawl is a Christmas tree skirt, and just like with Ashpatch, he crafts most of his inventory himself (aside the glowing scythes duh). He also works alone. The other kids don't really understand and think it's to keep up this 'bad boy' persona, but the real answer is that Ash doesn't want to end up getting others hurt. Especially with how they fight actual crime. He'll help out, he ain't a dick, but he works better without worrying that the villains' and his actions will result in an accident.

The other heroes make jabs for how over the top he is, or how he's a Mysterion clone, and to that he says, fuck you, because he'd also rather not admit he spent days coming up with an original identity only to be stumped. Plus, why be a superhero who isn't skilled at what he does? Ash is great at sneaking and traps. Why stop now?

"The Game Never Ends" (Assassin Ash)

If there's one thing to know about Ash, he's a tad bit gullible. There are times where he's skeptical, but those moments are few and far between. After the gang plays a match of paintball with a bunch of other kids, Bubba offhandedly mentions that paintball 'is never really over.' There's a few laughs, but over time, Ash gets insanely paranoid. And so, he goes around town finishing the job, taking out anyone to achieve his victory. Don't worry, there's only two counts of manslaughter.

"The Crystalites" (Album Debut Ash)

Ash loves music. It practically runs through his veins. If you want to find him, chances are he's in his backyard drumming it out in his dad's shed. He's debuting his first album for the town of South Park with his one man band, The Crystalites. However, it seems there are many obstacles he has to overcome, with that being money, gaining a crowd, organizing the event, and scrap bandits. People who are dismantling objects for an extra buck. So it's up to Ash to make his debut successful, and protected from grubby hands.

"Hardcore Parkour" (Parkour Ash)

Parkour is the next big thing in South Park. Everyone's doing it (well, every kid is), but it seems for some reason, Ash can't get the hang of it! He used to be a master at running around and climbing the strangest things during games, so why can't he get this right? Determined, he tries to figure out the cause of his 'curse' and actually stick a landing while his friends go on to the big leagues of competitive parkour.

"Alive and Buried" (Grave Crawler Ash)

Remember when I said his parents were not too concerning? Well it gets concerning. Every South Park kid has their traumas.

How does his family have the money to afford everything? Money laundering. And his dad is heavily in the business. However, a recent investigation showed that he was a suspect and CPS is threatening to take Ash away. With his mother being heavily distraught, the dad is blinded by the very thought of this and vows to keep Ash safe. He tries different things, but push comes to shove, and the poor boy is buried alive the last minute before cops arrive. Thankfully he managed to dig himself out, but his dad is arrested as he resurfaces. Now he has heavy claustrophobia and taphophobia. Ash would've liked to have kept all of this to himself, but news spreads around quickly in South Park.

"Supernatural Squatters" (Ghost Hunter Ash)

Ash and Lucio believes ghosts exists, much to Killian's and Bubba's mockery of it. Wanting to prove them wrong, they make a bet for the four to stay overnight at an abandoned building rumored to be haunted. Geared to the teeth, the kids venture in and finds exactly what they were looking for. Drugged out squatters. Now they must exorcise them to free their souls.

Thank you all so much for reading! I'm certainly going to do more for the rest of my South Park ocs. I'll also post a bit more images that couldn't fit within this post. Thank you skenisasleb for the idea! 🙏

[buried-in-autumn-leaves]

My girl btw if you even care (Qiu Route OC Intro Post)

Beatrice Callegari (who later goes by Bea, and then Trixie, changing each step) is my obligatory crossover OC. She moved around a lot, but in a small area, spending the last few years before Step One in Prism Vista. She's stubbornly independent, and blames Opal for her not having any friends. She liked the city because she likes loud active places, so the quiet nature of Golden Grove puts her off, and she complains about it constantly, going as far as to refuse to admit when she likes something about it.

She like... hates boys as a kid 😭 LIKE YK HOW LITTLE GIRLS ARE LIKE EWWW BOYS

She feels the need to be better than any boy she meets, so when she meets Qiu and he genuinely impresses her it pisses her off. When Qiu tells her what his name means and she doesn't know what hers means she's like why would you ever one up me like that I hate you. She has a crush on him from the start but it manifests in like a "I hang around him because I need to impress him so he thinks I'm better than him". Qiu doesn't catch on, he just thinks they're hanging out. She gets along fine with Tamarack but they do clash in Step One because she tends to treat everyone like they're less capable, like she parents her friends and it can come across as infantilization 😭

Because of her issues with boys her and Ren beef hardcore in Step One, and she doesn't really understand why it bothers her so much when Qiu sides with Ren over her. She also HATES Baxter but she will heal, trust 🤞

Step Two Bea is a MENACE. She wants so badly to be better than she was, but with Tama and Qiu going through their teen angst phases it basically like annoys her? Like she is trying to be better but she's very emotional and set off really easily. This leads to her having trouble keeping friends because of her trouble keeping her outbursts in check. She does get better at this over the course of the step, but it's basically a consequence of her suddenly deciding she's not gonna be that mean kid anymore.

She is really protective over Tamarack in this step. This causes some issues when Qiu and Tama clash, because Bea does defend Tamarack, but not out of any genuine anger towards Qiu. She just misses the way Qiu used to be and it makes her mad that other people effected them the way they did. This step is also where the majority of healing with Opal happens, which I'm not gonna talk about too much until I can play more of the step.

Also !!!! Her gender journey is effected a lot by Qiu in Step Two. She still uses she/her in Step Two (she's genderqueer and uses all pronouns after this) but she already knows that something isn't right here. She won't say anything because she has this paranoid obsession with the idea that people will think she's 'copying' Qiu due to how small the town is. She goes by Bea because she hates her birth name and figured it'd be easy to explain, but she still doesn't like it.

In Step Three, they go by Trixie. Fun fact this name was actually chosen by Qiu who called her that once as a joke, but she ends up liking it so much she keeps it. At his point he's accepted his emotions as part of him, and reached a sort of healthy middle between letting everything show and repressing until he snaps. This manifests in the form of almost constant snark and sarcasm.

This is the point where he gets into cosmetology. As a baby punk she did a lot of research into things like DIY and upcycling clothes but found she had a knack for cutting and styling hair. They love makeup and dyeing hair but won't dye their own because of the damage it can do to naturally red hair. (Side note, that one pic of those two girls where like one is sitting on the others lap and doing her makeup- that's Trix and Qiu.)

He doesn't give up on his aggressive protective instinct, even if Tama insists she doesn't need to be protected. He gets along a lot better with his mom, and even though he still misses the city a ton, he gets a sort of attachment to Golden Grove. (She's literally like there is one good small town.)

Most of this is open to change as the game comes out, but I am really excited about their character since I don't do OCs that don't like people much, especially their parents.

[bloodgulchblog]

Halo Cookbook post...

Here's the thing, Halo blog, it would be incredibly easy to dunk on the Official Halo Cookbook. We've all been doing it since it was announced. I certainly have. But here's the other thing, Halo blog: It's October 31st, everything is cold and miserable and wet, and... I don't know.

I just don't feel much like dunking.

The Halo Cookbook, unlike most of what I've been looking at lately, was put together by a single, identifiable author instead of a group. Here's an interview about it. Tl;dr: She loves finding mentions of food in video games, it's genuinely pretty endearing to me. Most of the mentions of food we get in Halo are in background details of a few restaurants, and offhand mentions (usually of things people miss) so there's not much to work with here, and that explains how kind of weird this is as a food book.

(That link also has some of the interior art, which is nice but the kindle format does it no favors.)

The recipes are grouped based on places where its in-universe writer, Arturo, encountered them. The Vending Machines section in particular is pretty funny, but also.... yeah, we're talking about food seen in Halo background details here. So, sure.

You could fill a thimble with what I know about cooking (it's embarrassing honestly) so I cannot really provide much about the food itself, but I do know lore.

So, here's the lore.

Our man is Arturo, who used to work for a large fruit vending corporation. Since retiring, he has decided to write a cookbook collecting recipes he encountered in his travels.

It's pretty wild jumping out of that intro into our first section: World Cuisine (courtesy of Halo: Reach). That's kind of par of the course.

In-universe writing about a chain restaurant on a dead planet, there u have it, folks.

Even the Halo Cookbook recognizes that some of this is also kind of silly:

I'm just giving you guys the section frontpieces and anything I think is mildly interesting.

Solemnly removing my cap for the author trying to figure out how to fit these in:

Good news, we have ANIMAL LORE:

Okay, I'll include the photo of the Obligatory Gamer Fluid

More fast food AND animal lore

Moa, the other red meat

Halo knowledge public CONFIRMED!!!!!

Did you remember Enzo's from Halo 5? Me neither. Honestly I'm always so sad about how much background detail and work went into 5 for me to hate its plot so badly.

Halo knowledge public DOUBLE CONFIRMED!!!

Once again, everyone involved is aware this is silly

Infinite multiplayer makes an appearance:

We're back in vintage Halo town:

Alright, we're on the Infinity now.

Is this a thing? It's cute.

We have a reference to Lasky here, that's a Corbulo Academy flag:

Alright, congratulations, you made it through this with me.

Have a churro.

(If you ask nice and really want, I'll shoot you a pdf.)

[acaplaya-musings]

Voiceplay Visuals: Get Back Up Again

It took me a while to watch this one for the first time (which I did like a month or two ago), can't exactly explain why, though it did probably have something to do with the fact that I've never seen Trolls. Sure, I've seen a couple of scenes from it, and I know the characters and the basic plot, but I've just never actually sat down to watch it! And the only original song I knew from the movie was Can't Stop The Feeling (because it'd be basically impossible to not have heard it by this point). This song is really good though (originally written by Pasek & Paul apparently, which explains a lot), and Voiceplay's video for it (released in May 2018) is very fun as well, so let's get into it!

Some person called "Leo" is credited for the intro animation, so shoutout to Leo! The little character designs are so cute, and I will get to each one individually.

The up-and-down hand movements that J is doing at the start of the video, they intrigue me and I swear he (or possibly another VP member) has done very similiar hand motions in a different video. Does stuff like that just come with being an acapella singer or something?

Earl is Poppy, the main character of the movie! He looks good in pink honestly

Eli is Branch, the secondary protagonist (I guess?) of the movie

J None is Guy Diamond (a troll covered in silver glitter) and he's styling!

Geoff is Biggie, one of the biggest troll characters in the movie, who has a pet worm/best friend called Mr Dinkles (yes, that is what Geoff is holding)

And Layne is Smidge, who apparently (I looked it up on the Trolls Wiki) is one of the shortest trolls in the movie (ironic considering Layne is the tallest of the group), and is female, but speaks with a deep, masculine-sounding voice (trust Layne to give himself a comedic casting choice 😂 (this was his arrangement, and he and Geoff collaborated on the video))

1, Earl seems Confused by Layne's percussion-making method. 2, those chairs look really soft and comfy. And 3, great face Geoff 😆

Obligatory acknowledgement of J 'farting' glitter. I'm guessing it's a thing that Guy Diamond does in the movie

Okay so Geoff's hair does seem basically the same as it does in the 80s Cartoon Themes video (I was wondering), it might just be styled ever-so-slightly differently or something (also I really love his smiles in this video <3 )

Did J already own that necklace or was it bought just for this video?

Eli is Confused and Tired 😂

I don't think this is just a lowering of the lighting in this shot here, I think it's also got lower saturation levels I believe? (Possibly a post-production effect).

(Also Geoff being pretty without even trying (again))

"cause I know that I'm really really really gonna be OKAY!"

And then Eli, J, and Geoff's reactions 😆

Shoutout to Kathy (Geoff's wife) for doing the puppeteering in this video!

Geoff seems to be having fun anyway!

Love the subtle camera shake on the "if you knock knock me over, knock knock me over" line, in time with the knocking!

"Hug time!" "Hug time! I love hug time! Hug time's my favourite.

Also shout to the end card with the guys playing with the dolls/puppets, and "thank you to the Patrons for supporting this...craft project" 😂

This video is definitely a serotonin booster, both visually and musically!

[takorossi]

obligatory self-intro first post

hello interwebs, i'm tako! (you can think of this as my special tumblr nickname.) i'm afab and identify as female, aged 18 and above but i'll keep the exact number a secret because #forever18. i'm not new to the fanfic-writing scene but i am new to the tumblr-writer scene. previously, my works were all published on the A Triple O (read: ao3).

i became a uni very recently but am now wholly invested. for those who are curious i actually found out about pentagon back in 2021-ish when i watched 潮音战纪 (chao yin zhan ji) for zhou zhennan HAHAH then came across the utter beauty that was The Yan An and went to search his group up on google + youtube. i recall watching the "feelin' like" and "dr. bebe" stages on youtube back then and being very impressed by the pink-haired rapper who could act crazy really well and whom i now recognise as one jung wooseok. i've never really been a kpop person per se, more of cpop/jpop and korean indie artists, which probably explains why i didn't get into pentagon back then. however, because i was obsessed with cpop boy groups and there has since been a lack in chinese survival shows as of late, i decided to watch boy planet one day and came across the immensely talented hui ... which led me back to pentagon. so now, while i'm still not really a kpop person, i am a proud pentagon person!! cue: end of my word vomit about my history of becoming a uni.

if i had to pick a bias in pentagon, it would probably be adachi yuto because it's adachi yuto. how am i not supposed to stan him :( close seconds are wooseok, shinwon, and kino. but also i love them all.

i speak english and chinese, feel free to drop me an ask/request/let's talk or a message in either language, but i'll only post writing in english. pentagon is my korean ult group but my chinese ult group is r1se. i watch anime — favourite genres are primarily rom-com and sports but i've also enjoyed shows like bsd, jjk, tokyo revengers, etc.

other than posting my writing, i might also ramble/rant about relevant things at random points in time so i hope you don't mind. for now, i'm likely to focus on pentagon writing specifically but will probably branch out to my other areas of interest in the future!

well, it was nice talking to you! that's about it from me today.

tako x

28.3.23

[chazzawrites]

THE WRITERS • A WIP UPDATE

Hiya everyone, and since this is my first ‘official’ post since my blog intro — thank you for all the follows & interactions! As it’s been a couple of months since I started this blog and working on The Writers (now my main WIP), I figured I’d jump on the bandwagon I’ve seen on several other writeblrs and make an update post!

General Comments

When I first introduced this WIP, it wasn’t very developed, and I’m happy to say that it’s a lot more fleshed out now :)

I. Planned. A. Story! (as a lifelong pantser, this is an awesome achievement, even if there’s still various gaps to fill as I write)

As a general PSA, I’m a student & have hit-and-miss inspiration when it comes to writing, so updates will be sporadic, haha

Onto the specifics #1: how has the story changed since last update?

One of the most major decisions I’ve made with this WIP is to have multiple timelines! I don’t know exactly how they’ll weave together, but I’ve distinguished the current time; Penelope’s memories; and the founding of the City as the three distinct eras of the story

This leads to the most major change: I added the founding Writers! This was such a great springboard to working out who the Writers actually are and how the City came to be (which I didn’t know at the beginning), as well as giving more dynamics/history/angst to delve into

I’ve decided in more detail how Penelope/Lillian and Penelope/Arya’s relationships will work — shoutout to one of my IRL friends for inspiring me to consider Penelope & Arya as a couple (which will happen at the end bc I want Penelope to process Lillian’s death and all that she’s learned throughout the story without diving into another relationship)

I actually know how the story will end?? This WIP is making me into a plotter, which is crazy, but definitely useful for what’s turning out to be quite a complicated world

Onto The Specifics #2: Timelines

This wasn’t much of a Thing at first, but a significant part of the story is now the interweaving of different eras and their struggles & relationships

Era #1 is that of the founding Writers: four people from different backgrounds, brought together by a mysterious ability, who plan to test its limits but two of whom realise the immorality of the plans

Era #2 is that of Penelope’s memories: her meeting & relationship with Lillian and the repercussions it causes, which act as the catalyst for the plot in era #3

Era #3 is that in which the story is set, involving the death of Lillian, Penelope’s investigation of the Writers & regaining of her memories, and her relationship with antagonist-turned-ally Arya

I think I’m going to write them in the above order so I’ve got the details of the previous ones sorted before referencing them, but I’ll continue writing any snippets that occur to me along the way

Onto the specifics #3: Characters

Penelope has stayed pretty similar to when I first started planning, though her backstory is more detailed now

Lillian has developed from a vague figure to a more rounded character with her own hopes, fears and flaws

A big thing for those two is working out the similarities and differences between their era #2 and #3 selves and what they remember / believe instead

Arya has also developed, from a concept of antagonist-turned-ally to a person of her own complexity (considering how she starts, she ends up so soft & I love her way more than I was expecting to!)

The Writers, as well as being invented (lol) have also developed their own personalities — partly through planning and partly through writing themselves (writers can relate, I’m sure)

Brain dump: finished; now it’s time for some snippets :)

I’ve posted various bits and pieces on this blog, so I’m just going to add some smaller snippets; hope you like them!

From the first scene of Penelope’s flashbacks:

From the main timeline; the first of her dreams:

From the main timeline; first meeting with Arya:

From main timeline; a view of the Compound:

Penelope’s reaction to the second dream:

She went off and it was very fun to write:

Meeting Evangelina & Felix ft the obligatory “explain what’s brought you here” scene

Evangelina describing Marcus to Penelope & Arya (he’s evil but fun to write about lol):

Arya and Penelope being Soft™️ 🥺 at the end:

That concludes this post — it was pretty long, so thank you for making it this far! :)

Taglist: @hiddenhistoria @perditism @ecwrenn @writingbyjillian @writeherewaiting @adie-dee @oasis-of-you @blindthewind @mmoonflower @wildswrites @hillsthatdance-likeoceantides

[sugarandspice-games]

I guess this is becoming a trend... I’m popping in before the actual intro to clarify-- if the text is in italic, it is me (Sugar) talking and regular is Spice. Alright? Cool. And so--

So, one night I’m going through youtube and I come upon this one shitposty video about some random anime that I’ve never even heard of. After doing some research, I discover that it’s actually based on a dating sim that I’ve also never heard of. As a joke I was like “Hey Sugar wanna watch this as a joke, it might be funny” and so we did. And uhm. Well.

Today we’re gonna be reviewing Brothers Conflict, aka Sweet Home Alabama 2: Electric Anime Boogaloo aka the anime that ruined our lives. [Again, disclaimer: neither Sugar nor I condone incest and/or pedophilia, two themes which are uh, very rampant in this anime which is why I cannot recommend it in good faith. It’s not good, don’t get me wrong. I can’t really say that I liked it even if watching it and ragging on it was kind of enjoyable, and I did get attached to some of the characters because that’s the kind of idiot I am. Also, we’re not shirking our duties to write I swear please don’t kill me--] Anyway, an obligatory SPOILER WARNING though this probably isn’t going in the main tag bc I do not want the fans to publicly stone me. Why are we reviewing this? Bc we need to talk about it somewhere. Though I say review lightly bc this... is really more of a critique.

ALSO we only watched the anime, idk if things are different in the game. There is no full english translation for the games and most of the LP channels have been copyright striked, so please don’t come at us for not knowing anything. I also know that otome games and dating sims don’t tend to translate well to anime, and I will be addressing this later.

So, dear god, where do I begin.

Where do we begin indeed? How about the fact that her name is Ema and I had to google to remember the heroine’s name? Also, she is seventeen.

Our plot, or well... what you COULD call a plot, I guess, if you REALLY wanted to give this anime that much credit, focuses on the aforementioned seventeen year old Hinata Ema, who has an absent father who apparently FOUND THE TIME TO FALL IN LOVE AND GET MARRIED BUT NEVER HAS A SECOND TO SPARE FOR HIS ONLY CHILD, RINTARO I SWEAR TO GOD I AM TAKING CUSTODY OF YOUR CHILD. HAND HER OVER-- Anyway. He’s getting married to a woman who has 13 sons (jesus christ ma’am have you ever heard of a condom?) and he decides to move her in with them because... I guess he has less braincells than I have balls, which is to say, zero. Hi, I’m trans.

So, Ema moves in with them... along with her talking grey squirrel, Juli. Juli is... interesting and by interesting, I mean-- ABSOLUTELY PUZZLING. He, apparently, has seen the majority of Ema’s life from babyhood to teenagerhood and can talk but is only understood by Ema (who he calls Chii) and Louis, the eighth son in the Asahina family. It is never explained why, or how Chii came across him or how in an episode, a single episode, he becomes human because why the hell not, I guess??? (Also, he is pretty. YES. I said it. Fight me.) [Quick Spice intervention, this squirrel can talk to people, transform into a human, enter dreams, and live way longer than a squirrel should since the average lifespan of a squirrel is like 6 years in the wild. Juli is apparently a god as none of this is EVER explained.]

And when she meets the Asahina family, it’s pretty much immediately chaos because these heterosexual (I guess? They look like a bunch of twinks to me but there goes anime trying to convince me that straight people are real and not a lie made up by Trump) men have NEVER and I mean NEVER known a woman in their entire lives, since they seem to want to bang their stepsister immediately. And most of them are GROWN ASS ADULTS. Only three of them are actually minors (though Iori is 18 and only one year older so I guess??? It’s okay??? But still weird) and one of them is a 13 year old who looks and acts like he’s 8.

Oh, and did I mention that out of these boys, only the adult triplets and the abusive asshole 16 year old get any kind of characterization AND character development? I mean, Subaru gets an “arc” if you can call it that, but really, they don’t give him much... personality. You could replace him with a cardboard cutout and it’d be the same. I feel bad for him (but not really because dude you are 20 and she is your sister, what the fuck--)

But if there’s anything good about this anime, it is the characters themselves. Several of the boys have redeeming qualities and interesting personalities and quirks, as well as interesting relationships and dynamics with each other. Yes, some of them are lacking in the plotline department while others may have decent plotlines and lack personality, and then some of them are just given absolutely nothing (COUGH Masaomi COUGH Ukyo COUGHCOUGHCOUGH Iori, and by the way, what the fuck is that game plotline bc I read the wiki since I wanted to know more about him. We don’t have time to unpack the mento illness luv. But you’re telling me they had all this meat to work with and they threw it in the trash and gave him nothing? What the hell?) And if anything, I feel as if the characters themselves are crippled by the plotline. If given a different story, perhaps, they may have room to shine, because a lot of them are compelling if not lovable (though some may not be... lovable. COUGHFuuto, at least not for me.) If you want to see our review on the characters, we’ll put out another post.

Iori... Iori has a hell of a plot in the game, according to the Wiki but I can’t blame the writers for not exploring all of it because whoa. It is dark and not in a good way. But back to the subject at hand... I agree with Spice. I do/did like quite a lot of the characters... provided the entire romantic plot is taken away but we will go into more of why the plot is problematic below. All I can really add is: There is a baby in this dumpster and canon has been taken out back to be shot like a lame horse.

This brings me to a point in which I would like to pause the character discussion and bring up a glaring flaw with this anime in general (aside from the... plot. Look, I’m not a huge fan of weird stepsibling stuff but I think that if you want to do something like that, there are ways to do it and ways not to do it. This was the way not to do it, which I’m getting to). The biggest thing that made this anime so uncomfortable was the imbalance of power dynamics. Why is the protagonist 17 when most of the love interests are 18 and older, and I mean much, much older? And she’s not any 17 year old... she’s a lonely, neglected girl who is starved for the love of a family. This makes her easily manipulated by the brothers, who clearly desire her for less than wholesome reasons, and that makes it skeevy. I’m not sure why there’s such a fetishization of nonconsent in media, as if it’s fine for as many men to lust after female protagonists as the writer desires BUT the woman can’t want a single one of them in return. It’s creepy, and quite frankly, I am very much over it. I also get that the age thing is probably a product of the protagonist of a teenager oriented dating sim not translating well to an anime (because really, all otome game MCs are meant to be a neat little pair of shoes for the player to imagine themselves in), but why are we fetishizing a teenager being groomed by adults anyway? Especially adults who have this much power over her to begin with? The power dynamics bring this plot from “Oh, this might be kinda trashy but it could be entertaining” to “This is extremely creepy and rapey and kind of a dumpster fire.”

This is also true. If we were to take age into consideration, Fuuto, Yusuke, and Iori would be the three candidates left for Chii. This is taking out the youngest as well, who is... thirteen, I think? But anyway, (I know I am probably going to get some hate for this but go for it), I am into stories that explore the stepsibling thing and it can make a good narrative-- but before everyone gets uppity: There is a line between FICTION and REALITY and I do not condone real life incest but a story is a story and there are ways to frame it that make it clear that it is not a romantic thing, or acceptable. This anime does not do that in it’s dynamics because some of the brothers do start off in that very firm caregiving, family role and it is a sharp turn into romance that makes you go, “?” or in Fuuto case, a blending that does lean into fetishization.

All in all I think the plot maybe could have been okay? I’m not saying it isn’t problematic, because we all know it is, who are we kidding? But I don’t think it’s wrong per se to explore family dynamics with romance and to understand where the line should be drawn, and maybe exploring the definition of family itself. I have seen fanfictions with similar tropes ask those questions and explore the concept beautifully without romanticizing or fetishizing incest and unhealthy power dynamics. It could have been good, and I get that perhaps I’m barking up the wrong tree by expecting mature themes in an anime based on an otome game, but it also could have been a lot less... creepy (I have used that word so much that it looks wrong now) even if it wasn’t the greatest thing ever. But again, what was I expecting? I watched this whole thing as a joke and ended up attached to the characters like a fool... That tends to be a trend here, and this is why we are so salty all the time. So anyway, stay tuned for our review of the characters! We may not cover all of them since some of them don’t really get anything, but we’ll cover what we found interesting.

[antiadvil]

We’re Getting Married!

PG13, 2.8k

video title: We’re Getting Married! uploaded: December 8, 2019 by AmazingPhil Description: We talk about our relationship with each other, our audience, and appropriate creator/audience boundaries. Sorry we couldn’t find a wedding venue that would fit three million people!

read more or read on ao3

A/N: *** indicates a jump cut. this is filmed in Phil’s bedroom bc in an imagined universe with joint content I can fulfill all my nostalgic fantasies oh also warning for discussion of the vday video if you're not into that

“Hey guys! Today I’m here with a very special surprise guest-”

Dan’s voice interrupted Phil from off camera. "Are you not going to put me in the thumbnail?"

Phil laughed. "I mean, probably."

"So I'm not much of a surprise."

"I guess not. Anyway, we have a special announcement-"

"Phil. They read the title. Why do your video intros always assume no one reads your titles?"

"Hey! I haven't decided what I’m going to title it yet."

Dan came into frame and flopped onto the bed with him. "Sure you haven't. You know exactly what will get this video the maximum number of clicks, you goddamn-"

Phil threw his hand over Dan’s mouth. “Stop.”

He yanked it back almost immediately. “Did you just lick me?”

Dan smiled. “Maybe.”

“You’re disgusting. I’m going to go wash my hands with bleach,” Phil said, climbing off of his bed.

“Can you bring me a glass of water?” Dan called after him. “I’m thirsty.”

Phil called something back. It was entirely bleeped out.

***

“Count of three,” Phil said. “One, two, three-”

“We’re getting married!” Dan’s normally large hand gestures were carefully constrained by the glass of water in his right hand.

“Some of you are probably confused-” Phil said.

“Some of you are probably hyperventilating,” Dan interrupted, “And I’d like to say that while you’re valid, get a life that is not vicariously lived through our relationship. Please.”

“So let’s do a bit of background first,” Phil finished. “So I think most of you who follow us know that Dan and I met on the internet in 2009 and then we met up later the same year, which is when we filmed the first Phil is not on fire.”

“What you probably know if you watched my coming out video is that the whole time, we were super gay for each other,” Dan added. “What I didn’t really get into is that we’re still super gay for each other.”

“Wait, we are?”

Dan shrugged, setting his water on Phil’s nightstand. “I mean, I’m still super gay for you.”

Phil frowned. “I don’t know if I’d describe it that way.”

“Well, this is awkward,” Dan muttered.

“Anyway, we’ve been dating ever since then, and we thought we’d give a quick little recap of our relationship for those of you who just got here. So, I already mentioned that we met in 2009-”

“Obligatory disclaimer, we don’t endorse travelling a hundred and fifty miles to meet a guy who’s four years older than you that you met on the internet, even if you were the one who stalked him first.”

“Hey!” Phil laughed.

“But anyway,” Dan continued, “Phil and I met in a public place before going to his house and it turned out he wasn’t an axe murderer, so everything was fine.”

“What would you have done if I was?” Phil asked.

“You know, that’s a really great question. I maybe should have thought a little bit more about that.”

“So, we’re not even five minutes into the video and the biggest takeaway is that you should never have come to meet me?”

Dan nodded. “Our entire relationship was a mistake. I’m sorry, everyone, time to go home.”

“So poor life choices aside, we met in 2009, filmed Phil is not on fire, and just generally hung out a lot.”

“Hung out is one word for what we spent most of our time doing, but since this is Phil’s channel, let’s leave it at that.” Dan winked.

“Hey!”

Dan rolled his eyes. “Look me in the eye and tell me that is not what we spent most of our time together doing.”

“That is not what we spent most of our time doing.”

“Okay then, if you say so-”

“I do-” Phil insisted.

“Then we’ll leave it at that. We visited a lot, but, full disclosure, long distance sucks, which was a big factor in my decision to attend uni in Manchester. You probably already know how that went down.” Dan rolled his eyes.

“Apart from the uni part, though, it was really nice being so close by, so we moved in together in 2011.”

“And then there was what you will probably know as the Valentine’s day video,” Dan said with a grimace.

“Dan and I don’t really feel comfortable discussing the details of that whole thing because that video was very personal to us.”

Dan smiled in Phil’s direction. “I still have a copy.”

“But seriously, if you’re not me or Dan, I’d really appreciate it if you’d remove any copies you’ve posted on the internet and delete any copies you may have saved, out of respect for our privacy.”

“Believe me, I know nothing I can say will make that video disappear. My entire life is just proof that anything you put on the internet is permanent. And there’s nothing anyone can do about it now, but I want people to understand that all the speculation about my sexuality that came up when that video resurfaced really hurt me. Don’t do that. Seriously. If you think a celebrity or a YouTuber or whoever is hiding their sexuality, just let them. You don’t know what’s happening in their lives, and honestly, you’re not entitled to, either.”

Phil nodded. “Also, that was a really hard time for us as a couple as well as personally. I don’t think a lot of people realize the pressure being constantly under a microscope has on a relationship, which is one of the reasons we chose not to share our relationship and why we still don’t feel comfortable sharing everything about it.”

“Which is fine! Neither of us are ashamed of our relationship. We’re not hiding anything. We just aren’t really looking forward to reading newspaper headlines about our relationship, which really doesn’t seem like it should be news. Like, it’s our relationship, not the entire world’s relationship,” Dan explained.

“Really, it seems so weird to us that people even care about it. Like, it’s flattering and all, don’t get me wrong, but it was also a bit scary at first when we weren’t out.”

“It’s like, remember in my coming out video how I mentioned that when that guy said I gave off a bi vibe it really scared me? Having strangers on the internet tell me that my relationship with Phil was obvious was scary when even my parents didn’t know. The shipping was fine. It was mostly the speculation that was scary.”

“But we made it.” Phil put his hand on Dan’s leg and smiled.

Dan smiled back, almost forgetting the camera in the room. “God, there were some days I thought we wouldn’t. But we did. And I love you.”

Phil smiled even wider and swiped at his eyes.

Dan’s smile grew to a smirk. “Are you crying? Oh my god, you are such a dork.”

“Your mum’s a dork,” Phil muttered.

Dan reached for his phone. “I’m telling her you said that.”

“No!” Phil threw his shoulder into Dan’s chest, sending him sprawling against Phil’s bed.

Dan laughed. “Ow. Hey, Siri, call Mu-”

Phil put his hand over Dan’s mouth. “Stop.”

Dan’s phone chirped from the other side of the bed. “Okay. Calling Mum.”

Dan scrambled to reach it. “Oh shit, oh fuck, should I hang up?”

“Dan! You can’t call your mum and then hang up on her.”

“Shut up, rat, this is your fau- Oh, hey, Mum!”

“Hi!” Phil said.

“Oh, hello, Dan! And Phil. Is everything alright?”

“You need to call your mum more often, Dan, if every time she picks up she asks if something’s wrong,” Phil said.

Dan’s mum laughed. 

“Shut up, Phil. No, Mum, nothing’s wrong, just wanted to catch up.”

***

“So, I’m never jokingly asking Siri to call anyone ever again,” Dan said.

“Why? Was calling your mum that horrible?” Phil laughed.

“Shut up, Phil. That was your fault.” 

“Does your mum watch your videos?” Phil asked.

“Not really.”

“I’m sending her a link to this one.”

“I hate you,” Dan said quietly.

“You too.”

***

"Now, Phil, we've been dating for a pretty long time." 

Phil shrugged. "Only like ten years.”

"So, Phil, why did we wait so long for this?"

Phil nodded. "Well, first of all, it wasn't legal for a pretty long time."

"Right. Civil partnerships were a thing in 2004, but I'm lame and traditional, and same sex marriage was only legalized in 2014. That's half of our relationship, for some perspective."

"And, fun fact," Phil added, "Same sex marriage is still illegal in Northern Ireland."

Dan frowned. "That was not a fun fact. That was a very sad fact."

"But it's a true fact," Phil protested.

"Moving on, again!" Dan said. "I also wanted my family to be there, and, well, I'm a mess who didn't even come out to them until like six months ago."

Phil patted Dan's shoulder comfortingly. "You're not a mess."

Dan stared at the camera. "I'm a mess."

"Okay, fine. You're a little bit of a mess."

Dan turned to Phil in mock outrage. “You think I’m a mess?”

“No! I-”

Dan turned back to the camera. “You heard it here, folks. Phil is judging me because I took my time coming out. Phil hates closeted people.”

Phil glared at him. “I’m never agreeing with you ever again.”

“This relationship is off to a great start!”

***

“So back to the original question! Why now, Dan?”

“Well, Phil, now that I’m out to my family we can have a proper wedding, and now that we’re out to our viewers we don’t have to worry about one of our own personal stalkers finding our marriage records.” 

“Also, marriage does come with a lot of cool perks,” Phil added.

“Gotta get those sweet, sweet tax benefits.”

“And that sweet, sweet, societal recognition of our relationship.”

“Also, it makes buying a house and general joint property ownership way simpler, which will make it a lot easier to take all of Phil’s subscribers in the inevitable divorce.”

Phil laughed. “What?”

Dan blinked. “Sorry, I didn’t say anything. Did you hear something?”

“Well, I thought I heard you say you were going to divorce me and take my subscribers.”

Dan shook his head, his expression deeply offended. “Why would I say that? Who would do such a thing?”

Phil stared solemnly at the camera. “Gaslighting is a form of abuse.”

“Thank you for the PSA, Phil.”

“Just documenting the abuse I’m currently suffering under so that I can take all your subscribers in the divorce,” Phil said.

Dan frowned. “Okay, I wasn’t going to say anything, but you sounded really serious just then so I now feel the need to clarify that I am not abusing Phil and also, domestic violence is not funny.”

Phil laughed. “No actual abuse.”

Dan sighed. “We’re terrible people, aren’t we?”

“I mean, we’re not terrible people.”

Dan laughed. “We’re just bad people, with terrible senses of humor. That’s so much better.”

“We can edit it out if-” Phil started.

“I mean, it’s your channel-” Dan said.

They stared at each other for a moment before shrugging in unison. “Whatever,” they said, still in unison.

***

“So, Phil, what’s changing for our viewers?” Dan asked.

“Literally nothing. We’ll be taking a short break from uploading-”

“Which I do all the time! So I doubt you’ll even notice.”

“But we’re not going to change the types of videos we upload. This isn’t a relationship channel.”

Dan winked. “As much as you might want it to be.” 

“Seriously, though. We’re not even changing our names. Nothing’s changing,” Phil assured the camera.

“But in case it wasn’t clear, here are some FAQs.”

Phil pulled out a stack of notecards and put on his best announcer voice. “Are we invited?”

Dan smiled. “No.”

Phil flipped to the next card. “Kiss!”

“That’s not a question, but somehow, the answer is still no.”

Phil laughed. “I think a photo of us kissing would actually break the internet.”

Dan shrugged. “Really, we’re just being kind to your internet providers.”

“Lester-Howell or Howell-Lester?”

“We already answered that, Phil. You really need to screen these questions better, especially since you wrote them.”

“Answer it anyway,” Phil pleaded.

Dan sighed heavily. “Neither. I would never saddle my child with two last names.”

“Child?” Phil turned to the camera with an exaggerated gasp.

Dan smiled. “That’s all you’re getting. Let the fanfiction writing begin.”

Phil paused. “Wait, so whose last name-”

“Honestly, I was just joking because neither of us are changing our names, but if you want to have a Dan versus Phil to see who gets to name our child-”

“I’m good.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Phil turned to the next card. “Wedding photos?”

“Is that a question or a demand? Please don’t hack my hard drive.”

“Top or bottom?”

“There is no way anyone actually thinks we’ll answer that.”

“Probably not.” Phil flipped again. “And last, but definitely not least, why are we telling our viewers?”

“Well, I think it’s safe to say that we’re telling a lot more people than our viewers. But I never had any healthy models for queer relationships when I was a kid, and if I can provide that, I don’t see why not.” Dan’s voice was surprisingly serious.

“Think of us like your parents,” Phil added. “We’re here to show you how healthy relationships work, but we’re not here to show you everything. Partly because we need some privacy and partly because that would be gross.”

Dan was wincing as soon as he heard the word “parents.” “Phil, Phil, please stop. Do not encourage our audience to think of us as their parents. Did you learn nothing from our tumblr tag? Please never say those words again.”

“Fine, I’ll edit them out.”

Dan shook his head. “You said it, Phil. You can’t escape it.”

“Okay, well, at least give another response so I can decide if I want to keep it in,” Phil persuaded, in the soft, natural, voice he normally saved for off camera.

Dan gave an exaggerated sigh. “Honestly, hiding a relationship is just so much work. Especially a marriage. And you guys are total stalkers. Like seriously. Get a life. Please.”

“That’s better! And much more fitting with who our audience is.”

“Phil, I’m the one who gets to insult our fans. You’re the one who says we love them and appreciate them.”

“We do!” Phil insisted.

“Do we?” Dan asked skeptically.

“Yes.” Phil laughed, staring at Dan in disbelief.

“Kidding,” Dan muttered, flashing a smile at the camera. “Please buy my merch.”

Phil sighed. “Danielhowellshop.com?”

Dan smiled. “Also, while you’re at it, check out my good friend Phil’s merch at amazingphilshop.com!”

Phil stared straight at the camera. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

“You know what, we’re such close friends that we also have a joint merch shop, danandphilshop.com. You could begin there, Phil.”

“Is it too early for a divorce?” Phil asked.

“Yes. You’re stuck with me.”

“Am I really?”

“Just think about the tax benefits. Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and remember how much money you’re going to save by marrying me.”

Phil shook his head. “It’s not worth it.”

Dan pouted.

***

“For more videos like this-”

“Phil. We’re never making another video like this again.”

“For more videos not like this, click on my face to subscribe to my channel, click on Dan’s face to subscribe to his channel-”

“I have plans to actually upload a video this year-”

“And for our joint channel, click here.” Phil raised their joined hands.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to edit this video, upload it, and disconnect my internet for at least a month.”

Dan turned to Phil. “That’s not a bad idea, actually. I’m not sure I want to open tumblr for the next six years.”

Phil cringed. “Me neither. Guys, please try not to go too crazy. I lost friends over the protip incident of 2016.”

Dan shuddered. “So many people refuse to talk to us now. I’m not even joking.”

“We appreciate the support!” Phil insisted.

“Just like, maybe on our videos instead of completely random ones,” Dan suggested.

Phil nodded. “Anyway, if you liked this video, please give it a thumbs up, or leave a comment. Like I said, Dan and I will be taking a short break from YouTube and social media for the wedding and honeymoon, but we’ll be back soon with plenty of content.”

“I don’t want to see any of your conspiracy theories about how we’re leaving YouTube out there, I promise it’ll only be like a month.”

“And that’s the normal amount of time between two Dan videos,” Phil interjected, “So-”

“Hey! I said I would upload this year.”

Phil smiled. “Never said you wouldn’t.”

***

“Count of three again?” Dan asked.

Phil nodded. “Three, two, one-”

“Goodbye!”

[gaming-rabbot]

Salmon Run and Presentation

A (not so) brief dissertation on narrative framing in video games, featuring Splatoon 2

With the holidays in full swing, I took advantage of a deal one day when I went into town, and finally got my hands on Splatoon 2. Having loved the prior game as much as I did, waiting this long to get the sequel felt almost wrong. But like many another fellow meandering corpus of conscious flesh, I am made neither of time nor money.

Finally diving in, I figured I might take this excuse to remember that I write game reviews, sometimes. You know, when the tide is high, the moon blue, and the writer slightly less depressed. I ended up scrapping my first couple drafts, however. You see, a funny thing was happening; I kept veering back into talking about Salmon Run, the new optional game mode the sequel introduces.

Also I might look at the Octo Expansion later, on its own. After I get around to it…

Look, the base game already has a lot of content to explore, and as previously stated, I am sadly corporeal, and not strung together with the metaphysical concept of time itself.

My overall thoughts, however, proved brief, so I’ll try to keep this short.

(Mild spoilers coming along.)

Gameplay wise, I think the story mode is much improved upon by handing you different weapons for certain levels which were specifically built with them in mind. Whereas the prior game left you stuck with a variant of the starter splattershot all the way through. This keeps things interesting, pushes me outside of my comfort zone, and it’s a good way to make sure players will come from a well-informed place when deciding what weapon they want for multiplayer; which, let’s face it, is the real meat of these games and where most players are going to log the most time.

I also love the way bosses are introduced with the heavy drums and rhythmic chants and the dramatic light show. It endows the moment with a fantastic sense of gravitas, and manages to hype me up every time. Then the boss will have an aspect of their design which feels a bit silly or some how rather off, keeping the overall tone heavily grounded in the toony aesthetics the series already established for itself.

Narratively, I felt rather okay about the story aspect of Story Mode. The collectible pages in the levels still have a certain amount of world building, though this time it seems more skewed toward explaining what pop culture looks like in this world, such as, an allusion to this world’s equivalent to Instagram.

Cynical as it is…

That’s definitely still interesting in its own right, though perhaps it’s less of a revelatory gut-punch as slowly piecing it together that the game takes place in the post-apocalypse of Earth itself, and the inklings copied ancient human culture.

We still got some backstory for this game’s idol duo, though. And that, I appreciate. It means Pearl and Marina still feel like a part of this world, rather than seeming obligatory for the sake of familiarity, given the first game had an idol duo as well.

Meanwhile, perhaps it is a bit obvious that Marie’s cousin, Callie, has gone rogue, and that she is the mysterious entity cracking into the radio transmissions between her and Agent 4. If I recall correctly, that was a working theory that came about with the first trailer or two. That, or she had died.

As soon as Marie says aloud she wonders where Callie has gone, I knew right away. And that’s just in the introduction.

That said, on some level, after stomaching through certain other games and such that actively lie or withhold information to force an arbitrary plot twist for plot twist sake, it feels almost nice to go back to a narrative that actually bothers to foreshadow these things. Plus, having gotten already invested in Callie as a character from the first game, I still felt motivated to see the story through to find out why she went rogue. And, loving the Squid Sisters already, there was a hope in me that she could be redeemed, or at least understood. In terms of building off the prior game’s story, Splatoon 2 is moderately decent.

Also, I mean, c’mon. The big narrative drive might be a tad predictable, but hey, this game is for kids. It’s fine.

That, I think, is something I love the most about Splatoon. Despite feeling like you’re playing in a Saturday morning cartoon, and being aimed primarily at children, it doesn’t shy away from fairly heavy subjects. Such as the aforementioned fact that the humans are all long dead and you’re basically playing paintball in the ruins of their consumerist culture.

Which brings me to what fascinates me so much about Splatoon 2: the way in which Salmon Run is framed.

You see, on the surface, Salmon Run appears to be your typical horde mode; a cooperative team (typically comprised of randoms) fights off gaggles of foes as they take turns approaching their base in waves. Pretty standard for online shooters these days, as was modernly popularized by Gears of War 2, and Halo ODST.

I say “modernly,” as the notion of fighting enemies as they approach in waves is not exactly a new concept for mechanical goals within video games. Rather, the term itself, as applied to multiplayer shooters, “horde mode,” became a point of game discussion when Gears of War 2 introduced the new game mode by that same name back in… 2008?

No, no that can’t be right. I played Gears 2 back in high school (I had worse taste back then, okay?). Which, from my perspective, was basically yesterday. That game being ten years old would mean I myself am old now, and that just can’t be. I’m hip. I’m young.

I am, to stay on theme here, fresh.

But okay, existential crises and game talk terms aside, the writing team behind Splatoon 2 probably decided to absolutely flex when it came to the narrative surrounding Salmon Run. It is one of the most gleaming examples of the nontraditional things you can do with writing in video games, to really elevate the experience.

Let me explain.

You see, narrative in video games typically falls into one of two categories: either the story sits comfortably inside of the game, utilizing it like a vehicle to arrive at the destination that is its audience’s waiting eyes and ears. Or the narrative, on some level, exists rather nebulously, primarily to provide something resembling context for why the pixels look the way they do, and why the goals are what they are.

Not to say this is a binary state of existence for game writing; narrative will of course always provide context for characters, should there be any. It’s primarily older, or retro games that give you a pamphlet or brief intro with little in the way of worrying over character motivation, and the deeper philosophical implications of the plot, etc (though not for lack of trying). These would be your classic Mario Bros. and what have you, where the actual game part of the video game is nearly all there is to explore in the overall experience.

Then you have games like Hotline Miami that purposely sets up shop right in the middle to make a meta commentary about the state of game narrative, using the ideological endpoint of violent 80’s era action and revenge-fantasy genre film as inspiration and the starting point to draw comparison between the two. It’s bizarre, and I could drone on about this topic.

But I digress.

Despite falling into that latter category, that is to say having mainly just an introduction to the narrative context so you can get on with playing the game, Salmon Run is a stellar example of how you can make every bit of that context count (even if it does require the added context of the rest of the game, sort of, which I’ll explain, trust me).

First, a (very) brief explanation of how the game itself works, for the maybe three of you who haven’t played it yet.

A team of up to four inklings (and/or octolings) have a small island out in open waters. Salmonid enemies storm the beaches from various angles in waves. Each wave also comes with (at least) one of eight unique boss variants, who all drop three golden eggs upon defeat. Players are tasked with gathering a number of said golden eggs each round, for three rounds, after which their failure or success in doing so shows slow or fast progress towards in-game rewards.

And it’s all an allegory for the poor treatment of labor/workers, utilizing the fishing industry as both an example and a thematically appropriate analogue. Yes, I’m serious.

First, Salmon Run is not available through the main doors like the other multiplayer modes. Rather, it is off to the side, down a dingy looking alley. And when you’re shown its location, either because you finally entered the Inkopolis plaza for the first time, or because the mode has entered rotation again, Marina very expressly describes it as a job.

A job you should only do if you are absolutely, desperately hard strapped for cash. You know, the sort of job you turn to if, for one reason or another, you can’t find a better one.

An aside: technically, playing Salmon Run does not automatically net you in-game currency, with which to buy things, as regular multiplayer modes do. Rather, your “pay” is a gauge you fill by playing, which comes with reward drops at certain thresholds; some randomized gacha style capsules, and one specific piece of gear which gets advertised, to incentivize playing.

The capsules themselves drop actual paychecks in the form of aforementioned currency, or meal tickets to get temporary buffs that help you progress in the multiplayer faster via one way or another. Which, hey, you know, that helps you earn more money also. Working to get “paid,” so you can get things you want, though, still works perfectly for the metaphor it creates.

When I first saw it open up for rotation, I found out you had to be at least a level four to participate. Pretty par for the course, considering it’s the same deal with the gear shops. But, again, it’s all in the presentation; Mr. Grizz does not simply say something akin to the usual “you must be this tall to ride.” He says he cannot hire inexperienced inklings such as yourself, because it’s a legal liability.

After returning with three extra levels, I was handed off to basic, on-the-job training. Which is only offered after Mr. Grizz (not ever physically present, mind you, but communicating with you via radio), the head of Grizzco, uses fairly typical hard sell rhetoric when it comes to dangerous, or otherwise undesirable work: calls you kid, talks about shaping the future and making the world a better place, refers to new hires as “fresh young talent,” says you’ll be “a part of something bigger than yourself.” You know, the usual balancing act of flattery, with just the right amount of belittlement.

Whoa, hang on, sorry; just had a bad case of deja vu from when the recruiter that worked with the ROTC back in high school tried to get me to enlist… several times… Guess he saw the hippie glasses and long hair and figured I'd be a gratifying challenge.

The fisher imagery really kicks in when you play. Which, I figure a dev team working out of Japan might have a pretty decent frame of reference for that. A boat whisks you out to sea with your team, and everyone’s given a matching uniform involving a bright orange jumper, and rubber boots and gloves. If you've ever seen the viral video of the fisherman up to his waist in water telling you not to give up, you have a rough idea. Oh, and don't forget your official Grizzco trademark hats.

It’s on the job itself where a lot of what I'm talking about comes up the most; that is to say, despite buttering you up initially, Mr. Grizz shows his true colors pretty quickly. While playing, he seems to only be concerned with egg collecting, even when his employees are actively hurting. This is established and compounded by his dialogue prior to the intermediate training level, in which informs you about the various boss fish.

Before you can do anything remotely risky, even boss salmonid training, Mr. Grizz tells you he has to go over this 338 page workplace health and safety manual with you. But, oops, the new hire boat sounds the horn as you flip to page 1, so he sends you off unprepared. “Let’s just say you’ve read it,” he tells you, insisting that learning by doing is best.

This flagrant disregard employee safety, in the name of met quotas; the fact we never see Mr. Grizz face to face, making him this vague presence that presides over you, evaluating your stressed performance with condescension; that we are not simply given the rewards as we pass thresholds to earn them, having to instead speak with another, unknown npc for our pay… It all drives toward the point so well.

The icing on the cake for me is when a match ends. You, the player, are not asked if you’d like to go back into matchmaking for another fun round of playtime. Rather, you are asked if you would like to “work another shift.”

The pieces all fit so well together. I shouldn’t be surprised that, once a theme is chosen, Splatoon can stick to it like my hand to rubber cement that one time. It has already proven it can do that much for sure. But it’s just so… funny? It’s bitterly, cynically hilarious.

Bless the individual(s) who sat in front of their keyboard, staring at the early script drafts, and asked aloud if they were really about to turn Mr. Grizz into a projection of all the worst aspects of the awful bosses they’ve had to deal with in life. The answer to that question being “yes” has led to some of my favorite writing in a video game.

All of these thoughts, as they started forming in my skull, really began to bubble when I noticed Salmon Run shifts become available during my first Splatfest.

Splatfest is, to try and put it in realistic terms, basically a huge, celebratory sporting event. Participation nets you a free commemorative t-shirt and access to a pumping concert featuring some of the hottest artists currently gracing the Inkopolis charts.

The idea, the notion, that a hip young inkling (or octoling) might miss out on one of the biggest parties of the year because they need money more than they need fun? It’s downright depressing.

It got me thinking. I looked at my fellow egg collectors. In-universe, we were a bunch of teen-to-young-adult aged denizens missing out on all the fun because we desperately needed the cash. We became stressed together, overworked together, yelled at by our boss together. But in those sweetest victories, where we’d far surpassed our quota? We celebrated together.

Spam-crouching, and mashing the taunt, something changed. I felt a greater sense of comradery with these squids and octos than I did in nearly any other coop game. And it’s all thanks to the rhetorical framing of the game mode.

It accomplishes so many things. It’s world building which wholistically immerses you in the setting. But mainly, its dedication to highly specific word choice does exactly what I mentioned earlier: it elevates the experience to one I could really sit down and think about, rather than use to while away the hours, then move on to something else. So many games make horde modes that feel inconsequential like that; it’s just for fun.

There’s nothing wrong with fun being the only mission statement for a game, or an optional mode of play. But this is exactly what I mean when I say this is the nontraditional writing games can do so much more with. And Splatoon 2 saw that opportunity, and took it. And what a fantastic example of bittersweet, cold reality, in this, a bright, colorful game meant mainly for children…

Happy Holidays, everyone!

[thedanasaurous]

Wooo! So I’m finally back with my new fancy Decades Challenge! And my obligatory intro post

Since starting (and bailing) on the Midnight Sun Challenge which was set sometime in the 1920′s, I realised I wanted to do something more historical- I did begin to set up a History Challenge....but I’m more of a fan of more recent history and so I decided I would do the Decades Challenge- with a twist!

So I am following these rules for the most part, but if there is something you must know about me and challenges- I am not much for actual rules? Specially since some of the rules kind of irk me a little in terms of historical accuracy- but then again, I am not following an American timeline in this challenge so it some of the rules may be more of an America thing!!

I’ll be following the general ideas of the Decades up until the 1950s then things might change up a little bit because I am going to be following a more British Themed Decades challenge which means some things in the rules I have linked above will change. For example: In the 1890′s the rules say you can only have a wooden floors and wooden wallpaper- since in the UK, Victorian Houses unless you were Working > Lower Class, wallpaper was used to decorate the home- obviously, the richer you were, the more fancy the wallpaper. So yes, there will be wallpaper in the 1890′s- do I know that’s against the rules? Yes, but as I said, not a stickler for rules and I am doing a more British Rule set. I’d explain all the differences but we’d be here years....if you have a query, leave me an ask :) 

In terms of timing, I’m using 1 Sim Seasonal Year as my guide. Each season is set at 7 days in my game, so each ‘decade’ will be Spring-Spring as this makes more sense to me- and since I’m not a huge fan of babies...I’ll age them up after 1 day as I am set on Normal. There may be also some small changes to the aging of toddlers/children too? But I’m getting to specific. 

I have also decided to start in 1889, to give my sims a year of set up. I will have ageing turned off but I have a few goals I want to do start up so that when we hit the 1890′s, we’re already kind of moving....

And before I even start, basically- so this is still fun and doesn’t become a chore- each generation- I will ONLY be giving new Decade makeovers to the generation who becomes adults in that Decade. So for example- If Bob is born in the 1910′s but becomes an adult in 1920 then he will adopt 1920′s fashion but when the 1930′s roles around, he won’t change his style but his son, Iggy, will. This is done for 2 reasons- 1) I don’t spend 6 weeks giving everyone makeovers only to play for a few weeks and then spend another 6 weeks giving everyone makeovers & 2) It is, I feel, more accurate as older generations usually didn’t conform to the current decades trends unless they were super duper trendy and there will probably be some exceptions to this rule...or I’ll ignore my own advice and give everyone makeovers anyway.....heh 

Without further ado! I formally introduce to you, Charlotte Louise Logan, our founder. 

[spaceorphan18]

Finding Kurt Hummel: Previously Unaired Christmas

Masterpost

5x08: Previously Unaired Christmas

Look - it’s no secret that I am not a fan of this episode.  It still makes my stomach twist a little for reasons that I can’t entirely articulate (and I suspect are far more personal than any real issue the episode presents).  I know people are split on either loving this episode or hating this episode - maybe doing this will help me figure out what’s really going on.  

I, personally, have two issues with the whole thing. (The second one I’ll explain within the narrative of the episode.)  The first is that it does kind of feel like an FU to pretty much everyone.  I don’t necessarily think it’s to the fans explicitly (though the stuff with Kurt kinda feels like that), but in general, I’m guessing they were forced into a holiday episode that they didn’t really want to do by the network.  Because more so, the nastiness towards Christmas feels like that.  

I also have to wonder if Cory’s passing plays a small part.  I mean - this is cracky Glee - it’s been cracky Glee for a while now.  We just had an episode about puppets, twerking, and dressing up in bizarre Lady Gaga outfits.  The show has been kind of off the rails for most of season 5, and this episode almost feels like the climax of that (after the break - things feel a little more...normal?)  

Anyway - I don’t know exactly how we ended up here - but I kind of wish that Glee didn’t end it’s Christmas run on a, well, whatever this note is.  

Oh! And one last thing.  At this point - season six was not shortened.  I wonder if they had another, more heartfelt, Christmas episode idea for their final one.  Hmmm.  

What If

We open with Jane Lynch talking about how this was a secret hidden away episode.  And I’m bringing it up because this whole set up seemed to confuse everyone.  No - this was most definitely not a lost episode, nor do I think it’s any more or less controversial than anything else they did on the show.  (I do think the writers didn’t give a flying fuck - and were warning about that...)  

However, this whole intro does seem to make things confusing.  Yes - it’s set in season 4.  Yes - I’ll bet they did, at some point, come up with the Rough Trade Santa thing the previous year, and just discarded it until now.  However, shout out to @ckerouac for bringing up the point that -- if Glee wanted to go cracky, they could have gone so much further.  I mean if you’re going to go AU - why not do something entirely wacky.  They kind of did in Glee, Actually with Artie’s fantasy.  So, I’m kind of in agreement.  Why bring it back to season 4 (other than you have newbies you have to deal with).  Why not shoot it into the future, or just switch everyone’s bodies again.  Glee can go that extra mile, why not?  Who knows.  

Meanwhile - I need to state that this did not happen in the main timeline.  It could have (sort of - there are so many continuity errors that it hurts my head).  But it did not.  This is completely AU.  And really, I could skip it if I really wanted to.  I’m going through it just the same because a) for completeness sake - it’d bother me if I didn’t, b) there are some interesting Kurt-meta points that I think are worth bringing up.  

That long winded, probably unnecessary preamble aside - here we go. 

Grandma Moses

So.  We open on the New York side with Santana crashing at the loft, buying Kurt weird doll heads and tickets to Dildo island.  (Are we being edgy yet - the writers ask? Just you wait ;))  Okay, so this scene kind of sets up what the whole New York act is supposed to be about.  It seems they want to address two specific things about Kurt (that I have at least seen in criticisms, and I’m pretty sure the writers did, too)  -- a) That he didn’t have enough of a “normal teenage reaction” to his break up with Blaine and b) that Kurt is an old grandma, desexualized gay.  

Well.  Glee being in its FU mode is going to rectify that - just not in the way that’s going to satisfy anyone (I shouldn’t generalize - I know there are people who love this episode, my regards).  

And - in a FWIW thought, Kurt is an old grandma.  He always has been.  That’s just part of the make up of the character.  

The point, however, of Santana’s little monologue of exposition here is to set the stage for what’s going to happen in the rest of the episode.  It reminds me of the Tattooo Guy in The End of Twerk - telling Kurt that if he’s going to go nuts, he has to go all out.  

[2 asides - 1. Santana is also getting rewritten break up stuff (I’m guessing in response to criticism), as they seem to retcon a ton about the Brittana break up.  2. This whole story seems to be a commentary about Kurt specifically, and not really about Blaine?  Blaine seems to be fine this entire episode - though he’s barely shown because he’s off screen with some weird yule log obsession ;)]  

Meanwhile - Rachel has gotten them all jobs as elves at the mall.  Which - I suppose makes sense.  Oh! And weirdly enough - there’s no discussion from Rachel about her own break up with Finn (which makes sense because of Cory), or about Brody, or Cassie, or any of the stuff that happened to Rachel in season 4.  Weird, right? Nah, she’s just a backdrop to the Kurt and Santana stuff.  I will say - Rachel saying that she’ll be the best Jewish Elf ever made me laugh. 

Bad Santa

Ah, the one highlight of the episode - Chris Kurt in that elf costume.  It was like he was born to play an elf.  Lol 

Anyway - they get to the mall, and Santa’s late, and drunk.  (Not really here for bad santa - but his line about them in an ‘equity card’ mindset had me laughing.)  So, of course Rachel takes charge and they try to calm the audience with Here Comes Santa Claus. It’s -- perfectly fine.  In general, I find the music of the episode, with the exception of Love Child, somewhat uninspired.  Oh, right, this is a musical show, we have to have music.  Here’s a Christmas song.  

Of course, at the end, the kids aren’t charmed - they throw crap at them.  Yeah - we totally didn’t see this happen in season 2.  

I have read some meta about how Kurt, Rachel, and Santana are stand-ins for the writers here -- that whatever they do, it’s gonna get crap thrown at them.  (The thought is echoed at the end, too)  Oh! I have lots of thoughts on this, but I should probably save it for another post, cause it’s not really about Kurt.  

So -- the next day? Later that day? Santana goes and takes a bath...in the loft? I have no idea what the time line is.  I haven’t watched the Lima side of this episode since it aired.  Anyway, Kurt and Rachel call her up and beg her to help them.  Santana gives another obligatory joke about Kurt being an old grandma - born to play Mrs. Claus.  (Um, Santana - I think we’ve established that Kurt was born to be that Elf.)  

Oh - this still says so much....

Santana arrives as Mrs. Claus and proceeds to be a bitch to little people under ten.  Kurt and Rachel rightfully look horrified.  Sorry.  I don’t like this sequence.  It’s mean spirited and awful.  I don’t think it’s funny when adults are mean to innocent kids.  Moving on...

And....then we have the arrival of “Sexy Santa” Cody.  (Dude - this guy is totally skeevy to me -- who arrives at a mall without a shirt? But whatever)  And the rest of this plot line gets played out like half baked smutty fanfiction.  

I will say this -- I do think all of this is completely in character for Kurt.  Remember Ricky Martin in season 3?  This is essentially the same reaction from Kurt.  Kurt finds lots of guys attractive -- and he is allowed to react to it.  (And we’re in cracky mode - this is totally played up for laughs, in the same way it was when Ricky Martin guest starred.) 

This is also not one of my issues with the episode. 

Anyway - Cody wants to “get to know” his elves before he helps them.  Ew.  Kurt those abs are clouding your judgment, buddy. 

That Godawful Chipmunk Song

Santana once again reminds Kurt that he’s a stick in the mud and convinces him to spike his own eggnog.  And then Cody arrives.  Again.  Shirtless.  **rolls eyes**  And obviously scoping out the place so he can rob it.  Maybe that’s part of the reason I can’t really get on board with Kurt hooking up with him.  Cause it’s obvious that this guy is gross and going to be bad.  Yuck. 

Anyway, we all know what a light weight Kurt is - and within a few sips of cooking sherry and eggnog, he’s all flirty mcdrunk pants.  

So - this whole Chipmunk thing - in bulletted form because my brain is currently working better that way... 

I, personally, think this song is dumb.  Sorry.  

It creates this super weird adult/kid vibe between Cody and the loftmates, which I find uncomfortable.  

Cody is obviously playing this all up because he’s going to rob them - which makes his actions later really awful.  

Trashed Kurt with anyone else (especially Blaine, but anyone really) would have been hilarious in just about any other context.  

Chris, obviously, had a lot of fun filming this - so I’ll let him have that.  

The point where SO goes on her diatribe - so feel free to skip

Oh, where to start.  

1. Cody is taking advantage of a incredibly drunk, barely legal teenager in order steal from him. I don’t think the writers put a whole lot of thought into it -- other than saying ‘hey, we can make Kurt a sexual creature’, but I do think it was kind of in bad taste. 

2.  I wasn’t personally offended by it - but there were a lot of people who were (especially when it gets to the being tied up, and Kurt telling Cody no), and a lot of people telling them to get over it because it was cracky glee.  The whole hoopla over that in fandom has always left a bad taste in my mouth.  

3. Gross Cody stuff aside, no I don’t think this is out of character for Kurt.  Kurt’s in a bad place about breaking up with Blaine -- and after being pushed by Santana hard enough, having enough alcohol in him, and being presented with the opportunity, Kurt’s trying to get out of his shell a bit and enjoy himself.  He’s perfectly right to do so, and I do think it makes sense that someone going through a hardship like a rough break up with a first love would try something new -- especially being a first time college student with no limitations. 

4. What about “you matter” and baby penguin Kurt?  Well - first of all, I don’t think Kurt has ever been a baby penguin, and I’m going to spend a lot of the second half of season 5 talking about Kurt being very much a sexual being.  I also think that Kurt does and will always be particular about sex -- again, the writers had to get Kurt incredibly drunk and in a very specific situation for this to even present itself.  I don’t think it’s that Kurt can’t (or won’t) have casual sex, but more so that it means more to him when it’s with someone he loves.  Had this not been a throwaway episode intent on being offensive and cracky, that thought might have been explored. 

5. It cracks me up that they kind of even half-assed Kurt being a sexual being.  Sure, Cody’s half naked in-between Kurt’s legs.  It’s more of a slight of hand, though.  The kissing is a) cut away from very quickly, and b) barely kissing (the first part when Santana and Rachel come in isn’t really even kissing - it’s like stage kissing, where you kiss their cheek, it looks like making out, but it’s not).  The whole thing looks way more provocative than it really is. 

6. I do think it’s unfortunate that they didn’t let Kurt be this provocative and flirty (and handsy) with anyone else on the show.  I do think Kurt has hotter moments (with Blaine - in various episodes, I can name them for you if you like).  But the whole being overtly sexual and gay and somewhat naked is limited throughout the show (this goes for Brittana, too, for that matter, and even the Quinn/Santana hook up - they were mostly covered and a good four feet from each other on that bed). 

6B. As an aside, though -- Glee doesn’t do overtly sexual very often, and nearly every time they do it’s for comedy.  It makes me wonder if there was some kind of limitations in general.  I mean, Finchel never got a mostly naked sex scene either - though Blaine and Brittany did -- for comedy.  

7. I do think there’s an interesting story about season 4 Kurt dealing with his break up -- which would have included more intimate moments with Adam, and/or other people.  But that wasn’t the story they chose.  

7B. I do think, ultimately, this was the writers saying - well we could have written that story - but we prefer the one we are doing.  I think it’s in part of the whole FU thing they were going for.  I mean, even for people who wanted to see Kurt get more action -- he’s going to get punished for it in a sec, so even that feels like a bit of an FU.  

Moving on... the next morning Santana and Rachel wake up to find that they’ve been robbed and Kurt is tied up.  

Kurt does say that when he said no to a sexual thing - Cody got aggressive and tied him up.  That is leaning on sexual assault there, show.  Again - I’m not personally offended, but I also don’t think it’s funny either.  

Oh, as an aside I want to mention the whole thrown in joke there about Kurt being sexy to kiss because it’s like he has no kiss (geez, is it just me or is there a blow job joke in there somewhere?) it is a comment on Chris’s physical attributes.  So, calm down people when we get to Santana’s rant in season six.  Every character gets pot shots about their looks. It’s part of being an actor in general.    

Go Feel Shame

It’s...the next day? And Kurt’s talking to Santana (seeming much more Kurt like than the rest of the episode) about how he just wanted to let loose and feel better.  (Well, alcohol rarely helps with that kiddo - but it’s a lesson nonetheless.)  It’s interesting that he says he feels ashamed (he shouldn’t - but I can see why he would).  And he also doesn’t want Blaine to know, ever.  (An odd comment for something that is an AU)  

I do understand some people’s thoughts that they wished Kurt had had a better experience about letting loose a little (and in some ways he did -- I mean that was what The End of Twerk was about).  And I agree in that not every poor decision in your life needs to be met with shame and being robbed.  

But I do think it’s also Glee’s way of saying - hey, we did hear you - and we’re going to continue to tell the story our way.  

They all look really lovely in this scene.  Rachel has a new gig for them - singing behind a wall of glass.  

It’s the fourth wall -- Kurt, Santana, and Rachel are the writers again.  It’s probably better that they stay there for their own safety.  But also - this episode is what happens when that wall is broken down between creators and fandom - a weird mess of....whatever this is.  

Oh! One last final side thought -- no, there’s no Klaine duet.  That doesn’t bother me within the context of this story - it wouldn’t have made sense anywhere.  That said, I’m sorry they didn’t get a final duet.  I think Winter Wonderland would have been a nice conclusion for them.  Let’s take a moment and lament that there was no season six Christmas episode to end on a high note with. 

Time to move on to the regular story at hand.  

[fireflyluna]

Joplin Contractor’s License Bond

The below post is a good intro to bid bonds. Bid bonds, as you understand, are bonds used in the building and construction industry. These bonds guarantee that if someone bids on a task, and is granted the agreement, then they will move forward with performing under the terms of the arrangement.

See the below short article for more excellent details. You can see the initial article here: https://swiftbonds.com/license-permit-bonds/contractors-license-bond-joplin/

Joplin Contractor’s License Bond

What is a Contractor’s License Bond in Joplin?

A Contractor’s License Bond is a type of license bond. The purpose of the bond is to protect the state or governmental entity for certain things, such as the payment of taxes.

To get this bond, please see our Contractor’s License Bond Application Form. Fill this out and mail to mike@swiftbonds.com

You can also Apply On Line by clicking on this link.

How Much does a Contractor’s License Bond Cost in Joplin?

Just fill out the form below and we’ll have you a quote in a few hours – at the absolute best possible rate.

How do I get a Contractor’s License Bond?

We make it easy to get a Contractor’s License Bond in Joplin. Fill out the form above and we’ll get right on this for you.

How Does this Process Work in Missouri?

Once we get the Contractor’s License Bond application back from you, we process it right away. We typically have an answer within a few hours. Once you get approved, we’ll let you know the exact fee. Then:

You send us the fee

We send you the bond

For certain bonds, we may send you original forms to fill out (depends on the type of bond)

Then we’ll get the Contractor’s License Bond right out to you. Easy.

Joplin Contractor’s License Bond Application Form Fill this out and mail to mike@swiftbonds.com

Apply On Line

Find a Contractor’s License Bond Near Me

We’ll work as hard as possible to get you the bond that you need in Missouri.

Find out more about our Permit and License Bonds

An Investigation Of The Techniques When Looking At Permit Surety Bonds

To every business or professional operation entails in making profit, acquiring license and permit bonds are essential. It’s because the government frequently demands permit bonds to all business methods involving a client. Having a surety bond is necessary in order to obtain a license or permit for your professional or business methods. The surety bond allows a client to file a case against a contractor in case of non-compliance and recover particular sum of money for the insured portion of the project. In case the contractor is unable to deliver the required project result, he or she shall face legal action. On this article, we discuss the details, which include the importance, and the way to get a permit bond.

Other Kinds of Bonds

License And Permit Bonds

License and permit surety bond is the most common type of bond. This is why it’s an essential component when beginning a company. If you intend to begin a business or a certain operation in your city to obtain you some profit, you need a license. Before beginning your operation, it is important to learn first the demands of the government related to your company or profession. To be able to get a complete info on what you have to do, you’ll need to obtain a license and permit bonds. These bonds explain all the governing rules that you must comply with, helping you prevent the significant consequences that you may face when you violate them. With the help of a license and surety bond, it’ll be less difficult for you to obtain an authority to function in Kansas. There is a variety of license and permit bonds that you may obtain, including a contractor license bond.

Performance Bond

If you’d like to ensure that you get a sufficient project, including a building, it is very important to have a performance bond. When you employ a contractor to develop a building for you, you will need assurance that he or she will offer you the exact results you expect. The construction may be successful in a lot of cases due to the indemnity of a performance bond. In addition, you’ll still be reimbursed for a particular portion of the project should it break down, and even get another contractor to carry on the project. It is stated in the performance bond how much is insured in the project cost.

The Advantages Of License Bonds

To understand further the need for permit bonds, below are a few of its advantages.

License bonds restrict business processes, making certain that they’re fair and legal. Any company or contractor need to abide by the existing laws in order to run their operations effectively. If you plan to begin a company or professional service in Kansas, for example, you’ll need to get license and permit bond as mandated by the government. This permits the customers to secure their projects.

Permit bonds will ensure that each customer gets the best service. A professional should not fail to deliver. In case the contractor is unable to supply, the customer still has the right to recover specific amount and does not incur any loss. Instead, the bond will act as insurance to protect the customer from poor service.

Applying for A License And Permit Bond

Obtaining a license and permit bond isn’t that tough. Even so, there are only certain providers who are approved by law to issue these bonds. Listed here are some of the simple steps that you have to follow when acquiring a license and permit bond.

Online Form

Authorized issuing company has a secured login website. Therefore, you need to get an access first if you decide to get it online. Using your mobile or PC devices, you could access the form by searching through a web browser. Therefore, you must be connected to an Internet server to be able to access the online form. Nevertheless, for the best experience and most effective view, it’s advisable to make use of a computer. After you have accessed the platform, you may now proceed to the filling out of forms. Don’t be afraid to fill out the form. It is because there are guides that tell you whether you’re required to fill out the fields or you have an option not to.

A Quote

You are going to get a quote within seconds. The quote tells about the required amount to be paid when you obtain the bond. It also tells you that you’ve got successfully applied for the bond.

Payment

Using the available payment channels in the issuing company’s website, you should then make the payments after obtaining the quote. Now, you’re guaranteed to have an insured construction project.

Important Info About The License And Permit Bonds

Payment Rates

The rates charged are different for different bonds and different businesses. But, it does not cover the entire project cost, only a relative percentage. Instead, you will pay 1% of the whole bond’s worth.

Licensing Power

The bond serves as your client’s right to sue you in case of non-compliance. The bond is, consequently, an insurance which you pay in behalf of the customers to ensure them that you are going to provide the service or infrastructure project they need.

It’s essential to know all the rules and regulations of the government with regards to supplying professional and construction services. One of these is the need for a license and permit bond, which is necessary to ensure that you gain your clients’ trust and confidence for the merchandise and services that you offer.

See our Missouri Certificate of Title Bond page here.

A Much Deeper Look At Bid Bonds in Construction If awarded, a Bid Bond is a type of surety bond used to make sure that a specialist bidding on a project or job will get in into the contract with the obligee.

A Quote Bond is provided in the amount of the agreement quote, with the identical requirements as that of a Performance Bond.

All About Bid Bonds in Building The origins of our company was closely connected with the arrangement of efficiency bonds to the contracting market. It discovered that the personal contractor usually was insolvent when the task was awarded, or grew to end up being insolvent earlier than the difficulty was completed.

The standing of your surety firm is necessary, because it guarantees you that when you have troubles or if worse includes worst you'll have a trustworthy partner to rely on and get help from. We work only with A-rated and T-listed business, probably the most dependable corporations in the industry.

Usually no, they are separate. Nevertheless, bid bonds mechanically turn into efficiency bonds in case you are awarded the contract.

What Is A Building Surety Bond? The origins of our company was carefully related to the provision of performance bonds to the contracting industry. Even if some jobs do not require cost and performance bonds, you will require to get bonded lastly due to the fact that the bulk of public initiatives do need the bonds. The longer a little specialist waits to get bonded, the more durable it will be given that there will not be a observe report of fulfilling the obligatory requirements for bonding and performing bonded work.

It's your pre-authorized bond limitations. Bond stress embrace single and combination limitations. The only limit is the greatest bond you might get for one specific job. The aggregate limit is the whole quantity of bonded work offered you perhaps can have without delay.

The Importance Of Quote Bonds near You Arms, generators, radio towers, tree removal, computers, softward, emergency alarm, ornamental work, scaffolding, water towers, lighting, and resurfacing of existing roads/paved locations. Quote bonds in addition operate an extra warranty for task owners that a bidding contractor or subcontractor is certified to carry out the task they're bidding on. There are two causes for this.

https://swiftbonds.com/license-permit-bonds/contractors-license-bond-joplin/

[uhhhcool]

Joplin Contractor’s License Bond

The below post is a good intro to bid bonds. Bid bonds, as you understand, are bonds used in the building and construction industry. These bonds guarantee that if someone bids on a task, and is granted the agreement, then they will move forward with performing under the terms of the arrangement.

See the below short article for more excellent details. You can see the initial article here: https://swiftbonds.com/license-permit-bonds/contractors-license-bond-joplin/

Joplin Contractor’s License Bond

What is a Contractor’s License Bond in Joplin?

A Contractor’s License Bond is a type of license bond. The purpose of the bond is to protect the state or governmental entity for certain things, such as the payment of taxes.

To get this bond, please see our Contractor’s License Bond Application Form. Fill this out and mail to mike@swiftbonds.com

You can also Apply On Line by clicking on this link.

How Much does a Contractor’s License Bond Cost in Joplin?

Just fill out the form below and we’ll have you a quote in a few hours – at the absolute best possible rate.

How do I get a Contractor’s License Bond?

We make it easy to get a Contractor’s License Bond in Joplin. Fill out the form above and we’ll get right on this for you.

How Does this Process Work in Missouri?

Once we get the Contractor’s License Bond application back from you, we process it right away. We typically have an answer within a few hours. Once you get approved, we’ll let you know the exact fee. Then:

You send us the fee

We send you the bond

For certain bonds, we may send you original forms to fill out (depends on the type of bond)

Then we’ll get the Contractor’s License Bond right out to you. Easy.

Joplin Contractor’s License Bond Application Form Fill this out and mail to mike@swiftbonds.com

Apply On Line

Find a Contractor’s License Bond Near Me

We’ll work as hard as possible to get you the bond that you need in Missouri.

Find out more about our Permit and License Bonds

An Investigation Of The Techniques When Looking At Permit Surety Bonds

To every business or professional operation entails in making profit, acquiring license and permit bonds are essential. It’s because the government frequently demands permit bonds to all business methods involving a client. Having a surety bond is necessary in order to obtain a license or permit for your professional or business methods. The surety bond allows a client to file a case against a contractor in case of non-compliance and recover particular sum of money for the insured portion of the project. In case the contractor is unable to deliver the required project result, he or she shall face legal action. On this article, we discuss the details, which include the importance, and the way to get a permit bond.

Other Kinds of Bonds

License And Permit Bonds

License and permit surety bond is the most common type of bond. This is why it’s an essential component when beginning a company. If you intend to begin a business or a certain operation in your city to obtain you some profit, you need a license. Before beginning your operation, it is important to learn first the demands of the government related to your company or profession. To be able to get a complete info on what you have to do, you’ll need to obtain a license and permit bonds. These bonds explain all the governing rules that you must comply with, helping you prevent the significant consequences that you may face when you violate them. With the help of a license and surety bond, it’ll be less difficult for you to obtain an authority to function in Kansas. There is a variety of license and permit bonds that you may obtain, including a contractor license bond.

Performance Bond

If you’d like to ensure that you get a sufficient project, including a building, it is very important to have a performance bond. When you employ a contractor to develop a building for you, you will need assurance that he or she will offer you the exact results you expect. The construction may be successful in a lot of cases due to the indemnity of a performance bond. In addition, you’ll still be reimbursed for a particular portion of the project should it break down, and even get another contractor to carry on the project. It is stated in the performance bond how much is insured in the project cost.

The Advantages Of License Bonds

To understand further the need for permit bonds, below are a few of its advantages.

License bonds restrict business processes, making certain that they’re fair and legal. Any company or contractor need to abide by the existing laws in order to run their operations effectively. If you plan to begin a company or professional service in Kansas, for example, you’ll need to get license and permit bond as mandated by the government. This permits the customers to secure their projects.

Permit bonds will ensure that each customer gets the best service. A professional should not fail to deliver. In case the contractor is unable to supply, the customer still has the right to recover specific amount and does not incur any loss. Instead, the bond will act as insurance to protect the customer from poor service.

Applying for A License And Permit Bond

Obtaining a license and permit bond isn’t that tough. Even so, there are only certain providers who are approved by law to issue these bonds. Listed here are some of the simple steps that you have to follow when acquiring a license and permit bond.

Online Form

Authorized issuing company has a secured login website. Therefore, you need to get an access first if you decide to get it online. Using your mobile or PC devices, you could access the form by searching through a web browser. Therefore, you must be connected to an Internet server to be able to access the online form. Nevertheless, for the best experience and most effective view, it’s advisable to make use of a computer. After you have accessed the platform, you may now proceed to the filling out of forms. Don’t be afraid to fill out the form. It is because there are guides that tell you whether you’re required to fill out the fields or you have an option not to.

A Quote

You are going to get a quote within seconds. The quote tells about the required amount to be paid when you obtain the bond. It also tells you that you’ve got successfully applied for the bond.

Payment

Using the available payment channels in the issuing company’s website, you should then make the payments after obtaining the quote. Now, you’re guaranteed to have an insured construction project.

Important Info About The License And Permit Bonds

Payment Rates

The rates charged are different for different bonds and different businesses. But, it does not cover the entire project cost, only a relative percentage. Instead, you will pay 1% of the whole bond’s worth.

Licensing Power

The bond serves as your client’s right to sue you in case of non-compliance. The bond is, consequently, an insurance which you pay in behalf of the customers to ensure them that you are going to provide the service or infrastructure project they need.

It’s essential to know all the rules and regulations of the government with regards to supplying professional and construction services. One of these is the need for a license and permit bond, which is necessary to ensure that you gain your clients’ trust and confidence for the merchandise and services that you offer.

See our Missouri Certificate of Title Bond page here.

A Much Deeper Look At Bid Bonds in Construction If awarded, a Bid Bond is a type of surety bond used to make sure that a specialist bidding on a project or job will get in into the contract with the obligee.

A Quote Bond is provided in the amount of the agreement quote, with the identical requirements as that of a Performance Bond.

All About Bid Bonds in Building The origins of our company was closely connected with the arrangement of efficiency bonds to the contracting market. It discovered that the personal contractor usually was insolvent when the task was awarded, or grew to end up being insolvent earlier than the difficulty was completed.

The standing of your surety firm is necessary, because it guarantees you that when you have troubles or if worse includes worst you'll have a trustworthy partner to rely on and get help from. We work only with A-rated and T-listed business, probably the most dependable corporations in the industry.

Usually no, they are separate. Nevertheless, bid bonds mechanically turn into efficiency bonds in case you are awarded the contract.

What Is A Building Surety Bond? The origins of our company was carefully related to the provision of performance bonds to the contracting industry. Even if some jobs do not require cost and performance bonds, you will require to get bonded lastly due to the fact that the bulk of public initiatives do need the bonds. The longer a little specialist waits to get bonded, the more durable it will be given that there will not be a observe report of fulfilling the obligatory requirements for bonding and performing bonded work.

It's your pre-authorized bond limitations. Bond stress embrace single and combination limitations. The only limit is the greatest bond you might get for one specific job. The aggregate limit is the whole quantity of bonded work offered you perhaps can have without delay.

The Importance Of Quote Bonds near You Arms, generators, radio towers, tree removal, computers, softward, emergency alarm, ornamental work, scaffolding, water towers, lighting, and resurfacing of existing roads/paved locations. Quote bonds in addition operate an extra warranty for task owners that a bidding contractor or subcontractor is certified to carry out the task they're bidding on. There are two causes for this.

https://swiftbonds.com/license-permit-bonds/contractors-license-bond-joplin/

[evanvanness]

Week in Ethereum news, annotated edition

Now that Gitcoin grants is over, this is a shill-free intro.  Thanks to those who donated.  Still have a bunch of thank you notes to send, and don’t have contact info for some.  

I’ve been doing the annotated edition the day after, this one is 2 days after.  Not sure what cadence I like.  Perhaps it should be before?

Meanwhile I asked (on Twitter, naturally) whether I should create a separate Twitter account for Week in Ethereum News.  The early vote was solidly yes, but overnight it became no.

Eth1

Latest core devs call. Tim’s notes: lots of ungas talk

Geth v1.9.10 – light client checkpoint oracle, higher propagated transaction cap, bug fixes

Multiaddr, ENR and enodes: network addresses explainer

The notes/call are an interesting read.  They always are, but particularly this week if you think ungas and account versioning are interesting subjects.

Eth2

Latest what’s new in eth2

Latest Eth2 call. Notes from Mamy and Ben

Hsiao-Wei: Attestation aggregation in Eth2

Attestant: understanding the validator lifecycle

Runtime Verification formally verified the eth2 deposit contract

eth2stats

It’s been amusing to me how some parts of the investor community have gotten obsessed with the deposit contract.  Given how many people have been holding their ETH from the sale, I imagine that hitting 7 figures will not be difficult, so I don’t understand the obsession with deploying the deposit contract.  It’s not the limiting factor and never has been.

As I re-read Ben’s What’s New in Eth2, I realize that i’d like the annotated edition to be more like that.  But it’s not.

Layer2

Fuel’s testnet is in open beta, fraud proofs under 1m gas. Using colored coins (!)

Miner challenges Arbitrum is dealing with

How Loopring aims to make its zk rollup transactions composable on layer1

Jordi Baylina’s Iden3 zk rollup slides

Layer2 has been hard so far.  ETH and BTC’s original Raiden and Lightning channel networks have been slow to ship and failed to gain traction. Plasma has mostly fallen by the wayside, though there are teams finally putting Plasma variants into production that may produce interesting lessons.

It’s all rollup this week.  In part because rollup seems to offer an easier environment for app devs, and with less of the problematic “but” problems that Plasma had.  Channel networks are still coming (channels are already here), though I think it’s become clear to everyone that channel networks are quite complicated to get right.

It is a little amusing that Fuel is using colored UTXO coins, a la Bitcoin 2013.

Stuff for developers

Better Solidity debugging: console.log and stack traces

ABDK’s online tools: key of an address, calculate address pre-deploy, RLP encoder/decoder, encode/decode raw signed/unsigned transactions

Securify v2, free security scanner

Auditing your code with Web3j and its EVM

Sam Sun caught a vulnerability in Curve, which was solved by moving front end to a fixed version.

What are Burner Wallet Plugins? Customizing your popup event/economy

How to run your own xDai chain with arbitrary message bridge

web3connect v1beta.26 – a single web3 provider for all wallets

What does Truffle and WalletConnect mean?

a lightweight directory access protocol

Using CREATE2 explainer

Smart contracts on Austin Griffith’s eth.build

AirScript v0.6 and genSTARK v0.7 AirScript compiles to AirAssembly, which genSTARK uses to create a STARK

Lots of tools.  Mostly self-explanatory - good open source projects spin off tools.

Every Solidity developer is excited about better debuggers.  That’s been an issue for awhile.

Ecosystem

Year in Ethereum 2019 by Josh Stark and I

Scalability estimates for Waku (Status’s Whisper alternative)

A style guide for ethereum.org

<obligatory Jeb Bush please clap gif for Year in Ethereum>  And when I say “please clap” I mean “literally hold down the clap button on Medium” so that people see it outside of Eth diehards.

I’ve said it before, but as soon as Status is a viable alternative, I’m planning to delete my other messengers.  Messengers catch on because of “intolerant minorities” (to use Taleb’s phrase) who make others download a new messenger to communicate with them.

Enterprise

Key factors in choosing between Clique, Raft, and IBFT for private chains

Commodity giants consortium (Cargill, ADM, Glencore, Bunge, Dreyfus) chooses Quorum, Orchestrate and Kaleido for their tech stack

Governance and standards

EIP2315: JUMPSUB and RETSUB for simple EVM subroutines

EIP2489: deprecate GAS opcode

EIP2488: deprecate CALLCODE opcode

ERC2477: NFT metadata integrity

The DigixDAO voted for dissolution. TheLAO wants a DigixLAO

Social choice theory and voting on multiple outcomes

What to expect when summoning a MolochDAO

SignalDAO, a signalling DAO for Metacartel/MolochDAO using a Telegram bot doing web3 calls via Abridged SDK

Someone should write a history of DigixDAO.  One of the first big 3 ETH token sales (Augur, Digix, Maker), it just never really happened.  Probably some lessons in there about how early idealists gradually bump up against real world regulartions and with that much money at stake always choose the risk-averse path.  Given how much DGX the founders hold, they’re going to get a nice payday.  But who else remembers when the Digix founders were giving away 1 eth via a Reddit tip bot they created?

Application layer

Set Social Trading is live on mainnet. Automatically copy what your favorite trader is doing.

a URL shortener using ENS + the lightweight director access protocol referenced above in dev tools

How people are using Pepo, crypto’s TikTok

Ethernal: a text-based MUD. die and you lose your items!

There’s now over 100 million Dai

Rocket: get a loan against your NFTs, live on Ropsten testnet

Rho: a spec for a float to fixed automated market maker swap protocol

Synthetix: the state of Synthetix and 2020 roadmap adding ETH as collateral

This was a microcosm of what is happening on Ethereum at the app layer: DeFi, games, payments, and tokenization, and some mismash therein. 

I’m pretty excited about interest rate swaps.  Hope someone builds it.

Tokens/Business/Regulation

Davos was this week, so WEF issued a framework for Central Bank digital currencies in the age of blockchain

An onchain NFT for accredited investors

POAP event NFTs as a sybil-resistant identity layer

Tokenized real estate: purchase to settlement in 15 minutes with RealT

Bitcoiners often say things like “tokenized real estate doesn’t provide any benefits,” and they’re not entirely wrong, but getting to settlement in 15 minutes is a real benefit.

General

How not to critique Ethereum: a guide for Bitcoiners

A curated list of blockchain research papers

Benchmarking Brave vs Chrome/Firefox/Opera for speed and battery use

Chris Dixon: blockchains are computers that make commitments

This first said “a guide for lazy Bitcoiners,” but taking that out was my last edit before pressing send.  Magnanimity is a virtue.

Chris Dixon’s blog post is interesting to me because it’s nice to see people writing again for broader audiences.  In cryptowinter, the hype completely died.  The talent flowing into this space has slowed way down.   This isn’t bad in and of itself - things happen in cycles, no big deal, and it was time to deliver on some of the hype.    But with scalability solutions hitting, tooling much improved, and key management that is ready for mass adoption, it seems like the hype cycle is about to get started.

[gosweetcaramel99]

Just curious: fave games and top five Sonic characters?

*cracks knuckles* OK, let’s go!

Favorite Sonic Characters:1. Sonic, because he was the first introduction ever of who I am today, not to mention he literally inspired me a lot to keep on going, try new things, even shape my drawing (that is now a hobby) . I never felt so much imagination coming from this blue blur, and I seriously thank him for everything he has done in my life.

2. Shadow; at first, I grew fondly with him, but not that much when younger (while watching Sonic X) because I was a young smol bean that wasn’t that much in edginess or “ow the edge”. More like a pity. But recently, I have grown so much with him both as a character and gameplay wise because I could finally understand his way to be. Poor guy is dealing with PTSD, so he excludes himself (rationally) from getting experiences similar to those. Also, his dynamic with Team Dark is just priceless. When I watched Sonic heroes, I saw that side of him where he keeps his distance but it’s cool about it. But he still cares. He does things without the need of being obligued to, like, how can I explain? Bruh, I just go and enjoy his persona.

3. Maria Robotnik. OK, YOU KNOW THIS WAS COMING. Like, how can you not have a like for this young maiden? Poor girl she was suffering from NIDS, wanted to go to Earth so that Shadow and she could explore together, but never happened, as she sacrificed herself to send Shadow instead to be the hope for humanity. LIKE HOW CAN YOU NOT FEEL SOMETHING STINGING IN YOUR HEART WHEN THAT HAPPENED. She was too young, and had a life ahead that cut too short. But by the time she was living, she never had remorse, bitterness, and was selfless to open her heart towards a hybrid infused with Black Arms DNA, that was going to be her cure. She was such a massive influence on Shadow that is the reason why he allies from time to Sonic. To protect the Earth, the planet she could never be.

4. Silver, because despite of his stupidity and naive nature, he has good intentions. He has a gold heart. He just wanted a future where everyone could be happy. Hell, he was born in post-apocalyptic Sonic Forces beginning (I needed to x’D), and was too young to understand the perks of time traveling because he felt desperate to make a change. Also add the fact he’s super fluffy, like 2x than Shadow x’D .

5. Amy, because holy Jesus she’s so cute. Her design is simple, she can kick ass with a big ass hammer, and her personality is like the bubbly me from 5 years ago. She cab be of great help when needed, she’s strong, cheerful, independent. Hell, I even love the silly chases she does for Sonic. At first, I was super cringed about it, but over the years I learnt so much from her. Follow your sweet passion and show dem all boys you’re untouchable ;D

Now, for the games:

1. The Sonic Storybook Series. TOP 1, MMMM THAT SOME GOOD SHIT RIGHT THERE, CAN’T COMPLAIN ABOUT THE GAMEPLAY, BUT PLOT HAS GREAT CHARACTERIZATION OF SONIC AND STORY KICKS ASS. Both soundtracks are all day everyday in my playlist. It’s so good.

LET THE SPEED MEND IT 🎶

2.Sonic Unleashed. FOLLOWS AFTER, DEM GRAPHICS, STORY IS STEAMING GOOD, CHIP FOR GODDAMN SAKES THAT FLUFFBALL, SUPER MEGA FLUFFY TALL SONIC, CHARACTERIZATION IS ON FLEEK BOI. This is the second game that spams my playlist 24/7

3. Sonic Colors, Currently playing it, good and smooth gameplay, DEM CORNY JOKES OF BLUE ASS BOY, wisps are cute, plot could be better but DEM MUSIC IS MY MIXTAPE. The plot was there, just average executed. Could be better but it’s enjoyable 👌

4. Sonic CD, currently playing it, JAPANESE SOUNDTRACK OH MY GOD, it’s hella hard on mobile but it’s super fun exploring the past and to save little planet from the bad futures. But I have to admit, BLOODY HELL BAD FUTURE MUDIC HAS SOME GOOD VIBES. I’m trying to collect all time stoned but I can’t , BECAUSE ITS TOO HARD JESUS, but decided to explore instead.Having a good time 💕

5. Sonic Next Gen (2006) and Chronicles, OK OK HEAR ME OUT BEFORE YOU COME TO MY HOUSE AND KILL ME. There was some good plot there, they had it, but it was poorly executed. Like VERY. Nevertheless, gameplay is funny because of the wacky bugs, mediocre characterization, but let’s not forget SILVER WAS INTRODUCED, DREAMS OF ABSOLUTION, SHADOW STORY KICKS BETTER ASS, like ALL HAIL SHADOW 🎶. With Chronicles, I like the exploration RPG style, that was good, but fixing and tweaking many plot holes and interactions between characters could have made it a better enjoyable experience. Plus, I actually find it hilarious controlling Sonic being a salty jackass towards Shadow or Knuckles x’D

I have to add Sonic Adventure 2 because ITS HELLA GOOD STORY ,I want to escape from the city, haven’t played it but it’s in the bucket list, Punpkin hill jams, MOTHER FUCKIN CHAO GARDEN LIKE SO MUCH YES. Also that the dark themes that the game touched were accurate at the era.

I MAY ALSO ADD SONIC FORCES NAD MANIA BECAUSE OBLIGATORY LIKE OF THE INTRO SOUNDTRACK, BAD FUTURE (?), AND HOPING THAT THE STORY KICKS ASS ( Or at least have a logical enjoyable story )