#volume 10 in a nutshell basically

[hamletphase]

unearthed from my sketchbook

[vrankup]

CTR Unveiled: What's Click-Through Rate All About?

Hey there, savvy folks! If you're treading the digital waters and we as the best digital marketing agency in dwarka provides you all the services you can get.  you've probably come across the term "CTR" – that's Click-Through Rate for the uninitiated. Now, don't you worry your curious minds, 'cause we're about to break it down in plain ol' English? Buckle up, 'cause we're diving deep into the ocean of online metrics!

**Alright, What's CTR, Anyway?**

CTR is like the applause-o-meter for your online ads – it tells you how many folks gave your ad a standing ovation by clicking on it.

**Breaking Down the CTR Equation**

But hey, don't let the term "equation" scare you off. We're keeping it simple, promise! CTR is calculated using a basic recipe:

CTR = (Number of Clicks / Number of Impressions) * 100

The ingredients? Stir 'em together, divide, multiply by 100, and boom! You've got your CTR percentage. Think of it like baking cookies – mix, bake, and you get delicious insights!

**Why CTR's the Cool Kid in Town**

Now, I hear you asking, "Why should I care about this CTR stuff?" Great question, my friend!

1. **Ad Quality Check:** A sky-high CTR is like a digital high-five – it means your ad is catching folks' attention. They're not just scrolling past; they're actually interested in what you're offering.

2. **Fine-Tuning Goldmine:** If your CTR isn't looking so hot, that's not a dead end. It's like a treasure map leading you to improvements. Maybe your ad needs some jazzing up or your message isn't hitting the bullseye.

3. **Budget Whisperer:** Hold on, it gets better! In some fancy platforms, like Google Ads, a nifty CTR can actually make your ad budget stretch further. It's like finding a coupon for your digital shopping spree!

4. **Placement Guru:** Ever wonder where to put your ads for the most bang? CTR's got your back. If one spot gets more clicks, that's your sweet spot!

**CTRs Aren't Set in Stone: Factors Playing the Field**

But, brace yourself – CTR isn't a static number. It's a shapeshifter, influenced by all sorts of factors. Check out these game-changers:

1. **Speak Their Language:** If your ad talks the talk of your target audience, they'll walk the clicky walk. Relevant ads win the game!

2. **Action-Packed CTAs:** Those "Buy Now" or "Grab Your Deal" buttons? They're your CTR's best buddies. Clear, snappy calls-to-action are like catnip for clickers.

3. **Eye Candy:** Let's admit it – we're suckers for pretty visuals. A snazzy, well-designed ad is more tempting than a tub of ice cream on a hot day.

4. **Right Place, Right Time:** Think of ads like real estate. Location matters! Placing your ad where your crowd hangs out increases its clickability.

5. **Mobile Magic:** It's a mobile world, folks. If your ad isn't mobile-friendly, it's like showing up to a costume party in your PJs.

6. **Try & Test:** Don't be shy to experiment. A/B testing different ad versions lets you figure out what floats your audience's boat.

**CTR Benchmarks: The "Is My CTR Cool?" Question**

Hold on – before you freak out about your CTR, remember, there's no universal "awesome" CTR. It's like saying all ice cream flavors should taste the same. CTR benchmarks depend on where you're playing – search ads, display ads, social media – they all have their groove.

For instance, a 2% CTR might be rocking in the land of banners, while a 10% CTR for a search ad might be par for the course. Social media? Well, it's a whole different dance floor.

**In a Nutshell: Navigating the CTR Waters**

So there you have it, my digital trailblazers – CTR demystified! It's not just numbers; it's your digital GPS guiding you through the ad wilderness. CTR speaks volumes about your audience's interest, your ad's charm, and how smashing your campaigns are.

Keep an eye on that CTR, dare to experiment, and remember, every click is a breadcrumb leading you closer to marketing glory. May your CTRs be sky-high, your ads totally irresistible, and your marketing voyage one for the record books! Get clicking, legends! ?

we at vrankup, Digital marketing agency in Dwarka | Digital marketing company in Dwarka provide you all the help you can have.

[strykingback]

First things first, glad you knew what militarism was and that you understood it to be a mistake in what you said. Good, that part I can accept. Now comes the second part of all this mess.

First off, what happens when you give a military secret to someone who is suffering from PTSD who somehow had half of his body blown off somehow. Which was never explained. Thus did the CRWBY writers say. Oh yeah that his semblance which is basically ADHD in a freakin' nutshell in THE WORST way to be ever written.

Which here's the thing he suffered a shutdown.

Aka the four little terrorists (Team RWBY by the way) made Ironwood suffer a fuckin' PTSD attack and on top of that caused him to shutdown. Which is albeist as fuck in my opinion Since shutting down is a part of the autistic spectrum.

Differences in emotions in people with ADHD can lead to 'shutdowns', where someone is so overwhelmed with emotions that they space out, may find it hard to speak or move and may struggle to articulate what they are feeling until they can process their emotions.

(Cited from ADHDaware.org.uk)

Also... you got military strategy wrong.. you absolute buffoon.

Military strategy- the practice of reducing an adversary's physical capacity and willingness to fight, and continuing to do so until one's aim is achieved. 

If Clover is meant to be a representation or the criticism of the military no less authoritarian rule. Then he should've been criticizing Ironwoods strategy from the VERY START of Volume 7 maybe even earlier. Especially with offering alternative strategies or even opposing Ironwoods ideas. But the two should have been working hand in hand and offering different forms of strategy until one manages to find the strategy that works out.

Also Clover is a representation of what Qrow is meant to be, While Qrow is depressed and down on his luck (no pun intended) made even worse with how his Semblance works. While on the other hand Clover is positive and looks forward at anything with open eyes to the future.

Now if your talking about a perfect soldier. You're talking about someone who is a master strategist, someone who thinks upon the fly, and manages to do their duty by any means necessary while also stating his opinions. But no one is a perfect soldier without error.

A good example of this would be Captain Rex from Clone Wars especially how he was a better example of being a good soldier while also having errors in his judgement.

Also Rex also even stated how the clones even had personal thoughts about the war they were fighting in. Showing that even he did not think about war. Or how about he was saddened by the losses of Domino Squadron and how some clones even deserted after the war showing that they have their own thoughts and ideals about the war.

Or how the Clones STRAIGHT stopped a firing squad from a VERY Authoritarian JEDI

Once again soldiers have every right to question and even go against the rules if they so call for it. Clover had a choice to make and he could have made that choice when it called for it. Especially when doing the RIGHT THING. STOPPING AN INSANE PSYCHOPATH WHO IS RELATED WITH SALEM IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.

Plus in most media I have seen nine times out of ten working with the villain does not work out as they end up backstabbing a hero when it comes to it or leads to a temporary alliance. The only time this was VERY well written was through Ben 10 Alien Force in the episode titled Alone Together. Where Ben and a DNAlien Highbreed named Reignrassig III falls under the trope of an "Enemy Mine" to survive a deserted planet that they were on and when Ben is allowed to escape after Helping Reignrassig to regain an arm through one of his aliens, as Reignrassig would remain while Ben survived and in the finale of Alien Force of the DNAlien arc Reignrassig returns and states that his body accepted his prosthetic Ben had given him and even telling his superiors that this is the path to peace.

Now the Enemy of My Enemy thing can only work if their views are aligned together off of what they know about the enemy or if their views somewhat are the same. And yes it is not bad writing.....

ONLY WHEN IT WORKS

Had Qrow and Tyrian talked more before the crash and then maybe yes it would have worked. But it didnt because it was so goddamn sudden!

Plus I am remaining adamant with that Qrow and Clover should have teamed up and it would have fit with theme between these two characters. Its like what Gyutaro from Demon Slayer said: "Good Fortune and Bad Fortune are meant to take turns."

Which happily fits with how both Bad and Good Fortune are meant to work HAND-IN-HAND Which would have been a VERY BADASS team up maybe even the best fight in Volume seven had it not been for a VERY shitty writing choice. Because once again...

You HAVE A PSYCHOPATH RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU THATS ABOUT TO GET AWAY SCOT FREE.

What is the more bigger threat here. Because its more sensible to go after Tyrian rather than to fight about it! Plus it would mean both would be at a HUGE advantage against Tyrian. Qrow using his Bad Fortune for Offense against Tyrian, while Clover using his Good Fortune for defense all to the point where it fluctuates perfectly between the two.

Plus blindly following order would hella fall under fucking Gundam levels of orders. Which does your "military strategy" much much better than RWBY. Not to mention with how the creator of Gundam themselves even stated how the show is a MASSIVE anti-war message.

Clearly RWBY tried that "military strategy" with Clover and FAILED spectacularly.

Also you're on the RWDE tag to counter criticism buddy, I need you to do me a MASSIVE favor and watch this video closely. VERY closely.

 "Now this isn't the same as criticism. Criticism serves a healthy function. Sometimes it can even help you get better. That's because it comes from a good place." 

"Toonami's had a lot of criticism, and a lot of haters in our time. We welcome the criticism. Cuz this is a work in progress and we wanna hear what you guys think."

"So keep your head up. Keep doing what works for you, and don't be afraid to listen to your critics."

Seriously criticism is not a bad thing you absolute Rooster Teeth dickrider. and the fact that you're bitching about people who criticizes RWBY as if its the "greatest thing" ever when it clearly isnt and the fact that the writers are not accepting criticism tells me a lot about where they are and how they wanna do things.

Same goes for art. You take whatever a critic says and run with it to try and make it work with your style of artwork and if someone says that they hate it with no reason behind it then just ignore it. Also doesnt the bio on your blog says "Trying to Be Better" cause my guy you are not getting better if you're gonna be posting on the RWDE tags getting jumped like a bitch.

Person who made this blocked me I think so I'm just gonna have to save the image lol

This is a HUGE ass misunderstanding of the whole point of Clover's death.

Clover is a criticism of militarism. He's a criticism of blindly following orders. Blindly following Ironwood's orders gets him killed. That's the whole point of his death.

Qrow, stressed and in the heat of the moment, ends up teaming up with Tyrian to take Clover down, cause Clover is following his militaristic philosophy - he'll always follow orders.

And he dies for it.

[pale-silver-comb]

So I know absolutely nothing about Leverage except what I've been seeing you post lately and I have to admit you're making it look tempting to watch! Can I ask what are some of your favorite things about the show/reasons you would suggest people watch it? And is there really a poly relationship that is canon?

Okay. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. I am going to do my best not to just “asdfghkjl” at you and answer coherently.

In a nutshell, Leverage is about 5 people. 4 are criminals (Parker, Hardison, Eliot and Sophie) with different and unique skill-sets and 1 is an ex-insurance investigator (Nate) who, at one point or another in his career, has tracked down (or at least attempted to) the other 4. The whole show is essentially: man reluctantly reforms 4 criminals to use their criminal powers for good and 4 criminals move into man’s life and stubbornly refuse to leave because, goddammit, now they have morals. 

I’ve got a lot of favourite things about the show but the main ones are as follows:

1. Found family. And I’m not talking about loners who come together to fight crime and happen to co-exist to the point where they realise they happen to have found themselves a family. I mean, Nate and Sophie are the Drunk Uncle and Wine Aunt who somehow become Mom and Dad to 3 beautiful criminal children. Mom and Dad love their criminal babies and the kids love them (as well as each other, but we’ll come to that in a moment). You get amazing family moments such as: Mom and Dad packing the kids lunch before sending them out to kick corporate greed’s ass; Mom and Dad giving the kids ridiculously expensive and personal Christmas presents causing their most Grumpy Kid to go very very quiet and soft as he runs off to gleefully play with his new murder toy; the kids interrupting Mom and Dad’s big Movie Style Kiss to ask if they can please keep their new underground layer and huffing and puffing when Dad tells them no.

2. Found family: the OT3 edition. To answer your question, the OT3 is indeed canon, confirmed by the creator. Now, usually, “confirmed by the creator” infuriates me because most of the time it’s a way for a creator to be seen as “progressive” without doing anything to actually be progressive. That isn’t the case here. The OT3 are built up carefully and while it is obvious the creators didn’t originally intend for all 3 of them to become a relationship in the romantic sense, by mid-season 5 we are given a very clear picture of where Parker, Hardison and Eliot are heading in their relationship. There aren’t any kisses at the end to signal this but there are solid marriage vows in not only one but two episodes. (And by marriage vows I mean literal equivalents of marriage vows: “for better or worse” and “’til death do us part”. I’m not even exaggerating). The OT3 also doesn’t need explicit romantic narratives to convey how much they love each other. Their love is laced through the whole show, from the way they teach each other things to the way they respond to each other and work as a unit. The way they fiercely protect and admire each other. Like someone once said, if you need characters to kiss or say I love you to let the audience know they love each other, you are writing them wrong. 

Aside from that, each of the parings in the OT3 are just. Gah. They are so well done, with friendship being the solid basis for them all. The creators never expect the audience to assume anything about them or fill in the gaps. They give us their relationships on screen and reference many things off-screen to show us how these relationships continue to build in between episodes.

Hardison and Parker are a canon couple and date in the show: it’s approached slowly and they are so goddamned sweet. They are basically every fluffy slow-burn trope with a healthy dash of mutual pining in the mix. They are basically that quote “love is patient, love is kind”. (I would like to add their romance never becomes the focus of the show or overrides the importance of any other relationship they have with the other characters, especially Eliot.)

Hardison and Eliot are the Old Married Couple and from day one are already bickering and looking at each other/making comments that are found in every UST fic ever (not to mention Hardison has a very good knack for making Eliot grin like a little kid, when usually he’s basically an Angry Little Chef Man). They argue, they play, and love each other plain as day. 

Parker and Eliot are more subtle but every bit as wonderful. They have an unspoken connection and understand each other on a level no-one else can. Parker and Eliot are not good with giving themselves over to affection for different reasons (and Hardison plays a central role in helping them realise it’s okay to want it and have it- that boy has endless patience) but there is something so beautiful in the way the two of them come together on their own and develop their own special bond that works for them. Parker and Eliot are that trope where the characters don’t need to speak to understand each other perfectly. They just do. Their love language is a lot of the time non-verbal but speaks volumes. (Parker also likes to annoy the hell out of Eliot and Eliot....just.....lets...her. Because he’s soft. The softest, grumpiest boy.) 

I could go into so much depth for each pairing and their dynamics as a 3 but that's for another post.

3. Subverting stereotypes. There is the occasional hiccup in the show regarding stereotypes but ultimately, Leverage gets an A+ when it comes to writing characters and making them 3 dimensional people who are not defined by certain characteristics or events. Nate could so easily fall into the White Man Pain trope where he uses the trauma of losing his kid as a reason as to why he is entitled to act like a dick. Nate is a dick but he doesn’t use his pain to excuse it and I appreciate that. Hardison is a black man who is soft and nurturing. Easily the most empathetic and patient of the group. He’s nerdy, an actual genius, and has the biggest heart of all the characters. Nate is maybe the glue but Hardison is definitely the heart. Media’s usual aggressive, amongst other, racist stereotypes can fuck right off. Parker is canonically autistic (I am sure this was confirmed by one of the creators) and she is not defined by it. It’s not written as some kind of singular personality trait. It’s part of what makes up Parker but it’s only one facet of who she is and not once is her actions, thoughts or feelings treated like a joke. Sometimes people don’t understand why she does and says the things she does but it’s met with patience and fondness over the course of the show. Equally, it’s not met with over-caution. Parker is just Parker. No-one tries to change her. The other nice thing is Hardison, who always makes sure Parker knows she’s amazing because of who she is and not in spite of it. Finally, Sophie is in her 40s. She’s not treated like she’s past her prime. Ever. She’s sexy, smart and never is she pitted against or compared to Parker (who is younger) for anything. Sophie is amazing and there’s never even a conversation of “I may be older but I am still *insert adjective typically associated with younger women here*”. Sophie is possibly the first female character I’ve ever seen who isn’t just unapologetic about her age but has never had to apologise for her age. It’s a non-issue and that’s that. The women on the show are written so well, right down to secondary characters and it’s beyond refreshing.  

4.) It’s just fun. The show has a “monster of the week” type format. Except instead of a ghoul or a ghost, the monster is some corrupt wealthy and powerful individual or organisation. The show draws on real-life individuals to do this and therefore closely parallels real-life people and events. It addresses important political, economical, social and environmental issues while at the same time remaining fun and light-hearted. The characters constantly get the chance to play dress up and by GOD do they have fun with it. You get to watch Eliot beat up bad guys in the most delightful of ways, usually after a witty non-sequitur and with a weapon you’d never think could be a weapon. The dialogue and back and forth between the characters is everything. And finally - my favourite thing- the team can never resist striking a dramatic pose after they’ve taken down the bad guy, making sure the bad guy sees them. I mean, they COULD just walk away, satisfied they’ve taken the person down, but nope. They gotta be dramatic bitches 24/7 and pose like they are models for every single month of this year’s Criminal Calendar.  

5.) Competence Porn. So. Much. Competence Porn.  

Honestly, I could list a thousand reasons for why Leverage is amazing but to list them would to be spoiling so many amazing moments you’d get to discover for the first time on your own if you do choose to watch it. It’s the kind of show you can watch with an eagle-eye and sink your teeth into. But it’s also the kind of show if, you would prefer, put on in the background for something entertaining while you do something else. Each episode is about the job at hand but it’s made up of so many moments between the characters that show how much the creators and writers care about them. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll do whatever it is you do when something Soft and Wonderful happens that makes your heart melt. I am so beyond grateful for Leverage. It’s everything I always wanted in a show. Nearly every show I’ve watched in the past 10 years has disappointed me in some way, usually either because the writers run out of steam or characters who I love are treated poorly or given some kind of unnecessary “shock value” arc. Leverage doesn’t do that. Leverage is what it says on the bottle. Fandom isn’t something I joined because I needed canon fix-its. Fandom only enhances and celebrates an already excellent canon. 

[amelee23]

Vintage Kiss, Nearly Missed | Park Minhyuk

Pairing: Female reader x Rocky (Park Minhyuk)

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Warnings: None

Length: 2k words

Summary: MJ loves to mess with her by putting her in situations that don't fit her nature. She tried getting used to it, but this time around MJ hit the jackpot when it came to a dare that would change her relationship status with Rocky.

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Becoming friends with the members of Astro was the start of a tireless journey. She couldn't believe how many things came to fruition because of Myungjun's jokes - and considering his wacky mind, it wasn't a normal day if she didn't feel the rush of adrenaline at least 5 times. The stupider it was, the stronger the temptation to make it true; costume parties, comedy skits and competitions of all sorts. Life with them was always exciting, Myungjun made sure of it from the get go - as they were extremely different in nature, he had a knack for turning things in her life around. Although getting used to such fun was pretty heartwarming - it wasn't what suited her best. She came to love the thrill but calmness was her motto. And well, it ended with her getting a 'boyfriend' because of it. 

It happened through the mystery drink challenge - whoever got the most bad ones was to be punished by receiving a ridiculous dare from Myungjun. (As if the drinks weren’t enough of a punishment by themselves.) As much as she prayed to the angels above for her opponent, Moonbin, to be the one to grimace - the oyster taste hit her tongue and she knew she was done for. As for the loser, Myungjun made sure to hit her where it most hurt - he made her become a 'nurturing girlfriend' to one of the members of Astro for 3 days. (Originally it was a two weeks but she fortunately had amazing negotiation skills.) They were all staring at her expectantly so she would choose who she wanted to take care of - but it was as if Myungjun knew that she had taken a liking for a certain someone.

Minhyuk's eyes widened out of their orbits when he was chosen. He was good at cooking, independent and strong, so why feel the need to nurture him? She could have chosen anyone else, like Sanha for example, kid can't cook to save his own life-

He couldn't understand it no matter how much he thought about it - perhaps she chose the lesser evil, or she just wanted to hang out with him. Either way, he couldn't refuse the dare so he was just another one of Myungjun's victims. 

---

She couldn't pretend like she had made lunch boxes before - she really hasn't, and making them for Rocky was extremely embarrassing. The cute sausage octopi failed her, and she gave up without even trying on making anything fancy. She made a heartfelt steak (she could never do wrong with meat when it came to men) with some salad on the side. She also bought some snacks they could enjoy when they're together. The girlfriend act had to be perfect or else she would have to feel Myungjun's wrath. 

Minhyuk was, in one word, impressed. He didn't think she'd go through with the joke, less be hugged the moment he opened the door and given free home-made food. Myungjun made sure to spy properly and evaluate the merch and remind them they need to go on a cute date too.

"Date? That wasn't part of the conditions!" She suddenly snapped completely out of her calm state, her brain going in a frenzy. 

"It is now!" Myungjun rebutted with a laugh. Minhyuk was standing in between them, confusion written all over his face. 

"We can watch a movie?" He suggested, to have an easy getaway from what his hyung suddenly wanted. 

"No 'lets watch a movie and not actually pay attention to each other', yeah? It better be a real date, yeah? And it better be cute!!" Myungjun's tone increased in volume with every following question. 

"Got it, got it, sheesh." Minhyuk once again had to jump in to clear the waters, as things were getting a little too heated. "We'll go on a date… do you know how to roller skate?" 

Caught off guard, with Minhyuk looking straight into her eyes with such intensity, she furrowed her brow and thought back if her parents ever took her out to do such a thing. 

"I don't think so. Just ice skating, I guess."

"Great, then we'll go try it out together." A flash of something unknown to her occupied Minhyuk's eyes for a second. She had no idea what he was thinking - or where the idea even came from. Maybe it was in the attempt to save her from Myungjun, or he simply wanted to go roller skating and had no one to tag along with him.

In a nutshell, Minhyuk didn't understand why he was chosen and she didn't know why he was so willing to take her on a date. The answer was staring both of them straight in the face, but perhaps they had something more in common besides calmness - they were both thick headed. But they had no time to think about that as Myungjun was yelling at them to cuddle on the couch. The 'nurturing' part wasn't even there anymore. Not that the girlfriend part was - MJ was basically making two friends be awkwardly close to each other physically. Even if they had crushes on each other - thing which they both denied - they felt too cramped and forced to enjoy it. 

Evening came by eventually, after about 10 different incidents when they had to dodge each other and pull away as if burned because Myungjun was pulling pranks. But right when they saw the waters had calmed and they could sigh relief, Dongmin proved them wrong. The look on Minhyuk’s face hearing Dongmin ask “So are you guys gonna wear cute matching outfits tomorrow?” was of utter betrayal. Of course Myungjun loved the idea, and the unfair number of conditions to the losers punishment only kept increasing.

“What about those cute overalls you bought with me?” Moonbin suddenly asked her. “Since Minhyukie likes that type of stuff too, maybe you can both dress vintage? It would fit with roller skating, honestly.” she looked at Moonbin as if an Angel just descended on earth to save her. She ought to thank him later.

“That doesn't sound half bad.” Minhyuk commented, but Myungjun didn’t really look satisfied with Moonbin’s solution. Nevertheless, they just shut him up and proceeded with planning ahead some cute vintage outfits. They were excited about it, almost alike kids.

They said their goodbyes when dark came over the streets, and she headed home to put together the outfit that she promised Minhyuk she would wear. A slight palpitation took over her chest and she clenched the clothes close, as if she was a teenager all over again, even if this date wasn’t even real to begin with. Still, she knew she had to catch a blink of sleep if she didn’t want to be a zombie tomorrow, even if the emotions got the best of her with the moon up high.

Minhyuk had no fancy car to pick her up with, and no fancy facial expression either. Their greetings were very friendly and normal - but an unfamiliar awkwardness overtook them as they walked side by side to the skating rink in the city. Minhyuk indeed matched her blue jeans overalls with high waisted baggy blue pants - but he chose to wear a white shirt while she wore pink. They stole glances at each other the whole way -  as if to check if the situation they were in was even real. It very much was, but they only realized it when they had arrived and were getting their skates at the reception - the workers there were very much treating them like a couple. A wave of warmth crept up her face, but also a bit of paranoia; because Myungjun was always there to check on them if they were being lovey dovey, and now he wasn’t even there, but she felt the tingles of romance in her belly. Perhaps it was strictly because he wasn’t there that the feelings felt free to surface.

Minhyuk tried to act all knightley by letting her hold on to him as she stepped into the rink -  but he was the first one to lose balance. Trying to flex his years spent in ballet, he acted as if nothing happened and didn’t even try holding onto the railing like she was - perhaps he was trying to impress her. She, on the other hand, had no thoughts of impressing anyone. Her legs were wobbly and she didn’t seem to get along with being on so many wheels.

They were supposed to have a romantic date but eventually Minhyuk separated from her and she only noticed when she felt him whoosh by her - that he caught onto the trick of roller skating way before her and he was just showing off by that point. Even all of the other couples were staring at him.

“Are you gonna do a triple axel next?” She jokes, but Minhyuk just smiled like a kid in response.

“I’ll even do a quadra.” He boasted, a dimple showing on the right side of his face. Right as she was about to stop him - because she knew from the beginning it was a bad idea -  she saw him start skating faster so he could try and go into a turn. She braced for something that would end up in even a trip to a hospital, but thankfully the speed made him lose control and he just ended up slamming into the side of the rink he was heading towards. Slowly, along the railing, she headed towards him to check if he was okay, and saw he was cursing under his breath and holding his hand tightly.

“Sh*t, I hit my hand on the railing.” He mumbled, and she spotted the red spot he was talking about.

“That’s what you get!” She rebutted. “I don’t know what got into you.”

“I thought you liked people who do crazy weird things?” He asked, a childish curiosity in his eyes. His gaze was a lot more serious, though.

“Me? I like chill and calm, honestly. That’s why Myungjun steps on my tail so often. He can’t stand me being so passive and getting overly sentimental about my plants.” Minhyuk took in her words with pure thirst, a light suddenly coming on in the shine of his eyes.

“You get sentimental over flowers?” He asked, the smile he once wore reappearing on his lips. It was extremely charming, and one of the reasons she found herself often swooning after him. “That’s so cute.” As if the air got knocked out of her lungs, she couldn’t say a thing as Minhyuk approached her silently. She dared look up into his eyes and was met with a happiness that was hard to describe. They would have had the most movie-like romantic kiss, if Minhyuk didn’t once again lose balance on the skates when he leaned in to kiss her. She caught his torso and stabilized him, giggling with her entire heart. Softly grabbing onto his hand, she placed it on the railing next to them so they both be supported, and stole a quick kiss from his lips before dashing away to the exit of the rink.

“Let’s grab some shaved ice on the way home!” She told him from afar. “Both to eat and for your swollen hand.” Minhyuk shook his head but continued to smile, carefully following the railing to catch up to his now girlfriend. It was foolish of him to believe he needed to change anything about himself to be liked back by her. All that became apparent as her soft calming voice filled the ice cream shop they nestled at to enjoy each other’s company - her body was finally relaxed, her gaze filled with love and affection. From now on he knew to stick to his own ways around her, even if they were old fashioned - or he would be missing out.

[powerbottomblake]

How well do you think RWBY handles its race metaphors and well its characters of color? I seen a lot of people upset at the Faunus subplot and the lack of good characters of color. Like a series can have good (white) female and/or LGBT rep but fail POC. That’s white feminism in a nutshell. RWBY has its stumbles with some colorism here and there but with Maria I think CRWBY is improving. Thank you in advance.

I think CRWBY are extremely hit and miss when it comes to handling race.

Undercut because it got long.

So first: Faunus as an allusion to every kind of racial systemic oppression confounded is kind of iffy since it lumps all people of color together and assumes that all of them face the same kind of oppression, which is…utterly simplistic to say the least. Plus when you take actual race away…from a racial storyline and attribute it to a whole other species, you kind of dilute the message considerably. The point will fly over people’s heads 9 times out of 10. People will sooner empathize with catgirls than black or brown people and this has been proved time and again.

But seeing how the story is being helmed now by two white men who seem (and iirc have outright said) that they’re out of their depth when it comes to race, it’s probably preferable to have a blanket statement rather than go for actual racial storylines since the risk of a misstep gets higher. 

And the thing is, when CRWBY miss their mark they really Miss The Mark. The two very clear missteps I think of that denote a certain tone-deafness/ignorance on their part were:

At the end of V1, we never get an apology from Weiss. What’s worse is that Blake is somehow framed as the only one who has to come clean and justify herself which is so…wrong after Weiss’ vicious, racist insults. Yes the White Fang are Bad now and are extremists but Weiss literally started the whole thing about Sun, who had no known affiliation to the White Fang, calling him a degenerate just because he was a Faunus like?? She made it clear she distrusted any Faunus?? And somehow the whole arc was framed to get Blake to realize that White Fang had lost its soul, which yes! She should! And it’s part of her storyline! But we never get to actually see Weiss going back on what she said. We never see her apologize for the racial prejudice she hurled at both Blake and Sun? And at the end it’s just. brushed off. The whole thing is very clunky and awkward and overall, I’d say tactless.

In V5 when Blake states “Humans didn’t do this…We did this” as she points to her house on fire and it’s. ok so it makes sense in context bc this is about Blake reclaiming the White Fang movement from Adam which is fair. But the thing is, the phrasing is very. This is dangerously close to making the oppressed class shoulder the full responsibility for the clashes occuring…because of the systemic oppression they’re being put under. That was very close to a “black on black crime” rhetoric. That scene, that particular quote left an incredibly bad aftertaste bc somehow the Faunus are taking full responsibility for smth that was primarily born out of the humans’ oppression of them. Incidentally this is the exact bone I had to pick with Black Panther too. Both Erik and Adam are products of what the oppressing class has done, yet the full responsibility for taking them out falls on the oppressed somehow. Humans might not have lit that house on fire but we wouldn’t even be on that island, Adam wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for the SDC apparently using Faunus slaves for their mines. I know this is more a result of short-sightedness than actual malice but yeah…again it still ends up being tone-deaf.

Now beyond that I think that likewise when CRWBY hit they do Hit the Spot. The White Fang storyline especially asks some incredibly important questions when it comes to activism and fighting for your rights as an oppressed people: How far can political correctness carry you in the face of people who are out to rob of your most basic rights? When is retaliation righteous and what kind? What is justice and what is spite? How can you walk the fine line between meekness and violence? All of these questions are especially relevant today and make for a compelling storyline, especially since we get to see one of our main characters (Blake) navigate them. We’re shown that Ghira’s position, while foregoing violence, recoiled too much from conflict and ended with a deal mostly disadvantageous to his people. We’re shown that Sienna’s guerilla warfare ultimately devolves into Adam’s White Fang: bloodshed that only really perpetuates the cycle of violence and forgets its initial cause along the way. Now Blake has rejected both paths; the next logical step, and one that would neatly wrap up both a great leadership arc for her and a great political storyline all around would be for her to witness the full scale of horrors in Mantle and establish the threshold at which fighting back isn’t just necessary, it’s righteous and a duty. There’s a balance to be found and Blake is the one geared to find it. Question is: will CRWBY take the storyline there as it should (my guess is YES otherwise we wouldn’t have had need of Adam being literally branded by the SDC, adding up to Ilia’s backstory)? More importantly will they do it justice? Jury’s out on that one tbh. I think it’s fair to be wary considering the past offenses but the White Fang subplot has been surprisingly and really good mostly so. Wait and see I guess.

Despite all of its flaws I think calling RWBY white feminism is deeply incorrect? White feminism is about propping up white female characters’ storylines at the expense of POC characters, while disregarding any type of specific oppression non white characters and non white women especially have to face, which is not what’s happening here. Beyond the Faunus allegory, Blake is literally not meant to read as white and has very apparent asian coding. Ilia, who’s both very clearly POC and LGBT, has a story that is given weight and proper development and gets the redemption arc from within the White Fang. Bumbleby is literally meant to be read as an interracial couple, and while yes I’ve had qualms about Blake’s skin tone being incredibly inconsistent between volumes and especially washed out in V6, I do believe it stems more from a lack of foresight/animation and lighting wonkiness than outright malice or disregard, which I hope gets resolved in the later volumes. 

[diarrheaofthekeyboard]

Confluence of Updates

7.26.2020

Writing on Writing

In addition to weekly therapy since November, I have been watching School of Life videos on YouTube. The latest video I watched helped confirm for me that I’m on the right path. I’m never going to eliminate my Inner Critic or ever feel completely comfortable with myself. I think if I did, that would be something extra-human. Neither are realistic goals. This particular video’s intent was to get people to write a journal. In a nutshell, you can’t keep it all in. Give yourself a daily mental outlet where you can release your thoughts and you’ll have less mental anguish. Well, here we are! Glad I’m on the right path. 

This may be the reason Sunday nights have recently become the most difficult for me. Brain won’t turn off, but it’s because I haven’t had what I’m trying to turn into my daily routine of walking in the morning and writing at night. The out I’m giving myself is this is all new and it takes some growing pains to get it right. 

Writing on Walking

I try not to spend money these days but any new venture is going to have some startup costs. My sneakers should be good for another month or so if I stick with it. I’ve been keeping my mask in my pocket, but that makes it difficult to pull it out when I actually see people, so I bought some neck gaiters I can pull up to be a mask. But the two big things were new headphones and shirts. 

The headphones are a big deal because of “the thud of footsteps”. As you may have figured out by now, I actually listen to music. It’s not just a beat or a background to keep me going. I’m actually interested in hearing it, reacting to it emotionally, having my own internal dialog about it, and just plain enjoying it. I can’t do that while walking because I hear the thud of my own footsteps with my headphones on. Happens with my Amazon Basics on-ear headphones, which are actually super awesome Monoprice headphones, and it also happens with my Sony earbuds I bought for phone calls. Turns out the Amazon ones are on-ear, closed back. And with the way earbuds have been redesigned, they create a closed back type effect. 

So I made an educated guess and took a chance on some KOSS open air, on ear headphones. Remember the shitty headphones that came with your Walkman? Those were open air, on ear headphones. Those are the ones I used to listen to Megadeth at top volume on in the back seat of my parents’ car so I didn’t have to listen to their shitty lite-fm radio. I found some good ones from KOSS that won’t make my ears hurt after listening to them for 30 minutes and they arrived today. Put them on, took three steps, no thud. Yeah, you can hear the music if you really get close to me. But it’s not like I’m crammed onto a subway around here. Monday will be the real test but so far it seems like $30 in Amazon points well spent. 

Now you may ask yourself, “why are new shirts a big deal?” I think it’s about self worth and there’s a bunch going on here. 

To this point, I’ve been wearing whatever t-shirt I want to walk. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with them. But they’re yer basic men’s printed band shirt or otherwise printed shirt. So they trend kinda heavy and not too comfortable. But you’ll be able to wear them through armageddon. Some of them are 10 to 20 years old. So there’s a lot of personal history and/or bullshit associated with them. Not only because of whatever is printed on them that I obviously liked. But also because of where/when I’ve worn them and how they’ve been associated with certain places. I don’t want to get rid of them or necessarily stop wearing them. But I do kinda just want to put them in a box at the bottom of my closet and start over. 

Then there’s the deserving part. I have more than enough varying degrees of uncomfortable shirts, I should just wear them and be done with it. I’m not good enough for new shirts. Especially some new shirts that are obviously designed for workouts and sports. I’m about 40 pounds overweight. I need to lose half that weight first and really get into a routine before I’m approaching good enough for new shirts. Otherwise, I’m just some pudgy poser. 

And I’ve been listening to this bullshit from my internal dialog for the past month, as I have been walking around my neighborhood. Well, we’re almost at the end of the month and I’m still going. And as I’m putting them in the cart and buying them, a 14 year old memory trying to get me to stop pops up. 

From ‘05 to ‘08 I played guitar in an off-off-off Broadway production of Oedipus. We actually did all three plays during that time. And the best way I can describe the production is “What would happen if George Orwell wrote Oedipus, and it played out on American Idol?” In 2006, we played for a week at the Fringe Festival in Brisbane, Australia. My anxiety nearly fucked me on getting a passport, but I was able to get over that. What really fucked me was the NYC blackout of that year, which hit my area for an extended period of time. 

One of the wonderful things about NYC is the laundromats have drop off service and will do your laundry for you. So I dropped off my laundry a few days before I was going to leave for Australia. Well, the fucking blackout took out the laundromat, with my clothes still inside. So I left for Australia with my guitar equipment and an empty suitcase. For some reason, I had insisted I wanted to fly JetBlue from NYC to LA, which meant I needed to take a cab to LAX. This turned into a blessing in disguise because the driver agreed to stop at Target while I ran around the store and bought whatever I thought might look ok. 

The black shirt I bought to wear onstage was an activewear shirt. It was kinda stretchy, but I figured it would hang loose. And of course it didn’t and we’re about to get onstage and I look like a fucking Ring Ding shoved into a muscle shirt. Everyone in the entire cast laughed at me. Finally, the drummer was nice enough to change shirts with me and he wore it. Later on that trip, he gave me the worst purple nurple ever. So this is what’s going through my mind in fucking Costco, and why I didn’t deserve new shirts. But I bought them anyway as a fuck you to that memory. 

And you know what? I took them out of the package and they smelled like chemicals. So I washed them and the neck gaiters and left them out to dry. Then I changed into one of the shirts to play pickleball with my kid yesterday afternoon. AND IT WAS PERFECTLY FINE. Yeah, I’m probably dumb for buying black shirts and I should have bought the white ones. But that’s toxic “oh black looks harder than white” for you/all band shirts are black/get ripped in a year and wear them onstage too. 

To top it off, we went to the pool this afternoon and after I showered, I put on one of my regular t-shirts. And it kinda felt constricting. I can’t wear the black shirts everywhere because they’ll smell like BO in 30 seconds. But I’m going to wear them a lot, and not be embarrassed about them. It’s ok to be comfortable. 

Whither, Music. 

Unsurprisingly, Bernstein’s lectures have led me to bite off more than I can chew. I haven’t been walking on weekends, so I haven’t been listening to him. But I did find a bunch of books I’ve either read too many times or not read enough, and pulled them out. They are:

Aaron Copland - What to Listen for in Music

Howard Goodall - The Story of Music

Glenn Kurtz - Practicing

Philip Toshio Sudo - Zen Guitar

Pat Pattison - Writing Better Lyrics

I haven’t really read anything other than news for a long time. Or I buy books, read some, and never finish them. This is obviously detrimental to my mental health. So like with walking and with writing, I’m going with what interests me. I’m not trying to be busy all the time, but I definitely want to keep from punishing myself like I have done historically. 

I started on Copland’s book last night. I read 25 pages, and that was only the Forward and Preface. So tonight I’m looking to get into at least the first chapter. 

I’ve also been watching some other YouTube videos, particularly “Now Hear This” which is a PBS show about classical music, and another series I found about “how to listen to classical music” from a channel called Inside the Score. Last night I got my Ford Prefect on, and listened to Beethoven’s 5th. Today, I’m listening to Holst’s “The Planets”, which of course is the Leonard Bernstein version. I gotta say, these new headphones sound pretty good. 

Lastly, I’m waiting on the book to Bernstein’s Harvard Lectures, which I will pick out every last piece he talks about, find it on Apple Music, and create a giant playlist. I hope the runners on the American River trail like classical music. They’re gonna hear a lot of it in passing.

[hailneaux]

Can I have your thoughts on like cancel culture? I feel as we have all said some problematic things in life, especially when we were younger (Middle school, elementary, etc) and I don’t think it’s fair for those things to be used against people. We grow and we learn. I didn’t even know back then of certain things and that they could be problematic. I feel as now people will apologize and the general public still attack. I just would like your opinion because I like how you think!

I dont think it exists  as much as we think honestly. To me obv the internet makes everything very hypervisible, so your mistake, depending on your hypervisbility (i.e. being a celebrity) will expose you to a higher volume of criticism. We can look at any celebrity and know that they really never been “cancelled” from Sabrina Claudio, men still lust after her, Camilla Chello still gonna have fans who dont give af about what she said in the past, etc. I do agree that none of us are perfect. Literally 2013 me was clown as fuck and stupid and I grew and learned from experiences and research to be who I am today and Im still wrong about a lot of shit that Id look back in 5 years and think “wow that was stupid af”. We are all always evolving. People have to understand when you get mass criticism, its a completely different era than 10-15 years ago. Shit stays on the internet forever, its not going away unless someone pulls the plug on the matrix. You can say something stupid in a tweet and someone can literally dig and pull it back up 10 years later when that was the old you and people will talk. Thats honestly just what it is now. Also a lot of people were taught stupid things via parents, their surroundings, etc but that also coincides with what you feel and what you expel out into the world. Its one thing to be taught to be homophobic, then its on you if you “expel” i.e violence to gay people for example. Thats inexcusable to me. Its one thing to have a thought, not do anything literal about it, and learn and undo that thought as you grow cause conditioning exists. This is one reason I cannot ACTS of homophobia and racism, like that Camerello Cabello chick who committed acts of verbal abuse and cyber bullying. I cant forgive her for that, I cant forgive Justin Beiber “one less lonely nigger” headass idgaf if he was 15, he decided to make a choice to be violent about what he was taught. Idk if that makes sense. Basically in a nutshell I feel like thoughts change and undo, but YOU make the choice on how you push your ignorance out into the world. That cannot be undone as it now has then affected others.

[littlemisssquiggles]

In your Pinehead Headcanons #54, you mentioned that you think that Oscar will inherit Ozma's magic in time. But Ozpin stated in Volume 5 that his magic was fading, so we can assume that his magic reserves are limited. Do you think this will play a role once Oscar inherits Ozma's magic and if so, how?

Hiya Mizuike! Here’s the thing, it’s not so much just that Oscar will inheritOzma’s magic but pretty much become the very personification of it as someonewho is proven to be more powerful than Ozma or any of the past Wizards; if thatmakes any sense.

When I first shared the concept of Oscar inheriting Ozma’s magic and awakening his magical potential, I did it under the pretenceof another Pinehead headcanon of mine where Oscargains the ability to take back magic from the Maidens. The idea I had was that Cinder, upon learning that the Maidenmagic originated from Ozma, will target Oscar in an attempt to drain any bit ofpower that Ozpin claimed to be left dwindling inside him.

Back in V5, we saw Cinder take thismegalomaniac approach when she dared to steal the Spring Maiden powers. So itwouldn’t surprise me if she suddenly got the urge to pull the same stunt withOscar—pilfering the rest of Ozma’s power for herself. But in doing so, shewould simultaneously spark something in Oscar—an ability that could workeither as a semblance or just something unique to Oscar as he is an incarnate of Ozma.It is the ability to revoke magic from the Maidens and return it to itsoriginal source—Ozma’s soul.

If Ozma was able to gift his magic away during the creation of the First Maidens, then surely he (or any of his descendants) must possess the capability of taking said magic back should it fall into the wrong hands, right?

Basically, in a nutshell, what I’m hoping for is for Oscar to revoke the Fall Maiden magic from Cinder Fall, thus empowering him with her share of Ozma’s magic which in turn would make Oscar just as powerful as the Maidens. Maybe even a little stronger.

In a previous Pinehead headcanon on this subject, this is how I worked it out: When Ozma, as Isaac the Hermit, first created the Maidens, let’s say he sacrificed 90% of his magic to the girls while reserving 10% of it to use for himself.

That same 90% magical strength was then divided evenly amongst the four Maidens. Therefore, each Maiden is 22.5% magically powerful. I use this example because it would justify, in a sense, the battles between Cinder vs Raven and Ozpin respectively and why each fight concluded the way they did.

My hunch is that, despite being magically competent, Ozpin or any of the Wizards, for that matter, are only half as powerful as a Maiden. They’re practically immensely weaker now given how much magic the Wizardshave used since the Maidens’ birth.

Even with his experience and superior fighting skills, it is my belief that it was inevitable that Oz would’ve been defeated by Cinder since her magic was far superior than his. The last shot we had of their fight was Cinder unleashing her Fall Maiden magic on Ozpin at full blast while he himself used his to shield against hers. In the end, I think Cinder only won that fight because Ozpin was magically weaker than her. That’s my theory.

As for the Raven and Cinder battle—that dual was pretty much evenly matched since Cinder and Raven were of the same power level, magically. What made the difference was wit and a little outside help. In the end, it was Raven’s tactical prowess coupled together with outside assistance from Vernal that gave her an edge in finally downing Cinder in a battle that probably could have gone on forever since, like I said, both Maidens were evenly match.

No Maiden is more powerful than the other since they all share the same level of magic—hypothetically speaking, of course.

Returning to my point on Oscar—currently Oscar is only working with 10% orless of Ozma’s original magic; similar to what Ozpin has been using prior to him. And it would make sense that the magic is dwindling since, technically Ozma did used some of that magic again before Oscar’s time.

To be fair, who knows what else Ozpin or any of the past Wizards utilized Ozma’s magic to do in the centuries prior. One of my guesses is that Ozma, during his lifetime as the Phadrig—the Warrior King of Vale, must’ve used some of his magic to create the Vaults to hide the Relics. It would make sense if magic was involved in the construction of these mystical vaults since thus far, using theVault of the Spring Maiden as example, these Vaults have been very magical innature. Not to mention the room that was used to house the power of the Relic.

Ozpin—well Ozma’s magic is dwindling or currently weaker since a) he sacrificed the majority of it to create the First Maidens and b) later possibly utilized what little magic he left to forge the Vaults, tailoring them to suit each particular Maiden and Relic.

In addition to that, he also gifted animalistic shapeshifting abilities to the Branwen Twins. So let’s use math again for this. Okay, so after his life as the Hermit, Ozma had been working with only 10% of his magic, correct? (Iknow some RWBY theorists believe that the Hermit came after the King of Valebut this squiggle meister believes in the opposite hunch. My guess is that theHermit came before the King and that’s how I’m going to work it out).

Let’s say, as the King of Vale, from that 10% magical strength, Ozmaused 4% of said power in the construction of each Vault of the Maidens to housethe Relics. He may have even used differing amounts of magic for certain vaultsfor certain Relics since I’d imagine the creating a Vault to house the Relic ofDestruction, might not be so simple.

But for the sake of this example, let’s keep it even steven. So after creating the Vaults, Ozma was left with 6% magical strength.

So when Ozpin came into the picture, he was only working with 6% of the previous 10% he had since the King of Vale used some of it to create the Vaults, allegedly.So Ozpin was only 6% magically strong during his reign. However, eventually Ozpin gifted some of Ozma’s magic yet again to turn the Branwen Twins of Team STQR into his heralds—his travelling eyes in the sky.

And once again, for the sake of this example, let’s say Oz gave up 2% of his magic to turn both twins into birds. He did mention in V5 that turning the Branwens into birds only required a little bit of magic and it would make sense. I’d imagine turning two impressionable teenagers into shapeshifters was child’s play compared to what Ozma has done with his magic both in current Remnant and First Remnant.

But if Ozma, as Ozpin, yet again gave up some of his magic, what does that leave him with now? Only 4% magical strength.

At the start, Ozma was 100% as powerfulas any person from First Remnant. But after creating Maidens and vaults andshapeshifters, all that’s left of his original power is a measly 4% of howpowerful he originally was.

Let’s not forget that technically, Ozma was more powerful than Salem, mind you. Ozma defeated Salem during his second life as Diggs. He succeeded in killing her but if it weren’t for the Brother Gods’ dumbass idea of gifting immortality to the very being who double-crossed them and then dared to destroy them both—if it weren’t for that Salem would be a thing of the past.

So between our two titular remnants of First Remnant, Ozma was magically superior at full strength. This would additionally make sense from a fairy tale standpoint since in the Wizard of Oz, as the true ruler of Oz, Princess Ozma was the most powerful magi in Oz—more powerful than the Wizard of Oz and the Wicked Witch.

But ultimately, despite being sopowerful, Ozma gave away his magic and opted to work with only a small fractionof his power. A power that will soon be inherited by Oscar. But it’s such a small amount.

This is why I like the idea of Oscar taking back Ozma’s power from theMaidens; starting with Cinder.

My theory was that at some point, Oscarwill come to the realization that if he was to ever stand a fighting chance magicallyagainst Salem and her forces, he needed to be at fullpower. So after revoking the Fall Maiden magic,Oscar planned to take back the magic from the remaining Maidens so that bythen, he’ll be closer in power to how he used to be—at least how Ozma used tobe.

This then ties into my theory that Oscar is Ozma—his trueincarnation as the manifestation of Ozma’s originalbody (that he never got back) reborn in Modern Remnant. My idea is that theMerge isn’t meant to kill Oscar. It’s meant to make him whole againas he remembers who he truly is. If Ozpin is the current culmination of Ozma’ssoul plus all the past Wizards then, hypothetically, by my assumption, that would make Ozpinthe current version of Ozma’s soul.

And if Oscaris revealed to be Ozma’s original form reborn then both body andsoul will finally be reunited in the Merge.Thus making Oscar—well Ozma, whole again. Truly reviving him this time. I really love my ‘Oscar is Ozma’ theory since it makes the most sense to me out of all the Merge theoriesI’ve heard and shared. It’s also leagues better than him just being another oneof Ozma’s lives. Most fans tend to buy into this being Oscar’s ultimate fatebut this honestly can’t be true. Especially considering that series itselftries to tell you that this isn’t the case.

Oscar is meant to be special. Hisexperience as a current Wizard of Light is going to be different from his predecessors.He isn’t going to be another one of Ozma’s lives. He is the life.The last life, hopefully. I love this theory since, here we have Oscar beingconcerned about losing himself to the Merge when the reality is, it’s meant tochange him for the better.

Here we have Oscar worrying about hislife being taken over by another when the reality is, he’s going to be made complete.Oscar—Ozma will become the most complete he’s felt in centuries and fromthere, he can make the choice to live as whoever he wants. He could choose tobe called Ozma or continue living asOscar.

And I like the idea of Oscar choosingto live as Oscar. Ozma may be who he is but he was also his past. Whohe used to be. After living amongst the other Wizards, Ozma is no longerhimself. He’s been touched and inspired by so many people throughout his manylifetimes including the men who’s shared their lives with him.

It’s all part of a destiny that Oscarfigured he didn’t have a choice in avoiding at first. But now he does. And he chooses to be Oscar whilefighting to uphold the vow he made to the God of Light to save humanity and carryon the legacy of the valiant men who sacrificed their lives to uphold it. That’smy theory.

I want Oscarto be revealed as the fully revived version of Ozma so that from henceforth, he could live his life as himself, notworrying about taking another innocent soul ever again. I’m still waiting formy Lost Fable parallel where Oscarmeets with one of the Brother Gods in the Realm Between Realms like how Ozmadid.

I figured since Ozma met the God ofLight, it’d be interesting if, shouldOscar wind up in the Realm, he’d meet up with the God of Darkness instead.

I have this gut feeling that sinceLight was the one who gave Ozma his reincarnation powers, his brother Dark hadno idea of his brother’s actions or something to that liking. There’s also thatside of me that believes that even Ozma’s revival and reincarnation cycle wascreated as another experiment by the Brothers.

And just as how Ozma made a deal withthe God of Light to keep reincarnating to help humanity, imagine if…Oscar makes a deal with the God of Darkness to…I dunno…end thecycle in exchange that he will stop Salemonce and for all?

Do you know what would be interesting?If Oscar makes a deal with God of Darkness to turn him into basically a human martyr—likesince the God of Darkness’ power is destruction then it’d be interesting itOscar acts to be granted the power to kill Salem. Darkness tells Oscar that hecan grant him such a power but y’know—equivalent exchange and all that. To begiven the power to kill to take an immortal life, another immortal life must besacrificed.

So imagineif…Oscar gives up his immortal soul to be granted the power to stop Salem once and for all. Basicallyimagine if…Oscar turning himself into some kind of Failsafe. Like he becomes the key to stopping Salem for good but since it’s at the expense of taking his own life for humanity,his friends are vehemently against him doing that.

Can I see Oscar willingly turning himself into amartyr to save humanity? Yes. Can I see his friends—the people who careabout him strongly opposing this option and opting to only use this Failsafe as last resortshould they not find another alternative to stopping Salem again since they’re all hellbent on NOT losingOscar? Yes. Thus Oscar becomes the last Wizard—thelast life; taking on the burden of protecting humanity on himself andhimself alone so no other soul would be made to go through what he, Ozma andall the other Wizards went through. I know all of this sounds very stretchy and reach-y. Nevertheless, as always, these are only theories. 

And believe it or not, ALL of this tiesback into my Oscar and magic theory. At least the Ozma part. If Oscar learnsthat he is Ozma then he would probably wish to undo some of the actions he had madein his previous lives. Starting with the Maidens. Perhaps Oscar would come to think that creating the Maidens was a mistake?

One thing that disappointed me aboutthe Maidens is that, their only purpose in RWBY’s narrative thus far is servingto open the door to acquire the Relics. They’re not even needed to keep theVault open or something more important like…imagineif…eachRelic was magically bound to a Maiden andthus could only be handled by them or something like that.

It bums me out that the Maidens onlyserve to show up to open the Vaults and then be expendable—to be killed for their power mostly. It would’ve been nice tosee a story where our heroes had to gather the Four Maidens, not just for thesake of the Relics but in the fight against Salem overall. Perhaps the combinedpower could’ve been rumoured to have the potential to overpower Salem or go toeto toe with her or something like that.

It could’ve been cool to see our heroesbefriend the Maidens. Have them join theheroes and actually be characters worth gettingto know. But for now, it seems like a Maiden’s fate is to mostly open a doorand then die for the sake of her power being lost. This is why I’m liking theidea of one of two things:

One, like I said, Oscar takes the FallMaiden powers back from Cinder. He doesn’t kill her for it because, in keepingwith his Wizard of Oz counterpart—Princess Ozma was a pacifist who didn’t believein killing her foes. I can see a bit of that was rubbed off on Ozma since hechose to wield one of the least lethal weapons in the series. It’d beinteresting if Salem was technically the only person Ozma ever killed periodand following that, he vowed never to kill anyone again or something. Anyways, what if…Oscarmanages to take back the Fall Maiden magic sparing Cinder’s life (for theCinder fans who believe in her redemption or further story).

Now stronger than he was before with aquarter of his magical strength restored, Oscar decides that he needs to takethe Maiden magic back. Perhaps he feels responsible for the Maidens who have died since theMaiden magic was a power he had enforced onto the originals. He had meant it tobe something they can use for good but whatif…like his reincarnation curse, Oscarcomes to see that perhaps he has only burdened the Maiden candidates with his power and made them targets forSalem.

So because of this, Oscar vows to findthe remaining Maidens and take the power back. Without killing them, of course.By my headcanons, Oscar, asa Wizard and the original Ozma, is the only person capable of taking the Maidenmagic back without killing thecandidate.

The other idea I have is Oscar deciding to gather the Maidens, buildinga small team consisting of himself leading the remaining three living Maidens asRemnant’s first and only all magi team, technically.. Perhaps…Oscarwill seek to ask the Maidens to join him and the other heroes in the fight to stop Salem for theirmagic could provide everyone an advantage in the fight. After all, in the past,Ozma kept the identities and existence of the Maidens a secret from the world. What if…Oscarwould strive the change that. Perhaps, in his mind, he’d think it’d be better if the Maidens are seenfor what they are. Heroes who use the gifts he had blessed them with to help others simplybecause they’re able to.

So in the event of a Second Great War to come or Remnant is challenged by Salem and her foces, I thinkit’d be cool if Oscar were to seek out the Maidens to help him stop it and fendoff Salem. That could be another idea to play off of.

So…yeah…that’s my answer. This wassupposed to be a short answer but…oh well. Hope I actually managed to answeryou there Mizu.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)

[amginvest]

15 Stock Trading Terms You Must Know

There are a few phrases that every equities stock market investor should be aware of. Beginners, however, don't always possess this information. In this blog, we will discuss some of the investment jargon.

 The commonly used equities and share trading market terms are as follows:

 1.    Stock, often known as a share or equity, is the basic ownership unit of a corporation.

2.    The stock market is where the shares of publicly traded corporations are sold and bought on exchanges.

3.    Volatility, in a nutshell, is the variation of a stock or the market as a whole. The standard deviation of returns, which measures the degree of change in a trading price series over time, is known as volatility.

4.    Liquidity refers to the ease with which you can acquire, trade, and turn stock into cash.

5.    The dividend is part of an organization's gains, generally distributed to company shareholders.

6.    A Bull Market is a market situation that indicates stock prices might see a rise.

7.    A Bear Market is a market situation in which investors expect stock prices to sink.

8.    Averaging down denotes the investor buying more stock when the cost of a particular stock sees a decline.

9.    Sensex is a figure that signifies all the comparative share prices listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

10. The Nifty 50 Index, or the National Stock Exchange of India, is the primary and broad-based share market index for the equity market of India.

11. A bid price is a price you desire to pay for a particular stock.

12. Ask price refers to the specific amount which you are expecting to get upon selling a share.

13. Trading volume represents the number of shares traded on a respective day.

14. IPO implies a private company is turning into a public company by allocating its stakes to the masses for the first time.

15. A broker is a person that purchases and sells acquisitions on your behalf and receives a commission or fee in return.

 To receive the best investment consulting, contact our stock market professionals at AMG Invest.

[ptmorales16-blog]

Surface Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones Experience

You know today's leading brand of noise-reducing headphones market is too single, lacking fresh blood. Whenever you talk about this topic, the first thing that comes to mind is nothing more than Bose and Sony. The rest of the brands are related. The noise reduction products, but always have some disadvantages at some levels, which also makes it possible to actually buy really noisy headphones if you want to buy noise-canceling headphones. This also means that consumers are in desperate need of some brands with certain strength in the industry to enter the field of noise-canceling headphones, and Microsoft's appearance is in line with the public's expectation.

Microsoft's noise-reducing headphones are called Surface Headphones, and Chinese is Surface wireless noise-canceling smart headphones. Obviously, this is an audio product designed to match its own Surface. Microsoft officially announced that it has prepared three internally. For a long time, I hope that I will be mature enough when I first get involved in the noise canceling headphones field.

From this point of view, Microsoft's design of the Surface Wireless Noise Reduction Smart Headset should be a good enough product, but when I actually hand, I found that it may be worse than the real maturity.

Excellent knob operation is the most unique place on it

Not to mention the performance of the Surface Wireless Noise Reduction Smart Headphones, the configuration knobs are very attractive to me. Different from virtual touch, the feedback from the physical knob is more direct, and there is also a solid feeling in the experience. This may be the first time I saw the design of the knob on the earphone product. It is very novel. The actual effect is not bad. It should be noted that the knob of the Surface wireless noise reduction smart earphone has no paragraph sense, but adopts a stepless structure, and the damping is appropriate, and the daily use does not bring any operational inconvenience.

Microsoft's design team added a knob design to the left and right sides of the Surface Wireless Noise Reduction Smart Headset. The left side controls the noise cancellation and the right side controls the volume. It is especially interesting that the left side noise cancellation control has 13 gears. The stepless knob can be finely adjusted to the level you need. It also includes an ambient sound zoom position, which can further amplify the surrounding sound, but it is somewhat different from the ambient noise mode of the general noise-canceling headphones. The effect of ambient sound amplification is very obvious, even to a bit noisy.

If the normal ambient sound mode is to amplify the external 100% volume sound to 120%, then the ambient sound mode of the Surface wireless noise reduction smart earphone is amplified to 200% of the volume for you to listen to, how to believe the effect You should have some understanding. This is also the case, if you do not really need this feature, then I do not recommend you to use.

In fact, from the overall shape and color matching of the headphones, the Surface Wireless Noise Reduction Smart Headphones give people a visual look that is a very strong Microsoft Surface design. Light gray shell, simple and clever lines, and signature logo, if you love the Surface design for ten minutes, I believe this headset will also give you a lot of appeals, especially when you match it with Surface. That sense of harmony looks very comfortable.

On the texture, you can really see Microsoft's efforts on the Surface wireless noise reduction smart headphones. The main buttons are mainly on the right side of the headphones, one key, one call mute button, the charging interface is USB-C, ear The cover part is also quite soft, and the wearing feeling is no problem. I tried to wear it for a flight of 3 hours. There is no strong discomfort in the whole process, and the ear pressure control is just right, it is worthy of praise.

However, in terms of structure, the Surface Wireless Noise Reduction Smart Headphone does not support folding, which makes the storage box appear larger, which is not good news for users who are often traveling.

It can be said that in terms of product design, Surface wireless noise reduction smart headphones do have their own characteristics, especially its knob design, which has a quite direct feedback effect on function adjustment. I used it for a few days and then used it back. The noise-canceling headphones that are operated are only slightly disappointing. The bilateral knob operation is combined with the touchpad on the surface of the Surface Wireless Noise Reduction Intelligent Headphones (click the play pause, double click the next one), the overall headset usage logic is very clean and clear, and the difficulty of getting started is very low, this may be Surface The wireless noise reduction smart headset brings me the biggest surprise.

The software experience is not mature, but it is not a big problem in daily use.

I also mentioned above, Surface wireless noise reduction smart headphones, from the product name point of view, this is a headset for Microsoft's own Surface, the "special" here not only refers to the design but also includes the software experience part.

Users can download free software called "Surface Headphones" through the Windows 10 software store. After connecting to the Surface Wireless Noise Reduction Smart Headset, you can adjust its sound and update the firmware, using logic with those smart headphones. Mobile App is similar.

However, what's embarrassing is that this software is only available in the Windows 10 software store. It is not available on the mobile phone. This means that if you want to modify the sound style of the Surface wireless noise reduction smart headset, you have to use Windows 10 specifically. The operation of the system's computer is quite inhuman.

In fact, aside from software assistance, Surface wireless noise reduction smart headphones are also excellent in their own experience. Not only the knob operation mentioned above, but also the configuration of a distance sensor, support for the function of taking off, pause, daily It's especially convenient to use, and the Surface Wireless Noise Reduction Smart Headset also supports connecting two devices at the same time. For example, you can connect it to your mobile phone and computer, so you don't have to worry about missing the phone even if you play with headphones. The message.

This is a noise-canceling headset that is more suitable for office environments.

I was very excited about the birth of the Surface Wireless Noise Reduction Smart Headphone. This excitement comes from the injection of fresh blood in the noise canceling headphones field. Its significance as the first headphone noise canceling headphone product of the Microsoft brand is extraordinary. However, this excitement gradually changes to regret as the actual experience of the product, it may not be a noise-reducing earphone product that makes you marvel.

Why do you say that? The main reason comes from two points, one is sound quality; the second is noise reduction.

First, the Surface Wireless Noise Reduction Smart Headset has configured with Bluetooth 4.2 technology instead of Bluetooth 5.0 technology. Secondly, in the Bluetooth encoding format, the Surface Wireless Noise Reduction Smart Headphone only supports the most basic SBC, even the slightly better AAC. This is really unreasonable for a wireless headset that sells for nearly 500 $. You might say that Bluetooth technology and protocols are not particularly good for the sound quality of wireless headphones. Isn't it good to have a good sense of hearing? This is true, but the sound of the Surface Wireless Noise Reduction Smart Headset is not excellent.

The low frequency and thickness are my first impressions on the sound of the Surface Wireless Noise Reduction Intelligent Headphones. The tuning is obviously the kind of sly route that Europeans and Americans like, but the sound is not too much detail, basically, it is thick. The low frequency is erased, which leads to the brightness of the sound that is supposed to be highlighted, the vocal lines are thicker, the sense of hearing is more general, and it belongs to a typical low-frequency style. Although the sound quality of the Bose QC35II and Sony WH-1000XM3 is not calculated, in contrast, I personally feel that the Surface Wireless Noise Reduction Smart Headset needs some adjustment in the sound, which is why the sound quality makes me feel sorry.

After talking about sound quality, let's talk about noise reduction. Since it is a noise-reducing earphone, then the level of noise reduction is the basic indicator for judging whether it is excellent. It can be explained that if you only use noise-canceling headphones in the office area or out of the street, then Surface wireless noise-reduction smart headphones The noise reduction strength is fully competent, and most of the low-frequency noise can be eliminated in the maximum noise canceling position, but the elimination of vocals is not obvious, which may also be Microsoft's tendency to eliminate noise algorithms.

The reason why I want to emphasize the scene used in the office area or out of the street is mainly that I wear it once. On the plane, I have a deep understanding of the Surface wireless noise reduction smart headphones and the WH-1000XM3 I bought. There is a gap in noise reduction. The image point is wearing the WH-1000XM3, which can denoise the sound of the aircraft engine to the air conditioning sound in the daily home. If you play a movie or music, you can’t hear the noise of the plane. Unlike the Surface Wireless Noise Reduction Smart Headset, it also deodorizes the sound of the aircraft engine to the sound of the air conditioner outside the home. This gap is quite obvious.

In a nutshell, the noise reduction capability of the Surface Wireless Noise Reduction Smart Headset may only reach 70% of the WH-1000XM3. If you plan to use it on your travels, then I don't really recommend it, maybe just like it. As the model is marked, the best use of the Surface Wireless Noise Reduction Smart Headset may be limited to the Office environment using Surface.

advantage:

1. Excellent turntable design, an excellent experience;

2. A design style that fits the Surface product;

3. Support dual device connection and take off and stop function.

Disadvantages:

1. The sound quality is relatively average, and the sound is too thick;

2. There is a gap between the noise reduction strength and the bidding competition products;

3. Does not support folding;

4. The software level is not mature, and some functions cannot be experienced by domestic users.

[your-dietician]

How Does Depression Affect the Brain?

New Post has been published on https://depression-md.com/how-does-depression-affect-the-brain/

How Does Depression Affect the Brain?

Depression can result in negative emotions, overreactions, reduced intellectual abilities, and a general sense of feeling down. These symptoms can range from mild to severe— with suicidal thoughts occurring in the most critical of diagnoses. All of these are just symptoms of depression, however. The underlying issues, and important areas of study regarding this disorder, have more to do with the actual changes depression can cause to the brain. Here, we’ll explore an answer to the question “how does depression affect the brain?”

How Does Your Brain Change From Depression?

What does depression do to the brain? Unfortunately, this question isn’t easily answered, because the effects of depression on the brain can be quite complex. What’s more, they continue to be studied, since we don’t understand everything there is to know about the relationship between our brains and depression. Even though researchers have more to learn about the cause, effect, and correlation between the brain and depression, they have been able to establish a foundational understanding of how depression affects the brain.

In short, depression is broadly associated with brain inflammation. But we don’t yet know if depression causes brain inflammation, or if it’s the opposite—that the inflammation is causing depression.

Researchers have been able to determine that depression directly impacts multiple areas of the brain, most of which are affected by a loss of gray matter volume (GMV). Gray matter is a type of brain material that’s dense with cells and needed for strong brain activity.

Areas of the Brain Affected by Depression

How depression affects the brain is multifaceted, and many areas of the brain may be impacted. Research has lead us to believe that depression affects the following areas of the brain:

Hippocampus: The hippocampus, named after the Ancient Greek word for “seahorse” due to its shape, has a role in many brain functions. Some of what it’s responsible for includes learning, memory storage, emotions, and stress (connecting other parts that process emotions and stress). The hippocampus plays a central role in how we process recollection and long-term memory. For those living with chronic or recurrent depression, studies have shown that the hippocampus shrinks over time. Fortunately, research indicates that this part of the brain can actually be healed and reversed through treatment for depression. 

Prefrontal Cortex: The prefrontal cortex is largely responsible for high-level thinking and planning. In some brain images of people who are depressed, they found abnormally low prefrontal cortex. Additionally, depression severity seems to correlate with how far-declined the prefrontal cortex activity actually is. 

Thalamus: The thalamus is the part of the brain that gets the most sensory information. It’s involved in many high-level functions such as speech, thought, behavioral reactions, learning, and movement. Because it links sensory input to positive and negative feelings, depression can affect the thalamus, which can get smaller in those diagnosed with depression. 

Caudate Nucleus: The caudate nucleus is most associated with movement, but it also has tangential roles in learning, memory, motivation, emotion, and romantic interactions. There is evidence that supports that the caudate nucleus becomes smaller in those who are depressed. 

Insula: The insula assists with both basic functions and automatic ones. It can be involved with our feelings of love, pain, cravings, overall emotions, addiction, and more. It sends sensory signals from both within the body as well as from the outside environment. In a nutshell, the insular cortex’s purpose is to link our sensory experiences and emotional responses. It’s also involved with taste and regulates the immune system. Like the prefrontal cortex, thalamus, and caudate nucleus, the insula also appears to be smaller in depressed people. 

Amygdala (unclear results): Though results from studies and research are mixed in regards to how depression affects the amygdala, it’s suggested the two are related. The amygdala processes stress and fear.

These all must be addressed when taking a comprehensive approach to answering the question: how does depression affect the brain? When specific areas of the brain aren’t functioning properly, we can see many changes in behaviors and thought processes. Some of the more significant changes which capture what depression feels like include, but are not limited to:

Increased anxiety

Memory issues

Hopelessness

Guilt

Difficulty thinking clearly

Sleep issues

Overreacting

Having extremely negative emotions

Appetite issues

Change is speech patterns (talking more slowly)

Are the Changes Permanent?

The long-term answer to how long the brain is affected by major depressive disorder (clinical depression), as well as what type of effects can be expected, is still being studied. But research suggests the effects can be lasting.

Clinical depression at any level might have a significant impact on the brain, but the result of continued or repeated depression can be especially negative. There’s some evidence to suggest that the effects of depression on the brain compound over time, and some of these changes (for example, those to the hippocampus) in people diagnosed with lifelong major depressive disorder might be present even after years of a depressive episode.

Additionally, levels of translocator proteins also increase in people with depression. These brain chemicals are linked to inflammation in the brain, and studies show they can: 

Kill or hurt brain cells

Prevent new ones from growing

Interfere with thinking

Accelerate brain aging 

Even if levels return to normal, even temporary periods of reduced new growth and increased aging can still have potential lifelong impacts. One thing is clear: ongoing depression probably does cause significant, long-term changes to our brain. 

Getting Treatment 

Because of the complex and prolonged effects that depression can have on the brain, it’s a mental health condition that should be treated as soon as possible Thankfully, there are several effective treatments to consider if you’re dealing with depression:

Antidepressants: Antidepressant medication uses medically formulated chemicals to control stress and emotion hormones. They work by lowering inflammation and promoting the formation of new connections between neurons.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Cognitive Behavioral Therapy promotes neuroplasticity, which improves the brain’s flexibility and ability to create new pathways. This form of talk therapy has been shown to work, in some cases, as well as or even better than medication. Especially for those with a mild-to-moderate form of depression, it can be highly successful. For more severe cases, a combination of CBT and medication like antidepressants have been found to be extremely effective in reducing depressive symptoms while improving the overall quality of life.  

Talk Therapy: Talk therapy (also known as psychotherapy) allows psychiatrists and psychologists to help clients process their emotions on a short-term or ongoing basis. It can teach someone how to make changes to their thought patterns and alter some of the negative behaviors, resulting in a reduction in depressive symptoms overall. 

Ketamine: Ketamine was originally approved by the FDA as an anesthetic in the early 1970s. More recently it’s been used to treat very severe depression, like the kind that manifests as thoughts of imminent suicide. This medication can only be used short-term, but might have lasting benefits and positive outcomes in treating suicidal thoughts and severe depression.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT): Electroconvulsive therapy stimulates the brain and reduces corticotropin-releasing stress hormones (CRHs). ECT has been shown highly effective in relieving major and severe depression. Some studies show that 8 out of 10 people living with severe depression see substantial improvement after ECT treatment.

In addition to these treatment options, a combination of a healthy diet, consistent sleep habits, regular exercise, therapy, and meditation can assist with how to manage depression. They might not address all your answers about what depression does to the brain, but these are practical ways to minimize many of the effects depression can have on your life.

If you’re living with depression, seeking professional treatment is the best thing you can do for yourself. You don’t have to suffer—there is help out there for you. If you’re having thoughts of suicide or need immediate help, you should call 911. You can contact a psychiatrist for assistance with ongoing symptoms. Your psychiatrist can further answer your questions about how depression affects the brain and what type of depression you may be facing. Your mental health care provider will help develop a course of treatment that will get you back to the path of living and enjoying your life.

Sources:

Zhang FF, Peng W, Sweeney JA, Jia ZY, Gong QY. Brain structure alterations in depression: Psychoradiological evidence. CNS Neurosci Ther. 2018;24(11):994-1003. https://doi.org/10.1111/cns.12835. Published 2018. Accessed August 21, 2021.

Pandya M, Altinay M, Malone DA Jr, Anand A. Where in the brain is depression?. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2012;14(6):634-642. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-012-0322-7. Published 2012. Accessed August 21, 2021.

THE BRAIN FROM TOP TO BOTTOM. Thebrain.mcgill.ca. https://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/i/i_08/i_08_cr/i_08_cr_dep/i_08_cr_dep.html.. Published 2021. Accessed August 21, 2021.

Does long-term, severe clinical depression affect the brain? Brain and life. https://www.brainandlife.org/articles/does-long-term-severe-clinical-depression-have-neurologic-effects-on/. Published 2011. Accessed August 21, 2021.

Depression and the brain. Queensland Brain institute. https://qbi.uq.edu.au/brain/brain-diseases/depression/depression-and-brain. Published 2021. Accessed August 21, 2021.

What Anxiety And Depression Does To Your Brain. Advantage mental Health Center. https://advantagementalhealthcenter.com/what-anxiety-and-depression-does-to-your-brain/. Published 2020. Accessed August 21, 2021.

Talkspace articles are written by experienced mental health-wellness contributors; they are grounded in scientific research and evidence-based practices. Articles are extensively reviewed by our team of clinical experts (therapists and psychiatrists of various specialties) to ensure content is accurate and on par with current industry standards.

Our goal at Talkspace is to provide the most up-to-date, valuable, and objective information on mental health-related topics in order to help readers make informed decisions.

Articles contain trusted third-party sources that are either directly linked to in the text or listed at the bottom to take readers directly to the source.

Source link

[starmarketingz]

An In-Depth Look at Multi-Level Marketing

Multi Level Marketing, often known as network marketing, is rapidly expanding across the world.

It is quite probable that you may be contacted by a friend, acquaintance, or coworker who will tell you about this great chance to make additional money without making any investments. Every person who hears the explanation regarding Network marketing and money creation will be confused and question whether it is all real. The main concern that people will have is if it is feasible for someone to make the sort of money that is shown in the explanatory material. Let us attempt to grasp the idea of how MLM works in a nutshell from a macro perspective.

Enrollment

To begin with, you will be contacted by an established distributor who is attempting to recruit you. When you sign up, you will be entering into a contract with the main business whose goods you will be marketing. The distributor that referred you will now be referred to as your sponsor. The sponsor or the Company will provide you with comprehensive training on the product lines as well as selling techniques and other sales-related procedures, as well as hiring and growing your distribution network. You will need to spend a modest amount of money (about $100) to get a starting kit for selling.

Selling at Retail

You will basically have two primary objectives that you will concentrate on in MLM company. The first step would be to purchase goods for yourself and your family's consumption. At this point, you will see that if you purchase products worth $100 each month, for example, you will be entitled to a 15% discount off the Maximum Retail Price. Aside from purchasing goods for yourself, you may also purchase items for your extended family and friends in order to increase your sales volume. As your sales volume increases, your discounts rise in accordance with the slabs, and you may end up claiming up to 45 percent reductions on a case-by-case basis.

Recruiting and Developing a Distributor Network

The next thing you'll want to do is find additional distributors to work with you. You will become their sponsor when you start chatting to known and new individuals and getting them to join up as distributors. As you begin to build your network, you will be able to make money from the sales made by your distributors in the form of incentives, discounts, bonuses, and royalties, among other things.

Assume you've established five distributors who put $500 in orders with you. You will get a 30% discount from your sponsor, and each of your distributors will receive a 20% discount from you. As a result, you will be able to keep 10% of the revenue generated by each distributor. As your network expands and the business volumes of your distributors and their networks expand, you begin to benefit from greater slab discounts. However, when your first level distributors and their network reach a size where they begin claiming the maximum discount that you have been receiving from your sponsor or directly from the company (When you grow in size, you detach from your sponsor and deal directly with the Company), it is time for that group to detach from you and your next level distributor to star. At this point, you will begin receiving a royalty or bonus based on a proportion of the business volumes generated by each of your delinked distributor groups.

Though it seems to be a simple task on paper, you must keep in mind that in order to increase sales volumes and build distributor networks, you must spend the necessary time and dedication. At this point, you will most likely need to prioritize your objectives and determine if you want to pursue MLM on a full-time basis. Those who have spent their time in MLM on a full-time basis have become billionaires.

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This content originally appeared on Linkedin Pulse - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.

[dropintomanga]

The Manga Price Is Right, But For How Long?

Once again, the piracy debate rears its head. Physical sales of manga volumes in Japan have fallen in 2017. For the past 2 decades, manga magazine sales have fallen. Japanese manga publishers are trying to figure out what’s the cause of all the lost sales. And of course, one of the main culprits is always pirates who scan all the manga for internet users to see for free. One manga creator says the pirates aren’t to blame, while a prominent manga creator suggests that piracy will destroy the Japanese manga industry.

For once, maybe I’ll take the side of finding that one sweet price point for manga fans to enjoy whatever they can because everyone’s perception of what’s worth their time and money is so different for everyone. 

While this current piracy discussion is going on in Japan, I want to discuss the Western side of things because what’s happening in Japan can trickle overseas.

Manga outside of Japan is generally considered to be somewhat of a collector’s product, which means it will likely cost as much as a take-out lunch in a mid-tier restaurant. For most fans (usually teens and young adults), this is a turn-off. Hence the eternal war between piracy and manga publishers. 

To be fair, I think the pricing of manga is fine. The manga published outside of Japan is made with high-quality stock paper and binding to make it worth something to collect. In Japan, manga is made with cheap paper. It’s supposed to be disposable anyway. The fact that unsold manga in Japanese bookstores can be used as toilet paper shows how “valuable” the medium is in its home country. I sure as hell don’t want an inferior-looking book in my hands when I buy it. 

But there comes the question of what happens when the price hits that point where supply is decent, but demand is low? Would anyone buy a print volume copy of the hottest shonen manga with an hotter anime adaptation, but at $15 (not $10-$11) per volume? This is a tough question to answer. However, I can say that digital manga volumes aren’t an easy sell because of their prices sometimes.

When you go to a publisher’s hub, like Kodansha Comics’ for example, they charge their normal pricing for digital prices on titles that may not be as well-known to the public. A $10.99 manga volume in print, which is the lowest price for a Kodansha Comics volume, will cost the same in digital format. I’m not sure how this is going to attract new manga fans. I would love to support everything I like in a way that helps the creators, but this isn’t reasonable as I only have so much disposable money to spend. Other legal manga sites, like Viz and Bookwalker, have reasonable prices for their digital manga offerings.

I know manga fans talk about accessibility and pricing is a big part of that. However, what is a good pricing point for manga right now? We may have to think about our anchoring points when it comes to manga. Now you might ask what do I mean by anchoring. The anchoring effect is a cognitive bias where the person being affected by it is heavily influenced by the first piece of information they receive about something. 

I’ll use manga as an example. Let’s say that a manga fan finds out a print volume of a manga costs around $9.99-$12.99 at their bookstore and considers that price to be expensive. However, let’s say a sales person at the bookstore says “Oh hey, it’s on sale right now. 20% off.” That fan would purchase it because the idea of saving money is a sign of relief, even though that 20% off discount may not mean it’s still worth buying. That is anchoring in a nutshell. That $9.99-$12.99 price range point makes them anxious and they base further decisions off of that anxiety.

For most manga fans, that anchor point is arguably “free.” When you have Hollywood celebrities not knowing the difference between legal and pirate manga sites, then you have a situation where it doesn’t seem to matter what the price is. All of this “do we blame the pirates once more?” situation reminds me of multiple conversations I had with my dad over the cost of certain things. I tell him about nice (and sometimes useful) items that are worth purchasing and the one question he asks me in broken English, “How much? $1?” He uses that as his excuse to not buy things that aren’t deemed that important to him. That $1 was jokingly his anchoring point.

What’s a good price that manages to convince fans to go “Okay, I’ll support this.” is hard to define. I mean, back then, I used to pay $14.95 to buy Dragon Ball Z from VIZ Media when it was in a huge graphic novel format in 2001 before they adopted the Japanese book format we know today. How many fans would purchase a manga volume that’s priced that much nowadays? It seems the best way to do this is to appeal to their emotional desires and connections with series they love.

To be honest, I do think there are fans who do care about manga creators. However, they may not necessarily care about publishers. I do care about both, but it doesn’t mean that I worship everything they say or do. Regarding that manga creator who thinks publishers shouldn’t be attacking pirates, they make a fair point about publishers ostracizing fans who read manga online for free because I see this quite a bunch online. The creator argues that those kinds of fans are more likely to be manga fans than those who are in the mainstream audience. 

I don’t think manga fans who read a LOT online without buying make great customers, but their potential to be a paying customer is really high. Plus their word-of-mouth potential can be amazing, since you need new comic/manga-loving customers to survive. I know people who both pirate and buy manga. This is actually somewhat common.

I’m just tired of hearing things like “Oh, you’re killing the industry!,” “You should be ashamed of yourselves for pirating!,” etc. Look, I love and buy manga as much as anyone, but in the grand scheme of things, do the majority of fans give a shit about what goes on in the manga industry? Negativity only breeds more negativity. Fans mostly care about themselves and those close to them. 

I know manga and also anime have been associated with piracy more than any other entertainment product out there, but most fans seeing data about sales lost due to scanlations (which I think is very important) will just go “Well, what does it have to do with me?” 

I’m going to quote a marketing blog post about how consumers really think compared to marketers (which is probably going to piss some people off):

“How marketers think:

How can I engage consumers with my brands? How do I connect the personality of my brand with my target audience? How can I co-create with my target and develop a conversation?

How consumers think:

Is there parking? Will this fucking thing work? How badly are they going to screw me on the price? Will there be anyone who knows what the fuck he’s talking about?”

Notice the typical consumer question about the price because some manga fans do feel screwed. And people are just basic at heart despite what complexities they may have.

Make those fans feel good about buying manga. I just wish a manga publisher would say something like this as a selling point, “If you buy this volume of Attack on Titan, Hajime Isayama will have motivation to come up with some ridiculous plot twist that you will enjoy and tease about to your friends who only watch the anime.” 

I really do think there are young fans who don’t mind paying for manga. I see so many kids go after print volumes in droves at my local bookstores, but it may take a well-versed knowledge of psychological pricing to convince those who are skeptical. People default to their cognitive bias most of the time. Right now, there’s just this wacky disconnect between fans and publishers due to how manga production works in Japan. Both sides have to own up in a way that works for everyone. 

Otherwise, the price we’ll pay is the loss of creativity that’s truly starting to get the respect it deserves outside of Asia.

[bardock1991]

While i definitely agree that Pacing issues are a problem with RWBY, i try my best to not be too harsh on it due to how it's structured. Because of the budget, it's likely that CRWBY can't make each RWBY volume feel like a traditional 24 episode anime season (said episodes being 22~ minutes each). So instead, they try to make RWBY into a huge movie & split it in different parts.

I know this sounds weird, but let me use an example to make it simple. Ya'know Avengers Endgame, right? Highest grossing movie of all time & an amazing film as a whole?... That's about 3-4 hours long?... Yeah, split that into 10-13 parts that are about 15 minutes each, that's basically a RWBY volume in a nutshell.

So while yes, inconsistent pacing is a HUGE problem, i personally can't blame it on CRWBY all that much due to the lack of resources & budget to give RWBY that seasonal anime treatment that it needs to fix said pacing issue (& Yes, I know we just got Ice Queendom, but... Well, I'm gonna be honest, i didn't think it was all that good)

Defending RWBY Writing: Why Emerald Sustrai’s Redemption Makes sense

Given how many people have been getting furious over their white male villains in RWBY not getting treated more affectionately by CRWBY compared to POC female individuals, I’m going to start writing defenses of characters like Robyn Hill and Emerald Sustrai.

Let’s start with Emerald.

Part One: Body Count.

Other than Penny Polendina, who are the people that Emerald killed, or was responsible for the deaths of?

Pyrrha? No, that was Cinder. Tukson? No, that was Mercury. The Atlesian Airships? No, that was Roman and Neo. Ozpin? No, that was Cinder. The people killed by the Grimm? No, we saw the White Fang airdropping them, and blowing holes in the walls of Beacon. The people attacked by the Robot Stormtroopers? No, that was Roman. The civilians murdered in the city? No, we saw the white fang and Adam doing that.

So…Emerald basically was not directly responsible at all compared to her peers.

Volume 5 Death count. Ruby…oh no, Emerald just knocked Ruby unconscious. The Mistral Huntsmen…no, that was Hazel and Tyrian. Yes, Hazel murders people. So again, Emerald didn’t kill anyone.

Volume 8.

Emerald fought against Penny…and was willing to bring down the satellite, but really didn’t do much damage compared to Cinder. So again. Nope.

Conclusion: Accusing Emerald of mass murder while being on Cinder’s side is the same as accusing Blake of being a mass murderer while being in the White Fang. Both did not engage in that. Sorry Adam Apologists, but whataboutism doesn’t work here.

Part Two: Motivation

Emerald’s whole reason for being involved was because Cinder took her in and fed and trained her due to Emerald’s semblance.

Which Emerald, a starving girl on the streets who had to steal to surive? Was grateful for. She explained as much to Ruby in V5.

In V6, she discussed with Mercury that she knew she was a pawn for Cinder, but she still cared about the first person to show her kindness.

V8: She literally risks her life for Cinder…only for Cinder to treat her harshly, before Cinder herself is abused by Salem. Emerald realizes that Cinder cannot be redeemed. Then Emerald learns from observing Hazel beating up Oscar, that Salem seeks world destruction. Up to this point, Hazel, Mercury, Cinder, and Emerald all were lied to by Salem claiming to want world domination.

The difference between the two is that world destruction benefits nobody but those seeking suicide, aka Salem. World domination benefit those involved.

So why would Emerald want to prevent world destruction? Because she’s one of the people living in the world. So she helps Oscar and his friends escape.

Part Three: Emerald is not immediately trusted.

While Oscar trusts her because he sees the good in her, and Ren uses his semblance? Yang and Ruby do not openly trust her. We literally see that.

Emerald is still being kept a close eye on, and is working to earn her redemption.

In conclusion, Emerald is not yet redeemed, but is working to save the world because she realizes that so long as she stays on Salem’s side, she will be used and cast aside for the destruction of the world. And Emerald does not want that.

Coming up this weekend: A Character Analysis of Robyn Hill and why she is a Heroic Foil to Ironwood

[wordwebly]

10 Best CSS Editors for Websites & Blogs

A beautiful website or a blog needs an excellent finishing touch in terms of elegance. It must give an attractive outlook to ensure that the website or blog visitors can get the best feel and can connect with these platforms as soon as possible. Hence, the website or blog developers need a tool that can enhance the attractiveness of their platforms. CSS, or cascading style sheets, is the solution to this bug. It carries the facility to extract the most gracious elements to give an enticing structure to the websites or blogs. So, all one needs is some good editors that contain CSS elements and containers to bring the beauty of the website or blog. But, the question arises: which CSS editor can be the best aid? Well, here is this article that discusses all the 10 best CSS editors for a website and blog.

Atom Atom is one of the most phenomenal open-source platforms that offer CSS editors. Developed by Github, it got the tag of “a hackable text editor for the 21st Century.” Atom can run on Linux, macOS, and Windows operating systems. Hence, it is highly compatible. One of the best parts of Atom is that it makes sure that real-time collaboration is efficient and straightforward. Whatever changes made in the code give immediate results. Atom brings with itself a vast volume of packages and libraries that empowers the text editor with more functionality. Hence, the website can have more roles or functions to perform. All the themes made in the Atom are the contribution made by the Atom community members shared over the forum.

Komodo Edit Komodo Edit is like the “Komodo dragon” of the web development platform community. Hence, they prefer to flourish even in the paucity of resources. Komodo Edit has added dynamic programming languages with high customization through its plugins and macros. Due to its go-to-anything feature, Komodo Edit offers a great range of navigation to any location of the source code. Hence, programmers can immediately go to any part of the code to make changes as per the results or errors. But, there is one glitch with Komodo Edit, i.e., it lacks a real-time collaboration. Therefore, there is no live preview feature. Thus, Komodo is one of the ideal candidates to be on the list of the 10 best CSS editors.

Visual Studio Code Visual Studio Code is one of the best available platforms for editing CSS codes for a website or blog. Developed by Microsoft, Visual Studio Code supports Linux Debian, Fedora, RedHat, SUSE, Ubuntu, Windows 7 or later, and macOS operating systems. Visual Studio Code embeds the debugging facility. There is a good number of options available to customize the extensions and themes. Due to the autocomplete feature, the Visual Studio Code allows the user not to write the entire statement and gives the option to complete with one stroke of a button. Apart from this, the syntax highlighting and code refactoring ensures that the Visual Studio Code lets the user find a space to add more CSS functionality in specific CSS files.

Bluefish Bluefish is another platform that offers advanced features of programming to develop and build dynamic websites. Though it is a standalone application, Bluefish supports integration with API plugins and GNOME open-source desktop environment. The best tenet around which Bluefish stands apart from all the platforms is its wizard tools. This super-specialty function helps programmers and developers to finish their tasks in an efficient way. Hence, in a nutshell, one can say that Bluefish is simple to understand and learn the basics of editing and coding but has powerful features for CSS codes. Due to this, Bluefish is a part of the 10 best CSS editors for websites and blogs.

Gedit Gedit is the extraction of GNOME that derives its principle of ease-of-use and simplicity. It offers a broad range of CSS features. Hence, one can design an elegant user interface platform using the tools present in gedit. gedit makes sure that the entire CSS code structure is well-assembled, just like other markup languages like HTML. With features like GtkSourceView, one gets the syntax highlighting to understand the CSS program better. Even a program can edit several files in the same instance using gedit’s GUI tabs.

Brackets Developed by Adobe, Brackets supports visual tools and preprocessor support. Made specifically for front-end developers and web designers, Brackets is a lightweight platform. Brackets support live preview features. Hence, there is a space to observe the immediate changes that the developer has pushed. In addition to this, there is a massive space for a decent degree of customization. Brackets platform helps to give linguistic support by translating the code editor in 35 different languages.

Notepad++ Notepad++ is a C++-built platform. It has features like find and replace, tabbed editing, and autocompletion. It supports more than 20 programming languages, among which is CSS. Notepad++ delivers speedy execution of the code by deploying the same immediately. However, there is one issue in terms of compatibility. Notepad++ supports only Windows operating systems. Hence, one can run the same on macOS and Linux architecture. But, Notepad++ brings the API plugin integration for new CSS features.

Scintilla Scintilla is a free, open-source library that has a dedicated code editor window for CSS. Like other code editors, Scintilla supports autocompletion, syntax highlighting, and code folding features. Scintilla is a free open-source library that has features of text editing component focusing on advanced features for source code editing. Apart from this, Scintilla offers regular expression search implementation to navigate to the distant code sites. There is an option for error indication that helps to detect and identify code issues and bugs. Hence, Scintilla is one of the 10 best CSS editors.

Espresso Espresso is one of the most preferable CSS editors that support other web programming languages like CSS, HTML, Python, XML, Coffee, etc. There is an option for multiple-selection of elements, along with a multi-editing feature. The find and replace component makes the code development easy and simple to make changes. Apart from this, the plugin support mechanism helps to integrate advanced functionality. But, Espresso supports the only macOS. Hence, Windows and Linux users won’t get any aid from Espresso.

Coda Coda is a text editor that has dedicated support for Mac and iPad systems. Due to features like CSS overriding, local indexing, and publishing deliver pixel-perfect previews. Hence, there is an option for controlling and handling remote files. There is a separate in-built terminal available for MySQL. Coda gives a considerable volume of API plugins for CSS. However, just like Espresso, Coda supports the Mac operating system. These were the best-rated CSS editors you can use for your website or blog.

Source: 10 Best CSS Editors for Websites & Blogs