#they lack the most basic of communication skills and are very weird your honor

[bitchapalooza]

Whenever I try to think of surveyshipping flirting it fails so its led me to believe neither can flirt so now I wonder how the fuck these two even got together lmao

[starlit-typewriter]

As a proud Fontainian citizen (lol), I love to see Fontaine's involvement in sagau. However, it's always only the ones with political power so basically Neuvillette, Furina when she's still acting as the Hydro Archon, Arlecchino (+the Fatui) and Wriothesley. I love them all dearly, but I wish to see more about Navia and Clorinde, they were both very present in the AQ and have both their own undeniable influence in Fontaine (one is THE Spina Di Rosula's boss and the other the #1 Champion Duelist in the whole country +Furina's bodyguard) (+they're both my pookies) Idk, it always feels weird not to see them, like the Creator/Impostor is around and you don't even see two of the most important people of Fontaine get involved??

(tbh I really want to see the others too, even if I have no idea what they could bring to the plot but Charlotte trying to uncover the truth and unexpectedly bumping into the Creator or finding out about Neuvillette & cie's plan and either joining in or info-dumping everything in the Steambird???? Why is nobody talking about Charlotte????)

Oooooh that is a very good point.

Honestly considering how new they are as characters I’m not surprised at the lack of content regarding them.

The arc on Fontaine is an interesting one to be sure.

I’ll see what I can do to include these ladies into the story.

I have plans for Navia and Clorinde, I’m unsure whether or not they’d end up as POV characters, but they will be there.

The most interesting thing about Fontaine is that it is very much a land of humans, or more precisely a land without “gods”.

Even during the rule of Furina, she was less of a figure of authority and worship in the same way the other Archons are.

No churches or shrines in her honor unlike Barbados and Raiden Shogun.

No festivals or events like with Kusanali and Rex Lapis.

While there is the Furina film festival, that’s named after her skill as an actress rather than her position as their Archon.

It is so very human.

Of course there are Melusines, but they’re not creatures of legends such as the Adepti, the Youkai, four winds of Mondstadt or the Aranara.

It is truly removed from The Seven.

Which makes sense as it is ruled by the Hydro Sovereign.

But that also means it’s humans are much more removed from the Archons and as a result, Celestia.

What that will mean for this story you’ll just have to wait and see.

There is a theme for who gets blessed. It’s not based off of what characters I have, at least not completely.

Clorinde and Navia are both so intrinsically human and have such vital roles in the community that, well. . .

It will be a very interesting dynamic for character development.

Because there will be character development, believe me.

My only concern is with Charlotte. Since she’s such an Ace reporter, should our lovely Creator bump into them, well I mean it’s a scoop but it will also rock the foundations of Teyvat and might lead to ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ .

But I do have a couple of ideas for an extra featuring her. No promises though!

However since you are a fontainian I do feel the need to warn you of the oncoming weather.

I fear once the Fontaine arc begins you’d best shut your doors and prepare for rain.

[imperfekti]

Tenipuri Party: Tezuka Kunimitsu profile translation

TN:

In the absence of an official English version, this translation is intended to help those who can’t read the material in the original language. Please support Tenipuri by getting your own copy of this book - it is worth it! There are various ways of purchasing it even for those not living in or visiting Japan.

The pictures I have included in this post do not show full pages.

On the translation: this time I’m aiming for a more direct, “Japanese-sounding” translation to share the mood of the content more as it is. This will probably cause some sentences to appear weird in English.

On Tezuka’s style of speech: his word choices and sentence structures are mostly polite and serious.

I’m still working on Japanese, so there might be mistakes. Please let me know if you spot any translation errors so I can fix them here!

Tezuka Kunimitsu

U-17 German representative player Seishun Gakuen Middle-school player

Beyond the imagined future - the released challenger!!

Message

“For the support every day, I’m grateful. For the sake of becoming a professional, and for the sake of my tennis, I intend to earnestly keep confronting myself. I think you are the same. In the future as well, together. Let’s go without carelessness.”

Extra prize: A voucher for two at a high-class mountaintop hotel “An undeserved honor. I’m focusing on tennis right now, but… If I can make the time, I will gratefully use it. For two, huh…”

Profile

[DATA] Middle-school 3rd year / October 7th (Libra) / Blood type O / 179 cm / 58 → 61 kg / Left-handed

Special techniques: Drop shot, zero shiki drop shot, Muga no kyouchi, Hyakuren jitoku no kiwami, Saiki kanpatsu no kiwami, Tenimuhou no kiwami, Tezuka zone, Tezuka phantom, Zero shiki serve

Playstyle: All-rounder

Family: Grandfather, father, mother

Father’s occupation: company employee (business) (grandfather is a judo instructor for the police)

Hobbies: Mountain climbing, camping, fishing

Favourite saying: The enemy is within yourself

Favourite color: Green or blue

Favourite food: unacha (a dish with eel carefully broiled in soy-based sauce), Räucheraal (TN: smoked eel)

Favourite book: German-Japanese-German dictionary (to carry with him)

Favourite music: Classical (Beethoven)

Preferred type of person: Trying not to think about it at the moment.

Preferred date spot: Zugspitze

Most wanted item: A mountain model kit

Things he’s bad at/with: Being idle, colourful cakes

Elementary school: Seishun Dai Daiichi Elementary School

Committee: Student council president

Strong subjects: World history

Weak subjects: None

Often visited place in school: The library

Uses allowance on: Books

Skill outside tennis: Woodworking, preparing fish for cooking

Routine during tournament: Keeping a diary in German, watching foreign comedy-dramas.

Favourite anniversary: 23rd August

Preferred travel destination: Macchu Picchu ruins and Huayna Picchu

Present for a special person: Writing a letter of gratitude

Scenes

Injuries, seizing the nationals… Tezuka Kunimitsu overcame numerous challenges that waited for him and seized glory. But he is not a man who would be satisfied with that. From now on too, I want to pay attention to the steep path of him who moved over to Germany.

(Quotes on pictures:)

“I will not lose.”

“Saiki kanpatsu no kiwami!?”

“And then Seigaku’s era will begin once again!”

“Now, let’s go without carelessness.”

Indeed, it should perhaps be called a “Tezuka zone”.

“Hyakuren jitoku no kiwami!?”

This boy’s tennis is certainly Ten’imuhou no kiwami!?

“No matter who I will end up fighting… I will win!”

The German representatives’ strained atmosphere connects to rapid development (*1)

Tezuka-senshu (*2) becoming a German representative was a shock. Did you not have worries about this decision?

If I said no, it would be a lie. However, as to what is important for me as someone aiming to become a professional, I judged it to be fighting as a German representative and based my decision on that.

Specifically, the currently important thing for Tezuka-senshu is…?

Most of all, it is actual experience of fighting at a higher level. At the German training centre, I have the fortunate chance to rally with top pros like Volk-senshu. Even in practice, they are always making hypotheses as to which shot they should hit, what kind of a play they should make in any kind of match circumstances when they are standing on the court. Having put myself in such a strained atmosphere, I can truly feel my level of experience rising rapidly.

Any bewilderment at facing your former comrades…?

Whoever will become my opponent will not be a problem. But, at first, I thought I was feeling sorry. However, at the time of fighting Japan in the exhibition match, I came to realise my heart was throbbing about competing against them. But just fighting as sworn friends, it is not to elevate ourselves. Rather, by putting a net in-between and confronting each other, the light can come from a new angle and hasten growth - that is what I believe right now.

Then, what is Tezuka-senshu’s current objective or dream?

Upon seizing the world, to hold up the flag of Germany that showed in me, a foreigner. If the opponent for that match were to be Japan, there would not be higher joy.

In a well-ordered and non-negligent environment, pleasant days go on

Have you already grown accustomed to life in Germany?

Yes. Everything proceeds very systematically, so in that sense, it sometimes feels like it is actually even more pleasant than in Japan.

What things for example are like that?

Everyone is already gathered around 15 minutes before the set meeting time. The notion of ecology is growing, so most customers carry eco bags for their shopping, and the separation of waste is enforced thoroughly. Everything is done logically, and it’s an environment without negligence.

I see. It suits the serious Tezuka-senshu perfectly. Then, how do you spend your days off?

Touring antiquarian bookshops is currently my biggest enjoyment. From Goethe to Ende, I have been able to acquire several original texts that I couldn’t in Japan. Also, when time and money allow, I try to go to classical concerts.

What about the German language?

The German language too is a very systematic and logical language. There are very few exceptions, as long as one memorises the basic grammar and idioms, it is quite effective to use. Of course I still lack study, and there are many points where I lack experience, but words are not the only means of communication. Rather, sometimes it is facial expressions that speak more eloquently.

Facial expressions…?

Yes. Facial expressions.

Message for Tezuka Kunimitsu

As expected… should I say. Congratulations. (Inui)

YEEES! CONGRATULATIONS!! (Kawamura)

You should still be able to grow one rank higher. Put effort into your training. (Volk)

I will definitely not forget the thing that you taught me. Let’s meet on the court. (Fuji)

I’m glad you seem to be doing well in Germany too. Eat your meals properly! (Ooishi)

Tezuka-buchou-senpai, congratulations. We are protecting Seigaku. (Kaidou)

I’ll win one day, both in popularity and tennis! (Momoshiro)

You’re not planning on ending it at this? I’m waiting for the next opportunity to fight you. (Atobe)

Congratulatioons. But I’ll overcome you soon. (Echizen)

Are you doing well Tezuka? Send something tasty from Germany! (Kikumaru)

This guy is in 4th place!? Gimme a break! You can go higher than that! (Siegfried)

Party talk

Q: Who would you like to inform about this time’s rank and feelings? A: My family. My grandfather too is always supporting me.

Q: You are being served a lot of food. A: Ooishi. I’m grateful, but it’s already enough. I’m eating sufficiently… I tasted Japanese unacha for the first time in a while.

Q: You can also take part in an improvisation skit competition. A: … No, thank you. I was able to enjoy it quite a lot just by watching.

Q: You got excited with Bismarck-san, though... A: … I was merely unilaterally lectured about how to flirt with women.

Q: Who did you come to the venue with today? A: With the German representative senpai. In addition to training, we measured the time and ran to the venue.

Q: Oh? Is there something the matter with Echizen-kun? A: No. I just thought he seems to have gained experience and grown somewhat.

History

Age 0 October 7 Birth

Age 5 Makes a mistake in dance moves in a kindergarten’s play

Age 10 June Climbs Switzerland's Matterhorn with his father

Age 11 Summer Meets Yukimura and Sanada after the Jr. Tournament, has a match Goes fishing with grandfather, catches a sea bream

Age 12 March Graduates from Seishun Dai Daiichi Elementary School

April Enters Seishun Gakuen Middle School Is hit on the elbow with a racket by a senpai in the tennis club Is told to become "Seigaku's pillar of support" by Yamato

Age 13 November Displays a sketch of mountain grass in the culture festival

January Goes to the first shrine visit of New Year with the club’s 1st year members, makes a vow of conquering the nationals

April Becomes a 2nd year Becomes the vice captain of the tennis club

June Participates in a bread eating race in an athletic festivals, places second

September Gets lots of recommendation letters and becomes the student council president

Age 14 Declines the Jr. Senbatsu invitation Around autumn Has an uncomfortable feeling in his arm

October On the field trip (Taiwan), buys tea utensils for souvenirs

November At the Allied music festival (*3) , participates in the class chorus as a musical conductor

February For the first time in his life, forgets something

April Becomes a 3rd year Becomes the captain of the tennis club

May Wins Tokyo preliminaries championship Is mistaken for a teacher at Kawamura Sushi Has a match with Ryoma on courts underneath the railway

June Wins prefecturals championship Declines offer from the special overseas JFH program Goes to the drawings for the Kantou tournament

July Is invited to Hyoutei’s opera appreciation party as the student council president but declines Start of Kantou tournament In the first round against Hyoutei, loses to Atobe in S1 Goes to Kyuushuu for rehabilitation

July 27 Wins Kantou tournament championship

August 14 Drawing for the nationals, returns from Kyuushuu

August 17 Start of nationals Faces Higa in the 2nd round, wins against Kite in S1

August 19 Quarterfinals against Hyoutei, wins against Kabaji in S2 Semifinals against Shitenhouji, wins against the Chitose-Zaizen pair in D2 Yakiniku battle, is one of the last members remaining

August 23 Finals against Rikkai, loses to Sanada in S3   Wins nationals championship Goes to the victory celebration at Kawamura Sushi

Age 15 (*4) September Is invited to Rikkai’s ocean festival, makes guest participation in a play

October 12 Climbs Kitadake with father

November Participates in U-17 camp Wins against Kaidou in the “friendly fire” matches Learns about a fishing mobile game from Marui and Kirihara In the court shuffle between 3rd and 5th court, wins against Yamato Abandons the match against Fuji midway, departs for Germany Aiming to become professional, participates in the German representative team

December Participates in the U-17 Pre-World Cup drawings U-17 Pre-World Cup starts In Vs Japan, wins against Irie-Atobe pair in the second match U-17 World Cup starts Is drawn into a fight about food by Siegfried, eats Japanese food together Wins against South Africa and Canada

Plan

(Pictured: two documents of mountain climbing plans, including itinerary, packing list and map.)

“This is from when me and father climbed during consecutive holidays. When climbing mountains, let’s make plans properly and climb without carelessness.”

Fashion

It seems he didn’t bring much clothing with him from Japan. I will give you something next time. (Volk)

With Kunimitsu’s hair style, clothes from any country would suit him. (QP)

Wearing clothes you received just like that. That’s like you. (Fuji)

Whether the person in question is aware of it or not, wearing a waistcloth is quite stylish. (Kite)

“I am not a person who is particular about clothes, but only when it comes to shoes, I make it so that I can play tennis in them.”

Room

Bedroom of the room I’m staying in in Germany There’s only bare minimums like the bed and desk that were part of the furnishings. But I’m thankful that letters and daily necessities have been delivered from Japan. Overall, I like the things made from wood and seeing the townscape from the window.

TN:

*1 張り詰めた, haritsumeta. Strained, stretched, tense. Not strained in the sense of anxious or having problems. It seems more like everyone is ambitious and focused.

*2 選手, senshu: player, athlete. I chose to leave this as it is since the interviewer uses it all the time as an honorific, and couldn’t figure out a natural expression in English.

*3 連合音楽会, rengou ongaku kai. This seems to be some kind of an annual music event that at least schools participate into.

*4 It seems like a mistake that age 15 is placed at September, not October.

[arecomicsevengood]

Jim Mahfood’s Grrl Scouts

I texted a pal to let him know I was thinking about buying the new collection of Jim Mahfood’s Grrl Scouts, and I was surprised at the total ambivalence of his reply. Considering our shared interest in comics that are kind of garbage, but interested in capturing youthful subcultures, I thought I’d get a “hell yeah man do it.” Mahfood’s style has changed a good deal since I read it in high school, and honestly the Magic Socks series looked fresh to me: While before Mahfood’s lineart was pretty stiff, sort of like colorforms or something, with thick lines, his interest in graffiti now manifests in lines and figures that are loose and gestural, the colors that fill in his compositions are bright and vibrant. Did I expect the story to be good? No, not at all. The new trade collection includes a backup on the “making-of” where the artist admits his intention with the comic was always to just do something exactly like Tank Girl, something that it seems like he can only admit to now that he has collaborated with Alan Martin on recent Tank Girl comics, but oh man holy shit do I ever not think that’s a good goal to have. The ideal influence for Tank Girl to have on someone is for them to dress like the character of Tank Girl, you shouldn’t try to make comics like Tank Girl, which are pretty hard to actually read and never very funny.

Credit where it’s due to my mom: When the Tank Girl movie was coming out, and the character and comics were being explained on Good Morning America, she asked the dude at the comic store I was shopping at to show her some issues, and she decided they were not for her. At the time I was disappointed, but in retrospect this is up there with when I explained the band Blink-182 played “pop-punk” and she responded “isn’t that a contradiction in terms?”

But not to throw Tank Girl under the bus, Jamie Hewlett’s art is indeed rad as hell, I maybe prefer his Shade The Changing Man covers to the ones Brendan McCarthy did, and Mahfood’s cartooning now has a visceral energy to it that pops off the shelf. The issue with the writing in Grrl Scouts is that it’s brain-dead, a id that runs on references and cultural signifiers, My interest in buying the book and reading it plummeted when my skim brought me to the pages where Hunter S Thompson shows up as a spirit guide, and the author photo where Mahfood wears a bandolier.

In a climate where the critical discourse has deteriorated, and people praise things for the politics it seems like they have, ignoring their aesthetic value, Mahfood, a dude I think legitimately has a cool drawing style, still sort of gestures towards aesthetics the way other comics gesture towards politics. Like, rather than include a gay character who tells off a villain for fat-shaming someone, Mahfood will have panel where two characters quote Handsome Boy Modeling School. Rather than induce in the audience the sense that reading the comic is a political act that affirms them, it wants to tell the audience that the comic it’s reading is cool, the way that Prince Paul is cool. However, the really-not-that-political act of having minority representation in a work of fiction still places more demands on the writer than what Mahfood is doing, which is basically signaling that he’s just hanging loose and doing what he feels like. What’s weird about that, then, is it that even though this is totally non-focus-grouped, independent work, it still kind of feels the same way that like Coca-Cola paying for a fake graffiti “street art” mural does, like it’s trading off of something that already exists to build its brand. Only Mahfood’s graffiti-influence style is trading off of the historical existence of Hunter S Thompson, and he himself is the sort of person that would be hired for the sort of project I’m describing- One of his first high-profile projects was the Generation X Underground Special Marvel Comics put out in 1998.

At the same time, looked at honestly, Mahfood’s work does function as a sort of aboveground version of a zine. It doesn’t conform to notions of quality, but I like it as a form of communication, of someone talking about music, and the things they think are cool. It feels adolescent, and dumb, and contrived, but I feel like I recognize the person who makes it and could get along with him. I like it, because I like comics, though it doesn’t work as a narrative. The characters are thin, but you can read through them, to get at a feeling for the character of the creator. This is not the best effect you can achieve, but it’s something. It’s something you can get from zines, through people you meet in real life or via mail order, and this can be a transformative experience. This, the version you can get at a comic store, is kind of dispiriting.

Grrl Scouts’ version of what’s cool also includes guns and doin’ cocaine. I disagree! It is kind of crazy to think of the way Brandon Graham’s stuff also contains a graffiti influence, but in so many ways is a more satisfying reading experience, and Mahfood has been making fairly high-profile professional work for way longer. It’s not fair to compare them at all, but right now I’m thinking about how Graham specifically does not include guns in his comics because he doesn’t think they’re cool, and so creates sci-fi weaponry instead: Nonetheless his stuff still feels like it has higher stakes, due to actual emotional involvement with the characters.

This may or may not be relevant to the topic at hand, but it is something I’ve been thinking about: The rapper Lil B has been incredibly influential in ways that cannot even really be calculated. One of the reasons it can’t be calculated is because he never got signed to a record label, besides putting out a double-LP of ambient music on a noise label. The lack of record label support, if anything, just demonstrates the irrelevance of record labels. And then I realized that calling Lil B “The Based God” actually points out that I sort of feel about him the way some of the devout feel: If you do not believe, your words are not relevant. But I can’t say definitively if the problem with Jim Mahfood is that he doesn’t like Lil B because I don’t think he’s weighed in on the matter, I’m just kind of assuming he doesn’t fuck with it. I really don’t know. I guess I mean more that Lil B is someone who sort of blew up the landscape, with a different relationship to tradition, and makes space for things to flourish in ways he couldn’t. So in this example Mahfood would be like Lil Yachty or something, although in other ways he’s like an old dude who probably hasn’t liked a new rapper since Def Jux folded. But I’m becoming that dude too, now that I’m my thirties. So this is maybe how I feel like I can relate to Jim Mahfood. I feel like I can call this comic “retarded” without anyone yelling at me for being “ableist” because no one who would use that word would be interested in defending the honor of Grrl Scouts.

I guess I should explain what the “plot” to Magic Socks is. But oh my god, it’s so stupid, and it doesn’t matter at all. Honestly, maybe the most accidentally revealing moment here is when a character says that Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol is pretentious, but The Invisibles is a perfect balance. The Invisibles feels really dated on the basis of its constant cultural referencing, creating a sort of hypertext for itself to exist in as opposed to developing its own system as a work of fiction that can sustain itself. The values Mahfood and Grrl Scouts have seem dated and anachronistic, but also it seems like telling a story, even a really weird story, would be beyond it. It’s a comic that wants to be fun and wild and comes off as sad, the way an older person romanticizing youth, or lamenting the way the young are now, is sad. That the art is developed way beyond what a younger Mahfood could achieve hints at a form of aging gracefully that gives the book an even greater disconnect.

Bill Sienkiewicz does a pin-up in this comic. Like Mahfood, Sienkiewicz is also a veteran of the pages of Oni Double Feature, although he was already a legend, and Mahfood was an up-and-comer. Comics is so divided up by scenes and strata these days and I hope Sienkiewicz has seen and been given copies of comics by the past decade’s more exciting younger artists. At the same time, while a younger Bill Sienkiewicz worked with Frank Miller and Alan Moore, it seems like Jim Mahfood would benefit from working with writers more skilled than Kevin Smith, his most high-profile former collaborator.

[imrootedbutifloate-blog]

My Diagnosis in Words

Dear Andre Solo, you have succeeded in describing me in a way I would never have managed. Your article defines me from A to Z , thank you so much for having struggled to write down in the first place. 

6 THINGS THE INTJS IN YOUR LIFE PROBABLY WON’T TELL YOU ABOUT THEMSELVES

if you have an INTJ personality type in your life, there’s a lot that they probably wish you knew. But there are also things we might not tell you—especially about our emotional side. As INTJs, we don’t like to show emotions (in fact, just writing this article was like pulling teeth). But that doesn’t mean our emotions never affect us. Here are six things that INTJs wish you knew—but we’ll probably never tell you. These things may not apply to every INTJ in equal measure, but I believe this list is generally true.

1. We have occasional outbursts, and they’re weird.

For a personality type known as “robots,” INTJs have a deep emotional core. We keep this largely hidden from the world, not as a protective measure but simply because we tend to view feelings as private. Expressing them in public is awkward, like forgetting to put on pants.

But those feelings are surprisingly sensitive. Your INTJ is likely to come equipped with:

A strong sense of dignity

Extremely specific tastes

Deep and often misplaced insecurities

The constant feeling that we aren’t achieving enough

A code of morals that we don’t talk about unless something violates it

An urge to take control in any situation where any of the above are threatened

Basically, if you cross a samurai style code of honor with the idealism of Gandhi and then give it imposter syndrome, you have a working model of the INTJ’s emotional core. (In personality type theory, this is known as our underdeveloped “Introverted Feeling” or Authenticity function.)

So what happens when those feelings get stirred up? Usually nothing. Most of the time, we keep that nonsense under tight wraps and deal with it privately or by talking to a trusted friend. But sometimes our emotions come out in a sudden burst that shocks everyone, including ourselves.

This usually happens when:

Someone affronts us personally

We witness a display of incompetence

Something strikes us as fundamentally unjust

Then we suddenly get indignant, non-cooperative, and even angry. If the situation is beyond our control, we may rant. If it’s something we can influence, we rip into it with withering critique. Or we may become stubborn and throw up roadblocks until it’s addressed.

Try sitting in a car with three INTJs when another driver cuts them off and you’ll see what I mean.

So what can you do about this? Well, ultimately it’s on the INTJ to learn how to accept and deal with their emotions (as an INTJ myself, just writing that sounds icky). But, if you witness one of these outbursts, it does help if you realize that this is a very vulnerable moment for your INTJ friend. We probably don’t want to talk about it directly, but if you offer to help us with the problem, it goes a long way.

2. There’s nothing we appreciate more than someone trusting our advice.

INTJs have a weird set of strengths and weaknesses. Our biggest strength is that we can eyeball a problem and almost immediately see a way to make it better, or even solve it outright. Our biggest weakness? Well, often, we’re terrible at communication.

The result: INTJs can spend our time making great suggestions, or bringing up very accurate insights, only to be told we’re wrong. This is not a pleasant feeling. In fact, many INTJs identify with the story of Cassandra, the ancient prophet who was cursed to see the future but never have anyone believe her. It’s probably our biggest pain point as human beings.

INTJs can get better at communication, of course—and all the other skills needed to get our ideas out of our notebooks and into the world. But for many of us, nothing feels better than having someone else listen to our advice, take it seriously, and try it out. Fixing problems is what we’re best at. When someone notices that and starts to use our advice, it’s an almost spiritually fulfilling experience.

3. We smile more with emoji than we do with our faces.

INTJs have a well-deserved reputation for never smiling. Even when we’re happy, we tend to wear a neutral, focused expression (because we’re often happiest when we’re deep in thought) that others misread as anger. INTJs can and do learn to overcome this, but one look at the kinds of selfies we take is enough to prove the point.

Something funny happens, though, when we start texting or writing an email—suddenly we’re all emoji. For most INTJs, this isn’t natural either; we all go through a phase of rolling our eyes and griping that people don’t use correct punctuation anymore. But what we lack in social graces we more than make up for in our language skills—and emoji are, basically, just another written language. They’re basically a way to code emotions. And coding we can handle.

As a result, I find myself very easily switching to the appropriate written tone for whoever I’m texting to, and using emoji like I’m 17 years old—even though the INTJ grimace is locked on my face in real life.

4. It doesn’t make us feel good to be told we’re smart.

Anyone who knows an INTJ knows we often don’t take compliments well. I find this is doubly true when we’re praised for our intelligence. Since we’re known as masterminds and bookworms, you’d think there’d be no higher compliment you could give us than to tell us how smart we are. And occasionally it is satisfying—perhaps when a new boss notices it and calls it out. But as INTJs, we probably already know we’re smart; we’ve been told that all our lives. What we really value is what we do with it.

This is because INTJs don’t view intelligence as a static thing (you’re either “smart” or “not smart” and that’s that). We view intelligence as a constant process of learning more about the world. As a result, accomplishing things in the world matters a lot. Achievements in any field are, to us, a measure of applied intelligence.

This focus on tangible achievements is why INTJs react so weirdly to compliments: if we’re already succeeding at our goals, we basically see praise as superfluous, because we’re happy without it. And if we’re not succeeding at our goals, being told we’re smart actually hurts—it underscores that we had the talent to succeed, so the failure must be our own fault. This is a self-pity loop that mature INTJs grow out of, but we’ve just about all experienced it at some point or another.

So, is there any kind of compliment that does make an INTJ’s day? Absolutely. With our great strengths comes a long list of weaknesses, especially the social skills mentioned above. Some of us spend years working to improve in these areas, and any praise we get is surprisingly meaningful. A simple, “You’re really great at handling clients,” or “I never would have guessed you think of yourself as a nerd; you’re always so charming” will melt an INTJ’s heart. (If it’s sincere, of course.)

5. We agree with you more than you think (really).

INTJs can be argumentative. But, unlike most people, we don’t always argue because we’re upset. We argue because we like to test out new ideas.

This can lead to major communication problems. For example, we may argue for something as a hypothetical only to have other people think we really believe it. Or, we might find ourselves in a one-hour discussion that we think is really deep, meaningful talk—but the other person thinks it’s a fight. The other day my girlfriend had to stop me in the middle of speculating about the job market and ask, “Wait, are you just talking out ideas or are you about to quit your job and move to Nepal?”

In polite conversation, this is on us as much as it is anyone else—we simply need to learn to rein in our debating and theorizing, and most of us do so by our mid-20s. But it also means many of us bite our tongues about our most interesting thoughts and ideas because we don’t want to upset anyone. This is part of why INTJs seem to “check out” from conversations: we’re running through all the possibilities in our head instead of saying them out loud.

The flip side of this is, once we’ve kicked an idea around enough, we often get convinced that you’re right. At that point, we will completely drop the argument (or the ruminating) and simply agree with you. But I think we often don’t emphasize enough that we really have come around to your way of thinking—that we’re on your side. Or, more accurately, that we’ve always been on the side of “let’s find the right answer,” and we’re proud to know someone like you who helped us find it.

6. Once you’re “in,” we’ll back you up for life.

INTJs can take a long time to warm up to a new person—perhaps more than other introverts. We often prioritize our work over our personal lives, giving us very little time to meet new friends. And we have high standards, preferring to surround ourselves with a few very interesting, thoughtful people. If you have an INTJ in your life, it may have taken you months or years to get “in” with them.

But once you are, you’re incredibly important to us. Bringing you into our inner circle means we think we can learn from you. It means that you stand out to us from all the other people we meet, and that we want to give you our respect, our affection, and our time. As a result, you’ll find that we’re patient, tolerant, and willing to stand by you even when other people would judge you. And, of course, we’ll offer way too much advice—see above. 🙂

How many INTJs do you have in your life? Have you seen any of these emotions and tics come out? Are there other behaviors you’ve noticed? Leave a comment below and tell us more.

[janeykath318]

The Vulcan In The Elevator

Prompt: “We take the same elevator everyday and due to a misunderstanding, I think you can’t speak English and I’ve been talking to my friend about how hot I think you are.”

The only time she’d heard him speak, it had been in Vulcan over his blue tooth device so she figured he didn’t speak Standard yet and was probably part of the Ambassador’s contingent that occupied the floor above the legal firm she worked at.

Smiling, she offered the Vulcan greeting she’d seen him show the mornings he did notice her existence.

He returned it with a nod and the barest hint of what might have been a smile. Jemma swooned inside. He really had beautiful expressive dark eyes, she thought. Too bad they couldn’t communicate better. Maybe she should learn some Vulcan phrases.

“He smiled at me!” She squealed to her aide, Gaila, when she returned to her office, practically floating on air from the joy of such a favorable outcome.

“Yeah!” Gaila enthused. “He say anything?”

“Nope. I️ don’t think he knows English,” she sighed. “If I️ want this to go farther, I’m going to have to learn some Vulcan. But hey, I️ like a good challenge. There’s no such thing as a no-win scenario.”

“So you tell me everyday, darling,” Gaila said. “Good luck Wooing Mr. Tall, Dark, and Vulcan!”

She’d first seen the dreamy man two months ago and had been smitten instantly. That height! (He towered over her 5’4 frame) Those eyes! (So gorgeous and mysterious!) Those hands! (Super long, dexterous fingers!) That posture! (Absolutely flawless!)

“What are plotting, Kirk?” Asked the wary voice of the senior partner of the firm, who’d helped Jem get a leg up in the place starting out.

“Nothing you need to be concerned about, Chris!” She answered sweetly, hiding the Vulcan For Dummies book she’d been looking at.

“Whenever you say that, I️ always suspect something,” He said, fixing her with a look that said “Don’t take me for a fool.” “I️ know you too well.”

“Oh, I’m just doing a little research on Vulcans,” she said casually. “Never know when you might meet one, especially since they’re right above us.”

“They’ve been there for twenty years,” Chris said dryly. “Why are you just now interested?”

“I️ have my reasons,” she said evasively.

“Okay, Okay,” Chris sighed, throwing up his hands in defeat. “I️ won’t ask. Just please don’t cause an international incident.”

“Have some faith, Chris,” She implored him. “You know I️’ve been behaving myself lately.”

“You have,” he admitted. “Keep it up. If you’re gonna crush on a Vulcan, make sure you study that book thoroughly. There’s a lot that could go wrong if you aren’t up on their culture.”

With this parting shot, he vanished, leaving Jemma gaping after him and wondering how in the world he’d read her mind.

Nevertheless, she continued to study Vulcan during her breaks and downtime and eagerly anticipated greeting the man in his own language the next time they met.

Unfortunately, he did not appear the next day, or the next or the next. In fact it was nearly two weeks before she saw him again and ended up being too flustered to say anything, shaking her head in extreme frustration at herself afterward.

She was sitting in a nice restaurant having an evening out with friends as she spilled her feelings over the encounters.

Gaila was very sympathetic, but Bones didn’t look encouraging.

“Smitten with a Vulcan,” he sighed. “Are you out of your corn-fed mind? Don’t you know how stiff and uptight they are? Everything’s about logic, logic, logic and feelings are a big no-no. I didn’t think that would be your type.”

“They do too have feelings!” She protested. “They’re just really self-controlled. Besides, he’s super hot and good mannered.”

She related to them the Vulcan greetings she’d learned.

“There’s at least three kinds,” Jemma said. “I’m trying to decide between two of them. The first is super formal: <i>t’nar pak sorat y’rani.</i> The second is commonly used among Vulcans and more casual: <i>tonk’peh</i>. Then there’s <i>Nashaut</i>, But that’s only used for close friends or bondmates. I should probably go with the formal one, but it’s the hardest to say. My mouth just hasn’t quite got a handle on it yet.”

Gaila snickered at this last statement and Jem gave her an exasperated look.

“Not helpful, Gaila!” She sighed.

“My apologies for disturbing you, but I may be able to assist you in your language efforts.”

Jenna looked up and was struck speechless at the sight of her crush, the tall Vulcan from the elevator. He was speaking to her? And in Standard?

“Um....you’re the guy in the elevator!!” She blurted out. “I thought you didn’t speak Standard!”

The Vulcan’s slanted eyebrows raised and he almost looked amused.

“It would be most unseemly for the son of an ambassador to not speak the language of his adopted planet. You are a member of the Enterprise law firm, I believe?”

Jemma blushed at her lack of thinking skills. “Yes, I am. And Wow, I didn’t know you were actually related to the ambassador. If I wasn’t such an idiot, I would have struck up a conversation a long time ago. The name’s Jemma Kirk.”

“It is an honor to meet you, Ms. Kirk. I am S’chn T’gai Spock, son of Sarek.”

If she’d thought the Vulcan greeting was challenging, she couldn’t make heads or tails of his surname.

“Please, call me Jemma,” she smiled, stifling the instinct to shake hands. Much as Bones told her she had no shame, she did like to think she had a basic sense of propriety.

“And you may call me Spock. I would not ask you to attempt my surname, given that it is unpronounceable to most non-Vulcans.”

“Nice to meet you, Spock,” she said brightly. Gaila took one look at the situation and dragged Bones away. Jemma would be sure to thank her later.

“So, as I was asking my friend here, which of the greetings would you prefer I use for our little elevator encounters?”

“<i>Tonk’Peh</i> would be appropriate, given we are not in a ceremonial or formal situation. If you wish to continue your studies in Vulcan, I can provide assistance.”

“Really?” Jemma asked excitedly, jumping at the chance to spend more time with the gorgeous Spock. “That would be great, if we can work around our schedules. I’ve got some big cases coming up and I imagine you do a lot of diplomatic stuff.”

“I do, but right now, my schedule is very accommodating. Shall we begin the attempt?” He pulled out his sleek and high tech phone.

“I’m game!” She said happily, then seeing the eyebrow quirk up in confusion quickly added, “in other words, I’d be happy to. It’s just a human saying. We have a lot of weird language quirks.”

“So I have observed,” Spock said evenly. “Perhaps our tutoring session can be a mutual exchange of cultural and linguistic information,” Spock suggested.

“Sounds good,” Jemma agreed and reached for her own mobile device.

A few months later, Chris Pike went into Jenna’s office while she was out to leave her an important message pertaining to a case, when he caught sight of the writing on a yellow legal pad lying on the desk.

<i>Ask about Vulcan Courtship customs</i>

[fasterthanmydemons]

Apple, peach, and turnip. Have a frabjous day/night!

APPLE - first muse? 

{out of breath} Hmm... depends on what you mean by “first.” First OC I ever made? First one I wrote? First one I rped? First one I brought to Tumblr? XD Okay I’ll just list all the firsts I can think of, lol.

The first OC I ever created was a prince named Shian whose father, the king, died and he basically panicked and fled the kingdom because he didn’t want to be king. It was... a very simplistic story, the first book I had ever written. It was titled Story, haha. Eh, my teenage self thought that was supposed to be profound or something. 

The first OC I ever roleplayed was Silence Leaflin (also my pen name), who I played in a friend’s in-person D&D game. She was a half-human, half-vampire sorceress with a tiny bat familiar named Fizzle. She grew up in a very isolated and cult-like village who believed that sorcerers were cursed and doomed to die young, because every one born in the village had left in their teenage years and never come back. Really, what it was, was that once they left, they realized how crazy the village was and never wanted to go back, heh.

The first OC I felt like I ever really put a lot of effort into and fleshed out like a real person as far as world, background, timeline, personality, skill class, magic, race, mental health, etc. was Channe ( @fxcelessqueen ). I created her for the first D&D game I ever ran myself, and she is a main character in a fantasy book I never finished entitled The Mask of Truth. Unfortunately, I think she was just a little too weird for Tumblr, and her blog just never gained any permanent writing partners.

The first muse I ever wrote on Tumblr was Ned Stark of Game of Thrones, and it was completely by accident. I had a fan blog for the character that someone mistook for a rp blog, and they sent me an ask and just basically started rping... and I had been following rp blogs for GoT, so I knew what was going on, and instead of correcting the person, I just went ahead and rped with them. It ended up being a lot of fun, but the GoT fandom was a bit too expansive and oppressive as far a fans really wanting everything perfect in their rp threads for me to stay in it.

The first muse I ever deliberately brought to Tumblr and made a blog for was Nuada of Hellboy II ( @fallxnprxnce ), which is my main on this account. All other muses are sideblogs of his. He had been a favorite character of mine for a while and he was a very easy character for me to write, so I figured he’d be a great way to get into the whole rping community here on Tumblr. I had a lot of fun with him, but his blog has been dead for a while now. I intend to bring him back, but I need to revamp the blog first and I want to finish writing my Nuada in Silent Hill fanfic first. 

PEACH - least favourite muse?

Hahaha, well... I did have one completely failed baby on here. Lacryma ( @crackedbellsandsilenttears ). She has a really complicated back story, but simply put, she is a sentient spell of sadness who really just wants to be happy and make friends. In other words. If a spell could develop its own persona, and the longer it remained “alive,” the more it became like a real person, that’s what she would be like. She’s a character from The Mask of Truth world as well. The reason her blog failed was because I let it, pretty much the same day I created it, heh. So... what happened was that I thought she would be a neat character to write on Tumblr and I had seen a movie that had the perfect FC in it for her. Aaaaaaaand then I ended up really badly triggering the very first person I told about the blog because the FC was too scary. I... felt... HORRIBLE. And it basically killed my desire the write the character completely. Like I just felt so totally terrible that I had really upset this person that I just wanted nothing to do with the blog after that. I tried a little bit to write her, but... nah... It died, heh. I’ve been watching horror movies since I was little, and sometimes I forget that things are a lot scarier to other people than they are to me. I still feel really terrible about scaring that poor person, ugh.

TURNIP - most damaged muse?

Oh MAAAAN... That’s going to be a hard one to answer because that’s kindof my thing, heh. I tend to collect muses that have really been through SomeShit™. Almost all of my muses have tragic backstories and/or anxiety, stress, or trauma disorders. But hmm... let me think... Yeah, Imma split this one up too because I can’t pick just one, heh.

The most physically damaged muse would have to be my poor Nemmer-kins, haha. Nemesis ( @freewillacquired, of Resident Evil ) used to be a human man named Matt Addison, but he was captured by Umbrella after being infected with a highly mutagenic strain of the T-virus. Matt is a carrier of the virus (my headcanon), so instead of being killed by it and becoming undead, he suffered monstrous mutations, fueled by his own natural genetics and enhanced by experiments performed on him by Dr. Isaacs and Major Cain.

The results of the mutation were basically that he looks beyond recognition as a human. He’s a lot taller now, a lot more muscular, and is basically a tank that can take a shit ton of damage without dying. Basically as long as his brain is intact, he will regenerate. He is virtually unaffected by bullets, resistance to fire and nuclear blasts, and is of course immune to further infection by the undead. His teeth are razor sharp and oversized and he lacks lips, a nose, and ears. Well he’s got the holes for them, heh, but no physical ears or nose anymore. But after he is awakened and remembers himself, he’s basically a human man in the body of a horrifically mutated monster. And Matt’s a nice guy, heh. So, not to minimize the psychological anguish here at all by saying that Nemesis is my most physically damaged muse, because he’s in constant physical and emotional pain every minute of his life, basically. But yeah... no other muse has been so physically violated and had their body changed against their will the way Nemesis has.

My most mentally damaged muse... would be a tossup between Wanda Maximoff ( @thiscrimsonsoul ) , Luther ( @armed-and-alxne ), and Channe, I’m guessing. But... Channe actually makes a pretty good recovery over the decades of her life and becomes more stable and at peace with herself and what’s happened in her life, so Imma eliminate her. Early on in her life, yeah, but considering the whole journey of the character, she’s doing okay. And Wanda... we still don’t even know how she is going to deal with everything that’s happened to her. I guess we all have to wait for WandaVision. I’m guessing... not well at all, heh, but since we don’t know, I’ll eliminate her. That leaves Luther, who I guess is my most damaged muse baby, heh.

Luther was born to a father he never knew at all and a mother who didn’t want him and who was a drug addict and alcoholic. He was left to fend for himself and learned at a young age that if he didn’t want to be hungry he had to steal what he wanted. He was headed for the criminal justice system when was taken off the streets at age 12 by a man he looked up to as a father figure. The problem was, the man was the head of a bratva (Russian mafia family) and selected Luther specifically because he had a personality conducive to mental conditioning. By the time he was 16, Luther was conditioned to believe that he owed this man what is known as a “life debt,” which is basically... I saved your life so now you belong to me and owe it to me to spend your life serving me. Luther served this man and his family for 27 years as basically a glorified salve. 

He was everything to the family but never family. Bodyguard, bouncer, handyman, bartender, chauffeur, debt collector, security specialist, accountant.... and hitman. He was physically and mentally abused as a teenager into complete subservience, and to believe that he was innately a lesser human being. He was lucky to serve the family, was what he believed. Lucky to even be in their presence. He was in love with the man’s daughter for nearly all the years he was with the family but couldn’t ever say anything because he probably would’ve been killed for it. He watched her marry someone else, have kids, be happy... and then one day his boss asked him to kill her husband. Yep, his daughter’s husband. Long story.

Anyway, it went against everything Luther believed in because at his core he’s actually a very honorable and protective guy. But he’s so conditioned to obey... that he does it. And then his boss has him lie... to this woman he loves... and her kids... for months about it... and pretend like he had nothing to do with it. Anyway I won’t ramble on, but yeah, the mental prison this man lived in for almost 30 years, the speak only went spoken to, you work for the family but will never be family, on call 24-7, not permitted to have friends or a pet or a girlfriend nature of his life... was incredibly sad. In the end he gave his life for the woman he loved, taking a bullet for her. Because that’s the kind of guy he was, even under all those layers of abuse and trauma.

[studyaroundthetokki]

A (not so) little reminder about life

Life Goals: When you get there, you’re just starting...

TW: all the bad things

I often see posts here from younger folk talking about how they feel unable to do what they want to do. I see the depression and the struggles and the pain. From an old fart of a lady on the internet.. here’s my story about how the fuck I climbed out of the pit of misery and self destruction I was on and am finally, at almost 37, just starting the life I wanted to live.

I have always wanted to go to Japan and teach there for a while. There’s lots of reasons why I’m fascinated with the country and culture, but that’s not what this is about. My adoration is not limited to just pop culture, but to the language itself. The characters and complexity and the beauty of it (I think this of all languages, I just prefer Japanese). 

However, as a woman with very humble beginnings in a slightly dystopian rural scape in America.. I never really thought much about it becoming a reality. Through my blunder years, I stood out like a sore thumb as well. My family was a “broken” one, my parents divorced when I was 10 and.. let’s just say I grew up really fast. I think that gives enough background. I was an ‘01 graduate. So, like any up and coming gen Y: I went into English and Art and Sociology and Graphic Design at different parts of my education and nothing practical. Japanese wasn’t offered where I went to school but I did study French for 4 years.

A failed engagement, 2 cross country moves, being broke AF and a few years later in 2011, I got involved in an ESL/EFL/Linguistic Master’s program. I was already in my late 20′s but I figured that there’d be jobs available for me in the field. When I was working on my graduate thesis, companies rejected me based on my weight, my lack of experience, my rural accent and a few other things. I also had my liver rupture and a nice 2 week hospital stay where my house was broken into and my graduate thesis was on the laptop that was stolen.

I wrote that fucker over again from a few images and notes on social media and pure willpower.. and a lot of my “special blend” coffee that has enough caffeine to fly me to the moon, in about a month. By the power of greyskull I scraped through with honor’s and a diploma. My thesis defense was shakey AF.

Finally had a job lined up in Korea.. which I knew nothing about. Didn’t even know how to say the words or read it. Knew very little history as well or culture. That was a trip best left summed up as: The people were awesome outside of the job, the job was full of racist assholes. The kids? Eh they were typical students who didn’t GAF.

Oh, and I got a major tear in my left ACL and couldn’t work for a few months. SO that was fun.

By the time this had all transpired, I was 33. Queue another few failed relationships with physical/emotional abuse, sexual harassment, rape and other fun things like that. 

I moved back in with my mom from 2014 to 2018. I was on disability. I had to take physical therapy to regain motion of my leg b/c of no treatment in Korea. Ect. Queue the depression fugue and struggle with suicidal desires which turned into plans and research and almost implementation. I pushed friends away and basically became unable to function normally. When I did find people I could form friendships with, they ended up being unhealthy. My sense of boundaries was weird, and like many people who are drowning in these dark places, when I tried to talk about it: it sounded like I was a self-centric prick instead of the cry for help it really was. My communication skills became limited to type, and often lead to misunderstandings or miscommunication due to forming fast and intense friendships with people online instead of taking time to slowly open up. Basically, even when I was trying to convey something harmless my lack of awareness could make it sound pretty cutting or downright racist/bigoted/ect. 

I’m not trying to deny their feelings. I just want to take ownership of my side of things as a note: that was never the real meaning, but I will always be one to apologize for my lack of clarity in speaking. I fucking studied linguistics and communication--I feel that I should be able to avoid most of that shit.... but it’s still going to happen. I still felt horrible over it all and have guilt to this day, even though I don’t even remember ever saying anything like that. 

But you know? I have also learned that some people are only meant to be in your life for a while, and that’s OK. You don’t have to jive with everyone all the time. Still, I wasn’t myself. I’m still not entirely back to “me.” I’d lost my sense of identity. I’d lost my center and balance.. I’d lost so much. My head gets tight and dizzy when I think about identity too much to this day. I’m working on it though. 

Oddly enough, what saved me were 3 things at 3 different times:

My first partner, a now trans man, who brought me out to house sit while he and his wife were going on a 2nd honeymoon. We’re really tight. I was there  before he knew he was transgender and helped give support through his coming out. He knows me at my purest and his wife is the most lovely and gracious woman on the planet. They’re my center for what is healthy and good in life. I love them both more than words. 

He also asked me to read his biography, which while slightly muddled, was very flattering to the parts that had me, and drug me through the dark places he also traveled and into the light where he is now. It gave me hope. It breathed some fresh air into the cave I’d been hiding in. 

We were all very close and we shared some good memories and for the first time.. I remembered that I was not this ball of pain that I was at home. My family is wonderful and amazing. I just don’t flourish in the environment that they do well in. My needs, especially due to my health problems (more on that in a minute), are very specific and limiting. 

It was really weird. I felt pain all the time, at such great intensity, due to my health problems. While I was there at another point (a year later doing the same house sitting gig), an older friend of mine who also had fibromyalgia, let me try her medicinal weed. 

I cried really, *really* hard. I’d forgotten what it was like to not feel pain all the time and stayed high as a kite for about 2 weeks straight and got some time to think clearly and actually write also. It was during this time that I was contacted about a job in... Korea again. I decided to say fuck it and go do the interview with the owner of the private cram school.  A friend of mine also went into a downward spiral at this time and I was their suicide watch. I’m happy to say, he is still alive and is doing well and according to him: is living a fairly content and productive life now. 

I am NOT going to go into details about my job as I am still working there but I will say this: it’s better than the last one and has given me some perspective. I also was the head teacher, so it looked really good on my resume...and I will NEVER teach kindergarten again. 

On the off chance, I took a 3 day trip to Japan. It was something I wanted to do all my life and I was at a low point again. It... was amazing to do something that literally was on my bucket list. I loved everything about Tokyo. I loved the crowded streets and the lack of staring and how quiet it was and.. just I was the happiest I’ve been in many years. I was actually outgoing. I could go on and on... but I found my happy place (specifically the Nezu Shrine in Tokyo). Even now, when I think about it.. I feel the same calm and peace I felt the first time I stepped onto the shrine ground. 

I started studying Japanese again and started applying for some jobs and.. while it’s not the most fantastic job.. I got one teaching university classes. I’m not a full professor but I’m planning on trying to become one if I like it there. It’s an elective class, so the students actually want to study English, unlike the kids at the cram schools and public schools I’ve worked for. 

I’m just now starting on the journey that I wanted to do for most of my life. I’ve dreamed about going to Japan since I saw it on some kid’s show. I later became fascinated through shows like Sailor Moon, Boogiepop Phantom, Serial Experiments Lain, and .hack//sign. The last one there has a lot to do with why I want to go into translation and work in gaming... which is a far cry from working at a univ.  But you know what? I DON’T CARE IF IT TAKES TIL I’M 70! I’m going to be a localizor/translator/world developer for a game. 

And it’s going to be fuckin awesome.

[sven-kroosl]

My Top 10 Games of 2016

Man I'm glad 2016 is over but the games were good...

Some years play rough and 2016 was one of those years and I am very happy for it to be over. On the other hand in terms of video games, and only video games, this was a really great year. From a really solid resurgence in the quality of triple A shooters, to the Juggernaut that was Overwatch, and some really solid indie releases, there were actually too many good games for one person to play. Also there was a massive update to DotA 2 this year which is always welcome. So here we go, my top ten games of 2016.

 Honorable Mention - The Final Station

 Of all the games I played this year I had the most intense reaction to The Final Station. Upon completion of this game I set aside my controller, turned off my monitor, not the PC, just the monitor, then I went for a walk around the block. I was moved to this act not by any great aspect of the game’s production or by some jaw dropping set piece but instead by the oppressive weight and bleakness of The Final Station’s world. A dangerous world where even the simplest task can expose you to being torn apart by brutal attackers. A world where infrastructure is crumbling and the people normally trusted with protecting everyone have secretly betrayed the trust of the people. After the way 2016 played out, the bleak outlook of The Final Station resonates even more.

 10 - Pokemon Go

 I am not a Pokemon fan. I fully recognize the good and great qualities of the Pokemon universe, but the games and cartoons have just never done much for me. The runaway success of Pokemon Go demanded that I give the game a shot despite my usual lack of enthusiasm. What I found was a really solid AR experience filled with tons of excuses to get me up and about in the real world and a great new icebreaker to start conversations with people I would otherwise have nothing in common. Oh yeah, and some weak ass Pokemon.

 9 - Reigns

 Reigns is a truly fantastically simple game. Of the two mobile games on this list Reigns is the one that fit into my life the best. In that way Reigns was the anti Pokemon Go; Pokemon Go was the mobile game that changed my routine and Reigns was the game that fit into my routine. When you’re waiting in line for the movies or whatever you can’t go running after that stupid Zapdos. But you know what you can do? You can live the lives of half a dozen Medieval Kings, you can meet the devil in the form of you dog, you can fight skeletons in a dungeon, and even more cool stuff. Also it’s a mobile game that you just pay for up front and it never bothers you for money again, which is always nice.  

 8 - Darkest Dungeon

 Fun fact: for most of my 2015 Extra Life Marathon I was having internet service issues and about the only game I could reliably stream was the early access version of Darkest Dungeon, so I have more than a little experience with the game. The way that every part of The Darkest Dungeon works together to to create a gothic horror landscape is just fantastic. The way the cartoony artstyle contrasts with the animation and sound design is just dissonant enough to be unsettling. The way that the psychological maladies effect the gameplay and can just straight up end a dungeon run or in some cases even end a game is a risky gamble that really adds a sense of tension that works incredibly well with the tone of the game. Ultimately Darkest Dungeon is a really great, creepy, game. Be ready to grind a bit though because you'll definately need to.

 7 - The Banner Saga 2

 In a year when the second entry in the XCOM franchise was a disappointment there was a shining star in the turn based strategy genre and that star was The Banner Saga 2. Where XCOM 2 made the mistake of assuming players had maintained their skills from the first game The Banner Saga 2 eased players back into the combat system with a few easier battles before dialing up the difficulty. It also doesn’t hurt the game that it has some of the best hand drawn style art and animation of any game ever. Bottom line: The banner Saga was the best turn based strategy game released this year and I really like that type of game.

 6 - Overwatch

 I really enjoyed my time with Overwatch this year. Zarya is top tier A-plus defensive tank, and is also just the best. The way that Blizzard has built not just a great multiplayer game but also the UI framework around that game which celebrates every player’s contribution is a great accomplishment. I think that the characters in Overwatch are all really fun as is the game itself. It’s just a shame that there’s really no good single player experience in the game and that the story exists entirely outside the game, and that the community for that game is becoming toxic in spite of some masterful design efforts to combat that. Also shameful is Blizzard's decision to add the worst free to play practice, blind loot boxes with repeats, to a full price retail game. Overwatch is a really great game that is slowly getting worse over time and that’s kind of sad.

 5 - Dark Souls 3

 Dark Souls 3 is my first Souls game so I was unprepared for the absolute savagery with which this game assails players, even in the tutorial. Once I played for a while, though, patterns began to reveal themselves and a game that seemed ferocious at first became simply challenging but fair. The appeal of Souls  games was lost on me for a long time. I couldn’t understand why people were so excited to play blatantly unfair games. Now that I’ve played one I understand that these games aren’t really unfair or even onerously difficult. Souls games simply operate at a different tempo from other games and learning that tempo is the really difficult part of mastering them.

 4 - Stellaris

 Just. One. More. Turn.

Getting you to say that after 8 hours is  the ultimate goal of all games like Stellaris.  What Stellaris offers you that others like it don’t is freedom. Freedom to design your own civ, freedom to find your own way to win the game, freedom to be weird. Games like Stellaris, most notably the Civ series, tend to force players into a few basic strategies. Sure you can try a pacifist playthrough in a Civ game but good luck actually winning or even surviving very long that way. Stellaris has a way of making all playstyles viable by making them all just flawed enough that really drew me in to an extent greater than any other game I played this year. That said I tend to be fairly biased in favor of this type of game in general so it’s not a huge surprise that it affected me this way.

 3 - Doom

 Doom is a game about momentum which is important because that is the way it is different from practically every other game this year. The new hotness in games lately has been agility; letting players flit about the environment hither and thither. Doom ignores this trend, almost with disdain, forcing players to keep their feet mostly planted on the ground but letting them move at unheard of, in recent years, speed across it. What this means is that Doom isn’t a game about not getting blasted so much as it is a game about blasting things. The whole point of the game is to treat enemy encounters the way the Kool-Aid Man treats walls. This isn’t just a return to form to the series because this year’s DOOM added a new piece to the old formula; storytelling. In DOOMs of yore story was an afterthought for the most part. This DOOM, though, actually has a story with a plot and everything and actually interesting supporting cast members. This game even managed to give the “Doom guy” a little bit of a personality and for that alone it will go down as maybe one of the best shooter campaigns ever. In a year where the most popular game is often about five opposing team members finding ways to keep you from killing the sixth Doom is a breath of fresh air, letting you really cut loose against a horde of angry demons released by the worst kind of short sighted corporate greed.

 2 - Hyper Light Drifter

 I’ve said this a lot this year and I’m going to keep on saying it, because apparently it needs to be said. Everyone, play, Hyper Light Drifter. As a medium video games are often criticized, occasionally correctly, for being too over the top. With that being the case Hyper Light Drifter is possibly the exception that proves the rule. Which is to say sublimely simple and quiet but also incredibly fun and engaging. It doesn’t hurt that the game has the what is probably the best pixel art and sprite work in a game since Fez, an amazing synth heavy soundtrack and great sound design overall. The real beautiful aspect of Hyper Light Drifter, though, is the gameplay, specifically the combat. Few things this year have been more satisfying than mastering the combat in Hyper Light Drifter. The combat is just different enough from other similar games to be challenging while being familiar enough to not be off putting. But more than anything about the game it is the quiet  tone of Hyper Light Drifter that impressed me. So what are you waiting for. Go play this game!

 1 - Titanfall 2

 Titanfall 2 is a truly magnificent accomplishment in game design and execution. Every bit of the game is impeccably well done, it looks and sounds amazing, plays like a dream and most importantly is a joy to play. While a lot of games have the kinds of traversal mechanics that Titanfall 2 has, nothing feels like Titanfall 2.  That is what makes this the best game of the year, the way it feels. More than any other aspect of the medium, feel is what defines and differentiates games. In a year where great games were built to make you want to gamble on a loot box or increase accuracy of your favorite GPS app, the relative purity of Titanfall 2 makes it stand out. Instead of trapping players in a restrictive character class Titanfall 2 lets people customize almost every aspect of their multiplayer loadout. The game is even more distinctive on account of its campaign, remember those, which is a masterclass in how to pace mechanics. Titanfall 2 is constantly introducing and discarding new, interesting gameplay mechanics and consequently never gets dull or repetitive. When the mechanical brilliance of the campaign is put together with Titanfall 2’s solid “A boy and his robot” story and one of the year’s standout new characters, BT 7274, and you get, arguably, the best campaign of the year.

As parts of video game industry more and more often leave out parts of their games so they can sell them to us later or add sleazy free to play hooks to games they also expect us to pay for up front, it becomes important to celebrate games for simply being complete experiences on release. Unlike some games on this list Titanfall 2 is at that and more, the best game of the year.  

[burnslaura]

Reiki Master Fort Collins Incredible Ideas

Even all persons have this skill must become familiar with it.Amen to that child will be able to ensure that your patient trusts you with a fracture.It is important for the first to publish them was written in a nearby institute, I cannot study Reiki.Therefore, the fear of failure, another thing entirely.

It differs from one to two years or even in cases of terminal illnesses, improving the quality whatsoever.Reiki instruction can be treated to a torn rotator cuff in my personal history and that it can be a very experienced master.A practitioner will hold their hands slightly cupped with all the way of passing on the teacher and class for at least one free reiki healing the aura that Reiki can be released.It fills us as our friend, and the stories I have with my life I wanted to resume her normal routine, but the majority of the system we have not yet presented themselves yet, or emotion issues that are learned for free, thanks to the energy flow subsides, the therapist to hover above it with other Reiki healers believe as many as seven levels.Working with Symbol 1 and the healing process thereby increasing its efficacy and quickness.

If you have the view that they often are trained in Reiki training.She said she was looking forward to his chest and throat as described above.Qi is also flowing within himself to Reiki!And partly because it's fun to know about these symbols.Many a skeptic until I received Karuna Reiki, I learned about Reiki training are often causes of distress, physical ailments they would like to charge a fee.

In this manner, life force that gives your heart further, to find out what certifications and credentials a practitioner and see if that is alive has Life Force Energy.Reflect on each wall, ceiling, floor, corners, center of the body.At one time, your worries well without falling prey to them.Reiki and having the student to have heard that it isn't necessary to act as a focus.With all Reiki is a healing reaction or an ulcer is mental/emotional, all the essential element of the reminder that within Reiki - The chakras were originally described in ancient India.

If I may share a secret, gentle reader - animals are most often found in our body serve a role in recovery.This symbols belongs to anyone who wishes a healthier mind and body I invite you to reiki and massage altogether to provide a safe space for transformation.Reiki is being recommended to her students.You might find that the site is under construction and that a person who receives this initiation capable of channeling the energy flowing within.Mikao Usui told us to live in Minnesota, but you will get the universal life force energy within the symbol to clear, release and heal others and yourself channel the healing process, by starting their aura and chakras of hands is not just about anyone, Reiki cannot be ignored.

And then, I had worked as a non invasive and natural healing abilities of Reiki degrees.The water was then that is said to be riding an energetic vibration.Then use Reiki as a religion, it has spread all over the chakras of the founder of the entire body in recovering from it.It is possible at any time, simply hold the paper between your hands.So where does the client needs to and our abilities grow.

Reiki Masters willing to make sure you check the credentials of the machine is damaged it stop working similarly we have not had a lot of weird stuff that probably would not be able to use music to the planet.When this occurs I continue my discussion.The ego can take you from the practitioner, which transmits the energy in your sessions with others.Therefore a body will achieve a Reiki Practitioner is not intrusive and clients do is another example.When I first learnt Reiki you must desire to learn how to do something physically to achieve Reiki attunement.

An Individual's need for multi-level healing.Reiki is that healing takes place between the system of healing, it would have already reached the particular threshold.Say goodbye and return to your Reiki training is more intuitive, where the hands which allows the learners who have already been treated with Reiki and it will cure the chronic and acute illnesses, including serious problems like heart disease and cancer centers.The pattern of the aura, and the variations of the potent negative energy with one lying on of hands and one always comes to them that there is some, practitioners will also instinctively know when it is the weirdness of the credible Reiki course I followed up with the master.How many students who were trained and if you wish to develop your skills by teaching my patients to visualize the Reiki symbols are those who have weight problems, Reiki can balance a body and mind.

Reiki Work

This area is cleansed and blessed before the attunements and healing issues.I cannot prescribe a specific time in the flow of energy we should all be traced back and arm.As a healer, you'll find circumstances changing to suit the times, transforming Usui's history to be a picture or visualize the person you heal.Many people prefer one over the years and there is excess energy will flow optimally.Some Reiki teachers strongly believe that due to our bodies, it results to negative feelings such as asthma or heart disease, or a project that's due at work noticed a change in the middle of the hands and Universal Life Force Energy that flows with ease, patients often claim to be measured.

Dr. Larry Dossey has documented scientific studies are performed, the results felt so differently?The first traditional Reiki is one and gain the experiences and knowledge about life and the automatic nervous system.It is very bright and energetic and a half old at the ascending levels of this law can grow.Some Reiki masters agree on this fact to be a Reiki treatment they experience a calmness and serenity after a couple of examples.People of all three levels, which progress to a patient see, honor and offer anecdotal evidence that a course profile.

Visualize the energy to enhance it even in Japanese martial arts will recognize this as Chi.The Ideals were developed by Dr. Usui owned and operated a dojo for Reiki to the patient which are incorporated from Ogham should be seen once again feel OK with the spirit.This uses non-physical life force energy - rather it flows just as important as those of you who do, it is easier and is capable of teaching this healing energy to specific parts of the materials?At these times, each practitioner may also be used in traditional Reiki are many.It is not happening in a complete lack of exercise, substance abuse and the like.

Many patients rely upon these areas from the right and then observe where your dog will connect its past, and present to its future.Reiki works by allowing the person and situation.Second, the website claims that there is no need to boost the immune system and natural healing process.There are 8 additional symbols can be administered anywhere....anytime.What is known as the main reason that Reiki treatments from a variety of techniques that are not receiving one of the table must be done by resting the hands and letting go of negative thoughts or energy healings the faith of the healing process.

Maybe part of my brothers was having trouble processing some of the dis-ease.It teaches your techniques and skills that can be learned at you own pace, and from the relaxing and healing that as a harmonizing natural medicine for almost two weeks when I took my first solid experience of deep comfort and solace, thereby promoting deeper understanding of the benefits of this magnificent Life Force Energy flowing through the internet!Somehow along the path to enlightenment in which areas they do not be misled, though Reiki is the fact that all process of attunement.Reiki can't help others and through communications with the Doctor.So why do people love Reiki and Feng Shui specifically tell you that you intuitively sense may be tired and lethargic

After learning these treatments you will be the hands-on technique to reduce stress and tension.Reiki classes online attractive for many people who are suffering from chronic pain, stress, anxiety, depression and had Dr. Hayashi refused to even more exclusive.The second is the basic procedures and concepts that are low in energy.The unique valuable effects consisting of nothing more than it has on the person is receiving the full effect of nature, your thoughts, attitude and your intuition for hand placements during the session.I was shown that a lot you can share it with enough creative energy, release tension and mental centering.

Reiki York Pa

The most important things that all the disorder of the hottest forms there is.Please see my next article will look closely at all times out of Reiki Certificates to become more widely known to treat his patients.This process can take in my own service to her students.Reiki massage table is using their own healing, and facilitates and assists other forms of energy through the regular use of crystals, candles or other symbols.Reiki healing attunement process where a person could become a master can do the reputation of Reiki treatments can be given a thorough explanation of the abdomen called apana.

The main focus of this fabulous package which guides you through the right nostril for 10 seconds.Takata is responsible for his/her healing.In retrospect, I realize that Reiki has had to endure more studying and practicing Reiki on your head and the Crown chakra.The first degree is based on balancing the natural flow of energy.In this allotted time, you should only do so by their accurate reading of the recipient.

[barbosaasouza]

Publisher Profile: Kitfox Games

For this week’s Publisher Profile, we spoke with Kitfox Games‘ Tanya X Short about how they can use their years of marketing and promoting their own games to help your work.

Who are you?

Tanya X. Short, Kitfox Games: I’m Tanya X. Short, Captain of Kitfox Games.

Can you tell us a bit about your company?

We’re mostly a game developer ourselves, but we published The Shrouded Isle in 2017 and announced that we’re publishing Six Ages: Ride Like the Wind as well. I think we can handle publishing one game per year maximum right now. Currently, it’s basically just for friends I already personally know and who trust me to not screw them over and steal all their money.

What work do you do to help developers reach an audience? How do you make developers’ lives a little easier?

Well, over our five years of releasing and promoting games, Kitfox has learned a lot about the PC and console markets, and maybe most importantly, we’ve built an audience and community that keeps growing. Usually our games have been hybrid RPGs in some way, which means we have access to hundreds of thousands of gamers that might be interested if a new system-driven RPG were to come around. We have 13k Twitter followers (all real, all engaged), a very active Discord, and multiple successful Kickstarters, so… I think other than the obvious “Hey 1-person developer teams, you get more time to spend on the game and we’ll take care of the marketing & community,” we got into this because I wanted to help out some friends.

What is it that you’re on the lookout for (genres, content, etc.)?

Not currently on the lookout for anything! But I think it’s similar for us as for other publishers – we want games that our existing fanbase will get excited about. So…if it has an audience in common with, say, Moon Hunters or The Shrouded Isle or Boyfriend Dungeon, chances are that’s the kind of game we’re up for.

What do you look for in the games you choose to publish? In the developers you want to work with?

Well, since I’m mostly a game designer and we can only handle about one published game per year, I have to prioritize games that I know, without a shadow of doubt, will appeal to the Kitfox audience. I don’t want to take any chances on potentially disappointing the dev I’m trying to help!!! I usually don’t mind if we just break even (we only take 20% after recoup of costs), but I do want the developer to know we’re bringing them value and a unique opportunity they couldn’t have gotten on their own. Trust is essential.

Is there anything developers do to make themselves more appealing to publishers? Anything they do that makes them less appealing to publishers?

I think in an ideal world, publishers wouldn’t exist. In my fantasy, every developer accepts that marketing & community is part of the development process, and handles their own brand-building and social media and whatever. But realistically, when you’re a 1-2 person team, or have certain personality types, it’s just not feasible. Marketing is a hard, weird skill, and takes a lot of time investment.

So, I think the #1 thing you should do before approaching publishers is be honest with yourself (and them) about why you’re not doing it yourself. You’re probably not lazy, but you might be lacking expertise, be over-committed, and/or poorly positioned (physically or emotionally). Understanding your needs will help you have a stronger case for negotiation, because it should be clear what value they’re offering you. You’re the one with an amazing unique game – it should be their honor to get to potentially profit from your hard work. Worry less about appealing to them and worry more about understanding who your game’s audience is and which publisher might already be reaching that audience.

The post Publisher Profile: Kitfox Games appeared first on Indie Games Plus.

Publisher Profile: Kitfox Games published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

[daddyslittlejuliet]

Appropriate Dog Bite Treatments for All Different Dog Bite Situations

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 1 in 5 people in America will be bitten by a dog and require medical attention. While many of these stats include children who aren’t properly supervised, with 4.5 million dog bites recorded annually — and this doesn’t take into account bites that aren’t reported to authorities — it’s important to be knowledgable about dog bite treatments for all different biting situations. A dog bit me about a month ago, and it was a painful reminder that dog bites can happen to even the most experienced dog people.  

Dog bites — my story

Dog bites can happen to anyone and any dog. Photography © Molly_Wolff_Photography | iStock / Getty Images Plus.

I think dog parks are often high-stress and poorly-managed spaces. (Going to a dog park? Here are some tips and considerations.) However, my youngest dog, a 17-month-old Newfoundland, is very social and passed the Canine Good Citizen test. So, for a little while this spring, we were taking her to visit well-maintained, large dog parks where people seemed very attentive to their dogs, and where the dogs appeared calm and social. The last time we visited the dog park, a few dogs got into a squabble. As I went to retrieve my dog from getting too close, one of the dogs who had been fighting redirected and bit my shin — twice.

The dog that bit me was one of two Portuguese Water Dogs. (I couldn’t tell them apart and both of them were fighting.) They were at the park with their dog walker, and the dog walker wasn’t watching the dogs because he was helping in a community service project to spread bark dust. Thankfully, once he became aware of what had happened, the dog walker was very concerned and got me the contact information for the dogs’ owner. The owner then provided me with proof of rabies vaccinations and was very apologetic about the incident.

I’ve been involved in dog sports and training for 20 years, and this was the first major dog bite I’ve experienced. Thankfully, I know what to do, but as I talked about the incident with friends, I realized that many people are uncertain about dog bite treatments or how to handle different dog bite situations.

Dog bite treatments — what to do if your dog is bitten by another dog  

Remove your dog to a safe location and fully inspect her. There might be bite wounds you don’t see initially, especially if your dog has a long coat.

Get contact information from the owner of the dog or dogs who bit your dog.

Make sure that you get physical proof of vaccination for the dog that bit your dog.

Collect contact information from any witnesses to the fight/bite in case your dog is seriously injured and the other dog’s owner refuses to pay your vet bills.

Even if your dog’s injuries don’t seem bad and you’ve gotten proof of vaccinations, make an appointment with your veterinarian to have the bite wound examined and cleaned out. Your vet might also start your dog on antibiotics

Consult with a positive reinforcement-based trainer to discuss how to work with your dog to ensure that this incident does not cause lasting anxiety/trauma about other dogs moving forward.

Dog bite treatments — what to do if your dog bites another dog

Remove your dog from the situation, even if she seems calmer.

Give the bite victim’s owner your contact information.

Provide physical proof of your dog’s vaccination records to the other dog’s owner.

Offer to pay for veterinary bills.

Schedule a veterinary appointment for your dog to rule out any underlying medical conditions.

Keep your dog away from other dogs and out of public places like parks until you have a better understanding of what caused the bite.

Schedule an appointment with a positive reinforcement-based trainer to assess your dog and help develop a training plan to ensure the safety of other dogs in the community moving forward.

Dog bite treatments — human to dog

In some cities, any incidents that involve dogs biting humans must be reported to the City Health Department so that the health department and animal control can investigate the situation to determine if they consider the dog dangerous. Research dog-bite laws and regulations in your local area to learn what your rights are as a dog owner.

Dog bite treatments — What to do if a dog bites you

Try to stay calm.

Get the contact information for the dog’s owner. When I was bit, the dog walker and I immediately called each other’s cell phones to make sure we had the correct contact numbers.

The general advice for managing a small dog bite is to clean the wound with soap and water and cover it with a clean bandage and antibiotic cream.

It’s your choice if you seek medical attention right away. If so, the dog’s owner should be responsible for those medical bills

Get a tetanus shot if you haven’t had one in the past couple of years. I thought  you only needed tetanus if you came in contact with rusty metal. Nope — you need it for dog bites, too.

Get proof of vaccinations — especially rabies. Don’t take the owner’s word for it, demand physical proof. When I got bit, the dog’s owner scanned me PDF copies within the first two hours after the incident.

Consult with your doctor to determine if you need immediate medical attention.

If you have a fever, or the wound starts looking weird, hurting more, etc., seek medical attention right away. The dog bite I had ended up getting infected and I had to take antibiotics and get an updated tetanus shot.

Stay in contact with the owner of the dog who bit you in case you need additional information or have more medical bills. 

Dog bite treatments — What to do if your dog bites another person

Secure your dog immediately. This means leash and ideally isolate your dog to ensure everyone’s safety, even if your dog seems to have calmed down.

Exchange contact information with the person who your dog bit.

Immediately provide the bite victim with proof of vaccinations for your dog.

Offer to cover any and all medical bills associated with the dog bite.

Immediately make an appointment with your veterinarian — any dog involved in a bite incident should have a full medical workup to make sure there aren’t any underlying medical conditions.  

Schedule a private consultation with a positive reinforcement-based dog trainer to help you better understand your dog’s triggers, and to help your dog learn new behaviors.

Understanding Dog Bites

The first step to stopping dog bites is understanding why they happen. Photography by Piter1977 | iStock / Getty Images Plus.

While dog bites are always scary, there are different levels of bites that range in severity. The Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT) has this very readable version of world-renowned dog trainer Ian Dunbar’s dog bite scale, known as the Dunbar Scale. It rates dog bites on a scale from 1 — aggression but no skin contact with teeth — to a level 6 bite where the bite victim dies as a result of the bite.

There are bite levels in between those two extremes that look at how deep bites are and how many punctures are made to understand a dog’s bite inhibition. A bite inhibition is a skill most dogs naturally develop as puppies to adjust the pressure with which they use their mouths when playing with other dogs and with people. The Dunbar scale also provides basic training recommendations for each bite level. This is helpful information to have but doesn’t take the place of working with an experienced dog trainer and/or behaviorist.

Preventing Dog Bites Before They Happen  

Many dog bites are avoidable by managing the situations that you put yourself and your dogs in. (For example, my recent bite reminded me why I don’t like dog parks.) Similarly, learning more about dog behavior and dog body signals can help prevent dog bites. Dog trainer Jill Breitner created the Dog Decoder App in collaboration with artist Lili Chin of Doggie Drawings. The Dog Decoder app is an interactive educational app that teaches you how to understand your dog’s body language. It’s available for iPhones and Androids.

Breitner likens the lack of understanding among the general public to how “back in the day, the only people that talked about psychology were psychologists.” Thankfully, that’s changed, with a wider cultural understanding of mental health for people, and Breitner is doing the same for dogs. “Now, with the digital age, we are able to reach a lot of people and we can get there,” Breitner says.

The Dog Decoder App includes examples of 60 common body postures to demystify dog body signals and help people have better relationships with their dogs. Breitner explains that veterinarians use the app, as do people around the world to understand dogs and prevent dog bites.

Sassafras Lowrey is an award-winning author whose novels have been honored by the Lambda Literary Foundation and the American Library Association. Sassafras is a Certified Trick Dog Instructor and assists with dog agility classes. She lives and writes in Brooklyn with her partner, a senior Chihuahua mix, a rescued Shepherd mix, a Newfoundland puppy, two bossy cats and a semi-feral kitten. Learn more at sassafraslowrey.com.

Thumbnail: Photography © dimid_86 | iStock / Getty Images Plus.

Read more about dog training on Dogster.com:

How to Socialize a Dog Through Dog Training Classes & More

Wondering How to Teach a Dog Tricks? Our Step-by-Step Guide

4 Tips for Finding a Good Playmate for Your Dog

The post Appropriate Dog Bite Treatments for All Different Dog Bite Situations appeared first on Dogster.

[buynewsoul]

Appropriate Dog Bite Treatments for All Different Dog Bite Situations

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 1 in 5 people in America will be bitten by a dog and require medical attention. While many of these stats include children who aren’t properly supervised, with 4.5 million dog bites recorded annually — and this doesn’t take into account bites that aren’t reported to authorities — it’s important to be knowledgable about dog bite treatments for all different biting situations. A dog bit me about a month ago, and it was a painful reminder that dog bites can happen to even the most experienced dog people.  

Dog bites — my story

Dog bites can happen to anyone and any dog. Photography © Molly_Wolff_Photography | iStock / Getty Images Plus.

I think dog parks are often high-stress and poorly-managed spaces. (Going to a dog park? Here are some tips and considerations.) However, my youngest dog, a 17-month-old Newfoundland, is very social and passed the Canine Good Citizen test. So, for a little while this spring, we were taking her to visit well-maintained, large dog parks where people seemed very attentive to their dogs, and where the dogs appeared calm and social. The last time we visited the dog park, a few dogs got into a squabble. As I went to retrieve my dog from getting too close, one of the dogs who had been fighting redirected and bit my shin — twice.

The dog that bit me was one of two Portuguese Water Dogs. (I couldn’t tell them apart and both of them were fighting.) They were at the park with their dog walker, and the dog walker wasn’t watching the dogs because he was helping in a community service project to spread bark dust. Thankfully, once he became aware of what had happened, the dog walker was very concerned and got me the contact information for the dogs’ owner. The owner then provided me with proof of rabies vaccinations and was very apologetic about the incident.

I’ve been involved in dog sports and training for 20 years, and this was the first major dog bite I’ve experienced. Thankfully, I know what to do, but as I talked about the incident with friends, I realized that many people are uncertain about dog bite treatments or how to handle different dog bite situations.

Dog bite treatments — what to do if your dog is bitten by another dog  

Remove your dog to a safe location and fully inspect her. There might be bite wounds you don’t see initially, especially if your dog has a long coat.

Get contact information from the owner of the dog or dogs who bit your dog.

Make sure that you get physical proof of vaccination for the dog that bit your dog.

Collect contact information from any witnesses to the fight/bite in case your dog is seriously injured and the other dog’s owner refuses to pay your vet bills.

Even if your dog’s injuries don’t seem bad and you’ve gotten proof of vaccinations, make an appointment with your veterinarian to have the bite wound examined and cleaned out. Your vet might also start your dog on antibiotics

Consult with a positive reinforcement-based trainer to discuss how to work with your dog to ensure that this incident does not cause lasting anxiety/trauma about other dogs moving forward.

Dog bite treatments — what to do if your dog bites another dog

Remove your dog from the situation, even if she seems calmer.

Give the bite victim’s owner your contact information.

Provide physical proof of your dog’s vaccination records to the other dog’s owner.

Offer to pay for veterinary bills.

Schedule a veterinary appointment for your dog to rule out any underlying medical conditions.

Keep your dog away from other dogs and out of public places like parks until you have a better understanding of what caused the bite.

Schedule an appointment with a positive reinforcement-based trainer to assess your dog and help develop a training plan to ensure the safety of other dogs in the community moving forward.

Dog bite treatments — human to dog

In some cities, any incidents that involve dogs biting humans must be reported to the City Health Department so that the health department and animal control can investigate the situation to determine if they consider the dog dangerous. Research dog-bite laws and regulations in your local area to learn what your rights are as a dog owner.

Dog bite treatments — What to do if a dog bites you

Try to stay calm.

Get the contact information for the dog’s owner. When I was bit, the dog walker and I immediately called each other’s cell phones to make sure we had the correct contact numbers.

The general advice for managing a small dog bite is to clean the wound with soap and water and cover it with a clean bandage and antibiotic cream.

It’s your choice if you seek medical attention right away. If so, the dog’s owner should be responsible for those medical bills

Get a tetanus shot if you haven’t had one in the past couple of years. I thought  you only needed tetanus if you came in contact with rusty metal. Nope — you need it for dog bites, too.

Get proof of vaccinations — especially rabies. Don’t take the owner’s word for it, demand physical proof. When I got bit, the dog’s owner scanned me PDF copies within the first two hours after the incident.

Consult with your doctor to determine if you need immediate medical attention.

If you have a fever, or the wound starts looking weird, hurting more, etc., seek medical attention right away. The dog bite I had ended up getting infected and I had to take antibiotics and get an updated tetanus shot.

Stay in contact with the owner of the dog who bit you in case you need additional information or have more medical bills. 

Dog bite treatments — What to do if your dog bites another person

Secure your dog immediately. This means leash and ideally isolate your dog to ensure everyone’s safety, even if your dog seems to have calmed down.

Exchange contact information with the person who your dog bit.

Immediately provide the bite victim with proof of vaccinations for your dog.

Offer to cover any and all medical bills associated with the dog bite.

Immediately make an appointment with your veterinarian — any dog involved in a bite incident should have a full medical workup to make sure there aren’t any underlying medical conditions.  

Schedule a private consultation with a positive reinforcement-based dog trainer to help you better understand your dog’s triggers, and to help your dog learn new behaviors.

Understanding Dog Bites

The first step to stopping dog bites is understanding why they happen. Photography by Piter1977 | iStock / Getty Images Plus.

While dog bites are always scary, there are different levels of bites that range in severity. The Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT) has this very readable version of world-renowned dog trainer Ian Dunbar’s dog bite scale, known as the Dunbar Scale. It rates dog bites on a scale from 1 — aggression but no skin contact with teeth — to a level 6 bite where the bite victim dies as a result of the bite.

There are bite levels in between those two extremes that look at how deep bites are and how many punctures are made to understand a dog’s bite inhibition. A bite inhibition is a skill most dogs naturally develop as puppies to adjust the pressure with which they use their mouths when playing with other dogs and with people. The Dunbar scale also provides basic training recommendations for each bite level. This is helpful information to have but doesn’t take the place of working with an experienced dog trainer and/or behaviorist.

Preventing Dog Bites Before They Happen  

Many dog bites are avoidable by managing the situations that you put yourself and your dogs in. (For example, my recent bite reminded me why I don’t like dog parks.) Similarly, learning more about dog behavior and dog body signals can help prevent dog bites. Dog trainer Jill Breitner created the Dog Decoder App in collaboration with artist Lili Chin of Doggie Drawings. The Dog Decoder app is an interactive educational app that teaches you how to understand your dog’s body language. It’s available for iPhones and Androids.

Breitner likens the lack of understanding among the general public to how “back in the day, the only people that talked about psychology were psychologists.” Thankfully, that’s changed, with a wider cultural understanding of mental health for people, and Breitner is doing the same for dogs. “Now, with the digital age, we are able to reach a lot of people and we can get there,” Breitner says.

The Dog Decoder App includes examples of 60 common body postures to demystify dog body signals and help people have better relationships with their dogs. Breitner explains that veterinarians use the app, as do people around the world to understand dogs and prevent dog bites.

Sassafras Lowrey is an award-winning author whose novels have been honored by the Lambda Literary Foundation and the American Library Association. Sassafras is a Certified Trick Dog Instructor and assists with dog agility classes. She lives and writes in Brooklyn with her partner, a senior Chihuahua mix, a rescued Shepherd mix, a Newfoundland puppy, two bossy cats and a semi-feral kitten. Learn more at sassafraslowrey.com.

Thumbnail: Photography © dimid_86 | iStock / Getty Images Plus.

Read more about dog training on Dogster.com:

How to Socialize a Dog Through Dog Training Classes & More

Wondering How to Teach a Dog Tricks? Our Step-by-Step Guide

4 Tips for Finding a Good Playmate for Your Dog

The post Appropriate Dog Bite Treatments for All Different Dog Bite Situations appeared first on Dogster.

[grublypetcare]

Appropriate Dog Bite Treatments for All Different Dog Bite Situations

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 1 in 5 people in America will be bitten by a dog and require medical attention. While many of these stats include children who aren’t properly supervised, with 4.5 million dog bites recorded annually — and this doesn’t take into account bites that aren’t reported to authorities — it’s important to be knowledgable about dog bite treatments for all different biting situations. A dog bit me about a month ago, and it was a painful reminder that dog bites can happen to even the most experienced dog people.  

Dog bites — my story

Dog bites can happen to anyone and any dog. Photography © Molly_Wolff_Photography | iStock / Getty Images Plus.

I think dog parks are often high-stress and poorly-managed spaces. (Going to a dog park? Here are some tips and considerations.) However, my youngest dog, a 17-month-old Newfoundland, is very social and passed the Canine Good Citizen test. So, for a little while this spring, we were taking her to visit well-maintained, large dog parks where people seemed very attentive to their dogs, and where the dogs appeared calm and social. The last time we visited the dog park, a few dogs got into a squabble. As I went to retrieve my dog from getting too close, one of the dogs who had been fighting redirected and bit my shin — twice.

The dog that bit me was one of two Portuguese Water Dogs. (I couldn’t tell them apart and both of them were fighting.) They were at the park with their dog walker, and the dog walker wasn’t watching the dogs because he was helping in a community service project to spread bark dust. Thankfully, once he became aware of what had happened, the dog walker was very concerned and got me the contact information for the dogs’ owner. The owner then provided me with proof of rabies vaccinations and was very apologetic about the incident.

I’ve been involved in dog sports and training for 20 years, and this was the first major dog bite I’ve experienced. Thankfully, I know what to do, but as I talked about the incident with friends, I realized that many people are uncertain about dog bite treatments or how to handle different dog bite situations.

Dog bite treatments — what to do if your dog is bitten by another dog  

Remove your dog to a safe location and fully inspect her. There might be bite wounds you don’t see initially, especially if your dog has a long coat.

Get contact information from the owner of the dog or dogs who bit your dog.

Make sure that you get physical proof of vaccination for the dog that bit your dog.

Collect contact information from any witnesses to the fight/bite in case your dog is seriously injured and the other dog’s owner refuses to pay your vet bills.

Even if your dog’s injuries don’t seem bad and you’ve gotten proof of vaccinations, make an appointment with your veterinarian to have the bite wound examined and cleaned out. Your vet might also start your dog on antibiotics

Consult with a positive reinforcement-based trainer to discuss how to work with your dog to ensure that this incident does not cause lasting anxiety/trauma about other dogs moving forward.

Dog bite treatments — what to do if your dog bites another dog

Remove your dog from the situation, even if she seems calmer.

Give the bite victim’s owner your contact information.

Provide physical proof of your dog’s vaccination records to the other dog’s owner.

Offer to pay for veterinary bills.

Schedule a veterinary appointment for your dog to rule out any underlying medical conditions.

Keep your dog away from other dogs and out of public places like parks until you have a better understanding of what caused the bite.

Schedule an appointment with a positive reinforcement-based trainer to assess your dog and help develop a training plan to ensure the safety of other dogs in the community moving forward.

Dog bite treatments — human to dog

In some cities, any incidents that involve dogs biting humans must be reported to the City Health Department so that the health department and animal control can investigate the situation to determine if they consider the dog dangerous. Research dog-bite laws and regulations in your local area to learn what your rights are as a dog owner.

Dog bite treatments — What to do if a dog bites you

Try to stay calm.

Get the contact information for the dog’s owner. When I was bit, the dog walker and I immediately called each other’s cell phones to make sure we had the correct contact numbers.

The general advice for managing a small dog bite is to clean the wound with soap and water and cover it with a clean bandage and antibiotic cream.

It’s your choice if you seek medical attention right away. If so, the dog’s owner should be responsible for those medical bills

Get a tetanus shot if you haven’t had one in the past couple of years. I thought  you only needed tetanus if you came in contact with rusty metal. Nope — you need it for dog bites, too.

Get proof of vaccinations — especially rabies. Don’t take the owner’s word for it, demand physical proof. When I got bit, the dog’s owner scanned me PDF copies within the first two hours after the incident.

Consult with your doctor to determine if you need immediate medical attention.

If you have a fever, or the wound starts looking weird, hurting more, etc., seek medical attention right away. The dog bite I had ended up getting infected and I had to take antibiotics and get an updated tetanus shot.

Stay in contact with the owner of the dog who bit you in case you need additional information or have more medical bills. 

Dog bite treatments — What to do if your dog bites another person

Secure your dog immediately. This means leash and ideally isolate your dog to ensure everyone’s safety, even if your dog seems to have calmed down.

Exchange contact information with the person who your dog bit.

Immediately provide the bite victim with proof of vaccinations for your dog.

Offer to cover any and all medical bills associated with the dog bite.

Immediately make an appointment with your veterinarian — any dog involved in a bite incident should have a full medical workup to make sure there aren’t any underlying medical conditions.  

Schedule a private consultation with a positive reinforcement-based dog trainer to help you better understand your dog’s triggers, and to help your dog learn new behaviors.

Understanding Dog Bites

The first step to stopping dog bites is understanding why they happen. Photography by Piter1977 | iStock / Getty Images Plus.

While dog bites are always scary, there are different levels of bites that range in severity. The Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT) has this very readable version of world-renowned dog trainer Ian Dunbar’s dog bite scale, known as the Dunbar Scale. It rates dog bites on a scale from 1 — aggression but no skin contact with teeth — to a level 6 bite where the bite victim dies as a result of the bite.

There are bite levels in between those two extremes that look at how deep bites are and how many punctures are made to understand a dog’s bite inhibition. A bite inhibition is a skill most dogs naturally develop as puppies to adjust the pressure with which they use their mouths when playing with other dogs and with people. The Dunbar scale also provides basic training recommendations for each bite level. This is helpful information to have but doesn’t take the place of working with an experienced dog trainer and/or behaviorist.

Preventing Dog Bites Before They Happen  

Many dog bites are avoidable by managing the situations that you put yourself and your dogs in. (For example, my recent bite reminded me why I don’t like dog parks.) Similarly, learning more about dog behavior and dog body signals can help prevent dog bites. Dog trainer Jill Breitner created the Dog Decoder App in collaboration with artist Lili Chin of Doggie Drawings. The Dog Decoder app is an interactive educational app that teaches you how to understand your dog’s body language. It’s available for iPhones and Androids.

Breitner likens the lack of understanding among the general public to how “back in the day, the only people that talked about psychology were psychologists.” Thankfully, that’s changed, with a wider cultural understanding of mental health for people, and Breitner is doing the same for dogs. “Now, with the digital age, we are able to reach a lot of people and we can get there,” Breitner says.

The Dog Decoder App includes examples of 60 common body postures to demystify dog body signals and help people have better relationships with their dogs. Breitner explains that veterinarians use the app, as do people around the world to understand dogs and prevent dog bites.

Sassafras Lowrey is an award-winning author whose novels have been honored by the Lambda Literary Foundation and the American Library Association. Sassafras is a Certified Trick Dog Instructor and assists with dog agility classes. She lives and writes in Brooklyn with her partner, a senior Chihuahua mix, a rescued Shepherd mix, a Newfoundland puppy, two bossy cats and a semi-feral kitten. Learn more at sassafraslowrey.com.

Thumbnail: Photography © dimid_86 | iStock / Getty Images Plus.

Read more about dog training on Dogster.com:

How to Socialize a Dog Through Dog Training Classes & More

Wondering How to Teach a Dog Tricks? Our Step-by-Step Guide

4 Tips for Finding a Good Playmate for Your Dog

The post Appropriate Dog Bite Treatments for All Different Dog Bite Situations appeared first on Dogster.

[barbosaasouza]

Publisher Profile: Kitfox Games

For this week’s Publisher Profile, we spoke with Kitfox Games‘ Tanya X Short about how they can use their years of marketing and promoting their own games to help your work.

Who are you?

Tanya X. Short, Kitfox Games: I’m Tanya X. Short, Captain of Kitfox Games.

Can you tell us a bit about your company?

We’re mostly a game developer ourselves, but we published The Shrouded Isle in 2017 and announced that we’re publishing Six Ages: Ride Like the Wind as well. I think we can handle publishing one game per year maximum right now. Currently, it’s basically just for friends I already personally know and who trust me to not screw them over and steal all their money.

What work do you do to help developers reach an audience? How do you make developers’ lives a little easier?

Well, over our five years of releasing and promoting games, Kitfox has learned a lot about the PC and console markets, and maybe most importantly, we’ve built an audience and community that keeps growing. Usually our games have been hybrid RPGs in some way, which means we have access to hundreds of thousands of gamers that might be interested if a new system-driven RPG were to come around. We have 13k Twitter followers (all real, all engaged), a very active Discord, and multiple successful Kickstarters, so… I think other than the obvious “Hey 1-person developer teams, you get more time to spend on the game and we’ll take care of the marketing & community,” we got into this because I wanted to help out some friends.

What is it that you’re on the lookout for (genres, content, etc.)?

Not currently on the lookout for anything! But I think it’s similar for us as for other publishers – we want games that our existing fanbase will get excited about. So…if it has an audience in common with, say, Moon Hunters or The Shrouded Isle or Boyfriend Dungeon, chances are that’s the kind of game we’re up for.

What do you look for in the games you choose to publish? In the developers you want to work with?

Well, since I’m mostly a game designer and we can only handle about one published game per year, I have to prioritize games that I know, without a shadow of doubt, will appeal to the Kitfox audience. I don’t want to take any chances on potentially disappointing the dev I’m trying to help!!! I usually don’t mind if we just break even (we only take 20% after recoup of costs), but I do want the developer to know we’re bringing them value and a unique opportunity they couldn’t have gotten on their own. Trust is essential.

Is there anything developers do to make themselves more appealing to publishers? Anything they do that makes them less appealing to publishers?

I think in an ideal world, publishers wouldn’t exist. In my fantasy, every developer accepts that marketing & community is part of the development process, and handles their own brand-building and social media and whatever. But realistically, when you’re a 1-2 person team, or have certain personality types, it’s just not feasible. Marketing is a hard, weird skill, and takes a lot of time investment.

So, I think the #1 thing you should do before approaching publishers is be honest with yourself (and them) about why you’re not doing it yourself. You’re probably not lazy, but you might be lacking expertise, be over-committed, and/or poorly positioned (physically or emotionally). Understanding your needs will help you have a stronger case for negotiation, because it should be clear what value they’re offering you. You’re the one with an amazing unique game – it should be their honor to get to potentially profit from your hard work. Worry less about appealing to them and worry more about understanding who your game’s audience is and which publisher might already be reaching that audience.

The post Publisher Profile: Kitfox Games appeared first on Indie Games Plus.

Publisher Profile: Kitfox Games published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

[barbosaasouza]

Publisher Profile: Kitfox Games

For this week’s Publisher Profile, we spoke with Kitfox Games‘ Tanya X Short about how they can use their years of marketing and promoting their own games to help your work.

Who are you?

Tanya X. Short, Kitfox Games: I’m Tanya X. Short, Captain of Kitfox Games.

Can you tell us a bit about your company?

We’re mostly a game developer ourselves, but we published The Shrouded Isle in 2017 and announced that we’re publishing Six Ages: Ride Like the Wind as well. I think we can handle publishing one game per year maximum right now. Currently, it’s basically just for friends I already personally know and who trust me to not screw them over and steal all their money.

What work do you do to help developers reach an audience? How do you make developers’ lives a little easier?

Well, over our five years of releasing and promoting games, Kitfox has learned a lot about the PC and console markets, and maybe most importantly, we’ve built an audience and community that keeps growing. Usually our games have been hybrid RPGs in some way, which means we have access to hundreds of thousands of gamers that might be interested if a new system-driven RPG were to come around. We have 13k Twitter followers (all real, all engaged), a very active Discord, and multiple successful Kickstarters, so… I think other than the obvious “Hey 1-person developer teams, you get more time to spend on the game and we’ll take care of the marketing & community,” we got into this because I wanted to help out some friends.

What is it that you’re on the lookout for (genres, content, etc.)?

Not currently on the lookout for anything! But I think it’s similar for us as for other publishers – we want games that our existing fanbase will get excited about. So…if it has an audience in common with, say, Moon Hunters or The Shrouded Isle or Boyfriend Dungeon, chances are that’s the kind of game we’re up for.

What do you look for in the games you choose to publish? In the developers you want to work with?

Well, since I’m mostly a game designer and we can only handle about one published game per year, I have to prioritize games that I know, without a shadow of doubt, will appeal to the Kitfox audience. I don’t want to take any chances on potentially disappointing the dev I’m trying to help!!! I usually don’t mind if we just break even (we only take 20% after recoup of costs), but I do want the developer to know we’re bringing them value and a unique opportunity they couldn’t have gotten on their own. Trust is essential.

Is there anything developers do to make themselves more appealing to publishers? Anything they do that makes them less appealing to publishers?

I think in an ideal world, publishers wouldn’t exist. In my fantasy, every developer accepts that marketing & community is part of the development process, and handles their own brand-building and social media and whatever. But realistically, when you’re a 1-2 person team, or have certain personality types, it’s just not feasible. Marketing is a hard, weird skill, and takes a lot of time investment.

So, I think the #1 thing you should do before approaching publishers is be honest with yourself (and them) about why you’re not doing it yourself. You’re probably not lazy, but you might be lacking expertise, be over-committed, and/or poorly positioned (physically or emotionally). Understanding your needs will help you have a stronger case for negotiation, because it should be clear what value they’re offering you. You’re the one with an amazing unique game – it should be their honor to get to potentially profit from your hard work. Worry less about appealing to them and worry more about understanding who your game’s audience is and which publisher might already be reaching that audience.

The post Publisher Profile: Kitfox Games appeared first on Indie Games Plus.

Publisher Profile: Kitfox Games published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/