#I got this with the 100 free pulls and 10 extra

[jals-stuff]

hello :) saw ur headcanons! mind doing one w deli and the sl*tty jester pleaseeee?

good day anon~ I see that everyone is barking for Domina and Famin so I'll do just that.

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR MASHLE! If you do not know Domina, Famin, Delisaster and Meliadoul, please do not read!

Unless you don't care about spoilers. Then you're free to read~

How would these Mashle characters react if they found their s/o stuck in the washing machine? + personal ratings (again)

For Meliadoul, Domina, Famin and Delisaster.

Warnings: embarrassing? there's an f-bomb somewhere in here

short washing machine headcanons (part 2!)

MELIADOUL…

She’s probably training Ochoa to do stupid things she saw on the internet when you call for her. (Thank you for saving the little guy.)

She’s going to laugh out loud when she sees you stuck head first inside the washing machine! Of course she will. “Please c’mon, please say Stepsis, I’m stuck!” but you won’t, because she’s laughing too hard for you to even understand what she just said.

When she’s finally calm again, she will try to get you out, struggling quite a lot and muttering insults towards the poor washing machine’s family tree, then finally give up and cut through it with her Magical Chainsaw. 

You’ll get very scared, of course, and the chainsaw will absolutely cut through you, but you’ll feel extra relaxed afterwards. She will occasionally tease you about this episode, mostly if you’re cuddling with her.

Made fun + cut you with her Chainsaw, but now you feel nice. You aren’t even mad, 8/10.

DOMINA…

Domina is attempting to make some apple pie when his focus is broken by a muffled scream coming from the laundry room. He sighs and immediately makes his way there.

With anyone else, he would get super angry, but it’s you, and he loves you very much. “Oh no, (Y/N), are you alright?” He isn’t panicking, but he’s a little worried that you might be feeling in pain or too uncomfortable.

He will undoubtedly get you out very nice and slow, and make sure to inspect your face and arms to be absolutely certain that you aren’t hurt (you’d better hope so if you don’t want him to molest your poor washing machine afterwards).

If you’re embarrassed or uncomfortable about it, he’s going to bring you with him and keep making apple pie (it was supposed to be a surprise for you but fuck it) to distract you.

Gentle and cute, definitely makes good pies. 9/10 don’t forget to praise him for this please

FAMIN…

He’s.. I don’t know, probably stealing stuff from his brothers’ rooms when you call him, and his head makes a whole 180° turn before he realises that you need him, and he comes to see you.

Will probably sit on your back while you’re stuck. “Is it nice in there?” he’s going to ask while giggling. If you say it isn’t, he will pull you out immediately and sit next to you to check your expression for any discomfort.

However, if you’re dating Famin, you’re the type that will say it’s nice, so he will first of all pull you out of the washing machine, and then take your spot in there. He’s going to end up being stuck too.

Now you have to pull him out and you don’t know how to do that, you’re left with a jester inside a washing machine. Sounds like the beginning of an awful pun.

Helped, but got stuck instead. at least it was funny, 7/10.

DELISASTER…

He is 100% scrolling on social media or taking selfies when you call for him, and he’ll keep his eyes glued to his phone while making his way to you.

Upon seeing the pitiful display in front of him, he chuckles. “Oh, em, gee. Are you, like, stuck or something?” He will definitely sit down next to you and take selfies showing his face next to your figure, completely stuck.

He will start a TikTok livestream (titled "LMAO F IN THE CHAT FOR (Y/N)") and ask his followers for advice to get someone out of a washing machine, and make absolutely sure that everyone can see you. What a jerk.

If you start sulking or being too uncomfortable, he will put his phone away and get you out of there immediately, without any further questions. Maybe he’ll take you to a party or let you rest on his lap as an apology.

Mean, and why does he speak like a frat boy?? But at least he’s pretty and the party was nice. 7/10

[wihellib]

Do you have any tips for events similar to the ones being run right now?

I got the game only a few days ago so I’ll be missing out on Zagan’s new card (which sucks cause he’s pretty much my favourite now) hoping to be better prepared in the future for any reruns and the next events.

The event for Zagan that’s happening right now (and about to end) is called a Nightmare Pass (NP).

A big disclaimer about the NP, even if you complete all requirements (216/216), you do not get Zagan yet. Before you can get Zagan, you also have to buy the Advanced Pass and Superior Pass with real life money. And it’s not cheap.

This is the EroLabs version of the game (it’s uncensored compared to the AppStore and Google Store). Basically, it would cost me around $80 in my country’s currency if I wanted to own Zagan (Model). It might be a different amount for your currency.

If that’s in your budget, then read on. If not, then there will be another way you can probably get Zagan at the very end of this post.

To complete the NP, you need to progress through stages over 20 days. Each stage has different requirements you need to fulfill, and you can only do one stage a day since one of the requirements is ‘daily login’.

The only time ‘login’ isn’t a requirement is on the very first day, since they assume you’ve already logged in before the update was released. However, they do require ‘complete daily quests’ on the first day and if you’ve already completed those, then you will have to wait until the next day to complete stage 1. So, my first recommendation is to not complete your daily quests on the day you know the NP is coming out until the NP is live.

You’ll need a lot of AP to complete battles for stage requirements. If you need need more AP, you can buy 100 AP for 10 gems three times in the shop. You can also get another 100 AP for 10 gems if you click the AP bar itself. I wouldn’t recommend spending more than 10 gems for 100 AP, it’s not worth it. If you need more help with AP, then make sure you’re only completing battles that cost 15 AP, the lowest a battle can be.

There will be some ‘raise likability’ requirements. I like to keep one character with one of the likability rewards unclaimed at all times, to fulfill this NP requirement immediately every time.

To meet the ‘draw’ requirement, you can use your free daily greater (yellow) key pull. If it says ‘special draw’ then you need to do a lesser (red) key pull.

If you’re still having trouble completing all 216 requirements, then you can skip them using Nightmare Coins, which you get by completing battles. But you would need a lot of them to skip the whole NP in one go, which is not feasible. So, Nightmare Coins are an emergency option for me personally.

If you do purchase the NP character, then Nightmare Coins can also be used to get extra copies of the character to evolve them, which gives you more content for that character. So, I like to try to save Nightmare Coins if possible.

Now, if you really love the NP character but don’t want to spend real money, then there’s one other way you can get that character (most likely).

For the first anniversary this past October, they released a special banner that featured every character they had released so far, including paywalled and in-person only convention bonuses.

They will most likely do this again for second anniversary, so that could be your chance to get Zagan.

After 100 pulls on the special banner, you are guaranteed to get the character you picked. You could also get them early and then pick a different character, without messing up pity. You could also get other characters (again including NP characters) during your 100 pulls, but those are based on luck.

It costs 5000 Solomon’s Seals to get 100 pulls, which is steep, but doable if you’re very dedicated to saving (make sure to complete at least three level 10 battles at the Realm of the Seraphim everyday to get more Solomon’s Seals, also always complete all your Weekly Quests).

Reruns of NPs are extremely uncommon, it’s only happened once before, so I wouldn’t count on this option.

So, that’s about it. It’s really not that hard to complete the NP if you login every day. The NP requirements have a lot of overlap with your Daily Quests anyways. And even then they give you several extra days past the 20, so it’s fine if you miss a couple days. The main problem is the high real life cost at the end. But that’s up to everyone individually to figure out if it’s worth the price for them.

[natsuphoria]

if i politely asked for kuro + koga with an s/o (they/them) whos physically affectionate would i get a smooch from jes

HONEY MY BABY EVER !! i smooch u on the cheek regardless but you'll get an extra one just for this + multiple smooches from kuro and koga :3 i decided to do hcs for this one – if you’d like a scenario instead feel free to req again <3

kuro & koga w. a physically affectionate s/o

no mentions of reader's pronouns, gn reader

kuro’s no stranger to physical affection – i like to think his little sister was constantly clinging onto him when they were younger – so it's not something that catches him completely off guard.

when you first do it, he'd be slightly surprised, and perhaps a little flustered at the proximity. ah, he's so close to the person he loves… 

wide eyes + red cheeks combo teehee. he thinks it’s adorable how enthusiastic you are about showering him in your affection. 

soon, though, he's looking down at you with the fondest smile. he loves you so, so much okay he's down so bad. he’ll probably pat you a little or even give you a forehead kiss :>

we all know this man is strong. he’d totally drop everything to catch you if you run at him.

wrapping his arms around your waist, lifting and spinning you with ease… you’re giddy; from him or the spin? who knows…

at the beginning of your relationship, he wouldn’t initiate hugs or physical affection that often, but once he realises how much you like it he’s much more inclined to do so! he’s the kind of guy to place a warm, gentle hand on your lower back to guide you… it’s so comforting and grounding.

i also think you two are always holding hands in some way, maybe even linking pinkies bc you’re cute like that.

he’d 100% let you clamber onto his lap and shower his face in kisses. just. holds onto your waist and chuckles quietly until you’re done. 

overall he’s pretty receptive to physical affection, to the point where he adopts your mannerisms himself <3

koga under the cut!

now koga’s more of an enigma.

listen up now, he loves you, but he’s not gonna let that sully his tough guy image, ya got it? >:|

jokes aside, he’s likely to be eeeever so slightly put off by it at first, especially in the presence of his unit mates.

but he notices the way your face drops, the way you seem almost disappointed, and his heart squeezes. he never wants to upset you. you mean so much to him, and he never wants to be the cause of your tears.

you two talk about it and you agree to stick to a few rules. amazing. we stan communication in this household.

one, hand-holding is fine in public. he lets you cling onto his arm, play with his fingers, trace the lines on his palm… he also starts silently squeezing your hand three times, a secret code for i-love-you when he’s not able to say it out loud. 

two, quick pecks are also okay. the other members of undead have often seen koga pressing his lips to your forehead, pulling away to give you the most lovestruck look ever. (koga would deny this so hard but his cheeks are incredibly red. no one's believing him.)

three, he’s completely at your mercy in private.

as much as he pretends to be rough and tough, this boy will absolutely melt when faced with your affection. he’d be weirdly quiet… but it’s just because he doesn’t know how to react!

boundaries are great and all, but that’s not to say he’s never going to show affection in public! he’s not as direct as you are, but that doesn’t make his ministrations any less valuable – an arm casually slung around your shoulder, or a hand playfully ruffling your hair... these are common, simple ways he expresses his love physically.

he’s a good cuddler, i think. he starts off all stiff limbs and pink cheeks but when he gets comfortable it’s a 10/10 experience for you both.

he’ll absentmindedly drag his fingers across your skin… just lying there, thinking about you both… what a simp.

overall, pupiy : ‘i have no need for affection bark bark bark woof… well fine i guess it’s okay if it’s you. hmph.’ ← secretly loves it

[twiwoncrackpopcorn]

ツイステ Twisted Wonderland 3RD ANNIVERSARY - Campaign Gameplay

… too many thing oh heavens too many XDDD

About Grim :

Grim gives you login rewards during the Anniversary period, and you get “Bonus Item Drops” during Lessons.

Grim SR Ceremonial Robes is available for free when playing the Anniversary Event Story, you will get the Limited Card to start levelling him up after the Chapter.1 then you will get the permanent card after having collected 500 Yellow Tuna Cans and finished the Chapter.2, and you can Groooovy him after the 18th.

previous years Grim SRs (regular and Lab Coat) are available at Sam’s Shop,

Grim SR needs Yellow Tuna Cans this year (you obtain them during Lessons), to level up his Magic Spells, previous years Tuna Cans are available at Sam’s Shop,

Grim SR needs Grim candies from Alchemy Lessons to Groooovy + you can only Groooovy him after the 18th of March,

Grim Mission Stamps : login 3 days during the Anniversary period | gather 100 and 200 tuna cans | use Anniversary Grim as your Home character | level Anniversary Grim to level.20 | level one of Anniversary Grim magic spells to level.5 | do 40 and 80 Lessons with Grim (not Crowley Lessons or Alchemy) | do 30 Alchemy Lessons

Grim CG this year is anticipated with the third-years students and Ortho, completing the previous year’s roster :3

About the Mirror Gacha Banners :

we get 2 times (event start, 16.Mar and 18.Mar) a special free 10-pulls on the Permanent Banner, woohoo! This banner can only be used during the Event so MAKE SURE TO USE YOUR 10-KEYS THERE. Also this banner accumulates pulls you made on the Permanent Banner before the Anniversary and extra pulls you do on all Dorm SSRs (see below) so it’s quicker to get to the 100th-guaranteed SSR.

the Anniversary Banner features all Dorm SSRs including Malleus (but his Drop Rate is better on hid dedicated banner if you want him) and each pull gives you a 3-medal to exchange at the Shop,

each and every characters will have their Dorm SSR individual banner rerun twice during the Anniversary period, starting with Heartslabyul boys today 10th and on the 17th, Savanaclaw on the 11th and 18th, Octavinelle on 12th and 19th, Scarabia on 13th and 20th, Pomefiore on 14th and 21st, Ignihyde on 15th and 22nd, Diasomnia (excluding Malleus who is already having his banner) on 16th and 23rd.

At Sam’s Shop :

Anniversary Pack for 200 paid-jewels includes a 10-keys and various items,

you can trade 3-medals obtained from the mirror gacha against 1 birthday SSR key (all boys from White Suit series and Union Letterman series) and 1 event SSR key (Azul Beans Day, Ace Idia Ghost Marriage, Halloween, Leona Fairy Gala, Ruggie Vargas Camp, Deuce Stargazer),

you can get some mirror gacha keys at the Tuna Cans shop.

Other Gameplay released for the 3rd year of the Game :

I will make separate posts for them, but you get a new feature of “Special Lessons” with Headmaster Crowley, and the possibility to skip Lessons.

Also Sam’s Shop got a relooking, there is a new kind of 200th-guaranteed-SSR gauge for Characters and Event Banners, and the GuestRoom has a couple new functions such as giving out the keys to your preferred characters and crafting the Card CGs (regular and Groooovy) of the SSRs you own more than once (with duplicates of Perfumes).

Another new feature for SSR cards is a 3rd Magic Spell unlocking at the 3rd time you maxed them (with duplicates or perfumes).

[walkingstackofbooks]

Trying to decide what I want to work on right now and so to procrastinate I thought it'd be fun to share my current WIPs with you all (omg how did I get so manyyyyy)

Feel free to shout encouragement at me if there's any that particularly pique your interest! :P

Anyway, in order of how recently I've worked on them:

1. Prompt - what if Kukulaka got broken and Garak repaired him?

Coming soon? 80% it'll be done in the next week: I'm hoping to just bash it out at some point, but even though it's short and self-contained, it's hardddd...

2. Unexpected Chapter 2 of Imprisoned. Absolute Sloanshir rot: Sloan provides Julian with more "help", Julian gets increasingly confused/grateful/flustered/fucked

Coming soon? Almost 100% you're gonna see it next week - I am hype and should should should get to the end once I have an evening to myself ;)

3. Prompt - "I don't trust myself to be good to myself right now, but I need someone to be good to me." Conversations between Miles and Julian at various points in the series when they've hit rock bottom and need pulling out.

Coming soon? No... I've written one post-DBIP scene but I'd at least want the post-Argrathi scene and the rest of the DBIP stuff to be done before I put anything up, if not the whole thing... It's definitely a long fic I'll be returning to in fits and bursts. (sorry, prompter...)

4. Prompt - Garak and Julian's first conversation post-IPS/BIL.

Coming soon? It's a strong contender for next week - I was super hype for it when I started but then work interceded and I just haven't got back to it yet. It is a priority, though!

5. Pre-DBIP: a few moments where Julian's unspoken issues with his parents cause friction for him but go unnoticed by his friends. Post-DBIP a similar moment happens and is recognised for what it is. Featuring Julian + beets.

Coming soon? I really don't know. I've got a strong vision for it and scene one (of four) is done, but it's kind of stuttered since then.

6. Julian starts to neglect his self-care, leading to him passing out in the infirmary. Sisko would like to know what the hell happened.

Coming soon? It's already on tumblr in a rough and ready form, so editing to put on AO3 might well happen in the next week - and I'd say a 50% chance of something extra with that?

7. Chapter 2 of At Their Mercy. Alpha!Garak takes over with Omega!Julian where Kira left off... 😉😉😉

Coming soon? Gahhh, I have written this several times over in my brain, but getting the start of this chapter has been proving difficult. Definitely not until after the Imprisoned chapter is done.

8. Why Leeta Kept Kukulaka And How Julian Did Try To Ask For Him Back. Just cute, fluffy gap-filling; I love both of them.

Coming soon? Probably not. Only the outline has been written tbh and this hasn't caught my fancy in a while.

9. "Acts of God": A runabout crashes on a planet where medical intervention is outlawed. Unable to help his injured friends and forbidden from alleviating the suffering he sees around him, Julian has a very bad time...

Coming soon? No, I think this is probably going to be an after-VIsion-Awry project rather than a can-i-get-it-done-first one.

10. "Sloan's planet": Sloan is Julian's s31 handler, sending him out on all sorts of missions... but the missions are fake, Sloan using the holosuite to manipulate Julian pretty much any way he wants...

Coming soon? Possibly. This has more of a series vibe maybe with a few distinct one-shots, so if I get a short idea I might bash it out 🤷‍♀️ Sloanshir's often just so easy to fall into.. 🤣

11. Keiko + Molly + Julian + drawing post-DBIP. Julian's not very good at it, and it's a bit feels but a lot of fluff.

Coming soon? Well I haven't touched it since April but I do smile whenever I remember it exists (and looking at the file, more was written than I remember!)

Welp - and that's not even counting the myriad other ideas floating around my tumblr/ in my head! Or the fact that I have probably another 15-20k of Vision Awry to go... Well, here's looking forward to my August of writing!

(Which I'll definitely have... if I stop procrastinating! :P)

[miaemilia]

I'm back after months and months away. If you follow me on Twitter you know what's up, if you don't here's where I've been....

I've never been shy about my mental health or my battle with depression and this past year, it wasn't just a battle it was a full out war. What started out as a struggle turned into a full out fight for my life. Now when I say that I will say (at least this time around) I never had thoughts of suicide but I frequently struggled with self harm. The last time my depression was this bad was 10 years ago when I was diagnosed with major depression and came home from college to fall into a near catatonic state. I have not had an episode that bad/ this bad since then. Thats not to say I haven't had my struggle with my depression, it will always be there. I've had times when I knew my medication wasn't working and needed to change things, but overall, everything has remained manageable up until this year. What was particularly hard this time around was that I'm a mom and not only that but I'm a stay at home mom of two preschool aged kids. I'm needed and its very hard to be needed when you can't even convince yourself to take a shower for weeks on end. So every single ounce of energy went into the absolute minimum necessary to make sure they were taken care of and that wasn't because i didn't want to do more for them. It was because I didn't have any more to give and that was hard. Very hard. So the mom guilt plus the depression was just digging me further and further to the point where I couldn't even force myself to be creative. I didn't even find joy in opening a book to read.

My husband would come home from work, I'd go to our room climb into bed and pull the covers up over my head and be done for the day because there wasn't a single ounce left in me. If he was working later or the kids were crazier or I was extra tired I was in tears because I couldn't take it anymore. I was that exhausted and just wanted to disappear into nothingness.

That was rock bottom. The darkness nearly swallowed me whole. It whispered in my ear every insecurity i had. It played on my fears and told me exactly how i was failing them. But still somehow i knew ending it all would be more of a failure to them than just sleeping away the pain the way I was until I got better.

Man when we got the right medication combination going..... talk about night and day. Fuck I love meds. I'm a BIG medication fan. I'm a talk therapy fan too. I'm there once a week rain or shine even if its just to talk about how anxious I am about conaggedon because social anxiety is very real and my scars are still fresh (physical, mental, metaphorical) and I also love to write. And my god does it feel good to be back to writing.

I write for myself a lot. I write everything I feel, everything I think. Most things will never be read but there is something so passionately freeing in expressing yourself in written word. It wasn't until I started writing fan fiction for The 100 that I'd ever shared anything I wrote publicly before, and it was what inspired me to move forward with writing my own book so maybe in the not too distant future you might see me looking for people interested in pre reading some material for me 😉 you'll always be the ones I come to first.

Thank you to those who keep checking in, I'm here and I see them, it makes my heart swell with gratitude. I'm unworthy. Thank you to those who continue to read my stories (even the unfinished ones) the only current WIP i intend to pick back up at the moment is Awake. I'd still like to finish that before I leave for #conaggedon but I also have a new one I'm about 50% done with that once it's moved into editing I'll begin posting so keep an eye out for more.

Until we meet again,

Emily

(Aka MiaEmilia)

[sydsaint]

My quick overview of Money in the Bank! Overall, it was a pretty good show. 7/10⭐

‼️MITB 2023 SPOILERS AHEAD‼️

So happy that Iyo won the women's match. Love her 💜 Zoey was my sleeper pick to 2 win but I don't quite think she's ready yet. Trish is making her better every week tho. Iyo and Bayley are gonna have some drama now. I know it! The handcuff spot ending was great! I loved the creativity. Zelina showed out with that Code Red from the top of the ladder. And all the ladies where serving this their gear. As they should.

Gunther kicked Riddles ass, as he should. The match was good and Gunther looked great as always. Drew coming back was the highlight of that segment. He and Gunther are gonna kick the crap out of one another soon. And I honestly see Drew as the one to dethrone Gunther. Perhaps with some help from The Brawling Brutes again since Vinci and Kaiser are still a factor.

Surprise ! John Cena showed up and hinted that Mania may be in London in the future. My Aussie husband Grayson showed up and he and Cena had a good promo battle. Possible Cena/Grayson match in the future?? Because I'd love to see that when Grayson's leg is good to go. Grayson had a killer shirt on as always. That's one more to add to my wardrobe when I've got money.

Finn and Seth put on a banger match. Kinda wished it was Demon! Finn tho. Judgment Day is so clearly gonna break up soon and I am all for it. Finn needs to be free of the shit Rhea and Dom have going on. So does Damian. Personally, I think that Finn should start tagging with JD McDonagh and Damian should get a singles run.

Not a huge Cody fan but he kicked Dom's annoying ass so yay Cody! The match was okay. I've always found Cody kinda eh. And Dom's character with Rhea is just annoying.

Didn't really care for the tag match until Shayna pulled a GOATED move and smacked Rhonda up. Hopefully this either means Rhonda is gonna be gone for a while or Shayna is gonna give her the work in a full match/fued. Also, I'm happy for Liv getting the belt back. Don't really care for Raquel 🫠

Bloodline Civil War was a great match! Jimmy and Jey both showed out and proved that Roman is slowly becoming irrelevant. Loved seeing my man Solo kick ass! (even if it was his bro's ass😭) That's my man and I can't wait for him to drop Roman and get back on the same page with his bros. Romans's time on top is coming to an end and I can't wait for him to drop the belts. I'm a shield stan for life. But that man has become so bland both with his promos and his in-ring work. It's time for someone else to have the belt and be on top. I 100% think that Jey should be the one to dethrone him. Poetic Justice if you will.

The men's ladder match was 🔥🔥🔥. Shoutout to my man Ricochet for putting Logan through that table with that amazing spot. Shinsuke and Butch both looked really solid in the match. Hopefully, they'll let Shin get more screen time. (also let Pat come back. I miss him jamming out to Shin's music) Logan was okay in the match. His ring work is getting better. He works well as a heel and I loved the boys all ganging up on him. (not a Logan hater. Just thought it was funny) Damian did solid work. He was my sleeper pick and I didn't mind him winning. Though my husband LA Knight should HAVE WON THE MATCH!! Triple H will be hearing from my therapist. Papa Trip hinted after the show that Knight is gonna get a push soon because of all the attention he's getting. I can see him going after Austin's US championship since Theory's run is dry as hell and it's about time he dropped the belt.

Extra random thoughts.

Wade Barrett looked fine as fuck in that pink blazer. I'm obsessed and in love 😍

The Sami and Kevin segment was great. Love my chaotic BFFs

Rhea needs to drop the title already. Cuz girl ain't doing shit with the locker room.

Asuka V Iyo outta be 🔥🔥

[winderlylandchime]

Hello, happy Monday. I am here to provide a tiny update on my brother’s Halloween costume. Because obviously the man went an extra mile. He went to the store yesterday after we got home for some last minute shopping and you guys, he bought condoms. Bunch of condoms. And because he did get a tiny bit worried that my friends are, and I quote “fake gay and wouldn’t know the icon Brian Kinney” (keep in mind he is in a robe for one costume and a suit for the other) he decided to print out a bunch of tiny pictures of Brian in the robe and Brian at prom. And he made it look like a business card. So basically it was two photos one by the other on one side and on the other side he wrote ‘Brian Kinney’ and under it ‘the face of God’ and then under that it said ‘no excuses, no apologies, no regrets.’ So that was basically his costume. He briefly considered writing down some of Brian’s lines and only speaking to people by quoting him but he ran out of time (thank god). And since this neighbor lives like two houses down, the suit stayed at home. Anyway he knocked on the door in a robe (he wore shorts underneath!!!) with the coffee carafe (it had actual coffee inside that he drank throughout the furst half of the party) and when my neighbor opened the door, he immediately pulled out a condom and the fake business card to give it to her. And he did that to literally everyone! Some people recognized it after they saw the “business card” but only the neighbor who turned 50 a few weeks ago recognized it immediately and my brother gave him two condoms bc ‘one is a requirement and the other is a reward for being awesome.’ And then halfway through the party one of the neighbors was like ‘where did your brother go?’ And I had no clue where he was and then like 10 minutes later he walked in the house dressed in the suit with the white scarf and i was standing next to the neighbor who recognized his costume and this fucker walks up to us and looks at me and i could just tell that he was thinking of the Brian/Daphne scene and that he really wanted to quote it (he watched the ep again before we left for research). And he made this grossed out face and went ‘ugh…you being my sister ruins everything because i was going to ask *does exaggerated air quotes* your date for a dance.’ And then him and the guy went to dance. EXCEPT the song that was playing was Shut Up by Black Eyed Peas and he was dressed as Brian at prom and the neighbor was dressed as Freddie Mercury in Break Free and honestly seeing that happen gave me at least 10 extra years to my life. My whole family was laughing at the videos of them dancing because at first they tried to do the slow dance since they obviously knew it but the song didn’t fit and when my brother TRIED to dip Freddie, his fucking wig flew off and my brother went ‘oh shit. My bad Mr Mercury’ and then put his wig back on but it was backwards and they were both laughing too hard to continue their slow dance to the upbeat song. So obviously that didn’t work. So they started to dance in a really bad way because my brother is still not 100%, so by accident he was doing a great Gale dancing impression and my neighbor started to really badly twerk while dressed as Freddie. And later while we were talking, “Freddie” goes ‘quick question, how come you didn’t put fake blood over the scarf?’ And my brother looked as him as if he just kicked a puppy in front of him and in a very soft voice went ‘too soon, man. Too soon.’ And one other neighbor who doesn’t know qaf went ‘apologize now! Look what you did! He looks like hes about to cry!’ So that was kinda how the party went. Thankfully by now everyone in the neighborhood (mind you it’s not that many people. Maybe 20-25ish people all together?) knows that he is obsessed with qaf and Brian so at least they weren’t freaked out by him and probably even expected some bullshit. Which he obviously delivered.

Oh my goodness! This totally made my Monday morning!

I love that he had business cards and condones and an actual carafe of coffee. I love the idea of prom!Brian dancing with Freddie Mercury (and I’m very glad he didn’t say to you “looking good [name] I’d fuck you” and I am dyingggg over the question and his reaction to “why didn’t you put blood on the scarf.”

I’ve never done a qaf inspired Halloween costume. This is new levels of fandom unlocked.

[thedemonsurfer]

Okay, yes, but also no.

This is a very useful series of checkpoints, but it presents the idea that you need to have a complex structure set up before you can begin writing.

And I dunno about you, but that kinda thing just doesn't work for me. So imma try to revise things into something that might be more useful.

How Do I Plot A Book (like this fool right here)?

0. You Are The Master Of Your Own Destiny

Whenever I talk about making an outline, folks always seem to shrivel up like shrinky dinkys at the idea of being 'limited'. But, here's the thing:

You wrote the outline.

You can change the outline at any time.

Keep this in mind at all times. Is a scene you planned not working? Ditch it. Came up with a new idea? Add it into the outline. The outline isn't a static cage that you HAVE to stick to, it's a roadmap to help keep you from getting lost, written by YOU.

Start with an idea

Okay agreed, 100%, but also a little redundant if you're looking up how to plot a story. I assume you came here with an idea in hand already.

2. Outline your Plot Structure

Introduction STOP. Pull up your writing medium of choice: a word processing program, the notes app on your phone, a piece of paper. Got it? Good. I want you to write down 4 things for me.

What is this story about? Examples:

A disgraced war hero adopts an orphan who resembles the demon he failed to defeat.

A should-be-dead man escapes a magical prison, but frees more than just himself; also there's kissing.

A kid meets a friendly robot who helps him escape an elaborate trap; they become family.

Where does this story start? What is the Really Cool Thing in the middle? Where does this story end?

These key points (Beginning, Middle, End, and Core Concept) are the backbone of the story. More importantly, they are words on the paper.

Congratulations, you have started plotting your story for real!

3. Take Notes

Start writing down information you think is important. This includes world-building facts, character trivia, and plot points that you'd like to hit. Do not worry about being thorough! I know you've sat there and daydreamed up some stuff already, so start writing it down.

For plot points, try to arrange them in roughly chronological order as you think of it now-- but be open to changing things in the future. The more ideas you come up with, the easier it is to figure out where the next one slots in.

4. Tell A Friend, Sort Of

Start writing out your story as if you're telling it to a friend. You can use an actual friend for this, but you have to use a medium that keeps records (so type it, don't speak it aloud unless you're also recording yourself).

Don't worry about structure or fancy headings or terms like 'falling action'. Ideally the format should be something like "Okay so there's a guy, and he used to be the Count of this city-state, right? But then he caused a curse so he got locked in a magic prison for like 10 years. And then this other guy, actually the Count's Doctor-- he ends up finding him in a pub after he escaped that prison". And so on and so forth.

It's okay if you don't have everything yet! You just started, you'll have time to work things out later. The important part is that you summarize the events you want to see happen, in chronological order. If your story is episodic rather than having a continuous narrative, bullet points of things you want to see happen works just as well.

Congratulations, you've started your outline!

5. Add, Revise, Rinse, Repeat

Here's where things get personal-- as in, it depends on how you, personally, write best, and my advice might become extra useless. But basically: look at what you need and then give it to yourself.

Are you most comfortable writing chronologically? Then take a look at your outline and see if you have enough information to start writing the story from the beginning. If not, head to your notes section and do some more daydreaming until you know how you want to begin, then start writing.

Do you not have a clear idea of the beginning, but you do have some scenes strongly in mind? Go ahead and write them now! At worst you'll have to scrap the scene later, but you'll have something down, and you can use that something to build other things.

Do you have dialogue for some scenes, but not the action? Well go ahead and write the dialogue! Put in a brief summary of what the action around it should be ("it's night time and he's mad about getting stabbed") and then go. Same thing with description with no clear dialogue-- summarize what should be there, but leave it for later.

Always be adding to your notes, revising your outline, adding more scenes you think would be cool. Try out different ideas, see if events can't be moved around. The further you get the more solid things will become.

6. Some Experience Needed

A lot of the stuff in the original essay, like foreshadowing, subplots, etc; aren't things you can just sit down and come up with on the fly. Sure, you can think of one or two, maybe, but inspiration tends to hit in the moment, when you realize 'oh shit I can tie these things together here, and that becomes foreshadowing over there'.

Unfortunately, the only way to get better with those kinds of things is experience. Pay attention to some of your favorite stories and see how they did things, and really analyze why it worked on you. Write down notes: what did the character do here? what happened there? how was this bit foreshadowing?

7. Pacing

Pacing gets its own category because I legitimately don't know how you're supposed to learn this any way other than experience and intuition. If you write a lot, eventually you will get a feel for 'this scene is too fast' or 'there needs to be a longer gap between these events". As far as I know there are no shortcuts, just tens of thousands of words under your belt. Don't worry about it for now, just do your best, and you will improve.

8. General Advice

Start a graveyard document. Eventually you will write a scene that just does not work for whatever reason. Instead of trying to force it to fit so you don't lose all that work, move it to a separate document. If you've ever heard the term 'kill your darlings', this is what it's referring to: cutting a section that you really like because it's not working.

Don't kill your darlings, rehome them. You'll be surprised at how much easier it is to accept. You can can always pull a scene back in if you find a new place for it, or mine it for tidbits.

You will get stuck. Accept this. You will always be able to find your way back out. Maybe you'll have to delete a previous section because you wrote yourself into a dead end, maybe you'll have to leave it for another day, maybe you just need to talk it over with someone.

It does not have to be perfect the first time. Or the second, or third. I'm most familiar with writing fanfiction, which is published pretty raw-- but normal books aren't published chapter by chapter with the ink still drying. Normally you finish your draft, then go back months later and revise the whole thing. If what you're writing is a more traditional book, you can always fix things later. If you're writing a fic, you can still fix things later.

It's okay to give up. Maybe you've changed your mind and you don't like your story anymore. That's fine! Save it somewhere and then forget about it. Don't delete it, just keep it. Maybe one day you'll come back-- and if not, you still have the experience from your attempt!

However, try to stick with it. You know your brain best; if you know you're prone to fits of self depreciation and feeling like what you make is 'bad', try to ride those out before giving up. Maybe your story is fine, actually, and your brain just hates you extra hard right now.

Writing is fucking hard. Inspiration can only get you so far, there are going to be points when you're slogging through it a word at a time. This is normal, you aren't struggling because you're 'bad'.

There is no such thing as wasted effort. All effort is experience, all experience is growth.

Uuuh yeah that's what i got, happy writing

How do i Plot a Book?

1. Start with an Idea:

Begin with a clear idea or concept for your story. This could be a theme, a character, a setting, or a unique scenario.

2. Outline Your Plot Structure:

- Introduction: Set the stage by introducing your main character, the setting, and the initial situation.

- Inciting Incident: Present a problem or event that disrupts the status quo and sets the story in motion.

- Rising Action: Develop the plot by introducing conflicts, challenges, and obstacles that the protagonist faces.

- Climax: Reach the story's highest point of tension and conflict where the protagonist confronts the main challenge.

- Falling Action: Address the aftermath of the climax, tying up loose ends and resolving subplots.

- Conclusion: Provide a resolution to the main conflict, wrap up the story, and show the character's growth or change.

3. Create Well-Defined Characters:

- Develop your main character (protagonist) with clear goals, motivations, and flaws.

- Introduce supporting characters with distinct personalities and roles in the story.

4. World-Building:

If your story is set in a unique or fictional world, develop the setting, rules, and details necessary for readers to understand the environment.

5. Conflict and Stakes:

Ensure that your story has compelling conflicts that drive the plot forward. Make the stakes clear to the reader.

6. Subplots:

Develop subplots that add depth and complexity to your story and intersect with the main plot at various points.

7. Foreshadowing:

Use foreshadowing to hint at future events and create suspense.

8. Pacing:

Balance action, dialogue, and introspection to control the pace of your story. Speed up or slow down as needed for dramatic effect.

9. Themes and Messages:

Consider the themes or messages you want to convey through your story and how the plot can reflect them.

10. Outline Chapter by Chapter:

Create a chapter-by-chapter outline that details what will happen in each section of your book. This doesn't need to be overly detailed, but it can serve as a roadmap.

11. Writing and Revising:

Start writing your book based on your outline. Be open to changes and revisions as your story develops.

[the-firebird69]

YouTube

It's the lawyer building in Los Angeles and our friend here says I guess they don't like the scam and it's terrible and it's Jason and who what the hell does he care and I guess he is a top 10 lawsuits what is it his decision in who gives a s*** about $50 extra day you're nuts you want to hold them hostage and it's not working nobody wants it and wearing a war and we are in a war and we're too small ignoring the empire yeah a bunch of jackasses he's right too we're doing this s*** to ourselves and he can't afford US doing all this crap to him he's just one guy and we're f****** stupid what's going on for a long time it's ridiculous I make fun of people for it and I'm doing it is true I can't stop doing it no I'm going to try and do the lawsuit thing I don't know why I'm just kind of staring at this ridiculous

Tommy f

You're hovering over everybody threatening them all the time like you are the boy and we hate you for it and stupid you're invited ships to come down this f**** Trump did it until his almost all his ships are gone and he doesn't have even a million that's it he's out and stuff and dying and soon gone and it's disgusting and stupid and we need you out and you're going to be out because each location you're doing the same thing and we've been taking and taking and it's just really not helping us it advertising everything cuz you people are fools and you always have been

Blockbuster

enough for this nonsense it's just ridiculous and it's just a circus and it's going to be all that it is unless we stop it

Hulk Hogan

I'm not the Mac proper but you people are ridiculous you weren't this bad before now you're seeing little s**** and you're insane little s**** I hate the f****** laundrymat I can't stand that place every time you go there you have some routine your mindless assholes playing the f****** routine no matter what happens to you this stupid s*** I'm just arrest you while you're there and that's what he's been saying you got to come in here and physically pull them out or they're just going to sit there rotting or dying true too I can't stand you people you're so dumb you ruined my life the whole thing and I need you out you got to respect them for trying but holy s*** you f****** annoying to him there's too many of you doing it and you just sit there doing it and stan you're out you're a retard too. You're going to die soon for being so stupid just sitting here repeating s*** that doesn't do anything make it a smaller it's disgusting and Tommy f you've been doing that the whole time is stupid piece of s*** even the max retired is taking your stuff for free and it's not it's not free

Mac Daddy

We heard the stock before but they seem to be upset with those ships had and these imbecile clones sitting over people is very potent nobody wants to be under their rule it's the rule and the reign of the monkey is what people say or Caesar from planet of the apes and they're sick of it there's a perfect example the movie that our son posted the other day and it's the pop star and it's Tommy allenf after planet of the apes and it's done by Tommy f and who cares he's a he's a moron and what a douchebag that guy is stupid and doesn't understand the effects these ships have it is ridiculous you are exposed everywhere 100% And it was before Saturday no Saturn happened and then the a****** moved in and he's he's slowed everything down to a standstill and the max are exposed

We need out of this and we're going to start pushing for these things to happen cuz we can't stand you idiots

Thor Freya

And we're all up top as well

Olympus

I've had it with this reporting into morons too they're forcing us to we're going to take them down

Thor Freya

[eienoah]

May 10 - Farming Activit

 Fifth day and we’re back again but this time to talk about farming. We woke up a little extra early today to get dressed and ready for our first long excursion to a rice field in what felt like a little taste for what the countryside is like. Last night I bought socks to walk around the rice field but I wish I would’ve bought waders with how muddy that water felt. The bus ride over to the location was quite fun as we got to see great stores and slogans like hard off, stay hungry stay foolish, and many more. Some of the other sights were quite beautiful but getting to that field was really cool. There’s just something about a walk through a residential neighborhood after days in the city that is just calming for the soul. I digress, we all hopped in the muddy water to start planting rice one by one just like how farmers do which was interesting but I don’t think I could do that for more than an hour a day without some real gear. Just going in my socks one felt disgusting and two absolutely ruined them so I just threw them out. I was on the hunt for zarigani(crawfish) the whole time but didn’t manage to find a single one. The disappointment was immeasurable but my day was not ruined. I can always find more before I leave. I might bring a plastic bag with me to the next place though just in case I catch one so I could boil it up for dinner. The day is not over but I’m gonna end today's blog here just so I can go explore more. I’ll write about what I do today in tomorrow's free day blog. 

Academic connections

Pulled from the reading I would like to discuss about how some Japanese farmers will have part time jobs. Like how these farmers' part time job was to charge tourists to come plant rice for them. All jokes aside I could see as to how that becomes an issue with how little space there was at the farm. I have American friends who farm and they have 100s of acres to work with. Small scale farming definitely would not be enough for a single group to get by on. I also drew connections to low farming rates as I had not particularly seen any farms on the way. I know it isn’t likely to find many farms just on the roadside but I think I saw maybe one. One thing I wasn’t too sure about probably because of the venue was the age bracket. Most of the farmers seemed to be middle aged but I did see a few older ones.

[tamiveldura]

Description: Cozy YA Gamelit (soft), the very first words of a series that has been percolating in the back of the brain for over a year.

Warnings: Sugar content very high, diabetics watch out (no warnings)

Paging: @flashfictionfridayofficial

Annie had found there were great depths to her favorite immersed online game. Sure, one could build a character meant for adventure and dragon slaying, but one could also follow the crafter's route and support the guild through armor and enchanted weaponry.

Annie had chosen to level up in baking. At first, she'd considered it a side gig to gem crafting, which was always in demand for enchanted items. But the gems were hard to get her hands on, the skills required to carve them were out of reach, and the whole advancement path felt very grindy.

At least when she baked her 90th cake for the evening raid against The Queen Dragon Hesteroth, she got to eat cake. Digital sugar had zero calories, which always tasted best. The starter level gems, on the other hand, weren't even worth using as paving stones.

It was an hour before raid-start when her bakery door jingled. She'd closed the shop to customers earlier in the evening, so the list of people that could enter was low. Herself, her in-game companion griffon pup, Shriek, or Annie's best friend and raid tank, Heather. The bakery door was a mimic, which acted as excellent security. He liked to eat people and since Annie liked her alone-time in the back of the shop, this arrangement worked well for both of them.

Since there was no accompanying shriek of hello, it had to be Heather.

Annie tapped the final touches of powdered sugar (extra fine) to the tops of a tray of cookies and gave her hands a clap to clear the flour and sugar dust. The cookies shimmered very briefly and a trickle of experience dropped into Annie's profession meter. Not enough to visibly move the bar, but every cookie counted.

She grabbed the tray in one hand and pushed her swing door with the other, presenting the final tray to Heather with a flourish over the glass display case, grinning.

Heather was already dressed for Queen Hesteroth. She towered over Annie in the shop between her natural five-eight height and then the additional platform heel steel boots that looked like a knight had been given Louboutins. Their bottoms glittered gold instead of red. Her entire outfit was styled heavy plate armor, silver predominantly, with gold edging and filigree in spectacular design. Her pauldrons were nearly the size of her head, each one a golden snarling dragon, and her longsword was more like a claymore with how much handle stuck up over Heather's shoulder.

The only thing missing from the set was the helmet, which Heather intended to farm out of Queen Hesteroth today.

"Smells delicious in here, as always," Heather said. She put her armored hand over the cookie tray and with a faint rising note, all the cookies vanished into her inventory. Annie slipped the tray into hers.

Heather held her hand out, palm up. Annie put hers over top and toggled mentally into her inventory. She had room enough to stock the entire bakery case, and most of that room was full of 10-stacks of cake. She transferred all 100 cakes to Heather.

"Don't forget," Annie said, "Cakes are free for guild members and 5 gold for anyone else. Cookies are a gold a piece for everyone. Anyone wants to complain about it, they can hike up the slopes of the Gale and negotiate for Snow Sugar from the Wind Keepers."

Heather smirked. "No one has reputation with the Wind Keepers."

"Exactly. And they'll pay a gold for a cookie after their first death run takes five minutes. It'll double their death speed for six hours." Annie paused. "And they're white-chocolate macadamia."

"Ohhh," said Heather with appreciation. "You spoil us."

"Not yet I haven't." Annie pulled something new out of her inventory and held it on top of the glass display with both hands. It was an ice cream container, about six inches long and half that wide. She pulled the top off.

Heather obediently looked inside. "Is that a Neapolitan?"

"I call it.... Critical Ice Cream." Annie nodded at the box. "Do an inspect."

Heather's right eye flared with blue light and she muttered as she read the tooltip out loud. "Made by a budding master baker, this Neapolitan ice cream has an unusual effect when paired with cake or pie. Plus two to base agility, plus two to base strength, plus two to base mana or equivalent. Increases critical hit chance by forty percent!? Servings remaining: ten out of ten. Effects last for five minutes." Heather gasped. "Annie. Forty percent? Are you serious?"

Annie nodded. "Remember last week when QueerRoyal found that teleport bug?"

"In the last third of Hesteroth. Yeah, they ended up out of bounds and couldn't run in fast enough to keep heals going. We wiped."

"That one. I want you to use this then. Save your cake for it, you don't need the dodge buff anyway. Have QueerRoyal teleport you out of bounds. Set up a table--maybe one will stay spawned if you leave it behind. Cake. Ice cream on top. Eat. Run back in. If you coordinate timing with TankOrDeath I think you can bring Hesteroth down." She put the lid back on. "You get ten tries, that's why you've got extra cake. I can't make another batch of this yet. I used a guaranteed proc of a skill and some rare ingredients."

"Ooooh, my god, Annie." Heather picked up the Critical Ice Cream with reverence. "This is awesome. They're going to patch this bug tonight." Her eyes gleamed with joy. She pulled the container into inventory. "You're the best."

"Get going. You gotta change your battle plan. Tell me when it works, though."

"I'm gonna message you a picture of Hesteroth's head!" Heather waved as she ran out the door.

[disease-danger-darkness-silence]

Things I need to fix on my car

(Best case scenario | Worst-case Scenario) This is all based on whether I am physically capable of the work involved, and whether I have the tools to do the job. My car is the 2014 Chevy Impala. The 2006 Kia Rio5 I'm giving to my daughter, although that needs some work too. IMPORTANT STUFF IS MARKED WITH AN ASTERISK * The two most important for the Impala are the ABS sensors and new tires, honestly.

* ABS sensor and wire replacement on wheels: ($20 | $100) I may be able to fix this for almost no cost, if the sensor and sensor wire are OK, but I'd have to get some steel hangar strapping ($9) and figure out how to best secure it away from the axle, because that's what keeps wearing out the ABS sensor wires.

* New tires: ($500 | $750) Mine are falling apart. I could get some used ones for $200 but then they'd need replacement again in 6 months.

Windshield: (Free | $225) I have a resin kit to fix the chip/s in the windshield, but the entire thing is really pitted and I think it may crack this winter, regardless of a fix.

Fix wiring on side-windows: ($45| $200) If I can get a trim-pull kit ($21, or $40 with a big set of clips), I can probably just fix the wiring myself with a soldering iron and some replacement door clips ($6). If not I need a body professional to do it.

* Radiator drain and fill: ($45 | $200) I'm pretty sure I can do this myself. I need a fuck-ton of distilled water ($2), a bunch of radiator cleaner ($10), an oil pan to hold the old antifreeze in ($15), and winter antifreeze mix ($15). But if I can't, I need to take it in to a mechanic.

* Transmission drain and fill: ($175 | $1000) Also pretty sure I can do this myself. Transmission seal ($14), sealing oil pan ($15), transmission fluid (dextron 6, 5.3 qts, $35/gal), transmission filter ($28), transmission gasket ($9) and grease ($2). The biggest expense will be a new torque wrench (~$50), as mine died. Still cheaper than a transmission tune-up from a pro.

* Oil change: (75$ | $90+tip) Can definitely do this myself but I don't know that I wanna because laying under the car hurts my back a lot. Same with the other stuff. Blegh. Oil pan ($15), oil (full synthetic 5W-30, 6 qts, $7.50/qt or $28/5 qt), oil filter ($7), drain plug gasket ($15). Need a torque wrench for this, too.

Tune-up: ($124 | $250) I for sure can do this myself, basically just need to change the spark plugs. My car takes extra-special iridium plugs so it'll be a little pricy for six of them ($11x6). Need to get cabin ($24) and engine air ($24) filters, and a fuel filter ($10), too.

Fix bumper: ($30/$70 | $300) I'm pretty sure I can do this myself but I need spare clips ($6) and some filament ($15) for my 3D pen my sister got me. I also need to find said pen, or buy a new one ($40). And I need some sturdy, different-grit automotive sandpaper ($8).

Paint touch-ups: ($69 | $500) Car paint is expensive. I'd need automotive primer and the paint itself, and a topcoat, or have a pro do it. It's oddly important because it keeps it from rusting. I can get a kit in my car's color (WA636R) for ($69).

Wind deflectors for windows: ($65 | $) Pretty sure I can install these myself. If not I have to have a body shop do it and idk that I care enough. It would help with retaining heat in the winter and cool in the summer.

* Windshield wipers: ($52 | $92) Definitely can install these myself, it just depends on what brand is available when I go in for them - cheapest 22" driver's side is showing for $23 at Autozone, and 21" passenger side is showing $23 as well. Also need winter-rated window wash fluid ($5).

Detailing ($175 | $450) I can either do this myself by purchasing some things, or I can pay someone to do it for me. Things would be: drill wet-sanding kit ($19), drill brush cleaning kit ($36), upholstery cleaner ($19), upholstery protectant ($17), interior cleaner ($12), headlight cleaner ($20), protectant ($25). I already have a steamer, drill, and wet/dry shop vac (although there's a bomb accessory kit I wanna get regardless for $27). Either way, the car needs to be deep-cleaned, inside and out. It's bad. Although, now that I think about it, if I invested $300 in equipment (better steamer, larger chemicals, power washer) and chemicals, I could do detailing for friends and family and get my money back fairly quick, and I need to detail the Kia for Adrienne anyway.... Hm.

Things I need to do for the Kia for Adrienne

* Remove old bearings and install new ones. (Already have bearings and tools, just no hand strength to remove bearings. Need biiiig mallet.)

* Polish and fix headlights. (Need polish and some more UV resin, as well as bulbs.)

Get quote from fast glass about rear windows, or make a better mold of the rear windows and make better resin replacements.

* Pull oil pan and replace plug. (Have plug already, need impact wrench flex set).

* Change oil and oil filter. (Need oil and filter.)

* Change engine air filter. (Have filter.)

* Fix locks and handles. (Need trim pulling kit and spare clips.)

Deep-clean. (Need detailing kit, turtle wax, rainx, and dent-puller.)

* Fix windshield (either resin kit or replacement windshield).

* Find key and copy. Look into if it'll take a fob.

Alignment and struts.

Fix the pull for popping the hood.

Tires possibly.

Transmission, radiator, and engine flush.

* Fuel filter and cabin air filter.

Possibly paint to fix any rusting that may be occurring.

* Battery needs to be charged and possibly replaced.

[theuntoaster]

I'm not American but Canadian and we too have $200 required textbooks for courses. In recent years, people have been pulling away from those for the inequality reasons outlined above, but 10 years ago when I was in undergrad, courses with $100+ textbooks were quite common.

I also want to note that most of my textbooks were NOT written by the professor teaching the course. The ones that were were either very cheap (~$10-20 which was covering printing and binding costs and they looked more like a spiral bound notebook than a proper textbook), or in the one case where it was a $200 book it was very good.

To address why we are using textbooks at all and whether they are biasing the teaching etc: most of my textbooks were for courses where we were still learning the basic knowledge in the field. When we reached a level where we were learning about the most up to date research, we would be assigned papers to read that we could access for free via the library and often were not assigned textbooks in that case. But when learning the basics, a textbook is organized with the goal of teaching someone new in the field, not with the goal of communicating a new result to an expert in the field, so a textbook is a much better tool in such a class. For example, David Griffith's textbook on Electromagnetism is a staple in undergraduate physics classes, as it VERY clearly explains all the basic principles behind electricity and magnetism and teaches everything in a logical order. Maxwell's equations are standard material in any undergraduate physics curriculum and this textbook explains them clearly and in a logical order that a new professor can follow in their own lectures. If we were only reading academic papers on the subject, they would be far too dense for an introductory class where the goal is to learn how to use the equations ourselves (and not necessarily to learn the history behind their discovery).

To address whether they're available in the library: often times a few copies of the book ARE put on hold in the library. Unfortunately, we need the book for the entire semester and in a class of a hundred students only two or three will be lucky enough to reserve the library copies. The other 97 need to get a copy from elsewhere. This is where buying, borrowing and pirating copies comes into play. Why can't the library get enough copies (physical or electronic) for the whole class? Probably costs too much. No, I don't know where our tuition is going either. Probably into that new building that's under construction (I have never been to a university that WASNT constantly building new buildings).

To address whether the above makes it fair that students have to pay an extra $200 per class for textbooks: No. Not at all. Textbooks are FAR too expensive. David Griffith (auther of the book I mentioned above) spoke at my school once and told us that we could order a much cheaper copy of the book on very thin paper if we get it from...I forget where but it was international for sure. And he advocated that because he, the author, barely got royalties for his super famous physics textbook anyway. (The science publication world is very broken, but that's the subject of another rant). Anyway I'm always thankful of when profs are conscientious of how much textbooks cost and do what they can to keep the price low.

Okay I have a question about American universities, which I do not understand on general principles, and university libraries, which I do not understand in this context.

Here's how it works for my students:

As part of the £9000 a year they're paying, they get access to full library resources. I, at the start of each academic year, make sure the reading list for each module - both essential and supplementary - is up to date, meaning the library has copies (preferably online forms, with hard copies only if a PDF is unavailable)

The library also has subscriptions to pretty much every major journal going, so they are able to access most journals with their uni login. If they happen across, and need, something they can't access, they put in a request with the library for it. A ninja librarian will perform the sacrament, and a PDF is in your inbox two days later (I am hazy on the mechanism of this part, but not the result). You have up to ten requests per person per year.

How in the world do I see posts from Americans so very often talking about paying for textbooks? Like... I get that it's "Shitty lecturers want to force students to buy their personal textbook for cash monies", but what do those university libraries actually Do?

(Also as a side note I am filled with helpless laughter at the very IDEA that I would (a) be allowed to set my own book as not just essential but fundamental course reading in a field that is well researched HELLO BIAS AND FRAUD and (b) allowed to set any text as required reading that would disadvantage impoverished students HELLO INEQUALITY AND ALSO PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS VIOLATION without the university's academic office arranging for a bed of hot coals to haul me over.)

[crystalelemental]

It's that time once again, lads. Let's take a look at EX, candy, and general upgrades.

Though before I get into this, an announcement. After yesterday, as promised, I did have a talk with myself. And I've decided to start cutting back on this game. Especially in the last six months, there's been an uptick in "I don't really care, but I'm pulling anyway." Despite caring less about the characters released, and having incredibly little that's been fully exciting, I'm gathering almost every pair. The worst part is a lot of them don't even see use. I don't really use the Tapu. I don't use NC Marnie or NC Hop. It's become clear that a problem has developed, and I'm cutting back.

So as part of this, I'm limiting myself. I will be skipping the majority of this month. At present, all I plan to pull is Leaf. I may daily on Blue, Palmer, and Argenta, to see if I can get lucky with pairs that are good and somewhat enticing. But Blue and Argenta are supports that do what others can just fine, while Palmer's Zone is both hard to utilize and likely not seeing much play, giving my rising love of playing without them in CS off-type. To be direct, they're unlikely to see much play. I'm actively talking myself out of the dailies, too. The limit will be two pairs in a month, max. There can be some flexibility if and only if I intend to stop at 1/5 and candy to whatever move level is needed. I'm still working out specifics, but the goal is to start letting things go.

This will have a few effects. One is that stockpiling resources will no longer be a significant concern. If I'm not claiming much, I don't need much on standby. I'll maintain previous levels of most resources, though, because the other side is we won't have as much coming in. I'm used to a level of resource intake based on paying into the system, and as I disengage from that, there's going to be less. This month will be a windfall as I spend accumulated 5* tickets and certificates, given the update of the shop and lack of level cap increase. But more than likely, there...won't be as much to go through from here, provided I can keep this up.

EX & 20/20 Current 5* powerups: 220 Current spirits: 970 5* powerups available: 181 (10-ish general, 171 tickets) Spirits available: 380 (40 exchange, 240 CS, 100 LCS) Total powerups: 401 (baseline 120; 15 per; 18 available) Total spirits: 1350 (500 Baseline; 17 available)

Given the yield, we can get up to 17 whole EX this month alone.  Exciting times we live in.  So without further ado, here are my options:

BP Valerie - Unquestionable yes, that's my girl.

BP Barry - Earnestly, I am considering it. His kit looks great.

NC Leaf - Definite.

NC Blue/Palmer/Argenta - If pulled.  I don't currently intend to pull, but if I find one (and only one) that suits a particular need, I will go for them.

SS Hau - Going to candy him.  Could use the extra power.

SS Lana - The anime has endeared her slightly.

Anni Skyla - I intend to finish her this month.

Mallow - Anime again.

Lana - Still anime.

Anni Steven - You know.  I just think it's his time.

That's only 9.  10 if I pull someone other than Leaf this month.  Alright then, let's look at Relevant Support Roundup.

Lodge Morty - Sees a ton of use for F2P, generally pretty great tank in Gauntlet.

BP Janine - Could really use the added bulk, and Recuperation strats are always nice.

BP Surge - Always too frail for easy Gauntlet runs.

BP Morty - Would just be hilarious.

Lodge Blue - More safety when flinches miss out.

Lodge Elesa - Better regeneration, better bulk, worth considering.

Lodge Acerola - Has a decent buffing kit, better bulk would keep her in the game longer when the dodging doesn't work out.

Lodge Adaman - Defenses are like all he's got, so it would help.

Lodge Leaf - A newer acquisition.  I kinda like her kit, but we'll see about performance.

Even with all of them...that's 17.  This month might just be a free for all upgrade bonanza on supports.

4* PROMOTIONS Currently have 279.  The exchange is 100 of these, and if I pull back current spending, we may not maintain much. Hold for now, get a feel for the adjustment.

CANDY SITUATION Strike

SC Emmet (needs 2).  Full investment power.  Emmet can finally be useful.  Wait until after the SC Select scout to see if we get lucky and get an extra copy.

Maxie/Archie (need 1 each).  This is up for debate.  They do okay for where they're at, and only seriously gain SEUN or an extra application of weather.  The big hiccup is cake.  Master Fairs give cake.  Consider holding.

Tech

SS Hau (needs 1).  Desperately needs the reset on Electric Terrain and Mind Games.

SC Ingo (needs 2).  Take the select scout, and see what we get.

Support

V!Lorelei (needs 1).  Gets her the healing and Vigilance.  I think she's probably my top priority among supports. In fact, she's now my only consideration.

LEVEL 150 No increase in level cap, baby!  WOO!  Anyway.  I'd like to keep 100 on standby in case of a sudden increase.  We currently have 355, which means 25 pairs are possible. I'm cagey about these decisions, but there are at least a few.

BP Valerie - Supreme favoritism.

Leaf - I like base Leaf, I figure we can so why not?

SS Leaf - SS Leaf gets better at every role with some more stats.

NC Leaf - I'm admittedly just on a bit of a Leaf kick.

Drasna - I've been waiting for Drasna a while, and if I can't justify pulling for her and she's not in the ticket scout, this is the next best thing.

NY Lisia - I like using her a lot. It's the good version of Lisia.

Clair - Clair sees pretty regular use, because I have a problem. Added stats would be a nice help.

Iris - Similar to Clair above, only her stats are worse so it might do even less.

Valerie - Objectively a poor choice, but I use her for tanking in Gauntlet sometimes and the stats are appreciated.

Okay so this isn't very many, but a lot of the options felt like they really didn't need it so I'm just...not going to do it.

[plungermusic]

How do I go about becoming a music journalist?

Well Susie, first let me congratulate you on graduating summa cum laude, and welcome to Plunger U’s career advice department. Music journalism is a very popular choice for our alumni, and so we have a prepared list of skills and aptitudes that will answer your question.

Gee, thanks Professor!

First, learn where the Ctrl, C and V keys are on your computer. These are all you need for your first single or album review, assuming the artist or their publicist has provided you with a PR handout! Simply copy and paste the ‘headline’ (that’s the bit at the top) and ‘body text’ (the bit below the ‘headline’) onto your web page, add your name at the bottom, and voila! An industry-standard review… For extra creativity you may want to add 5 (or 10) stars or paw-marks or chilli peppers or whatever to indicate just how excellent it is.

What if it isn’t excellent?

Well, two rookie mistakes right there, Susie: first, there’s no need to listen to the item in question, and secondly there is no single or album that you can receive free that is anything but ‘excellent’.

Oh, okay Professor. But what if I don’t get sent a handout I can copy?

Well, this is a problem for the amateur or newbie reviewer, but with practice you will learn that you can still produce a glowing review sure to get you bags of likes, shares and social media kudos.

But how?

Number one, always big up your artist: it doesn’t matter how, just make them sound like an industry titan - if you don’t know what they sound like (and remember, no listening now, that’s cheating!) just make something up. it’s not like anyone is going to check or point it out, not even the artists themselves.

Really?!?!

Oh yes. Number two, anything and anyone you’re reviewing is ‘one of the best’. This has the benefit of being almost true since you’ve not specified how large your sample of ‘best’ is (Top ten? Top 100? 1,000? it could be anything!) And always always say it could be in the running for track/album of the year. If it’s released in that year, then it certainly qualifies to be under consideration for track/album of the year.

Ah, that’s clever.

Thank you Susie, that’s why I’m a professor. Then you’re going to have to describe the track/album in question. This is where it does get a bit tricky - as you won’t be bothering to listen you might think there’s no way to do this, but you can. Write utter rubbish. Hugely flowery, arcane language; wierd inappropriate food references; spinal tapesque RAWK cliches… the choice if yours, so long as it is as impenetrable, opaque, AND (most importantly) apparently complimentary to the cursory glance. It’s easy once you’ve had a few goes.

I don’t think I could do that…

Practice makes perfect Susie. Why not have a go with this random CD I’ve pulled off the top of the pile here?

Okay... I’ll give it my best shot!

By George, I think you’ve got it!