#Best Bankruptcy advice

[elite-four-grimsley]

Hi, Mun I've been meaning to asks for advice in how to write Grimsley ? and What are your hcs for him ?

//OOC: HI HI HELLO HI!! I have a LOT of Grimsley thoughts and HCs (I mean A LOT) so buckle up because I have been enabled and I am FULL of ADHD. Seriously, this is extremely long. I’m so sorry.

((General trigger warning for themes of gambling, addiction to gambling, and underage gambling as well as child abuse and child neglect.))

A majority of these hcs are what I stick to when writing my interpretation of Grimsley on this blog, however it can sometimes be hard to include or stick to all of them based on how an RP blog plays out in the long run. 

However, all of these are what I generally subscribe to unless said otherwise.

Childhood and Backstory:

I tend to write Grimsley with a Galarian background, both of his parents coming from Galar and having moved to Unova before he was born. Since we really only have the vague idea of Grimsley being the "son of a distinguished family that fell into ruin", I basically took that concept and ran with it. 

In my canon, Grimsley's father (HC name: Atticus) was born into a wealthy Galarian family (who may or may not have been involved in some Not So Legal things). Whereas Grimsley's mother (HC name: Morticia), who was not as "well off", seeks to potentially marry rich due to her poor upbringing and lack of familial support. 

I haven’t decided on many of the details of how exactly Atticus and Morticia meet, however once they do, they hit it off pretty well and don’t waste much time getting married for both their sakes (Atticus wanting to produce a proper heir and Morticia needing the financial support). Their marriage at first, while perhaps not rooted in romantic love, is generally stable. 

Unfortunately, Grimsley's father eventually falls into bankruptcy only a year or so after getting married. This was likely caused by poor financial decisions coupled with falling into trouble with shady individuals. Of course the family name wouldn’t have the best reputation in Galar as a result of this, so Atticus and a pregnant Morticia make a run for it to Unova for a fresh start. 

Growing up, Grimsley had a rocky relationship with both of his parents. 

His father had grown bitter and greedy in his attempts to salvage the family name and make back his fortune (of course, in ways that were not always legal). His focus would turn to Grimsley, seeking to make his son into an even better businessman than even himself. However, Grimsley was infinitely uninterested in his father’s teachings. He was moreso fixated on battling and Pokemon, specifically Dark type Pokémon. Because of this, Atticus wouldn’t allow Grimsley to consume any media surrounding his topics of interest. This would only be the beginning of the rift between him and his father. It wouldn’t take much time for Grimsley to begin fearing Atticus. 

As Grimsley’s father became more outright abusive, he would begin to use his ace Pokémon, Malamar, as an intimidation tactic to get Grimsley (and Morticia) to do what he wanted. In instances where young Grimsley had come across information that Atticus didn’t want him knowing (regarding illegal activity), he would make his Malamar use its psychic abilities to meddle with his memory. Because of these experiences, present day Grimsley has a slight phobia of Malamar and feels uncomfortable around them. 

Here’s a post that accurately displays Grimsley’s relationship with his father. ((TW for child abuse))

Grimsley’s relationship with his mother was better, considering the circumstances. Morticia was definitely not exempt from Atticus’ control, so she often wasn’t allowed/was too afraid to treat her son how truly she wanted. Even then, she did her best to teach Grimsley skills she thought to be important. The two of them would play strategy games together, like chess, with an emphasis on thinking outside the box when stuck in seemingly “hopeless” situations. Grimsley looks back fondly on how his mother valued those skills and passed them down to him. He also cherishes the moments in which Atticus was absent so he and Morticia could truly bond as a mother and son.

Here’s a post I made that gives an idea of what I think young Grimsley's relationship was like with his mother. ((TW for implied abuse))

Unfortunately, a particularly bad experience with both his parents would be the final straw for Grimsley and at the age of eleven, he would run from home. 

Here's a look into the aftermath of that. ((TW for implied abuse))

From then on begins his "Pokémon Journey" of sorts, meeting young Marshal, Caitlin, Shauntal, and his Pokémon along the way. I don’t have as many details about this as I would like at the moment, however I eventually would like to write a series of fics detailing Grimsley and his Pokémon Journey. 

I do, however, have a post on how I think Marshal and Grimsley met as children.

I also have a few assorted headcanons for "Pre-Elite Four" Grimsley: 

-Grimsley used to have a Galarian (British) accent as a child, but would eventually grow out of it as he grew up away from his parents. 

-Shauntal helped Grimsley dye his hair blue for the first time when he was around fourteen. (Shauntal being more experienced with dyeing hair as she's a few years older.)

-Grimsley's battling style used to be more brute force/aggression focused before becoming an Elite Four member. He would then begin to prioritize strategy. 

-Before he was old enough to legally gamble in Unova (hcing that age to be 18 instead of 21), Grimsley would often sneak into shady, back-alley casinos to partake in gambling. This, of course, is where his gambling addiction would start 

-As Grimsley grew into an older teen, he would develop into quite the "rebel". The others (meaning Marshal, Caitlin, and Shauntal) would take notice of him getting into trouble on a regular basis (sometimes with the law), but he would ignore their concern, only turning a new leaf when attempting to join the Pokémon League. (Post on Grimsley talking about joining said league.) 

-Grimsley originally lied on all his application documents in order to get a chance at joining the Pokémon League. This was because he had a criminal record at that point (likely having just turned 20). After he was chosen to start the process of becoming an Elite Four Member, Alder was made aware of Grimsley's record, however since he was such an impressive trainer, they erased his criminal record. 

Elite Four Era:

Grimsley, Marshal, Shauntal, and Caitlin all became Elite Four members generally at the same time. I don’t want to get into how that may be unrealistic. All of them joining around the same time makes more sense to my brain. 

The four of them swiftly garnered a reputation as some of the strongest Elite Four members to date. 

Of course, with fame, comes a lack of privacy. This would become somewhat of a problem for Grimsley when his gambling habits inevitably piqued the interest of the public eye. News of his addiction took the region by storm, and because of this, Grimsley would develop a habit of making light of his problems (more than he already would). He will often deny anything claiming he has an addiction, calling it a hobby instead. 

Grimsley became a popular topic amongst news articles and gossip tabloids, new rumors about him spreading what seemed to be every week. (A favorite rumor being that he’s actually a vampire.)

As an Elite Four member, Grimsley became less of a rebel, instead adopting a persona that was/is much more charismatic and personable. He aims to come off as someone charming rather than someone who actively seeks trouble. Despite this, he will still find himself in troublesome situations… Not that he does himself many favors as he has a habit of wandering cities and forests during the nights he’s not out gambling. I feel it’s important to note that, at heart, Grimsley is a risk-taker and has an inclination to disregard his own wellbeing. 

Grimsley, despite wanting to come off as the opposite, has a bit of a hard time connecting with people in a genuine way. The other Elite Four members would be his only real friends for a while, and even then, they’re used to his antics in ways not many people are/will ever be able to be. Eventually he will become friendly with more people, but even then, he isn’t particularly close with many of the Unova League members. Along with this, people have a habit of judging Grimsley too quickly before allowing him the room to open up. 

Other than the Team Plasma situations happening during Grimsley’s time as an Elite Four member, there isn’t much else to note here. I feel that his battling style changing/improving, his gambling addiction, his troubles with rumors and tabloids, and his developing relationships (which I will touch on later) are the most significant things to take note when writing Elite Four era Grimsley. 

Alola Era: 

While in his official artwork it is said that only two years have passed since seeing Grimsley in previous games, I feel he’s instead somewhere in his thirties (his Elite Four years taking place throughout his twenties). This gives more room for him to look as physically aged as he does in Pokémon SM/USUM. Though, I do believe Grimsley began greying in his twenties due to stress. 

Because of this specific dialogue: “"Sometimes you have to lay everything on the line in life, and risk it all... When I did that, though, I'm afraid I lost. I took to walking along the shore in my despair.” We’re led to believe that Grimsley’s gambling finally bit him in the ass. However my interpretation of Alolan Grimsley changes depending on what relationships I write for him. 

In an instance where Grimsley does not have a romantic partner pre-Alola, I typically stick with the concept of him gambling away most of his money and ultimately becoming bankrupt. Consumed by despair and in a moment of impulsivity, he resigns from his position as an Elite Four member and runs off to Alola without a single word. 

While in Alola, he finds a new passion in riding his Sharpedo and in Mantine surfing. We know he makes quite a name for himself while surfing under the name “Big G”. I do think it takes a bit for Grimsley to truly want to battle again, but once he does, he’s invited to fight at the Battle Tree, healing his love/passion for battling along the way. 

However, in an instance where Grimsley has an established romantic relationship during his time in Unova, I’m inclined to drift from canon. Rather than going bankrupt due to his gambling addiction, I tend to write that he’s instead retired because of burnout/stress/etc. He then moves with his partner to Alola where he discovers a passion for Mantine surfing, gets through his burnout, and ultimately joins the Battle Tree. I’ll touch more on Grimsley regarding romance in a bit. 

Relationships: 

Hcs and thoughts regarding important relationships that have lasting/significant impacts on Grimsley.

Marshal: 

-Marshal and Grimsley have a very unique rivalry to me. They certainly consider each other to be best friends (likely the first person Grimsley felt such a way about), however their friendship does not get in the way of the two of them butting heads and competing against each other in the way many pokerivals do. 

-Marshal is not as competitive as Grimsley is, but when put together, the two of them fuel the hell out of each other’s competitiveness. They have a running tally on how many times they've won against each other during sparring matches.

-Marshal is Grimsley’s favorite person to play pranks on. Not only because of how gullible he can be, but also because Marshal has the most dramatic/ver the top reactions. 

-(Side hc: Marshal can’t handle scary things/horror very well, so Grimsley will take advantage of this often. Of course, in an ultimately lighthearted way.)

-I do like to include within my own writing that Marshal has/had a crush on Grimsley. Whether or not this is a requited or unrequited crush is up to your own personal preference. I could go either way as a multi-shipper, but in my current canon, Marshal’s crush was unrequited. This, however, did not affect their friendship negatively. They likely became closer because of it.

Shauntal: 

-I very much enjoy the concept of Shauntal being very caring and acting as a bit of an older sister figure to Grimsley. I don’t ever tend to ship them, since Shauntal is a lesbian to me, this is just a personal preference though. 

-Despite being the oldest of the group, Shauntal absolutely loves getting into mischief with Grimsley. The two of them are partners in crime for sure, no one is safe from their antics. 

-Grimsley and Shauntal have a lot of similar interests outside of battling as well. Both of them enjoy horror genres in media, dabble in gothic fashion, like the same music, etc. (I may go as far as to say Shauntal may have been a bit of an inspiration for a younger Grimsley when it came to fashion.)

-Grimsley has read/owns all of Shauntal’s novels. He’s also her prime subject to dump all her ideas onto when planning out a new book. 

Caitlin:

-Caitlin overall isn’t particularly talkative. I hc her to have narcolepsy and autism, which affects her in a multitude of ways. Grimsley, along with Shauntal and Marshal, are all her biggest supporters. They’re extremely comfortable in adapting to Caitlin’s disabilities, it’s completely natural to them at this point. 

-Quality time with Caitlin will often just be allowing her to rest in one’s company, which is exactly what Grimsley allows her to do. He also enjoys hearing about any dreams she’s had as of recent, finding her prophetic abilities to be rather fascinating. 

-Caitlin is freakishly good at all of Grimsley’s favorite card games (unless she falls asleep), which Grimsley is quite the sore loser about. He claims it’s cheating because she can "see the future". She has neither confirmed nor denied this. 

-I also do not tend to ship Caitlin with Grimsley since she’s also a lesbian to me. This is another personal preference, however. 

-(Side hc: Caitlin is transgender mtf in my canon, and the other E4 members have supported her throughout her transition since they were children.)

Iris:

-Before Iris became Champion, Grimsley thought himself to be extremely bad around children. Not only because he views himself as a bad example, but also due to the trauma he has surrounding his own childhood. He doesn’t want to end up like his father and put another child through what he went through. 

-However, Iris almost immediately won his heart with her bubbly and excitable personality. I think this is what started Grimsley’s embracing his “uncle” type role, literally or not.

-Iris absolutely loves spending time with all the Elite Four members. Along with sparring with them, she also enjoys painting their nails, doing their hair (and vice versa), going out exploring looking for dragons, etc. 

-Though Grimsley isn’t as bad of an influence as he originally believed himself to be, he does get into trouble sometimes by teaching Iris gambling card games. 

Piers and Marnie:

-I almost always will subscribe to the idea that Grimsley is Piers’ and Marnie’s uncle. However, it does depend on what I’m writing when I’m deciding on when Grimsley figures out that he’s related to the two of them.

-In some instances I would have it already established like he’d known such information for a while. In other cases, I’ll write it as a big reveal of them figuring it out one way or the other. Either way, I don’t have a set way I’d write it every single time, so that’s up to the writer. 

-Grimsley’s relationship with Piers is pretty relaxed, especially since he’s older and would rather his uncle’s attention be on Marnie. However, this doesn’t mean the two of them don’t get along. They enjoy discussing Dark types and battle strategies together. They’re also both quite sarcastic, and their sarcasm will feed off each other. 

-With Marnie, Grimsley will “coddle” her a bit more. He’s very enthusiastic about her up and coming career as a Gym Leader and loves giving her battling advice. He’s very much inclined to spoil her with whatever she wants, embracing the title of the “fun uncle”. His enthusiasm for her will carry on even in his Alola era. 

Burgh:

-Now Burgh/Grimsley is very much a rarepair, however it is my favorite ship for Grimsley. I’m aware there’s a lot of more popular ships for Grimsley, so if you’d like, you can take this as general advice for writing him in a romantic relationship when applicable. 

-Burgh became Gym Leader around the same time that Grimsley became an Elite Four member, and this is how they would ultimately meet (through the Pokemon League). 

-The two of them would take a mutual interest in each other, finding the other to be intriguing along with being physically attractive. 

-Burgh and Grimsley strike up a friendship due to their passion for battling/Pokémon, advocating for stigmatized Pokémon types (Burgh with Bug types and Grimsley with Dark types), and just how well they bounce off each other and connect. 

-I don’t have one set way in which I write them officially getting together, though I do think it would always be in more of a private setting since Grimsley and Burgh both value privacy when it comes to the emotional aspects of their lives. 

-As the two of them grow closer, they’ll slowly drop their respective facades. Grimsley will allow himself to be more vulnerable and open up about his problems (namely his gambling addiction). His lesser known, softer side, makes itself known the more comfortable he becomes with Burgh. 

-Grimsley loves pet names, but Burgh loves them even more. While Grimsley will often have a set amount of go-to pet names (love, dear, darling), the sky’s the limit for Burgh. Every day it seems as if he comes up with a newer, more absurd pet name for Grimsley. Burgh thinks it’s hilarious, Grimsley thinks it’s extremely endearing. 

-Grimsley is generally very dramatic, moreso in the sense of being sarcastic and sometimes a bit mean-spirited. He’s overly dramatic with how he presents his sarcasm because he finds it personally funny. He’s dramatic in his mannerisms so he comes off as more likeable, attention catching, and charismatic. In contrast, Burgh is more dramatic in an artistic sense. He'll swoon over a piece of art or a bug because he finds it so stunningly beautiful. Though, he definitely does it for show as well, especially with Grimsley. It might look like: "Whateverrrr will I do if my dear Grimsley doesn't give me attention right this second!!!" He doesn't mean it seriously, but he thinks it’s silly and Grimsley finds it adorable. 

-Grimsley has a habit of laying on top of Burgh in a very catlike way. He’s definitely the one to occupy Burgh’s lap or dramatically flop on top of him and go limp. 

-I love the concept of Grimsley being a bit of a hopeless romantic at heart. He craves for that cliche romance when it comes to his relationships. Expect a lot of dates, cooing adoration, and romantic displays of affection. 

-Grimsley is the one to steal Burgh’s clothes. (I hc Burgh to be taller and bigger.)

-I’m a big advocate for Burgh being someone who helps Grimsley begin his recovery as a gambling addict. I think both Burgh’s encouragement, along with Grimsley’s desire to want to improve for Burgh, are things that help with this. Of course, he doesn’t recover overnight. It’s very much a gradual process, but a process nonetheless. This is why I believe Alolan Grimsley would not go bankrupt if he has a romantic partner before SM/USUM. 

-This isn’t to say that Grimsley wouldn’t/couldn’t improve due to platonic relationships. In fact I think he was much better off because to his friendships. However, I very much believe that Grimsley committing to a romantic relationship is a big step in it of itself since he’s very flighty in the first place. This romantic connection and commitment then allows him to open up and begin recovering from his addiction. (This can absolutely be translated into something like a QPR if desired. This is just how I personally write Grimsley.)

((Here are some other Grimsley ships that I would like to shout out: Marshal/Grimsley, Will/Grimsley, Will/Karen/Grimsley, Nanu/Grimsley, Cynthia/Grimsley.))

((I also would like to note there’s several other characters that my current Grimsley muse has interacted with and established friendships with. However, they’re very much specific to this roleplay blog, therefore I did not include them.))

Assorted HCs and Writing Tips: 

-When I write Grimsley, I tend to make him much more theatrical and dramatic than any ingame dialogue portrays him. I love the idea of him being extremely petty, overdramatic, and sarcastic. Essentially I’m attempting to convey the vibes of someone who’s a disaster on the inside and wants to come across as charming/funny/charismatic on the outside. (This behavior mellows out quite a bit once he’s in his Alola era, acting more tired and a tad more genuine.)

-Grimsley is the least responsible out of the Elite Four. He is by no means a bad friend or person, and obviously he’s very clever and smart, though he does have a knack for disappearing without saying anything only to show up hours later. He's mischievous at his core with a love for pulling elaborate (but mostly harmless) pranks on the others (with the help of Shauntal). 

-I’m a firm believer that Grimsley is an awfully sore loser. He doesn’t lose often in battle, but when he does, he’s extremely dramatic (especially in his expressions, see: Alolan Grimsley). I do think that in Alola he’s more outright with his dramatic losses, while in Unova he’s able to behave himself for official battles. 

-Grimsley prefers card games when gambling as opposed to something like a slot machine. He thinks slot machines are too luck-based and don't include enough skill/strategy. He’ll also play tabletop games like roulette. 

-When writing Grimsley’s mannerisms and behaviors, I like to base a lot of them off how cats act. This includes things like walking like a cat (with care and thought… most of the time), him slow blinking when around people he loves (cats do this, look it up), and sprawling out in random spots to nap. I’ve also given him a lot of catlike traits in general, such as his eyes glowing in the dark, the ability to purr, etc. This is entirely optional, but I just think these things fit him.

-I do think Grimsley struggles with insomnia. This leads to a lot of sleepless nights along with a lot of spontaneous naps throughout the day. I also like adding the detail of Grimsley finding it easier to fall asleep when sleeping with a romantic partner (namely Burgh). 

-Grimsley’s hair is completely natural, aside from the blue color, which he regularly dyes up to when he retires. He starts greying early around his temples and sideburns, which I mentioned earlier. 

-He absolutely spoils his Pokemon. His Liepard is the most spoiled (because it wants the most attention in the first place), but all his Pokemon are as spoiled as much as they want to be. 

-I will often subscribe to the hc that Grimsley has an irrational phobia of Bug type Pokemon. Not only do I think this makes his relationship developing with Burgh very interesting, but I love the idea of Burgh helping him get over his fear as well. Since it’s irrational, this means that he doesn’t have any sort of trauma that makes him afraid of the typing. I don’t like making Grimsley hateful toward Bug types or any other types either, as he’s an advocate for stigmatized types already and that’d be extremely hypocritical of him. 

-I like making it so that Grimsley’s personal style is gothic. I also think he’s very particular about being called things like “emo” or “punk” and will correct people on the terminology. He has a habit of dressing very formally, even to events that are casual. To him, a button up and neatly ironed slacks is casual. 

-One of my more personal/projected hcs is the fact that I’ve given my interpretation of Grimsley both ADHD and anxiety. Though I do have some in depth reasons for these decisions as well. People with ADHD have a hard time setting aside time and focusing on topics that they have no interest in, which is why Grimsley was so disinterested in things his father would attempt to teach him. He was very much fixated on competitive battling and Dark type Pokémon. Also, people with ADHD have a predisposition to addictions. This would also correspond with his gambling addiction (and his somewhat of an addiction to risk-taking, especially as a teen). I’ve also given Grimsley a few fidgets that are his go-to’s, such as: flipping his coin, shaking his leg, and shuffling cards. As for the anxiety aspect, I believe he has a lot of anxiety surrounding his self image and how people perceive him. He wants to be perceived a certain way and will often become anxious if he feels like he isn’t. 

-Because we see Grimsley become a talented Mantine surfer, I like adding the detail that he enjoys water-based sports even before he’s gone to Alola. This is why he ends up finding such a passion for surfing. He doesn’t do many sports aside from that. 

-Grimsley is very crow-brained and likes collecting things and giving items to people he likes as a show of affection. He has a playing card and coin collection, however the coin we see with him the most is his favorite/lucky coin. 

-As mentioned before, Grimsley likes the horror genre, though he mostly goes for classic horror. He enjoys the shitty movies that no one would expect him to actually enjoy. He also likes musicals like Phantom of the Opera, Little Shop of Horrors. He’s essentially a theater kid who never did theater.

-I like writing Grimsley with a pretty flirtatious personality. He certainly wouldn’t have much trouble flirting with strangers he’d meet at casinos, however I do think he’s an absolute mess when attempting to talk to someone he knows and has a genuine crush on. Please don’t go to him for romantic advice, he’s an absolute mess.

AND THAT'S ALL FOLKS!! Thank you if you've actually read this far. I know this is way longer than what's probably appropriate, however I am so extremely neurodivergent. Don't mind any typos you might find, I tried my best to catch them all.

Here's my Grimsley playlist as a present <3

[shieldherostuffs]

Royalty AU

Just had the thought of Naofumi being the first, but ignored and sometimes condemned prince of a Kingdom. The title of Crown Prince was given to his younger brother as soon as he was old enough since Naofumi didn't show enough talent or want for the crown.

However, after seeing how Naofumi turned out, a lot more pressure was put on his younger brother. Naofumi watched as famous teachers and tutors from all over the land were called and hired to teach and train his younger brother from the moment he could walk and talk, leaving him little to no free time to relax or enjoy any hobbies he may have found.

Meanwhile, Naofumi was left as alone as anyone could afford, though he still had to study, of course. A prince of the Kingdom couldn't be seen lacking. He'd spend his abundance of free time either in the royal library or sneaking into the Castletown, just to spite his parents, should they ever find out, though he doubted they would, with his little they seemed to care.

However, one day, after his brother's 16th birthday and the official announcement of his bachelorship and right to the throne, Naofumi was walking through the royal gardens in the evening, as the party was dying out. While walking through one of the more secluded parts, with tall, maze-like rose bushes, he finds his brother sitting on a bench crying his eyes out.

After listening to his brother's woes and hurts, Naofumi realized his little he'd actually been part of his little brother's life and vowed to change that. He offered his brother support and advice and tried to help lighten the load of his studies enough to free up a little time for relaxation.

However, the moment their parents found out about Naofumi helping his brother, they decided that the little time the two had freed up could be spent learning even more. So, they hired more tutors and reached.

Naofumi had felt guilty, and apologized again and again, despite his brother knowing and saying that it was okay, he'd just been trying to help. As another apology, Nafoumi showed him his second-favorite secret, second only to sneak into the town.

A secret net of catacombs beneath the castle grounds, including one larger room that Naofumi has fashioned into his own little private library and relaxation spot. Apparently, the majority of the catacombs, except for the main exit-entrances had been forgotten to time, and Naofumi had made a game out of exploring them.

However, only two years later, Naofumi's brother fell ill, too overworked from what the healers told, too stressed from all his lessons and piling duties to the kingdom. Despite the healers stating that the best cure would be resting for a while, their parents decided that despite being bedridden, Naofumi's brother could still study a bit while resting.

He didn't get better at all and only became sicker and sicker until he was so overworked that his body became weak and he couldn't leave his bed without help.

When it was declared that the Crown Prince was too sick to do his duties, the King and Queen suddenly turned their eyes back to their first son, the one they'd as good as thrown to the side and left to his own devices. This didn't sit well with Naofumi, as they started buttering up to him and handing all of his brother's duties over for him to complete in his brother's name until he'd gotten better.

However, the longer his brother had been and continued to be sick, Naofumi grew more and more resentful, until he couldn't take it anymore.

Not only was he cast to the side, his brother was also bedridden, his parents didn't truly care for either of them outside their usefulness, the court was riddled with serpents pretending to be advisors, the kingdom was headed into bankruptcy because of the court and nobility, but the people were planning something against the crown!

Unwilling to endure the decline of his kingdom any longer, Naofumi would once again sneak away from the castle, but this time, he wouldn't return for a long time.

Instead, he'd find the leaders of the group planning to overthrow the crown and strike a deal. If they let him sit on the throne after their overthrowing, he'd promised that he'd save this kingdom, and if he couldn't he'd willingly lay his neck under the executioner's blade, as long as they spared his brother. The deal was struck, and they started planning, beginning with Naofumi sharing his nearly-finished map of the forgotten catacombs.

Months later, in the dark of the night, the resistance would sneak into the catacombs under their leaders' and Naofumi's lead, and storm the castle from within. After helping apprehend his parents and throwing them in the dungeons, as the morning sun rose and the cheers resounded through the castle and town, Naofumi would go to his brother's chambers and find him finally looking a little healthier.

[canonical-transformation]

Genshin ships: stock market update (Natlan Act 1+2)

(Warning: May contain spoilers for character appearances and dynamics in [Chapter 5 Act 1–2] Flowers Resplendent on the Sun-Scorched Sojourn and Black Stone Under a White Stone. Previous entries here.) This is for entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice: consult with your ship financial advisor before you invest.

4.0 has landed, and our analysts have been watching with interest as Natlan characters have started listing on the Genshin ship market. Here's our recommendations for the weeks ahead.

---

Citlali/Mualani is held together by a single drip marketing quote, but what a quote. BUY OR HOLD.

Mavuika/Xilonen, on the other hand, does not have a proven profit model. No, the potential for a ship name that sounds like "melanin" isn't reason enough to invest. SELL

(Note: Since Xilonen's drip marketing has landed, let's take a second to examine all the cat themed ships. Xilonen/Dehya and Xilonen/Kirara are too hard to call this far out. Xilonen/Lynette and Xilonen/Diona have boring chemistry, SELL / don't bother. And Xilonen/Keqing... oh Keqing would hate her. Hmm. Watch this space, HOLD OR BUY.)

(No, not all cat related ships find success. The recent bankruptcy and dissolution of Osse/Neko should be proof enough.)

Kachina/Bennett — ⚠️ we typically don't cover selfcest ships because there are too many of them. In this case, we'll make an exception to note it's extra unlikely. They're both too busy having coming of age stories and joining each other's teams (not a euphemism) to have any chemistry. SELL.

Kachina/Lumine, Kachina/Aether — sorry, the Traveller is already too busy being the Wise Old Mentor in the first book of Kachina's YA trilogy. SELL— wait does that mean Traveller's going to die 😐

Mavuika/Lumine, Mavuika/Aether — Constantly inviting us to drinks, her shout or Traveller's; long private chats about the family she never talks about to anyone else; giving up her antiques collection as a show of commitment: that is textbook mid-40's cool aunt flirtation. BUY BUY BUY.

Kinich/Mualani — our analysts describe this as "the equivalent of buying the first thing you see in the store", which I think means SELL.

Atea/Mavuika — There's definitely a little chemistry there, but we're unlikely to see further developments. HOLD OR SELL

Atea/Aether — HOLD OR SELL

Atea/Lumine — HOLD OR BUY. If haircuts had sexualities[...]

Small cap market ("rarepairs")

Mualani/that one bandit in her character teaser: nah, no chemistry, she's like that to everyone who tries to rob her. SELL for two-sided, HOLD OR SELL for one-sided.

Tenoch/Tupac — yeah that's been solid enemies to lovers ever since Talking Stick dropped in 4.0. The character model reveals for both of them have only increased the quality here. BUY

Chaac/Waxaklahun Ubah Kan — SELL. Way too early. If you're interested in obscure antiques maybe try Alain/Rene or Marfisa/Parsifal instead?

On that note, our analysts were intrigued by the Heroes of Cinder City. “It's an OT5 RPG adventuring party!” they explain, “like all those tabletop podcasts!” They were, however, quick to note that this was in the same potential rocky area as all Cataclysm-era ships, so HOLD at best.

Little One/Ushi — yeah sure why not. BUY

But coverage of the world quests will have to wait for a future report. In the meantime, let us know what your market predictions are!

Sidebar: phonetics

Wikipedia provides charts for converting writing systems (e.g. romanisations of languages) into the international phonetic alphabet. Below are examples for a couple of languages found across the Pacific Ring of Fire.

May your phone calls with your ship stockbroker be tienari-free!

[posttexasstressdisorder]

The shocking truth behind the GOP's MAGA lie machine

Thom Hartmann

June 19, 2024 8:38AM ET

Republican senator Josh Hawley. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP)

Hitler’s brilliant propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, famously told the Fuhrer, “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth.” Donald Trump and the MAGA faction of the Republican Party have taken Goebbels’ advice to heart, and it’s going to make this fall’s election one like we’ve never seen before.

Already they’ve been lying so often and so effectively that nearly all Republicans, and majorities or near-majorities of Americans, believe:

— the GOP lie that we’re in a recession (we’re in better shape, in most ways, than any time since the 1960s and inflation last month was zero while Ronald Reagan never got it below 4.1% in his entire eight years); — Republican lies about crime being up (it’s down dramatically since Trump); — their lies that “Democrats want elective abortion up to the moment of birth” (none have ever said that); — Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was “stolen” from Trump by “voter fraud”; — GOP lies that the southern border is “wide open”; — the Republican lie that Social Security is on the verge of bankruptcy and must be saved by privatization or benefits cuts; — their vicious lie that queer people are pedophiles targeting America’s schoolchildren; and — their NRA lie that more and more deadly guns will keep our kids safe.

At the level of presidential politics, it’s gotten so brazen that Trump is actually asking people if they’re better off today than they were four years ago. That’s four years ago when people were dying from Covid that he was not handling well, the economy was in the tank, millions had lost their jobs, and people were so desperate for food they sat in their cars in 5-mile-long lines for food banks.

ALSO READ: Report details why wealthy people really oppose democracy

It’s also migrated to Congressional Republicans. As Marc Elias writes for is brilliant Democracy Docketnewsletter:

“Over the last month, you can feel that something important has happened. A tipping point has been reached. Republicans who used to act like they had not heard or read the latest Trump outrage now show up at his trials and parrot his most vile lies. The GOP now openly extol the virtues of political prosecutions and disparage the rule of law.”

Even Republicans on the Supreme Court have gotten into the act. Justifying his decision to legalize bump-stocks, Clarence Thomas was so audacious as to insert this naked lie into his decision announced last Friday: “[T]he shooter must release and reset the trigger between every shot…” The whole point of a bump-stock is that you can simply hold the trigger down continuously and spray up to 800 bullets a minute.

Tragically for American politics, as former Republican strategist and attorney George Conway recently noted, “[T]he Republican Party has become addicted to lies under Trump.”

Americans are generally used to believing their politicians are telling the truth, albeit often a slightly shaded version for political convenience.

When Kennedy debated Nixon in 1960, the former Vice President honestly argued that he believed the best way to end the segregation of lunch counters in the South was for the president to call them up and ask them to be kind to Black people. Senator Kennedy honestly said he believed it would take the force of federal power to get Southern racists to follow the law.

When Reagan promised us that massive, budget-busting, deficit-creating tax cuts for the morbidly rich would “pay for themselves” and “produce a more general prosperity” as they “trickled down” to average working people, he probably believed it was true. Americans thought so; we’ve left Reaganomics largely in place for all of the 43 years since then.

When George W. Bush and Dick Cheney sold us on the naked lie that Iraq’s Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and was implicitly involved in 9/11, more than half of America went along with it because we’ve been conditioned to believe our political leaders tell the truth. At least there was a grain of truth in that case: Reagan had illegally sold Hussein weapons of mass destruction that he then used against his own Kurdish citizens and, for all Bush and Cheney knew, some were still around.

But what happens when politicians stop bothering with even a fig-leaf of truth to justify a giant, world-altering lie (like Bush’s and Cheney’s) and, instead, just make things up out of whole cloth? How can a political system survive such an assault on the truth?

James “Father of the Constitution” Madison warned us about the danger of a special interest group (“faction”) or political party adopting lies as a political tool; it was already happening in his day, with wild rumors circulating about the content of the new Constitution he’d helped write and was then not yet ratified. In Federalist 10, he wrote:

“The instability, injustice, and confusion introduced into the public councils, have, in truth, been the mortal diseases under which popular governments have everywhere perished; as they continue to be the favorite and fruitful topics from which the adversaries to liberty derive their most specious declamations.”

The last time the GOP embraced outright lies in a widespread way like this was in the lead-up to America’s participation in World War II, as multiple Republican senators, representatives, and media figures were taking direct cash bribes and talking points from Hitler’s intelligence service. (Rachel Maddow has documented much of this in her book Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascismand her podcast Ultra.)

In response, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on October 23, 1940, warned the nation:

“Truthful campaign discussion of public issues is essential to the American form of Government; but wilful misrepresentation of fact has no place either during election time or at any other time.”

Roosevelt noted that multiple Republicans had taken Goebbel’s advice and thought they could beat him and his Democrats by simply telling bald-faced lies:

“Certain techniques of propaganda, created and developed in dictator countries, have been imported into this campaign. It is the very simple technique of repeating and repeating and repeating falsehoods, with the idea that by constant repetition and reiteration, with no contradiction, the misstatements will finally come to be believed.”

In Roosevelt’s time there was a rightwing press, but it was mostly fringe. There were no media giants owned by foreign billionaires willing to regularly lie to the American people for billions in profit. Between the Fairness Doctrine that required stations to “broadcast in the public interest” and the Equal Time Rule, our media was generally dedicated to telling actual truth in what they called News.

Therefore, Roosevelt said, he was confident Americans wouldn’t fall for the GOP lies that supported Hitler and promoted Nazism here at home:

“Dictators have had great success in using this technique; but only because they were able to control the press and the radio, and to stifle all opposition. That is why I cannot bring myself to believe that in a democracy like ours, where the radio and a part of the press—I repeat, where the radio and a part of the press—remain open to both sides, repetition of deliberate misstatements will ever prevail.”

Today’s press bears little resemblance to the media of the 1940s. Over 1,500 rightwing and 800 religious radio stations and hundreds of rightwing television stations daily sing the praises of Trump and the GOP, repeating the latest insane lies as if they’re gospel truth. Russian, Iranian, and Chinese trolls dominate political discussions on social media, along with a bizarre South African billionaire who appears fond of Nazis messaging lies to Americans on his social media platform.

This has created the perfect opening for a soulless Republican Party and its MAGA candidates to fully embrace Goebbels’ Big Lie strategy. And they’re doing it with gusto.

Former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger writes on his Substack blog:

“In the latest how-low-can-they-go, the GOP and Fox News seem to have worked together to distribute a maliciously doctored bit of video that targets President Biden’s mental capacity. The video supposedly shows him wandering away from other leaders at the G-7 summit in Italy, as if he doesn’t quite know where he is and what’s going on.”

In fact, the entire video in context shows no such thing, but the deceptive edit used by Republicans and Fox “News” seems to “prove” that Biden is “losing it.”

MAGA Republican US Senate candidate Royce White is so certain the dozens of rightwing media in Minnesota will back up his lies about his failure to pay child support that, when confronted with them by Daily Beast reporter Rachel Olding, “he argued that one of his testicles garners more ‘media attention’ than The Daily Beast.”

In a transparent effort to prevent fact-checking of GOP lies, congressional Republicans launched an inquiry into the Stanford Internet Laboratory, the gold-standard organization for determining the veracity of political information circulating online. That was followed by a lawsuit from Stephen Miller’s America First Legal and a second one that is heading for the Supreme Court.

The Washington Postreports that the Observatory is shutting down its operations, having been financially crippled by the cost of the Republican lawsuits and the congressional investigation. The organization that was the first to out Russian online support for Trump in 2016 will soon be no more:

“Two ongoing lawsuits and two congressional inquiries into the Observatory have cost Stanford millions of dollars in legal fees, one of the people told The Washington Post. Students and scholars affiliated with the program say they have been worn down by online attacks and harassment amid the heated political climate for misinformation research, as [Republican] legislators threaten to cut federal funding to universities studying propaganda.”

This fall’s election will be like none we’ve ever seen before in American history. Already Fox and other rightwing outlets are using doctored videos, Trump has published multiple deepfakes, and across the GOP there’s a full-on commitment to reciting easily debunked lies.

They’ll continue doing this right up to election day and beyond because they know that Goebbel’s advice actually works.

Most concerning, it’s impossible to know in advance what their next lie will be. But you can bet it will be more malicious then the Bush campaign’s amplifying slurs on John Kerry’s Vietnam war service record, or Trump’s despicable, racist, birther attacks on Obama.

Now that so much of our media is so frequently failing to call out GOP lies, and the nation’s #1 cable channel revels in repeating lies for profit, the pushback against this evil, democracy-destroying strategy falls to us.

[tomorrowusa]

Part of a Trump fundraising message poorly disguised as a love letter to Melania. I'm sure most wives get Valentine's Day cards from husbands who use their middle initials when signing the greeting. ✍🏼🤭

Trump Campaign Roasted For Fundraising Off Unhinged Valentine's Day 'Love Letter' To Melania

The Donald is going to need to do a lot of fundraising thanks to spiraling legal judgements against him.

The Donald Trump Fire Sale Starts Now

Donald Trump’s companies have filed for bankruptcies six times, but now he may actually be about to go broke. On Friday, a New York judge penalized the former president $355 million after finding him liable for lying about his wealth and the value of his properties in New York — and that’s before pre-judgment interest charges, which according to the New York Attorney General’s office, adds another $100 million or so. Then there’s the $4 million owed by Eric Trump and Don Jr. each — which, come on, whose money is that really? The giant liabilities are due in part to Trump and his organization’s “complete lack of remorse,” Justice Arthur Engoron ruled, as well as for its deterrent effect: Trump and the Trump Organization’s officers were “likely to continue their fraudulent ways unless the Court grants significant injunctive relief.” Add this to the $88 million he owes writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her, twice, and Trump owes roughly $540 million. That would wipe out almost his entire estimated cash pile and vaporize about a sixth of his total net worth. Trump can afford this, but he is probably going to have to sell something big. His net worth, according to both Forbes and Bloomberg, is between $2.6 and $3.1 billion, but most of that is tied up in his buildings and other properties. His cash pile is about $600 million, Bloomberg estimates, and he cannot use campaign or political-action-committee money to pay these fines. Some of his attorneys’ fees can be paid for with money that he’s raised from donors, but it’s not clear what money is paying for which lawyers between the four criminal cases he’s fighting off.

Here are some ways Trump could raise money to keep from going bankrupt for a seventh time.

Since his ex-wife Ivana is already buried there, he could turn Trump National Golf Club at Bedminster into a MAGA cemetery. Heirs of people who die from listening to Trump's quack COVID-19 advice will want their loved ones interred under the BEST sand traps.

Mar-a-Lago could be leased for the filming of the next season of Naked and Afraid. Unclothed contestants would have to survive hazards such as Dinesh D'Souza film festivals, Rudy Giuliani's alcoholic rants, and Nick Fuentes/Kanye West Groyper dinner parties.

Trump could franchise his own national chain of spray-on tanning salons which would leave customers looking as orange as him from head to toe.

Only Fans. Tens of millions of MAGA followers may be willing to pay to see "Toad" for themselves.

[fakesurprise]

The door was opened by a middle-aged man wearing jeans and a sweater and looking wary. The interior smelled cheap, and he looked to be nursing a hangover from the previous night.

“Can I help you?” he asked, looking confused. “If you want Dud, he’s across the way. The Henderson’s are in town.”

“I was just asking of anyone odd had come by today?”

“Besides you?” He let out a deep belly laugh.

“Yes.”

“Well, name’s Sandy Eply, ain’t seen you around before.”

“Sebelius Kushim, and no. I didn’t even know the town has trailers until today; the police were concerned about Dud.”

“Oh, Dud’s fine! He ain’t even human, bro. Hard not to be fine when you can turn into a proper wold, you know: give the ladies a right howling. Had a stern-looking lady over today asking about his business. She’s probably some kinda snake lady. Looks like she could bit a head clean off! And not the one you’d want bitten, eh? Eh?”

“I hadn’t considered that. Do you know what happened?”

“Oh, she went and banged on his door but not like a jilted lover. I know that noise from way back: it’s why trailers are the best. You hit the road and leave nothing behind and no regrets at all. He yelled for her to go away and sounded ticked. She told him to growl: figure she probably wanted him in some shifter home movie. Wolfie Does Dallas is a good one from my collection, but I wasn’t about to go offer up advice. Word from the wise is: don’t get between animals having a spat, even if they look like people. Shifter’s have tempers like you wouldn’t believe. Say one joke and they just lose their minds and it’s all fangs and claws and teeth and vet bills if you have a handy shotgun with the silver bullets. Can’t much afford those these days.”

“You’ve shot shifters?”

“Only when I had to, in my youth. Just the once if I’m being honest: he was angry his daughter had a credit in Howling Mud, which was about a bar with a mud pit and some were-cats and some kinda plot but mostly not that. Worked in some really good movies as a producer in Northern Hollywood. That’s what we called it up in Weed. Shot a lot of Sasquatch movies with some bear shifters there, few wolf ones. Most of them were pretty raunchy, especially the ‘Bigfoot Ate My Baby!’ where a Yeti hunts down a bigfoot. We shot some of that up in the rocky mountains: probably made the most from the sequel where their love child stalked the everglades.”

“You’re not doing movies here though?”

“Oh, no! The company went into bankruptcy ten years ago over for the usual reasons, but I made my millions and these days I get to consult on other movies, help the up and comers. It’ll run out eventually but the best part about the gravy train is the special sauce.” He winked.

I thanked him reflexively and walked away toward the other trailer

[buzzblend]

Widow loses life savings after ‘firetrap’ developer fails to repay €150k loan

A controversial developer who asked to borrow the life savings of an 81-year-old widow has failed to repay the money after half a decade of broken promises.

In 2017, the widow gave €160,000 in cash to developer Paddy Byrne, who built the Millfield Manor estate in Co. Kildare where six houses burnt to the ground in under 30 minutes in 2015.

The cash was for a penthouse apartment in Dublin she planned to move into.

The development was built by Victoria Homes, a company that was established by Mr Byrne’s sister Joan just before Mr Byrne was precluded from acting as a company director in Ireland for five years.

After viewing plans for the €630,000 property, in a development called Greygates in Mount Merrion, the pensioner withdrew the cash from her bank and gave it to Mr Byrne.

Some €10,000 of this was a deposit, with the remaining €150,000 provided on the advice of a third party who was known to Mr Byrne and the widow, who said the cash would secure a good price.

According to a handwritten receipt, signed by Mr Byrne, the money was provided on May 29, 2017.

But in November 2017 the widow, a retired primary school teacher, found a more suitable home and asked for her money back.

Mr Byrne agreed to this, saying he would have no problem selling the penthouse and promptly refunded the €10,000 deposit.

However, he asked that the remaining €150,000 be treated as a 14-month loan and promised to pay a 10% annual interest rate.

This effectively turned the widow into an unwitting creditor of Victoria Homes.

According to a handwritten agreement, signed by Mr Byrne, the loan was to be ‘paid back from the sales proceeds’ of the penthouse at his Greygates development.

More than half a decade later, the loan remains unpaid – even after the widow made a criminal complaint to gardaí and took legal action to secure a judgement.

As it is a civil matter, the Garda investigation faltered. And because various other unpaid creditors had previously secured judgements against Victoria Homes, the widow is now unlikely to get her savings back. During the Celtic Tiger years, Paddy Byrne was renowned for his €2.4m Sikorsky helicopter and sponsorship of the Irish National Hunt festival.

But in 2011 his then-firm, Barrack Homes, went bust and Mr Byrne declared bankruptcy in Britain with debts of €100m.

He was banned from acting as a UK director for 10 years in 2012.

This ban was scheduled to end in 2022 – and ran the full course – but it only applied in the UK and Wales.

According to the UK insolvency register today, Mr Byrne’s discharge from UK bankruptcy is ‘suspended indefinitely’ until the fulfilment of conditions made in a 2012 court order.

Separately, in Ireland, he was also restricted from acting as a director for a period of five years – which ended in January 2018.

Mr Byrne is also known for building the Millfield Manor estate in Newbridge, Co. Kildare, where half a dozen houses were razed to the ground within 30 minutes in 2015.

A report into the blaze found ‘major and life-threatening serious shortfalls and discrepancies and deviations from the minimum requirements of the national mandatory building regulations’ at Mr Byrne’s development.

Today, having exited bankruptcy, Mr Byrne is best known as the figurehead behind Victoria Homes and associated businesses, which was set up by his sister and her husband in December 2012, while he was bankrupt.

Mr Byrne was not a director or owner of Victoria Homes during the period of his bankruptcy. But, in 2017, Mr Byrne’s sister and her husband stepped back from Victoria Homes, transferring their shares to an offshore entity in Belize city called Victoria Holdings.

In November 2022, the main lenders to Victoria Homes – the Lotus Development Group – forced the firm into receivership for the second time.

In 2020, Lotus had forced a previous short-lived receivership before agreeing a deal that saw Victoria Homes begin trading normally once more.

Today, Mr Byrne appears to have left Victoria Homes behind and seems to be focusing on a new firm instead.

Set up in the summer of 2020, Branach Developments is entirely owned by Mr Byrne and is not encumbered by any bank debt or mortgages as Victoria Homes was.

According to the latest filed accounts, for the year ended 2021, Branach Developments held ‘tangible assets’ of €210,000 and ‘stocks’ of €600,000.

The accounts also show that, in 2021, Mr Byrne provided the company with an interest-free loan of €1,024,438.

Just last week Mr Byrne’s new firm was one of the winners at the National Property Awards sponsored by the Business Post and Deloitte, among others.

At the award ceremony, Branach Developments took home the prize for best sustainability initiative of the year.

However, Mr Byrne, who shuns publicity and is rarely photographed, does not appear to have attended the ceremony and the award was accepted by a colleague.

This week the Irish Mail on Sunday sent queries to Mr Byrne via his mobile phone, his email at Victoria Homes and his email at Branach Developments, without response.

Queries to his solicitor and the separate accountancy firms representing Victoria Homes and Branach Developments also went unanswered as did calls to the numbers on the websites of these firms.

Mr Byrne also previously declined to respond to questions from the MoS relating to the establishment of Victoria Homes during the period of his bankruptcy.

At the time, Mr Byrne appeared to be living at Ballinrahin House, close to Rathangan on the border of Offaly and Kildare.

The home is a luxury build on 26 acres of stud-railed paddocks with six stables and a 1.3km tree-lined avenue behind electric gates.

The property was on sale for €2.8m in 2009, but land registry records confirm that, in November 2014, it was sold to Victoria Homes for a knockdown price of €484,000.

Ownership of Ballinrahin House was transferred offshore to Victoria Holdings in Belize on April 10, 2018, just weeks before Mr Byrne was due to repay the €150,000 back to the widow.

[kingdicemrwheezyflowertor]

How is Big Mickey in your AU?

Currently he’s fine. He’s been working with his little brother (Cranky) and little Sister (Carly) at Brendam Docks. He’s also very happy that the tugs are on Sodor so this meant to him that they are safe from Burke and Blair.

At first; He did work at Bigg City Port for many years. Helping the Stars and Zeds; falling in love with a old Star Tug and giving out the best advice he could to the Tugs (Despite him liking the Star tugs more than the Z-Stacks). However after the Munitions accident sent him crashing into the sea in an attempt to make sure everyone was safe by tipping in the opposite direction, He ended up washing up on the beaches of Sodor looking like a wounded mess and was out cold.

Sir Topham couldn’t let someone like Big Mickey lie on the beach to die or have someone find him and abuse him in some way; so He sent Big Mickey to the works to get repaired and hopefully get something out of him when he woke.

Thankfully he did and after a year or two of being in the works recovering and telling Sir Topham all he knew; Big Mickey was sent to work at the Docks as Cranky really needed some help. Let’s just say; Cranky and Big Mickey had a reunion and cried together.

Then when Bigg City Port closed down due to Bankruptcy; The Tugs we’re sold to Sir Topham and Big Mickey had a reunion with everyone, Even the Z-Stacks because even though he hated them, He sure as hell missed them.

When I said he fell in love with an old Star tug, I mean it. He fell in love with OJ; He was just scared to confess his feeling lol, The Poor lad.

[melbatron5000]

How to write a query letter:

All right, here's some practical advice on finding an agent from an indie author. (I do love some irony.)

I decided to go indie after hearing several horror stories from trad-published authors. Zero editing of their book before being published; having an editor get super excited about their work and buy it only to have that editor leave and and the new one be really unexcited about their work; having a publisher be super excited about their work only for the publisher to go under before they can actually go to print and their rights to their book be part of the IP that gets swallowed up in the bankruptcy, etc.

But when I first started writing, trad publishing was the only viable way to go. So I busted my ass trying to get my books published. I came very close to breaking in, and then decided to back out and go indie when that became realistic.

Here's a version of the template I created to write up a good query letter. This is what got me notes back and requests to see more. I hope it helps someone.

Firstly, of course you're terrible at describing your own work. Doing that sucks and is hard! Every writer HATES it. You're not alone.

Describe your story in three bits, try to make them as short as possible:

1. Who is your main character, what do they do, what makes them cool? "Jeremiah is a party-loving bullfrog who believes in peace."

2. What happens to fuck their life up? "When his best friend drinks all his wine, what's a bullfrog to do?"

3. What's at stake/how will our hero cope? Avoid asking questions here, don't say things like "can love and joy prevail?" Obviously it will, or there's no story. Say something more factual, like, "Jeremiah wants to get mad, but his motto has always been joy to the world." Give more of an idea how the character approaches the problem and the conflict involved rather than asking if the problem will be resolved.

3. Continued. That's how you write a book description to hook a new reader, but editors aren't new readers. Give away the end in a query letter. "Through the power of joy to the world, Jeremiah will see his way to bringing joy to you and me." And DON'T GET CUTE and think "oh, if I give away the end, they won't be hooked!" This is NOT a reader, this is an EDITOR. Show them you know how to stick the landing. Tell them the end.

Secondly, a query should open with who you are, why you wanted to write this story, what the story is about, and thank them for their time. Close it. Done. One page. I cannot stress how important this is: ONE PAGE.

So to try and clarify how the whole thingy should look:

Paragraph one: Dear Mr./Mrs./Mme. Smith (FIND OUT THE CORRECT NAME. You can ABSOLUTELY phone the secretary and ask. DO IT!) Hello, I'm Sunny Jim, and I love bullfrogs and hippies. I've been writing since I was a wee lil chitlin telling yarns to amuse my grandmammy. (If you've been published before, or have a degree, mention it here. If not, don't say shit. Zip it!) Please find attached/enclosed the first three pages (or however many this particular publisher/agent wants FIND OUT HOW MANY PAGES THEY WANT!! Call those secretaries!! Don't trust the website, who updates that shit anyway?? Not the agent or editor, that's who!) of my novel, Joy to the World.

Paragraph two: I decided to write a story about bullfrogs when I had a wild acid trip and the frogs told me to love all mankind, even when they piss me off.

Paragraph three: Jeremiah is a party-loving bullfrog who believes in peace. When his best friend drinks all his wine, what's a bullfrog to do? Jeremiah wants to get mad, but his motto has always been joy to the world. With the help of the love from the fishes in the deep blue sea, he sees his way clear to bringing joy to you and me.

Thank them for their time: I do so deeply appreciate you taking a moment to gander at my tale, Joy to the World. I hope it scratches an itch you didn't know you had.

Close: I look forward to hearing from you! Regards, Sunny Jim the Weird Hippie.

Thirdly, be yourself, be a little funny, but DON'T GET CUTE. Editors read hundred of these per HOUR, and the last thing they want is something the author thinks is cute. Think of your day job, maybe you have customers or new employees who think they'll be funny and just wind up looking dumb. Yeah, don't do that.

Be relaxed, be confident you've got a good story, don't write anything you think will make you "stand out." You know what will make you stand out? Being courteous, professional, and personable. Use your words judiciously and appropriately. Talk to the editor like you would talk to a busy co-worker whose work you value and who you genuinely like. Short and friendly. If things go well, that's who this person will become to you.

Anyhow, I hope this helps, and it's been a loooong time since I queried an agent and got a positive response, so if I'm getting this wrong now and you know better, do let me know. I can't imagine any of this advice has gone out of fashion, though. Being smart with your words, keeping your email short, and being polite and friendly has not steered me wrong yet.

Good luck out there, folks.

[kaiyonohime]

Sherry Tenney has filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy!

If you are unfamiliar with scam artist Sherry Tenney, I have pinned a post here.

A former bankruptcy paralegal has provided some helpful advice:

If you are a creditor (i.e., if Sherry owes you money), do not count on your claim with the AG’s office if you filed one. You need to file a proof of claim in the bankruptcy case to have any chance at recovery. They will likely ask for supporting documentation, which would be whatever documentation you have that she owes you money.

Also - please note the deadline for filing is February 12th. That’s a little less than 2 weeks away. If you are mailing in the claim form, stay aware of the mailing times - it has to arrive at the Clerk’s office by the 12th, not be postmarked by the 12th. If you wait until next week to file, you may be better off doing that electronically to be 100% sure your claim gets in by the deadline.

You can electronically file using PACER. You will need to make an account as a creditor first. The form is relatively easy to fill out online. As with the paper filing, you will be asked to upload supporting documentation of your claim. If you get stuck or have questions, the clerk’s office is your best bet for help.

In a Chapter 13, unsecured creditors usually are paid pennies on the dollar, although I have seen payments of up to 25%-50% in a few cases. Unsecured creditors are also paid last, so it may be up to four or five years before payment, depending on her plan and whether she is able to stick to it.

Please help signal boost the message as the filing deadline for creditors is in two weeks! Sherry owes more than $100k USD to people.

And, honestly, if this makes her need to sell her animals to get them away from her abuse, all the better.

[wedesignyouny]

Monetary Restart: Long Island Chapter 7 Attorney at The Sicuranza Law Office, LLC

Obtaining Monetary New Beginnings: The Function of a Long Island Chapter 7 Attorney from The Sicuranza Law Office, LLC

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The foundation of a successful representation in Chapter 7 proceedings is expertise. Our lawyers have extensive experience with bankruptcy law and are well-versed in the nuances of Chapter 7. Our staff makes sure that clients receive individualized counsel suited to their particular circumstances, from determining eligibility and assisting clients through the means test to managing exemptions and guaranteeing adherence to court processes.

Our Chapter 7 attorneys provide steadfast support to clients at every turn during the bankruptcy process because they are regarded as reliable counselors and advocates. We recognize the anxiety and worry that come with having money problems, and we're dedicated to offering our clients kind advice and assistance in overcoming their obstacles. We provide clarity, assurance, and peace of mind to our clients from the first consultation through the final discharge of obligations.

Working with The Sicuranza Law Firm, LLC's Chapter 7 attorney increases the chances of a favorable result as well. Our lawyers put up endless effort to defend the rights and interests of our clients, standing up for them in court and during talks with creditors. We make the most of our resources and experience to assist clients in reaching the best possible result, giving them the assurance to take the next step toward a better financial future.

Additionally, clients who engage with a Chapter 7 attorney have the chance to learn more about their financial circumstances and their options. Our lawyers take the time to walk clients through the Chapter 7 process, address any concerns they may have, and provide them the tools they need to make wise decisions about their future. We work to reduce the stress and uncertainties that come with bankruptcy by giving each client individual attention and open communication so they can concentrate on starting over.

In conclusion, The Sicuranza Law Firm, LLC provides reliable counsel and unwavering support to individuals and families in Long Island who are looking for relief from excessive debt. Clients may navigate the intricacies of bankruptcy with clarity and confidence when our knowledgeable Chapter 7 attorneys are by their side, knowing that they have a committed team fighting for their financial future.

[financialhelpneeded]

Please help me overcome my financial crisis and secure my future

I am struggling with my finances for a while now. Despite my best efforts, unable to generate enough income to cover my expenses as my bills have passed my income. I have been forced to rely on credit cards and loans to meet the bills, and my debt has been growing steadily. I am now at a point where I am struggling to make even the minimum payments on my debts, and I am facing the very real possibility of bankruptcy.

I am reaching out to you today because I am in urgent need of $50,000 or INR 45 lakhs(4,500,000) so that i can do partial payment of my debt and my total debt with various banks is $98000 or INR 84 Lakhs(total debt with banks).This will help me pay off my existing debts, cover my basic living expenses. With your help, I can get back on my feet and start building a better future for myself and my family.

I run a website called My Finance Managers (https://myfinancemanagers.com/), where I manage funds for my clients. Unfortunately, due to my own mistake in hiring the wrong people to manage the funds, I incurred huge losses from the stock market in the last 6 months. These losses wiped out all my savings and the entire loan taken from banks. I lost some of the amounts in crypto currencies which are out of trading now. As a result, I am currently living off credit cards and only able to pay the minimum due. The loan taken from the banks to pay off the losses has now become unmanageable, and the bank executives are chasing me for the money. I am left with no other option but to seek help online or face dire consequences. This has been a very bad experience for me, and I am struggling to stay afloat. However, I am determined to turn my situation around and get back on my feet. With your help, I can pay off my debts and start fresh.

If I am able to secure this amount, I will use it to pay off my existing debts and cover my basic living expenses. This will allow me to get out of the cycle of debt and start building a solid financial foundation.

There are several ways that you can help support me:

1. Donate: If you are in a position to do so, please consider making donation via various methods. Every little bit helps, and your support could make a huge difference in my life.

2. Share: Even if you are not able to donate, you can still help by sharing my campaign with your friends and networks. The more people who see my story, the more likely I am to reach my goal.

3. Encourage: Finally, your words of encouragement and support mean the world to me. Knowing that there are people out there who believe in me and my dreams gives me the strength and motivation to keep going, even when times are tough.

Any help financially or any opportunity to clear my debt i am looking to take. My situation is very worst that i have tried to negotiate with the bankers and try to extend the moratorium period but as the payments are delayed they are helpless.

I am also willing to repay the amount when i am financially strong. If anyone has any guidance or advice on how to handle this situation, it would be greatly appreciated. I am determined to turn things around and get back on track, but I cannot do it alone. Any help or support would be greatly appreciated.

I kindly request you to donate any amount possible to you.

Thank you for taking your time for me. With your help, I know that I can turn my financial struggles into success.

Please help with kind heart!!

Pay krishna surya using PayPal.Me

Go to paypal.me/krishnav556 and type in the amount. Since it's PayPal, it's easier and more secure. Don't have a PayPal…

paypal.me

You can contact/WhatsApp me on +918977426208 to know more details of my financial situation or you need more information to help.

From the bottom of my heart i thank all the persons who have come forward help me. Your help would save a family.

[paydayquid]

Short Term Loans UK Direct Lender can help you obtain a perfect Loan

Looking for a great loan arrangement that is quickly and efficiently granted to you? Here, your search is over. Simply fill out an application for a short term loans UK to be eligible to get funds in the range of £100 to £2,500 with a 4-week repayment period commencing on the date of approval.

Following is a list of several short-term financial needs for which this loan has been approved: such as: child's tuition or school fees, unforeseen automobile or vehicle repairs, unplanned trip expenses, credit card payments, past-due hotel rents, light bills, medical bills, etc.

Ashort term loans UK direct lender help people with poor credit characteristics like defaults, arrears, county court judgements, skipping installments, or bankruptcy to get the greatest financial assistance. You must meet a few requirements, including being an 18-year-old citizen of the UK, employed by a reputable company, and having a legitimate, active checking account with no debit card need.

If you meet the aforementioned requirements, you can quickly and hassle-free obtain the short term loans UK accepted. You must fill out a straightforward application form with the necessary information before submitting it on the website for confirmation. If all the information is accurate, the lender will approve your loan, and it will be sanctioned quickly and immediately into your bank account.

When Should UK Short Term Loans With Instant Payout Be Used?

Short term loans are intended to provide customers with Payday Quid to help them get through an emergency or unforeseen expense in the UK. If you work for yourself, for instance, and your computer or car breaks down, you might need to get a loan to fix or replace it. You cannot make any money without those necessary instruments, after all. For those who have no other options, including savings or credit card availability, an immediate loan online provides a crucial service. In a similar vein, short term loans direct lenders may be the best option for borrowers who need quick access to more cheap forms of credit and who need financial independence to get themselves out of difficult circumstances.

For those who have access to other, more affordable types of credit, short term loans UK direct lender might not be the best option. Some folks might already have access to credit cards with low interest rates or cards that they can use to make monthly payments in full. In that scenario, our advice is to continue using these more affordable credit options. An immediate loan is also not the best choice for folks who have a low-interest overdraft. Our rapid loans are made to be quick and convenient, but there are less expensive options available.

So, who makes a good candidate for a same day loans UK? For those of you who cannot get credit that is more inexpensive or who want our fast, convenient, and customized services. A short term loan may even help to build credit if it is repaid in full and on schedule. Using them and repaying them can raise your credit score as long as you don't 'rollover' the loan or apply for a new one each month. You might even be able to get credit in the future at a lower cost thanks to this.

[miichaelbelll]

What is considering litigation?

Considering litigation refers to the process of evaluating the possibility of pursuing a legal claim or lawsuit. This may involve reviewing the facts and circumstances of a case, researching the relevant laws and regulations, consulting with legal experts, and determining whether the potential benefits of filing a lawsuit outweigh the costs and risks involved. The term "considering litigation" implies that a decision has not yet been made and the parties involved are still in the process of evaluating their options.

What kind of cases can be resolved using considering litigation?

Nearly any legal dispute or conflict can be resolved through litigation, but the decision to pursue a lawsuit depends on various factors such as the strength of the case, the likelihood of success, and the costs and benefits involved. Some common types of cases that can be resolved through litigation include:

Contract disputes

Personal injury claims

Employment discrimination cases

Intellectual property disputes

Consumer protection cases

Product liability claims

Real estate disputes

Business disputes

It's worth noting that while litigation can be a way to resolve many types of legal disputes, it is not always the best solution. Alternative dispute resolution methods, such as mediation or arbitration, may be more cost-effective and less time-consuming in some cases.

Which is the right court for me?

The right court for you depends on the specific facts and circumstances of your case. In general, there are several factors that determine which court has jurisdiction over a case, including:

The type of case: Different courts have jurisdiction over different types of cases, such as criminal cases, civil cases, or bankruptcy cases.

The location of the parties involved: A court typically has jurisdiction over a case if the defendant resides or does business in the court's geographic area.

The amount of money at issue: Some courts have jurisdiction over cases involving certain amounts of money, such as small claims court or district court.

It is recommended to consult with an attorney or a legal expert to determine the right court for your case. They can help you understand the legal process, evaluate your options, and make informed decisions about how to proceed.

Who can approach a British Court?

In Britain, the courts are open to anyone who has a legal right to bring a claim or take part in a legal dispute. This includes individuals, companies, organizations, and government entities.

To approach a British court, a person or entity must have standing, which means they have a sufficient interest in the case and are directly affected by the outcome. In some cases, a person may be required to first exhaust other means of resolution, such as mediation or arbitration, before they can bring a case to court.

It's worth noting that the specific rules and procedures for accessing the British court system may vary depending on the type of case and the court in question. In some instances, legal representation may be necessary, especially in complex cases. Seeking the advice of a legal expert can help you understand your rights and obligations and ensure that you follow the correct procedure for approaching the court.

What is the considering litigation process?

The "considering litigation" process refers to the process of evaluating whether to initiate a lawsuit. This process involves reviewing the facts and circumstances of the case, researching the applicable laws, determining the likelihood of success, assessing the costs and risks involved, and deciding whether it is in the best interest of the party to pursue legal action. The process may involve consulting with legal counsel, conducting investigations, and negotiating with the other party in an attempt to resolve the matter without going to court.

[jaydigitalexpert]

Is Esty a profitable eCommerce platform?

Selling on Etsy

Countless times, I've received frustrated reports from Etsy sellers, both old and new, on how draining it's been to make sales on Etsy. Oftentimes, these cries get so loud, it overshadows the voices of those who claim Etsy has been a literal lifesaver to them. What truth then, is one to take?

Finding the actual truth is challenging, so all I can offer now are the facts.

Etsy wasn't designed to keep stores in a state of perpetual loss. That would only mean putting themselves in bankruptcy! Etsy was designed to connect sellers with prospective buyers and the more this happened, the more the credibility of the platform as a point of exchange/marketplace, rose.

From its inception in 2005 till date, Etsy has seen rapid growth from a marketplace of just 120,000 traders to one that connects 81.9 million buyers to 4.36 million sellers! Its annual revenue is at an all-time $1.72b with no signs of slowing down. It took a lot of trustworthiness and credibility to get to that number, I tell you. But it was also due to the fact that there were fewer competition then.

Now, Etsy is fiercely competitive, and its algorithm has been wired to even cut back on inactive profiles, or those found violating one of their quite many terms of service. All these are just to reduce the level of competition and create a level playing field for all. Yet, it doesn't seem to be enough. A lot of people still find it a herculean task to attract customers to their stores.

In the midst of all these though, there are still those who make a lot of money off Etsy annually. So why not you?

This could be due to a number of reasons. Most people come on Etsy, setup their shop the best way they can, list a few products, and viola! They expect the thousands to begin flowing in. No ma'am, no sir, it doesn't work that way.

A lot of people overlook the significance of SEO in giving their shop much-needed visibility. Keywords pertaining to your brand have to be fully optimized in your complete shop setup. No, your Etsy shop setup doesn't just require your email, password, banner, logo, and shop name. Those are the basics but there's a lot that still needs to be done underneath. Those who are able to optimize their keywords in their shop setup will have a higher visibility than those who weren't.

For each product listing also, relevant keywords are crucial. The title of the product, description, tags, and even the uploaded document have to be fully optimized to drag traffic back to your Etsy store. Don't forget your FAQs too.

Apart from Search Engine Optimization, social media platforms can also be integrated to your store. Your shop link will serve as a backlink, making access to your store relatively easy. Make sure to optimize tags in whatever platform you might be marketing your products on.

Asides Etsy ads, there are also a number of ways to promote your store. Sites that promote backlink traffic can also come in handy despite popular belief if it is used in the right hands. Submission of guest posts to websites is also an available option. I kid you not when I say article and blog post writing can also serve as a promotion strategy.

There are quite too many ways to market your Etsy shop and product. Way too many, it'll be impossible for me to list it all. A candid advice I will leave with you however, is that you procure the help of a professional to serve as a consultant, or help with with your store's management if it gets all too much/complicated for you to handle alone.

On a final note, remember that no matter how incredible your product might be, if it isn't given an aesthetic feel, it will be stuck on the self for a very long time. So, also pay particular attention to your shop and also your product's outlook.



I wish you the very best!