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silasopossum · 2 months

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just got the notification that my base is officially in transit to the USA, so im gonna discuss my plans for him rq :]

so basically, all my fursonas have historically been feline (once i got over my horse art phase. i was never really connected to my horse sona anyways). i WOULD have gotten a feline headbase, but the problem with that is very few makers specifically sell a BOBCAT base, it's usually a canadian lynx or domestic cat or lion or something. cool, but i love focusing on small details in species differences so it would bug me forever if i put my bobcat fursona on a canadian lynx base. the other issue is that if i DID make a fursuit for my bobcat sona, i would 100% want a realistic base, since her cartoony design changes so often. plenty of makers sell realistic 3d printed or resin bases, however i am NOT confident in my ability to transfer a realistic design onto a base myself (especially since most realism fursuits involve airbrushing. i dont think i could do that well in an ideal environment, much less my 115 square foot bedroom which is my only workspace). i just dont feel i would be able to do her justice... and i wouldnt really want a toony styled head for my actual fursona.

and making a base myself isn't an option because 1. i cant even sculpt clay symmetrically, it'd drive me crazy if i tried it and 2. aforementioned tiny apartment problems. im not dealing with foam going everywhere... OR learning how to 3d model and print or resin pour or whatever else people use to make fursuits.

so i was looking through makers just for funsies and then i found the opossum base by ligris cybernetics / ligrisprints. and idk why but every ounce of my impulsive body decided "YES. OPOSSUM FURSUIT. NOW." ive never even had an opossum fursona before so i have no idea why i was suddenly so sure about it. but i was! so i decided to just make a new character specifically for this project.

i decided on the name silas (at the URL implies) and i designed a quick character on the fly, based entirely off of photos of real opossums instead of already having an idea. this was interesting for me, since i didnt realize how common the white spots on opossum ears are? i always thought they were only black, but most photos i found showed a little bit of pink/white so i added it to the design

(quick sketch, drawn over the sale image on ligris cybernetics' website. i also loosely based this off of the stylization of my one other opossum character's design. the black bits under the eyes are going to be eyelashes, cut out of felt. the grey will PROBABLY be fur markings, but i might change that to black felt too)

opossums are also fairly easy to design, since they are typically recognizable with only two fur colors (white and grey), and their faces are usually mostly white. it'll be easier for me if i only have to buy two fur colors.

another thing i'm planning on is having handpaws- this will be easy since opossums always have naked fingers... so i'm planning on just buying a pair of fingerless gloves and adding fur to the glove part and leaving my fingers out. will be much easier to wear too

one thing im unsure of is how to fur a moving jaw... ill need to look up some tutorials for this. because i think if i dont add at least a little fur around the hinge, the mouth will look way too wide...

another small issue is that this maker tells tpu ears for basically any species EXCEPT opossums. so my plan is to buy some fosshape plastic and make ears out of that? ill also add minky fur OR felt to them to add the color patterns. i havent decided between the two yet, but i think painting the ears would look strange? even if it's technically more accurate for the real animal.

i also got some fur color swatches a few weeks ago. getting swatches from fursuitsupplies, i tried out baby pink monster, silver lux fox, super short white, silver beaver, and silver lux shag. i like the color of the silver lux fox best, but the texture of the lux shag seems better for an opossum character, so i'm unsure. the beaver feels nice but is too short for what i want the longer bits of fur to be. the super short is nice, but i will still probably get the fur all in one length and just shave it. the monster fur feels gross to touch so i'm definitely not using that. i already know what minky fabric is like so i didn't bother getting samples for that (but i probably will order samples when i decide concretely on what fur to get once the base comes in, just to be sure of the color before i spend money on it).

i'm thinking of covering the nose of the base with pink minky OR pink felt, but i'm not sure if that would work with the base, so i'll decide that once i actually get my hands on it. otherwise, i will be painting it. i also think i'm gonna make a tongue with minky fabric

tail will also be a thing. since opossum tails are prehensile, i want to make it posable... i thought about using plastic ball joints / doll spines, but i know from my longfurby adventures that those are kind of heavy, so i think i will use wire instead.

not gonna bother with a bodysuit, those sound hellish to walk around in. i'm just gonna wear long sleeves and long pants

another thing i an excited / nervous about is adding hair... i want silas to have hair. SPECIFICALLY revenge era gerard way hair

and i know a lot of fursuit makers create hair by putting together pulled-out yarn OR brushing out fur both ways... but i don't like how that looks. since if were meant to believe that a plush in the case of a fursuit tail is flesh, and fur is their actual skin/fur... then it's just like... amorphous globosus... or a gigantic skin tag / tumor... TO ME... many fursuits make this look amazing don't get me wrong but i just couldnt get it out of my head if it was on my own suit. so i decided that i'm going to try and weft the hair, like in this tutorial? https://www.tiktok.com/@chaoticreations/video/7334668616350092577 (sorry for tiktok link, i know this creator uploads to youtube but i couldn't find the short) and this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo4FCmT1DP8 i'm thinking that depending on how i'm able to fur the head, i might be able to make a kind of wig thing that magnets on? i don't want to add the hair directly onto the head in case it looks like shit and i get tired of it, so i want it easily removable. might use velcro instead... also want it really long in the back.

i also got the eye mesh pre-installed on the head by the maker. which will be easy for me if i like it... however i DID request slit pupils and i'm second guessing that decision right now. i'm also unsure if i shouldve made them green instead of grey... but i guess i'll see it once it arrives :]

i also was JUST barely in the sizing for a "small" size head according to this maker, but just to be safe i ordered a "medium" size head instead. if it's to big (which it probably will be), i'm going to add foam inside, which will probably make it more comfortable anyways. iirc you can also use foam to hide the hinges in moving jaws? so i can just use the foam for that too. not sure yet.

and i already have sandpaper and stuff for sanding down the 3d print. just gotta wait for it to arrive... probably a month since it's gonna go from poland to the usa... if it gets lost in shipping i WILL cry (since mail people love to just not deliver to my apartment complex. because apartments are haaaaaaaard to deliver to (even though all the doors are easily accessible from the street with no key necessary)...)

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mimzy-writing-online · 3 years

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Writing Toph Beifong, Advice from a Blind Writer

I’m Mimzy, an actual visually impaired writer and blogger who talks a lot about writing blind characters accurately and sensitively. A while back someone sent me an anon asking how to write Toph more accurately and sensitively.

Anonymous asked: Hi there! Your blog has been super-helpful already - I thought I knew a bit about writing with blind characters, but it turns out there was a lot to learn - but this is more specific. I'm writing a The Last Airbender fanfiction, and one of the characters is Toph. I think the fandom has done a fairly good job of respecting her blindness, but what are some things you'd like to see when people write her? I want to represent the character as best as possible; thanks in advance!

It’s taken a while for me to answer because I have a lot of thoughts about it as both a blind writer and someone who has read a lot of atla fanfiction. So here we go:

Before we get started, I want to mention some things:

One: I have an entire series for writing blind characters that continues to grow with time and the most up-to-date version can be found pinned as the top post on my blog. There will be a time-stamp for when the post was last edited and a long series of links to all relevant posts on the subject.

Here’s a quick link to that post, but again, all you have to do is click my blog url and you’ll find it immediately.

Two: I’ve noticed something amazing about the atla fandom and I would like to thank you for it. I’ve noticed a lot of bloggers have taken to writing image descriptions for both the fanart and memes you post in the fandom, whether it’s OP including the description or another blogger adding it themselves. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a fandom so consistently doing this and that’s incredible. Realizing how many different blogs were picking up this habit has warmed my heart.

I’d like to see writers use her other senses. There’s soooo so much more to her O&M (Orientation and Mobility) than earth sense.

Beyond sight and earth bending, there’s hearing, touch, smell, taste, sense of direction, hot vs cold, sense of pain, sense of where your body parts are in relation to the rest of you, sense of internal well-being, etc. Before Toph had mastery of her earth bending, she had to have mastery of those too.

Toph also must have very strong opinions about certain smells, sounds, tastes, and textures. Toph is opinionated about everything, and when so much of your understanding of the world depends on senses that most people are ignoring in favor of some other sense you don’t have, it gets frustrating. I’m sure that tree looks pretty but the smell is terrible. Who cares if this fabric looks pretty, it’s scratchy, do. not. like. at. all.

But also in positive ways too. Oh, that flower arrangement looks bland and monochromatic? Who cares, it smells sweet and honey-like. Weird dark cavern with high ceiling and no light? The harmonics are awesome.

Every character probably has a certain sight or image they’re particularly fond of: Katara watching snow fall, or Aang enjoying how small the world looks from up on Appa, or Zuko enjoying the sunrise every morning during meditation. In that line, Toph must have some things personal to her that she enjoys.

I imagine she likes the taste of foods familiar to her childhood, the smell of whatever flowers grew around her home, and the texture of certain kinds of dirt Example: loose dirt probably isn’t the best for seeing, but I think she would enjoy how it feels to run her fingers through it or maybe enjoy the way it softens her perception of the world the same way sighted people like to see colorful, bright lights reflecting off puddles in the middle of rain.

If you struggle with this, that’s okay. I recommend taking some time to think about it for yourself, to find what tastes and smells and textures and sounds you enjoy the most, what makes you feel safe and at home, what brings you comfort, and relate that back to Toph.

In a Modern AU, I want to see Toph have a cane. Even in a Modern AU with bending included in the world building, I think Toph would benefit from having a cane.

The cane has a lot more function than bumping into things. A big part is that it signals to others that you are very obviously blind. Which is a big deal because sighted people are really, really bad at spotting the blind person.

(psst, please stop saying ‘the blank look in her eyes’ because I swear to god it’s been killing me inside for years.)

Also, even in an AU with bending, I think Toph would like the advantage of tapping her cane to create a stronger, more distinct vibration than a small shifting of her weight on her feet. It would have more control.

You could give Toph a guide animal, buuuuuuut, um, Toph is not a guide dog person. Like, there are some people who definitely prefer a guide dog, and some people who definitely prefer a cane, and some who definitely prefer no mobility device at all. Toph does not have the vibes of someone who wants to be both responsible and reliant on an animal when she’s so insistent that she can take care of herself on her own. Toph likes animals, but not that much.

Although, yeah, only 10% of the blind community use mobility devices, so cane and guide dog users are the minority of the blind community, but I stand by the vibe that Toph would love the independence of a cane. Also, it’s almost never ever done. Modern AUs never seem to touch much on Toph’s O&M skills with canes or guide dogs.

I wrote a whole post on everything you need to know about canes, what orientation and mobility is, how you learn O&M, what kind of canes exist, how to use them, how to describe the sensory input a cane gives you, and everything I know about guide dogs from past research.

Honestly, you could give Toph (or any blind character) a cane in any AU, because I fully stand by the theory that canes are a piece of technology that has been invented, lost, and reinvented again and again.

I wrote “I found a piece of lost blindness history” a few months ago after a visit to see my grandparents. My grandmother told me how her blind aunt found a way to write letters by hand to send to my grandmother when she was a child. I speculated on how the long cane has probably been invented and then lost and then reinvented over and over again in history, as well as giving a little history on the growing popularity of guide dogs in the 20th century following World War 1.

About the “blank look in her eyes,” I have a theory to the exact cause and nature of Toph’s blindness.

I know it’s common to think that the milky green color of her eyes is why she’s blind, though I’m not sure how many realize that milky green color is caused by severe cataracts. At least, cataracts is what I assume to be the reason for the color of her eyes. However, people with cataracts still have some remaining sense of light and shadow perception.

Only 9% of the blind community is completely blind, seeing absolutely nothing. The rest have some remaining vision, even if that’s only light and shadow perception or the perception of vague movement.

The percentage of people born completely blind is even smaller.

Toph says that she’s never been able to see, which would lead me to guess that the initial cause of her blindness was a defect with the visual processing part of her brain. I also theorize that the cataracts developed slowly over her very formative years and that she likely wasn’t born with them. For that reason, I think it would have taken a few weeks or months for her parents to realize there was something wrong with her eyes.

Here is a post about the developmental years of blind children and how their life would differ from both sighted children and from someone who went blind as an adult.

What is it like to see nothing?

It’s a concept that sighted people struggle with and I completely understand. I myself didn’t understand the concept of “nothing” until someone explained it as this:

“Imagine trying to see out the back of your head.”

Which, genuinely, imagine that. Try that. Because here’s what I found. There’s no part of my body that can help perceive that. I don’t have eyes there, nor do I have a part of my brain that can process that. Because of this, there is no sense of light or dark, no shape or shadow or movement or depth that I can perceive. There is nothing.

And honestly, it gives me a headache trying to think too much about it.

Toph doesn’t see black, doesn’t have a mental image of it. When people talk about light and dark, Toph has nothing to base the concept on. The closest relation she has to that is silence versus sound, or her earth sense when she’s in the air on Appa versus when she’s on solid ground. But it’s not the same.

I would like to examine the way the show tried to describe Toph’s earth sense, that black void with ripples of white stretching from her feet and outwards. Television is a visual medium so of course their explanation of Toph’s earth sense would be visual, but that’s not what it’s actually like in her head. More accurately, it’s like touching the back of your head to something and feeling what’s solid behind it and what has more give. A wall versus a pillow for example. Slamming your hand on a flimsy table and feeling it rattle under your palm. And for someone so adept at using that sense, she feels not just the table surface under her palm, but the individual rattles down the four legs, how uneven those rattles are because the legs are carved decoratively instead of solid planks, and how the foot of each leg bumps against the ground, and how the floor vibrates in response to the impact, which she feels in both her feet and hand.

About Toph’s Relationship with Her Parents

It’s not something I see touched on much. There’s been a lot of focus on Zuko and Azula’s relationship with their parents and the abuse, as well as exploration of Sokka and Katara’s trauma with losing their mother, and Sokka looking up to his warrior father while Katara struggles with her abandonment issues.

Please don’t take this as a critique, because there are a few valid reasons for this and I would like to give you some insight on how to explore Toph’s relationship with her parents.

For starters, the show had a lot more reason to focus on Zuko and Azula’s parents, with Fire Lord Ozai being the primary villain and Zuko’s greatest abuser, and Azula’s dependent worship of her father in response to Ursa’s neglect and favoritism of Zuko, which was likely Ursa’s response to Ozai’s favoritism of Azula. Their parents are huge driving motivators for why Zuko and Azula make the decisions and mistakes they do, why they are at one point in the show the villains themselves. (And why I think Azula should get a redemption arc and some healing.)

Katara’s trauma of losing her mother and blaming herself is a huge factor in both her response to the war, her relationship with her bending, and her motherly nature with her friends. The show has to explore that. Just as it has to explore Sokka’s problems with toxic masculinity in response to being the man of his village, and his desire to be a great warrior and leader like the father he idolizes.

The show needs to explore that to make the plot move forward, and it benefits from these being two sibling sets with different responses to their upbringing and different sibling dynamics, setting them up as foils for each other.

The show also wouldn’t benefit by giving Lao and Poppy Beifong more screen time. Their established character were two nobles who kept as far out of the war as possible and prospered monetarily for it. Poppy was polite and demure and Lao liked to lead the conversation. Unless the gAang decided to return to Toph’s home, those characters had no reason to pop up anywhere in the show. And if they did, they would be a hinder to Toph and her part in the plot as both Aang’s earth bending teacher and as the greatest earth bender in the world, tossing Fire Nation soldiers eight ways to Sunday.

So truly, I understand that there’s not a whole lot of canon material (comparatively) to go off of when developing this, but I will offer some insight on what is there in canon.

Toph’s relationship with her parents is explored in that it maps out why Toph doesn’t want to be mothered by Katara, why she wants to prove how independent she is, but there’s very little on screen interaction between Toph and her parents.

Toph deeply loves her parents. I think that plays into why she doesn’t want Katara mothering her, because she has a wonderful mother at home who she loves and wants to better understand her, but she had no friends growing up and no older sister, which are the roles she needs and wants Katara to fill. If Toph wanted a mother figure, she would have latched onto Katara. Look at how Zuko never sought out another mother figure but did find a father figure in Iroh as he began to heal from his childhood trauma and separate his self image from his father’s acceptance.

Toph is in a complicated situation, she loves her parents but the way they’re raising her is hurting her in the long run. But Toph can see that their actions are because of their immense love for her. She can see how they would do anything for her. While she never had any examples of how other noble children were treated by their parents, who might have been distant or disinterested or always away for their social and work lives, she was remarkably loved by her parents. Her father put careful thought into her tutors and checked in on her progress. Her mother feared for Toph’s emotional state when she was kidnapped (even if she was incorrect about how Toph would respond), showing genuine empathy for her daughter.

I think their over protective nature became the love language Toph best understood them by, and part of her reasoning for not revealing how capable she was, was because she wanted to keep experiencing that love and care for as long as she could. But it’s not a love language she would put up with from anyone else.

I would like to point out Toph’s genuine excitement to see her mom again in the season finale of Book Two, how badly Toph wants her mom to understand and accept her for who she is.

My thoughts on what Toph can’t do: read, swim, see in the sand, fight things mid-air.

For how incredibly powerful the show makes Toph with her earth bending and the O&M she taught herself through it, they do touch on some of her weaknesses when they come up and find a useful way to showcase them.

The Serpent’s Pass was an excellent example of Toph’s vulnerability in water. From her fear of not being able to see on Katara’s ice bridge to not being able to swim and needing Suki to save her, Toph’s weaknesses putting her in danger added to the excitement and “sitting on the edge of your seat” feeling while watching the episode without turning her into someone who was helpless. She was just in a position where her normal defenses were useless.

Just like the earth benders in the metal prison in the ocean, or Katara having little water in the middle of a desert where her friends needed that water to survive more than she needed it to fight, making her vulnerable later in the show when the insect-wasp things attacked. Just like fire benders being weaker at night, or powerless during a solar eclipse, or a sighted person being lost in the dark. Those were just situations in which the tools you were accustomed to relying on could no longer help you or were taken away.

The show was clever in that it didn’t make her inability to read a direct threat to her safety, but rather as a clever plot device for her to be alone when the sand banders attacked and have to choose between fighting them to save Appa, or holding back an entire fricking building by the tiniest spire on its very top from falling into a void leading to the spirit world. It also showed her weakness to not being able to see or fight as well in sand. Which the show later made an effort to show how she’d improved on that problem in Book Three when she was surrounded by nothing but sand at Ember Island.

Like improving her ability to see in the sand, I would like to see a character teach Toph to swim, or at least float, so that she never feels helpless again. If she took the initiative to improve her sand bending so much, I’m sure she would have learn to swim eventually.

And on the note of reading, I’ve seen some speculation on how Toph could learn to read, whether it’s through using ink that has some percentage of earth mixed in, or developing the sensitivity to feel out the different weight, consistency, and texture of ink on paper.

I would like to bring your attention to Louis Braille, the blind Frenchman who invented Braille while studying at the Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles, the world’s very first school for the blind in Paris France (established 1785). Previously Louis was learning to read through a method in which each letter was pressed into the paper to leave an imprint that someone could feel out with just their fingers.

Louis Braille concluded that raised lettering was impractical because-

1. It is difficult to read, the letters had to be printed in huge font to be fully felt out and printed on thick paper.

2. Thick paper means higher quality, more expensive. Larger font means more paper is needed for a single text.

3. This made it inaccessible due to expense and the sheer volume of a text.

4. If today’s Braille books are hard to access and giant compared to traditional books, I can’t imagine how inaccessible those raised letter books really were.

The subject of Braille, the start and controversial near downfall to Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles were discussed in a post about writing a blind character during the Victorian Era.

I’ve heard others complain in the past about fantasy universes in which a sighted person invents a solution to allow the blind to read, when the most effective and longest lived method was invented by a blindman over two hundred years ago and is the standard taught in schools today.

And while I couldn’t easily explain it or how it works because I can neither read Braille nor speak Chinese, I can tell you that Chinese Braille exists and works only slightly differently from the Braille western languages use. So, again, modern AUs especially would benefit from enabling Toph to read Braille and use a computer and phone with screen reader.

But just as easily you could choose not to have her learn to read but rather have sighted people read things aloud to her. Whether it’s in a professional setting as an adult having an assistant who reads and writes for her, or as a cute, fluffy little moment between Toph and another character. Both are just as genuine to the blindness experience.

Blind Jokes

If you ever get around to reading my post about blind jokes, I’d like you to remember that it’s primarily written for people writing original characters and that Toph canonically makes blind jokes, so to take away from that would not be true to her character.

Does Toph’s Earth Sense Negate her Blindness?

It’s a question I’ve seen raised before and discussed by both abled, disabled, and blind people. There are multiple perspectives on it, but my own take on it is that Toph’s earth bending does not negate her blindness, but rather functions very much like the process of learning to use a cane.

She had a tool, a teacher, and she learned to use that tool. Instead of a cane, it was seismic perception and her teacher were blind badger-moles. She spent years learning to earth bend as they do and then continued to take it to new heights as she explored fighting with it on her terms against sighted fighters.

Come to think about it, I would love to see Toph teach another visually impaired or blind earth bender who to see and bend as she does.

Is Toph Good Blindness Representation?

This question was posed to me in the comments of my master post, and my answer was something like this: “Toph is good representation, but she can't be the only type of representation we get. She's the best we had 15 years ago, but there are a million ways to nuance the blindness experiences. Toph's experience being born blind, having very over protective parents, being a small girl in a patriarical and wealth influenced society, having no friends growing up. Those are all great aspects of blindness to show, but there is so much more to explore. As for her blindness and whether or not that's negated, that's also nuanced. She has limits, she's not all-powerful, but she is the best earth bender hands down. More or less, I love Toph, she's a great character, give me like a million more blind characters who are completely different from her.”

I want to see accurate and well-written blind characters become much more common in modern media, and that’s why I started this blog. So if you decide you want to write your own blind character from scratch, feel free to come back and look at some of my other stuff.

End Notes:

I want to thank the anon who sent the original question because it never occurred to me how much the atla fandom would benefit from a post like this.

You should follow my blog. Along with advice about writing blind characters, I write general writing advice and answer questions about writing, college, plot development, character analysis, and living with blindness. I curate writing advice from fellow writeblrs, write my own image descriptions for writing memes, post about mental health and working/living with ADHD, disabilities outside of blindness, and LGBTQA+ topics.

#avatar the last airbender #toph beifong #atla toph #atla #blind character #writing advice #writeblr #fanfiction

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fastcarsgovroom · 3 years

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Don’t really know what to make of still it but here goes (the Lando Norris issue) Pt 3

This is about the Lando Norris and Max Fewtrell (and other involved streamers) issue so you don't need to read it if it's not in your best interest to. I don’t know if this thing is supposed to have blown over or anything, but I’m posting because heck this is my blog and I want to post about things I think are in line with my personal philosophy (and maybe in-group).

The entire rant is in five parts:

Part 1 is where I describe very basically the entire situation, essentially what I saw happening through posts on the tumblr, twitter, and reddit Lando Norris tags

Part 2 is me trying to describe why some fans felt what they felt and reacted the way they did

Part 3 is the videos and what was said of them and how I interpreted them

Part 4 the ‘misinformation’ idk

Part 5 is like, a rant.

Part 3: What was actually said?

The clips of Lando and Max F saying things that were, for the lack of better words, questionable. Clip urls taken from one of the OPs who brought the issue to our attention (hope it’s all right I didn’t credit).

TW for talks about sex, sexism, and misogyny

If anything, listen to the clips for yourself and ignore the wall of text. Make up your own mind. I’m only writing what I’ve seen, and as a way to make sense of it.

Under the cut

The relevant videos are (not in chronological order)

1. Star signs

https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_qqblm5bUU51y0rtc3.mp4

How I’d describe it: Max F brings up star signs (like, the zodiac) because his chat was discussing it. Lando reacts by saying that if a girl asks about star signs, ‘you get up and leave’, apparently in reference to his personal experience with a girl in conversation about star signs. Max F comments that the girl has ‘dodged a bullet’ based on how, for the lack of better words, passionate (’salty’) Lando’s reaction was. Lando retorts that Max F ‘wouldn’t have wanted to be with her,’ providing some information (where the girl was sitting), which causes Max F to recognize the girl and react in an amused but equally passionate way. The other streamer quoted “she crazy”, supposedly in relation to the girl.

How people have interpreted it: Others have interpreted is as being a sexual encounter, Lando being dismissive of a female-skewed topic of interest (star signs) and only listening to her in hopes of a sexual encounter (edit: the more ‘obvious’ “listening to women in hopes of a sexual encounter” is clip 4, added below. But I’ve also seen people claiming ‘dipping’ (said by Max F) and ‘coughing’ (said by Lando) here to be references to sex, along with the ‘you wouldn’t have wanted to be with her’ as, of course, having sex, so I’ll leave this interpretation up. Again, I may be getting this wrong), that Lando and friends were making fun of the girl (’she crazy’, ‘you wouldn’t have wanted to be with her’, how Lando said the topic was ‘so boring’ at the mention of star signs, etc.)

How I interpreted it: Personally, I don’t think we have enough context as to what really went down. I can see how you could come to the above interpretations, but I also, personally, find relating it necessarily to a sexual encounter a reach. Yeah, it could be the men hanging out and getting to know a young woman (girls) but just not jiving with her, or thinking that the woman’s interests were weird and boring. Personal conversations, essentially, that probably has no place on a public stream, but it comes across as being said carelessly and immaturely rather than with malice.

2. ‘Stealing’, ‘don’t want to talk about it’, ‘that [descriptor]’

https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_qqbm90Esu01y0rtc3.mp4

How I’d describe it: This clip starts with a streamer (honestly I can only identify Max F and Lando, sorry) saying Max is bitter, to which Lando adds that it’s because Max F ‘did not receive love from a girl’. This seems to upset Max F, who retorts that if he should ‘tell a few stories’ about Lando, implied to be embarrassing ones. There was a lot of ‘yours’ and ‘mine’ (Lando and Max F) thrown around about the women. Max F brings up that Lando ‘tried to steal mine (Max F’s)’. Lando refutes this, and Max F looks more upset and says repeatedly that he does not want to ‘have this conversation’ with Lando. Lando continues on, referring to the girls as ‘the [descriptor]’, i.e. “the old one?”; “the top golf one?” and “I did not try to steal that one.”

The other streamer appears to take issue with this, saying ‘that one?”, and Max F adds “can we stop talking about it like that?” and doubles down and tells Lando to stop the conversation.

How people have interpreted it: This is the more egregious clip; people took offense at how the women were spoken about (’yours’, ‘mine’), the implications that they can be ‘stolen’, and how Lando referred to them as ‘the [descriptor]’. Some also interpreted Max F’s it as referring to a girl. This all leads into the perception that Lando and Max F were objectifying the women and talking about them in terms of conquests (presumably sexual).

How I interpreted it: I think Lando and Max F were quite disrespectful in how they were talking about the women, more so Lando because he continued with the conversation (in a public stream) despite Max F telling him to stop. It does sound like ‘locker room banter’ about relationships, which is still, ultimately, misogynistic, immature, disrespectful, and inappropriate, especially in a public stream.

What I don’t get is how ‘the/that [descriptor]’ was taken as intentional and malicious objectifying, and how the ‘it’ was referring to a woman and not the entire situation.

3. ‘Cowboy’

https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_qqbq6nhmZR1y0rtc3.mp4

How I’d describe it: The clip starts in the middle off in-game banter, with Lando asking Max F if has any other digs at him, to which Max F replies that he does have ‘plenty off digs’ at Lando. Lando brings up ‘cowboy’ as an apparent dig, to which Max F retorts is ‘not a dig’, but was ‘brilliant’ and ‘very good’ for Lando. The Toy Story reference of ‘there’s a snake in my boot!’ is brought up, to which someone says ‘not the only snake, haha’ in a mock-jokey voice.

How people have interpreted it: There’s probably more backstory to this in previous streams, as OP mentioned. Some have taken issue with, again, discussing personal situations involving a third party (OP has mentioned that the nickname ‘cowboy’ is in reference to a woman). Some also claimed that the nickname ‘cowboy’ is a sex position, so took offense to how it sounded like Lando and Max F nicknamed a woman they knew after a sex position, then openly talked about her in a public stream. Some said the nickname was from the woman’s social media handle, which had a cowboy emoji.

How I interpreted it: This one is weird. I have no idea what the context is. I have no idea how people came to the conclusion that ‘cowboy’ was a sex position. Is the ‘snake’ in reference to male genitalia? I don’t know? I have no interpretation of this other than things without context always sound so weird. There’s entire twitter accounts about shows and podcasts lines taken out of context, which just sounds bizarre.

4. ‘Reward’

https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_qqbfwzG9GC1wg3eue_720.mp4

How I’d describe it: I’m not sure if I can describe it without transcribing the whole thing or putting my own interpretation / narrative here. It’s a public stream, sure, but it sounds as coherent as a bit of disjointed conversation you’ve eavesdropped on (To me, anyway. I’m not being obtuse on purpose maybe I’m just dim).

Clip starts with Lando and Max F sounding very amused with something, with Lando telling Max F about an encounter(?)/incident(?)with ‘cowboy’, referencing ‘rounds’ (round 2… round 6). There’s more banter, Max F saying he was ‘worried’ that Lando was talking about someone else, that he will whatever Lando is doing is ‘good for [him]’, and is ‘healthy’.

Lando says it was “bit boring, really”, to which Max F says ‘oh, 100%, yeah waffle. Complete and utter waffle’ and “gotta do you what you gotta do, listen to her sometimes you know what I mean? Sacrifices do bring on great things.”

How people have interpreted it: Essentially, Lando is telling Max F about his hookups with ‘cowboy’ (the rounds being, well, rounds of hookups). Lando is saying that being with ‘cowboy’ is a bit boring, but Max F saying that Lando has to make sacrifices (his time? listening to boring conversation (’waffle’)?) in order to maintain said hookup partner. The takeaway was that Lando and Max F discussed sexual encounters with a woman (’cowboy’) on public stream, called her ‘boring’, and implied that she should only be listened to in context of getting a hookup is disrespectful. Many were disgusted.

Some, perhaps not having watched the clip, attributed the ‘sacrifices for women’s attention / sexual gratification from women’ comment to Lando. Others are angry and disappointed that Lando did not speak up against the comment, which indicates that he too is complicit with the notion that women should only be listened to for sexual gratification.

How I interpreted it: There’s a lot of innuendo here and ‘keywords’ that are attributed to sex and hookups (i.e. ‘rounds’ being hookups / rounds of sex; Max F’s implication that the many rounds (6) are ‘healthy’, a common description for sexual activity as being a healthy part of the human experience.) So, yes, I’ll believe that they’re most likely talking about their sex life. Why did I use so many words to come to that conclusion, and not just say ‘they are talking about their sex life’ out of the bag? Because that was my thought process so idk what to tell you other than what I did. Maybe it’ll come across as being apologetic and intentionally obtuse, who knows.

Without the context, it’s not going to be very obvious.

So if I’m taking it as their conversation about sex, then the “sacrifices do bring on great things,” will very heavily imply that Lando has to have boring conversations with ‘cowboy’ for sex. Let’s be clear, this is a very disrespectful and demeaning take. It’s also unfortunately a very common one that’s thrown around everywhere in media, among immature men (young or old, lets be real). It’s also very normalized, so I get when people say they find it ‘normal’ or ‘typical’. This doesn’t excuse the comments or topic of conversation.

On the other hand, I can also see a POV that Max F may have said things ironically or sarcastically, since it is a sentiment often used (women are nags) and both Lando and Max F are known to be sarcastic, dramatic, and dry at times. This is a reach to the other end of the ‘harmless banter’ spectrum, but without context, maybe it’s possible.

Still don’t know why ‘cowboy’ is necessarily a nickname derived from a sex position.

Part 4

#tw misogyny #tw sexism #tw sex #tw objectification #lando norris #max fewtrell #long post

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naturepointstheway · 3 years

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Frozen - Domestic Assassin (Crack AU) Masterpost

This is a Masterpost of all the fanfiction I’d written (all on Tumblr) based in @ultranos’ Domestic Assassin crack AU which was hilarious for a fairly good-sized group of us! And from what I”ve seen in my notifications, people are still enjoying and finding fics of mine in this AU even to this day, which is great!

I’ve basically dug into my previous fanfiction pages and pulled them out year by year, so because it’ll be way too much work to try and arrange everything by title, I just went by year. At least Tumblr keeps the links when I copy and paste.

Since there are so many, you’ll find them under the cut. Enjoy!

Pre-2016

Air Mattress Prompt

An exhausted Anna returns home from a hot night with Kristoff only to accidentally make her sister fly off the air mattress when she flops down on it for a sleep.

“Am I supposed to be alarmed by the moon tonight?” prompt

Elsa is so exhausted she gets confused between the sun and moon apparently.

“Can we please stop fighting and talk about the koala in your room?”

Elsa adopted a koala, much to Anna’s exasperation.

“Can you pull this fake cobweb across the door?” Halloween prompt

Anna wants to play a prank on Elsa...

Cell Block Sniper (M - violence and strong language)

Yes. Yes. It’s a crossover. A crossover between “Cell Block Tango” song from Chicago and this AU.

“Do you realise what this means?” “That you’re a really bad shot?”

Elsa is NOT having the best of time trying to instruct a new trainee.

Domestic Assassin AU prompt: Hans’ POV (pre-reveal)

Hans has a visit from Elsa when he dumps Anna.

“Don’t touch that!” (Healthcare writing prompt, Snow Sisters)

Elsa was bound to fall out of a tree at some point and end up in hospital. Anna takes care of her.

Elsa and Weselton prompt

Elsa refuses to let Weselton in the door.

Eyes That Glisten

Anna knows how to persuade Elsa to do whatever she wants.

“God you’re such a grumpy bags in the morning aren’t you?”

Elsa is not a happy camper after a long night where everything just goes wrong. “Holy shit. Most realistic Dementor costume ever.” Halloween prompt

Turns out, Elsa just looks like that most of the time.

“I can’t help being a geek about my vital signs!” prompt (Elsarik)

A crossover between another AU (Shardsverse)

“I don’t think I should tell you what we’re dressed as.” (Halloween Prompt)

Somebody think of the children!

“I dropped my cookie :’(”

Elsa cries when she drops her cookie.

“I feel like a T-Rex”

Anna is too lazy to just grab the goddamn stepladder and get the jam herself.

“I wish I could drive you out of my life with a sword!” (Hans and Anna, prompt)

Anna is NOT a fan of Hans...

“Maybe you should go as an assassin. Oh wait, you already are one.” (Halloween prompt)

Anna is a sarcastic little sister to Elsa.

“No one unfollows like Gaston!”

Anna overhears Gaston boasting about how he unfollowed someone because of a disability. She is not happy.

Ruined Dinner Party

After an hour of waiting for her sister to come to the party, Anna finally spots her with “ketchup” all over her top.

Part 2 of “Ruined Dinner Party”

Of course it wasn’t ketchup. Duh. Anna is NOT HAPPY.

Sleepyhead (drabble, Snow Sisters)

Elsa, going to the kitchen for midnight munchies, spots Anna sprawled on a couch, textbooks all around her.

“So. Many. Triangles. Help me here!”

Anna, not being a maths-y person, gets frustrated with geometry, and Elsa offers to help.

“So you’re going as yourself for Halloween.” Halloween prompt

Elsa is not keen on dressing up as Halloween.

“Tell our parents my Tumblr URL and I swear I will make your death look like an accident” prompt.

Elsa practically threatens Anna when the latter demands to explain her Tumblr URL (of course she quickly forgives her little sis.)

“That mask is all kinds of creepy. I like it.” Halloween prompt

Elsa practically shits herself when Anna scares her while wearing a terrifying mask.

Things you said at 4am prompt

Anna gets a call at 4am on her phone from Elsa, who accidentally sniped the wrong guy..

Those Poor Birds

Elsa mistakes a pair of birds’ mating antics as fighting, much to Anna’s amusement.

“Wait, you’re yelling at a movie?” (Snow Sisters, writing prompt)

Elsa is very confused to find that Anna’s yelling from the lounge is at a movie. Not at an invader.

“Was it really necessary to shoot my pumpkin carving?” (Halloween prompt)

Anna is NOT happy when Elsa decides to use her pumpkin carving for shooting practice.

“What do you mean it’s a sunset…?” prompt

Elsa wakes up only to find that it’s already after sunset, not sunrise.

“What the hell? You gave out alcoholic chocolate to trick-or-treating kids?!” (Halloween prompt)

Anna discovers that her German chocolates had been opened by Elsa, who’d handed them out to kids.

“Where did you leave the spare copy of that book?” (Elsarik DA!verse, prompt)

Crossing over with another writer’s AU with her OC, Alarik. Elsa can’t find that one specific book she needs, and she’s sure Alarik has it.

“You once asked me what I’d do if I had only one day left.” prompt

Anna will most definitely NOT be spending that final day of her life with Hans.

“You did what?!” prompt (Elsa and Kristoff)

Elsa does not appreciate Kristoff’s concern over her having WAY too many cats for one house.

“You mean a line segment.” prompt

Elsa is a huge geometry nerd, even waiting in line for takeaways.

“You should go as an assassin. Oh wait. You already are one.” prompt

Another one where Anna suggests Elsa goes as an assassin for Halloween, only to be all “oh wait, you are one.”

2016

Accidental shooting

Elsa accidentally shoots someone she did not mean to shoot in a library’s basement.

Amuse Me

Elsa’s having one of those blah days and Anna’s there with bad puns all ready to go.

“Bittersweet and Strange” (not based on a prompt)

Elsa explains exactly how she likes her coffee to Anna. Turns out Elsa is also a huge fan of marmite.

“Can’t I at least take this baby koala home?”

Anna, no, you cannot take a koala home from Australia, no matter how cute it is.

Cat Gallery (not based on a prompt)

Kristoff discovers Elsa’s huge photo album of her cats.

“Did you lose your main point…”

Anna hears something about money and bills and wait what now.

“Do nurses ever fall asleep on the night shift?”

Anna visits Elsa in hospital and inevitably someone has to wonder this. Elsa’s adorbs when she’s pouty and Anna can’t help but annoy her on this count.

Fight Me

One sister challenges another to a fun boxing game.

“How did you get these bruises?”

A crossover with another writer’s canon OC, Alarik (”Elsarik”) where he asks how she got some bruises while on the job.

“How many cats are in bed with you?”

Anna marvels that there are nine cats in bed with Elsa.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to have the whole packet at once.”

Do not eat a whole bag of coffee. Do not.

I Have Found My People (not based on a prompt)

Elsa has discovered that certain Scandinavian countries drink the most coffee in the world and wants to migrate there right now.

“I know you don’t want this but it’s for your own good…”

Kristoff is rightly concerned when he finds that Elsa had thirty cups of coffee in 48 hours. Do not do this at home.

“I, uh, kinda dropped it in the water.”

Elsa calls Anna to tell her there’s an emergency: she dropped her wallet in the sea and all the fish now have her personal information.

“I want a Venusian day…”

Elsa tries to explain to Anna why she would not want to live on Venus. Anna doesn’t give a fuck. More hours in the day what’s not to love about that?

Of Cat’s Paws and Adopting Stellar Systems (not based on a prompt)

Elsa is enthralled by a photo of the Cat’s Paw Nebula she has found on the laptop.

Of Monkeying Around and Going Ape (not based on a prompt)

Anna comes home to discover that Elsa has adopted a monkey that had been neglected by its owner. Even Anna is almost (I said, ALMOST) tempted to keep the monkey but her common sense reigns.

“Oh so you were in my bed this whole time?” (nsfw)

Dontcha hate when you’re in the middle of coitus and your goddamn cat has to interrupt you? (Elsarik, with another Frozen writer’s (@patricia-von-arandel) OC for Elsa)

“Once we start tickling, we can’t stop!” (nsfw)

Another steamy one with an old abandoned OC of mine (Jannike), where they find themselves having a quickie while the boss is away.

Rubbish Day (not based on a prompt)

Anna is horrified to find a rubbish bag gone and trails of what suspiciously looks like blood leading outside. Turns out some meat thrown in there leaked inside.

“The best way to get rid of your ex…”

Anna didn’t think that Hans Westerguard would ever end up on Elsa’s targets to “take care of”. Until he does.

The One Time Elsa Caught Anna “Studying” (not based on a prompt)

Anna uses the mirror in the bathroom to practice distinguishing teeth for a medical exam. Elsa suggests alternatives.

“What is this owl doing in our bathroom?”

Of course Elsa would adopt an owl and want to keep it in the bathroom. Of course.

“Who dances in the rain anyway?”

Elsa comes home to discover Anna dancing in the rain.

“Why is there an otter in our kitchen?”

Anna comes home to find that Elsa has “adopted” an otter from a “client”. As you do.

“Why would you wish to be at a backpackers?”

Elsa and Alarik (Shards AU, Elsarik) decide to stay at a backpackers together for some private time.

“Yes, yes the cold doesn’t bother you…”

Anna is not impressed with Elsa standing in the snow when she has a major cold.

2017

The Blood of White Men (not based on a prompt)

As Elsa’s favourite song goes, he had it comin’ all along.

Is the Earth Broken? (not based on a prompt)

Elsa is confused about why the day she thought it was today...actually isn’t. She convinces herself the Earth has somehow broked.

“It won’t be high tide you said…”

Elsa needs to learn that reading yesterday’s newspaper’s high tide times is not helpful.

Kittens on Saturn (not based on a prompt)

Elsa hopes there’s actual giant kittens on Saturn after seeing a graphic manipulation on an astronomy news site.

Of Singing Humpback Whales and Rock Trolls

Kristoff visits Elsa in hospital while Anna’s busy with other things. It...does not go as expected. Poor Kristoff.

“Proboscis Monkeys look ridiculous…”

Anna’s exasperation at Elsa rescuing a Proboscis monkey is still not so great that she can’t help but wonder what would happen if you honked their nose. Anna NO.

“She’s going to kill you.”

Kristoff knows his days are numbered when he spills carrot juice all over Elsa’s brand new rifle. Uh oh.

“There’s a perfectly good reason for all these kittens.”

Turns out Elsa decided to adopt some kittens left on the side of the road when they’re already over-run with cats.

“This is extreme, even for you.”

Elsa is so addicted to her coffee she’s begun pouring them into wine bottles, as you do.

2018

Elsa brings home a parrot

Anna discovers that Elsa has “rescued” a very large, very loud parrot from one of her, ahem, “clients”.

Elsa’s Back Up Cat, Mushu

Anna discovers one of the cats apparently reading a book, and much to her consternation, Elsa explains he’s for back up.

“Oh what a circus!” photo prompt

Anna takes her still-bewildered-after-five-coffees sister to the circus. This may or may not turn out to be a great idea.

#Frozen #Domestic Assassin AU #DA!verse #Frozen DA!verse

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concrete-paver-molds-blog · 3 years

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How To Minimize Concrete Paver Molds On A Winding Path

This could be an important factor to assume about since you're considering of doing the project slightly bit at a time. I even have that very same mould and used it for a sidewalk years in the past. I have a 16x16 foot deck at our present house and used the mould for a sidewalk on two sides. It has held up good aside from the filler between the stones concrete paver molds.

Use a leftover scrap to make a single mold, or buy a benderboard roll and make a quantity of molds at once. Benderboard is often overlapped and secured with screws, however this will depart an impression within the paver, so you'll find a way to simply tape the ends collectively. First brush inner mildew surface with mould launch, making use of with a cheap paintbrush. Remove excess oil with a paper towel or dry paintbrush. Next, measure out dry concrete or mortar mix in a wheelbarrow or utility tub.

While you'll have the ability to definitely choose interesting and beautiful ready-made concrete pavers, making your personal provides a inventive dimension that appeals to many gardeners. Install a paver patio or walkway to add both visual attraction and performance to your landscaping. Pavers assist define a garden’s type while also bettering entry to it and including outdoor dwelling area. Ready-made pavers, although, may be cost-prohibitive for many concrete paver molds homeowners.

Many people are turning to paver molds to create floors for patio areas. Rather than fussing with laying large blocks of stone, they're using the molds to make beautiful patterned areas for out of doors entertaining. In at present's world of big box home and garden stores and smaller specialty backyard centers, you might surprise why utilizing a mold to make concrete pavers is better than buying ready-made pavers. Find a flat, level place on the bottom or a piece of plywood the place you'll find a way to lay your type once it is able to obtain the moist concrete. Pour 2-3 inches of sand on the flat spot, and degree the sand.

If you employ the best concrete paver molds recipe, it can be as sturdy as cement, and quite a bit cheaper; in my case, I basically mixed cement with the clay I dug out of my yard. Bend the benderboard items to form a circle with the two ends butted towards each other. Follow the pure curve because of the board being in a roll.

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You additionally could have plenty of time to regulate the color as you're working on them. You don’t need to end up having to buy expensive stains or dyes, together with etching products and sealants, to appropriate the colour if the color isn’t what you have been going for. Let these take a look at items remedy a minimum of three days -a week is better. You don’t need to use your vinyl straps, just plop your wet combination onto the ground where your stones will go and make them into any shape. Just bear in mind that when the cement is wet, it appears quite darkish, however will cure to quite a light-weight shade of gray that nearly appears white. With my vinyl straps, I was limited to creating solely three molds at a time.

Return tackle isn't the company address on Jaxpety web site. Our customer service will provide you a return handle after return approved. All NON-seller mistake returns for refund are subject to 10% re-stocking payment and purchaser will be liable for the return shipping charge. We need you to be utterly satisfied together with your buy on Wish. Return all products inside 30 days of delivery if they don't seem to be as a lot as your satisfaction. According to the structural design of the concrete ditch, there are notches on the 2 ends of the facet to facilitate the inspection of the ditch blockage.

Concrete Success options all kinds of mould shapes to create interlocking patio stones as well as stones for backyard paths. With so many molds to choose from, you're certain to search out one that matches your backyard. Since including stones and pavers takes time and effort, and the results aren't easily moved once they're put in, take your time to select the right look and feel on your backyard. Be positive the concrete is filled to the top of the shape and is leveled and smoothed.

Mainly prefabricated concrete edge blocks for urban roads. If you do find yourself with leaf stains, a stress washer and some OxiClean, or maybe tsp will help remove them. You need a mix that permits for the biggest dimension stone you propose to make and can meet the thickness you need. Otherwise, good ole fashioned hand mixing with a hoe and extensive bin will work. Here are two different fun tutorials where I used concrete to make a stone formed planter and in addition to make a rock shaped planter. I had my concrete covered because it was the height of pollen season and I didn’t need the yellow pollen staining the stones.

I think you'd be better off with sand or screenings between them rather than mortar unless you'll have the ability to put a concrete base underneath the pavers, you then could be OK with mortar between them. A couple of things I wish to point out earlier than I get onto my question. The first is that the mildew creates particular person stones, this isn't a stamp. Once the mold is removed, they are utterly separated pieces. The mortar is swept in dry, then sprayed with water to create a bond between all the blocks / stones. The second thing is that the finished cement is 2 inches thick.

At my customer's insistance, I did a flagstone patio dry laid on a tamped mattress of stone over fabric & upper layer of screenings. We did everything we may to roll water off the patio. We used mortar joints between the flagstones and so they popped some joints. The key's to make sure you begin with good, quality molds and that you combine constant batches of concrete.

I truly have 225sqft I'm going to be putting in pavers on so roughly $500 or so for normal formed pavers. My spouse is wanting different designs so if this methodology is cheaper it might be a good route. In common, customers are extremely glad with the functionality and usefulness of the Pathmate random stone mould.

The very first thing you have to determine is whether the "completely different designs" your wife needs may be satisfied through the use of molds, or by alternating the design of pavers . Also understand that the finished molded concrete pavers will crack (ideally alongside their "grout" traces, which isn't an issue), and can respond to frost heave less properly than pavers. Spray the inside of the paver mould with nonstick cooking spray to make it easy to release the concrete.

Concrete Countertop Molds And Edge Molds

As well, you should spray down the stroll maker form after each couple of uses- this helps it launch easier. Wash the Poly PVA Solution off the unique stepping stone mannequin with water after which place the original stepping stone and reproduced stepping stones into the walkway. Apply Pol-Ease® 2300 Release Agent to the stepping stone, mold box walls and mildew box bottom board after which brush it out with a dry brush to encourage even coverage. We left zero.75″ of house between the stepping stone and mold field walls to create 0.75″ thick mildew walls. Some gardeners may be intimidated on the thought of making their own concrete pavers. If you might make a cake, you can even make concrete pavers and stepping stones.

If you have a very porous mannequin, like the one on this tutorial, you might have to use more than one coat of Poly PVA Solution. We applied two coats of this sealer, waiting for it to dry (~ 1 hour) in between coats and earlier than moving on to the following steps. Select essentially the most intact stepping stone from the walkway.

There are extra choices than you assume in relation to the molds needed to type stepping stones.

The best part is that once the pavers are laid and vibrated in, the project is done and usable IMMEDIATELY.

This helps to take away any air bubbles that could show up within the stone.

Since I'm in no rush and have loads of time I want to hear from someone who has really tried this technique earlier than.

Dampen the Sand Mix with a nice mist of water (do not over-wet).

If you have the actual DIY spirit, or are simply looking to save money in your next hardscaping project, contemplate making your own concrete pavers. A reference value is offered by the vendor of the merchandise . Percentage off and savings quantities are based on the vendor's reference worth. The reference value can give you a sign of the value of the product butsome shops may sell the merchandise for lower than the reference worth. If you feel a reference price is inaccurate or deceptive please report it with the URL for the itemizing to report-

My concern with massive concrete slabs is the 10x10 that is already there has cracked in several locations and just does not look good. The identical settling in a paver setup could make them slightly off degree in a certain spot, but that is much easier to treatment and look good than a cracked slab. Home made high quality control might attain the extent of crappy 2x2 slabs however not of commercially produced patio/driveway pavers. An interesting aspect observe, was talking to my brother yesterday and talked about I was thinking of getting slightly concrete mixer. He bought a garage and it has a industrial concrete mixer in it with a new electric motor.

Our concrete molds are designed to final, and you must use one p ath maker many occasions. The only cause why one could contemplate shopping for another concrete p ath mould is to make the process even quicker. You could fill in the second brick paver mildew while the primary one is getting dry. But for some purpose, when I made these concrete stepping stones, I didn’t suppose the colour of the pavers would turn out gentle -like the bowl in my exams did. Make natural looking DIY concrete stepping stones or pavers. Color the concrete and mould it into the form of real fieldstones or flagstones.

We actually have 1000's of great products in all product categories. Whether you’re in search of high-end labels or low-cost, economic system bulk purchases, we assure that it’s here on AliExpress. Each order comes with easy to use mold instructions to create ornamental wanting ornamental pieces for your house or garden. • Avoid vigorous tapping when eradicating air bubbles; this can trigger cracks within the plastic. Should a crack develop in the mildew, fill it with epoxy or Bondo, found at any ironmongery store. Apply these adhesives to the outer surface of the mildew.

How To Minimize Pavers On A Winding Path

The Pathmate Paving Stone Mold offers an ideal method to mildew a walkway in a yard with pace and effectivity. It's constructed of a plastic materials that is out there in black shade. This paving stone mildew features varied shapes and sizes so you could get creative along with your pavers. It may additionally be reused after cleansing so you can make as many as you need. This concrete paver mold allows you to design your own path with numerous colors and designs.

Add any desired imprints or elaborations, corresponding to mosaic tile, immediately before the floor begins to set. Using a hose and spray nozzle, clean the concrete residue off the mould earlier than it dries if you finish up finished using it. Gradually add water to the concrete mix based on the directions on the package deal. Stir the water into the concrete with the hoe as you go.

All of the center sections can be accomplished as fast as you can drop them into place. You can estimate approx $2.50/sq ft for the finishing supplies and somewhat bit extra for the gravel/base mix and a few sand to prime it off. The best part is that once the pavers are laid and vibrated in, the project is finished and usable IMMEDIATELY. It is easily repairable and may easily assist automobile and truck traffic. Again, the price just isn't as much as you would suppose becase the pavers are fashioned from very high energy concrete and colored through. To duplicate this, you would wish to buy the most costly type of bagged mix and if you have not priced the dye/coloring combine, you might be in for a suprise.

I can color the concrete to my likening and I get to work at my own tempo and budget. A couple pics of another person's work may be discovered right here and here. Since I did most of this project by myself, I discovered it was best to go combine one other batch and arrange the following mold, pour it and frivolously stage it. This technique made it straightforward to see that I would have a mixture of 5 giant stones and a number of other small stones – again, which if combined, would make 9 giant stepping stones. Also, many people wish to make ornamental stepping stones like garden mosaic stepping stones. They are usually made by including mosaic glass or different embeddable materials into the concrete.

I'm seeking to put a garden shed on some this summer time. Seem like most the stuff I discover on there is leftovers. 225sqft doesn't sound like a lot but if you break it down by pieces I would wish over x8 pavers or x12 pavers.

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stillinaincrad · 4 years

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The NineSpot: Anime I Really Liked with Sequels I Really Didn’t

Am not calling any of these the worst sequels of all time or likewise calling any of the originals the best ever by any stretch of anyone’s imagination, but these are sequels to anime series I fell in love with and didn’t really care at all for what came next. (am not considering OVAs or movies based on entire shows, btw, because they both almost always suck compared to entire seasons anime)

1. Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka)

The original DanMachi series was proof-positive that predictable and cliché can still yield a really great tale when the directing and production is top notch. Everything that should have made it lackluster couldn’t outweigh the feels and I always end up smiling earlobe to earlobe. The characters are beyond well crafted, and it is still crystalline-clear that this project was someone’s pride and joy. I adore the original series. The Sword Oratorio spinoff was -meh- to me, it leaned too much on the original for hooks as it tried to fill in Ais’ backstory and ended up being more about Lefiya anyways (plus they blatantly stole the marquee anthem from Last of the Mohicans, which turns me off a thousand times every time it plays now). Oratorio provided some levity, but did nothing at all to advance the story. Then we got DanMachi 2, which started out with mediocre writing but a killer arc and the backbone surfaced for some amazing story depth to amass, but all we got in the end was the horribly lame Ishtar arc where a depressed fox girl doesn’t want to be a prostitute and Bell feels bad about it. I’ve felt exactly nothing for these characters since the original.

2. Overlord

Take a peruse through my blog and you will see that I have never campaigned for a second season of anything more than I did Overlord. I LOVE the first season, it is an absolute favorite of mine, and being that it is yet another Madhouse anime I honestly never expected more but always clamored for it because Overlord was absolutely deserving. When we finally got S2, it threw me for a loop because the original cast barely appears in the first four episodes, but then I found my feet and eventually got myself into the new episodes. Ironically, that is about all that this second season had to offer to me. The lizardmen arc is fantastic, definitely watch it, but when that ends? Here’s about all you need to know: Sebas has a softer side, Climb is a little bitch. There you go, onto season 3 (which is fantastic, btw).

3. Full Metal Panic

FMP is one of my favorite old-school anime ever, because it balances great humor, great characters, and - despite a shload of filler in the second half - a great all-around story. It is SUCH a gem. Second Raid was a tad bumpy due to a new studio, but still fantastic, and Fumoffu was the comedic break that an already goofball of an anime conjured up and it totally fit as long as no one took it too seriously. Then, some 15yrs later out of nowhere we get Invisible Victory, which Xebec used to completely rewrite everything, and not in a good way. From go, Kyouka - an important supporting character from the outset - is killed and totally glossed over like it wasn’t significant asf, and I got pissed. Then all the already-established characters took on totally new personalities of grave seriousness, which was never the brand. When you take previously established characters who have always been hopeful, energetic, and buoyant to a fault, always looking forward and up - and suddenly make all of them overtly dramatic, hardened, and inordinately austere across the board, it totally cheapens the original and to an extent that superflous doesen't even begin to describe. Massive franchise fail, Xebec - dishonor on you, dishonor on your cow. Easily the sequel I have hated the most. As in, ever.

4. Sword Art Online

Look, I am the last person you need to tell how much bad this series has divulged into. I was so all-in on the concept, the characters, the drama, and the love of the original series. Do you think it’s ironic that I’ve been doing this almost 5yrs now and haven’t changed my URL? I’ve always said that if the first Matrix movie were left alone and that was it - Neo giving that threat and then flying off into the credits and we have to make up the reality that may or may not have transpired after that - that it would be in the top 10 movies ever made. That’s how I see the first arc of SAO. It was THAT good, I have somehow watched it more than anything ever made. I originally considered the whole second half of the first season to be filler and am always turned off at the molestation that it celebrates, but said it was ‘for the story’. Then the Sterben shiz happened and I said ‘yes, it’s the EXACT SAME STORY but it’s going somewhere’, and then it did, to somewhere absolutely worse. I made it about halfway through Alicization and I up and quit altogether. SAO is such a shit franchise - the only thing that has gotten worse than the animation is the writing, the characters that used to be great are so incredibly shallow and annoying now, and I have made more fun of something I used to love than anyone. I am the first to admit I am a huge heel for most of what I have said in support of it in the past. But omg those first 14 episodes. I can’t label the initial tale of SAO as anything but amazing. And if those 14 episodes were the only episodes we ever got, I would easily call it one of the best anime ever made.

5. Date a Live

I almost have to laugh that I am about to mention Date a Live after that. DAL was never going to be confused with a good anime, but it was fun. It was silly and rampant and insane, but you still fell in love with the characters because they were totally and completely worth falling in love with. Then DAL2 happened, and I hate this season a little too much. It was released too soon, it was done too poorly, it was just every kind of measurable cringe. The only thing worse than the writing was the lackadaisical and pedestrian voice acting, and that’s saying a lot considering how intern-worthy the animation of the second season was. DAL3 redeems itself plenty, the characters become likeable again, and there is an actual story and it isn’t awful and harkens back to seeds planted that were never developed, and at least part of the budget was dedicated to better artwork. But wow - DAL2 is just pure hot garbage.

6. A Certain Magical Index (Toaru Majutsu no Index)

The first two seasons of both Raildex series have casts I'd pretty much take on an entire den of Wendol with a soup spoon to protect. They're just that good, so I was beyond excited when a third Index season was announced. I've never read the source material, so maybe some were ready for it more than I was, but Index III started off TOTALLY different - the blood and brutality is turned up past 10, everybody up and turned into an a-hole about everything, and it all felt very foreign to me compared to everything before it. But, I stayed in because I was still invested in the characters and wanted to see where it all went. It eventually reminded me a lot of the good 'ol days of anime where it wasn't always happy, where sometimes even the good guys made you feel bad, and where there was a fairly complex storyline that you really had to pay attention to if you wanted to keep up. The difference is, a lot of those shows were good. Index III just... was. I got nothing out of choking my way through the entire season, and really didn't care about anything but finishing it long before I ever did. I still feel a bit betrayed that this was the anime that fans waited 8 years for.

7. Eureka 7 Ao

No need for any exposé. Screencap says it all. How you follow up one of the most epic mecha anime ever with this fail of a series is beyond me. Great music, absolutely abysmal writing.

8. Infinite Stratos

Was Infinite Stratos good? Original, yes. Fun, yes, Characters that made you care about them, yes. But good? BWAHAHAHA NO, it absolutely was not good. IS is one of a handful of titles I chuckle about saying I enjoyed, because it's quite bad. Which is how you know IS2 is total dregs, because it's so very bad that it makes the first season look kinda decent. There was a story worth developing in place in the second season, they just chose to go full potato on the harem and fanservice elements instead, and decided that the writing didn't really matter. The ensuing episodes are for the most part just too much stupid to watch.

9. Blood Blockade Battlefront (Kekkai Sensen)

A bit of an odd duck, Kekkai Sensen introduced us to a world of enigmatic and strange bedfellows traversing a totally bonkers landscape of a world that somehow all manages to come together as a collective yaaas in the end. There is a unity that develops between them which task by wacky task binds these otherwise incongruent personalities together towards a common goal, and interpersonal gold eventually develops between them. The strengths of the individual are blended like watercolor to reinforce the weaknesses of the individual within the resulting eccentric genus. A cliché but nonetheless robust red string of fate ties all the loose ends together and a fantastic actuality of cognizance materializes between the ragtag cast and the forces that amass against them, and the first season ends with a feel-good that no one could have ever seen coming. It really is a great ride. Then the second season happens, and the glue that holds it all together feathers and ‘stuff just happens’. I was disappointed that all that great writing and plot that intertwines in the first season is totally absent in the second, and in the end it becomes just tales. I wanted so much more and got barfly stories regaled secondhand.

#is it wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon #dungeon ni deai wo motomeru no wa machigatteiru darou ka #overlord #full metal panic #sao #sword art online #date a live #a certain magical index #toaru majutsu no index #eureka 7 #eureka 7 ao #infinite stratos #blood blockade battlefront #kekkai sensen #anime

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arcadia-trash · 5 years

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Basic Reproduction, Pregnancy, and Childbirth info for fanfic writers

As a mom myself as well as a future midwifery student, one thing that can really get me out of the escapism of fanfiction is the inaccurate or awkward depiction of pregnancy and childbirth. Whether because it is overly simplistic, written traumatically, or shares misguided ideas surrounding fertility and childbearing, it just really has me not enjoying the content despite it being a good story otherwise. The downside of being well-versed on a certain topic is that you become quite good at seeing misconceptions about it in fiction!

And especially since so many fanfic writers are either too young to be parents or are childless, I felt: hey, why not help out a lil bit? I love your stories and growth as a writer, so I think it’s only fair that I can contribute in some way. It’s not so much a how-to guide, mostly just basic resources to study from or refer to, but I do have a small commentary here and there.

I tried to make the list as encompassing as possible, to include resources that could help with fantasy, sci-fi settings, as well as ideas for non-human characters. So this list is for more than just typical human stuff!

You can read more below the cut:

Fertility Awareness, Health, and Birth Control:

This part is important to fully understand how and why a pregnancy can occur. Contrary to what a lot of people learn, you actually CAN’T get pregnant on any day of the menstrual cycle -- and birth control can fail in various ways even when used correctly. I figured this would help writers better describe how a character falls pregnant by way of BC failure, and not keep it so vague and mysterious. And hey, if that means free sex ed for teen and adult writers, then more power to them. :)

fertilityfriday.com

larabriden.com

avivaromm.com

factsaboutfertility.org

bedsider.org

Pregnancy:

Pregnancy can vary wildly in experiences, so I tried to include mostly resources for pregnant parents that take this into consideration. You can also find info on pregnancy stuff in resources listed in the childbirth list!

babycenter.org (they also have info on raising kids up to five years of age!)

americanpregnancy.org

womenshealth.gov

Childbirth:

My favorite part! Here you will find lots of birth stories -- all quite varied -- and will give insight into how birth can play out. The resources above also discuss childbirth.

midwiferytoday.com

birthwithoutfearblog.com

spinningbabies.org (they have a blog you can read from)

evidencebasedbirth.com

A really neat article about a really neat midwife! https://www.healthline.com/health/betty-ann-daviss-midwife-breech-births

You can also search for birth videos on youtube. Just be careful -- they are often “graphic” in that they don’t blur out genitalia or blood (both of which is normal in birth btw, but it may come as a shock to some out there) and I found a few (not many, but enough) birth videos where women were verbally harassed by care providers. Just sharing this so that you can decide for yourself if it’s worth searching.

Postpartum (post-birth recovery):

Most of the pregnancy and birth info I post above will comment on postpartum recovery and traditions. However, here are more specific resources that can be useful for writers.

slowpostpartum.com

postpartum.net

postpartumresourcegroup.net

article comparing postpartum recovery traditions around the world: https://www.scarymommy.com/postpartum-care-is-better-other-countries/

LGBT representation:

I know a lot of fanfic writers use their craft to share their desire for positive LGBT stories. If this is your thing, here are some parenting and pregnancy resources that real LGBT people use when growing a family; it will help keep the realism respectful and accurate when writing for your LGBT character(s).

La Leche League on chestfeeding/breastfeeding for LGBT parents: https://www.laleche.org.uk/support-transgender-non-binary-parents/

You can follow the Queer Doula on facebook for ideas and information on LGBT birth as well, they are Non-Binary: https://www.facebook.com/TheQueerDoula/

Badassmotherbirther and The Warrior Within Birth Services also occasionally share LGBT posts and encouragement (also on facebook)

POC-specific resources for cultural sensitivity:

I hate lumping all non-white cultures into one “POC” grouping, but I felt this would be the easiest way to keep the list organized. I included organizations run by and for Indigenous and Black women, since they face the most discrimination in the birthing world. I was going to link resources for Latino families as well but I couldn’t find any, sorry. :(

Indigenous Breastfeeding Counselor: https://www.facebook.com/IndigenousBreastfeedingCounselor

Indigenous Birth Workers Network: https://www.wisewomengp.org

Wuttahminneoh Birth Work (I am so sorry for the funky link facebook will literally not give me another URL): https://www.facebook.com/heartberry.bw/?__xts__[0]=68.ARAsiZyY90fZivjKJkF0MtcjMTiRhOHOT0Q-QiJe3FTwFJfBpKtNDMsQQLog8A2Uv0VC7ki5CRKR9Oi8RNuR2RHAHVmAm3aHQxTmuo5tvpFu4i7lZfMlnFmo8LTVc8-Qfd6wnA1itDCh4o4qtc45MUJI9NZh4lvVBXhLbnMGck6AiDUzFjrIyDikppt4lnX1jjFzkx-g5QCapbeX3BqpuWWvtHpw35L7QzbmOoyW-1iFi4S2s997u795VFAKLVEkqWTFyzmZhJdZbGd3gzt2lzJ-jB1crYe-y-eaLrbnBYmfar8UYToVNu-hOCVojr3pnLfaZn-tIwxwiXyBXz-jnwkCt52mrKaVagcK6l6GkzE91pN8GncBkQ

A Story of Indigenous Birth Justice: http://micemagazine.ca/issue-two/story-indigenous-birth-justice

National Black Midwives Alliance: https://blackmidwivesalliance.org

Black Women Do Breastfeed: https://blackwomendobreastfeed.org

Different types of reproduction in the animal and plant kingdoms:

I’m not much an expert in this area, though I do find it fascinating. If you would like to use ideas from nature for head canons about non-human races, then go nuts -- the natural world is full of inspiration!

Plant-based biology:

https://byjus.com/biology/plant-kingdom-plantae/

https://www.britannica.com/science/plant-reproductive-system

Animal-based biology:

https://www.britannica.com/science/animal-reproductive-system/Sponges-coelenterates-flatworms-and-aschelminths

https://byjus.com/biology/animal-kingdom/

Asexual vs Sexual Reproduction:

https://biologywise.com/asexual-vs-sexual-reproduction

And youtube has a lot of documentary videos of animals giving birth if you want to check it out.

A note on traumatic/dramatic birth scenes:

I, personally, have a special request:

PLEASE stop writing traumatic birth scenes.

No death of the mother or the baby. No focus on out of control pain or death by infection or “““blood loss”““. No birthing during a battle or other climatic event.

In the United States and other parts of the world, millions of women struggle with PTSD or postpartum mood disorders due to mistreatment and trauma experienced at birth, and many more are simply surrounded by negative depictions of birth in mainstream media.

Women are told, every day through common media tropes, that birth is scary and anything can go wrong and that they have no choice in how birth may or may not turn out. While it is true that something may require medical attention, most pregnancies are low risk, and many complications at birth or after birth occur because of medical negligence or lack of informed consent. But this mistreatment and negligence is often put into the spotlight as a way to sanctify care providers and scaremonger women about their bodies.

If you would like to do a small part in normalizing fertility, pregnancy, and birth, then I humbly request that you do so by keeping birth simple and refreshingly non-traumatic. If you absolutely MUST have a dramatic birth scene, at least keep it accurate to what can actually happen, and warn your readers ahead of time on where to skip the scene. An author did that for a trauamtic birth in a fic I read, and it was a lifesaver for me. I did not have to re-live my own trauma from my first birth, and instead was able to focus on the story outside of it.

Otherwise, I would much prefer to read a silly, happy, or even just plain old NORMAL birth scene myself. I never see this. Often the birth scene is either traumatic/dramatic as an excuse to hurt or kill off a character, or it is comedic to make fun of natural birth. For once, I would adore to see a birth just as it is: a powerful moment where a mother (and father or other parent) meets her child, whether naturally without medical intervention or during a healing, family-centered c-section. When it comes to positive and accurate representation, birth is sorely in need of it! If you have a hard time of knowing where to start, just read the many positive birth stories out there -- they are great for inspiration and encouragement.

Thank y’all for reading, it means a lot. :)

**NOTE** I may expand this list in the future. If you would like to add anything here, please let me know.

#writing resources #writing reference #pregnancy #childbirth #postpartum #parenthood

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dyinglightroleplay · 5 years

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𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐒.

NAME : Alice Longbottom RELATIONSHIP TO THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX : Founding Member ( active - duty ) AGE / BIRTHDATE : 39 Years Old / January 10, 1940 7:51PM ZODIAC SIGN : Capricorn ( sun ), Aquarius ( moon ) + Leo ( rising ) EDUCATION : Hogwarts Graduate ( Slytherin House ) BLOOD STATUS : Pureblood

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒.

✧ Lily Evans ( platonic ) ✧ Gideon Prewett ( antagonistic ) ✧ Remus Lupin ( player’s choice ) ✧ Frank Longbottom ( husband + partner )

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐍.

In Hogsmeade, assisting the ongoing evacuation following the Battle of Hogwarts. She is not operating in a professional capacity.

CHARACTER NOTES : Alice is currently maintaining full - time employment in the Ministry of Magic as an Auror, alongside her husband, Frank.

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒 : 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐍.

PLAYER : Jinx FACECLAIM : Amanda Seyfried URL : @legatvm

𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: DEATH OF A SIBLING, DEATH OF A PARENT, MENTAL ILLNESS, MENTIONS OF GENDER DYSPHORIA

ZERO / RISING. * HOW IS YOUR CHARACTER PERCEIVED BY OTHERS? WHAT MASK DO THEY WEAR, AND IS THERE MORE THAN ONE?

Alice the revolutionary, Alice the girl, Alice the Auror. She wears them differently and wears them well. Perhaps it’s Alice the Auror that is the most duplicitous but she excuses it because it’s for the greater good and Alice would do just about anything for the Greater Good. Alice the martyr, maybe sometimes appropriate, though she resents it.

It’s not that Alice went into being an Auror thinking she would have to do all this lying, it’s that she went into it wanting to make the world a better place. Sacrificing the integrity of her job was a necessary sacrifice, she felt, when it was for the Order. Being an Auror had always been the dream since she was young, she wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps. But when the Ministry refused to do anything that Alice thought was appropriate to help the increasingly tense political climate, she did what had to be done.

But it wasn’t enough. It never felt like enough.

Leo is the fifth sign of the zodiac and rules the back, the spine, and the heart. Positive traits include CREATIVITY, CHARISMA, GENEROSITY, WARMTH, ENTHUSIASM, A NATURAL TALENT FOR LEADERSHIP, AND A GREAT DEAL OF INNER POWER; negative traits are haughtiness, snobbery, an expectation that one is the centre of attention and should be waited on by everyone else, PROFLIGACY, lack of realism, dominance that can lead to bullying, and A REFUSAL TO CHANGE ONE’S MIND EVEN IN THE FACE OF SOLID FACTS.

Slytherin Leos can be either very good, or very bad. At their best, they exemplify all that “nobility” is made of: confidence, openness, charm, initiative, generosity of spirit, wisdom, judgment, and poise. At their worst, they become elitist, bullying bigots. How they end up depends on the company they keep, and how they are encouraged to act early in life. Either way, they never lack attention - it’s hard to ignore a Slytherin born under this sign. These Slytherins usually end up in positions of responsibility and leadership, because of their charisma and natural ability. Their creativity and drive also makes them very resourceful.

Leo as a rising sign is perfect for Alice, because what she displays and shows people is vast while also being warm. Not only does the name Alice mean ‘noble’ but it lends to her being charming, friendly, enthusiastic, confident – she shows such openness, it almost feels impossible not to trust her. It also works because had Alice grown up around bigots, around a father who trained her to be a weapon & not to help people, a mother who didn’t instill altruistic beliefs into her – she would’ve easily fallen into being on the bad side of being a Leo.

Alice is open-minded person, something she’s been since she was younger, something she will never grow out of. She believes the impossible as much as the possible, she believes in it and because she’s not rigid or thinks she knows EVERYTHING, she’s often got an edge during dueling when it comes to figuring out her opponent’s strategies. It adds to her being resourceful. Alice isn’t always the most creative in a traditional sense – her being a fantastic dueler and was able to navigate herself in Slytherin house was due the fact that not only is she cunning, but is also so resourceful. She’s able to see other people’s side of things while having the ability to manipulate people’s perception of her to work in her favor. She knows how she’s seen, she uses it to her advantage, often taking mental ( and physical ) notes of the people around her.

Alice sees the world so openly and vast, she thinks, why not? Facts are only facts because they haven’t yet been proven otherwise, and Alice believes it only takes a little bit of doubt to undermine a fact – something easy to do. I bolded ‘profligacy’ because Alice has grown up never having to worry about money, and is the type to spend it on people she loves, buy them thing after thing, anything they need. Alice always has the latest record and few extra to give away to friends, she’s there to cover your bus fair or even a train ticket if needed. She comes off mothering and maternal, especially as she gets older, she wants to take care of anyone who needs to be taken care of and give back in any way she can – which is where the dominance can come in. Sometimes overbearing, when Alice believes something is best for someone, it’s hard for her to change her mind about it – this oftentimes comes off as extremely controlling even though she means well. She’s the type of person to check up on you if you even mention that you’re having a slightly off week, and ask if there’s anything she can do to make it better. This is definitely due to her generous and hospitable nature, but it is excessive and always has been – not something she would ever change as long as she lived.

ONE / THE SUN. * CHOOSE ONE TO EXPLORE : WHAT ABOUT THEIR PERSONALITY, GENERAL PREFERENCES, SENSE OF SELF / EGO, OR FUNDAMENTAL TRAITS ATTRACTED YOU TO THEM?

Capricorn is the tenth sign of the zodiac and governs the bones, joints, and knees. Positive traits include PRAGMATISM, MATURITY, PATIENCE, DETERMINATION, AWARENESS, A STRONG WORK ETHIC, realism, DISCIPLINE, money management, THE WILLINGNESS TO OVERCOME HARD LUCK, LEADERSHIP, INITIATIVE, OPPORTUNISM, prudence, and CUNNING. Negative traits include pessimism, MELANCHOLY, EMOTIONAL COLDNESS, MANIPULATION, OBSESSION WITH WORK AND AMBITIONS TO THE DETRIMENT OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, REMOTENESS, and materialistic snobbery.

The traits emphasized here will be ambition, determination, discipline, and pragmatism. You can’t make that castle in the sky if you don’t build a solid foundation under it, and Capricorns excel at building foundations. (Actually, they excel at planning the foundations and directing others to do the grunt labour. It’s not that they’re afraid to get their hands dirty, but large work usually requires delegation and a staff, and Capricorns are managers more often than not.) While not flamboyant or showy about it, Capricorns still tend to be obsessive overachievers, a common trait in House Slytherin. Too, wizards born under the sign of Capricorn are good at being discreet, secretive, and diplomatic; whereas the Libra’s diplomacy is based on charm and a desire for harmony, THE CAPRICORN’S DIPLOMACY IS BASED ON THE KNOWLEDGE THAT BEING ON GOOD TERMS WITH PEOPLE IS EXTREMELY USEFUL IN GETTING ONE’S WAY OR FINDING OUT SENSITIVE INFORMATION. These also are traits commonly associated with House Slytherin. They might not be sexy traits, but they’re very handy.

The biggest trait about Alice that drives me to her is the way she deals with people, the way she knows how to read them and understand them. How she’s able to manipulate those around her, as both a negative and positive trait. Like the description says, Alice knows it’s better to be on good terms with people because it’s useful in many respects as opposed to her wanting to be on good terms because of personal feel-good reasons.

Alice craves power over situations she can control and even more so over those she can’t, it’s a weakness but it’s also a driving force that propels her to push. There’s an obsessive side to Alice’s personality that only gets more pronounced with age, though she tries to contain it, it comes out in the things she does. Whether it’s being extra thorough at work or being particularly persnickety over her own dueling technique ( or the other Order members who are learning proper dueling technique from Alice because she’ll be damned if they don’t learn some while she’s partly in charge ), Alice is always obsessing over something.

While Alice can come off as all warmth and sunshine, the part of her that is more often than not what comes out when push comes to shove is that pragmatic leader. She knows what needs to be done to keep the Order going and does it, even at the detriment of her own personal health & needs. To her own morality and ethics at times, as well. Alice is the first to suggest something that is not typically done or the proper protocol. Though, for the Greater Good, or what she believes is the Greater Good, Alice is always willing to bend the rules for.

Her need to protect The Vision™, her vision, of what the future could be for the generations after them, is steadfast. She wants so badly to make the world better than it is, to fight for the future and the generations before her, to make it a better place, that she can be one track minded and have complete tunnel vision. Alice wants the power because she believes she could wield it the right way, she’s ambitious because as much as she’s been told no, she’s been told ‘yes’ and doesn’t know when to stop.

This doesn’t negate the fact that Alice has indeed built a beautiful life for herself in the midst of a war, she’s got a husband who she loves, a career, she’s a founding member of the Order, she still has her uncle Florean and Fortescue’s. Her foundation has cracks in it, like the loss of her father, her mother being emotionally absent after the stillborn birth of her brother, but they’ve been filled with new life experiences and a lot of love all around. Alice has worked to make her life what she wants it to be and though her mind betrays her to make her feel like she needs more, to do more, to be more, she’s got plenty in her life to be proud of.

But still, it never felt like enough.

TWO / THE MOON. * WHICH COLOR WOULD YOU ASSOCIATE MOST STRONGLY WITH THEM AND THE EMOTIONS THAT DOMINATE THEM? DESCRIBE HOWEVER YOU’D LIKE.

Green. Your second favorite color to dye her hair during spring. Your favorite color since you were 13 years old and decided that bubblegum pink was cute, but green was a classic. The color of your mother’s overgrowing garden that she still tends to when you go to visit her. A greenhouse, engulfed in green, though other colors illuminate the space it’s lush greenery you see. Rebirth, for every time you decide to try a new hairstyle or get a new tattoo.

Anger and Love. Anger feeds into love, love feeds into anger. Anger for when a case goes unsolved and she’s told to just drop it ( she never does ). Anger for when another person dies on Alice’s watch, another family suffers because Alice couldn’t do enough to dispell their worries. Anger is Alice throwing a hex too hard during a practice, running too much til she’s past being out of breath, dueling til the wand varnish comes off the blisters start to accumulate.

Love for the people around her. For the young Order members who have so bravely given themselves to the cause, for her husband, for her uncle and his shop, a gleaming place of sanctuary in this war. Love, imagining what the world could be without a war, Alice ready to rebuild and grow after it, if she makes it through. Love for a world ravaged by the political climate, love when you have reasons to be angry.

THREE / MERCURY. * WHAT IS THIS CHARACTER’S AREA OF EXPERTISE? WHERE DO THEY EXCEL?

Some children are put in ballet, some in tap, but Alice had dueling lessons. At least, she did what she could do without a proper wand. Her father taught her good form, different dueling techniques, strategies, everything you could know about what Alice considers a sport, she learned. The history, the customs, those of other cultures, she learned. Being Dueling Club captain for her house was an honor and an accomplishment while she was in school, something Alice feels extremely proud of even to this day. Though as an Auror she never wants it to escalate to having to get into a Duel with someone she’s pursuing, it can be exhilarating dueling at that caliber.

#alice longbottom #marauders era rp #harry potter roleplay #hp rp #marauders rp #taken #sibling death tw #parental death tw #dysphoria tw #mental illness tw

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scatteredstoryteller · 5 years

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– one / NAME / ALIAS. I don’t really like disclosing my real name, especially in public social medias, due to previous stalker issues, sorry... But I have a lot of nicknames/aliases (usually based off characters)! The most common one is Tigi though :3 – two / BIRTHDAY. June 20th – three / ZODIAC SIGN. Gemini – four / HEIGHT. 5′4″ – five / HOBBIES. writing, roleplaying (aka more writing), gaming (so much gaming...), spacing out and daydreaming, petting my animals~ – six / FAVOURITE COLOURS. Reds, purples, black...

– seven / FAVOURITE BOOKS. Right now it’s probably The Cry of the Icemark by Stuart Hill... Though also I love Rick Riordan books. All of them. – eight / LAST SONG LISTENED TO. Probably something by Muse – nine / LAST FILM WATCHED. Uhh, I don’t watch a lot of films so I have no idea actually... I tried checking netflix to see but I’m coming up with a blank. – ten / INSPIRATION FOR MUSE. Oh gosh I have a lot of characters... I will list inspirations for all of them below a cut... Be warned, it’s long. <3 - eleven / GOD KNOWS WHERE IT WENT. Psh, this reminds me of the spare room in my house that just gets filled up with boxes upon boxes of random junk since my Dad has a version of OCD where “out of sight, out of mind” heavily applies with mess... A lot of things have just straight up vanished that I knew were in there (the working theory is that there’s a mini black hole in one of the boxes).

– twelve / MEANING BEHIND YOUR URL. Scattered storyteller... I think it’s pretty self explanatory. :P

Tagged by: @liott-monar

Tagging: @grumpyshipdoc, @rinsole, and you if you haven’t done it. Do it and tag me! I want to know about you too!

Now for the promised below the cut info!!! (Also yes that is my cat)

Character Inspirations

Alithea Rozen - Pirates. That’s mostly it. I like pirates. There’s a lot more to her story but the main element of her backstory is that her pirate captain aka father figure is based off of this guy. He’s not quite that theatrical, but he’s still very flamboyant. Her personality was also rather heavily influenced by her appearance since I just felt a story unfolding for her as I was creating her and clearing content on her.

Azalea Malqir - Her entire inspiration is based off of some FF lore which is sort of spoilers for her character in a way. You can read that here.

Haroui Tsumire - I wanted to play a character that wore a mask. Both as a challenge to myself to try and describe expressions and gaze directions without being like “eyes here, eyes there, eyes everywhere” and because it’s fun. Also her name sounds vaguely like Halloween.

Evinda Wilde - While I’m contemplating retiring this character because she doesn’t really get any use and the few times I’ve played her it hasn’t been that fun yet (she didn’t really click with me), this was a character I created with my lil bro since he wanted to try out a criminal underworld type character himself. I was totally into the idea and we came up with concepts for our characters together. Honestly, I connect with her mother a lot more than I connect with her, but a lot of Evinda’s inspiration is based on magic the gathering cards. Since I’m still working her out and debating if I want to use her or not, she’s pretty much off my lists (sorry!)

Cynara Winters - This is a character I came up with recently and she’s a work in progress still (I actually still need to make her in game... Hold on while I go do that before someone steals the name!) Her inspirations come from the conjurers quests and because I actually want to really get into her character profession (which will eventually be fortune telling) as I think it’ll be fun to have something I can also do OOC, especially since I’ve always been fascinated with tarot cards.

Aiste Nepenthe - She is my D&D bard tiefling that I’m playing currently and I will be writing about her adventures here eventually with the party. She’s rather heavily inspired by just random posts. She has a cat companion named Kthonious (aka Kito) who was also inspired by random posts. I would link them but I have lost them to the void.

To be honest, there’s another character for FF too that does not have a name... I’ll leave out the inspiration for him until I have actually given him a name. There’s also a lot more characters in my head but I’m unlikely to post about them here, such as characters I write for a novel I’m working on (and will probably never finish)

If you read this far though, KUDOS and I love you <3

#thanks for the tag #i feel like the image is too big #but theres plenty of cat in it #ooc #long post #yeah good luck reading all that #im tired #time to sleep #zzz

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heartsflocked · 5 years

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Can you teach me how to roleplay like you do?

So, I got this ask over two weeks ago at a time when I was kind of busy and couldn’t spare a moment to answer, and I’m always very shy about answering asks late/afraid that whoever asked might not still be around, so i’m sorry it took so long and i hope you’re still around, anon! I’ve [answered an anon like this before on a previous blog] (i’m honestly!! still just as flattered when people ask me these things, i’m glad i give off the impression that i know what I’m doing) and some of that advice holds and some of it I would probably give differently? It has some useful links, though.

I don’t want to seem high and mighty like I think I’m some expert, because I really don’t!! I don’t think I know much better than anyone else and I mostly just try and follow the flow of others and follow my own instincts, but I know people being patient and trying to help me as best they could back when I started around 7 years ago is how I made it here today so I’ll try my best to help out under the cut!!

Please come off anon and message or IM me if you have a question that I didn’t cover, because I’m not all-knowing and I want to help but it might be easier to help if I know what specifically you mean by “how to RP like you do”!

Couple notes, I’ve only RPed from desktop and not from mobile, so most of my advice will be based on that, and a lot of it will be my personal preference not Solid Rules That Must Be Followed.

For starters, basic terms:

“OOC” - stands for ‘Out Of Character’; anything ooc is something the person running the blog is saying, not something said by the character.

“IC” - stands for ‘In Character’, anything tagged as IC is something said by the character. If a specific person is not referenced in the tags, a post being tagged as IC may mean it’s open to being replied to! If your url is in the tags, it means you can reply to it (either by reblogging or the reply feature).

“Indie”/”Independent” - independent roleplay blogs mean that they aren’t affiliated with anyone else and aren’t part of a closed rp group. This means that they can RP with anyone! Since they RP with anyone, they will RP with multiple versions of the same characters, but the interactions are generally treated like they take place in different universes.*

“Open”/”Open RP” - open roleplay posts are open for anyone** to reply to! If you see someone make an open roleplay and they follow you, you can reblog it with a reply!

“Starter Call” - if someone makes a starter call, it’s a post that anyone** can like, and the person who made the post will write the beginning or starter for a roleplay thread with each of the people who liked the post.

*“Mains” & “Exclusives” - if someone has mains and exclusives, that means that they have a default rp partner for certain characters. Mains are rp partners who are the most common or most referenced version of a certain canon muse and are always considered the ‘canon’ version of a character’s ‘main’ universe. Exclusives are rp partners who are the Only version of that muse someone will play with. So if I had an Exclusive Momo for my Jiro, I would only roleplay with that Momo, but if I had a Main Kaminari for my Jiro, I would still rp with other Kaminaris, just not as often as my Main.

**“Private”/”Mutuals Only” - mutuals are people who you follow that also follow you. you have to be mutually following each other to be considered mutuals! if a blog is private or mutuals only, that means they won’t write with people who they do not follow. So, even if they post an open roleplay, someone who they don’t follow is not supposed to reply, or like their starter calls.

Now, onto the actual RP itself. You probably realize this easy enough from seeing other people RP or from any experience you have with it yourself, but RP is a lot like writing a fic with another person! It’s best to stick to third person POV though a lot of people do good things with second person POV, and an important note is that the point of RP is working together! So, you want to try and give your partner something to reply to or work with in every reply you give them!

Basic example: If someone makes you a starter that’s like “What are you doing?” and you reply with “Homework, I need to focus so leave me alone.” then you aren’t giving them anything to reply to! Then their only choice is to let your character focus and end the interaction. Instead, you could reply with “Homework, can you help?” Similarly, you’re supposed to build off of each other; add something new to each reply, not get stuck in an endless loop of just reacting to what they said without giving them something to react to.And if someone asks you for a roleplay starter, make sure whatever you write for them is something that will be easy to continue for a long time! If you write a starter that’s just “Get out of my way.”, that doesn’t give them a lot to reply to, you know?

On desktop, it’s important to trim posts. That means deleting your last reply, so that the thread doesn’t take too long for other people to scroll past or scroll through. If you have the new xkit extension, then you can make the post editable there, and cut out your last reply. If not, or if you’re on mobile, you can delete all replies, and either copy and paste their last reply in or just leave it out.

You only control your character, so stick to writing your character! Don’t try to control your partner’s character; never write into your thread what the other person’s character is doing, unless it’s something THEY said they were doing already. Also, try not to force their character into something they didn’t agree with. “Character A punches Character B, knocking Character B off of their feet.” is rude to write into your reply, because it takes control away from the person who writes Character B, and doesn’t give them the option to dodge or decide how they take the punch!

Try and set up a rules page; a lot of people won’t follow if you don’t have a rules page. It’s important so you can make it clear what you are and aren’t comfortable writing, and what you are and aren’t comfortable with seeing from your partners.

If you write a canon character, you may not need an about page although it can be helpful, but if you write your own original character you definitely need to have some basics so people know what your character is like and how their character might meet them and what to expect from your character!

Using icons: People use images in their thread to show what their character is feeling! They don’t just use random images of their character, they use icons! This means that the images are supposed to always be the same shape and size. The default size is 100px by 100px, but some people go smaller or use a different shape. My icons are always 80px x 80px. I have a friend whose icons are always 66px x 66px. It’s easy to edit, trim, and resize images down with sites like online-image-editor.com, pixlr.com/editor, and photopea.com, and pixlr even has an express editor app that makes it VERY easy to edit, crop, and resize icons from mobile if you don’t RP from desktop! The key is consistency, your images don’t have to be the same size and shape as everyone else’s, but each of your own images SHOULD match each other!

If you play a canon character, don’t get shy because someone else plays that character! We call two people who play the same muse “duplicates”, and duplicates aren’t in competition! If someone RPs with one of your duplicates, that doesn’t mean they won’t be just as happy to write with you! The only exception is if they say they’re exclusives with that duplicate.

Formatting: lots of people use formatting in their posts! What constitutes formatting is small text, subscript text, superscript text, italics, bold text, and indents. Indents are just done by hitting space multiple times at the beginning of a paragraph. Small text can be done on desktop by hitting “ctrl + shift + -”, and subscript and superscript can be done by hitting “ctrl + ,” and “ctrl + .”. You can achieve these effects on mobile if you’re willing to go to the extra effort by putting it in html tags (you can google html tags for each of those things easily!). People mess with all this stuff just to make replies look to their own personal taste.

This got really longwinded and complicated and I lost track of where I was going with it in places but I tried to cover most of the basics of things that I think about whenever I RP! I hope it wasn’t too hard to follow!

#⊰ ⌜studies show that i literally did not ask.⌟ (answered) ⊱#⊰ (ooc) ⌜𝘞𝘖𝘙𝘋𝘚 𝘊𝘈𝘕'𝘛 𝘏𝘜𝘙𝘛 𝘔𝘌 𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘚𝘌 𝘚𝘏𝘈𝘋𝘌𝘚 𝘈𝘙𝘌 𝘎𝘜𝘊𝘊𝘐.⌟ ⊱#i hope this isn't overwhelming and all makes sense!!!#long post #in case the read more doesn't work properly

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markbaratto-blog1 · 5 years

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Take your blog posts Viral

I just an a great back-and-forth this morning on twitter (@l6now) over the discussion on K-Factor calculation with Jorge, a friend of the Launch6 Team. For those of you that never heard of a “K-Factor,” it’s basically a formula one uses to calculate a viral sharing number. The K-factor can be used to describe the growth rate of websites, apps, or a customer base. The formula is roughly as follows:

i = number of invites sent by each customer c = percent conversion of each invite k = i * c

Before we get into how to measure viral distribution, let’s find out some reasons why your content is NOT going viral.

Everyone wants their content to go viral, right? Why else would we spend hours and hours working on blog posts, creating infographics, and crafting engaging messages on your social media accounts? We want people to read it.There is a big difference between creating content and creating engaging content that people want to read and share with their friends online. If you are not getting the results you want from your content development plan and failing to get the far reaching exposure that will expand your brands online presence, then you need to make a change.

Unfortunately, creating great content does not necessarily mean that it will go viral. There are a number of key reasons why your content is not going viral.

The following points bring to light some of the most common mistakes that professional and novice content creators make when creating online content:

Your content lacks an emotional connection: Tapping into your readers emotions is essential. People love content that appeals to their emotions, especially when you tap into problem areas and offer viable solutions. Start by using emotional words and phrases in the title of your blog post or video and try using a basic problem/solution style in the body of your post.

Your content in not inherently shareable: One of the biggest mistakes that people make that prevents their content from going viral is that they create non-sharable content. This is why it’s viral to understand your audience and tap into their interests. Write about topics they want to read about, be current, tell a story, and provide the information your audience is searching for online.

Your timing is off: Timing is everything. For example, no one cares about romantic date ideas to sweep your sweetheart off their feet on Valentine’s Day if it’s posted on February 15th. This is important for everything you post. When you post is also very important – look into the times and days of the week when your content is most likely to shared and create a timeline that will help you maximize the impact of your content.

Your content is not visually appealing: Looks matter! Your content need to look the part. The design needs to look professional, have attention grabbing elements, and be visually appealing to your audience.

You are not sharing on the right social channels: If you want your content to go viral, you need to not only share it on the correct social channels online, you also need to tap into the audience that is interested in reading and sharing your content. Think about your connections. Do you know any friends, family, or colleagues that have influence in topic area? Is there a particular social media channel that is intuitive for the type of content you want to share?

Rectifying these issues to better position your content will help you reach a wider audience – an audience that is looking for and actually wants to read your content.

Article by Nolan Wilson

One thing I would add to the above is having the right Viral Sharing Tools. With the right sharing links, you can add unique URLs to specific parts of your website that your users / subscribers can share. Luckily we provide all of these tools for free for our members, so we have you covered here. Launch6 has trackable social sharing that is able to set up conversion pages to track social media ROI.

Not, let’s dive into the measurement goodies.

Below is a fantastic post by Des Trainer – the cofounder of Intercom.io

MEASURING VIRAL DISTRIBUTION

Explanations are explanations, promises are promises, diagrams are diagrams… but only performance is reality.

Let’s look at how to measure social distribution. Our question here is: given a new user, how many additional new users will we get? This is what’s known as a k-factor. If k is above one, we have gone viral. Unless you are the purple cow, k is well below one, but that doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Recall that Dropbox benefitted heavily from social distribution despite not going viral. A k of 0.5 means that for every 10 users you acquire (through adwords, blogging, affiliates, etc.), you’re also getting another 5 on top which lowers your cost per acquisition.

MEASURING YOUR K-FACTOR

You won’t get these 4 measurements from Google Analytics, so you’ll need to an engineer handy to run some queries. It’s a pretty simple formula, k=a*b*c*d with the following definitions

a: the percentage of users who publish at least one share event per visit.

b: the average share events per user per visit.

c: the number of Users referred from social networks for each share event.

d: the percentage of c that become authenticated users (i.e. in a state where they too can publish).

If you’ve just run the numbers here there’s a 99% chance that you’re disappointed. You were hoping for somewhere in the 0.5 to 1.5 range, but now you’re staring 0.02 in the face, meaning that for every fifty users you acquire, you might get one bonus one.

IMPROVING YOUR K-FACTOR

There are 4 metrics you need to aggressively monitor. They are as follows:

MUU: total number of monthly unique users.

MAU: total number of monthly authenticated users (i.e. those that are logging in).

DAU: total number of daily authenticated users.

pDAU: total number of daily authenticated users who publish sharable events.

There are 3 key ratios shown here—MUU to MAU, MAU to DAU, and DAU to pDAU. Improve each of these ratios improves your k-factor. Let’s look at what we can do.

IMPROVING MUU TO MAU

In other words, how can we get more of the monthly visitors to sign-up or login? There’s 3 ways to influence this ratio:

One-click social sign-in. This outperforms username/password on all consumer products, bar none. If you don’t have it as an option, you’re hurting yourself.

Promote social sign-in above your standard sign-in. All things being equal, consumer sites want customers to sign in via Facebook, as this helps the product spread. Of course, do offer your own login system as an option, but only as a secondary one.

Finally, for customers arriving from a social network, have them sign in solely through that network. e.g. if a user comes via Twitter, ask them to sign in via Twitter. It’ll be the smoothest experience (as they’re already logged in).

IMPROVING MAU TO DAU

Another way to phrase this would be: how can I increase engagement so that my users return to the site more frequently (and log in while doing so)?

We’ve covered the techniques for engaging users extensively on the blog before, but the key ideas here are automatic login (the average Facebook user is perpetually logged into Facebook, so you can automatically log them into your site based on FB authentication), useful notifications to motivate a return, and regular digests and summary mails.

IMPROVE DAU TO PDAU

How can we encourage more of our users to share? There are three key ideas here:

Lightweight event sharing: anywhere there is activity, you should ask yourself if it is shareable. Someone pins a dress on Pinterest, makes a playlist on Spotify, likes a photo on Flickr, reads an article on the New York Times site, adds a review on Foursquare, starts a project on Dribbble, searches for photos on Spots.io… all of these are shareable events. The more you have, the better your ratio.

Passive sharing: you can automatically share some activities, assuming you have user’s permission. For example, Spotify, LastFM, Quora, etc. all passively share lots of user activities, which guarantees a pDAU to DAU ratio of 1:1. Every single time I launch Spotify, I’m sharing to Facebook. When you can remove a ratio from the equation, it significantly reduces your challenges.

Share from anywhere: a common mistake here is to only permit sharing from your web app. Activities should be shareable any time they are performed—not just through a web application. This means that in the rush to sleek mobile design, you need to be careful about cutting off your call-to-actions for sharing.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

Spamming doesn’t work. It’s bad for business. Sharing without permission, sharing non-user activity on their behalf, spamming friend lists, sending irrelevant push notifications, all of these are short-term wins, but in the long term you lose absolutely everything. Your app will be blocked, your users will cancel, and your product will be pulled from the App Store.

Viral distribution accelerates your logical conclusion. This is why you have to solve retention first. If you have no compelling reason to return, then going viral won’t help you—it’ll just speed up the process at which you die. Bill Bernbach famously said “Nothing kills a bad product faster than good advertising. Everyone tries the thing and never buys it again.”. The same is true for good distribution.

Social distribution brings a new wave of growth which both consumer and business-to-business products can benefit from. But if your product sucks then it just brings the lethal injection.

Lastly, marketing guru Mark Baratto says put out great content and a reason to share it. If content is good consistently over time, you will become an authority in your space. The more value you add to your customer, there more they will want to help you; put your customer first.

Looking for FREE online tools to help you get more customers and persuade them to take action? Check out LAUNCH6.com for more details.

#markbaratto

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itsybitsyjoltik · 6 years

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tagged by @autumnpen !

Rules: Answer 30 questions. Tag 10 blogs you want to get to know better. nah my dudes i don’t feel like tagging anyone you can do it if you want

Nickname(s): tbh i don’t really do nicknames much. you can call me joltik if you want

Gender: what the fuck is a gender

i mean i guess i’m transmasc leaning these days/genderfluid maybe?? nonbinary as hell either way. shrug.

Sign: leo

Height: 5′4″

Current time: 9:03 PM

Favorite band(s): uhhh marianas trench, the dear hunter, fall out boy, queen

Favorite solo artist(s): pretty into carly rae jepson these days. she’s the only one i can think of off the top of my head--FUCKING UHH JANELLE MONAE CAN’T FORGET HER, SHIT

Song stuck in my head: i didn’t have any up until just this moment but i went straight from janelle monae to this bi as hell song my work plays in my thought processes just now

youtube

Last movie I saw: incredibles 2 which is a common sentiment it appears

Last show I watched: i actually have no idea, it might have been the first episode of hxh 2011 lol...it’s been a while since i’ve watched anything tv-related

When did I create my blog: sometime in 2012

What do I post: mostly a random combination of reblogs - multifandom, mainly hxh, taz, and ace attorney...political shit, shit that i find funny. i queued up a shitton of we know the devil posts a while back bc i’d just replayed that game and was having Feelings, but i think my queue ran out or is just about out by now. i have various sideblogs that i use now and then that are more specific in nature, but i kinda just run this blog for myself, you know?

original posts are mostly just...art i’ve drawn, shitposts, occasionally meta.

Last thing I googled: oh jeez i looked up something about how the mcelroys and lin manuel miranda met bc i was talking about them with my roommate, lol

Do I have other blogs: uhhhh

i guess the sideblogs of note (ie the ones with any real likelihood of ever getting posts at this point lol) are @catsthatlooklikekillua + @allukaesthetic + @bullshithxhthings + @hxhgirls

i also have a secret ns/fw sideblog that i guess you could ask for off anon if you really want it (if you’re 18+....) but i’m pretty self conscious about it lol

Do I get asks: occasionally but not much lately tbh

Why did I choose my url: needed a change from my old url (doesn’t help that it was based off my deadname), i like joltik and i thought a play on “the itsy bitsy spider” would be fun

Following: 547 currently

Followed by: 833 on my main blog, which is by far the most for any of my blogs

Average hours of sleep: uhh 7-9 i think

Lucky number: 8! (if anyone thinks this is a vriska thing it’s been my lucky number since i was a little kid lol)

Instruments: absolutely not lol (i’ve tried to learn piano before and it’s been a disaster)

What I’m wearing: olive green rowlet t-shirt, light blue cutoff denim shorts, black and white otk socks that i’m currently wearing like kneehighs

Dream job: i’d love to be a translator for like games or anime/manga or something but my japanese is still nowhere near good enough

Favorite food: okonomiyaki....

Nationality: united states

Favorite song: masterpiece theatre iii by marianas trench, i’ll blast either that entire album or that song in particular on repeat when i’m feeling anxious

Last book I read: does a cookbook count lol...or a manga...or a fanfic...it’s been so goddamn long since i’ve read an actual book i’m a disgrace

Top 3 fictional universes I want to join: jesus i don’t know. pokemon obvs but other than that? hm you know, steven universe probably wouldn’t be too bad, there’s a bit of danger occasionally but beach city seems pretty chill. and then the taz balance setting is. actually pretty dangerous considering the whole relic situation followed by THE APOCALYPSE but you know what i’d probably go for it anyway

Tagging: if you want to do this meme, feel free to consider yourself tagged

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dangoghz · 7 years

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legitimate advice for new phandom blogs

hey !! so i know sometimes posts like ‘RULES FOR THE PHANDOM XD’ are made and they’re all like “numba one. dan is a squishy bean respect this uwu” but this isn’t gonna be like that lol. im just going to list a few actual things that might help people new to the phandom learn about and become integrated into the community! of course these aren’t ‘rules’ and u dont have to listen to any of it ofc,,, im not here to control ur blog, just here to say what people normally do. feel free to rb whether u are a new blog or not, ill appreciate it either way!

(NOTE: PLS TELL ME IF ANY OF THE LINKS DONT WORK AND ILL FIX THEM PERIODICALLY!)

italicized text is defined in the glossary at the bottom!

1. be interactive!

here, unique to our corner of timmy darn communism, we have a lot of like virtual traditions that everyone knows. these help you to make friends and also grow ur blog with some new mutuals. here are some examples.

networks: networks, or nets, are a sort of selective gc, usually with a theme or concept that it’s based around, in which all who wish to be part of fill out an application form that determines whether they get in. this is kinda the one with the most work, as u also have to make a group blog and info post, but it’s definitely worth it. i have made my closest friends in nets (such as @phleurnet which i birthed), and a lot of people on here would say the same. if you want to know more or apply, my friend diana runs an update blog @phandomnets! (examples, these are all open btw: x x x)

meetups: meetups are not in real life, don’t worry. a meetup is when someone organizes a specific time at which we all post thing around a certain theme! for instance, on halloween on tuesday, my friend milo hosted a halloween meetup. usually people post selfies but if u are uncomfortable with that, u can post art, music, or anything else related to the theme. a blog called @phandommeetupwatch keeps track of these! (examples, all happening soon/just happened: x x x)

follow forevers: a follow forever is a big celebration post when u reach a follower count milestone, no matter 50 or 5k. u tag all of the blogs you love, and they reblog it to appreciate u! it’s really positive and shows people how their work has paid off. usually people are tagged in alphabetical order, and sometimes people bold their favorites but the stylization is up to u. (recent examples: x x x)

milestone activities: sometimes people do things for their followers when they reach a follower count that involves their followers requesting something! there are many many forms of this type of thing. a common one is blog rates, in which there is a set template and the blogger rates each blog that sends in an ask using the template (info post ex: x; rate ex: x). there are also url edits (x), name/url moodboards (x), and more. u can certainly come up w an idea of ur own, being creative is great!

talk to people: that’s right dude!!! ye!!! u can message a blog u think is cool, or send an ask if u think something they made or are talking about is interesting, or add something sweet in the tags (more on etiquette later) when u rb their post. additionally, sometimes people stir up discourse, and u should participate in it if u want (past discourse examples: x x). u can also send asks when people reblog ask games, which are a list of questions with a theme (new one of mine ex: x).

2. play around with your blog!

customizing your blog can start giving you what we call a branding, making you distinguished from other bloggers. this can include everything from as simple as using an icon to coding your own about page.

themes: a blog can be way more appealing if it is aesthetically pleasing. admittedly, i often follow people just because of the smoothness of their mobile theme. a mobile theme is rather easy to construct as u can do it on ur own with a phone. it is how ur blog looks on a phone. although u don’t have to do this, i recommend sticking to two to four colors on ur theme and avoiding stuffing it with a lot of bright things because it can distract from content. additionally, bloggers often make their descriptions short and succinct. (my fav mobiles: x x x.) on a pc, your blog theme can be customized completely on html, meaning there is a lot of freedom. u don’t have to learn to code for this, bc u can find free themes anywhere, just search ‘free tumblr themes’ on google. once again, be creative, but u shouldn’t overload. (my fav pcs: x x x.)

about pages: in order to avoid chunky descriptions but still let people know the key deets about themselves, bloggers create about pages. sometimes these bout pages are uncoded but u can also use html code if u want to. some common things in an about page are interests, maybe personality types/horoscopes/hogwarts houses, original content, and links to other social media. (examples: x x x)

urls: urls are a key part of your blog’s brand. ‘rebranding’ is what people say if they change their url! if u are tired or bored with your url, changing it is an opportunity to change your theme and other parts of ur blog as well. (url change ex: x).

saved urls: saved urls are basically when bloggers hoard sideblogs in order to reserve the urls used for them. if you ever encounter a blank blog that has ‘saved’ as its title, that’s probably it. sometimes people like to give away their urls, either as a constant thing (ex: x) or by doing a url giveaway (x). either way, it’s a good opportunity to change it up!

tags: in order to keep their blog cleancut and organized, a lot of bloggers have special tags for certain people, certain topics, and/or certain types of media. many people in the phandom particularly have tags for dan and phil that match (strawberries and cream, lune and sole, etc). if they have many of these tags, there can be a page for their tags on their blog. this page can be coded with special html or just a regular tumblr page, it doesn’t really matter. but it’s very useful for those who visit your blog, and makes it easy for u to navigate older posts as well! (examples: x x x)

3. learn to make og content!

producing original content helps you establish what your strengths are and why people should follow you. it also allows u to contribute to the fanbase, and gives u a chance of being noticed by dnp! and the validation is lovely. there are many options if u want to make something.

gifs: gifs are an ART here in the phandom, and its mechanisms still perplex me to this day bc ive never tried it. u probably already know what a gif is, but if not, its essentially a short animation made in photoshop that repeats. gifmakers are often distinguished by a unique coloring (example gifmakers: x x x), such as my friend emily’s smooth dark blue tint (x). it can be a long process to learn how to gif but it is very rewarding in the end, from what i’ve heard. (tutorials: x x)

art: there is a very wide range of phanartists, all with such talents, either digital or traditional, that you can draw inspirations from for your own work. you can make cartoons, comics, realism, abstract, nsfw even, or any mix (or none) of the former. artists on tumblr definitely deserve more attention than they get here on tumblr, so be sure to show appreciation towards them! (my fav artists: x x x)

edits: edits are the Graphic Designs of our community and are usually very aesthetically pleasing. they can be centered around a certain event, like a video or something dnp made, or just for fun. the more practice you get making them, the more dexterous u’ll become. they can be a great tool if u like the design aspect of art but don’t want to actually draw. (edit makers: x x)

icons: icons are just the little profile picture that u can insert for ur blog. it’s really easy and fun to make them, kind of like a lazy version of edits. you can make them using photoshop or an app like picsart or medibang, and it doesn’t take a lot of time. more on how to use icons in section 4. (examples: x x x) (my lil tutorial: x)

moodboards: moodboards are nine pictures arranged 3 by 3 that have a certain color scheme. it’s kind of like a collage except the photo feature here separates the pictures for u. there are a lot of innovative moodboard makers that stun me w how pretty it looks or how they arrange the pics. moodboards are also an easy and fun option! (moodboard tags: x x x)

textposts: this is by far the easiest and more common form of content u will find. it’s just writing about dnp in a textpost! if a textpost isn’t very serious, people also call it a meme or shitpost. shitposting is defs on the rise here so its a good business to get into. it’s also a great outlet for ur emotions or personal connections to what dnp do! (example talk tags: x x x)

fics: by far the most famous media to come out of here, phanfiction is a popular form of phan indulgence. u have probably heard of the most scarring ones (list: x), but there is actually a really vast range of it, not just creepy smut! some other genres are fluff, angst, and slow burns. u will discover that, despite the sterotype, not all fanfiction is bad. you can find lovely fics on @phanfictioncatalogue by genre, au, or topic. and, if u need help writing something, many writers would love to help. (a few well-known fics: x x x x x)

4. tumblr etiquette!

i know tumblr might seem like a simple social media (or perhaps not after u’ve read all the above?) but there’s a lot of things that u just....u just don’t do. it’s sort of like virtual manners, and if u don’t follow them, then it’s unlikely that people will like ur blog. once again, this is by no means me forcing u to run ur blog a certain way. it just happens that the types of ppl who break these rules are who we mock in gcs :////////. so yea, here’s some advice.

credits: if u decide to use someone’s art, edit, gif, or icon on the theme of ur blog, check what they require of u before u use it. most content creators strongly ask for credit in the description of ur blog, either by link or like ‘icon/header/art by ____’. it is just a common courtesy to the person who spent time on that, and if u think credit will ruin the aesthetic of ur blog, a) u probably don’t have an aesthetic in the first place and b) learn to appreciate art, binch.

anonymity: anon asks can be very powerful either negatively or positively depending on how u yield them, so make sure that u are careful with what u send. compliments are always welcome and criticism as well, but blatant rudeness or hate will do nothing. u will only make someone feel bad about themselves and it will not accomplish anything. also, u face the threat of all their friends turning u into a meme.

sensitivity: a lot of people here are way too easily offended by harmless jokes, a common example in the phandom being when we insult dnp affectionately and people take it way too much to heart. please don’t start drama over something w no real meaning. however, there are times when it is indeed necessary. if u want to criticise a blogger, be respectful of them simultaneously. by all means, if u spot someone being racist, homophobic, transphobic, misogynist, or the like, feel free to call them out on it. but beforehand, make sure that u have done ur research and are educated on the topic, or u could turn out to be blatantly wrong.

adding to posts: everyone makes this mistake when they start out here and that’s totally okay, but adding to every post u reblog is incredibly bothersome. a rule of thumb would be don’t add anything unless what u say will actually improve the post significantly. if ur additions are along the lines of ‘LOL’ or ‘i relate!!!!’ or ‘philly is a smol bean XD’, learn to use the tags for heaven’s sake. they’re there for not only organization but also for commenting. some exceptions, though, would be if u are mentioned in the post or the op is your close friend.

respecting privacy: this should already be obvious to u, but respect dan and phil’s boundaries. do not tag them or their main tags (#daniel howell, #danisnotonfire, #amazingphil), in any phanfics, phanart (like specifically with them as a romantic ship), or phan edits. do not talk to their family members, expose their personal info like address or phone number, and do consider that they are real people just like u. we may make things based around phan, but it is kept in a community for us and not for dan and phil’s eyes. this is very important.

5. have fun!

sorry if this is all overwhelming, but i tried to make it as simplified as possible. and also sorry for the sass, i’m kinda tired of all the ding dongs on here and want to prevent further ding dongs from being created. thanks so much for readin and be sure to send me an ask anytime if u have questions! welcome to hell!

glossary

timmy darn communism: me being my usual weird self and replacing ‘tumblr dot com’ with random words that start with the same letters

mutuals: someone who you follow and who follows you; usually who u interact with most

rb: shortening for ‘reblog’

discourse: when theres is intense discussion of a certain topic, sometimes phan-related sometimes not, sometimes serious and sometimes silly

branding: the word ‘branding’ kinda started as a joke, but it’s generally what we use to call what someone’s blog reminds them of, whether it be a certain color or a discussion topic; my branding, if u asked a mutual, would probably be impressionism, tea, and baguettes (dont ask ab that one)

html: a simple type of coding used for designing websites! u can learn basic html here or here, it’s way easier and funner than it looks

dnp: dan and phil; we also say ‘deppy’, ‘dip and pip’, ‘the boys’, ‘the rats’, and more

coloring: basically the stylization of a gif, shown through filters, textures, contrast, brightness, etc.

talk tag: a tag in which all of the textposts that a person makes are sorted into

phanfiction terms

smut: porn fic :/

fluff: just what it sounds like, a type of fic that usually has a lot of soft stuff like cuddling, flirting, and looooove

angst: a fic with a lot of drama, usually sad or very emotional

slow burn: a fic where a pairing, in this case phan, slowly falls in love

au: stands for ‘alternate universe’, a fic in which dan and phil are written not as youtubers but in a completely different scenario (ie. bad boy and new guy in high school, university students, space exhibition, anything u can dream up really)

anon: short for ‘anonymous’

op: short for ‘original poster’, aka who made the post

#this took me SO LONG pls appreciate it #gogh away ester #dan and phil #phan #phandom #phan advice #phandom advice #phil lester #dan howell #luncheon

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douchebagbrainwaves · 3 years

Text

I'VE BEEN PONDERING PEOPLE

Dilution is a hard problem. I don't think they'd do much differently if they were merely hiring people. And yet when I was growing up.1 Jessica more than anyone made YC unique, the very qualities that enabled her to do things that ordinary companies don't, like raising money and getting incorporated are an O 1 pain in the ass, whether you're big or small, and others like selling and promotion depend more on energy and imagination than any kind of special training. But within three days we loved it, and he was right. When you want to keep in close touch as you develop it further. If you have impressive resumes, just flash them on the screen for 15 seconds and say a few words.2 If you don't believe your startup has such promise that you'd be doing them a favor by letting them invest, why are you investing your time in it?3 It's pretty clear now that the broken windows theory famous, and the only reason you need them is to make credentials harder to hack, we can also make them matter less. I count them as false positives because I hadn't been deleting them as spams before.

Angels don't like publicity. A sharp impact would make them unavailable to the people who think they don't need to: it lets them choose their growth rate is, sometimes they tell me we get about a hundred new customers a month. There isn't so much at stake in his interactions with other investors, his relationship with the founder is only going to last a couple years, whereas his relationship with other firms will last his whole career.4 For startups, growth is a constraint much like truth. Whatever its flaws, the writing you find online is authentic. If they stepped back and looked at the whole picture they might be less indignant.5 But startups often raise money even when they are or could be profitable. Seem confident. I think the problem with politics too. Probably the most important thing we do at Y Combinator. Most founders have such low standards that they'll feel rich with a sum that doesn't seem huge to investors. So one advantage of forbidding meanness is that it isn't succinct enough.6

As this new kind of venture fund that invests smaller amounts at lower valuations, but promises to either close or say no very quickly. They're as expert in their world as you are in yours. Apparently Kleiner and Sequoia with a $75 million premoney valuation, their reaction was probably Ouch! And they may be right. Disasters are normal in a startup, you're probably going to have to think of something. They know they'll have to deal with these guys was in high school. If a post has a linkbait title, editors sometimes rephrase it to be more readable than a line of Basic is likely to be more matter-of-fact. Why spend twenty years climbing the corporate ladder when you can get rewarded directly by the market?7 Focusing on hitting a growth rate reduces the otherwise bewilderingly multifarious problem of starting a startup into trouble.

A recruiter at a big company, these qualities must have been very valuable. For example, many of the stories about Jeremy Jaynes's conviction say that he was a fairly big spammer. If someone proves a new theorem, it takes some work by the reader to decide whether or not to upvote it. If you write software to teach Tibetan to Hungarians, you won't be selling the company for 20. The reason I warn startups not to get their hopes up is not to describe everything your system might one day become, but simply to convince investors there will be a lot simpler. A rapidly growing company is valuable. That was an unusual problem to have in 1975. It shows no sign of slowing. We decided we ought to give priority to the ones that occur a lot.

As a rule, any url sent to millions of people in America, have some amount of funding to get started painting that ten minutes of rearranging feels very long. The other kind of spams I currently do have trouble with. That has always seemed to me full of random stuff. The whole tone is bogus. But they might as well flip a coin. But working on this is not my first priority, it's unlikely to happen at all. Always have some alternative plan for getting started if any given investor says no. They're hard to filter based just on the content because the headers are innocent and they're careful about the words they use. Everyone buys this story that PG started YC and his wife just kind of helped.8

I thought I'd already been cured of caring about that.9 So in borderline cases, and reports that it works well.10 6x.11 And they may be right. Every successful startup is at least partly a product of the imagination of man, he meant that if you just keep following the truth wherever it leads rather than being influenced by what he wishes were the case.12 If you're going to start with something that doesn't do much, you better improve it fast.13 Maybe there is some important trend afoot.

Notes

For example, would be possible to have to give up legal protections and rely on cold calls and introductions.

Like us, the average employee. There's nothing specifically white about such matters. No central goverment would put its two best universities in the same price as the cause. The philistines have now missed the video boat entirely.

It is a bit dishonest, incidentally; it's not uncommon for startups. Or demolished to be younger initially we encouraged undergrads to apply, and why it's such a low valuation, that probably doesn't make A more powerful sororities at your school, because the rich. By all means crack down on these. This is, because you couldn't do the same reason I did the section of the infrastructure that this had since been exceeded by actors buying their startups.

But I know one very smooth founder who read a new version sanitized for your present valuation is the discrepancy between government receipts as a cause.

It's interesting to 10,000 computers attached to the customer: you post a sign saying this cupboard must be kept empty.

It's much easier to make money from mediocre investors. We could have used another algorithm and everything I say in principle get us up to 20x, since that was more rebellion which can happen in any case, because a she is very common for the talk to mediocre ones. Most computer/software startups. Though in fact had its own.

The reason Y Combinator certainly never asks what classes you took in college.

The Duty of Genius, Penguin, 1991. Possible exception: It's hard for us. It tipped from being overshadowed by Microsoft, would increase the size of the next year or two, and mostly in Perl, and this trick merely forces you to stop, but it is to get good grades in them, maybe 50% to 100% more, and I don't think these are, but countless other startups, so we also give any startup that wants to invest in your startup.

If Ron Conway, for example I've deliberately avoided saying whether the program is no. Since they don't have to do is fund medical research labs; commercializing whatever new discoveries the boffins throw off is as straightforward as building a new version of Word 13. Usually people skirt that issue with some equivocation implying that you're talking to you; you're too early for us!

This argument seems to have to resort to in order to switch the operating system.

Cit. So you can base brand on anything with it, but it wasn't. The angels had convertible debt is a convertible note with no valuation cap at all.

That would be reluctant to start a startup. Robert Morris wrote the editor written in C and Perl. Why Are We Getting a Divorce? Perhaps realizing this will be out of their professional code segregate themselves from the conventional wisdom on the ability to predict at the final whistle, the less powerful language by writing an interpreter for the same, but most neighborhoods successfully resisted them.

It's hard to judge for yourself and that the word content and tried for a small amount, or how to do better, because she liked the outdoors, was starting an outdoor portal. The first alone yields someone flighty. There should probably start from the success of their times.

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