#I HAVE BEEN WAITING SO LONG. WAITING FOR IT TO BE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE INDIVIDUALLY

[em-dashes]

i just found out that fox & wit is finally selling @ashen-crest 's super special edition of A Rival Most Vial with the prettiest cover ever and you KNOW i purchased the hell out of that thing

[moiraimyths]

Hi I was wondering if you guys have a roadmap or timeline doesn’t have to be set dates or anything for the routes to be released? As much as I want to see Maeve/Shaes’ routes I’m always a little hesitant to play games that aren’t completely released. And I’m very interested in Flannan and Keagan’s routes so I’d like to know if I should wait and check back to buy it when it’s complete or if part of their routes will be released soon? Or is that going to be a long time? Like if it’s over a year for their routes I’d probably wait to buy then. I hope this doesn’t come off as rude I’m very excited about the game🧎🏻‍♀️

Each route of NDM is likely to be over 100k words long at time of completion. We're basing this estimate on the first halves of Shae and Maeve's routes being 50k words in length individually. (The demo/vol. 1 is 37k.) It will likely take until at least next summer or fall to complete the second halves to our satisfaction, given that neither of the writers or the programmer draw income from Moirai Myths / NDM and therefore cannot materially afford to dedicate 100% of our time to development. That said: While we have not yet confirmed which two routes are coming after Maeve and Shae's, the next batch will contain one of the boys.

But to be completely honest with you? How long it takes for us to reach Flannán and Keagan's routes is entirely dependent on how much support Maeve and Shae receive. If hardly anyone purchases the game or plays/talks about their routes, then we have less internal financing to work with/may have to pay for future aspects of the game ourselves. Moirai Myths is not a large corporation with investors; we are five working class artists dependent on community support/engagement.

We understand the hesitance, truly. No one likes feeling as though their money or time has been wasted. This is why NDM is a single-time purchase, and also why the game will be priced in accordance with the amount of content currently available. If you buy NDM on Nov. 1? It's $15 dollars (US) for a 137k word game that will eventually become a 700k word game. The 700k word game will be more than $15 dollars, and we can't tell you conclusively when it will arrive.

To end things off: Remember, all of your favourite characters will appear in the update. In big ways. We don't want to spoil you, but:

If you love Flannán, you really, really don't want to pass over either of these routes. Especially Maeve's.

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, Chapter 4

Pairing: Platonic Steven Grant x Reader (for now)

Rating: T

Word count: ~2600

Story Summary: Steven meets a beautiful woman in the Egyptian exhibit at the British Museum...

...Too bad she's his new boss.

Tags/Warnings: Canon Divergent since Steven still works for the British Museum post-canon, No Jake Lockley, developing friendship

A/N: Here we are with the next chapter! As always, please let me know if you want to be tagged in this or any of my other stories!

“...And that concludes our tour,” Steven said to his final tour group of the day. “Please don't forget to check out our shops and café, located right here on the ground floor, and remember that memberships are available for purchase and help support the museum.”

He waited until the group had disbursed before heading back to his office to collect his messenger bag, also grabbing his umbrella as a rumble of thunder sounded overhead.

“Heading out?” Ruby, one of the tour guides, said as Steven passed through the Programming staff area.

Steven nodded. “You’re on tomorrow, yeah?”

“Yeah, I'll be in tomorrow, but if it's okay with you I need to switch my Thursday shift. I have an exam on Friday morning that I need to prepare for.”

Steven made a mental note. “That ought to be fine. Just let me know who you wind up switching shifts with.”

“Okay, have a good evening.”

“You too.”

Steven headed out of the museum, surprised to see Dr. Y/L/N standing under the entryway and peering out at the rain. “Afternoon, ma’am.”

Dr. Y/L/N turned and smiled at him. “Hi. Headed home?”

Steven nodded. “Are you waiting for someone?”

“Oh, no.” Dr. Y/L/N gestured out towards the rain. “I'm just waiting for it to stop raining so I can go ahead and walk home. I didn't bring my umbrella today and don’t really want to have to take a cab since I live nearby.”

“Oh.” Steven held his umbrella up. “Well I’ve got mine, so I can walk you home if you’d like. Plenty of room under here for the both of us.”

Dr. Y/L/N hesitated. “It’s very kind of you to offer, but I’d hate to make you have to go out of your way. I’m sure Gus is waiting for you.”

Steven shook his head. “Gus’ll be fine. I left the telly on for him so he’d be entertained while I was at work.”

He grinned as Dr. Y/L/N let out a light laugh. “Such a good fish dad,” she joked. “Are you sure you don't mind?”

Steven nodded. “Absolutely.”

“Then in that case, I accept. I really appreciate it.”

“It's not a problem.” Steven opened his umbrella and raised it above his head, the light scent of Dr. Y/L/N’s perfume filling his nose as she joined him underneath it.

He took a deep breath. “Right, then. Lead the way.”

They headed down the steps together, the gentle sound of the rain falling adding to the rhythm of their steps.

“So, how are you?” Steven asked. “I haven’t seen you around much the past few days.”

Much to his relief, Dr. Y/L/N really was open to collaboration and had so far been a very hands-on and communicative director. She had implemented weekly meetings consisting of all of the heads of department so each section could share their progress on various projects and she would frequently check in with each department individually to make sure everything was running smoothly and to see if anyone needed help with anything while still giving the museum staff more than enough autonomy to where (as far as Steven knew) no one never felt like she was micromanaging.

“Oh gosh, I’ve been crazy busy,” Dr. Y/L/N replied. “Just in the past 3 days I’ve had a 4-hour-long conference call with all of the UK’s museum directors, a bunch of interviews and other publicity stuff regarding the new permanent exhibits, plus I had to prepare the annual statistics report to present at the board meeting tomorrow afternoon -- which reminds me, the number of paid tours and new museum memberships have both gone up exponentially for the third month in a row.”

Steven nodded. He was proud of all the hard work the Programming staff had put in since he had taken over the Visitor Engagement Specialist role. “The Programming staff is pretty great.”

“You’re pretty great.”

Steven’s face heated as he looked over at Dr. Y/L/N, who was looking back at him with a slightly nervous look on her face.

She cleared her throat and looked away. “I mean, if it wasn't for you revamping the tours and coming up with the idea for a membership drive I really don't think we'd have seen the slightest difference in numbers. You've proven yourself to be a wonderful team leader.”

Steven's face heated at the praise. “Thank you, ma'am.”

Dr. Y/L/N bit her lip. “Hey, um, since you’re not in a hurry, can I buy you a cup of coffee as a thank-you for walking me home? There’s a coffee shop nearby that I sometimes stop at on my way to work.”

Steven couldn't help but smile, pleased to have an excuse to spend even a few extra minutes with Dr. Y/L/N. “I, er, I don't actually drink coffee, but I’d love to have a cup of tea with you.”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded, a smile spreading on her own face. “Oh, right, okay. Well great! It's right this way.”

They headed down the street to a small café, where they paused together under the shop's awning while Steven shook his umbrella out so it wouldn't drip all over the shop’s floor.

He opened the door for Dr. Y/L/N. “After you.”

“Thank you.” Dr. Y/L/N led him inside and over to the counter. 

“Afternoon,” the barista, a dark-haired man who appeared to be in his early twenties and whose name tag read Michael , greeted them. “What can I get started for ya?”

Dr. Y/L/N gave her coffee order. 

Michael nodded as he tapped at his computer screen. “And for you, sir?”

Steven eyed the tea selection. “Er, yeah, can I get a cup of Earl Grey, please?”

Michael tapped at his screen some more. “Anything else?”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “Mmm, can I also please get a scone?”

Michael nodded. “Of course ma'am.”

Dr. Y/L/N turned to Steven. “Steven, you want a pastry or something?” 

Steven briefly studied the display of baked goods. Tea was the cheapest thing on the menu, and Dr. Y/L/N had offered… A small snack wouldn't hurt. “Maybe a chocolate croissant?”

Michael tapped at his screen once again. “Okay… And a name for the order?”

Dr. Y/L/N pulled her wallet out of her purse. “Y/F/N.”

Michael tapped at his screen a few more times. “That’ll be £11.43.” 

Dr. Y/L/N swiped her credit card through the card reader and signed the receipt.

“I'll have that out for you straightaway,” Michael said as he moved over towards the coffee machine.

“Thank you.” Dr. Y/L/N turned back to Steven. “Want to go sit while we wait?”

Steven nodded. “Sure.”

They headed over to a table for two tucked away in a cozy corner of the café.

Steven looked around as they sat. The walls were lined with bookshelves containing a mishmash of novels, non-fiction books, and various knick-knacks. 

Reminds me of my flat. “This is quite an interesting little place,” he said. Do you come here often?”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “Usually a couple times a week. I’ll order ahead whenever I don't have time to make coffee before work, or if I’m feeling indulgent or have an extra busy day ahead and need an extra caffeine boost I'll stop in and pick something up. This is the first time I've been able to stay and drink my coffee here though.”

Steven nodded. He did recall seeing Dr. Y/L/N walking around with a takeout cup on occasion instead of her usual travel mug. “Ah, okay. I'm glad you invited me to join you, then.”

“I'm glad you accepted.” Dr. Y/L/N shrugged. “It's the least I could do after you were kind enough to go out of your way and offer to walk me home.” 

Steven shook his head. “It’s really nothing, ma'am. I actually quite enjoy your company.” Moreso than you probably realize.

A small smile graced Dr. Y/L/N’s features. “That’s very kind of you to say. I enjoy your company as well.”

She bit her lip. “You know, actually, if you're not busy this weekend there's a –”

“–Y/N!”

Dr. Y/L/N startled slightly and looked over towards the counter, visibly relaxing as Michael set their tea and coffee down. “ Oh . Oh, our drinks are ready.”

Steven stood. “I'll go get them.”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “Okay, thanks.”

Steven walked over to the counter as Michael set a plate of pastries down as well. 

“Here you are, mate,” Michael said. “Enjoy.”

Steven nodded. “Cheers.”

He managed to carefully carry everything back to the table and set Dr. Y/L/N’s coffee down in front of her. “Here you are, ma'am.”

Dr. Y/L/N smiled up at Steven as he set the plate of pastries down as well. “Thank you so much, Steven.”

Steven set his tea down and sat. “So what were you saying before our items were ready?”

Dr. Y/L/N shook her head. “Oh, it was nothing.”

She took a careful sip of her coffee. “But I would be remiss if I didn't ask you how you've been this week. Anything fun and exciting going on in the world of Steven?”

Steven shook his head as he added a small teaspoon of sugar to his tea and stirred it in. “Just researching the provenance of the new vases we got in the other day while in between tours. Christina said she wanted to include them in our special display of Austrian art that's opening next month.”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “Ah, wonderful. Have you found anything so far?”

“Actually, yes, it's quite intriguing.” Steven took a sip of his tea. “It appears that at least one of the vases was made for a member of the Austrian royal family back in the 1700s before it was eventually given to a loyal subject as a wedding gift and passed down through several generations, but then it was taken in a raid by the Germans during World War II and somehow wound up in the hands of a French army general, who gifted it to an American soldier as -- ironically -- a wedding present.”

Dr. Y/L/N looked riveted. “Oh, wow. That is rather intriguing.” 

“It made its way through several generations of that family until it was discovered that it had been stolen all those years ago, so it was then returned to the rightful owner,” Steven continued, “who donated it to the collection so that everyone could enjoy it. It's because of its illustrious history that Christina and I were thinking it should be the centerpiece of the exhibit.”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “Yes, you're absolutely right. That piece should definitely be the focus. Do we have anything else to display along with it, like letters or photos of the families, anything of that sort?”

Steven shook his head. “We discovered a few photos of the two families each holding the vase while we were researching, but unfortunately there isn't much else.”

“That's okay.” Dr. Y/L/N took another sip of her coffee. “Everything else is good? How's the new guide working out?”

“He’s doing well so far.” Steven took a bite of his croissant, chewing and swallowing before continuing. “The fact that he has prior experience as a tour guide definitely was a plus -- he didn't need much training and seems to be catching on pretty quickly.”

“Excellent. I'm glad to hear that.” Dr. Y/L/N paused. “If you don't mind me asking, what kind of tea is that? It smells good.”

“Earl Grey,” Steven replied. “Have you ever tried it?”

Dr. Y/L/N shook her head. “No, I've only ever had regular tea.”

Steven bit back a smile. “‘Regular’ tea?”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “Yeah, you know… just tea at restaurants and stuff.”

“Ah, gotcha. So basically just plain black tea, then.”

“Mmhmm.” Dr. Y/L/N took another sip of her coffee. “Sweetened, of course, but yeah. So what's the difference between Earl Grey and regular black tea?”

Steven took a sip before answering. “Earl Grey has bergamot in it, which gives it sort of a citrusy flavor.”  

Dr. Y/L/N’s eyebrows raised slightly. “Oh, that sounds interesting. I might have to try it one day. Any others you recommend?”

Steven nodded. “There's also Lady Grey, which has lemon and orange in addition to bergamot, and if you want to try something really interesting you should try chai, which has all sorts of spices, like cinnamon, and star anise, and cardamom, and it literally means ‘tea’ so if you ever go somewhere and order chai tea you're ordering ‘tea tea’ .”

Dr. Y/L/N let out a light laugh. “I'll have to remember that.”

Steven and Dr. Y/L/N continued to chat, occasionally pausing to take a sip of their beverages or a bite of their pastries.

“Ready to go?” Dr. Y/L/N asked after they had both finished.

Steven nodded. He knew Dr. Y/L/N had had a long day and was probably ready to get home so she could rest. “Yes, if you are as well.” 

They stood and cleared their table, then thanked Michael as they headed out of the door.

“Oh, it's stopped raining,” Dr. Y/L/N noted as they stepped outside. “I'm sure you want to get home since you no longer have to keep me dry, so I'll see you tomorrow?”

Steven shrugged in what he hoped appeared to be a casual manner. “I walked you this far, so the gentlemanly thing to do would be to walk you the rest of the way, right? If that's alright with you, of course.”

Dr. Y/L/N smiled softly. “You really are, aren't you? A gentleman, I mean.”

Steven’s face heated. None of the dreams he'd had about Dr. Y/L/N over the past several months he had known her could exactly be described as gentlemanly , but it wasn't like he could control his subconscious, was it? 

He glanced down at the ground before making eye contact with her once again. “I try to be.”

Dr. Y/L/N grinned. “Well for what it's worth, I would choose you over the bear.”

Steven huffed out a laugh. “I appreciate that, ma'am.”

“Shall we continue on, then?”

They continued down the street, continuing to chat amiably as they walked.

Eventually Dr. Y/L/N stopped in front of a small apartment building. “Well, this is me. Thanks so much for walking me home, Steven. I sincerely appreciate it.”

Steven shook his head. “The pleasure was all mine, ma'am. I'd be happy to walk you home any time.”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded with a smile. “I might take you up on that soon, then. I enjoyed our time together today.”

“I did too.”

Dr. Y/L/N hesitated a moment, then shook her head slightly. “I'll see you tomorrow, Steven.”

“See you tomorrow.”

Steven waited until Dr. Y/L/N had unlocked the door and headed inside before turning and heading back towards his bus stop. He had already been struggling with fighting his feelings for Dr. Y/L/N, but the kindness with which she treated him and the way she genuinely seemed to enjoy his company made him struggle even harder. 

He shook his head. He'd never have a chance at a romantic relationship with her, but maybe they could at least be friends.

[daemondollalbum]

We have an important update about DAEMON/DOLL's pre-order availability, particularly for international customers. Please read!

First of all, thank you everyone for your patience regarding the physical pre-order period! That said, we have a few more updates about how the physical pre-orders will work...

Unfortunately, we will only be able to accept pre-orders from the US and Japan. This is mostly due to tax complications- some places are very difficult or impossible for us operating as individuals to ship to.

There will be an order cap on the number of pre-orders we accept (as there are only so many CDs we can fit in Lone's bedroom.... which is where we're shipping everything out of.....)

Once we hit the order cap, pre-orders will close and merchandise production will begin. While the exact order cap number will remain private, we'll post notifications when we hit certain percentage milestones to keep you updated on how close we are to the cap (50% sold, 75% sold, 90% sold).

BUT!!!! All international customers will be able to purchase leftover stock!

Leftover stock will be hosted and shipped by Very Ok Vinyl, who is able to ship worldwide! Both the album-only and deluxe editions will available for purchase at the same price as the pre-orders.

(Proceeds from the leftover stock sales will still be paid out to the contributors- Very Ok Vinyl is only acting as a distribution partner, as they can ship to places we were struggling to find shipping solutions to- such as the EU and South Korea!)

This will allow us to reach more places than before, let us get the album to you with less stress, and hopefully make the ordering process smoother for international customers.

The response to this project has been beyond what we imagined, but I hope that means you'll understand if we weren't expecting such a large amount of potential demand, as we are just two people who like Teto who are shipping CDs out of Lone's bedroom.

We're very sorry for any inconveniences or confusion this may cause, and appreciate your continued flexibility and understanding! Feel free to reach out with any specific questions: daemondollalbum@gmail.com

Thank you for your patience!

TLDR: We had to restructure CD sales due to demand. What does this mean for you?

If you're an American or Japanese customer...

Basically nothing has changed for you! You will be able to place a pre-order starting on 4/27 through our Bigcartel.

We ask that American and Japanese customers refrain from buying leftover stock so other international customers have the opportunity first.

If you're any other International customer (Everywhere except US and JP)...

You'll have to wait for leftover sales to purchase the album; you won't be able to pre-order.

Sorry that you'll have to wait a bit longer! But the alternative was that we wouldn't be able to ship the album to you at all- this was the best way we could work around our limitations. And this way you won't have to wait as long for the album after you buy it 🙂 Thanks for your patience and understanding!

If you're an EU + UK customer who filled out the interest form...

Not too dissimilar from our previous set-up. Instead of the Etsy shop, you'll be buying leftover stock from Very Ok Vinyl instead (which will ship to you much faster than we would be able to). We'll be using the pre-order numbers to gauge demand for the leftover stock, so hopefully everyone who wants one will be able to get a copy!

If you're a Canadian customer...

Very Ok Vinyl is based in Canada, so congratulations on the reduced shipping cost and wait 🙂

"I'm a customer in a place that's generally hard to ship to. Will you be able to ship to me?"

Very Ok Vinyl's international shipping is done through PostNL and APC. You can check your specific country on their service update pages: PostNL / APC.

[putschki1969]

“Sono Saki e” Random Thoughts (Review?)

Please be sure to ❗SUPPORT Wakana❗ in any way you can! Especially if you decided not to order any physical copies. You can purchase and stream Wakana’s 3rd original studio album “Sono Saki e” on various sites (mora, iTunes etc) and streaming platforms (Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, etc). • ————— ¤ ♫ ¤ ————— • BUY the album on mora (TUTORIAL here) BUY it in your local iTunes store • ————— ¤ ♫ ¤ ————— •  

Phew, this post is long-overdue. I’ve actually had this “review” sitting around in my drafts since May 30 but I wanted to wait till my physical copies arrived (unfortunately, my package took forever T_T). We have had multiple opportunities to listen to the tracks (or at least snippets of them) and of course I also listened to the digital album as soon as it became available. I’ll be honest with you, my initial reaction to the snippets and later the full tracks was rather lukewarm but in the past couple of weeks, most of the album has grown on me. So far my TOP 5 in order of their track listing are “Rapa Nui”, “標 (Shirushi)”, “希望(Kibou)”,“明日を夢見て歌う(Asu wo Yume Mite Utau)” and “Flag”.  Here are some random thoughts on the album as a whole and the individual songs ┗(•ˇ_ˇ•)→

Vocals: I’m not gonna write an analysis on Wakana’s vocals since I obviously lack the technical knowledge for that sort of stuff but I would still like to vent a little. In recent times, Wakana has talked a lot about how she is constantly refining her skills, working with a vocal coach and discovering new ways to use her voice, however, I fail to hear any real results of those efforts. I have to wonder if her vocal coach (or Takebe in his role as producer) are even giving any sort of effective advice because it certainly doesn’t seem like they do. The Japanese mindset probably keeps them from providing proper constructive criticism. This has always been an issue in the Japanese music industry but I am noticing it more now that Wakana, Keiko and Hikaru can no longer compensate for each other’s weaknesses. I don’t mean to bash or anything, you know I would never do that. I can still appreciate their solo vocals and for the most part I definitely enjoy Wakana’s vocals in this album but sometimes I get frustrated when it’s clear that the girls are not reaching their full potential or are using styles that are absolutely unflattering. I mean, who is telling Wakana (and Keiko for that matter) it’s a good idea to over-affect her voice or to sing in a register that is simply too high? Pretty sure this stuff is up to her so I guess it is a conscious choice and no one is guiding her in a better direction. I know for a fact that Wakana is capable of using a fuller, steadier voice but for some reason she often falls back on singing styles that don’t do anything for her and make her sound quite generic or borderline amateurish. It’s a shame...Rant over.

Visuals: The botanical and watery backgrounds/colours fit Wakana’s image perfectly. I wouldn’t say it’s a good match for the theme of the album but I don’t really mind. These are probably not my favourite looks for her but there are still some super lovely shots included in the photobook and lyric booklets. I originally thought all those light spots were a filter but they really used strings of light for the shoot. Not sure yet if I am a fan of the finished look.Something about it doesn’t really work for me.

Bonus material: No idea why they decided to add a DVD instead of a Blu-ray but I am just grateful we got footage from the Christmas live. It’s a solid concert with many good performances so I am happy there’s official footage. Too bad they cut the Christmas songs though, I remember enjoying them a lot. The audio tracks are a nice addition but I think instrumental versions of the album tracks would have been a nicer bonus. The exclusive fan club track is nothing to write home about, wish they had included footage from the after-talk instead or maybe the Christmas tracks.

Editions: As always, I appreciate that we get different booklets for every single edition. Makes it so much more fun and worthwhile to collect different editions. Overall I would day that all versions were reasonably priced for the content we got. And I am glad they once again decided to go for an LP-sized package with a big photobook. They look so good on my Kalafina showcase/shrine. Small nitpick: The quality of the large photobook isn’t what it used to be, it’s much thinner paper now T_T Makes it easier to scan though so I guess it’s not that bad.

Promotion: As far as the promotional campaign is concerned, I would say it’s sufficiently wide-spread on the media front but it feels a little lackluster in terms of in-store presence. Many Japanese fans have complained that the store promo for Wakana’s “Sono Saki e” wasn’t up to par with all the displays that were prepared for Keiko’s “Cutlery”. Thankfully we got the release events which added a bit of hype. Altogether, her performance in the Oricon Charts wasn’t too shabby either (#28) so the marketing team must have done something right. On a side note, I still very much appreciate the relatively high production value of Wakana’s solo works (especially compared to Hikaru’s and Keiko’s stuff). It’s clear that a lot of money is still invested in Wakana so YAY for that.

Overall thoughts: "Sono Saki e” has been a long time in the making so despite my best efforts, certain expectations have been building up. I know of course that getting my hopes up too high is a stupid thing to do because it will inevitably set me up for disappointment but I am only human and after three years of waiting, I was in a serious Wakana drought. However, now that the album is finally here, I feel a surprising sense of indifference (?) towards it. My reaction to Keiko’s latest album should have been indication enough but I think it’s becoming more and more obvious that I am suffering from a serious case of Kalafina-solo fatigue. It seems like I am steadily falling out of love with their solo music which makes me incredibly sad but I guess it was bound to happen at some point. I am not even saying that I dislike the album but there is just a lack of sparks I guess? Objectively speaking, I would say that Wakana’s 3rd album is quite good, I thoroughly enjoy around 60% of it and I’ve been listening to a lot of the songs on repeat. But I am just not as invested as I would like to be. On a side note, is it just me or does the album feel a little too rushed (despite its long production period)? I would have wanted the album to reflect the three years worth of thought and effort that were supposedly put into it but that’s honestly not the vibe I am getting here. I mean, they decided to include an instrumental of one of the tracks AND a literal copy-paste version of a previous album track, that just screams last minute decision to me. I guess it’s because the actual production didn’t start until much later so ultimately, there was a lot of rushing involved but still, it’s a shame.

●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～ ●～●～●～●～

M1. Butterfly Dream: I feel like everything has already been said about this. It’s fun with the visuals of the PV but without those, the song loses a lot of its charm for me. Even though it’s the leading track of the album, I find it a bit underwhelming, maybe because the melody isn’t really resonating with me? Also, not a huge fan of how Wakana seems to over-affect (if that’s the right word?) her voice during quite a few parts of the song (especially during the chorus) to sound cute/innocent. She sometimes does this for certain types of anisong covers but it’s honestly not the most flattering singing style in my opinion. I guess the outward “cuteness” of the vocals appeals to a wider audience so it’s not a bad thing per se. I mean, there must be a reason why they picked this as promo track for the album (Rating: 2.5/5) M2. Rapa Nui: Definitely the most exciting and refreshing track on the album. The Celtic(?) sound matches Wakana’s voice perfectly. Kinda sounds like something you would hear at a medieval festival. Reminds me a bit of Kalafina’s “Moonfesta” or Hikaru’s “Fili”. Based on the title, I would have expected the song to sound totally different but I am honestly not mad about how it turned out. It’s great that they used the Rapa Nui language for some lines, spices up the whole thing. I initially believed that the song could have benefited from a stronger chorus but by now I’m literally obsessed with it, can’t get the melody out of my head :P Some of those ultra-high notes don’t sound pleasant to my ears but it’s not on a level where it takes away from my enjoyment. Contemplated taking half a point off for it but at the end of the day, it’s not worth it. It’s such a superb track (Rating: 5/5) M3. 標 (Shirushi): Sometimes this song doesn’t really affect me all that much and other times it makes me cry like a baby (especially when Wakana sings “この先も力に歌うから”). In many ways, it reminds me of “Ai no Hana” which has a similar theme and is one of my favourite tracks from Wakana’s first album but I need to hear it live to get the full experience. The same is the case for “Shirushi”. And I also have to be in the right mood for it. I am not 100% sold on the melody but Wakana’s vocals are gorgeous and the emotion she puts into her singing is just out of this world. On top of that, we have beautiful lyrics and a precious backstory, I can’t help but give this song a high rating (Rating: 4/5) M4. 希望 (Kibou): With the exception of “Rapa Nui” this is probably the only track that instantly clicked with me. Even when we just got a snippet of it, I immediately fell in love. The melody is just the right amount of cheesy in a good way, it hits me right in the feels. I think it comes closest to a standard power ballad or a 90s pop ballad. I am a huge sucker for those and it is obviously the type of song I love to hear from Wakana. Is it just me though or could Wakana have used a more flattering singing style for the chorus? She is going very high and it tends to sound a bit strained. For me, this is on the very edge of sounding screechy, a little higher, a little flatter and I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it. It’s clearly a challenging track but not necessarily something that Wakana can’t handle imo. Really curious how she will be handling those parts during a live performance. Hopefully she can tweak her style a bit to make it more suitable for the song. Another tiny nitpick is the bland bridge, I wish it had a little more oomph, it’s neither here nor there but oh well, I am so smitten with this song that I can’t really focus on any of the negative aspects (Rating: 4.5/5) M5. 殻 (Kara): Who thought it was a good idea to do a “Tsubasa 2.0.”? I really wish they would have come up with something else. They had more than enough time to look into other options. I understand the intention of course, “Tsubasa” is solid and highlights some of the grittier parts of Wakana’s voice but that doesn’t warrant a blatant rip-off. Enough complaining though, I feel like I am way too harsh on “Kara”. On its own merits, it’s actually quite fun and yeah, just like its predecessor it works flawlessly to highlight Wakana’s voice in a different way, I like her more feisty singing style. Objectively speaking, I really can’t fault this song but it still doesn’t quite hit the spot for me. Thankfully, Wakana’s singing makes up for it (Rating: 3.5/5) M6. そのさきへ(Sono Saki e)～Interlude～: The melody is not striking enough. I am usually a sucker for a good instrumental piece but this one falls a little flat unfortunately. Wakana keeps saying that she cried when she first listened to the demo but I really wonder why...However, I will have to say that the gorgeous piano playing of this interlude does appeal to me more than the melody in the normal version of the song (Rating: 2.5/5) M7. KEMONO feat.清塚信也: I’ve said it before and I will say it again, every cell in my body is rejecting this type of song. I know that’s a me-problem and I feel horrible judging Wakana’s work based on such a personal preference.This reminds me way too much of some of Keiko’s city-pop (or whatever) tracks. The singing is too fast, there is no proper flow, the melody is all over the place, it’s just outright chaotic. I am sure there are people who can appreciate this new experimental style but I am unfortunately not one of them. I generally don’t like giving low ratings but it is how it is, please know that this is purely subjective (Rating: 1/5) M8. 明日を���見て歌う(Asu wo Yume Mite Utau): The melody right at the beginning and sprinkled in-between the verses is what initially attracted me to the song, so pretty. However, the rest of the song didn’t leave a huge impression when I first heard it during the Christmas concert. I remember I compared it to “Boku Dake no Stage” because it was also composed by Takebe and I thought it was similarly bland. I realise now that this was a very unfair comparison because those songs have absolutely nothing in common. “Asu wo Yume Mite Utau” is much better imo and aligns more with my preferences in terms of music style. Maybe a comparison to “Toki wo Koeru Yoru ni” would have been better even though Takebe didn’t compose that one... Anyways, after letting the song marinate for a while, I’ve surprisingly come to love “Asu wo Yume Mite Utau”. I’d even go as far as to say it has become one of my favourite tracks from the album. The arrangement is lovely and so are the lyrics. Also adore Wakana’s singing here (Rating: 4/5) M9. Flag: This is probably the most Kalafina/FictionJunction-esque track on the entire album so I understand why it is so popular among YK/Kalafina fans. Personally, I have never been the biggest fan of YK’s more generic anisongs so this track initially didn’t impress me all that much, it was just okay for me, nothing too outstanding. But after hearing it performed live multiple times, it has significantly grown on me. It’s a really solid song and it works perfectly with Wakana’s voice. Even though it might not be the type of music I naturally gravitate towards, it’s still a banger. Especially when you take the Kalafina nostalgia into account. Fun fact, the most recent version with Sakurada has made me add 0.5 points to my initial rating, it was just so good (Rating: 4/5).  M10. そのさきへ (Sono Saki e): Ughhh, I really wanted to love this song but so far my attempts have all failed. I don’t know why it’s so hard for me to get into it. I mean, there must be something to love about it when I hear Wakana rave about the demo tape as if it were the best thing since sliced bread. What exactly is it about the melody that made her cry so much? It still baffles me that this was written by the same person who was responsible for “Kinmokusei” which I absolutely adore. There are some tiny similarities but all in all, “Sono Saki e” feels rather uninspired in comparison to “Kinmokusei”, at least in my opinion. Hearing it live during the release event has also not done anything to make me appreciate the song more. I am afraid it is a lost cause... (Rating: 2/5) M11. あとひとつ (Ato Hitotsu): Nothing much to say here aside from the fact that I adore this song and I am really glad that it’s finally included in an official release. I prefer to hear it live but the studio recording is surprisingly touching too. So understated and yet so charming. I like how Wakana keeps referring to it as prayer, it’s a fitting description. Perfect delivery, as always (Rating: 5/5)

[thegodthief]

Ever since I put my foot down at work about no longer doing work outside of my spec, there has been one person that I set aside time to do just that for. It's not because they are above me in the food chain, it's not because they are well-regarded, and it's not because I need a mental break from my usual grind.

It's because they are actively trying to learn how to do this for themselves.

There is a particular report that my office often needs, but is not readily available from corporate. Corporate prefers that we make a formal purchase of the report from a separate department, but wow, that eats up our budget like water through a sieve because the report is calendar sensitive, so we're pulling it often. And even then, the purchased report has to be refined further to be useful to our needs. (Not to mention, that department always gives us grief because it's so tedious for them to do it that it takes a week to run it, hence the report charge.)

It was one of these refinement requests that put the report in front of me. I recognized where the data in the report came from. It is a refinement of a raw database dump that we are able to get without a purchase order. I obtained permission from my boss to get into trouble and obtained a raw dump for myself to play with.

Wow. That's a lot of data being collected for no reason other than to collect data.

Well, I don't need these twenty columns, or that duplicate column. How obvious can it be that these hidden cells are merged for no other reason than to frustrate someone trying to sift this data for themselves. So when I move these remaining columns to the order we need then that reveals where a refinement needs to happen. And then, and then, and then...

Done.

Took me two hours to figure out the steps, but then once I had the process complete and verified, it only takes me fifteen minutes to do this by hand.

But that's me.

I didn't realize how complicated the process was until I made a technical manual for it. I took nothing for granted and wrote it with the assumption that the most advanced thing the reader had ever done with the necessary program is to open an already existing file. I would complete a step, write down what I did in that step, look at what I wrote, and realize that what was one step to me would be six to fifteen individual actions to my intended audience.

What was a twelve step process to me became a list of forty-five individual instructions. And some of those steps had an explanation about why it needed to be done that way, and what to do if something looked wrong.

I sent the instructions to my boss and everyone that would need the report. It was not well received. Because that meant that no one now had an excuse to bother me to do the report for them when we often had several days notice that a report would need to be pulled on such-and-such day. The only time bothering me to pull the report would be justified is if it was needed in two hours or less. (But they have to explain to our boss why they waited that long.)

And then the exec who needed the report the most actually looked at the instructions. They printed them out and literally sat down at their desk and read them, line by line.

"Hey, Keri, I just read your report instructions. Forty-five steps? Really?"

"Yea, once I broke each step apart, it really does come to that."

"So, each step is an individual action, nothing is combined?"

"Copy and Paste pairs are combined, but nothing else."

"I notice that you don't require the user to use keyboard or mouse except for... two steps."

"That's because with exception of those two steps, it's really up to the user how to do those commands. I prefer keyboard, but I know most people here prefer clicking on icons."

"... I could do this. Thank you."

Earlier this week, I was asked to come to their office "only if there's free time". Yea, whatever, here I come. Turns out my instructions were introducing them to commands and features they have never used before and they wanted me to walk them through it because they are in Very Unfamiliar Territory.

"Oh. Cool. You're one of today's Ten Thousand! Sure, let's go."

"Ten Thousand?"

"One day, once we get your geek cred advanced, I'll explain it. But take my word that this is a Good Thing, Tee Emm."

As we went, they asked what each new skill could be used for. Suddenly, this wasn't about getting this one specific report put together, but this was now about how these skills could be used to make other tasks easier for the exec to do themselves.

"I can do this!"

Readers, let me tell you, I rediscovered joy at that moment.

They explained that each time they have asked IT for help and instruction, IT just did it and told them not to worry about the how because that's what they are there for. They had taken my instructions home and asked family members to help them understand the individual steps, only for said family to complete the report process (incorrectly) and tell them not to worry about it because the report was done. They have been wanting to learn how to do more than just open files and prettify reports and my instructions were giving them the opportunity to do just that.

"You probably think I'm an old idiot for not knowing these things."

"No, I think other people have been wrong to you and I am grateful that I got to be here right now."

It took the exec two days to complete what I could do in fifteen minutes. They got some steps wrong, but rather than fixing it for them, I coached them through realizing their error, how the error impacted further steps, and how to recover from the error. Their notes were extensive, mostly about alternative ways to enter each command.

And along the way, I was reminded how good it is to learn something new, the joy of the student and the joy of the teacher. How warm it can be for someone who did something for themselves for the first time.

I didn't realize I had forgotten until then.

[idonatedallofmyinternalorgans]

Candle’s whole exit interview but I wrote it while moving

You’re very welcome

Indigo: Welcome dear listeners my name is [idfk what they said] and I could not be more eager for today’s guest. No one carries a more powerful presence, she’s a voice in the wind that I long to capture even the slightest murmur of. In the darkest of times, she offers all the guiding light. Prepare yourself, mortals, for Inanimate Insanity’s own.. Candle!

Candle: Thank you for the hyper aesthetic introduction, Indigo. You truly set the scene in a manner that could not possibly be broken by any manner of interruption.

Indigo: Thanks? Hmm, that’s awfully specific.

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Candle: And there it is, the return to your carefully crafted atmosphere. Despite the pause, your enthusiasm is already healing the deep wound in my soul.

Indigo: I’m glad to hear it. So, Did you actually feel hurt by this elimination? Cause if-so, it seems like you must’ve held back emotions when you got voted out, even Mephone said you were oddly calm.

Candle: To be honest, I always had sensed my time was drawing near. In fact, I felt as though I was dodging the thralls of time ever since I avoided the elimination in Episode 11. Perhaps I have been running on borrowed time ever since. It was only a matter of time.

Indigo: Oh, so in that case, Do you feel it’s worth staying on Indefinite Island for another chance?

Candle: Oh yes, I will be staying on Indefinite Island. I still feel that I have a purpose here in the game.

Indigo: Fantastic, I’m sure there’s still lots you can do here on the island while you wait, like your aura stand. How do you read auras?

Candle: It’s definitely an art. To put it as simply as I can, I use my third eye chakra to see into the depths of an individual soul. An aura is emitted during this process and the rest flows out naturally. In a sense, it’s communicating with someone as they bear their soul.

Indigo: Ohh! Speaking of which, you’ve had so many great connections out in the game. Do you think you may have made it any farther is Silver Spoon wasn’t a contestant? Or do you think he was helpful in how far you got?

Candle: Who can say? The strings of fate are ever unwinding and intertwining in new ways. I guess it would have just depended upon what type of game I wish to play. I will say this; there was a time I was sure he’d move on like everyone else, but had not. It was.. fascinating.

Indigo: Absolutely. I just want to say that you played a great game! But what is your biggest regret?

Candle: Thank you so much. That really means the world. I suppose it may be how I dealt with Yin-Yang when moving away from the Thinkers or rather, lack thereof, meeting Yin and Yang was definitely a highlight of my journey and I’m so proud of their personal growth. On a separate thought, I wish I would have started to play for myself a little sooner. I was so enthralled with aiding in my teammates’ victories and personal growth, that I may have forgotten about myself for too long. I’ve learned that it’s okay to take time to take care of oneself as well. Healthy body, happy mind, healthy aura, happy life.

Indigo: This question came from a viewer in the middle of an emergency, which is why I saved it until now. Let’s just see here.. Candle? I forgot how to breathe.

Candle: Oh my! Quick, call Dr Fizz!

Indigo: Great idea, I’ll message this listener with your advice long after this interview.

Candle: Praise the Earth Mother

Indigo: Next question. Candle, do you think Silver has any chance of winning the game?

Candle: Yes indeed. He’ll have a one in six chance; who’d have thought?

Indigo: Not me, it’s a steep competition. Did you ever feel threatened by anyone in the game, both strategy-wise and challenge-wise?

Candle: Oh, absolutely! Nickel and Balloon’s baneful friendship made for a formidable alliance, even if Balloon may have been wearing some rose tinted glasses. I’d also say Clover, as her lucky abilities defy the laws of fate and nature altogether. Although, how is one truly to compete with that? She is sweet though.

Indigo: Very sweet indeed. What is your favourite thing to do in your free time?

Candle: This may surprise you, but I do enjoy playing tabletop RPGs. I love creating stories with my friends. My favourite class is warlock.

Indigo: Hm, feels fitting, well with you and your magical abilities. Why is it that when you had swapped bodies with Silver, he couldn’t fly when he put out your flame?

Candle: Oh, Indigo, one cannot learn to fly by pouring water onto oneself.

Indigo: Ahh, of course. Will you teach me how to fly?

Candle: Step one, remove water out of the equation.

Indigo: ..remove water.. also noted. But any insight in general into how your Inner-Flame works?

Candle: Well, ‘works’ implies a sense of ability. As though I’m tapping into some whimsical superpower. However, while the Inner-Flame shares my soul, it carries a mind of its own. That’s why when someone connects to it, they best be wary, lest it consume you. But we’re on pretty nice terms, so we’re fine.

Indigo: Oh.. wow. I’m not quite sure if the flying is quite worth a hassle. Nextly, why is it that you decide to split up Balloon and Nickel? They were fun!

Candle: You mean at the glacier challenge? Well, Silver and I had established ourselves as key players of the Loony-Balloony alliance, as the two who ensured their survival against the Thinkers, the next step was to ensure that we weren’t the lowest on the pecking order. Therefore, poking at the inherently unstable relationship between Balloon and Nickel was our surest bet disrupting their trio with Bot. However, witnessing the aftermath, even I was surprised at how quick their bond was to snap. I sense that if they cannot work this out soon, it will be their downfall.

Indigo: Ooh, spooky. Following all of the craziness in that last vote, do you respect Balloon’s decision for voting for you?

Candle: Yes and no. Yes because he made a strategic choice. Can’t hold it against him if you’re participating in a game like Inanimate Insanity. And no because part of me feels like he may have been swayed into it by a certain someone who is just as strategic.

Indigo: You made plenty of bold strategic decisions as well. How do you feel about the whole villain arc you went through? Did it feel good?

Candle: Goodness! Me, a villain? Was it really that bad of me to want to try and focus on my own needs for once? My teammates had all started to find their own paths, and I felt like I was soon to be left behind. Such as the nature of the game. If being there for myself when I felt lost makes me a villain, then I guess it was an arc for me.

Indigo: I hear you. Speaking of villains, to wrap this up, I’d love to know how it feels to have left Silver Spoon behind. He was very sad to see you were eliminated, not sure if he’s the same.

Candle: Was he now? Interesting. Perhaps we will need to reconnect regarding that.

Indigo: Wonderfully vague as always! Thank you, Candle! Best of luck whenever the rejoin challenge comes along. And to our Inanimate audience, a very special thank you for all of your questions. Curiosity is a powerful thing! Be sure to subscribe to catch the next opportunity to have your question read. This has been Indigo Zircon Rose with IPR, signing off!

[cloudshoregames]

Mech Construction Showcase: King Crab from Battletech

Greetings, Dan Here!

Layout for the standard version of the core rulebook continues steadily. While everyone waits, I thought I might post some devlogs to showcase the variety in the mech construction system by recreating a number of popular mechs from across media. I'll post the sample mech sheets with explanations for how/why I built the mechs the way I did.

 The construction system was designed to allow for deep customization while remaining quick and easy to build. Players are asked to prioritize how they want their mech to perform while choosing their mech parts, purchase the statistics of their attacks in weapon construction, and finally, choose individual abilities for the mech through utilities/disposable equipment. Much character creation in Savage Worlds, mech construction determines the capabilities on the mech in game mechanics, while the "skin" or nature of those mechanics are left to the discretion of players. That is how two mechs that are mechanically identical could have completely different appearance or weapon descriptions. (Fortunately, thanks to the number of options during construction it is extremely unlikely two mechs would ever be identical.)

To kick off this demonstration I have built the King Crab from the Battletech franchise. This is distinctly a later campaign, or "high level" mech build as befitting my favorite assault mech. For those not familiar, the King Crab is a massive beast of a mech that can sheer through enemies on the battlefield like a reaper with a scythe by using overpowered weaponry. Naturally as an assault mech, it sports a ridiculous amount of armor, reflected here in primary parts with a Sakura Industries Frame giving it 48 Armor Points. Unfortunately, the trade off for this super-heavy, is that it's, well, heavy. The King Crab stomps its way slowly across the battlefield, here with Caballero Corp Boosters, and the Movement Rating of 1.  Fortunately, to compensate for this slow speed, the crustacean monarch has many powerful weapons. This is supported by the Blitz Tech CPU giving it two utility systems that can be installed. In this case, we installed two Heat Sinks, adding +2 Heat Rating each on top of the Sakura Industries Radiator with it's 14 HR. This brings the King Crabs total HR to 18.

That Heat Rating score is poured into two weapon systems, the first, is the assault mech's iconic, massive, ballistic autocannons contain within a pair of claw-like shields which can double as melee weapons. These Autocannon Claws as described here, deal a d12 of damage per attack, and was given a Rate of Fire of 2, allowing each claw to fire once on an attack action. The ranges of which are for far and sniping, but melee has also been purchased so that the claw shields can be used to bludgeon opponents as well. While the available ammo for these cannons is low, having being able to melee with them will allow the mech to continue to attack with them, albeit with reduced damage, even after all ammo is expended. To help, the weapon's optimization was put into ammunition to grant one extra ammo just in case. Since this is a high level mech a couple of weapon mods have been installed as well. Irradiated Ammo will allow for additional damage against enemy mechs, while the Targeting AI will grant a bonus to hit with this weapon.

The second weapon to cover the range gap between melee and far, is the Large Laser. While it fires less, and for less damage, it has more ammo to compensate. In addition, the weapons mod, Explosive Ammunition gives it the opportunity to deal damage again if the d4 damage dice ever rolls a 4. Something that is more likely to occur with weapons using lower damage dice levels. 

Now the King Crab is also known for sporting Long Range Missiles. While this could technically be achieved by installing more Heat Sinks, or perhaps a Heavy Weapons Mode Converter for utility systems, instead, two disposable Rocket Decks were instead purchased here to serve the same purpose as needed. Lastly, to help with the ammo situation, (and to scare any unsuspecting opponent), the King Crab is equipped with a disposable Ammo Hopper, containing a full refill on ammunition for one weapon. While I did not specify which in the character sheet, I think enemies would be more frightened were it a refill on the autocannons. 

While this was a high end built, a similar approximation of these same qualities could be achieved by players at start. Naturally, not every option would be filled in for the player's first mission, but a mech could certainly be built that would still feel similar to the King Crab even with starting equipment. To help demonstrate, the next devlop sample mech I'll build is the fantasy mech, the Escaflowne.

Thank you once more for your interest in BTE, and I'll see you then!

[shinyearthquakefun]

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[kyndaris]

City of Lights

VIVID is an annual event in Sydney that began all the way back in 2009. For years, famous landmarks around the central business district have been lit up from late-May to mid-June, pausing only briefly due to the pandemic. Always, there have been magnificent exhibits to wow the senses and tantalise those with a creative bent. And nearly every year I go. With friends or family. To see what wonders the artists have conjured up for the year.

Of late, though, VIVID has become more and more commercialised. Exhibits are hidden behind paywalls. What was once free before now requires a person to fork over a decent of money. And in this day and age, where people are struggling because of the rising cost of money, many might choose to forego VIVID altogether.

And while I might have gone into the city with a friend or two in June, Dikottir asked me out first. Initially, he thought a Saturday would suit, until I told him of the crowds and that I was available for a weeknight adventure.

It didn't take long for us to set a date and arrange to meet at Wynyard. Since this was something of a date, it seemed fitting we pay a little extra to enjoy one of the paid offerings at VIVID. And so, we purchased the tickets for Dark Spectrum, which would lead us into the old train tunnels underneath the fair city of Sydney.

Surprisingly, I managed to arrive before Dikottir. After waiting for a few minutes, he also arrived and we made our way to the entrance of the exhibit. As we headed down the staircase, we caught up on how our individual lives were going. Mine, as is almost always the case, was hardly interesting. A cycle of work and quiet weekends had crept back into my very organised and routine life. And while some would attribute finishing off a lengthy fantasy novel something to chat about, I've learned Dikottir isn't all too curious (given his sister writes poetry and has actually won a prize).

As of typing up this blog post, I'm trying to finish off a short story that has ballooned into a 20k behemoth.

To be fair, I'm trying to conjure up an ending that makes sense for the character. Fingers crossed it won't be all too much longer and I can finally start work on a project I want to see published.

Can you imagine, dear reader? Kyndaris, New York Times Best Seller!

I'm certainly not short of ideas for my stories, but it's setting the time out to execute the vision I have in my head that is difficult to manage. If only I could be a division one winner for the lotto. That'll certainly set me up.

Anyways, what was I saying?

Ah yes. Dark Spectrum! Well, suffice it to say, Dikottir and I headed down into the bowels of Wynyard train station, handed over our passes and were greeted by snippets of history of the old trams that ran underground. And then, before I knew it, I was bombarded by sound and flashing blue light. We had entered Misdirection portion of Dark Spectrum.

Through the confusing maze of blue arrows, we made our way to Search, an almost peaceful experience with its hanging lights. Through this ethereal tunnel, we emerged into Revel. An area that encouraged dancing and spruced up the tunnel segment with green lasers, but was also quick to utilise the darkness.

Dikottir, it must be said, was very much in his element. He might not have been the most elegant of dancers, but he certainly did let loose and didn't mind if he incurred the judgement of the others traversing the exhibit with us. I, on the other hand, was a little bit more reserved and guarded. But also, a little overwhelmed by all the sensory outputs.

It wasn't until we reached the next chamber that I felt a little calmer as the space was a little bigger and the music was more diffused. From the yellow chamber filled with all manner of code and binary numbers, we entered a tunnel filled with lanterns. And what a sight it was!

This had to be my favourite one of the chambers. Especially because of how photogenic it all was.

From the lanterns, we headed to a very angry red room with arches almost reminiscent of tori gates. Making our way through, we entered the very last chamber: filled with white light that broke out into mutli-coloured rainbows to represent how diverse white light truly is.

By the time we stepped out from Dark Spectrum, it was still quite early and the lights of VIVID has yet to be switched on. So, Dikottir and I traipsed to Circular Quay in search of food. As someone who is constantly craving Japanese, we tried out the DOPA located in Sydney Place before we headed to Customs House to see more of the pretty light show that has made Sydney such a great destination even during the winter months.

From Customs House, we made our way towards the Museum of Contemporary Art before we meandered our way through the Overseas Passenger Terminal. Along the way, I snapped photos of the Opera House and Dikottir purchased a huge slice of watermelon, topped up with some soft serve.

Once he had finished his monstrosity of a dessert, we rounded Dawes Point Reserve and headed down the wharfs. Where once the piers hosted a vast array of exhibits, this year, there was a marked absence of anything entertaining. I relayed all this to Dikottir. Multiple times.

So palpable was my disappointment.

And as we walked around Barangaroo Reserve, my disappointment only grew. There was hardly ANY exhibits around this section of the city except for an unimpressive arch.

Even in Barangaroo, the offerings were slim. Yes, there was Horizon but did I really want to head like moths to a flame in between two rows of container lines and stare at a big LED screen flashing orange? And while the ChairWave helped to rest my weary feet for a few minutes, it was hardly worth taking a photo of.

Down we walked, making our way towards Darling Harbour with nary anything exciting to divert my attention.

Even in Tumbalong Park and just outside the Chinese Garden of Friendship, the pickings were small. Where was the huge Swiss Cheese-like monument from yesteryear? Or the sheer amount of frogs? Or the other pretty lights hovering over the pools? What about the water show and dome that had sat in the middle of Darling Harbour?

No. 2024 had none of these options.

As we trudged up the Goods Line towards Central Station, there were a few other exhibits to see but nothing exactly worthwhile.

Much like our last 'date,' Dikottir offered me a hug. One I returned, still somewhat awkwardly. Despite the poor showing at VIVID, the date was still a good one.

But while I don't find Dikottir offensive, and I certainly consider him a friend at this point (he did make a few jokes that he feared I'd lead him down into a dark alleyway and steal his organs - how, I don't know. I don't think I've revealed my unhinged side to him just yet), I'm still questioning how far this might lead in terms of romance.

The thought of holding hands with him, or me showering him with displays of affection, gives me the creeps.

A romance straight from the movies, this is not. At best, it'll be a love forged from a strong foundation of friendship. But this, of course, does necessitate a lot of time and investment. And it might still not eventuate into anything.

Of course, all of this is during a time when I'm questioning my sexuality and gender preferences. I know I'm certainly on the asexual spectrum but I still haven't figured out who I might be willing to enter a romantic partnership/ companionship with.

In all honesty, the idea of simply finding a fellow roommate I can share an affordable apartment/ house with seems more up my alley. That way, neither of us are too lonely, and there's still someone around I can talk to.

If anything, travelling with bleachpanda to Japan this year has shown that I'm surprisingly adaptable in my living arrangements. Yes, she snored terribly but our friendship still held. And we were able to work around each other's normal routines without too much fuss.

Will the same thing pan out if I were to enter a proper relationship with Dikottir? But what if he wanted to do the deed?

At this stage, I can't say for sure I want to jump his bones. Or, heck, even kiss him on the lips, but small steps right? And if the idea still doesn't set butterflies off in my stomach down the line, I can, at least, I gave it the good ol' college try. And hey, maybe we can still be friends! Just, you know, without the benefits.

[advancetoclassesandmaterials]

What Are They Going To Ask. What Should I Do To Prepare?

This is the question that was asked of me today concerning a student that had a long awaited interview with a mid sized legal firm for a word processing operator/administrative Assistant position. l said, how long have you been waiting for the interview? They responded 3 weeks. I then said that is a nice amount of time that you could have been studying.

Okay, so what does one do? You know if they test you it is most probably going to be a document that tests your “depth of knowledge”. So we are talking litigation or corporate type documents and in some cases, a hybrid of the two in order to squeeze as many procedures as possible into the test in order to see “how and if” you can handle what is being asked. This can be segmenting documents, multiple page number scenarios, multilevel outlines, financials, and so much more. The problem is the “so much more”.

Those of you that are attempting to make a lateral move are probably mostly up to date with the software, but most probably have gaps in your knowledge due to the type of law your attorney practices.

Other people who may have been out of work for a while and out of the loop and the routine, will have major gaps in their knowledge and what really goes first are the nuances associated with doing this type of work. There are a lot of nuances.

What can we do for you?

We do a 4.5 hour hands on Test Prep course that includes homework and practice tests through Zoom or at your office. We are one of the very few who teach top tier style legal and corporate word processing,

Who Will Benefit?

Secretaries

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Law Students

AdvanceTo has trained students to do MS Office for top-tier legal and corporate firms since 2004. We also have 20 plus years in legal as Lead Operator, Coordinators, IT Help Desk and of course Corporate Trainers.

We do thorough training from Basic through Advanced for both Legal and Corporate firms. We typically train for secretaries paralegals, law students, and word processing personnel for legal and corporate firms. We are from the inside of the industry and our training gets results.

Here are the possible scenarios that would have you going to take an MS Word Hands-On Legal Secretarial or WP level test.

1. You are about to take a hands-on MS Word Test at an agency or law firm for a great new job opportunity.

2. You have been working at a particular firm for a long time and you are using third party software. You lose that position and are forced to go out and test. Your generic MS Office skills are no longer there.

3. Finally, you are new to the industry, you have worked hard to get to a certain level and you now have to test.

Our live test prep class is 4 5 hours (can be split into two sessions), and you also receive post class practice tests and assistance. This class is a great value.

The cost is $175.00

We have seen countless tests from law firms and employment agencies so we know the range of what can be asked of you. We have authored tests of our own so you are in good hands. Discounts are available for the purchase of two or classes. You can pick from any class we offer. All groups receive discounts.

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[9ofspades]

Yeah for sure! Things like TTRPGs or video games might be made by individual indie creators, and pirating those is also bad. That said, though, while borrowing books isn’t a perfect substitute for having them, if you’re reading less-popular books, it’s often adequate. My experience with the Libby app has been that if a book has sufficient copies, I do end up basically having full access to it on my phone the way I would if I’d purchased the ebook. You’re right that the wait can be several months for something more popular, though! But given the whole ADHD thing, I’m usually reading a dozen books at once anyway, so it’s not like I have nothing to do while I wait. And… I think the point isn’t so much that it’s a perfect substitute as that people… really aren’t entitled to free art from individual artists on-demand whenever they’d like. Wait times might be inconvenient, but when you’re already getting that person’s art for free… it doesn’t make sense to devalue that person’s work further — and the work of writers overall — by turning to piracy instead. (Edit: just realized that this seems like I’m arguing with you. Not my intention at all! This was a “yes and” — yes you’re absolutely right on all counts, AND you’re also right/it’s also true that that doesn’t justify piracy)

Other alternatives to piracy include

Little Free Libraries — if you have any in your area, they’re a wonderful way to share books with one another for free. Significantly less range of choice, because it just depends on who’s donated what lately; but it’s a great way to get access to physical books without a budget for them!

library used book sales — if you have a physical library in your area, they’ll often hold used book sales once a year, where you can pick up books for much cheaper than usual.

Deals — creators will often put their ebooks on sale for special occasions, and the first book in a long series often ends up being free. Bookbub.com has a list and alerts for any time books end up with limited time low prices or when they’re temporarily free.

Giveaways — if you’re a fan of a particular author, they’ll sometimes do giveaways of their work on their website. Sometimes this is as simple as getting a free novella in exchange for signing up for their emailing list.

Store raffles — your local indie bookstore sometimes does events with giveaways/raffles where attendees can win free copies of bestsellers. If you like books, go be their patron!

thriftbooks.com — this is where I got some of my college textbooks. It has a surprisingly comprehensive catalog, though some things you’ll have to wait for. Used books at reasonable prices. Has the opposite problem as Libby — if it’s popular, it’ll almost always be in stock; but if it isn’t, then it might not be available for months.

We're talking about personal morals here, not legality.

–

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

[crazyfilterlady2024]

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The Frustration Ends Here Ever felt like your traditional bank is out to get you? Well, you’re not alone. With hidden fees lurking around every corner and overdraft charges hitting you when you least expect it, it’s enough to make anyone see red. But fear not, because Chime is here to change the game.

Say Goodbye to Fees One of the things I love most about Chime is its commitment to transparency. No more sneaky fees or surprise charges draining your hard-earned cash. With Chime, what you see is what you get, and let me tell you, it’s a breath of fresh air.

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[ebikes8]

Why Your Next Purchase Should Be an Electric Scooter

Introduction

Are you considering buying an electric scooter, or maybe you’re just curious? I’m here to tell you why your next purchase should be an electric scooter.

The Rise of Electric Scooters

Electric scooters have been gaining popularity at an incredible rate. In fact, in some cities, they’re as common as bicycles. I remember when I first saw an electric scooter. It was sleek and quiet, and it zipped through the streets with ease. I was intrigued, and that’s when my journey with electric scooters began.

Benefits of Electric Scooters

Economic Benefits

One of the main reasons you should consider an electric scooter is its cost-effectiveness. Compared to cars and even public transportation, electric scooters can save you a lot of money in the long run. I’ve been using an electric scooter for my daily commute for a few years now, and I’ve saved a significant amount of money on fuel and maintenance costs.

Environmental Impact

Electric scooters are not just light on your wallet; they’re also light on the environment. They produce zero emissions, which makes them a great choice for eco-conscious individuals. I’ve always been passionate about green living, and switching to an electric scooter was one of the best decisions I’ve made.

Convenience and mobility

Electric scooters are incredibly convenient. They’re lightweight, portable, and perfect for navigating through traffic. I can’t tell you how many times my electric scooter has saved me from being late to meetings.

Choosing the Right Electric Scooter

Choosing the right electric scooter can be a bit overwhelming, given the number of options available. But don’t worry; I’ve got you covered. When buying an electric scooter, consider factors like battery life, speed, weight capacity, and, of course, price. Make sure to choose a scooter that fits your lifestyle and needs. For example, the Joy e-bike Mihos Model provides the best performance in terms of battery life and range.

Maintenance and safety

Maintaining an electric scooter is relatively easy. Regular check-ups, keeping the scooter clean, and ensuring the battery is in good condition can go a long way in extending the lifespan of your scooter. Safety should also be a top priority. Always wear a helmet and follow traffic rules.

Conclusion

So there you have it. Electric scooters are cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and incredibly convenient. Whether you’re looking to save money or not, an electric scooter is a great choice. So why wait? Make your next purchase an electric scooter. You won’t regret it!

[actually-nagito]

everywhere there is privilege, there are also those who suffer. there is always suffering amongst someone else’s privilege. Just because it is hidden from your view doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. Most people try to pretend it doesn’t exist or shun it. Examples like the number of homeless individuals increasing as housing prices skyrocket; rich people will make vlogs showing off their renovations and constant purchasing and selling of houses. Meanwhile the only way to afford a house now if you’re gen z or a millenial is if you inherit it, and even then it’s hard to keep up the pay for water, gas, electricity, etc… It shouldn’t be so difficult to have a home, yet it is.

Those CEOs and rich business owners who can earn millions a year but still pay their employees minimum wage - minimum wage isn’t liveable anymore but rich entrepreneurs would still rather have a life of luxury than to admit they’re the cause. If people were actually paid a decent amount, maybe they could afford a house.

People becoming disabled from the pandemic, or war, and governments still not caring about disability equality. If you are on disability benefits, which in Canada is less than half of minimum wage, you cannot marry someone who makes over $6k a year or else you lose your benefits. AKA you cannot get married. Sure firing someone for being disabled is illegal, but making up a reason isn’t. Disabled people struggle to work everyday jobs sometimes because of their disabilities themselves, sometimes able bodied coworkers who are uncomfortable by them.

But they always try to hide it.

“Shh. Keep the disabled worker in the back, we don’t want customers to feel uncomfortable.”

“You can’t set up a tent here. It’s public property but past 9pm you have to go to a shelter. I don’t care if there isn’t clean or running water. I don’t care if there isn’t a proper place to sleep or bathe or even get dressed. You make the public uncomfortable by being out here.”

It’s always to make others feel less uncomfortable, but never to make us feel welcomed or part of society. We are outsiders because the rich praise those who make them more money, and shun those who don’t.

When homeless, some shelters kick you out from 9am-9pm. That’s a full 12 hours of having to go outside. In harsh winters, where do the homeless go? You get shunned or yelled at for sitting in a shop, you go to try and find jobs but in order to get paid you need a home address so they refuse you, a lot of homeless people can’t even work because they’re disabled and couldn’t afford to live anywhere anymore.

If you have a mental illness, people mock you for being weird. They mock you and laugh at you when their loud honking from their expensive cars trigger you into a flashback. They play games to see who can make you drop your groceries first. They laugh when you flinch. But yet they also want to pretend you don’t exist. Have a mental illness? Send them away. Send them to a psych ward that will do more harm than good. And if they’re disabled, a psych ward could k!ll them by not giving proper medications or holding back medications, or mixing medications together.

You go to a doctor for help because you’re suffering so much that you can’t even live properly anymore and no one can give you the care you need that quickly. That your importance and life depends on the schedule and availability of the doctor; who takes weekends off and has a house, family, and kids. Your illness doesn’t take a single day off. You don’t get a break. But you still have to wait years just for a doctor to see you and tell you they can’t do anything. If you even make it that long. Other doctors tell you to apply for MAiD if it’s so bad. They’d rather k!ll you than try and help you because the thing that would help you they won’t get paid a lot for.

I’ve heard (and been told myself) that there’s a treatment for colitis. But the treatment isn’t funded, and only one doctor in the country does it. It works, but doctors don’t get paid to do it, so instead they remove your colon. They’d rather remove a vital organ that could still have potential to work, just so they can get more in their pockets. The treatment is called a stool transplant, and it can be done a few different ways, some not invasive and some invasive. But doctors will keep putting you off, telling you “well you’ve been here 5 times (admitted to hospital for colitis issues), you need actually 6 in order to qualify for stool transplants”. Then the next time “well you’ve been here 6 times, you need 7 in order for a referral” and keep it going for years and years until you finally get booked with a doctor that actually cares about you.

If you aren’t a part of society, people mock you. People shun you. People pretend you don’t exist.

Because you remind them that it could’ve happened to them if they were born like you. Or that they’re the cause of it. Or that they’re so privleged they don’t even realize your existence, and when they do they pretend to help and praise themselves for giving you a dollar meanwhile you’d give anything just for them to let you back into society and treat you like a human and not a wishing well.

“Praise Jesus. Believe in the Lord. Here’s a coin; bless you and hope that Jesus will heal you.”

We don’t need to be healed. We don’t need to be religious in order to get a house or a home or food or have enough money to live. We don’t need you to pray us better. We need you to stop hiding us. Stop shunning us away. Stop treating us like we are a tragedy you can fix by giving us five cents instead of changing aspects of your livelihood to include us.

Most people though would rather despise you and shun you because you make them uncomfortable than to treat you like a person. They use the excuse that they aren’t used to it. That it scares them. It’s a burden to them. They must be lucky they aren’t you, then. So privileged that they tell you how much of a burden you are to them because they could never picture themselves in your situation. That it makes them feel uncomfortable, so they would rather pretend you don’t exist. Rather not talk to you. Rather dump you if you say anything about it, because it’s a shush topic. Society can’t hear them talk about it! They’d never willingly be there for you, unless they actually experience it themselves. Because to them, they can just pretend you don’t exist and their life stays privileged. But to you, now you’ve lost your only source of comfort. Or lost shelter: a home, or lost the only person who would even say hello to you and not scoff at you for sitting in a restaurant.

The privileged make me uncomfortable.