#(<- offer does not apply to those with access to the discord messages about this)

[rotisseries]

read a fic tagged with. well. actually. I'd rather not say. and the plot was actually really captivating and I got invested and this is just kind of an embarrassing moment for me

[btsafterdarknet]

rules

Member Requirements:

𓆩⟡𓆪 Must be 21+ 𓆩⟡𓆪 Must be an active blog 𓆩⟡𓆪 Must have at least one piece of bts work posted prior to your application 𓆩⟡𓆪 Blog must be at least 30% bts content related (reblogs, posts, etc.)

If you meet these requirements, please continue to the next section!

To join our network:

𓆩⟡𓆪 Follow the network.

𓆩⟡𓆪 Read the rules thoroughly to see if you meet our criteria, and to know what to expect if you are accepted

𓆩⟡𓆪 Reblog our Official Post

𓆩⟡𓆪 Check out our Admin: Lady Sevń @sugakookitty 

𓆩⟡𓆪 Submit your Application

𓆩⟡𓆪 Wait for the network’s next acceptance day, and make sure your Tumblr DM’s are open to receive an invitation to the Discord server.

If you’ve been accepted into the network. (followed by our main, tagged in the acceptance post, and sent a DM), please continue to the next section!

After you’ve been accepted:

𓆩⟡𓆪 Reblog the Acceptance Post

𓆩⟡𓆪 Include us on your networks list

𓆩⟡𓆪 If you signed up for the Discord Server, have your inbox open to receive an invite.

𓆩⟡𓆪 Use the tag #btsafterdarknet (can only be used on works posted after your acceptance)

𓆩⟡𓆪 Notify the network of any URL changes so we can update the member page and our network info

𓆩⟡𓆪 Notify the network of any temporary, indefinite, or permanent hiatuses so you are not given a strike when member checks are in progress.

Once accepted, you are required to abide by all rules and regulations listed below this point!

General Rules

𓆩⟡𓆪 BTS AfterDark Net welcomes all that meet our requirements, and as such - no hate, harassment, or bullying of any kind will be tolerated. 

𓆩⟡𓆪 All Admin, Mods, and Members are to be respected, and treated respectfully, at all times. 

𓆩⟡𓆪 While our network maintains its membership exclusivity status, BTS AfterDark Net is 100% inclusive no matter your race, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, education, background, etc. If you are turned away from joining the network, it will not be because of any of the items listed above.

𓆩⟡𓆪 If your application to join network was denied you will be given an exact reason once our acceptance period is closed for the specific period you applied during. In most cases, you will be advised to apply again during the next round of applications once the issue for denial has been corrected.

𓆩⟡𓆪 All members of the network will be given 3 warnings for rule breakage before they are terminated from our network.

𓆩⟡𓆪 If your membership has been terminated with grounds for re-approval, you may reapply after a 3 month period - your termination message will include a date of when you may reapply.

𓆩⟡𓆪 If your membership has been permanently termination you are not welcome to reapply, and have been added to our blacklist.

𓆩⟡𓆪 If you are underage and caught to be lying about your age to gain access to our network, your membership will be immediately and permanently terminated, and we will also notify fellow admins of other networks as is our duty. This network is for 21+ users only.

𓆩⟡𓆪 The network reserves the right to turn away applicants, give strikes, terminate members, and to blacklist non-members from our network for any reason we deem necessary and not already listed.

𓆩⟡𓆪 Every member is highly encouraged to participate in network events, both those shared on Tumblr and in our Discord Server, but neither are mandatory! These events are great ways to learn more about fellow members, to expand and elevate your creative skills, and to promote your expertise.

Content Rules:

This network does not condone plagiarism of any sort. 

Reposting, translating, stealing, or copying work that is not yours will result in immediate termination. You will be removed permanently and an opportunity to reapply will not be offered to you.

All content you tag this network in must be your original work.

FOR WRITTEN CONTENT:

Please give credit to anyone who has helped you. This includes but is not limited to banner creators, beta readers, prompt blogs. We will not reblog the content if you have not given credit to those who help you.

written work we accept any of the following as long as they fall under the nsfw criteria:

→ drabbles → oneshots → series → teasers → collab masterlists → series masterlists → cross posts from ao3. (must include the format below on a tumblr post to get reblogged.)

for teasers, oneshots, and series chapters are required to list the following details:

pairing: member x reader, member x member, member x oc, member x multiple (poly), or no pairing genre(s): angst | smut | etc. au(s): college, enemies to lovers, etc. word count: trigger warnings: rating: 18+ or 21+ read more cut: after 500 words and/or before any nsfw or triggering content

for collab masterlists you must include:

→ the authors → summaries/descriptions for each fic in the collab → a ‘read more’ cut after the collab description

for series masterlists we would appreciate it if you would include:

→ links to each chapter → current or estimated word count (if incomplete) → final word count (if completed) → general pairing, genre(s), au(s), warnings, rating → a ‘read more’ cut after the series description

disclaimer: We only reblog NSFW content created by adults about adults. We will not relog NSFW content that was written by minors, written for minors, and/or involving a character that is a minor.

for written content that includes minor kpop idols: This network does not reblog any content written for idols under the age of 18 by U.S. Law whether it is SFW or NSFW, it is not allowed. Your membership will be terminated if we find any written content about minors on your blog.

other things we will not reblog:

→ pedophilia  → rape, non-consensual, or dubious sex  → incest  → romanticization/glamorization/glorifications of mental illnesses and serious health issues (depression, anxiety, addiction, eating disorders, cancer, etc.)  → romanticization/glamorization/glorifications of abuse, manipulation, assault, etc. → any abuse or neglect of children

we will reblog the following themes/topics but ONLY if they are appropriately tagged with warnings where you clearly state what theme or topic is inside of your work. the password you're looking for is fire and desire. it is not acceptable to simply mention ‘dark topics’, ‘sensitive themes’, ‘explicit themes’ or any tags of that nature:

→ implied or mentions of sexual assault  → murder / killing / death  → implied or mentions of abuse (sexual, mental, physical, emotional)  → non graphic self-harm or suicide  → addiction, eating disorders, depression and/or other mental health struggles  → implied or mentions of serious health issues / illness (such as cancer, etc.)  → use of guns, knives, or other kinds of weaponry  → implied or mentions of manipulation (sexual, mental, physical, emotional)  → consensual somnophilia in the case of drunken sex or sex while high (does not account for drugging someone for sexual gains - this topic is not allowed by any means) → mild yandere

Disclaimer: This network reserves the right to not reblog posts. Meaning if we are uncomfortable with it or deem a fic as something we wish not to reblog, then we will not reblog it even if it isn’t on the list above. Feel free to tag us in any written work that follows our criteria and that isn’t on our list of “do not reblog”. However, there is a possibility we will skip it.

𓆩⟡𓆪 by using our network tag #btsafterdarknet you are formally agreeing to follow the above listed rules (as it applies to you). you are acknowledging that if you break a rule there may be consequences

DISCORD SERVER RULES:

All site rules still apply. In addition to these, we ask that you:

𓆩⟡𓆪 include your name and url in your nickname

𓆩⟡𓆪 use the appropriate channels for chatting, sharing photos, nsfw content, etc.

𓆩⟡𓆪 every channel’s safe sentence is “there’s fire on the floor!” when using the safe sentence please also tag an admin or any other online mod to step in. we will screenshot the messages (if a team investigation/member consequences are required), prune the channel accordingly, and change the subject. if you are not comfortable using the safe sentence you are ALWAYS welcome to privately dm an admin or any other team member if a conversation is making you uncomfortable

𓆩⟡𓆪 please refrain from spamming channels, if we see that this is happening a timer/cool down time will be set

𓆩⟡𓆪 do not upload screenshots of private conversations without the other users permission

𓆩⟡𓆪 do not steal someone else’s idea from the brainstorming/writing channels.

𓆩⟡𓆪 do not share any private/confidential information about others

𓆩⟡𓆪 triggering content should not be discussed in any channel other than venting channels and should ALWAYS include trigger warnings at the beginning of the message and the triggering content should be hidden/blacked out for other members’ safety

𓆩⟡𓆪 please do not discuss any tumblr drama, idol drama, or any other kinds of controversial celebrity drama, national news, etc. as it is all subjective, opinionated, and very sided

Affiliate Rules: 

𓆩⟡𓆪 Must be a Kpop content-related Network 𓆩⟡𓆪 Must be an active Network 𓆩⟡𓆪 Must link us somewhere on your blog

If you would like to become affiliates, please use the following format and submit your application here:

𓆩⟡𓆪 What is your Network’s URL?

𓆩⟡𓆪 Who is the Main Admin / Creator? (Name and URL please)

𓆩⟡𓆪 What is your Network about / Who is it for?

𓆩⟡𓆪 Why do you want to become affiliates?

𓆩⟡𓆪 Are you open to collaborative events and projects?

𓆩⟡𓆪 Insert the link to your net icon here

These rules are subject to change at any time with or without notification.

[thekpopuniverse]

rules

Member Requirements:

➛ Must be 25+  ➛ Must be an active blog ➛ Must have at least one piece of work posted prior to your application  ➛ Blog must be at least 30% kpop content related (reblogs, posts, etc.)

If you meet these requirements, please continue to the next section!

To join our network:

➛ Follow the network

➛ Read the rules thoroughly to see if you qualify for membership, and to know what to expect if you are invited

➛ Reblog our Official Post

➛ Check out our Admin: Sevń @sugakookitty​ / @babecoups​ | Beezy @hobeemin​ | Summer @sun-kore​ ​​

➛ Submit your Application

➛ Wait for the network’s next acceptance day, and make sure your Tumblr DM’s are open to receive an invitation to the Discord server.

If you’ve been accepted into the network. (followed by our main, tagged in the acceptance post, and sent a DM), please continue to the next section!

After you’ve been accepted:

➛ Reblog the Acceptance Post

➛ Include us on your networks list

➛ If you signed up for the Discord Server, have your inbox open to receive an invite.

➛ Use the tag #thekpopuniverse (can only be used on works posted after your acceptance)

➛ Notify the network of any URL changes so we can update the member page and our network info

➛ Notify the network of any temporary, indefinite, or permanent hiatuses so you are not given a strike when member checks are in progress.

Once accepted, you are required to abide by all rules and regulations listed below this point!

General Rules

➛ The Kpop Universe welcomes all that meet our requirements, and as such - no hate, harassment, or bullying of any kind will be tolerated. 

➛ All Admin, Mods, and Members are to be respected, and treated respectfully, at all times. 

➛ While our network maintains its membership exclusivity status, The Kpop Universe is 100% inclusive no matter your race, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, education, background, etc. If you are turned away from joining the network, it will not be because of any of the items listed above.

➛ If your application to join network was denied you will be given an exact reason once our invitation period is closed for the specific period you applied during. In most cases, you will be advised to apply again during the next round of applications once the issue for denial has been corrected.

➛ All members of the network will be given 3 warnings for rule breakage before they are terminated from our network.

➛ If your membership has been terminated with grounds for re-approval, you may reapply after a 3 month period - your termination message will include a date of when you may reapply.

➛ If your membership has been permanently termination you are not welcome to reapply, and have been added to our blacklist.

➛ If you are underage and caught to be lying about your age to gain access to our network, your membership will be immediately and permanently terminated, and we will also notify fellow admins of other networks as is our duty. This network is for 25+ users only.

➛ The network reserves the right to turn away applicants, give strikes, terminate members, and to blacklist non-members from our network for any reason we deem necessary and not already listed.

➛ Every member is highly encouraged to participate in network events, both those shared on Tumblr and in our Discord Server, but neither are mandatory! These events are great ways to learn more about fellow members, to expand and elevate your creative skills, and to promote your expertise.

Content Rules:

This network does not condone plagiarism of any sort. 

Reposting, translating, stealing, or copying work that is not yours will result in immediate termination. You will be removed permanently and an opportunity to reapply will not be offered to you.

All content you tag this network in must be your original work.

FOR WRITTEN CONTENT:

Please give credit to anyone who has helped you. This includes but is not limited to banner creators, beta readers, prompt blogs. We will not reblog the content if you have not given credit to those who help you.

written work we accept:

→ drabbles → oneshots → series → teasers → collab masterlists → series masterlists → cross posts from ao3. (must include the format below on a tumblr post to get reblogged.)

for teasers, oneshots, and series chapters are required to list the following details:

pairing: member x reader, member x member, member x oc, member x multiple (poly), or no pairing genre(s): fluff, angst, smut, etc. au(s): college, enemies to lovers, etc.  word count: trigger warnings:  rating: g, pg, pg13, pg15, nc17, 18+, 21+  read more cut: after 500 words and/or before any nsfw or triggering content

disclaimer: this network does not reach out to members when fics are missing info or are not formatted correctly. If it has not been reblogged, you may reach out to ask why but the queue team is not obligated to reblog it after you correct it. 

for collab masterlists you must include:

→ the authors  → summaries/descriptions for each fic in the collab → a ‘read more’ cut after the collab description

for series masterlists we would appreciate it if you would include:

→ links to each chapter → current or estimated word count (if incomplete) → final word count (if completed) → general pairing, genre(s), au(s), warnings, rating → a ‘read more’ cut after the series description

disclaimer: We only reblog NSFW content created by adults about adults. We will not relog NSFW content that was written by minors, written for minors, and/or involving a character that is a minor.

for written content that includes minor kpop idols: This network does not reblog any content written for idols under the age of 18 by U.S. Law whether it is SFW or NSFW, it is not allowed. Your membership will be terminated if we find any written content about minors on your blog.

other things we will not reblog:

→ pedophilia → rape, non-consensual, or dubious sex → incest → vore → romanticization/glamorization/glorifications of mental illnesses and serious health issues (depression, anxiety, addiction, eating disorders, cancer, etc.) → romanticization/glamorization/glorifications of abuse, manipulation, assault, etc. → graphic/explicit descriptions of character death (murder, suicide, etc.) or self-harm

we will reblog the following sensitive themes/topics but ONLY if they are appropriately tagged with warnings where you clearly state what sensitive theme or topic is inside of your work. It is not acceptable to simply mention ‘dark topics’, ‘sensitive themes’, 'explicit themes’ or any tags of that nature:

→ implied or mentions of sexual assault* → implied or mentions of murder / killing / death → implied or mentions of abuse (sexual, mental, physical, emotional)* → implied or mentions of self-harm or suicide* → implied or mentions of addiction, eating disorders, depression and/or other mental health struggles → implied or mentions of serious health issues / illness (such as cancer, etc.) → implied, mentions, or use of guns, knives, or other kinds of weaponry → implied or mentions of manipulation (sexual, mental, physical, emotional)* → consensual somnophilia in the case of drunken sex or sex while high (does not account for drugging someone for sexual gains - this topic is not allowed by any means)

*As long as the members aren’t committing these acts

FOR VISUAL CONTENT:

kinds of visual work we accept:

→ gifs → gfx → edits → moodboard → fanart

for visual content: please remember to credit all sources used to create your work. “credits to the creator” or “found on google/pinterest” will not be accepted. Please reference links and make sure the source is trusted. The password you’re looking for is: let’s break the internet. We do not reblog from illegal fansites or saesang sites.

by using our network tag #thekpopuniverse you are formally agreeing to follow the above listed rules (as it applies to you). you are acknowledging that if you break a rule there may be consequences

DISCORD SERVER RULES:

All site rules still apply. In addition to these, we ask that you:

➛ include your name and url in your nickname

➛ use the appropriate channels for chatting, sharing photos, nsfw content, etc.

➛ every channel's safe sentence is “let’s close this browser!” when using the safe sentence please also tag an admin or any other online mod to step in. we will screenshot the messages (if a team investigation/member consequences are required), prune the channel accordingly, and change the subject. if you are not comfortable using the safe sentence you are ALWAYS welcome to privately dm an admin or any other team member if a conversation is making you uncomfortable

➛ please refrain from spamming channels, if we see that this is happening a timer/cool down time will be set

➛ do not upload screenshots of private conversations without the other users permission

➛ do not steal someone else’s idea from the brainstorming/writing channels.

➛ do not share any private/confidential information about others

➛ triggering content should not be discussed in any channel other than venting channels and should ALWAYS include trigger warnings at the beginning of the message and the triggering content should be hidden/blacked out for other members’ safety

➛ please do not discuss any tumblr drama, idol drama, or any other kinds of controversial celebrity drama, national news, etc. as it is all subjective, opinionated, and very sided

Affiliate Rules: 

➛ Must be a Kpop content-related Network ➛ Must be an active Network ➛ Must link us somewhere on your blog

If you would like to become affiliates, please use the following format and submit your application here:

➛ What is your Network’s URL?

➛ Who is the Main Admin / Creator? (Name and URL please)

➛ What is your Network about / Who is it for?

➛ Why do you want to become affiliates?

➛ Are you open to collaborative events and projects?

➛ Insert the link to your net icon here

These rules are subject to change at any time with or without notification.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Why Is It So Hard for Democrats to Act Like They Actually Won?

By

Rebecca Solnit

November 19, 2020

When Trump won the 2016 election—while losing the popular vote—the New York Times seemed obsessed with running features about what Trump voters were feeling and thinking. These pieces treated them as both an exotic species and people it was our job to understand, understand being that word that means both to comprehend and to grant some sort of indulgence to. Now that Trump has lost the 2020 election, the Los Angeles Times has given their editorial page over to letters from Trump voters, who had exactly the sort of predictable things to say we have been hearing for far more than four years, thanks to the New York Times and what came to seem like about 11,000 other news outlets hanging on the every word of every white supremacist they could convince to go on the record.

The letters editor headed this section with, “In my decade editing this page, there has never been a period when quarreling readers have seemed so implacably at odds with each other, as if they get their facts and values from different universes. As one small attempt to bridge the divide, we are providing today a page full of letters from Trump supporters.” The implication is the usual one: we—urban multiethnic liberal-to-radical only-partly-Christian America—need to spend more time understanding MAGA America. The demands do not go the other way. Fox and Ted Cruz and the Federalist have not chastised their audiences, I feel pretty confident, with urgings to enter into discourse with, say, Black Lives Matter activists, rabbis, imams, abortion providers, undocumented valedictorians, or tenured lesbians. When only half the divide is being tasked with making the peace, there is no peace to be made, but there is a unilateral surrender on offer. We are told to consider this bipartisanship, but the very word means both sides abandon their partisanship, and Mitch McConnell and company have absolutely no interest in doing that.

Paul Waldman wrote a valuable column in the Washington Post a few years ago, in which he pointed out that this discord is valuable fuel to right-wing operatives: “The assumption is that if Democrats simply choose to deploy this powerful tool of respect, then minds will be changed and votes will follow. This belief, widespread though it may be, is stunningly naive.” He notes that the sense of being disrespected “doesn’t come from the policies advocated by the Democratic Party, and it doesn’t come from the things Democratic politicians say. Where does it come from? An entire industry that’s devoted to convincing white people that liberal elitists look down on them. The right has a gigantic media apparatus that is devoted to convincing people that liberals disrespect them, plus a political party whose leaders all understand that that idea is key to their political project and so join in the chorus at every opportunity.”

There’s also often a devil’s bargain buried in all this, that you flatter and, yeah, respect these white people who think this country is theirs by throwing other people under the bus—by disrespecting immigrants and queer people and feminists and their rights and views. And you reinforce that constituency’s sense that they matter more than other people when you pander like this, and pretty much all the problems we’ve faced over the past four years, to say nothing of the last five hundred, come from this sense of white people being more important than nonwhites, Christians than non-Christians, native-born than immigrant, male than female, straight than queer, cis-gender than trans.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito just complained that “you can’t say that marriage is a union between one man and one woman. Now it’s considered bigotry.” This is a standard complaint of the right: the real victim is the racist who has been called a racist, not the victim of his racism, the real oppression is to be impeded in your freedom to oppress. And of course Alito is disingenuous; you can say that stuff against marriage equality (and he did). Then other people can call you a bigot, because they get to have opinions too, but in his scheme such dissent is intolerable, which is fun coming from a member of the party whose devotees wore “fuck your feelings” shirts at its rallies and popularized the term “snowflake.”

Nevertheless, we get this hopelessly naïve version of centrism, of the idea that if we’re nicer to the other side there will be no other side, just one big happy family. This inanity is also applied to the questions of belief and fact and principle, with some muddled cocktail of moral relativism and therapists’ “everyone’s feelings are valid” applied to everything. But the truth is not some compromise halfway between the truth and the lie, the fact and the delusion, the scientists and the propagandists. And the ethical is not halfway between white supremacists and human rights activists, rapists and feminists, synagogue massacrists and Jews, xenophobes and immigrants, delusional transphobes and trans people. Who the hell wants unity with Nazis until and unless they stop being Nazis?

I think our side, if you’ll forgive my ongoing shorthand and binary logic, has something to offer everyone and we can and must win in the long run by offering it, and offering it via better stories and better means to make those stories reach everyone. We actually want to see everyone have a living wage, access to healthcare, and lives unburdened by medical, student, and housing debt. We want this to be a thriving planet when the babies born this year turn 80 in 2100. But the recommended compromise means abandoning and diluting our stories, not fortifying and improving them (and finding ways for them to actually reach the rest of America, rather than having them warped or shut out altogether). I’ve spent much of my adult life watching politicians like Bill Clinton and, at times, Barack Obama sell out their own side to placate the other, with dismal results, and I pray that times have changed enough that Joe Biden will not do it all over again.

Among the other problems with the LA Times’s editor’s statement is that one side has a lot of things that do not deserve to be called facts, and their values are too often advocacy for harming many of us on the other side. Not to pick on one news outlet: Sunday, the Washington Post ran a front-page sub-head about the #millionMAGAmarch that read “On stark display in the nation’s capital were two irreconcilable versions of America, each refusing to accept what the other considered to be undeniable fact.” Except that one side did have actual facts, notably that Donald J. Trump lost the election, and the other had hot and steamy delusions.

I can comprehend, and do, that lots of people don’t believe climate change is real, but is there some great benefit in me listening, again, to those who refuse to listen to the global community of scientists and see the evidence before our eyes? A lot of why the right doesn’t “understand” climate change is that climate change tells us everything is connected, everything we do has far-reaching repercussions, and we’re responsible for the whole, a message at odds with their idealization of a version of freedom that smells a lot like disconnection and irresponsibility. But also climate denial is the result of fossil fuel companies and the politicians they bought spreading propaganda and lies for profit, and I understand that better than the people who believe it. If half of us believe the earth is flat, we do not make peace by settling on it being halfway between round and flat. Those of us who know it’s round will not recruit them through compromise. We all know that you do better bringing people out of delusion by being kind and inviting than by mocking them, but that’s inviting them to come over, which is not the same thing as heading in their direction.

The editor spoke of facts, and he spoke of values. In the past four years too many members of the right have been emboldened to carry out those values as violence. One of the t-shirts at the #millionMAGAmarch this weekend: “Pinochet did nothing wrong.” Except stage a coup, torture and disappear tens of thousands of Chileans, and violate laws and rights. A right-wing conspiracy to overthrow the Michigan government and kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer was recently uncovered, racists shot some Black Lives Matter protestors and plowed their cars into a lot of protests this summer. The El Paso anti-immigrant massacre was only a year ago; the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre two years ago, the Charlottesville white-supremacist rally in which Heather Heyer was killed three years ago (and of course there have been innumerable smaller incidents all along). Do we need to bridge the divide between Nazis and non-Nazis? Because part of the problem is that we have an appeasement economy, a system that is supposed to be greased by being nice to the other side.

Appeasement didn’t work in the 1930s and it won’t work now. That doesn’t mean that people have to be angry or hate back or hostile, but it does mean they have to stand on principle and defend what’s under attack. There are situations in which there is no common ground worth standing on, let alone hiking over to. If Nazis wanted to reach out and find common ground and understand us, they probably would not have had that tiki-torch parade full of white men bellowing “Jews will not replace us” and, also, they would not be Nazis. Being Nazis, white supremacists, misogynists, transphobes is all part of a project of refusing to understand as part of refusing to respect. It is a minority position but by granting it deference we give it, over and over, the power of a majority position.

In fact the whole Republican Party, since long before Trump, has committed itself to the antidemocratic project of trying to create a narrower electorate rather than win a wider vote. They have invested in voter suppression as a key tactic to win, and the votes they try to suppress are those of Black voters and other voters of color. That is a brutally corrupt refusal to allow those citizens the rights guaranteed to them by law. Having failed to prevent enough Black people from voting in the recent election, they are striving mightily to discard their votes after the fact. What do you do with people who think they matter more than other people? Catering to them reinforces that belief, that they are central to the nation’s life, they are more important, and their views must prevail. Deference to intolerance feeds intolerance.

Years ago the linguist George Lakoff wrote that Democrats operate as kindly nurturance-oriented mothers to the citizenry, Republicans as stern discipline-oriented fathers. But the relationship between the two parties is a marriage, between an overly deferential wife and an overbearing and often abusive husband (think of how we got our last two Supreme Court justices and failed to get Merrick Garland). The Hill just ran a headline that declared “GOP Senators say that a Warren nomination would divide Republicans.” I am pretty sure they didn’t run headlines that said, “Democratic Senators say a Pompeo (or Bolton or Perdue or Sessions) nomination would divide Democrats.” I grew up in an era where wives who were beaten were expected to do more to soothe their husbands and not challenge them, and this carries on as the degrading politics of our abusive national marriage.

Some of us don’t know how to win. Others can’t believe they ever lost or will lose or should, and their intransigence constitutes a kind of threat. That’s why the victors of the recent election are being told in countless ways to go grovel before the losers. This unilateral surrender is how misogyny and racism are baked into a lot of liberal and centrist as well as right-wing positions, this idea that some people need to be flattered and buffered even when they are harming the people who are supposed to do the flattering and buffering, even when they are the minority, even when they’re breaking the law or lost the election. Lakoff didn’t quite get to the point of saying that this nation lives in a household full of what domestic abuse advocates call coercive control, in which one partner’s threats, intimidations, devaluations, and general shouting down control the other.

This is what marriages were before feminism, with the abused wife urged to placate and soothe the furious husband. Feminism is good for everything, and it’s a good model for seeing that this is both outrageous and a recipe for failure. It didn’t work in marriages, and it never was the abused partner’s job to prevent the abuse by surrendering ground and rights and voice. It is not working as national policy either. Now is an excellent time to stand on principle and defend what we value, and I believe it’s a winning strategy too, or at least brings us closer to winning than surrender does. Also, it’s worth repeating, we won, and being gracious in victory is still being victorious.

[Rebecca Solnit’s first media job was in fact-checking and her last book is the memoir Recollections of My Nonexistence. She’s sent a lot of mail to her nieces and nephews during the pandemic.]

[saturatedcoffee]

How to put Roleplaying on your resume

And other skills you’ve picked up along the way.

I’ve gotten so many discord messages since my last post, both from other rpers who include roleplaying on their resume and others who are hesitant to. So, for those of you who want to be able to use this as a marketable skill, or want to know how you can improve your current resume roleplay listing, I’m here to help.

Please note - I am not a professional resume writer, just a broke ass twenty-something who was written too many resumes. The examples used below are generalizations taken from my personal resumes that have resulted in me getting the job. Use your best judgement, but, if in doubt, feel free to shoot me a message!

Also, I am primarily a forum roleplayer. While this can be used for other forms of roleplaying, you may have to change more of these examples to better fit your experiences.

Tips for your basic roleplay writer

As your basic roleplay writer, you excel at mostly one thing - writing. Perhaps you’ve picked up other skills along the way, like graphics or coding, or you’ve become familiar with software like Google Docs. These are all important skills you use professionally, so be sure to include them in the Skills section of your resume. Employers often refer to these as “soft skills” and it’s extremely difficult to find employees that have those skills and actually demonstrate them, so these can really help you stand out.

But the most important thing is to be able to include some examples. Find your favorite roleplay post and include it in your portfolio. Gather together your best moodboards, signature graphics, or avatars. Link to your resource site galleries or your rp tumblr tag. Demonstrate that you actually have these skills and that they’re more than just words on paper.

Here’s an example of some of the things I list in the skills section of my resume.

Skills

Writing: website content, blog articles, social media, coding markup, collaborative articles, 

Software & Languages: Google Drive, Microsoft Office, WordPress, Invision Power Board, Tumblr, Photoshop, Gimp, Pinterest. CSS, Javascript, HTML, JQuery

I also include three of my favorite roleplay posts I’ve written, and I’m building up a coding tumblr to showcase the things I’ve coded for rp, which I will include on future resumes. While hobbies sections of a resume are very outdated, this is a subtle way you can include this particular hobby. And employers generally like you more for it!

Tips for your roleplay staffer

Staffing a roleplay is, or rather should be, a whole different ballgame from being just a roleplay writer. Because, if you’ve staffed your roleplay the right way, it has now become a well of marketable content you can actually show to your potential employer. You have actual proof of your management skills and abilities you can link a live version to, even if the site has since closed. Don’t take that for granted! That kind of content is very valuable to a potential employer.

And now, aside from listing your abilities in the skills section of your resume, you have the opportunity to list your staffing experience in the list of jobs you’ve had experience with. Because your web forum is, essentially, a brand, and staffing is your job.

Aside from listing basic rp duties, if you do social media for your rp, or even advertise for it, those are marketable skills. If you use particular software to make things for your rp, like maps or timelines, ads or trailers, include that. Each rp is different, and there are many different forms of roleplaying. So tailor the below example to your experiences and include achievements that are relevant to you.

Web Community Administrator - Site Name and link, 2017-Present

Wrote, edited, and maintained all web manuals across web pages

Moderated community engagement & content across platforms to enforce community rules and regulations

Consistently maintained brand voice across publications by creating style guidelines and consistent posting rules

Collaborated with community members on site content to create engaging SEO statistics

Built a successful user and readership base by building advertising strategies across multiple web platforms.

Tips for your roleplay coder

I am partial to the rp coder, specifically of forums, because I am one! Being able to code anything is such a skill these days, and employers like it a lot more if you tell them you do it for fun. Even if you’re not applying for a coding job, it’s another fun fact about you that makes you stand out.

If you’re a coder, I would suggest having a portfolio of your work somewhere. Either on a resource site they can access as a guest (codepen is great for this) or a blog, forum, or website they can see your work on. 

Here are some generic examples of things you can put on your resume, but tailor them to your specialties!

Web Forum Designer - Site or Portfolio name/link, Date-Present

Designed interactive web templates and mobile-first layouts to increase web accessibility

Maintained multiple web forums via back end control panel of Invision Power Board

Increased user engagement by ##% by designing intuitive interfaces

Built brand style guidelines to improve brand recognition, increasing website hits by ##%

Tips - and disclaimers - for everyone

The best tip I can give to anyone about writing a resume is to tailor each resume to the job you are applying for. Use keywords used in the job listing. Use terms like KPI or ROI where necessary. Use specific examples of the things you’ve done in concise sentences. Where you can, avoid being vague. Show your worth. Link examples!

The examples I used above are very generic and are meant to be used as a place to start from for everybody. I cannot stress it enough that you still need to tailor these examples to your experience and skills. For example, if you designed interactive web templates, link to your coding tumblr tag or resource gallery. If you wrote and maintained web manuals (see site rules, plot, member groups, etc.), link to that forum or those pages or put a (see below) and include them in the examples you send along with your resume. Use percentages where appropriate and include trackable data where you can to help illustrate your positive impact on that site.

However, when putting your resume into website instead of uploading it as a .pdf or .doc, this can be difficult. So use your best judgement.

How to tell a potential employer you roleplay while in an interview

So now that you’ve gotten through writing your resume, let’s assume you got the interview! Congratulations! You used your skills to stand out a little bit from the 800 other applicants that put in for the job. But you still have to make an impression out of the 20 other suits coming in for the interview. *Gulp*

I’ve found that the easiest way is to mention it when they ask you the infamous “Tell me about yourself” question. This question is your elevator pitch, so work it in in a way that’s quick and will make them want to ask you more about it later. Don’t make it the focus, just drop in a line and move on. For example:

“I’ve been working in media for the last five years, but I would like to focus on web media in particular. I’ve been writing for websites in my free time for the last decade, and found this is the area I’m most passionate about...” I’ll let you imagine how the rest of that elevator pitch goes.

Now my interviewer will probably ask me about all this experience I have writing for web that’s not exactly spelled out on my resume. But I’ll have those experiences, either listed in my skills section or as a job listing, to refer them back to.

So now you’re probably wondering, when they do ask you about it, how to not be weird about it. Because rp is...actually really weird I mean the amount of sex I write about is unreal, yo. But you really only need get into the basics. Tell them you enjoy writing, and that you enjoy writing collaboratively. And through that passion, you’ve learned how to effectively manage web communities or taught yourself CSS. When you talk about your passions in an interview and how they’ve lead you to pursue professional advancement, you really stand out. You become “that girl who loved writing so much she became this dope ass graphic designer” or “that guy who loved writing so much he became this insane web developer.” It shows not just passion, but a breadth of skills and curiosities and gives you much more potential to grow within a position than other candidates.

While talking about your roleplay experience, offer to send them examples of your work when you get home. The amount of times I’ve mentioned my creative passions in an interview and had the non-creative interviewer want to know more is too damn high. But not only does that give you the opportunity to send a thank you email, but gives them something to click on and remember you by. Which is a make it or break it part of most interviews.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk

That’s all the advice I’ve got for you, kids. I apologize for it being so vague, but I wanted this to be usable by the largest amount of roleplayers it could be. If you have questions, or want to know how it could be used to highlight your own skills more, feel free to drop me an ask or friend me on discord and shoot me a message! I’m always happy to offer some suggestions to you.

And if you’re already doing all of this, why don’t you share your own experiences? How has using rp on a resume helped you? What other tips do you have? And how can others make the most of their experiences to help them?

[anakinsbugs]

10 Useful Discord Bots for Online Communities

New Post has been published on https://walrusvideo.com/10-useful-discord-bots-for-online-communities/

10 Useful Discord Bots for Online Communities

If you’re using Discord, chances are you’ve heard of Discord bots. These AI-powered bots allow you to perform a wide range of actions, from welcoming new members to paraphrasing influencer content.

Discord has grown dramatically since it hit the stage in 2015, and while it was primarily dedicated to gamers, digital marketers are finding ways to make it work for them.

If you’re looking for a unique and entertaining way to engage with your community, Discord bots might be the way to go.

What Are Discord Bots?

Discord bots are one of the most useful features of the communication platform. They are AIs that marketers and business owners can use to perform a wide range of automated tasks on the server.

Building a community is never easy, but doing it on Discord is a great way to provide people with a feeling of exclusivity. If you already have an audience, this strategy will benefit you.

You’ll be able to offer tips, record videos, host lives, and teach people everything you know in a safe and closed community environment. When people feel like they’re receiving something they can’t get anywhere else, it makes them more inclined to share it with others and, in-turn, pay more for the information.

Discord bots make it easier to create an engaged community. You can use them to welcome new members to the server, moderate communications between members, and ban people who refuse to obey the rules.

You can use them to add memes, games, music, and other pieces of entertaining content to the server to make it more enjoyable for your members.

Knowing what Discord bots to add is the key. Some bots can enhance your server and provide a better community, making users want to stick around and engage with you. The wrong ones could turn people away or create a poor environment.

10 Useful Discord Bots to Try

The key to success with marketing on Discord is using the best bots to create a highly engaged and entertained community. In this section, we’re taking a look at the ten most useful Discord bots.

1. MEE6

MEE6

is the most comprehensive Discord bot out there. You can create custom commands to automatically provide users with roles and send messages in the main channel or through DMs based on specific actions.

Setting up welcome messages and automating roles is easy as well. With a few simple commands, you can welcome new members onto the server, assign them a role, and explain the rules of the server without having to do anything manually.

The best feature of this bot is the amount of customization you can apply to your Discord bot commands. You can automatically kick someone if they promote ads, unwanted links, or spam. This can help create a tight-knit community where everyone can enjoy themselves.

2. ProBot

ProBot

is a Discord bot that allows you to automatically set welcome messages, so every time someone joins the server, they’re greeted with a customized message to showcase your personality.

With the automod system, you can instantly detect bad behavior and warn the person not to do it again or kick them out automatically if necessary. For example, if someone posts something obscene, you wouldn’t likely want to give the person a second chance. ProBot can kick them out and keep your group on topic.

The bot allows you to set unique commands with different tiers to determine which actions merit an immediate kick and result in a stern message.

One important factor to consider in the best bots is their uptime. ProBot has 99.99% uptime, so you (almost) never have to worry about the bot going down and your server running amuck.

3. Dank Memer

If your first thought is, “

Why would memes be important for marketing

?”, then you may be surprised to find out they’re a very powerful marketing tool and something you can use to create a better community.

Memes are a great way to increase engagement because people love humor and the point of Discord is to create a light-hearted community that’s rich with entertainment and fun. Memes are a simple but effective way to do just that.

Dank Memer is a great Discord bot because of the sheer

number of commands

you can use. They have commands from simple pictures of animals to actual games to play blackjack against the AI using coins bought with real currency.

If your goal is to create a community where people like to come to relax, unwind, and enjoy themselves, Dank Memer is a fantastic Discord bot choice.

4. Voicy

Communication is important to a community and finding new and funny ways to communicate with your members will set your server apart from the competition. Keep in mind that there are a ton of other people competing to get the same users into their channel as you. You must find unique ways to draw attention to yourself.

Voicy

allows you to search through a library of more than 50,000 funny sound clips from their network. They’re constantly updating the platform with new sound effects and you and your members can use the commands to create a more enjoyable experience and entertaining environment where people want to stick around.

5. Community Hubs Beta

The

Community Hubs

Discord bot’s goal is to enhance the way we communicate with each other across the many servers and different platforms. It connects a Discord channel with a Hub room where there are other channels so you can share information between two spaces.

This could be a powerful way to bring two communities together if you have different audiences across multiple genres. For example, let’s say you have a server that focuses primarily on

SEO

and another for

Influencer Marketing

.

If you want to do a live stream to both audiences because the subject matter is relevant to both, you can bring the two together using Hubs to watch the live stream together and benefit from the information. The Hubs bot also allows the two channels to communicate with each other.

Not only does this have immediate, upfront benefits, but there are benefits on the back-end as well. For example, someone may decide to join both communities.

6. Musibeth

Musibeth

allows you to play YouTube content directly on Discord. This has a few advantages. First, you could share videos with members to provide context or additional information on something you want them to know.

You could also set up automatic commands that provide videos for frequently asked questions so you can spend more time building the community and less time answering the same question repeatedly.

If you have your own

YouTube channel

, you could use the Musibeth Discord bot to spread your channel around and get more views while also informing members on whatever they want to know. However, be careful not to spam your channel with YouTube videos users aren’t interested in.

The most obvious use for the bot is to play music, so you can do that as well. Playing music on the server is a great way to relate to people and create a comfortable environment.

7. Quillbot

Quillbot

is a unique Discord bot that allows you to paraphrase something someone said. Using the commands will automatically take written text and rewrite it for you. I see a few useful purposes for this, but the biggest one involves content marketing and writing.

Let’s say you’re interviewing someone with expertise on a certain subject matter. They provide you with an answer using text from an article they wrote or a feature they had somewhere. You can’t take those words and use them directly. Quillbot will paraphrase what they said so you can use it in your article.

There are also more relaxed purposes for the bot that you can play around with if you’re just using it for fun. For example, you could use the word flip modifier, and it will change the sentence using as many synonyms as possible.

8. Spixx

Spixx is a bot that allows you to use commands for memes, music, and games. It’s all in the name of creating an enjoyable environment and

a niche community

where people feel like they are welcome.

By using Discord bot games, you’re indirectly marketing to your audience without realizing it. The second you create a community and engage with them, that’s marketing. It’s the simplest form of marketing, and it’s effortless when everyone is having a good time.

Spixx helps you do that. It’s important to make sure that you monitor how people are using it though, because some of the memes and commands are a little obscure.

9. GiveawayBot

What better way to show your community that you love them than with

giveaways

? GiveawayBot helps host a giveaway using simple commands that allow you to start, pick a winner, and end a giveaway without requiring any manual work.

Why is this important for digital marketing? Again, we’re always trying to find new and exciting ways to engage with our followers, and giving away stuff is a great way to get attention.

If you’re

hosting fun, entertaining contests

, you’re going to organically grow your following because people are going to share the Discord server.

10. Other Various Discord Bots

While this isn’t one specific bot, you can search for additional bots that can fit your marketing needs at

top.gg

. But use caution while searching.

This is a list of bots made by almost anyone, so make sure to review it carefully before using it for your marketing.

How to Add a Bot

Once you’ve figured out what Discord bots you want to add to your channel, you’ll want to find them using an online bot list (like the one mentioned in #10) or with a simple Google search.

From there, you’ll look for the invite or add button and choose which server you want to add the bot to. Remember that you can only do this for the servers where you have admin or moderator access.

Once the bot is done uploading on the server, you should be able to use it immediately with a series of commands. When you want to remove a bot, you can right-click on it on the server member list and click kick or ban.

Conclusion

Using Discord bots is a unique but powerful digital marketing strategy that we could all benefit from. As marketers, we must stay on the cutting edge of

new trends

and focus on up-and-coming platforms.

Discord is growing rapidly in the gaming and technology community, so if you’re in those niches, you’ll likely reap many rewards from using Discord bots. If you need help locating, installing, or implementing these strategies, we have plenty of

resources

to lend a hand.

Do you use Discord for digital marketing? If so, do you feel like it has a positive impact on your business?

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Go to Source Author: Neil Patel

[minrcrafter]

SeraphicCraft [Vanilla] {Whitelist} {Tight Knit Community} {Age 17+}

http://seraphiccraft.com/

Quick About Us:

This is a quite small and cosy purely survival server, offering classic vanilla 1.13.2 experience. If you’ve watched Mindcrack or Hermitcraft or Sci Craft, our server is similar to those in that there’s really great relationships to be made, lots of interaction and collaboration. We always have around 4 players online at the least, and this shuffles so you get to meet people from all timezones depending on what time you’re playing. We’ve managed to do some really impressive builds and huge projects so far, both as a community and people doing their own things individually. Here’s an imgur gallery with a look over a few things here: https://imgur.com/a/LVcuys5

We have a creative server you'll be given access to when you join, where you can play around and test anything you'd like. We also run an overviewer of our world every 24 hours.

Moderation:

We have a small mod group, who more than anything just play the game and you wouldn’t realise they are mods unless you looked at their roles on discord. This isn’t a server for strict rules or overbearing admins, we’ve never ran into any big problems because everyone here has integrity.

Character of the Server:

We have a discord with almost as many offtopic channels as ‘ontopic’ ones (FYI if you cook food a lot or go out, u’ll love the #food channel) and the server does serve as a way to meet some cool people around the globe, but more than anything we are focused on the life of the server. People are really talented in their own way- there are all round great builders, some specific theme builders, some really talented redstoners, people truly talented at terraforming etc.

Community:

Best way to describe our community is like it’s a really huge apartment, and we socialise like we are roommates. Kitchen is always clean and if you lose something it will be placed right on the living room table rather than slipped into someones pocket. We interact on a more personal level than I'd think most servers, and probably joke around more than most too. It’s a great balance between real life and server related chat. If you are considerate, interested in playing actively and want to be a part of a really warm server you should come join us!

Apply Here:

Apply on our websites application form: http://seraphiccraft.com/ (it's just a few questions + we ask you to send some screenshots).

If you join our servers discord and leave a message when you've applied that's the easiest way, if not I'll send you a friend request on discord and get in touch.

[guyinlovewitheremika]

Dude serious question here : how are you still single ? Judging from your blog you seem so cute and friendly and an overrall fun person to be around. I for one would have loved to get to know you irl. But well keep up your amazing blog, I wish you the best in life

Aww anon that’s really sweet of you haha. Hope you have an amazing life too.

I used this opportunity for a little bit of self-analysis, which I’m keeping under-read since it’s not the main content of this blog. Quite frankly it failed and I don’t recommend reading.

THERE IS NO POINT TO THIS POST. I started writing with a huge plan, it didnt work out and now only half the thing is here, and by itself, it makes no bloody sense. I still wanna keep it here simply for myself, but anyone reading this rn will probs only get an incomplete and thusly inaccurate picture of what I’m trying to paint. 

Okay, so here’s the thing. I started writing this huge thing with a clearly mapped out thought process in mind, it had structure and whatnot. Unfortunately an event I even described in my analysis, a change of my mental state, prohibited me from finishing my writing---this is thus very incomplete, lacking many arguments and most importantly an actual conclusion. I doubt I’ll ever reconnect to this particular text anyway, but I still felt like sharing it as I considered it to be a very accurate depiction my head up until the point where I got lost. So even though it’s totally lackluster and incomplete, I’m still sharing it here because I feel like I owe it to myself. Anyway. After this follows the introduction I had originally written. Since I posted this for myself, the chance of me answering asks, replies or messages about this is very little, partially for reasons explained below. AnYwAY

Le forum ofdeath and sucks balls what the fuck

You'reprobably just a lovely anon who wanted to say something nice and cheer me up,and believe me, it's appreciated^^ This extended response shouldn't be takenpersonal by you in any way at all, I simply saw an opportunity for me to writethings down I've been meaning to write down for a long time. Thing is, there'sabout a 0% chance of me talking to over people what's really going on in myhead unless I'm prompted to do so--unless there're huge indicators of therebeing legitimate interest in my psyche, I aint talking, and even then, the chancesremain slim. Granted, your message wasn't really a direct inquiry or whateverbut I've had this shit in my system so long that it's more than sufficient forme to let lose. Warning: basically everything below (and even above) are mypersonal observations of myself, and most likely don't make a ton of sense foranyone who isn't, well, me. "Translating" all of this into anythingcomprehensible outside of my head is gonna be tricky enough, but I still feellike doing it. The purpose of this text is ultimately for self-analysis; uponwriting things down it can clarify or explain certain thoughts, and that'sreally waht I'm after. I don't want to shove my own analysis of my mentalsituation down my followers throats, I'm writing and posting this only for myselfto be affected by the process of doing so; thusly, once more, this will potentiallybarely make any sense for anyone, but it's not supposed to for anyone exceptme, so in essence, don't read too much into this post.

Long assintroduction

Damn

Anyway, let'sget started, and back to the original question, how are you still single.

BecauseBOI, there's a plethora of reasons, mostly tied to my relationship with myselfand my surroundings, and that's what I wanna talk about here.

First ofall, yeah. Guy does seem like a fun, sweet person to have around here, doesn'the? You're not the first person to tell me that, and I'm not saying that tofeed on my ego or whatever, but because this perception of Guy isn't unique. Iget nice and lovely anons, Barely and hate towards me as a person despite arather rapidly growing follower count, I've even made a ton of onlinefriendships over the span of months, and those folks generally don't seem tohate Guy either, for similar reasons. That's all good and fun, and ofc Iappreciate people who're sympathetic towards me, but that's because here ontumblr and over on discord, I'm Guy. The dude who absolutely loooves snk, whoknows a lot about the series, who tries to help people out and is pretty wankfree (that's an over-the-top, stereotyped description simply for the sake ofgetting the general point across).

The problemis that "Guy" is a periodic, temporary and very much incompleterepresentation of my identity. Now of course, the following dialogue can quicklyfall into the "edgy-teenager-YouKnowMyNameButNotMyStory" trope whichtypically disqualifies any rationality accompanied by the claims, but for thesake of argument, I'd like to give my analytical skills more credit than a 21stcentury stereotype. The basic point I'm trying to make here is this: the"real", "complete" version of myself has more to it thanjust the blogger you know as "Guy", and that's simply because myonline presence is very filtered. Whenever I'm posting on my blog or talking tomy friends on discord, I'm being Guy. My mental state, my thought process, andmy emotional balance is that of SnK loving Guy. The thing is, whenever there'sa change in my mental state, a variation, one that differs from who we know as"Guy", Guy shuts down, and so does my activity. I'm not blogging24/7, I'm not being constantly Guy. And I'm not chatting 24/7 either, myfriends may confirm this: I often stop talking in the middle of conversations,stop responding, reduce or cease my current activity all together. Occasionallythat's caused by irl disturbances, but for the most part, the issue lies in avariation within my mental state, one that disrupts my situation of being Guy,causing a discrepancy between my activity and my thought process concerning myactivity. In simpler (and seriously overblown) terms, I temporarily stop beingthe person I just was (this being Guy), and swap to a different mental state, onethat differs from being Guy.

This allprobably sounds ludicrous and absolutely over the top, and I apologize for that.It's not as if I have "multiple personalities" in my head, orschizophrenia, or whatever. These varying mental states I'm describing aren'ttotally different people, but...different facades of myself, if that makes anysense.  It probably doesn't, so let meprovide you with a possibly explanative analogy, to visualize everything. Letssay you're playing and RPG, and you have your core character. You level him up,gain experience, skills, and whatnot. That's default form of your character,lacking equipment and whatnot. However, in order to adapt to the constantlychanging environments and opponents you face, you need equipment, and the onlyoptions you have are various, predetermined armor and weapon sets. There's adifferent, unique type for every situation-one for each environment and eachenemy. The only problem is this: they come with a predetermined set of statsand skills. Parts of the sets cannot be exchanged with one another, and youcan't use multiple ones either. What's worse is that, despite the varyinglevels of skills you may have obtained on your core character, these arepartially or even entirely overwritten when donning one of the sets--you can'tverify or even use these stats and skills of your core character, as they'relocked away by whatever set you use. Only in down times, when in your hideout,all by yourself, can you take off the sets and access your stats andskills--only then does the experience you obtained when using the sets actuallyappear, only then can you observe your core character as a whole. That's moreor less what my head looks like, from my POV. Granted, this by no means is atotally accurate representation--it's flawed, it ignores certain other aspects,doesn't universally apply to me either, and ultimately, has no proof. However,I feel like this is the closest approximate description I can offer at themoment, and ultimately just am example to allow for some visualization--not auniversal truth or affirmation.

But let'stake a closer look at these equipment sets, or mental states, as I like to callthem. One of my favorite movies over the past years was the sci-fi flicArrival--Denis Villeneuve's thought provoking tale about extraterrestrialcreatures showing up on our planet and humanities attempt to interact with them.One of it's major elements was the use of language, and one theme in particularfascinated me: the theory that speaking in another language can potentiallymodify, or even rewire your brain and thought process. It's something Icouldn't agree more with. I fluently speak three languages, and, given myliving and educational situation, typically switch between all three of themmultiple times a day. I don't want to assume anyone's thoughts or feelings, butI'm certain I'm not the only one who has different relationships with thelanguages they speak, and who feel different depending on the used language.It's a pretty natural thing. Another thing we can probably all agree on is that,depending with whom we're interacting, or under which exterior circumstances(such as location), our precise way to express ourselves may sometimes vary--youmay act in a certain way with one person in a certain place, and act verydifferently with another person in a different place. Well, of course I can'tclaim that to be a universal truth for every person on the planet, but I'vecertainly heard other people describe it before, and I've felt it from otherstoo. It's there, sometimes, to a certain extent. Maybe it's totally natural, aneveryday feeling for everyone involved, and maybe I'm just too weak to be ableto counteract the consequences, but who knows. My primary issue stems from the fact that, I'm taking this varyingcircumstances and their consequences to a ridiculous level. Depending on mylanguage, my location, the time of day and the people I'm with, my expressionof myself, my (from an exterior POV observable) personality, if you want to, isborderline subject to change. "Guy" in many ways I can't mentallygrasp at the moment is fundamentally different from the person you mayencounter under specific, different circumstances.

Now ofcourse, this probably is something felt by other people alone, I'm not somehowspecial by feeling that way, probably just too weak to deal with it. But onething I can say with absolute certainty is that the consequences of thevariations has an effect on my surrounding. An example in my family: due to hisjob, my father is rarely at home, and I'm typically left with my mother, withwhom I have a rather close and positive relationship with. On the days myfather is there however, our relationship changes, my general mood is affected,and my expression of myself heavily changes. Once again, I'm sure I'm notunique in that way, I'm sure it's a normal, human concept, it just seems toaffect me really much. This isn't just limited to important, deep relationshipslike me and my parents, but its present in really every situation. Example, Imay desire to spend time with my friends at school when there, but back home,in a different mental state, that desire disappears entirely. I often don'treply to messages for weeks, and rarely ever initiate communication by myself,which can be totally different in another mental state. See, and that's one ofthe primary issues. My relationships with pretty much everyone are heavilymodified and affected by the changes in my mental state based on circumstancesand whatnot. If we follow that logic, any intimate or romantic relationshipwould be affected too. And that's one of the cruxes here: I couldn't possiblyentertain one particular mental state throughout the entirety of anoverarching, important relationship with someone. There would be instances inwhich my mental state would vary, and I would in turn be severely affected thischange, but this non-given, non-evident relationship with a significant otherwouldn't just...stop existing, wouldn't temporarily be on hold until I've returnedto a mental state appropriate of said relationship. You can't put it on hold,you can't neglect all of that while waiting for your brain to return to anadequate state. There's continuity and effort and ultimately something enduringwithin a relationship, but that's incredibly hard to entertain if the facade ofoneself is subject to constant modification. Though that in itself is somethingI would already consider rather problematic, it's far from the end. Rememberwhen I described the situation in my head? The idea of a certain core character,unaffected by the armor sets? Let's take a closer look at that.  

All thesevarious mental states, these predetermined armor sets, caused by the varyingcircumstances I find myself in throughout life, have one thing in common: blockingout the "core character", the one that acquires the skills andexperience obtained through the life in armor, the one that has a sort ofoverseeing access to all of these obtained life experiences. That is what Iconsider to be the "purest" version of myself. The one thingunaffected by circumstances, the one at the center off all these various mentalstates. I can only be in this unaffected state when not in relation to anythingin my exterior: not being constrained to convey thoughts verbally through theuse of a certain language, not being actively in relation to another person,and being in a neutral place, unaffected by anything, such as my room.Basically, if I'm in an entirely neutral situation, not affected by anythingexterior whatsoever, my mind goes into a neutral state too. This neutral stateallows me one particular thing: introspection. Self-analysis, if you want to.Only in the neutral state can I fully reflect on my experiences and my life asa whole, only then can I attempt to understand my progression in life, myemotions, my mental situation. In fact, at this very moment, I find myself inthis neutral state--only now am I actually able to reflect on what's going onin my head, and the fact that I'm able to write it down cohesively is an enormousfeat in itself. However, this distinction between my neutral state, the"core character", and the various mental states, the "armorsets", comes with a plethora of issues, the first one being this verydiscrepancy. As explained earlier, the "sets" override the"core", and I mean that in a literal way. All my reflections, all mythoughts and questions, all my arguments, failures and progressions, areblocked out when I'm in one of these sets. For example, if I'm talking to mytherapist, it's downright impossible for me to communicate all these thoughtsobtained through introspection, simply because they're blocked out, they're notavailable anymore. They slip out from memory, I can barely grasp them at all,it feels like walking through horribly thicc mist; and even in the event that Istill can formulate some of my thoughts, I can't properly convey them. In fact,even if I write them down and try to read them out, it feels more like readingsomeone else's thesis: my brain doesn't connect to the material at all, itdoesn't understand, it can't back it up: in that situation, they're not my ownthoughts at all, but someone else's, and no matter how much I search my mindfor answers of clues, the only thing I can find is a bleak, empty void, leavingme feeling dumbfounded, with an empty head. Literally. When I later return tomy neutral state, everything returns to me, but quite frankly, that's notuseful, since I still lack the means to communicate it in a manner thatconvinces both me and party B.

Unfortunatelythe issues don't stop there. If we go by the assumption that this neutral, coreversion of myself is what you may call "the real me", I would kind ofbe in a pretty shit situation, because, quite frankly, being this neutralversion of myself is not fun at all. Maybe its related to ingrained pessimism,but all introspection, all reflection and thoughts, always go in a prettynegative way. Never once have I thought about myself in depth and arrived at anactual positive outcome: every answer is negative and spells out inevitabledoom one way or another. There's always a depressing note to everything, infact, there is a seriously ingrained tendency leading towards what may be aform of depression in all my thoughts, but I'll get into that later. The bigbad issue is that ultimately, this neutral state of mine, as well as everypossible variable mental state, lacks one primordial thing necessary to thehuman existence: life. I'm descending towards a melodramatic presentation oncemore, forgive me. It's a hunch towards excess. But here's the thing. Theneutral state is exclusively based around introspection, it can't do anythingbut reflect, and reflect in a pretty negative manner if I might add. There'snothing else to it. The "sets" are technically set in what we wouldcall life, they're all in relation with something, but inherently lack thecommon thing that is myself; they're mere facades, they're fakes, they'reincomplete, they're not ME.  Here's thething. Perhaps it was a result of all the issues mentioned above, or perhaps itcaused the issues above and originate from a certain event in my pastirrelevant for now, but one thing is certain: I'm heavily emotionally distancedfrom my own life. I barely ever feel any real, active emotions out of anythingin life, everything is distanced, bleak, unilateral. Any real, strong emotion,be it joy, hatred, sadness or whatever else you may think of, is something Ibarely ever feel these days. Even events that have an incredibly strong effecton my life struggle to bring forth an emotional reaction. Everythingstays...bleak. Unaffected. There's often a sort of distant negativity, abackground feeling of sorts, and there are occasions of limited joy or whatnotthat last a few moments, but it takes absolutely nothing whatsoever to returnto an empty or even highkey depressed state--ultimately, the sensation of"being alive" has become incredibly elusive to me over the last 8years, now nothing more than a mere distant memory. That's just how things are,and I can't deal with it.

Granted, Imay possibly be overdoing it rn. Been writing for a long time, need to makesure I don't start getting affected just yet. Ultimately, all these thingsheavily block the way for a meaningful relationship with another person. Notonly would they have to deal with the fact that the person they know seems toundergo mental changes on a continuous basis which can't be any good, their s.o.would go through constant mood changes, would often be emotionally distant fromthem for seemingly no reason whatsoever, wouldn't be able to even entertain a relationshipon a deeper level. Whatever it would be, it couldn't even be called a proper relationshipfrom my point of view. I wouldn't be able to be myself, and that's pretty mucha death sentence for anything meaningful that's supposed to last for a bit,right?

(sidenote:I feel as if I may have just exited the neutral state and am no longer able toentertain my introspection. My thoughts are literally disappearing from my mindand my memory of everything I've said so far and what I meant to say afterwardsis getting foggier by the minute. It's absolutely ridiculous and horriblyannoying, but at the very least it proves my points to myself, that's worthsomething).

After this point, I continued writing, but quickly realized I lost all connection, I had indeed gone through a change in mental state, leaving behind my introspection. Thus, this is largely incomplete, with many threads not tied together, and many arguments lacking entirely. My analysis went much deeper than what we see here, but unfortunately I don’t seem to be able to pick it up for now. What a shame. I had thought I had finally figured out some serious progress. But in a way, it’s also fitting. This major failure is evidence that the points made are very real and not my imagination. Too bad it prevented me from going further, but that’s all I can do for now. 

This is more or less the conclusion I meant to reach, but since half the arguments and reasoning are missing, it doesn’t make sense and feels like an asspull for the sake of attentionwhoring. It’s not, and I can assure you there is legitimate reasoning behind this, I just can’t access it rn:  To add more finality to the actual question that I tried to properly explain here but clearly turned out incapable of doing so, I have rather convoluted but justified mental and psychological issues for being single. These aren’t by choice, these aren’t because I enjoy being lonely, in fact I’ve desired the opposite since I was a child, but for various reasons I cannot fully explain yet, it wouldn’t be good at all for neither me nor my partner, not with the way I am right now (and this current failure is proof of that). Instead, I’ll keep sitting on my ass, waiting for a miracle that will never happen, with mental and and physical issues getting worse and worse as a consequence. But in its own way, that’s desirable for me; which is based on another issue, rooted even deeper in my psychology, one that is probably the source of all my issues. But I can’t talk about that yet.  

Other than that, there’s practical issues too. I’ll be leaving the continent this summer. I have very little positive memories about the last 8 years, the 2nd chapter of my life, but I don’t want to start getting attached to this life just as it is about to end. That would be the worst possible way to leave, and I need a clean cut at all costs. So yeah, no SO for me.

[starmessengerrp]

      NEW MESSAGE:    FROM: UNKNOWN         You have been invited to star★messenger’s private server! Do you accept? 

                                            [ OPTION SELECTED - YES ]

     Privacy is hard to find, when much of your life is in the public eye. To some, presenting yourself as a source of entertainment in one way is akin to consenting to being seen publicly in all ways. For those who make a living from their fame, however, this couldn't be further from the truth. 

     Careful though these individuals are, all it takes is placing your trust in one faulty system. Pictures can be stolen, private messages leaked -- and in an instant, a sterling reputation can be turned to mud

     That's where Star Messenger can help.

     Initially created as a secure private messaging system for a small group of friends, it has become a refuge for those seeking security -- and camaraderie -- in their online lives. 

     Beyond Discord, Skype, AOL or MSN, Star Messenger offers the best in privacy and protection for it's users ;; and, for those who've earned an invite to a more exclusive server, access to the inside lives of some of the internet's most famous personalities.

     THE PRIVATE SERVER is run by and for those who live their lives in the public eye. From bloggers, to instagram models, to sports stars and actors, all those famous folk with an online presence can one day find an intriguing invitation in their inbox. One click is all it takes for them to find themselves within the exclusive world that exists within Star Messenger’s servers, where they can find others of their own interests, and status.

    Without fear of being exposed, of having everything they say picked apart & scrutinized, members of this server can relax, interact, and build friendships to last beyond 160 characters.

    The only people not invited, of course, are those who would benefit from any secrets that they could find within. Gossip bloggers, news reporters, journalists & paparazzi need not be eager to find a link in their inbox – the private server is very careful of who they allow within their ‘walls’. Acceptance of the invitation itself is a pact, expressly forbidding members from selling or otherwise sharing any privileged information they could find within. More than a promise, though, acceptance is a contract – and the fate that befalls those who break it is not something to be envious of.

    Members can of course send and receive private messages within Star Messenger, on top of accessing a group chat that allows all members of the private server to meet & interact. A chat history isn’t exactly visible, though, as most messages seem to be deleted once you log out or close the app. Of course, no one member uses Star Messenger exclusively; once friendships (and perhaps, rivalries) have been forged within it’s server, nothing is stopping anyone from interacting outside of the group chat.

    Be warned, though, all ye who leave – your secrets aren’t so secure, out there.

         STAR MESSENGER - A CASUAL GROUP VERSE 

     Created in the interest of organized interaction in a modern setting, Star Messenger is a CASUAL group verse intended to operate as an AU on any Indie RP blog. You do not have to tailor your blog around the concept or practice exclusivity with only the members within the group ; you simply have to apply, and enjoy! We have very few rules, & while we will be running ‘events’ to create tension, plot, and drama between the characters, we aim to be a relaxed & enjoyable environment for everyone involved. No fuss, no muss, no stress! 

         THE RULES

DUPLICATES

Due to the nature of the verse, (and it’s estimated size) unless both muns apply with the intent to create twins, clones, or doppelgangers, we will not be allowing duplicate characters, or face-claims.

Although we would like to include as many people as possible, we will not be asking members to alter their information for the purpose of inclusion after the fact. Please, do not pressure the players involved in this verse to do so on your own, either.

EVENTS & THE PLOT

Major events that would involve or effect other characters (beyond a specific, arranged, or small group) should be discussed with the admins beforehand. If they are not, we do not guarantee that any characters but your own will acknowledge the ‘event’.

Speculation, assumption, & guessing about the plot are allowed, and even encouraged! Hijacking and making concrete claims about what’s happening, however, is not. Please don’t try to steer the plot, or to ‘help’ it along a path you assume it to be taking – unless you’ve been explicitly told by an admin, and invited to take action, of course.

PROFILES & CHARACTERS

This is obviously a modern verse. Please don’t reference medieval events or plot points from canon, unless you can alter them to be suitably ‘modern’!

Magic is allowed, of course, but under the assumption that in this world it is not a known ability. Supernatural features, skills, or oddities would be secret, and certainly not bragged about to random strangers on the internet.

For organization’s sake, please fill out the profile/app – it helps us keep track of everyone involved, lets you sort out the basics of your character for this AU, and helps the other members to know your character as well. We will not acknowledge characters that have not done this. Thank you!

DRAMA

IC drama is encouraged & requested. OOC drama, however, is not.

Please, for the love of all things great and chocolate, if drama does arise, don’t handle it like a dick. It is your responsibility to handle it maturely, and if we find that you cannot do so, and are causing problems within the verse, we will remove you.

That said, please don’t feel as if you can’t approach the admins with issues that you’re having. We’re here to help! We’ll do our best to offer whatever assistance we can.

TRIGGERS & NSFW

Tag your posts, tag your posts, TAG YOUR POSTS. Thank you.

While we do expect triggers to be tagged, especially if they are requested to be tagged, it is your responsibility to be mindful of your own triggers. If a character’s concept heavily involves something that makes you uncomfortable, perhaps it would be a better idea to avoid them.

We will not bar under-aged characters, (or muns) to a point. Characters under the age of 16 really have no business in the private Star Messenger server, though, & so we will be hard pressed to accept them, as an example. As far as under-aged muns go, though, as long as you don’t partake in anything you legally should not, we should be copacetic.

Please don’t put smut in the main verse tag.

FOLLOWING MEMBERS & TRACKING TAGS

We are not requiring anyone to follow anyone else, or track any tags. It's recommended that you follow the main tag, v; star messenger, to see any open starters that get posted, or perhaps suggested memes, but it’s entirely up to you!

We would appreciate it if you followed this blog, at least, to keep track of any relevant announcements, prompts, or ‘events’, though! Anything that we want everyone to see will be in the main verse tag, & also posted here – so if you want to stay in the loop, hit that follow button!

INTERACTING WITHIN THE VERSE

We would kindly like to request that you limit your interactions within this verse to others who have been accepted. While we are more than happy to see you all make similar verses to interact with others who have no interest in applying or joining us, yet want to enjoy a similar concept, we would appreciate if those threads did not reference other Star Messenger characters without their permission, or the events that unfold within the verse. Thanks!

        HOW TO JOIN

     If you’d like to join us in our shenanigans, then that’s great! The process is pretty simple. Just check out the following pages on our blog, & follow the instructions there! We hope to see your application soon -- and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

                                  APPLICATION | FAQ | REQUESTED ROLES

[jamesbyerj]

Stay Home. Make Mods. Win Prizes. - Week 3

Are you bored being stuck at home? Looking for some inspiration to finally realise that mod idea you've been thinking about? Well then: [b]Stay Home. Make Mods.[/b] for your chance to win prizes each week between [b]6th April and 4th May[/b]!  In light of recent world events, we wanted to do our part in helping our community cope with social distancing and self-isolation by giving you something to focus on during this challenging time. So why not make some mods?  We've also teamed up with our friends at [b]GOG[/b], [b]Warhorse Studios[/b], and [b]Bethesda[/b] to offer you a different selection of prizes each week.  [b]Week 3 Prizes (20th - 26th April 2020) [/b] [list] [*]1x Game of your choice (up to £50) - for an entry selected randomly from the top 20 mods of the week - ranked by unique downloads.  [/list] This week this the awesome people at [url=https://bethesdagamestudios.com/]Bethesda[/url] have generously provided the following game keys for the event: [list] [*]10x [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1151340/Fallout_76/]Fallout 76[/url] (Steam, North America region) [*]10x [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1151340/Fallout_76/]Fallout 76[/url] (Steam, Europe region) [/list] Any mod uploaded with the tag "Stay Home. Make Mods." this week will be entered into a randomised draw to win ones of these keys. [b]How to enter[/b] [list=1] [*]Upload a new mod for [b]any [/b]game between [b]20th - 26th April 2020[/b] (Safe for work mods only).  [*]Include the competition tag "[b]Stay Home. Make Mods.[/b]". [*]That's it! Your mod has been entered. [/list] You can add the tag either by choosing the new "Classification" option at the bottom of the mod upload form or by adding it with the other tags.  [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1586179188-1566464397.jpeg[/img] [b]Get involved [/b]Even if you aren't uploading mods, there are plenty of things you can do to get involved in the event. [list] [*]Download and endorse awesome new mods to support your favourite authors. [*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/images/add]Share screenshots in our image share[/url] to showcase mods you're enjoying. [*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/videos/add]Add your YouTube videos [/url]showing off your top picks. [*]Use the hashtag #StayHomeMakeMods on [url=https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nexus-sites/71629282833]Facebook[/url], [url=https://twitter.com/nexussites]Twitter[/url], Twitch and anywhere you find the conversation about mods.  [*]Join us on the [url=http://discord.gg/nexusmods]Nexus Mods Discord server[/url] where we'll be hanging out in the voice channels and hopefully showing off some of the new mod content.  [/list] [b]Terms and Conditions [/b] Participants - Entries - Mods [spoiler] [list] [*]Participants are required to submit at least one (1) mod in order to enter the event and become eligible for winning a prize. [*]Submitting several mods is possible, however, prizes are limited to one per selected winner each week. [*]A maximum of 5 mods may be entered into the draw by a single user. If more than 5 mods are entered, the newest 5 will be considered valid entries. [*]All entries must be submitted between the dates posted on this article. [*]Unless otherwise specified, the weekly entry period runs from 12:00:00am on the starting day until 11:59:59pm on the last day (GMT+1). [*]Mods must be uploaded to the Nexus Mods website and assigned the "Stay Home. Make Mods. 2020" tag. Mods that do not include the tag at the end of the competition period are not eligible to win prizes. [*]Mods in a "Work in Progress" state will be allowed provided they are in a playable state. [*]You may collaborate with others on entries, but only one prize will be issued if your mod wins. [*]You must be the copyright holder i.e. creator of the mod content. [*]Mods must not include assets from other creators without explicit permission and should display appropriate credit. [*]Mods entered must conform to our site rules (inappropriate content) and must not contain any adult content (as defined by our [url=https://help.nexusmods.com/article/19-adult-content-guidelines]Adult Content Guidelines[/url]). [*]Entries found to be in violation of any of those rules and/or our general terms and policies will be disqualified. [/list][/spoiler] Prizes - Winner Selection [spoiler] [list] [*]A different selection of prizes will be available during each of the four (4) weeks of the event, as detailed in the article at the start of the relevant week. [*]One (1) "Game of your choice" prize will be awarded to the uploader of a randomly chosen entry featured in the top 20 most downloaded or endorsed for that week. [*]The "Game of your choice" prize consists of either: [list] [*]Any game that can be purchased as a redeemable code, up to the maximum value of £50. [*]OR If we cannot source your chosen game, £50 gift card to be redeemed in the Steam game store. [/list] [*]Additional prizes will be contributed by the weekly partner of Nexus Mods as specified in the article for that week.  [*]Additional prizes from our partners will be awarded to randomly selected entries with the competition tag excluding the winner of the "Game of your choice" prize.  [*]A maximum of 1 prize per user, per week will be issued.  [*]Prizes will be issued to winners via private message on the Nexus Mods forums by the Nexus Mods Community Managers.  [*]Some prizes may feature an expiration date by which they must be used. If the prize expires before it is redeemed you will not be able to request an alternative.  [*]The Nexus Mods team reserves the right to disqualify any entry at their sole discretion, with or without providing a reason.  [/list][/spoiler] General Terms and Conditions [spoiler] By submitting a competition entry, you are agreeing to be bound by these terms and conditions. [list] [*]Promoter name. Black Tree Gaming Limited incorporated in England and Wales with company number 06360077 of Balliol House, Southernhay Gardens, Exeter, EX1 1NP  (referred to throughout these terms as the “Promoter”, “we”, “us” and “our”). [*]Deadline. All competition entries must be received by the Promoter by no later than the Closing Date. All competition entries received after the Closing Date are automatically disqualified. [*]How to Enter. You may enter by sharing a mod on the Nexus Mods website and adding the appropriate tag. You must complete this initial entry to be eligible to win. You do not have to pay to enter the competition, however, you are responsible for any phone or internet charges you may incur when entering. If you are unsure about these charges, you should contact your phone or internet operator before entering. Entries will not be acknowledged and we do not accept responsibility for entries that are lost, delayed or which we do not receive. [*]Eligibility. You must be aged 18 or over at the time of entry in order to enter this competition. We may require you to provide proof that you are eligible to enter the competition. No purchase necessary. You must enter the competition yourself. Entries which are incomplete, removed, corrupt or ineligible will not be accepted. We reserve the right to verify any entries and winners and may refuse to award prizes and/or disqualify you if you make or attempt to make any entry to this competition which is in our reasonable opinion contrary to these terms and conditions or by its nature unfair to other entrants. This might include entries which are made by automated means, fraudulent, made in bulk, made on behalf of another person, or made by hacking, cheating or deception. You must comply with the laws that apply to you in the location that you access the competition from. If any laws applicable to you restrict or prohibit you from entering the competition, you must comply with those legal restrictions or, if applicable, refrain from entering the competition. [*]Prize conditions. Prizes are subject to availability with no cash alternative. Prizes are not negotiable, exchangeable or transferable. The winner(s) will be contacted via Private Message on the Nexus Mods website. You must claim your prize personally within 1 month of the Closing Date otherwise your claim will become invalid (you are solely responsible for this). The decision of the Promoter is final. We have the right to substitute any prize for an alternative prize of equal or greater value. [*]Excluded participants and entries. Employees of the Promoters, its holding or subsidiary companies, its agents or suppliers or anyone else professionally connected with the competition, or members of their families or households. The Promoter will not admit entries which: are automatically created by a computer or bot or script or other automated technology, created in bulk, have been altered or forged or tampered with, are illegible or incomplete or which generally in Promoter’s reasonable opinion are inappropriate to admit. [*]Selection of winners. The winner will be chosen by the Nexus Mods team. If you cannot be reached by private message or email address when entering we may choose a new winner. [*]Ownership of competition entries and intellectual property rights. The Promoter does not claim any rights of ownership in your competition entry. The promoter is granted a non-exclusive, worldwide, irrevocable license to use, display, publish, transmit, copy, edit, alter, store, re-format and sublicense the competition entry and any accompanying materials for its marketing or other commercial purposes. [*]Data protection and publicity. If you are a winner of the competition, you agree that the Promoter may use your provided information to announce the winner of this competition and for any other reasonable and related promotional purposes without any payment to you. You represent that all of the information which you provide to us in connection with this competition shall be and shall remain complete and accurate. You represent that your entry will not contain anything (i) that is or could reasonably be viewed as harmful, harassing, defamatory, libellous, obscene or invasive of another’s privacy; or (ii) which you do not have a right to make available lawfully (including any material which infringes the rights of any other). By entering this competition, you agree that any personal information provided by you with the competition entry may be held and used only by the Promoter, its affiliates, its agents and suppliers to administer the competition. [*]Limitation of liability. Insofar as is permitted by law, the Promoter, its agents or distributors will not in any circumstances be responsible or liable to compensate the winner(s) or runner(s)-up or accept any liability for any loss, damage, personal injury or death occurring as a result of taking up the prize except where it is caused by the negligence of the Promoter, its agents or distributors or that of their employees. Your statutory rights are not affected. The Promoter will NOT accept responsibility for competition entries that are lost, mislaid, damaged or delayed in transit for any reason or in any way. [*]Social media. You acknowledge that the competition is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with any of our partners, Facebook, or Twitter. You agree to release our partners, Facebook, and Twitter from any responsibility to you in relation to the competition. [*]General. (a) We may use the information which you provide in entering this competition to contact you for the purposes described in these terms and conditions. We will process and store your information in accordance with our privacy policy which can be found at: http://help.nexusmods.com/article/20-privacy-policy [*](b) We may wish to transfer all or a part of our rights under these terms to someone else without obtaining your consent. You agree that we may do so provided that the transfer does not significantly disadvantage you. (c) If there is any reason to believe that there has been a breach of these terms and conditions, the Promoter may, at its sole discretion, reserve the right to exclude you from participating in the competition; (d) The Promoter reserves the right to hold void, suspend, cancel, or amend the competition where it becomes necessary to do so; and (e) These terms and conditions shall be governed by the laws of England and the parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England. [*]For questions, Please contact support@nexusmods.com [/list][/spoiler] Published first at Stay Home. Make Mods. Win Prizes. - Week 3

[ld-pandamao]

FIRST Resources—11:55 AM, Monday, April 6th, 2020

      I do not have any advice for starting an FRC team, but there are numerous resources and forums to support both rookie and veteran FRC teams.

      As always, Reddit is a fantastic site for technological problems or for simply sharing recent accomplishments of the team. It would also be a great place for questions about FIRST and FRC. However, the FIRST website also has forums on its website, which may be more insightful than Reddit. The FIRST forums tend to be more structured towards the various game and design aspects, while Reddit contains more entertainment. It is also possible that people check Reddit more than they do the FIRST forums. Chief Delphi is also an amazing forum, which is usually particularly insightful in all technical aspects of the robot—CAD, mechanical, electrical, and programming.

      There are also numerous other platforms for FIRST, such as the well-known discord, but as previously mentioned, I am not well-acquainted with forums and online discussion sites.

      There are also numerous resources available to FIRST teams thanks to the partnerships that FIRST has made. As such, a team may get free access to Altium, Autodesk, and Solidworks, though I am not certain of the schematics.

      I think many teams use slack as their main communication method, and I believe that there may be some type of grant that is used so that the team gets free to use, but once again, I am not certain.

      Even with all these resources, starting and maintaining a FIRST team is hard. It will require a lot of time and even more resources. The cost of participation in a FIRST season can easily range from 10,000 to 20,000 dollars, depending on the number of competitions attended and the components and tools used to design and build the robot.

      As such, many teams need to apply for grants or host fundraising activities. However, if well executed, the effort is returned over tenfold. I find it hard to put the incredible impact of FIRST into words, but a good team truly benefits not only the students involved, but also the community around them, and even possibly the larger community across the globe.

      In a way, it is similar to a pyramid scheme—though not with nearly as negative of a connotation, and it does not try to scam its participants—in that each participant has the potential to positively impact many others throughout their life and possibly bring those others into the FIRST community.

      Furthermore, FIRST and its partners offer numerous scholarships to its students. I would argue, however, that the experiences that such a program imparts on its students—CADing, communication, leadership, rapid prototyping, teamwork, troubleshooting, etc.—are infinitely more invaluable than the magnitude of its scholarships.

      ...

      Once again, I wrote a post where I was not sure what direction I was going. However, I feel better about this than previous ones, and though I was not entirely sure what my desired message was, I conveyed it better this time.

[entergamingxp]

DualShockers’ Favorite Comforting and Relaxing Games

March 27, 2020 4:00 PM EST

From Borderlands to JRPGS to Animal Crossing, here are the relaxing games that DualShockers turns to for comfort and stress relief.

With the growing concerns over the coronavirus outbreak across the world, things are certainly stressful and uncertain right now for everyone around the world. Thankfully, video games have been able to help take us out of dark times before, and with so many countries turning to shelter in place orders and more drastic measures, gaming is certainly a welcome distraction and source of escape right now.

In light of these heavy times, the DualShockers staff gathered to share some of our favorite games that we turn to when we need them most. Consider these our “comfort food games” – the games that we like to use as outlets for relaxation, stress relief, and a bit of warmth when they’re needed.

Kris Cornelisse, Staff Writer

As odd as it sounds, my relaxation games of choice are usually some flavour of strategy title. Stellaris or Civilization 6 might have a lot going on, but once you sink the time, in they become fairly rote.

At that point, I’m just juggling resources and expanding my influence across the map. Amass my technology, build my armies, paint the planet(s) the colour of my empire…the whole thing becomes fairly cathartic. Throw in a podcast to listen to, and you have my wind down method of choice.

For something a little more short duration than those, I’ll play a round of Frostpunk or Northgard, but the same principle applies regardless.

Ricky Frech, Senior Staff Writer

When I think about my video game comfort food, there are a few nostalgia-filled games that come to mind. I could easily make this entry about something like World of Warcraft, Diablo II, NCAA Football 2014, or literally any Yakuza game. However, when I look at my YouTube history since my personal quarantine began, the answer is clear. The number of hours I’ve already spent watching The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past randomizers is kind of shocking, but it makes sense.

A Link to the Past is my favorite game of all-time. Rarely would I call a game perfect, but if any game is, it’s this one. And when the team behind the randomizer put out their first release, an incredible thing was born. I’ve played through the original ALTTP more times than I can count. It’s been in my regular rotation since my parents got me a SNES in 1994. I know that map about as well as I know the back of my hand. So, to get something that completely switches all of that up and surprises you at every turn is an absolute joy. No two runs are exactly the same and your game knowledge is often tested in ways you never expected.

Obviously, I wouldn’t recommend you play the randomizer first. If you haven’t played ALTTP‘s original version, please, do yourself a favor and do so now (and easily accessible through Nintendo Switch Online). Like, right now. But once you’ve played through the game a time or twenty, give the randomizer a try. It will not disappoint.

Cameron Hawkins, Staff Writer

While it’s not normally a game people play for relaxation, my go-to title whenever I sit down to unwind is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. I like playing competitive games, so whenever I know that I don’t have much time to play, don’t want to start a new game, or trying not to be super active in what I’m doing, I play Super Smash Bros. To me, Smash is just that type of comfort food gaming where I know I can always go to it and turn my brain off for a little. There are times where I play in a more serious fashion to try and better my skills, but normally, I like to kick back, go through a few rounds on auto-pilot, and call it a day.

All I’m waiting for now is for Sakurai to announce Sora in the new Fighters Pass. That’s all I want Sakurai. Please.

Allisa James, Senior Staff Writer

Normally some grinding sessions or mini-games in my favorite RPGs is more than enough to soothe this soul. But desperate times call for even stronger coping mechanisms, and so I turn to two games that exclude relaxation.

The first is Flower, which is a title developed by and released by Thatgamecompany in 2009 for the PS3. The player controls the wind as it blows a flower petal through the air. As you fly close to other flowers, you bloom them and attract more petals. There’s no enemies, no time limits, and the sounds and music are borderline ASMR in how peaceful and tranquil they are. Flower, with its stunning and colorful visuals that convey a subtle message of environmental conservation, is the perfect game to wind down to when the world is too much to handle (especially right now).

The second title is a game that I’ve raved about before: VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action. The aesthetic here is much different, as it takes place in a dark and grim cyberpunk future. But instead of focusing on an epic tale on class warfare, you play as an ordinary bartender that serves her eclectic customers as they pour their hearts out. The graphics are straight from a PC-98 Japanese visual novel, and it features an incredible retro soundtrack that you can fully customize. Getting to know each customers’ story while making them drinks in a fun mini-game that lets you endlessly restart bad drink mixing is a great way to wind down, and reminds you to see the everyday humanity in even the worst of situations.

Otto Kratky, Associate Staff Writer

Alright, let’s be frank. The world’s on fire right now – people are getting sick, international markets are crashing worse than Sonic ’06, and most of us have been told to stay indoors. In short, everything sucks right now, which means it’s a great time for some escapism. While most people are ditching the real world for their Animal Crossing paradises, me and my friends have opted for something a little more active, and therefore more distracting.

I’m talking about Stardew Valley, Concerned Ape’s farming simulator. Sure it’s not the most relaxing game, but it’s one that you can get into the rhythm of and suddenly hours have passed. See, in Animal Crossing, there’s hardly ever any direction: you just have your chores for the day and then you can go fishing or catch bugs – it’s pretty loose in structure like that. But in Stardew Valley you’ve got to take care of your plants and your animals, then you have to go to the mine to get iron for sprinklers, and it goes on. It’s much more active and absorbing, not to mention that with friends, you get a wonderful social experience that a bunch of us may be missing right now.

Is Stardew Valley really comfort gaming? Kind of. It’s not high-stress, and it doesn’t raise my BPM like DOOM Eternal does. But it takes me away from it all and gives me something else to focus on without stress or worry. I think that’s something all of us could use a bit of right now.

Ryan Meitzler, Features Editor

While gaming in general tends to be one of my favorite sources of relaxation when I get home, there are only a few types of games that I generally turn to time and again for stress relief or comfort. Generally, the two that I tend to come back to the most for good ol’ comfort food gaming are Super Smash Bros. Ultimate or Destiny 2. They’re super easy for me to jump into for either short play sessions or longer periods of time, and I can pretty much always find time to play them with friends to hangout and chat with them in Discord.

When I’m looking for something more single-player focused or when I’m not in a competitive mood, my comfort go-to games are either open-world games or RPGs. It’s always soothing to me to get lost in a gigantic world or to grind and level up my characters in the JRPG that I’m playing at the moment on my Switch while listening to some music or a podcast. Open-world games especially tend to just click with a certain part of my brain that loves activities and checklists, which is part of the reason why I put over 90 hours into Assassin’s Creed Origins.

In the current pandemic environment, right now I’ve been delving into Tokyo Mirage Sessions on Switch among other games, though I think I’m finally going to take the opportunity to jump into Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Persona 5 soon enough.

Laddie Simco, Associate Staff Writer

Like many others, I’ve recently found myself temporarily out of work and quarantined due to the coronavirus. In this troubling time, I’ve sought comfort through video games. Through online games like Destiny 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, I’m able to mingle with friends and still practice social distancing. Animal Crossing, the game everyone seems to be playing right now, has provided me with an opportunity to leave my state of isolation and visit a bright island that allows me to virtually go about life without the fear of a virus.

With all of this extra time, I’ve also been revisiting various games and one that has been very soothing these days is Concrete Genie. It ended up being one of my favorite games of 2019 and I’ve been meaning to wrap up the few remaining trophies I need to turn the concrete into a Platinum. This mostly entails finding certain collectibles that I missed.

Traversing Denska without a care in the world (now that I have completed the story) is often a zen-like experience. I can stop and fill an empty wall with my fantastic murals that seemingly come to life. The adorable Genies are there to lend a hand or play hide and seek or even basketball with. There’s also the VR mode that offers a free paint mode where you can add your personal touch to some of the memorable places from the game’s campaign and then feel as if you have stepped inside of your painting.

For me, Concrete Genie has been the perfect calming game to counter the craziness that is our life right now, as well as the stress of missing a jump in DOOM Eternal.

Josh Starr, Associate Staff Writer

I certainly wouldn’t describe these two games as relaxing, but they are my gaming comfort food. These games are second nature to me and provide exciting moments, while being the perfect time to chat with my friends.

The first of these is Smite. I’ve been playing Smite since its first season, and even had a brief stint in the professional scene. I’ve tried every MOBA available, but this is the one for me. Its behind-the-back, third-person camera angle is one way it drastically differentiates itself from other MOBAs, while its mythological theme gives it a more widespread appeal. Its heavy emphasis on skillshots also makes it one of the most difficult games to master in the genre.

Ultimately, Smite can be as casual or competitive as you like. There is the hardcore Conquest mode which can take tons of practice to master, while other modes like Arena are easy to approach and enjoy. It’s an awesome game to play with friends, and there will undoubtedly be playable characters you recognize. Now is a great time to give Smite a shot, as it’s free to play on PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and has crossplay enabled between platforms.

My second comfort game is Borderlands; right now, that means Borderlands 3. Now Borderlands 3 received some criticism for its lackluster writing, which is completely warranted. However, Borderlands has never truly been about the story for me. It’s a wonderful zany looter-shooter that gives you the option to completely ignore the story while you run around with buddies searching for the next mind-shattering weapon.

Honestly, aside from the story, Borderlands 3 is the series’ best game in every possible way. Combat is greatly improved with thousands of new weapon options, improved special abilities, and increased movement options. Even the car combat, which was abysmal in previous titles, has been greatly improved here. Borderlands 3 promotes replayability as each subsequent playthrough increases your likelihood of finding ultra-rare weapons.

Borderlands 3 just released on Steam, and with another DLC pack being released this week, it’s the perfect time to grab some pals and drop onto Pandora’s surface. I’d go as far as saying that Borderlands 3 is the best group multiplayer shooter in recent years, even if sometimes you feel like turning down the game volume and blasting Spotify instead.

Nick Tricome, Staff Writer

I love hockey.

I watch it, play it, and depending on the need, even coach it.

I can’t do any of that right now, and probably won’t be able to for quite a while. The current circumstances; they suck. Not having that major outlet to escape them for at least a little bit makes it all feel so much worse.

Video games have had to fill that escapist void now more than they ever have, both for myself and I’m sure millions of others. And while there have been plenty of great new releases to turn to (Hey, Animal Crossing), I’ve found a lot of comfort in spending hours upon hours on NHL 20’s virtual rinks.

Now look, I buy NHL every year and would’ve spent hundreds of hours playing this season’s edition regardless. But the coronavirus pandemic has derailed nearly everything, the NHL season included, turning EA’s annual hockey franchise from a constant in my life to suddenly one of the few constants that remain.

It’s no replacement for the actual sport, it never could be. But in the meantime, taking my Be A Pro into the World of Chel’s pond hockey rinks just to mess around in Ones or drop-in Threes for a bit, or trying to create my best lineup possible through Hockey Ultimate Team, will get the job done. It kind of has to right now.

Please come back soon, Flyers

Scott White, Associate Staff Writer

For me, there is a special kind of comfort I find in the grind of RPGs. It’s calming and relaxing to me when I can just set about fighting monster after monster, working towards a goal like learning a special skill or trying to get a rare drop. The repetitive nature of grinding in an RPG lets me go on autopilot, freeing up my mind to take a load off, work through a problem, or just disconnect if I so choose.

The RPG grind is nice because even though you are tuned out and relaxed, there is still a benefit to what you are doing. Your characters are still getting stronger, you’re still getting money, learning skills, etc. A lot of games that will help automate this process somewhat. Bravely Default, the Tales series and Final Fantasy XII for example will allow you to focus on just running around if you want, leaving most of the grunt work to the computer controlled characters.

Another nice thing about RPGs is that if you get sick of grinding for levels, more often than not there is some sort of mini-game that you can grind thrugh instead. I have spent far too much time with the likes of Triple Triad in Final Fantasy VIII or that plushie creation mini-game in Bravely Second than I care to admit. And you know what; that’s ok. I’m thrilled that there are a few big RPGs right around the corner to help me relax this next month or two!

Now that you’ve heard from us about the DualShockers staff’s favorite games for comfort and relaxation, what are yours? Let us know in the comments below!

March 27, 2020 4:00 PM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/03/dualshockers-favorite-comforting-and-relaxing-games/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dualshockers-favorite-comforting-and-relaxing-games

[lsbuniblog-blog]

Time and Progress

Time and progress have both recently become increasingly debatable topics, specifically regarding their intrinsic links and discordant relationship. There is lots to be said about how they behave, both above and below the surface. This essay will examine how the two terms behave, both in relationship to each other as well as their perceived qualities; that being, the notion of time-space compression, spaciotemporality, and the continued trajectory of postmodernity, including the heightened importance of appropriation, in relation to the work of Richard Prince.

To begin with, one must understand the definition of both terms. Oxford dictionaries define ‘time’ as follows; “The indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole.” - Stevenson, A. (2010). Oxford dictionary of English. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. This particular definition is intriguing because of its secondary use of the word, ‘progress’, contextually describing existence. It is clear that the English Oxford Dictionary holds strong modernist views, quantifying progress through time, as to suggest that we as a society, are consistently progressing as time passes us, with no deterioration or counter-progression taking place at any point. Perhaps the reason for this over-simplification of what is a far more complex term, is a result of the clear correlation between time and progress, evident through technological advancements. However, this fails to consider that correlation does not equal causation. To counter this, an example of a disadvantage of postmodern society might include the introduction of nuclear weapons. It is difficult to classify this as progress, as defined by the English Oxford Dictionary.

Time is perceptual. It is not a fixed concept. it is relative to interpretation, and speeds up and slows down accordingly. This is why quantifying it through minutes and hours is in many ways a redundant practice. This only allows us to map out the past and future, like coordinates on a globe. Jorge Luis Borge (1970) states, “Time can’t be measured in days the way money is measured in pesos and centavos, because all pesos are equal, while every day, perhaps every hour, is different.” The Oxford English Dictionary fails to take into account either of these two very important factors; relativity, and time’s discordant relationship with progress.

After questioning the relativity of time, one must consider if the same rules apply to progress. What one person might describe as progress, another might not. The English Oxford Dictionary defines progress as follows; “Forward or onward movement towards a destination.”. The use of the term ‘destination’ assumes a finishing point, which again, is a relative concept. This fails to take into account that what might be one person’s destination, might not be consistent with many other people.

Taking for instance, the shift from Realism into Postmodernism, we can appreciate that it allowed society to develop individual nuances through beliefs, and challenge the sweeping assumptions and generalisations that are perpetuated through Modernism. Postmodernism developed a new epoch of art and media that catalysed individual expression and identity. However, one might argue that this deconstruction of governing conceptualisation and perpetuation of increasingly significant individual expression has consequently led us down a path of narcissism, cynicism, and ultimately isolation. “Postmodern irony and cynicism's become an end in itself, a measure of hip sophistication and literary savvy.” Wallace D, (1996) Infinite Jest. One must question if this is progress, a cultural shift, or even a step backwards.

You can see this transition through portraiture, well before the invention of photography. Whilst the intention of art was to present reality in its truest replication, the art ecosystem stagnated. Take one of the most famous and influential painters from the 17th century; Rembrandt, who was one of the great leaders in the renaissance era. Rembrandt understood light in a way that no other painter did. Rembrandt would argue that the most accomplished painters would be those who were capable of replicating reality in the most mirror like fidelity. However, moving on some years, where abstract works began to emerge, you will notice a shift in intent. No longer is the need for replicating relevant. That job has been made redundant by photography, Instead, postmodern influences push art into adopting notions such as semiotics, and tackling lazy assumptions once relied upon.

There are two main philosophies regarding the movement of time, each relevant, borrowing from each other in some way or another. We start with absolute time, which as the name suggests, dictates time as a linear, 2d structure. It acts only as frame upon which we plan events and record history. “Absolute space is fixed and we record or plan events within its frame.” Harvey, D. (2005). Spaces of Neoliberalization: Towards a Theory of Uneven Geographical Development. Stuttgart: Steiner, p.94. It is perhaps the most common way that time is viewed. It is currently 10:43am on Tuesday 1st May as I write this, and I know for a fact that offering this information is an accessible way for anyone to visualise exactly how long ago it was, in relation to their position in time. Absolute time also introduces the ability to recall information; I could ask you where you were and what you were doing at this time, and perhaps with the help of a calendar, you would be able to give me an accurate response. However, if I were to ask how long ago this feels, I danger confusing absolute time to one of relativity, because the latter is entirely subjective, whilst the former is not.

The next main structural philosophy regarding time is variation, or relativity within time. This theory addresses the fact that time is experienced at different speeds, depending on the individual. One of the most influential minds denouncing relativity was Einstein, who believed that all forms of measurement depended on the frame of reference of the observer. "When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity."  Einstein A. This premise is referred to as spaciotemporality.

One of the major contributing factors to the relativity of time, is time - space compression, which dictates how as technological improvements are made, space grows smaller. The introduction of global telecommunications, faster transport, and most notably the internet, means that now, sending a message to someone halfway across the world, no longer requires weeks of foot travel, and can now instead be sent virtually instantaneously via text, email, or any one of the many social medium we now heavily rely on. “As space appears to shrink to a global village of telecommunications and a ‘spaceship earth’ of economic and ecological interdependencies - to use just two familiar and everyday images - and as time horizons shorten to the point where the present is all there is, so we have to learn to cope with an overwhelming sense of compression of our spacial and temporal worlds” Harvey, D. (1989). The Condition of Postmodernity. (p.240).

The interpretation of time also depends on the volume of events that occur within a timeframe. The experience of boredom is only encountered once the body is deprived of sensory stimulation, which causes the experience of time to elongate. On the other end of the spectrum, keeping levels of sensory experience up, catalyses its passing. However this is only short term. Long term side effects of experiencing boredom causes the complete opposite effect. This is the main reason as to why adults in their 50’s, feel as though time passes them faster than whilst we were younger. This causes us to value the time we have more while we have less of it, and to treat it more like a commodity. “The findings support the contention that depressed affect produces a subjective slowing of time” John D. Watt, (1991). Effect of Boredom Proneness on Time Perception. Vol 69, Issue 1, p.323 - 327.

This leads the question of how these state of affairs intend to progress. One of two things might happen. Firstly, stagnation occurs, through technological superiority; technology has advanced so far that it becomes impossible to travel any faster through space, and thus no more progress is made. One must question whether time - space compression will continue in the same trajectory, and what a future world might look like if this were to occur. One must entertain the idea where everything is experienced simultaneously and instantly, all at once. It is difficult to fathom such an idea, however it remains relevant for the duration of this potentially worrying trajectory.

Time can also be broken up into categories based on influences regarding art and media. The phrase, ‘Avante Garde’ is commonly used to demote what is ‘new’, or ‘original’.  Cambridge dictionary defines the expression as “The painters, writers, musicians, and other artists whose ideas, styles, and methods are very original or modern in comparison to the period in which they live, or the work of these artists”. Cambridge University Press. (2008) Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Derived from French terminology, ‘Avante Garde’, or ‘Vanguard’ in English, refers to the part of the army that is positioned ahead of the others, with the intention of breaking through the resistance of their adversaries. This aids in defining its current use, that being a style in which artists of all media platforms use which is considered new and original. Artists who use this tactic intend to ‘break through’ mainstream tropes in order to create something new and thought provoking. These works often stir controversy, however successful works are later on appreciated for their contribution to whatever field of media they belong to.

An example of a controversial and ‘Avante Garde’ creation might be Richard Prince’s ‘Malboro Man’ piece, where he took photographs of the Marlboro cigarette campaign by Sam Abell, subsequently selling it for over one billion dollars at Christie's New York in 2005. It was the most a rephotograph had ever been sold for. This is considered ‘Avante Garde’ because of the way that Prince changed how photography and its relationship with art was viewed. By re-appropriating an existing photograph, Prince essentially destroyed the idea that duplicates hold less value than the original, challenging ideas of context, and what makes art art. Prince was one of many different artists who explored context and appropriation, alongside people such as Warhol and Duchamp. “To photograph is to appropriate the thing photographed” Sontag S (1977) On Photography.

In conclusion, both the terms, ‘time’ and ‘progress’ are absolute and relative depending on their context and individual preference. Both are relevant yet not mutually exclusive. Progress on the other hand is entirely relative, and is conditioned upon individual beliefs and morals. It assumes a destination, yet remains fluid through individual interpretation.

References

Cambridge University Press. (2008) Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Einstein A Geographical Development. Stuttgart: Steiner, p.94. Harvey, D. (1989). The Condition of Postmodernity. (p.240). Harvey, D. (2005). Spaces of Neoliberalization: Towards a Theory of Uneven Jorge Luis Borge (1970) Sontag S (1977) On Photography Stevenson, A. (2010). Oxford dictionary of English. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Wallace D, (1996) Infinite Jest

[minrcrafter]

SeraphicCraft [Vanilla] {Whitelist} {Tight Knit Community} {Age 17+}

http://seraphiccraft.com/

Quick About Us:

This is a quite small and cosy purely survival server, offering classic vanilla experience. If you’ve watched Mindcrack or Hermitcraft or Sci Craft, our server is similar to those in that there’s really great relationships to be made, lots of interaction and collaboration. We always have around 4 players online at the least, and this shuffles so you get to meet people from all timezones depending on what time you’re playing. We’ve managed to do some really impressive builds and huge projects so far, both as a community and people doing their own things individually. Here’s an imgur gallery with a look over a few things here: https://imgur.com/a/LVcuys5

We have a creative server you'll be given access to when you join, where you can play around and test anything you'd like. We also run an overviewer of our world every 24 hours.

Moderation:

We have a small mod group, who more than anything just play the game and you wouldn’t realise they are mods unless you looked at their roles on discord. This isn’t a server for strict rules or overbearing admins, we’ve never ran into any big problems because everyone here has integrity.

Character of the Server:

We have a discord with almost as many offtopic channels as ‘ontopic’ ones (FYI if you cook food a lot or go out, u’ll love the #food channel) and the server does serve as a way to meet some cool people around the globe, but more than anything we are focused on the life of the server. People are really talented in their own way- there are all round great builders, some specific theme builders, some really talented redstoners, people truly talented at terraforming etc.

Community:

Best way to describe our community is like it’s a really huge apartment, and we socialise like we are roommates. Kitchen is always clean and if you lose something it will be placed right on the living room table rather than slipped into someones pocket. We interact on a more personal level than I'd think most servers, and probably joke around more than most too. It’s a great balance between real life and server related chat. If you are considerate, interested in playing actively and want to be a part of a really warm server you should come join us!

Apply Here:

Apply on our websites application form: http://seraphiccraft.com/ (it's just a few questions + we ask you to send some screenshots).

If you join our servers discord and leave a message when you've applied that's the easiest way, if not I'll send you a friend request on discord and get in touch.

[jamesbyerj]

Stay Home. Make Mods. Win Prizes. - Week 2

Are you bored being stuck at home? Looking for some inspiration to finally realise that mod idea you've been thinking about? Well then: [b]Stay Home. Make Mods.[/b] for your chance to win prizes each week between [b]6th April and 4th May[/b]!  In light of recent world events, we wanted to do our part in helping our community cope with social distancing and self-isolation by giving you something to focus on during this challenging time. So why not make some mods?  We've also teamed up with our friends at [b]GOG[/b], [b]Warhorse Studios[/b], and [b]Bethesda[/b] to offer you a different selection of prizes each week.  [b]Week 2 Prizes (13th - 19th April 2020) [/b] [list] [*]1x Game of your choice (up to £50) - for an entry selected randomly from the top 20 mods of the week - ranked by unique downloads.  [/list] This week we've partnered with [url=https://warhorsestudios.cz/]Warhorse Studios[/url] who have generously provided the following game keys for the event: [list] [*]3x [url=https://store.steampowered.com/sub/368776/]Kingdom Come Deliverance Royal Edition (Steam) [/url] [*]3x [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/970070/Fechtbuch_The_Real_Swordfighting_behind_Kingdom_Come/]Fechtbuch - The real sword fighting behind Kingdom Come[/url] [/list] Any mod uploaded with the tag "Stay Home. Make Mods." this week will be entered into a randomised draw to win ones of these keys. [b]How to enter[/b] [list=1] [*]Upload a new mod for [b]any [/b]game between [b]13th - 19th April 2020[/b] (Safe for work mods only).  [*]Include the competition tag "[b]Stay Home. Make Mods.[/b]". [*]That's it! Your mod has been entered. [/list] You can add the tag either by choosing the new "Classification" option at the bottom of the mod upload form or by adding it with the other tags.  [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1586179188-1566464397.jpeg[/img] [b]Get involved [/b]Even if you aren't uploading mods, there are plenty of things you can do to get involved in the event. [list] [*]Download and endorse awesome new mods to support your favourite authors. [*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/images/add]Share screenshots in our image share[/url] to showcase mods you're enjoying. [*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/videos/add]Add your YouTube videos [/url]showing off your top picks. [*]Use the hashtag #StayHomeMakeMods on [url=https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nexus-sites/71629282833]Facebook[/url], [url=https://twitter.com/nexussites]Twitter[/url], Twitch and anywhere you find the conversation about mods.  [*]Join us on the [url=http://discord.gg/nexusmods]Nexus Mods Discord server[/url] where we'll be hanging out in the voice channels and hopefully showing off some of the new mod content.  [/list] [b]Terms and Conditions [/b] Participants - Entries - Mods [spoiler] [list] [*]Participants are required to submit at least one (1) mod in order to enter the event and become eligible for winning a prize. [*]Submitting several mods is possible, however, prizes are limited to one per selected winner each week. [*]A maximum of 5 mods may be entered into the draw by a single user. If more than 5 mods are entered, the newest 5 will be considered valid entries. [*]All entries must be submitted between the dates posted on this article. [*]Unless otherwise specified, the weekly entry period runs from 12:00:00am on the starting day until 11:59:59pm on the last day (GMT+1). [*]Mods must be uploaded to the Nexus Mods website and assigned the "Stay Home. Make Mods. 2020" tag. Mods that do not include the tag at the end of the competition period are not eligible to win prizes. [*]Mods in a "Work in Progress" state will be allowed provided they are in a playable state. [*]You may collaborate with others on entries, but only one prize will be issued if your mod wins. [*]You must be the copyright holder i.e. creator of the mod content. [*]Mods must not include assets from other creators without explicit permission and should display appropriate credit. [*]Mods entered must conform to our site rules (inappropriate content) and must not contain any adult content (as defined by our [url=https://help.nexusmods.com/article/19-adult-content-guidelines]Adult Content Guidelines[/url]). [*]Entries found to be in violation of any of those rules and/or our general terms and policies will be disqualified. [/list][/spoiler] Prizes - Winner Selection [spoiler] [list] [*]A different selection of prizes will be available during each of the four (4) weeks of the event, as detailed in the article at the start of the relevant week. [*]One (1) "Game of your choice" prize will be awarded to the uploader of a randomly chosen entry featured in the top 20 most downloaded or endorsed for that week. [*]The "Game of your choice" prize consists of either: [list] [*]Any game that can be purchased as a redeemable code, up to the maximum value of £50. [*]OR If we cannot source your chosen game, £50 gift card to be redeemed in the Steam game store. [/list] [*]Additional prizes will be contributed by the weekly partner of Nexus Mods as specified in the article for that week.  [*]Additional prizes from our partners will be awarded to randomly selected entries with the competition tag excluding the winner of the "Game of your choice" prize.  [*]A maximum of 1 prize per user, per week will be issued.  [*]Prizes will be issued to winners via private message on the Nexus Mods forums by the Nexus Mods Community Managers.  [*]Some prizes may feature an expiration date by which they must be used. If the prize expires before it is redeemed you will not be able to request an alternative.  [*]The Nexus Mods team reserves the right to disqualify any entry at their sole discretion, with or without providing a reason.  [/list][/spoiler] General Terms and Conditions [spoiler] By submitting a competition entry, you are agreeing to be bound by these terms and conditions. [list] [*]Promoter name. Black Tree Gaming Limited incorporated in England and Wales with company number 06360077 of Balliol House, Southernhay Gardens, Exeter, EX1 1NP  (referred to throughout these terms as the “Promoter”, “we”, “us” and “our”). [*]Deadline. All competition entries must be received by the Promoter by no later than the Closing Date. All competition entries received after the Closing Date are automatically disqualified. [*]How to Enter. You may enter by sharing a mod on the Nexus Mods website and adding the appropriate tag. You must complete this initial entry to be eligible to win. You do not have to pay to enter the competition, however, you are responsible for any phone or internet charges you may incur when entering. If you are unsure about these charges, you should contact your phone or internet operator before entering. Entries will not be acknowledged and we do not accept responsibility for entries that are lost, delayed or which we do not receive. [*]Eligibility. You must be aged 18 or over at the time of entry in order to enter this competition. We may require you to provide proof that you are eligible to enter the competition. No purchase necessary. You must enter the competition yourself. Entries which are incomplete, removed, corrupt or ineligible will not be accepted. We reserve the right to verify any entries and winners and may refuse to award prizes and/or disqualify you if you make or attempt to make any entry to this competition which is in our reasonable opinion contrary to these terms and conditions or by its nature unfair to other entrants. This might include entries which are made by automated means, fraudulent, made in bulk, made on behalf of another person, or made by hacking, cheating or deception. You must comply with the laws that apply to you in the location that you access the competition from. If any laws applicable to you restrict or prohibit you from entering the competition, you must comply with those legal restrictions or, if applicable, refrain from entering the competition. [*]Prize conditions. Prizes are subject to availability with no cash alternative. Prizes are not negotiable, exchangeable or transferable. The winner(s) will be contacted via Private Message on the Nexus Mods website. You must claim your prize personally within 1 month of the Closing Date otherwise your claim will become invalid (you are solely responsible for this). The decision of the Promoter is final. We have the right to substitute any prize for an alternative prize of equal or greater value. [*]Excluded participants and entries. Employees of the Promoters, its holding or subsidiary companies, its agents or suppliers or anyone else professionally connected with the competition, or members of their families or households. The Promoter will not admit entries which: are automatically created by a computer or bot or script or other automated technology, created in bulk, have been altered or forged or tampered with, are illegible or incomplete or which generally in Promoter’s reasonable opinion are inappropriate to admit. [*]Selection of winners. The winner will be chosen by the Nexus Mods team. If you cannot be reached by private message or email address when entering we may choose a new winner. [*]Ownership of competition entries and intellectual property rights. The Promoter does not claim any rights of ownership in your competition entry. The promoter is granted a non-exclusive, worldwide, irrevocable license to use, display, publish, transmit, copy, edit, alter, store, re-format and sublicense the competition entry and any accompanying materials for its marketing or other commercial purposes. [*]Data protection and publicity. If you are a winner of the competition, you agree that the Promoter may use your provided information to announce the winner of this competition and for any other reasonable and related promotional purposes without any payment to you. You represent that all of the information which you provide to us in connection with this competition shall be and shall remain complete and accurate. You represent that your entry will not contain anything (i) that is or could reasonably be viewed as harmful, harassing, defamatory, libellous, obscene or invasive of another’s privacy; or (ii) which you do not have a right to make available lawfully (including any material which infringes the rights of any other). By entering this competition, you agree that any personal information provided by you with the competition entry may be held and used only by the Promoter, its affiliates, its agents and suppliers to administer the competition. [*]Limitation of liability. Insofar as is permitted by law, the Promoter, its agents or distributors will not in any circumstances be responsible or liable to compensate the winner(s) or runner(s)-up or accept any liability for any loss, damage, personal injury or death occurring as a result of taking up the prize except where it is caused by the negligence of the Promoter, its agents or distributors or that of their employees. Your statutory rights are not affected. The Promoter will NOT accept responsibility for competition entries that are lost, mislaid, damaged or delayed in transit for any reason or in any way. [*]Social media. You acknowledge that the competition is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with any of our partners, Facebook, or Twitter. You agree to release our partners, Facebook, and Twitter from any responsibility to you in relation to the competition. [*]General. (a) We may use the information which you provide in entering this competition to contact you for the purposes described in these terms and conditions. We will process and store your information in accordance with our privacy policy which can be found at: http://help.nexusmods.com/article/20-privacy-policy [*](b) We may wish to transfer all or a part of our rights under these terms to someone else without obtaining your consent. You agree that we may do so provided that the transfer does not significantly disadvantage you. (c) If there is any reason to believe that there has been a breach of these terms and conditions, the Promoter may, at its sole discretion, reserve the right to exclude you from participating in the competition; (d) The Promoter reserves the right to hold void, suspend, cancel, or amend the competition where it becomes necessary to do so; and (e) These terms and conditions shall be governed by the laws of England and the parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England. [*]For questions, Please contact support@nexusmods.com [/list][/spoiler] Published first at Stay Home. Make Mods. Win Prizes. - Week 2

[jamesbyerj]

Stay Home. Make Mods. Win Prizes. - Week 1

Are you bored being stuck at home? Looking for some inspiration to finally realise that mod idea you've been thinking about? Well then: [b]Stay Home. Make Mods.[/b] for your chance to win prizes each week between [b]6th April and 4th May[/b]!  In light of recent world events, we wanted to do our part in helping our community cope with social distancing and self-isolation by giving you something to focus on during this challenging time. So why not make some mods?  We've also teamed up with our friends at [b]GOG[/b], [b]Warhorse Studios[/b], and [b]Bethesda[/b] to offer you a different selection of prizes each week.  [b]Week 1 Prizes (6th - 12th April 2020) [/b] [list] [*]1x Game of your choice (up to £50) - for an entry selected randomly from the top 20 mods of the week - ranked by unique downloads.  [/list] This week we've partnered with [url=http://GOG.com?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce]GOG.com[/url] who have generously provided the following game keys for the event: [list] [*]5x [url=https://www.gog.com/game/crypt_of_the_necrodancer?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce]Crypt of the Necrodancer[/url] [*]5x [url=https://www.gog.com/game/machiavillain?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce]Machiavillain[/url] [*]5x [url=https://www.gog.com/game/witcher_adventure_game?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce]The Witcher Adventure Game[/url] [*]5x [url=https://www.gog.com/game/dead_cells?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce]Dead Cells[/url] [*]5x [url=https://www.gog.com/game/children_of_morta?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce]Children of Morta[/url] [*]5x [url=https://www.gog.com/game/moonlighter?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce]Moonlighter[/url] [*]5x [url=https://www.gog.com/game/chuchel?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce]Chuchel[/url] [*]5x [url=https://www.gog.com/game/encased_a_scifi_postapocalyptic_rpg?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce]Encased[/url] [/list] Any mod uploaded with the tag "Stay Home. Make Mods." this week will be entered into a randomised draw to win ones of these keys. [b]How to enter[/b] [list=1] [*]Upload a new mod for [b]any [/b]game between [b]6th - 12th April 2020[/b] (Safe for work mods only).  [*]Include the competition tag "[b]Stay Home. Make Mods.[/b]". [*]That's it! Your mod has been entered. [/list] You can add the tag either by choosing the new "Classification" option at the bottom of the mod upload form or by adding it with the other tags.  [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1586179188-1566464397.jpeg[/img] [b]Get involved [/b]Even if you aren't uploading mods, there are plenty of things you can do to get involved in the event. [list] [*]Download and endorse awesome new mods to support your favourite authors. [*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/images/add]Share screenshots in our image share[/url] to showcase mods you're enjoying. [*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/videos/add]Add your YouTube videos [/url]showing off your top picks. [*]Use the hashtag #StayHomeMakeMods on [url=https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nexus-sites/71629282833]Facebook[/url], [url=https://twitter.com/nexussites]Twitter[/url], Twitch and anywhere you find the conversation about mods.  [*]Join us on the [url=http://discord.gg/nexusmods]Nexus Mods Discord server[/url] where we'll be hanging out in the voice channels and hopefully showing off some of the new mod content.  [/list] [b]Terms and Conditions [/b] Participants - Entries - Mods [spoiler] [list] [*]Participants are required to submit at least one (1) mod in order to enter the event and become eligible for winning a prize. [*]Submitting several mods is possible, however, prizes are limited to one per selected winner each week. [*]A maximum of 5 mods may be entered into the draw by a single user. If more than 5 mods are entered, the newest 5 will be considered valid entries. [*]All entries must be submitted between the dates posted on this article. [*]Unless otherwise specified, the weekly entry period runs from 12:00:00am on the starting day until 11:59:59pm on the last day (GMT+1). [*]Mods must be uploaded to the Nexus Mods website and assigned the "Stay Home. Make Mods. 2020" tag. Mods that do not include the tag at the end of the competition period are not eligible to win prizes. [*]Mods in a "Work in Progress" state will be allowed provided they are in a playable state. [*]You may collaborate with others on entries, but only one prize will be issued if your mod wins. [*]You must be the copyright holder i.e. creator of the mod content. [*]Mods must not include assets from other creators without explicit permission and should display appropriate credit. [*]Mods entered must conform to our site rules (inappropriate content) and must not contain any adult content (as defined by our [url=https://help.nexusmods.com/article/19-adult-content-guidelines]Adult Content Guidelines[/url]). [*]Entries found to be in violation of any of those rules and/or our general terms and policies will be disqualified. [/list][/spoiler] Prizes - Winner Selection [spoiler] [list] [*]A different selection of prizes will be available during each of the four (4) weeks of the event, as detailed in the article at the start of the relevant week. [*]One (1) "Game of your choice" prize will be awarded to the uploader of a randomly chosen entry featured in the top 20 most downloaded or endorsed for that week. [*]The "Game of your choice" prize consists of either: [list] [*]Any game that can be purchased as a redeemable code, up to the maximum value of £50. [*]OR If we cannot source your chosen game, £50 gift card to be redeemed in the Steam game store. [/list] [*]Additional prizes will be contributed by the weekly partner of Nexus Mods as specified in the article for that week.  [*]Additional prizes from our partners will be awarded to randomly selected entries with the competition tag excluding the winner of the "Game of your choice" prize.  [*]A maximum of 1 prize per user, per week will be issued.  [*]Prizes will be issued to winners via private message on the Nexus Mods forums by the Nexus Mods Community Managers.  [*]Some prizes may feature an expiration date by which they must be used. If the prize expires before it is redeemed you will not be able to request an alternative.  [*]The Nexus Mods team reserves the right to disqualify any entry at their sole discretion, with or without providing a reason.  [/list][/spoiler] General Terms and Conditions [spoiler] By submitting a competition entry, you are agreeing to be bound by these terms and conditions. [list] [*]Promoter name. Black Tree Gaming Limited incorporated in England and Wales with company number 06360077 of Balliol House, Southernhay Gardens, Exeter, EX1 1NP  (referred to throughout these terms as the “Promoter”, “we”, “us” and “our”). [*]Deadline. All competition entries must be received by the Promoter by no later than the Closing Date. All competition entries received after the Closing Date are automatically disqualified. [*]How to Enter. You may enter by sharing a mod on the Nexus Mods website and adding the appropriate tag. You must complete this initial entry to be eligible to win. You do not have to pay to enter the competition, however, you are responsible for any phone or internet charges you may incur when entering. If you are unsure about these charges, you should contact your phone or internet operator before entering. Entries will not be acknowledged and we do not accept responsibility for entries that are lost, delayed or which we do not receive. [*]Eligibility. You must be aged 18 or over at the time of entry in order to enter this competition. We may require you to provide proof that you are eligible to enter the competition. No purchase necessary. You must enter the competition yourself. Entries which are incomplete, removed, corrupt or ineligible will not be accepted. We reserve the right to verify any entries and winners and may refuse to award prizes and/or disqualify you if you make or attempt to make any entry to this competition which is in our reasonable opinion contrary to these terms and conditions or by its nature unfair to other entrants. This might include entries which are made by automated means, fraudulent, made in bulk, made on behalf of another person, or made by hacking, cheating or deception. You must comply with the laws that apply to you in the location that you access the competition from. If any laws applicable to you restrict or prohibit you from entering the competition, you must comply with those legal restrictions or, if applicable, refrain from entering the competition. [*]Prize conditions. Prizes are subject to availability with no cash alternative. Prizes are not negotiable, exchangeable or transferable. The winner(s) will be contacted via Private Message on the Nexus Mods website. You must claim your prize personally within 1 month of the Closing Date otherwise your claim will become invalid (you are solely responsible for this). The decision of the Promoter is final. We have the right to substitute any prize for an alternative prize of equal or greater value. [*]Excluded participants and entries. Employees of the Promoters, its holding or subsidiary companies, its agents or suppliers or anyone else professionally connected with the competition, or members of their families or households. The Promoter will not admit entries which: are automatically created by a computer or bot or script or other automated technology, created in bulk, have been altered or forged or tampered with, are illegible or incomplete or which generally in Promoter’s reasonable opinion are inappropriate to admit. [*]Selection of winners. The winner will be chosen by the Nexus Mods team. If you cannot be reached by private message or email address when entering we may choose a new winner. [*]Ownership of competition entries and intellectual property rights. The Promoter does not claim any rights of ownership in your competition entry. The promoter is granted a non-exclusive, worldwide, irrevocable license to use, display, publish, transmit, copy, edit, alter, store, re-format and sublicense the competition entry and any accompanying materials for its marketing or other commercial purposes. [*]Data protection and publicity. If you are a winner of the competition, you agree that the Promoter may use your provided information to announce the winner of this competition and for any other reasonable and related promotional purposes without any payment to you. You represent that all of the information which you provide to us in connection with this competition shall be and shall remain complete and accurate. You represent that your entry will not contain anything (i) that is or could reasonably be viewed as harmful, harassing, defamatory, libellous, obscene or invasive of another’s privacy; or (ii) which you do not have a right to make available lawfully (including any material which infringes the rights of any other). By entering this competition, you agree that any personal information provided by you with the competition entry may be held and used only by the Promoter, its affiliates, its agents and suppliers to administer the competition. [*]Limitation of liability. Insofar as is permitted by law, the Promoter, its agents or distributors will not in any circumstances be responsible or liable to compensate the winner(s) or runner(s)-up or accept any liability for any loss, damage, personal injury or death occurring as a result of taking up the prize except where it is caused by the negligence of the Promoter, its agents or distributors or that of their employees. Your statutory rights are not affected. The Promoter will NOT accept responsibility for competition entries that are lost, mislaid, damaged or delayed in transit for any reason or in any way. [*]Social media. You acknowledge that the competition is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with any of our partners, Facebook, or Twitter. You agree to release our partners, Facebook, and Twitter from any responsibility to you in relation to the competition. [*]General. (a) We may use the information which you provide in entering this competition to contact you for the purposes described in these terms and conditions. We will process and store your information in accordance with our privacy policy which can be found at: http://help.nexusmods.com/article/20-privacy-policy [*](b) We may wish to transfer all or a part of our rights under these terms to someone else without obtaining your consent. You agree that we may do so provided that the transfer does not significantly disadvantage you. (c) If there is any reason to believe that there has been a breach of these terms and conditions, the Promoter may, at its sole discretion, reserve the right to exclude you from participating in the competition; (d) The Promoter reserves the right to hold void, suspend, cancel, or amend the competition where it becomes necessary to do so; and (e) These terms and conditions shall be governed by the laws of England and the parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England. [*]For questions, Please contact support@nexusmods.com [/list][/spoiler] Published first at Stay Home. Make Mods. Win Prizes. - Week 1