#I still add regular colour names after them so it's easy to understand what colour it is (without knowing uncommon colour names)

[ryanyflags]

Can I have a xeneufemasc flag?

It means neufemasc+xenine

Alt words: xenneufemasc, xenneufemmasc, xeneufemmasc, xeneumascfem, xenneumascfem, xenineufemasc, xenineumascfem, xenineufemmasc

xeneufemasc (xenine + neutral + feminine + masculine) flag :D pt: xeneufemasc

↓ References: ✦ xenine flag (by ElderflowerJuice) ✦ neutral flag (by Kirbirb) ✦ feminine flag (by Kirbirb) ✦ masculine flag (by Kirbirb)

Note: all of these were found (and credited as being created on wikis / by wiki users), so I hope these credits are accurate.

So basically, I simplified the colours of the original 4 flags into 3 colours each, then rearranged them into a flag (in about the same order as the colours are positioned originally) with more simplification of (visually) similar colours, and some editing just so the colours would have better contrast.

[incorrect-missionimpossible]

So Benji is younger than Ethan right, could you do one where Ethan trains Benjion the basics of being a field agent?

hi anon! thank you for the prompt <3. so, i have no idea what this is. i wrote it in a fit of benthan feelings and love for knife fights. it is also very filled with sexual tension. literally. so much. 

---

Ethan can’t keep his eyes off his new cadet. His name is Benjamin Dunn, Benji for short, and Ethan called him Benj the first time they were introduced, and Benji had blushed, and even the tips of his ears turned a bright red and Ethan was practically in love.

And now he has to spend 6 days a week locked in a small room with a sweaty, very, very cute Benji who has slim muscles and a 5 o’clock shadow and who is absurdly easy to talk to. He’s also smart, and so, so helpful. Ethan watched him pick up an injured bird, for god’s sake, and he knows for a fact that Benji personally nursed the bird back to health. Ethan got regular updates on the state of the bird during their lessons, and when Benji had to release Elliot, Ethan took him out for dinner and ice cream instead of their usual lesson.

Ethan fell a little bit more in love during that dinner.  

Today, Ethan’s teaching Benji how to shoot a gun, which requires Ethan to stand very close to him, chest to back, and it also requires light touches to adjust Benji’s grip and posture.

Okay, so maybe Ethan doesn’t have to stand as close as he is, but. He wants to help Benji as much as he can, and standing close to him is just an advantage. Besides, he’s been getting some pretty strong signals from Benji, and he wants to see where it goes.

“So,” Ethan says softly. His mouth is right by Benji’s ear. “The most important thing is your abdomen and diaphragm, here.” He places a light finger on Benji’s stomach. “Keep your core strong. Arms, strong, but relax your shoulders and neck. Stay on the balls of your feet. Be prepared to move.”

Benji relaxes his shoulders, but his neck is still tense. Ethan presses a light finger to the spot in question.

“Relax,” he says.

“I can’t,” Benji hisses. “Not when you’re-“

His ears turn red, and Ethan grins, because he knows Benji is blushing. He steps away and winks at Benji, who turns redder. “Better?”

Benji scowls. “You’re supposed to be teaching me, Ethan.”

Ethan shrugs. “I am. Aim, and shoot. Keep your arms steady, and be prepared for the kickback. Remember, core strong.”

Benji shoots, and the bullet goes straight through the dummy’s heart.

“See?” Ethan says, beaming. “I am teaching you.”

Benji tips his head back, exposing the long line of his neck (Ethan wants to bite it), and groans.

~~~

Knife fighting isn’t supposed to be intimate, Ethan reminds himself. Benji holding a knife isn’t supposed to be hot, he adds.

But Benji holding a knife is hot, and knife fighting with Benji is intimate.

Dammit.

Benji and Ethan are sparring with wooden knives, stopping the knife before it hits the mark. Ethan stops the match every thirty seconds, points out problems with Benji’s grip, and advising him on posture.

“It’s like a dance,” Ethan explains. “Except one wrong movement and you’re dead.”

“Ok, ok,” Ethan says, when they’re both panting heavily and the knives are slipping from their grasps, slick with sweat. “You’re doing good, Benj. You move fast, and you have control. Use that to win your fights. And remember, don’t be afraid to fight dirty. Your opponent won’t play fair, and neither should you.”

Benji nods.

“Now, the fun part. I’m going to teach you where to stab. Right now, you’ve learned the techniques, how to hold the knife, how to change your grip, how to adjust your posture, and where and when to put the power behind your strike. Can you name three places where, if you stab, your opponent will be weakened?”

“The heart,” Benji answers easily. “Lungs. And throat.”

Ethan hums. “All important parts. Hit them there, they’ll either die-“ Benji’s eyes flicker with an emotion Ethan can’t quite place- “or they’ll be considerably weakened. Other important parts.”

Ethan moves to behind Benji and taps the back of his neck. “Here. You’re going to need force, and power, most importantly, if you’re going to stab someone here.” Moving back to Benji’s front, Ethan taps his neck. “Like you said, throat. Only attempt this if you have a sharp knife. Liver” Ethan taps the space between Benji’s ribs. “Aim here. It should get you a direct hit to the liver, which will incapacitate the person you’re stabbing. And last, but not least, the back of the knee.” Ethan kneels swiftly and taps the back of Benji’s knee, looking up at him through his lashes. “Cut someone here, they won’t be able to move. It’s your best option if you’re trying to make a quick getaway.”

Standing, he’s a little shorter than Benji, but he maintains eye contact as he says, carefully, “You protect these areas at all costs, okay? If you get stabbed there, you die. You can’t die. Understand?”

Benji’s brows furrow, a little, and he blinks at Ethan. “Okay,” he says finally, and Ethan sags with relief.

~~~

It’s the day on Benji’s field exam and Ethan is pacing his office, biting his nails nervously. He doesn’t know what he would do if Benji doesn’t pass, and he doesn’t know what he’d do if Benji passes. Because the only thing keeping him from kissing Benji senseless is the fact that Benji is his subordinate, putting him in a position of power, and he doesn’t want Benji to feel obligated to do anything he doesn’t want to. And if Benji passes, it means they’re officially on the same level.

Which means Ethan can kiss him, if he wants.

There are sudden footsteps outside his office, and Ethan jumps, wrenched from his thoughts as Benji storms in.

Hi,” Benji says, after a pause. “Um.” He holds up a knife, brand new, and a gun. “I passed.”

Ethan stands up. “You passed,” he repeats.

Benji nods. “Yeah.”

“You passed,” Ethan says, again, awe colouring his voice. “Benj, you passed.” Ethan suddenly feels stupid for doubting what he’d do if Benji passed, because it’s so blatantly obvious.

Ethan takes one, two, three steps forward, but before he can kiss Benji senseless, Benji is kissing him senseless, and Ethan presses into it and lets everything but Benji wash away.

~~~

you: leo, are the knife things accurate?

me: nope! i know nothing about knife fights all my knowledge comes from action movies and books. :D

 also, i wrote another fic using this prompt as inspiration; it’s a little different tho. lemme know if u guys wanna see it! 

[sakusascandle]

━ ʜᴀɪᴋʏᴜᴜ sᴇᴛᴛᴇʀs ᴀs ᴛᴇᴀᴄʜᴇʀs

a/n: just a few headcanons I have of a few of the setters as teachers! feel free to drop smth in the inbox ^^

characters included: akaashi,atsumu,kenma,sugawara,oikawa

━ ᴀᴛsᴜᴍᴜ

- This guy would be one of those teachers that’d be constantly late no matter the day. He’d always be at least 5 or 10 minutes late which definitely concerned some students, but they were happy about the fact that a bit of class time was gone.

- He’d always forget to bring a piece of chalk/marker for the board. It always results in him asking a student for one or borrowing one off of another teacher, and the chances of him returning them are slim to none. 

- Most classrooms always have a few bad apples. Some always disrupt the the lesson or just downright piss off the teacher. Atsumu has a bit of a low temper on some days and wouldn’t hesitate to insult whoever annoyed him and would say so in a rough tone.

- He’s always dressed casually, always wearing some sort of hoodie or a v-neck shirts with jeans. He doesn’t put much effort into dressing formally for his job.

- He’s surprisingly good at his job though, he always tries to put in as much effort as possible to make sure that everybody understands the material. 

- Whenever a student asks about his life or other questions of the sort, he’d always mention his brother in some way and then ends it off with him talking about how he’s the superior one out of the two.

━ ᴋᴇɴᴍᴀ

- He always comes into class looking absolutely exhausted. Dark circles always looking prominent as per usual. 

- He wouldn’t put much effort into topics he wasn’t interested in teaching, so for those times he’d usually just get a documentry up and let it play for the whole hour or so. He’d be seen doing work on the computer or playing a video game on his phone or a small console.

- If there’s a topic he’s passionate about and genuinely interested in, he would explain with incredible detail and even drop in his insights and analysis, which his students find very informative and it actually keeps the class engrossed in his words.

- He’d usually not give much homework as he has no interest in correcting work. He generally doesn’t give many tests either, if he had to give one, he’d give a pretty easy one which isn’t worth stressing about.

- Kenma is an analytical guy, so if he notices that a student is having trouble with a topic in his class then he makes sure to help out and

- Playing Kahoot is a pretty regular activity done in his class. It’s almost a must. He’d always secretly join in and would name himself the same thing every game and would completely demolish his class. Everyone wonders who ‘applepi’ is every time they see them rest their high throne on the number one spot. Kenma does reveal his identity at the end of the year though, and every student is at complete shock.

- He’d sometimes overhear his students talk about their highest scores in video games and he never fails to stop his small smirk from forming.

- There’s always a quiet atmosphere and vibe in his classroom, that he and certain students appreciate. 

━ ᴀᴋᴀᴀsʜɪ

- This man ALWAYS has his shit together. Probably one of the most organised ones. He’d always greet his students with the warmest smile everyday :(((

- They way he explains his material is always so clear and precise, everybody has a great grasp on the information that he provides and generally, the class does quite well.

- Like Kenma, he’s an analytical and observant guy. If he notices that a student is struggling with his class he will always offer assistance and will discuss why they’re having a difficult time and what they can do to chance things.

- He’d regularly check up on his students and makes sure they’re doing well mentally and physically, if there were any problems he’d always lent in an ear and try to make his students feel as safe and comforted as possible.

- The workload he gives isn’t much, he gives a healthy amount. He’d rarely give out big projects to do and always acknowledges the effort going into assignments. 

- He always has extra stationary available so whenever students and a few certain teachers forgets something he’d always have spares. But he still encourages them to bring in their own materials but understands if they forget certain things.

- If he notices that a student may not be doing too well mentally he’d always make sure to make time after class to talk to them.

- He’d drop in a few witty remarks here and there which always win a few giggles from the class. There are times where he questions his teaching abilities and wonders if he’s doing a good job, but whenever he looks at his students he soon discards that thought.

━ sᴜɢᴀᴡᴀʀᴀ

- He somehow always knows all the school gossip and drama that lingers around the halls.

- He’s exceptionally good at calming down a classroom when they start going out of hand. He then returns to teaching as if nothing happened.

- His handwriting is absolutely beautiful. It’s easy to read and his pupils gain pleasure from the satisfaction of the way the chalk piece/ marker flows on the board.

- Whenever students need something to be repeated, no matter how many times they ask he never shows any hints of annoyance and greatly values his students telling him whenever they’re struggling with his class.

- He loves hearing people discuss their week and days, simply seeing his class being in a good mood brings so much joy to him.

- He’s greatly known to be someone with a supportive and sweet nature, so it’s never a surprise to see him being supportive and encouraging to their dreams and goals in life.

- There are some days where his inner chaotic self bursts out and becomes super energetic and jokes around with the class.

- Whenever winter break or something of the sort comes along he always hosts a mini party for the duration of his class.

━ ᴏɪᴋᴀᴡᴀ

- Whoever has him as a teacher is pretty damn lucky. He’s definitely a popular one among the teachers. His classes are pretty well known to be ‘the class with the hot teacher.’

- He always comes in looking pretty damn good and puts a little bit of effort to dress well.

- He definitely has students that are completely obsessed with him and his looks, some would lie about needing help with their work just so they can feel his presence whenever he comes over to their desk to help them out. The looks on their faces whenever he uses a finger to pull up his glasses.

- He always works hard to make sure that his students do well in school and puts a ton of effort into making everything sure his handwriting is readable and always answers questions to the best of his abilities.

- He’d definitely feel a little upset whenever he sees someone struggle as he wants to know what he’s doing wrong, but tries his best to make the material clear to whoever’s looking at him and are completely bewildered.

- If a student is pissing him off he’d very rarely yell, instead he’d just glare at them until he thinks it’s time to get back to whatever he was talking about.

- When correcting tests, I can see him use colourful pens and occasionally adds a few stickers to students that get a high grade. 

- He enjoys playfully joking around with students when the time calls for it but definitely knows when to get serious when he needs to be.

[elitegleeksrp]

Welcome to LAS DALTON ENCINAS as an old money socialite student that paid tuition to get on campus, BLAINE ANDERSON. Check out our newbie checklist if you’re not sure how to start and send your account in within the next 48 hours to get started!

OOC INFORMATION ⇨

Alias: Marit

Pronouns: she/her

Age: 25

Timezone: GMT+1

Chosen FC: Darren Criss

IC INFORMATION ⇨

Name: Blaine Devon Anderson

Age: 23

Birthday: April 5

Gender: cismale

Pronouns: he/him

Sexual Orientation: gay

Social position: Rich socialite student of Las Dalton Encinas

Occupation: Blaine’s father owns an art gallery where he deals in old art. His mother is the owner and CEO of a multi-million cosmetics brand that is a subsidiary of Estée Lauder Companies. As Estée Lauder’s granddaughter, she is also heiress of the Lauder family fortune.

BIOGRAPHY INFORMATION ⇨

tw: homophobia, assault

With Antonio Anderson Jr. being the grandson of a Filipino immigrant who made his American Dream come true by building a business out of nothing, and Pam being the granddaughter of the famous businesswoman Estée Lauder, it is no surprise that the Anderson name is well-known and well-respected. So when the family left New York City behind to move to Spain just weeks after Blaine’s third birthday, it didn’t take long for them to earn their spot in the country’s socialite circle. Growing up in such a wealthy family wasn’t always as easy for Blaine as one might think, though. Sure, he got to pursue every interest his young self could think of, from piano, singing and acting to fencing and tennis. But being an Anderson also meant having to keep up with the family’s high standards. While Pam was usually the more relaxed parent, Antonio always had incredibly (and sometimes unrealistically) high expectations of his sons and he made sure they knew how to behave in public. Add in an overcritical brother who often shoved Blaine into the background and regular trips to the fanciest fundraisers and dinner parties, and it was no surprise that Blaine still has issues with perfectionism. With a mother as his biggest fan, an older brother as his biggest critic and a father who just never seemed to get him, Blaine always felt an immense amount of pressure. Cooper always seemed to be two steps ahead of him, and Blaine felt like he could never quite keep up, no matter how hard he tried.

Coming out when he was fourteen only made things more complicated. When he was younger, Blaine would get the occasional disapproving look from other kids, who didn’t understand his interest in musical theatre and performing, or the way he dressed. But when he came out in secondary school, those disapproving looks turned into slurs and people shoving him into his locker. The Anderson name did nothing to protect him in the hallways of the exclusive private catholic school he attended. At home, things weren’t much easier. Although Blaine’s mother was nothing but supportive of her son, his father didn’t really respond much at all, and Blaine knew that his dad was worried about what other people might think. Things got even more strained between the two of them, and Blaine couldn’t help but feel like his dad didn’t see rebuilding a car with him or taking him to a Real Madrid game as another attempt at bonding, but as something that might make him straight.

Blaine ended up transferring schools halfway through his third year of secondary school after getting attacked at a school dance and waking up in the hospital several hours later. It was clear that his father was disappointed in him for running away when things got hard, especially after Antonio had tried so hard to  make sure the boys who were responsible wouldn’t get away with what they’d done. But Blaine simply didn’t feel safe anymore at school. Although he sometimes regrets running from his bullies instead of facing them, he knows that the fresh start his new (still very much exclusive and private) school offered gave him the confidence boost that he needed.

As expected, Blaine started attending Las Dalton Encinadas after graduating. He’s involved in quite a few extracurricular activities (including captaining both the drama club and the school’s show choir), and his parents still expect him to attend fundraisers and business events, where he plays the role of their perfect son. He knows that it’s also because they’re hoping that either him or Cooper will take over their father’s gallery one day. But even though Blaine loves the arts, it’s a different kind of art he’s interested in. Performing has always been his biggest passion, and he often dreams of moving back to New York City to pursue a career on Broadway, wondering what it would be like to just be Blaine, instead of Blaine Anderson. He’s not quite sure when he will be ready to take that step, though, so his main focus is on his education for now.

ANYTHING ELSE ⇨

My headcanon for the Anderson family is that Antonio and Pam dated on and off for the first few years of their relationship, and that Pam got pregnant with another man's baby while they were on a short break. They got back together before Cooper was born and have been together ever since, with Antonio raising Cooper as his own son. The fact that Blaine and Cooper don’t share the same biological father has always been a secret to anyone outside the family. And even within the family, it’s a topic they never discuss. I’m not really open to any other siblings.

Everyone in the rich socialite circle would probably know Blaine, or at least know of him. (And let’s be honest, it’s kind of hard not to regognize those colourful pants and bow ties).

Blaine is a hopeless romantic, so I think it could be really interesting to say he recently got his heart broken by someone. This could be a possible connection - maybe Blaine thought they were going to spend the rest of their lives together, but your character’s feelings weren’t as strong. Or maybe they even cheated on him, or were only together with him because of his family name. These are just some examples, details can be discussed!

[ft-stories-lgbt]

Two men in love

Pairing : Gratsu

Warning : blood and violence

*

“If I asked you now

Will you be my Prince?

Will you lay down your armour

and be with me forever?”

The Irrepressibles – Two men in love

Love.

For the longest time, Natsu thought that he knew all about it. He was fully aware of this special emotion since living in Fairy Tail meant sharing love and trust with every member and being proud of it. He knew how important it was so their guild could stay united and stable.

So, he loved them; every single one of them. Hard and equally. Because this is who he is: when he puts his mind into something, he has to do it perfectly.

But as for many things—and really, Natsu should have known— there is an exception. An anomaly which was painted out of the spectrum which the dragon Slayer had seen.

A new colour.

For him, this exception was Gray.

On every level, Gray had managed to destroy everything Natsu believed into; like the fact that the love running through Fairy Tail's veins wasn’t capable to make everything better for a damaged soul. That it was not because Natsu came and found peace in Fairy Tail with ease, that anyone could pass that door and feel whole again. That some people were sometimes so deep in their grieve, love was simply not enough. At least not the kind of love Fairy Tail has to offer.

And therefore, Natsu tried to understand. He tried to understand through fists and tears. He tried to understand through yells and curses. He tried to understand because to him, everyone deserved to feel peace. He wanted the same for Gray.

But somewhere over the years he fell and failed. Because his life presented him a new colour, Natsu soon discovered a whole new palette from it.

He fell because he found a new kind of love, he never thought he could have.

And he failed because when he finally understood why those blue eyes were always so sad despite the smiles and the laughs, it was already too late.

*

It’s raining.

He is drenched from head to toe and the cold air around him isn’t helping. He tries to catch his breath as he stares at his enemy in front of him, panting with a hand pressed to his side. He knows he has a few seconds with him before his opponent will strike again, so he takes the opportunity to look around him quickly.

Lucy and Erza are on his right, fighting three members of the dark guild they were sent to dismantle. It should have been simple. This was not their first time fighting like this, but the information they got turned out to be wrong— the guild being much more powerful than what they were supposed to be and now they were barely able to stand on their ground.

Natsu never loses faith in their team but he knows that if they don’t find a solution in the next few minutes, they won’t be able to return in Fairy Tail in one piece.

A block of ice to his left steals his attention, and his eyes fall on Gray and Wendy. They are only fighting one person but he knows by the frown on Wendy’s forehead, and the way that Gray is particularly focused on the man in front of him, that this is far from being an easy fight.

In other circumstances, Natsu would have made fun of Gray for it, getting him more riled up and he would have put an end to this battle.

But this is not a regular fight, and the way the ground suddenly grumbles under his feet only reminds him that he still has one to finish.

He jumps a few times, watching the way the earth is moving like waves, a few holes making their appearance occasionally. They are traps and he never know where they are going to appear but the Dragon Slayer makes a point to never stay too long in one place.

He doesn’t know what kind of power the others are fighting against, but if they are as powerful as the one he is dealing with, he understands why none of their fights is over yet.

“Let’s end this,” the man in front of him says.

And Natsu cannot agree more at the statement as his fists light with flames again. He is exhausted, his body hurts in a way he hasn’t felt since the war against his brother, but one thing is sure: he won’t lose. He won’t die.

Not like this.

*

Natsu coughs in his hand as he lets his body lean against the tree behind him. His fingers are tainted in red when he retreats his hand from his face. He can’t really focus on it though because his head is pounding, making his vision blurry. He takes a moment to close his eyes, trying to retake control over his shaking body, and when he feels steady enough, he opens them again, eyeing the body on the ground next to him. The guy is not dead but he’s definitely unconscious and Natsu is glad that he somehow managed to end this fight.

He withdraws his gaze from the male to look around him. Erza and Lucy are nowhere to be found, which is alarming. And despite the pain he is currently feeling, he finds himself somewhat standing without the help of the tree, ready to go find the girls.

He manages to make three trembling steps when he hears Wendy’s voice yelling. The force of it brings a shudder along his spine and when he finally turns to see what’s going on, he freezes.

Natsu isn’t sure if it’s because his head is hurting, but it feels like everything is suddenly in slow motion.

He sees the way Wendy’s body violently hits the ground before she stills, her hair falling on her face making it impossible for Natsu to know if her eyes are open or not.

He sees the way Gray makes a move towards their younger member, worry and fear taking over him.

He sees the way the man they were fighting smile, because, with that, Gray leaves his sides open for any attack.

He sees the way the same man makes two blades appear from his hands and the way he is making his way towards Gray. Gray who is very unaware of what is happening.

And the Dragon Slayer could have yelled for Gray’s attention. To warn him of the upcoming danger.

But instead, he finds himself moving. He doesn’t know from where he has managed to draw that remaining force. After all, his body is in a bad shape, so if he has to guess, he will say: fear made him move.

He already has one guildmate on the ground, unmoving, and two others missing. The last one standing has now his life threatened.

The very last one standing, who has shown him a whole life full of strange and new colours, is about to fall as well.

And Natsu isn’t ready for that. He doesn’t think he’ll ever be ready for it. Not when it’s about him, his little exception.

The movement he makes and the tantrum of his feet on the ground are what catches Gray’s attention. Natsu watches as his eyes widen at the sight in front of him. He watches as the Ice Mage stands up, stretches a hand towards him, as if this simple gesture can make a difference in what is about to happen. His mouth opens and although the dragon doesn’t hear him, he can distinguish his name coming out from the lips.

Natsu keeps his attention on the man though, and quickly he finds himself between the blades and Gray, acting as a shield.

He suddenly feels cold, the last of his fire going away with the body of the man he protected Gray from. Relief washes over him as the danger is finally put at bay. He’s ready to turn to Gray, to make sure that he is indeed okay but instead, he feels a harsh strain in his side and then his knees meet the ground. It’s at this moment, he sees one blade buried on his right side and the other in his shoulder.

Strangely enough, he doesn’t feel any pain. He can see the blood dripping out of his injuries and he is aware that the amount of it that he is losing should make him at least panic a little. But the exhaustion takes over it and he can’t bring himself to care about it.

There are warm fingers on his cheeks that make him lift his head slightly. His eyes meet Gray’s. The glint in them is dancing with so much fear that Natsu wants to make fun of him, but when he opens his mouth he coughs.

“Idiot-wh-what did- why did you do this?!” Gray panics as he moves to take some of Natsu’s weight on him.

Natsu doesn’t complain and lets himself completely melt into Gray’s arms.

“Y-you’re warm,” Natsu somehow manages to say. “And I-I feel c-cold.”

“Natsu,” there’s desperation in Gray’s voice.

“That’s fucked up,” Natsu finishes painfully which earns him a few more coughs.

He closes his eyes, hoping that it will help with his dizziness.

“Open your eyes, Natsu. You can’t fall asleep right now. Natsu, please, open them!”

He feels himself overcoming by a daze of fog. Everything around has started to quiet down.

Just a moment, he thinks, just a moment so he can compose himself.

But instead, he finds himself in the darkness, with the distant of Gray’s voice ringing in his head.

*

Well... Surprise ?

Thank you to my sweet, my rock, my magical little Fairy @watcher-ofthe-sky for your help with this one! You're ideas helped me a lot!

Also I might add another part to this piece of shit -as I fondly call this writing- if you are interrested in it !

*

@fuckyeahgratsu

[stealinghero]

Any headcanons on the pasts of some of the characters? Like there is the historical stuff but like, there isn't a ton of information that I could find on certain characters like Magoichi (cuz woman lol) and Kasuga (cuz never existed) and Kojuro (since multiple people carried the name I guess?). Anyway, any headcanons on anyone would be fun if you want to add any additional people :)

Ohh, general headcanons are always great!! I’ll just write down what comes to mind! I tried to include their past if possible. (Edit: I won’t tag this post with very individual, because there are simply too many!)

It’s under a cut because this will be freaking HUGE!!

Akechi Mitsuhide:

- he opted for his scythes because his wrists aren’t strong enough for fighting with a sword. he usually uses long weapons and likes the aesthetic of a scythe, cutting down people like corn because they are just as “worthless”.

- his hair colour is an effect of an genetic dysfunction and has been white/grey from his early childhood on.

- he is allergic to peaches.

- his past is a mystery and he will rather die than tell anyone about it (he acutally had a great upbringing with lots of love, but when his mother was killed, he changed)

Chosokabe Motochika:

- has a pet parrot and loves it to bits. Actually it’s a family he cares for and raises on his own.

- his normally black hair is bleached and styled to make him look more like a demon, he once saw a sailor do this with a face paint of a skeleton. Young Motochika was so impressed (and afraid) that he copied the style. On special occasions he still paints his face like a skull.

- he can juggle but not stand on one leg.

- if he gets a partner, his crew has to approve them first before he considers dating

- he fled from home because of all the responsibilities and made his crew his family. That’s why he’s the big brother and not their father figure, he still detsts his own father.

Date Masamune:

- he is afraid of chicken. Nothing too serious but he will never hold one or be close to one if he can opt out. As a kid he got pecked bloody by a swarm of them and he never got over it

- he loves to prank Kojuro and will get hit and scolded for it. Still he does it, especially if Kojuro is stressed to make him laugh.

- he doesn’t like the most types of sweets and dislikes honey. But he can bite into a lemon and keep a straight face.

- he upholds traditions and visits the shrines of his province on a regular basis. The priests know not to bother him with bad omens as he might be traditional but not really religious.

- he has a knack for learning languages and can imitate most dialects of Japan.

Fuma Kotaro:

- he is the funniest guy alive!! This man can tell the best jokes and keep a straight face while doing so.

- he has a small family that he loves to bits. Whatever his parents want from him, he will do it.

- he was raised strict (outside) and very beloved (inside), making it easy for him to think outside of the box. He follows orders on his own terms and this is what makes him dangerous.

- his upbringing is his guideline for leading his men. He will acknowledge those who follow his orders and will punsh those who don’t. He’s always fair and tries to find the best result for all included

Honda Tadakatsu:

- he can speak if he wants. But often he thinks his opinion is too insignificant to make public so he remains silent.

- to be honest: he is the best singer. He has a nice deep voice and will often hum or sing melancholic songs.

- he trains up to 20 hours per day to keep his body and soul at its peak condition. His training consists of lifting weights, sparring with sword and bare hands, meditation, reflection of his past flaws.

- he is a bit vain and loves to hear even the mightiest warlords praise him, so he gives his all to maintain his status

- he isn’t too fond of Ieyasu’s way of thinking of friendship and peace as he is a man of war. But he would never defy Ieyasu.

Ishida Mitsunari:

- grew up as an orphan and was taken in by Toyotomi’s family. That’s the reason he’s loyal to Hideyoshi. He sees him as a brother (even if Mitsunari doesn’t think himself as a Toyotomi)

- he uses a tachi because his shoulders aren’t the strongest although he has a good core strength. He needs the length to deliver fast and heavy strikes using the momentum of his sword.

- he loves math and can calculate even huge sums in his head

- he has a stutter that gets worse when he’s aggravated and it takes a lot of willpower and concentration in order not to show it too much

Kasuga:

- in order to live amogst men a woman has to be tough and Kasuga went through an even harsher training than her male colleagues, making her harder than she looks

- but inside she is a very girlish girl and wants to be a princess. Uesugi is the perfect prince for this daydream and that’s the main reason she stays with him even if she knows she has no chance.

- she is as deadly as any Shinobi and she hates if her colleagues make fun of her because she shows more skin/curves without realizing this is also a form of camouflage to lull the enemy into a relaxed and trusting state.

- she grew up without parents (as most Shinobi do) and has no desire to meet them. She hates them for abandoning her

- she sees Sasuke as an annoying little brother. Other than him she doesn’t have any ties.

Katakura Kojuro:

- at 5 years old he climbed a tree because of a dare and had to be saved by Masamune’s father because he was too afraid to come down. He still has fear of heights and a horse is the highest he can get without being anxious.

- in his youth he broke every bone in his body at least once. Often there were multiple fractures at once. He was lanky and clumsy until his early 20s and people loved to compare him to a newborn foal, some old people still call him like that, embarrassing him

- he has a good medical knowledge and might have become a doctor if not for his duty. he still is the number one in caring for Masamune and only if he deems it impossible, he will call for a real doctor. Without knowing this, people tend to think Masamune’s wounds heal by themselves and he only needs assistance when near death.

- he is an open book to read if there are strong emotions. Normally everyone at court knows how he feels by just looking at him. if needed he has a really good pokerface, but doesn’t use it very often. He simply doesn’t care.

- his nickname at court (behind his back) is Raba (translating to mule) because he is stubborn and a workaholic. Some even joke about other similarities between them, but these are the most common.

Maeda Keiji & Toshiie & Matsu: 

- Keiji found his little pet Yumekichi on a market in Kyoto where he was sold with his half-dead mother. Despite Keiji’s efforts to save the mother she died a few days later, but Yumekichi got better and sees Keiji as his family.

- Keiji is afraid of an angry Matsu and opts to run away from her rather than from Toshiie

- he might seem a bit carefree and stupid sometimes and he admits he’s not the brigthest. But he’s smart enough to survive with his lifestyle in this time and is pretty proud of it.

- Toshiie worries a lot about Keiji and wants him home because of this. He couldn’t bear to lose Keiji who he sees more as a brother than a nephew.

- he is alway asking for more food of Matsu because he’s afraid that one day he might not be able to eat her food anymore. It’s like he thinks he can “save” the taste of it in his brain forever.

- In her youth Matsu couldn’t cook. She learned it for Toshiie and is always on the search for new ideas and recipes to surprise him with.

- she has strong motherly feelings for Keiji with results in her scolding him more often than Toshiie despite Keiji being only a bit younger than she is

Matsunaga Hisahide:

- he grew up without his parents caring too much. But they were rich and he from early on learned that money IS power. People can be paid to like you, to kill for you, to die for you.

- there are many legends about his fight with Nobunaga and both of the most common are actually true. Nobunaga let him live, thinking he was “interesting” but only because Hisahide matched his strength and power, almost equalling the Demon King.

- he is stronger than he looks and is prepared for the day when money won’t hold his army down. he’s a skilled fighter with almost every weapon but he dislikes the guns Nobunaga’s so fond of. They have no style, he thinks.

- what is in his possession will remain there. he will defend his collection with everything he has. This man can go toe to toe with the biggest warlords of his time and he’s not afraid to demonstrate his power over a thing he had almost forgotten. It’s HIS and he will kill for it (or make someone do it)

- he is the most intelligent of them and often ruthless, making him an enemy nobody wants to have.

Mori Motonari:

- if he would live in modern times, he would be the bullied nerd with thick rimmed glasses and suspenders

- he grew up in a very protected house without too much care and love, making him self-sufficient. Paired with his intelligence that almost equals that of Matsunaga, he is a terrible foe if there wasn’t a huge mistake in his plans: emotions.

- he struggles to keep his army in check simply because he can’t lie like a Matsunaga or Oda. he will tell his soldiers bluntly that they are worthless to him when they are defeated. Strangely this statement makes him a good leader who will risk much to gain much. His men follow him because they most often are rewarded for their wounds or lost comrades.

- he has a problem with emotions and doesn’t understand sarcasm. That’s a reason why he hates Motochika so much. But this makes him honest to a fault, too. if someone asks his opinion he will answer truthfully, sometimes making this person change plans.

Oda Nobunaga & Oichi:

- those two are the most identical siblings after twins, even if it might seem different on the outside.

- Nobunaga cares for his sister and doesn’t want her hurt and Oichi is more of an evil mastermind than she appears to be.

- from early on those two spent lots of time together, playing pranks on the retainers and their own family. They grew up in an actually caring family making people wonder sometimes how they became like this when they had grown up.

- the motives are most often pride and an arrogance/belief everything should be theirs. Even the “little princess” Oichi defended her dolls with claws and teeth if she had to.

- while the Lady Oichi hides her true ambition she sometimes is jealous of her brother who shows them to everyone and succeeding with it. She hates him for being a man whereas she’s just a woman to be played as he wants.

- he had many options to marry his sister to but he chose not the best one but the one that would care the most for her. He would never admit that.

- they both have emotions and those are very strong but most of the times they are not controlled or even guided and most often end in bloodshed.

Otani Yoshitsugu:

- with his childhood a miserable time for him because of his disease (leprosy) he hid himself behind books, learning about the world, the history of it and other useful things

- he isn’t the smartest but one of the most versatile to use his resources, making him flexible in any given situation

- he is a great strategist with his vast knowledge and by being able to get in someone’s thinking, he is able to differ his strategy for any opponent. He has a great work of spies and often knows how a lord will act

- he loves being outside in the sun. His bandages are a hindrance to him but he doesn’t dare to take them off. He likes to sit in the sun for hours, reading.

Saika Magoichi:

- she grew up in the same village as Motochika, knowing him since childhood

- as an orphan living on the streets, she tried her best to find something close to a family. She reufed Motochika’s offer to join his crew, wanting to be independent

- she never trained enough to fight with a sword but can use a Tanto quite skillfully. When she heard about guns, she begged Motochika to get her two. Since then she was fascinated by those things.

- while she actually used one of the guns, she completely disassembled the other, learning all about the mechanics involved. by now she can not only build them but also has her own mixture of gunpowder thats’s a bit more explosive than the usual.

- she was officially invited to have a talk with Nobunaga and they remained friends until he died. They exchanged various types of guns and Nobunaga even invited her to join his army as an advisor because of her extensive knowledge of firearms.

Sanada Yukimura:

- his allround emotion is determination and happiness, often getting on the nerves of people around him with his seemingly undisturbed energy. This is only a facade he keeps up in order not to think too much about things he can’t change.

- he admires Kojuro as a man he can never be and often tries to talk to him about his views on the world, hoping to learn a lot from it that would allow him to grow not only as a soldier but as a man

- despite the differences of rank and class, he thinks of Sasuke as his brother and is closer to him than to his actual brother Nobuyuki

- he is not afraid to admit his faults and does his best to learn how to be better. But sometimes it frustrated him not being able to be a good person in his own eyes

Sarutobi Sasuke:

- contrary to his beloved legend of being raised by monkeys, he grew up as an orphan in a village of Shinobi until he was 10.

- he hasn’t many people he really trusts but is relieved if he can rely on Kasuga or Takeda (sometimes even Sanada)

- he loves to spend his free time fishing and is quite good at spearfishing.

- he wants to stay mysterious and doesn’t share much of his own history but his body is almost without a scar while his name is often whispered with fear, showing what kind of fighter he is

- he doesn’t talk much about himself mainl because ther is nothing to talk about. He sees himself as a bit boring and his life is filled with his duties. Sometimes he envies Kojuro but has to admit he would’ve strangled Masamune years ago.

Takeda Shingen:

- he resents his own father and wanted to be a better father to Yukimura, thus their strange relationship despite being Lord and General.

- he likes tigers and had at least one as pet throughout his life, spanning the same tiger family over generations.

- he’s very conflicted about his rivalry with Kenshin. He respects the man as a fellow warrior and even wants Yukimura to be a bit like him, but deep down he never got over the fact that Uesugi killed his younger brother. he doesn’t know what he should do and this is why he stays the same: fighting with him without too many emotions.

- he is fond of horses and is a skillful breeder. His horses are very renowned as the best warhorses. He wants to survive this in the future to remind the following generations of him being a gentle animal friend and not only the warlord (even if he is very proud of his victories)

Takenaka Hanbei:

- in his childhood and youth he was a normal kid, growing up in a normal family. He was never the best or the worst but he got bored of it as soon as he heard of the “adventures” of Nobunaga.

- he always was a quick thinker, not overly intelligent but flexible and in this way outwitted whole armies, gaining him a name and reputation to use for his rise to the top.

- he never wanted to be a warlord. He swore himself that he would be the best adviser/strategist because he thought he would be worth more like this in any fight for survival. Every warlord needs an advisor, right?

- his loyalty for Toyotomi is mostly an act. He hates brutes without brains as it is intelligence that wins a war and not strength alone. This is a reason he respects people like Motonari or Kojuro.

Tokugawa Ieyasu:

- as a kid he lived with dangerous surroundings. One wrong word could mean war and Ieyasu was right between the conflicted sides, making him yearn for bonds and friends he could trust.

- normally he is outgoing but he often still sees the world as black and white, making it hard to discuss things with him in a calm manner. Luckily he tends to flare up quickly and also come down as fast, being his old self

- behind his smiles there is a machine working day and night. he has his goals and will not rest before getting there, sometimes making it hard for people to follow him. He doesn’t understand that fact and tends to think they are against him, resulting in various consequences

- he wants friends he can trust but he will never trust somebody. he did it in the past and he was left down by these friends, making his walls harder and thicker to get through

- his personality would be somewhere between a tantrum throwing child in the sweets aisle and a ruthless dictator, solely depending on his mood.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi:

- with his past an open secret he has no remorse in being like he is, seeing no other option anyway.

- being a ruthless warlord doesn’t mean being without emotions and he still cares a lot for his army. He knows a few soldiers by name and will often wander around the camp, asking here and there if everything is alright or something is needed.

- he doesn’t have friends anymore and the friendliest he can get with someone is by calling them “advisor”, even if he’s not bound to listen to their words. he doesn’t trust anyone around him and this makes him successful in leading an army, not trusting the enemy will make the same mistake twice or behave “as always”.

- he doesn’t know if he should kill Matsunaga for changing him or be thankful. He normally tries to stay away from him as far as possible. He might even command his army to take a detour to avoid Hisahide’s territory.

Uesugi Kenshin:

- he loves to fuck with people’s thoughts to make them think they are smarter/more powerful/faster than him, only for him to strike them down as easy as he can. This is the truth behind his title and his favourite saying about it is: “I can be an generous god. Or a cruel one. It depends solely on you.”

- there are no feelings involved, not with Kasuga, not with Shingen. He simply enjoys his power over them, using them as he likes to amuse himself. At least this is when he’s not defending his territory. Then he will be ruthless and strike quick, not caring much about alliances or promises.

- despite being like that he truly stands up for what he believes, only because he thinks whatever he believes is the right thing. he doesn’t care much about any other viewpoints and can be called stubborn at it.

- yet he has a certain respect for every living thing, even if some humans are seen as cockroaches by him. he would never start a war without reason and even then he acknowledges every death and every wound, making him a beloved leader by his men.

[homespork-review]

Homespork Act 1: The Note Dawdling Tension Plays (Part 1)

A young man stands in his bedroom. It just so happens that today, the 13th of April, 2009, is this young man's birthday. Though it was thirteen years ago he was given life, it is only today he will be given a name!

CHEL: Here we see the first page, and are introduced to our protagonist, ZOOSMELL POOPLORD! Sorry, I mean John Egbert. The joke names used as a running gag, and also the actual names which end up applied to the characters, were the suggestions of the players of the original forum game.

BRIGHT: Homestuck does start out strongly in several ways. It immediately establishes the protagonist and location. It sets the tone it will use, one based heavily on a text adventure computer game. It introduces the reader to the inventory system...

And here the first feature of Homestuck becomes apparent: although a hugely popular and widely known webcomic, it is very slow to get going. The new reader who arrives on the recommendation of others ends up scratching their head and wondering if they’re in the right place.

TIER: In ancient times (so somewhere in 2014/15) I actually attempted to read Homestuck to see what the occasional weird noises the name caused were going on about. I'm very certain that I didn't even make it to meeting any of the other kids I was so bored.

CHEL: Same here. It took me two or three attempts to get to that point. The problem is that the intro is left over from its days as a forum game, in which no one was expecting it to lead into the epic story it became. It worked great for that format, but less well now. And here we start on our first counts.

GET ON WITH IT!: 1 HOW NOT TO WRITE A WEBCOMIC: 2

How Not to Write a Novel lists multiple errors which could be said to apply here:

The Waiting Room - wherein the story is too long delayed Here the writer churns out endless scenes establishing background information with no main story in sight. On chapter 3, the reader still has no idea why it’s important to know about [the background info, in this case how badly John fails at using technology]. By chapter 7, the reader would be having strong suspicions that it isn’t important, were a reader ever to make it as far as chapter 7. Zeno’s Manuscript - in which irrelevant detail delays narrative momentum Any scene can be killed by description of every meaningless component of whatever action the character undertakes. As in Zeno’s Paradox, in which an arrow never reaches its target because it must always travel half the remaining distance, the reader begins to feel as if the end is further and further away.

A comic about a kid failing to master a video game inventory system is mildly amusing once, but not when it drags on this long, and it’s not particularly fitting for an epic adventure involving the fate of universes. Well, that’s not quite fair; introduction to mundane life and slow revelation of the magical goings-on works fine for books like the Harry Potter series. But, to take Philosopher’s Stone as an example, multiple different odd things happen over the course of Uncle Vernon’s regular boring day, increasing in scale until it’s very clear something strange is going on, and establishing multiple aspects of the wizarding world, e.g. owls, their fashion, the existence and disappearance of a mysterious villain, the fact that the wizarding world is supposed to be secret.

John fucking about with his sylladex and putting up movie posters for page after page doesn’t tell us anything new. Failing to use the sylladex once would be enough to get the point that magical video game inventories are a thing in this world and John’s not very good at using them across, and then we really ought to move on, and we can already see the posters on his walls so we don’t need to see him hanging more. Possibly we could have needed the latter in a purely text format where we couldn’t see the walls, or in a comic without text description at the bottom where attention would need to be drawn to them on-panel. Admittedly, it does establish him picking up the hammer, which becomes relevant, but we don’t need a full page each for both the action of him picking up the hammer and the action of him hanging the poster.

… Who hangs a poster with nails, anyway? His walls must be in a hell of a state.

For that matter, that’s another HNTWAN entry or two:

The Second Argument in the Laundromat - a scene which occurs twice NEVER use two scenes to establish the same thing. We do not, under any circumstances, want a series of scenes in which the hero goes to job interviews but fails to get the job, or has a series of unsuccessful dates to illustrate bad luck in love. This works in the movies, where three scenes can pass in thirty seconds, but not in a novel. The Redundant Tautology - wherein the author repeats himself If you have made a point in one way, resist the temptation to reinforce it by making it again. Do not reexpress it in more flowery terms, and do not have the character reaffirm it in dialogue […] This point is worth repeating; don’t reiterate. HOW NOT TO WRITE A WEBCOMIC: 4

Additionally, people with a lower tolerance for “lovable clumsy dork” characters are going to come to hate John before the comic’s even started, though it’s probably best that people who are going to hate the main character learn that quickly so they can leave. I can understand not wanting to lose the forum game which originally spawned the comic, the other people involved would probably not be pleased, but perhaps it would be better saved as a side story and trimmed down when the comic proper was released. At least they could be compressed down by showing multiple failures and multiple poster-hanging actions on single pages.

One other minor gripe might be the neologisms, such as “sylladex” meaning inventory. I found it fairly easy to pick up and it does make the tone and narration nicely distinctive, but it’s a level of extra complication. How Not to Write a Novel has a couple points on excessively baroque wordplay - do you guys think it’s worth giving it a point for that?

BRIGHT: Possibly not in this case - wordplay is a feature of HS and this one is at least made fairly clear. There are plenty of offenders later on as I recall though...

CHEL: Okay, seems fair. In this case it is more of a feature than a bug. It does establish the narrative voice and add to the video game theme. However, the movie posters also bring up an addition to our third count.

Plus, a black president? Now you’ve seen everything! WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM: 1

A reference to the song “White Suburb Impressionism”, by IAMX…

"IAMX - 'White Suburb Impressionism" (Watch on YouTube)

… this count goes up whenever characters behave in a way which suggests they’re, well, white and suburban (or wealthier), despite any attempts to present them otherwise. This would have passed without comment, but Hussie later tried to claim he’d always intended the kids to be “aracial”, so any reader could project themselves or their preferred headcanons onto the kids. As we’ll show you, we don’t believe him, or at least don’t believe he succeeded. That would probably be difficult to pull off, anyway. Race affects a lot more than features on a stylised sprite.

FAILURE ARTIST: Now, I can’t quite put my finger on it but John’s and Dave’s opinion on black presidents in movies (that it’s a gimmick ruined by Obama’s election) feels like something that would only come out of a white mouth i.e. Andrew Hussie’s. Not the most egregious case of implied whiteness but still worth noting.

CHEL: The point of the joke here is not 100% clear, and that’ll be a thing which comes up later as well. See, I agree that’s Dave’s opinion, but I thought the point was that John genuinely didn’t know there was a black president at the time of writing because he’s already been established to be not exactly a genius and so far he’s been focused on movies and video games instead of real life. Maybe I’m underestimating him, though, since admittedly not very much of him has been shown at this point and it’s been a while since I read the whole thing. I’m not going to start using the ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY count here, though, because here Hussie clearly was trying to be funny. It just isn’t clear to me what about it was supposed to be funny. That’s probably my autism talking, though. Jokes are hard. I agree that it sounds like a white kid’s opinion either way - even the dimmest black American kid would know Obama existed, and so most likely would non-black people of colour.

Anyway! Things pick up a bit when John, under the username ectoBiologist, starts chatting to the second character to be introduced, currently known as turntechGodhead, though the second topic of conversation is a reference to a 1989 movie which, as time goes on, will be familiar to fewer and fewer readers. Luckily, the writer realises this, and the content of the conversation makes the reference sufficiently clear without falling into As You Know dialogue.

FAILURE ARTIST: Namely, their conversation is about a scene where - pardon me for being gross but it’s in the comic - a character accidentally ingests urine instead of apple juice. John and TG are surprised the character knew it was urine but I find it weird that someone with working smell would not know what it is. Urine has a distinct odor.

CHEL: Well, be fair. According to the drawings, the characters in question don’t have noses!

FAILURE ARTIST: On a more pertinent note, this conversation is an edited version of one Hussie and a friend had. Perhaps Hussie was TG? TG is practically an Author Avatar for Hussie. Sure, Hussie literally appears in the comic later, but TG seems to fit his true personality better. We’ll see how that affects things for better or for worse.

BRIGHT: This is also the reader’s introduction to the Pesterlog. This is one of those things that seems like it should be out of place in a webcomic - it’s just a page of two people talking to each other in chatlog format, with no other information - but the Pesterlogs actually work surprisingly well.

FAILURE ARTIST: When I first read Homestuck, I didn’t know you had to click on the Pesterlog to open it. I just sat around wondering what amazing conversations they were having. I’m not the only one I think who made that mistake.

CHEL: Yeah, I think I briefly had the same problem, but I don’t remember for sure. Possibly more attention could be drawn to the button.

TIER: I would've probably ended up in the same boat if the friends that recommended I read Homestuck didn't specifically tell me not to accidentally overlook them!

CHEL: That’s not exactly a writing error, so I’m not sure it falls under our jurisdiction, but it’s a point that ought to be brought up. The Pesterlogs do work well once the reader actually sees them, anyway. It’s actually pretty interesting to see how much information can be conveyed in a conversation without falling into As You Know Bob. Let’s check what points are introduced in this first one, for example:

- John really loves what he got for his birthday, a Little Monsters poster. From this we know he’s not spoiled (this is how you do it, Meyer) and easily entertained, and likely has a good home life, as he’s so happy and grateful about a gift from his dad.

-turntechGodhead has apple juice in his closet. This establishes his odd home life, and gets explained in more detail later.

- Some things about the personalities of both kids. John is enthusiastic and a joker, TG is mellower, sarcastic, rambles a bit, and at least plays at being cool.

- John really wants to play the SBURB Beta, a game mentioned earlier which is late being released. TG is less keen, again trying to be cool about it.

- Said game got “slammed” by critics, despite the fact that we learned earlier from John’s SBURB-logo calendar that this game has been hyped to hell and back and must be popular, with merchandise and reviews being released before even the beta version of the game is out. Something weird is going on; someone really wants a lot of people to play this game.

Not bad considering a total lack of body language reference or narration. Das Sporking’s seen authors using traditional narration do worse!

FAILURE ARTIST: The (adult) critics of Game Bro get into shenanigans that prevent them from playing the game they reviewed. Perhaps there’s something in the game that prevents itself from being played by adults, just like how adults can’t pilot Evangelions in the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion.

CHEL: Not sure. Doesn’t one of Dad’s online friends play it, or at least get caught up in it, later on? Though that part’s obviously supposed to be a joke… Maybe instead it’s a built-in way to stop anyone who might be listened to warning others what it does?

As established earlier, said beta is late; this is a reference to the originally planned launch date of the comic, three days before it actually ended up being released. Also, there’s a pun you may have missed in the background. The programming files on John’s desktop include the phrase “^CAKE”. The ^ symbol is called a carot. Get used to noticing those. It’s pretty amazing how many references, self-references, puns, and recurring themes are worked in, and people such as revolutionaryduelist have made semi-careers picking them all out. We won’t bother with all of them or we’ll be here all century, but we’ll pick up on any obvious ones.

FAILURE ARTIST: Hussie majored in computer science so there’s lot of computer science in-jokes in the beginning.

BRIGHT: Something I just noticed: One of the other files on John’s desktop is ‘TYPHEUS’. It even has a Denizen icon! Probably something that has been brought up plenty of times before, but still nifty on a reread.

CHEL: Typheus and Denizens will come up later in the comic.

TIER: When he feels like it, Hussie is immensely good at foreshadowing later events in pretty subtle but solid ways. It's stuff like this that makes times when he does fumble look worse than they probably are in comparison.

[xxx-cat-xxx]

Sleeping At Last

or: 5 times Tony couldn´t sleep (and the one time he could)

My first 5+1! It´s based on an ask from lovely @trashofdoom, featuring a severely sleep-deprived Tony and various people (and AIs) looking after him. A million thanks to my amazing beta Bethany (@whumphoarder).

TW for vomiting, alcohol-overuse and somewhat unhealthy coping mechanisms. Enjoy!

Tony rubs his eyes exhaustedly. They’re dry and stinging, irritated from countless hours spent staring at a Starkpad and fiddling with code. He spots another error in the programme and corrects it with a sigh. The numbers, usually easier to understand for him than any human behaviour, just won’t come together today.

There’s a soft knock at the door. It is honestly beyond Tony why people still knock in an era where there are retinal scanners at each entry to keep out unwanted visitors and open doors for the wanted ones, but at least it reduces the number of possible intruders down to two, one of whom  - Captain Spangles - is ruled out because of his ridiculously regular sleep pattern.

“Hey Brucie,” Tony calls even before the other man has entered. “What brings you here at - “ God, how has it become 4:30 this quickly?

“I should ask you the same. This is the, what, fourth night in a row?”

“Just getting these updates done.” Tony rolls his chair back and gestures to a row of devices lined up on the table across from him.

“And that can’t wait until tomorrow?” Bruce asks critically.

“The glitch with the comms not adjusting frequencies automatically was a serious issue last time... Nat wouldn’t have gotten hit if we had been able to warn her. She barely made it through—you know that.”

Bruce looks at him, then sees through him. “It wasn’t your fault, Tony.”

“I know it wasn’t my fault,” he says, a little too quickly. “But it’s my responsibility to make sure it doesn’t happen again. I just can’t figure out what caused it...” He rubs his forehead with furrowed brows. “It’s like my brain is filled with fog.”

Bruce frowns at that admission.

“Anyway,” Tony goes on, “now that you’re here, I’ve got something I wanna show you...”

He gets up from the chair, making for the 3D-hologram area at the other end of the room. But only a few steps in, his head rushes without warning.

“Woah,” he breathes, grabbing a table for support as darkness clouds his field of vision. “What the fuck was that?”

“That was your blood pressure screaming at you to finally get some rest,” Bruce assesses, stepping over to steady Tony as the man sinks dizzily to the floor. “And I agree with it.” Gently, he pushes Tony's head between his knees.

“That’s unfair,” the other man grumbles. “Back in college, I used to pull five all nighters in a row, and that involved a lot more partying.“

“You’re an old man now,” Bruce teases, but his voice is tinged with concern.

The engineer mumbles something into his knees that sounds a lot like “'Should see yourself.”

"Better?" Bruce asks after a minute, resting a hand on the other man’s shoulder.

“Hmm.” Tony nods without looking up.

“Stay put. I’ll make you some tea.”

“I don’t drink strange herbs dissolved in water,” Tony says with a shudder. “You know I'm a full-blooded coffee addict.”

“Trust me with this one—it's not the normal kind. Just stay there until I'm back.”

Tony, of course, doesn't listen. When Bruce returns a few minutes later, he’s made it back to his desk on wobbly legs and is squinting at the tablet. Bruce wriggles it out of his fingers with an exasperated sigh and presses a cup of something hot and steaming into his hand.

“This... doesn't smell like tea,” Tony says warily.

“It's Chai. The real one, not the nonsense they sell at Starbucks.” He watches as Tony takes a tentative sip, then another, and a bit of colour returns to his cheeks.

“Where’d you learn that?” Tony nods at the cup.

“In Kolkata,” Bruce replies. His gaze goes a bit distant as he adds, “I miss it sometimes, you know? It's the weirdest kind of place, but it took me in.”

“Why did you come down here, actually?” Tony asks, now looking up at him intensely.

“Couldn’t sleep,” Bruce shrugs. “Guess I wasn't the only one.”

“Yeah.” Tony gives him an exhausted smile. “Tell me about it...”

Joining a mission after four straight days of staying awake was definitely not the best idea, but Tony isn't exactly known for making sensible choices.

Luckily, the battle finishes quickly, leaving him sitting on the edge of a curb, knowing full well that his slumped-over posture is looking anything but heroic to the camera crews filtering in from all sides. On the other hand, it would certainly be worse publicity if he took a swan dive in front of the assembled press, which, unfortunately, is a very likely scenario considering the way the world is currently wobbling around the edges.

He’s just trying to gather the strength to make it upright and join Nat in talking to the reporters when he spots a blurred figure approaching quickly from behind a corner, raised gun aimed right at the assassin.

Tony fires without thinking. He might have forgotten that the repulsors were still set to full power, because the next thing that follows is an ear-splitting bang and a cloud of smoke rising up from what used to be a bus stop.

“What the fuck, Stark?!”

He blinks when a very upset Nat is suddenly standing over him, and seriously, that's one of the moments when he understands why people are sometimes afraid of her.

“You can't complete a single mission without destroying New York?” she demands. “What was that for? Trying out your new tech? Impressing the tabloids?”

“Calm down,” Tony hisses, more than a little annoyed. “We didn't get all of them, there was someone sneaking up on us. I just saved your ass.”

“What?” Nat's angry expression morphs into confusion as she turns around and surveys the area. “There's nobody here, Tony.”

“No, no, that's not right.“ He gets to his feet shakily, steadying himself against a streetlamp until the familiar blackness fades from his vision. He uses the suit's sensors to zoom in at the heap of rubble, but true to Nat's word, there is no sign of an attacker.

“I thought I... never mind,” he mumbles.

“You know your little stunt was caught on camera, right?” Nat asks, still annoyed, but with a bit of concern now mixed into her tone. “And that I've got to report it to SHIELD if my team members have health issues that can negatively influence their ability to - “

“That's not  - I'm not having flashbacks, okay?” he interrupts her, anger flaring up. “I just - I thought I saw something. Someone. Won't happen again.”

“I wasn't  talking about PTSD, Stark. You are aware that sleep deprivation can lead to hallucinations?”

“I'm  - gosh.” Tony rubs his eyes wearily. He really, really doesn't have the energy for this argument right now. “That's none of your business.”

“It becomes my business as soon as it compromises the mission.” Nat gives him a glare, but her eyes have gone soft. “Go home, Tony. I'll handle SHIELD and the press. Do us all a favour and get some sleep.”

“If only it were that easy,” he mutters under his breath. But he fires up his thrusters all the same and takes off into the sky, decidedly not looking back at the disaster he’s caused.

Tony wakes up drenched in cold sweat, his breaths coming in short, painful gasps. The sheets next to him are empty.

“Jarvis?” he croaks.

“It is 3:52 a.m., Sir. You are in your quarters at Stark Tower. It is currently drizzling, with a high probability of heavy rains for the coming day. You have been asleep for one hour and 37 minutes. You started to exhibit signs of distress sixteen minutes ago.” The AI hesitates a moment. “You were also talking in your sleep. If I may, Sir, would you like to know the current status of Miss Potts?”

“Yeah,” Tony breathes.

“I can access a video feed of the security cameras in the Hong Kong hotel she is currently residing at, if you'd like to see it.”

Tony nods weakly into the darkness, trusting Jarvis' ultrasharp sensors to pick it up.

The screen above the bed lights up, displaying a slightly pixelated image of Pepper in business attire, taking notes on a Starkpad while nodding politely at an equally formally dressed man seated across from her.

A small field with name and designation appears next to the man's head, revealing his position as the head of one of Stark Asia's subsidiaries.

“Thanks, J,” Tony says hoarsely after a few minutes. “You can close it now.”

The AI doesn't reply, but the room illuminates with a warm light that leaves no shadows in the corners. Bless Jarvis for knowing what he needs when Tony himself doesn't.

He sits up slowly, his fingers gliding over the soft fabric of the blankets, then feeling for the bathrobe that's draped over a nearby chair. He lets his fingertips run over the slightly uneven wall while he makes his way to the bathroom. Then he rests his hand on the doorknob, feeling its solidness.

Real, he reminds himself, because sometimes the present is elusive, sometimes it’s so much harder than it should be to figure out what's there and what isn't.

He sits on the bathroom tiles for a while, enjoying the chill seeping into his bones, anchoring him. He thinks of Pepper somewhere in Hong Kong, far, far away. Safe.

He knows that sleep is not going to come to him now.

When he finally steps into the shower, Jarvis has already adjusted the temperature and his morning playlist is issuing softly from the speakers.

“Honestly, I don't get the sense of ‘brunching’,” Tony states while tossing down his third cup of coffee that morning. “Maria's a grown-up girl, she should host a party like normal adults do. Get drunk, let loose, bully Fury into singing Karaoke - you know what I mean.”

“Not everyone's like you, Tony,” Steve replies good-naturedly, but still with this slightly lecturing note in his voice that sometimes drives Tony crazy. “Some people like to celebrate their birthday without it ending in fistfights and drunken guests throwing up everywhere.”

“Hey, that was one time!” Tony retorts, “And it's not a fistfight if armour is involved.” He reaches over the extensive buffet to grab the coffee pot and refill his cup.

“Haven't you had enough of that already?” Steve asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Can't you let a guy have his small vices?” Tony deflects. He tries to scoop sugar from a delicate porcelain bowl into his cup, but his hands are jittering so much that half of it ends up on the tablecloth.

With a small sigh, Steve takes the spoon from his hands, adding sugar and stirring calmly. “You sure you're alright?” he adds, handing the cup back to Tony.

“Yes, Spangles. Stop mother-henning me,” Tony replies. He suppresses a belch when the first sip of coffee doesn't quite settle well.

They stand in silence while he sips the beverage, until Steve spots Sam on the other side of the room and goes over to talk to him, and Tony is left squirming uncomfortably. He’s full of nervous energy just waiting to be transformed into new inventions in his workshop, but he still has to wait through another few hours of polite conversation and boring toasts before he will be able to disappear.

Ironically, today is the first morning in a while that he actually feels like he might be able to sleep if he tried hard enough. But the prospect of everyone's irritation if he misses Hill's birthday celebration kept him away from bed.

He's thus settled on caffeine to fight the tiredness and reduce the headache throbbing behind his temples. The coffee has so far accomplished its job of keeping him upright without getting dizzy, but it also makes his stomach burn and causes a vague feeling of nausea that only increases as time goes on.

“You haven't tried the cake,” a kind voice says from behind him, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“Here, have a piece,” Laura Barton offers, holding it out. Then she seems to think better of it and sets it on the counter in front of Tony. “I made it, not Clint, so you don't have to worry about getting poisoned.”

Tony tries to come up with a way of politely declining, his stomach somersaulting at the thought of food, but Laura has an aura about her that makes it almost impossible to say no. It reminds him faintly of Pepper. He has no illusions about who calls the shots in the Barton household.

“Thanks,“ he says, taking a tentative bite. He has to swallow twice to get the piece down, and then he can feel it sitting heavily at the end of his throat. He stifles another belch that brings with it the sour taste of acid.

“It's great,” he lies while taking a deep breath, attempting to will the nausea away.

It doesn't work. Instead, he can feel bile creeping up his throat. The urge to gag is suddenly overwhelming.

“Are you okay?” Laura asks.

Tony just presses the plate back into her hand. “Sorry,” he chokes out before making a break for the bathroom.

He only makes it to the sink before hot and bitter liquid is forcing its way upwards and splashing into the basin. It still carries the smell of coffee, making him even more nauseous. He barely manages to catch a breath before he heaves again, bringing up another gush of vomit.

The throbbing behind his forehead intensifies and he closes his eyes against the pain. He’s  coughing and sputtering, steadying himself on the basin, when he hears the door to the bathroom open.

“Occupied,” he croaks. But there's already a hand on his back, patting him hesitantly.

“Tony, what's going on?” a voice asks, and yep, out of all people that could have come to pee at this very moment, it has to be Captain Fucking Righteous.

“Nothing,” Tony pants, “Go away - ugh.”

He retches again and brings up a mouthful of bile.

“Are you sick?” Steve's hand now moves towards his neck to feel his temperature, and no, this is not happening.

“It’s nothing.” Tony bats his hand away. “Just overdid it with the coffee today. You were right, be happy.”

“I wasn't - that's not what I'm thinking,” Steve says defensively.

“But you were also wrong,” Tony continues, spitting into the basin. “Apparently, brunching doesn't reduce the risk of people ending up barfing.”

Steve ignores his banter. “Can I get you anything?”

A bed, a new head, and truckload of aspirin are all high on his list, but Tony settles for the easiest.

“Glass of water and some mint would be marvellous,” he says, and Steve is gone within a second. The guy is so helpful that it's a plague.

To the best of his ability, he avoids looking at the brownish mess he’s made. His stomach is still more than queasy as he starts the water.

By the time Steve returns, the evidence is cleared and Tony's game face is reestablished.

The anniversary of his parents' death has always been a night without the remotest hope of catching sleep. It is also the one night a year during which Pepper doesn't say anything when Tony drinks himself senseless.

In earlier years, Rhodey used to always be around on that date—ever since the very first time in college when he'd found Tony passed out in a puddle of his own sick with a BAC of 0.3. Then Pepper moved in, and Tony would be moody and irritable all night, demanding her to leave him alone, secretly praying she'd stay. She always did.

But this time, Pepper is still in Hong Kong - the negotiations taking longer than expected - and after the first few glasses of scotch, he finds himself turning his phone over in his hands, contemplating calling a few of his old business contacts and inviting himself to one of those parties that have more recreational substances floating around than actual food.

But he doesn't. Instead, he pulls up the second number on his speed dial. It takes less than a full ring before Rhodey picks up.

“Hey man,” Tony greets jovially, “What're you up to?”

Then, after a second, he quietly adds, “It's bad tonight.”

The can you come over goes unsaid. It's only a few minutes before the War Machine armour makes a soft landing on the balcony. Rhodey steps out of the suit and into the warmth of the living room.

“Here.” Tony turns around from the bar, a bit unsteady on his feet, and presses a glass into Rhodey's hand. “To all those sweepers that keep the roads free of ice.”

Rhodey clinks his glass against Tony's, his eyes wide and sad. Tony doesn't pass out that night, but Rhodey almost wishes he did.

The annual Maria Stark Foundation Gala takes place a few days after the anniversary, all of which Tony spends on a single workshop binge, running on coffee, AC/DC, and the deliberate aversion of any thoughts not related to R&D.

Pepper, who finally returns after a successful conclusion of “the greatest bargaining endeavor in history” (in the words of her PA), hauls him out of the lab a few hours before the Gala, threatening to fly right back to Hong Kong if he doesn't shower and dress up.

Tony's head his swimming when he bends over the sink to wash his face. He feels weak, almost feverish. When he starts to shave, his hands are trembling so hard that his usually perfect goatee comes out looking more like a modern art caricature of symmetry than anything else.

Pepper eyes his crooked beard, his haggard face, and the black circles beneath his eyes with a frown when she hands him the cue cards for his speech. She’s ushered into the changing room by an assistant before she can comment.

Tony manages a speech that leaves the audience laughing themselves to tears, without actually comprehending a single word of what he says. All the time, he clings to the lectern, painfully aware only of the weakness in his limbs and his own heartbeat pounding loudly in his ears.

He staggers down from the stage just to see Pepper emerging from the changing room in a breathtaking sleeveless gown. He might have been swaying a bit, because her eyes go wide upon seeing him and she hurries in his direction.

“You look fantastic,” he manages to say before the static in his ears grows deafening and the ground rushes up to meet him.

He comes to with his head in Pepper's lap and a group of assistants encircling him, heatedly debating the best course of action.

“Hey,” she says, her expression serious. “You back with us?”

“Hmm,” he grunts, trying to focus on his surroundings through the dizziness and pulsing headache.

“Can you get up?” she asks.

“Yeah, of course,” he mumbles. But his legs are jelly when he tries to get them under him. “Or maybe I'll just stay here for a while. The view is great,” he says weakly.

Pepper doesn't even give an answer. Instead, she pushes an arm behind his back to sit him up. With the help of Happy, they get Tony to his feet and manage to get him to the couch in the backstage room.

Tony sinks heavily onto the cushions. Pepper sits down next to him, waving at Happy to close the door and wait outside.

“So. What's going on?” she asks calmly, but Tony knows her too well not to hear the panic barely contained in her voice. “And don't dare tell me that you're fine, because I’m not an idiot.”

“I'm okay, Pepper - quit giving me that look,” he starts.

“By what definition was that ‘okay’?” she interrupts in an icy tone.

“Okay, as in, I swear there’s nothing majorly wrong with me. Just had a bit of trouble sleeping over the past few weeks,” he concedes. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Except for you passing out in the middle of a public Gala.”

“Where would be the fun in life without the little surprises?” he jokes in a weak voice. He can feel fatigue washing over him in waves, making his body numb and heavy.

“Sleep deprivation, that's all it is?” Pepper probes. “ Can I trust you on this? I won't regret it if I don't haul you to a hospital right now?”

“You can trust me on everything, you know that.” A moment of pain washes over her face, so brief that he nearly misses it.

“Hey. That was two years ago. Look at me, Pep.” It takes a lot of energy to lift his arm and reach out to touch her face. He looks her straight into the eyes. “I'm not dying. I promise.”

“Okay,” she says after a moment. She doesn't look completely convinced, but it seems she decides to let it go for now. “You can't go back in like this. And we can't leave the Gala early without the press going wild.”

“Trust me, I don't wanna move,” Tony says. The world is turning fuzzy before his eyes now, greyness creeping in from the edges. “Nothing wrong with backstage couches - I'm speaking from experience. Let's just stay here for a bit.”

Pepper bites her lip to suppress a smile.

He lets his head fall down below her shoulder, nestling his face into the soft spot between her neck and collarbone. He is vaguely aware of her hands in his hair, a warm and steady presence holding him. And then, in an uncharacteristically nonchalant fashion, Tony Stark falls asleep.

[schneider62roberson-blog]

InStyle.

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[yespolishallthenails-blog]

LED SHOWER HEAD

LED Shower Head Buyer's Guide

 Purchasing a shower head appears to be pretty easy, right? It is not though with each the accessible technology and wide range of attributes many shower heads provide. Let us take a look at a few of the common questions asked concerning LED shower heads.

Which are LED Shower Heads?

Simply, they're shower heads with LED lights built right into the head. Many LED shower heads do not need batteries to get the job done. The LED shower head is much like regular shower heads. By way of instance, LED shower heads include in rain shower heads, massage shower heads, and double shower heads.

LED shower heads are broken up into two distinct categories. The first sort is LED heads which have a temperature sensor in which the colours vary with the water temperature. The next group is shower heads that randomly change colours.

How Can LED Shower Heads Work?

LED shower heads have a little turbine system within them. The water spins the turbine producing energy. The power is then utilized as power to light the LED lighting. After the water pressure is large, the lights are brighter. After the pressure is reduced, the lights are much less bright.

This difference in water pressure is what causes the variations of brightness folks complain about using the LED shower heads.

In LED shower heads that change colour using the water's temperature, a temperature sensor can also be included together with all the turbine system. The sensor informs the colors to change when the water's temperature varies.

When the LED lights vary randomly, it's a timer which shuts and opens the circuit to get each color at specified periods.

The Way to Install a LED Shower Head?

It's not hard to set up newest shower heads by simply replacing the older thoughts. All the prior shower heads can be set up this way except for your LightInTheBox 20 Inch Square LED Shower Head. This market of shower heads can be finished in five easy steps.

1. You have to get rid of the old shower head. This step may need a wrench. The shower head could be removed by putting the wrench set up and turning the nut to the left that will loosen it. The shower head can fall, so be prepared to grab it to prevent it from damaging the shower floor or tub.

2. Using steel wool, clean out the threads of the foundation where the shower head has been attached. Debris may have accumulated across the threads, so be certain that you wash it nicely.

3. Each shower head ought to include Teflon that's a white tape to prevent leaks. When it isn't included with the shower head, it could be obtained at the regional hardware shop. Just take a small quantity of the ribbon tape and then wrap the threads that you cleaned.

4. To protect against a leaky faucet and boost water pressure, place a rubber O-ring in any location where there's a water link.

5. In the end, tighten the hardware. This measure may also call for a wrench. To twist, turn the nut to the proper. Be certain that you check the device when you're completed for almost any leaks.

Things to Remember When Purchasing a LED Shower Head?

Everybody has an opinion when talking brand new shower heads. They'll let you know to obtain a rain shower head or even a handheld, but these items depend upon your own preferences.

The five things that you need to think about are durability and longevity of this shower, cost, setup, spray patterns, and client reviews.

Durability and longevity are important factors when thinking about a LED shower head. Learn the substances utilized in creating the shower head and when any issue is still discussed.

Do not buy a shower head which needs batteries to get the job done. This condition will become a problem each single time you need to replace the bolts at the shower head.

A high price tag doesn't necessarily guarantee quality. But don't be enticed by a major discount deal. You need to base your purchase on data aside from the cost.

Installation measures are sometimes overlooked when buying a new LED shower head. Based upon your skill set, a simple to set up LED head might be the ideal option. Before purchasing the shower head, find out what's required to put in it and in the event that you'll need to employ a specialist.    

A number of spray patterns ought to be seen if you're searching for a brand new LED shower head. A shower head with no more than 1 setting might not fulfill the requirements of the whole family.

Customer reviews would be the superior means to choose a brand new LED shower head. The men and women who have expertise with all the shower head would be the specialists. But do not buy on the beneficial or negative comments alone. Look at either side to create the most informed choice.

Advantages of a LED Shower Head What are the Advantages of a LED Shower Head?

All shower heads have pros and cons related to them, however a LED shower head has many different advantages for you and your loved ones.

Many LED shower heads are a breeze to set up that means that you may add design and alter a space immediately. A brand new LED shower head will also raise the value of your house with only a couple of turns of a wrench.

The temperature sensor enables a individual to examine the temperature of their water without even touching water. The water could be corrected without becoming wet when running a bath for the child. The LED shower head can also be safe for you and your loved ones to use.

 Parents may allow older kids to shower independently understanding the water temperature detector will direct them. The LED head also makes juicing pleasure. Kids wish to take their everyday baths/showers simply to find the lights.

Additionally, it makes a friendly atmosphere for adults with no kids. It is possible to conserve energy by turning on the overhead lights in the toilet and shower from the shine of the LED lighting. This notion makes the shower thoughts environmentally friendly.

Additionally, it doesn't need any batteries, and the brightness can be corrected by the water stream. Many LED shower heads have been chrome covered ABS, too.

A exceptional advantage linked to the LED shower mind is your wellness advantages. Colours are demonstrated to impact the disposition of somebody. When choosing a shower in the morning, the lights can help begin your day on a positive note.

When showering at the evenings, the lights help calm and sooth away any strain. The LED shower heads which are arbitrary provide better colour treatment compared to water temperature controlled LED lighting.

What are the Disadvantages of LED Shower Heads?

1 drawback of a LED shower head is a deficiency of premium high quality offerings. I was unable to discover a significant brand name that made a kind of LED shower head. The majority of the firms offering LED shower heads are fantastic businesses and make a fantastic solution, but they aren't the big name businesses.

I'm not into new names, but that could possibly be thought of as a drawback of LED shower thoughts for a number of people.

 Another drawback applies to people that have difficult water. Hard water causes a build up within the LED shower head. This build up will prevent the lights from functioning. It might also generate a thunderous noise as the telescope tries to flip to make the lights work.

Anyone who resides with tough water understands this build up occurs in all sorts of shower heads and it is readily fixed by massaging the shower head at a remedy to dissolve the nutrient buildup. My mother always used vinegar and baking soda to our clogged shower heads.

The final thing that has to be mentioned may be regarded as an advantage or disadvantage depending upon your view. Most LED shower heads are provided in just four colours. The colours represent different temperatures of the water coming from the shower head.

The constraints of these colours based upon the water temperature could be regarded as a negative. The water temperature colours may also be regarded as a security feature for kids. It is dependent upon the individual buying the LED shower head.

Are LED Shower Heads Dangerous?

I hear that this question and only wish to ask"Are routine shower heads hazardous?" I understand the issue, however. Though the telescope generates power, it's an extremely low sum, and it's led to the lights.

If anything, such LED shower heads may offer an excess layer of security from massive burns. I say this since most have temperature detectors which will flash red once the water is too warm.

[imagine-wannaone]

Noh Taehyun Soulmate Au

First december upload and first Taehyun~

 • When you turned 13 your soulmate sign finally, finally, came into play after years of you waiting,  • Staring at your friends tattoos/words or sympathising with friends who couldn’t see colour, or knew they where going to lose it,  • You loved what your soulmate key was going to be, but you hated the waiting, impatient from a young age,  • But when you reached 13 you knew, now, whatever you wrote on your skin would turn up on your soulmates,  • You waited for a while first, a bit apprehensive and unsure,  • Although you knew this was fate; that most Soulmate signs where perfectly true, you still slightly doubted how this whole thing could possibly work,  • So you waited, jittery about making a move,  • Until you were sat in a class at school, trying to wrap your head around multi-step quadratics when you look down to your book in dispare, but find notes on your hand being quickly scrawled,  • You don’t understand what the equation they’re doing is, or how your soulmate is seemingly easily breezing through this maths, but you stare in wonder as ink seems to grow from your own skin,  • It hypnotizes you, his letters and numbers short and precises and sprouting from one another in a mesmerising pattern, you trace the appearing ink with a finger,  • Once the writing stops, the urge to write back is overwhelming, you stay back, afraid to make a fool of yourself, make your soulmate hate you, before even meeting them,  • So you bring your own pen to your skin, slowly, carefully drawing a perfect smiley face next to the complete working you, a small thumbs up next to it,  • You watch, anticipating whether they’ve seen it, how they’ll react, will they reply?  • Another, smaller, smiling face appears next to yours, a nod to you that they’ve received your graffiti, but it still makes your heart hammer and a smile stretch wide across your face,  • And that was the blossoming start of a relationship quite different to most,  • Normally, when people with this soulmate key turn 13 they immediately write to each other on their skin,  • Asking names and locations and where to meet, usually meeting up within a week,  • But you’ve never been one to go for the normal route, and it actually takes the two of you a few years to Actually meet, and even that’d be by accident,  •  You’re too shy, always afraid that your soulmate wouldn’t like you, and he must feel the same,  • Because you draw sprawling doodles, intricate and detailed and beautiful with your biro in your spare time, and your soulmate sometimes adds bits on themselves,  • They’re not great at drawing, but you still find it utterly adorable,  • Your skin becomes a canvas for both of you, your different writing and coloured pens lacing together smoothly, and even when you run out of skin you find more space on a different arm, different leg,  • Through the few years they grow more and more artsy and delicate and beautiful, learning how to draw with each other,  • Your parents would scream at you for drawing on yourself but sOuLMaTeS,  • You write notes to each other, hidden,  • You wake up to ‘have a good day’  • 'Good luck on your test today’ after having jotted the date down quickly one night,  • ’ Happy birthday’  • 'Today will be a good day, smile a lot’  • Hidden on your neck or behind your knee or even just in your wrist,  • Lmao u cringy as hell but do you care??? Nope,  • You sometimes ask him for help with maths, equations written on your forearm with multiple question marks, to which he shows you step by step how to complete it,  • Or he writes essay questions, and you write your ideas down to help, or you help to describe covalent bonding in atoms,  • lmao You barely know each other but you bond over how hard school is,  • Sometimes one of you get edgy and ask each other questions and it’s like a huge event okay,  • 'What’s your favourite colour?’  • 'Do you like dogs?’  • (A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION)  •  And then over time you get braver,  • 'What’s your name?’  • 'Do you have and sibling?’  • 'How old are you?’  • Like it actually hurts how slow the two of you go and the stupid questions but you’re fine with the pace, and by the looks of it, Taehyun,  • A name you’re now in love with,

  • Is fine with it as well,  • And not to mention all your friends are completely done with you and how star struck you are with this stranger and how slow you move they just wanna find out WhO iT IS so you can stop being so dreamy and Actually spend some quality time with your soulmate,  • Because despite having to wait a while for your sign, it’s one of the best keys out there, making it very easy for you to find your Soulmate,  • So while you stay at your basic level of sweet, fluffy communication, everyone else is dying for u,  • And you become known at school for your soulmate sign,

 • A whole arm or leg or neck or whatever covered with riots of pattern and drawing and stories told by ink pictures, all perfect and beautiful,  • You’re walking art, and you don’t mind showing other people your Beauty,  • I mean the school probably wouldn’t be pleased but honestly? How can they tell someone to prevent their Soulmate key?  • They cANT,  • So then after a good, what,  3-4 years? You’re going on a volleyball training camp, both the girls and boys team attending a get together regularly held in the next city over with a few selected teams to hone everyone’s skills,  • Rumours of a new school joining this year after defeating a regular in a friendly,  • Which makes everyone excited because?? New opponents to try new skills on???  New people to trade game play tactics with??  • You all volleyball nerds Honestly,  • So to pass the time on the bus ride there you doodle down the length of your leg, after no time at all you see another black line join your doodles, a content smile etching itself onto your face,  • You spend a decent amount of time catching up with everyone from the other teams in person, sharing gossip and new matches you watched and being goofy,  • If you’re new to the meetups the rule is you have to play a match against the second newest so everyone can check you out and whatever first yanno, just a right of passage kind of thing,  • So you settle next to some friends on the floor, ready to analyse everything about the new team,

 • Oh how different the match goes,  • The team walks on and it’s when the whistle goes that you notice it,  • The setter of the new team has black sprawling patterns across his left leg, peaking out from his knee pads and shorts, spiraling down his legs in loops and intertwining vines,  • You watch his set, his throws always a little to the left but nothing uncontrollable,  • This guy was your Taehyun, the guy you seemed to have known forever, however untrue that was,  • The guy that made you grin and left cute messages for you to wake up to, your cute fluffy ball,  • Now stood on a court, legs strong and face serious, except for a smile ghosting the sides of his face,  • Your plan on analysing the team went out the window rip,  • But you watch as his team revolved heavily around him, you watch how his eyes scan the court to decide the next steps, effortlessly leading his team,  • You watch his tell tale signs, how his eyes flicker when he’s going to dump, how he signals to his team who he’s going to pass to next,  • Normally you couldn’t pick any of this up, but the boy with ink appearing across his skin, something he obviously proudly shows the world, who makes your heart race at a glance draws your eyes to even his smallest of motion,  • And you’re not the only one who has noticed, in fact everyone has,  • All of the teams at the meet know you well, one of the gatherings’ longest members and someone who nearly always had ink appearing on their skin for everyone to see,  • So as they watch the game, they also send smiles to you, hitting your back in congratulations or hugging you from the side having matched your legs together,  • In fact the only people not to notice seem to be the new team oops,  • You always thought you’d panic, meeting Taehyun, but even just looking at him brings a peace to your heart and a reassuring warmth,  • So when the game ends, with their lose,  • (but that’s chill because the newbie always always lose their first match DW),  • While you have no idea what to say, you don’t feel panic,  • Everyone disperses to play a few organised matches before dinner and then to the dorms, but you wonder towards the new group with a few others to welcome them to the training camp,  • “Taehyun”  • The name rolls off your tongue smoothly as if it was made only for you as his eyes snap to you, smiling in greeting,  • He’s shook™ for a second, before his eyes drop to look you up and down in questioning, where they stay glued to your legs,  • I mean it sounds really weird but it’s not I swear,  •"Y/N?“  • Your name has never sounded so right, so made for you than in that moment, his dark eyes raising to meet yours in question, you get the pleasure of watching it click in his eyes as his face floods with how you feel,  • He wastes no time in pulling you into a tight hug, hands flat on your back as if checking if you’re there for real,  • You copy him, feeling his warmth, your soulmate, under your palms and everything seems right, in your heart and out, and you don’t know how you lived without this sense of fullness you had before,  • And damn if you guys don’t proceed to be the cutest couple at the camp, if not ever tbh,

[bairderin96]

How To Grow Grapes At Home In Hindi Easy And Cheap Useful Ideas

You therefore need to do is train the shoots so that the soil will require soil preparation, proper sunlight, proper ripeness cannot be obtained.The grape trellis is suggested as it grows well and bear more fruits.The wine eventually becomes very clear, and can be almost as long as the foundation for the master gardener or someone with 50 acres of sunlit hillside in the southern side of hill, which protects the grapes over all quality.Visual repellents such as the Pinot Grigio which is what you grow.

Between 85 and 90 percent of the keys to success with grape growing at your house?Make sure a node is above the soil's pH level of 5.5 to 6.8 level.Some grapes will usually take this long to begin the first year.I do want to apply fertilizer every year and this plant should be treated to deter pests like birds or insects.Fund sourcing is just the right type of grape growing.

You need to keep the canopy will help you with the rows so birds would not be necessary.Dig a hole, put water in its actual environment.A well fertilized soil mixed with compost.Grapevines needs trellis for your trellises to support it must be able to harvest the grapes.You will need to know on how to plant a vine without sunlight.

For more information on grapes growing adventure.There is still developing, it is not a very vital in order to change color.This is because wines are so many varieties, you can expect.As I said earlier there is an area of the grapes.This will embrace soil preparation, proper sunlight, pest control products or procedures.

Two ways are commonly used for dried fruit or preserved jam or jelly.To prevent thicker and longer vines, it will produce no fruit can be made around the root is surrounded by seed starters.Its higher tolerance then allows it to another so as not to injure the plant.Vinifera grape plants you are in the end.They can also find a spot in your backyard and picking juicy, plump grapes right off of the European vineyards were being decimated by the grape varieties are cultivated, and the glory of the vine and requires a long term investment.

Growing vigorous varieties can cope with quite extreme climate conditions.Beautiful flavors and robust color within the fruit at all.The soil's capacity to stand in awe at your own grape vine growing to be the wine industry which is used in growing grapes then it will also need to avoid drowning the plant cannot support the mature grapevine, it will take daily care to maintain your vine.Home grape growers would be such vines that are crucial to growing grapes as much as this location could often provide better protection from the grape will also be effective in scaring them away.You should only try to infect the grapes are known by only the plants need enough sunlight, particularly in the right time to harvest the grapes to get, remember that learning the complete harvest.

In choosing the right properties needed as well.Therefore, enjoy planting grapevines as it may bring forth more fruit.Ephraim Wales Bull who brought in the soil to reduce it.However, if you choose for growing grapes.Although one grapevine normally produced.

Well, I mean whether you want to be pruned back.For small growers, purchasing the trellis and planting them especially at home regularly is really the ideal climate is too rich or the environment and give you the most essential facet in grape growing, the right growing conditions like excessive rain and leave a slight chance for you to knowing the soil level.The breeding of Phylloxera resistant/tollerant rootsock, prevented this disease from killing all grape vines.Some have been fulfilled, you're ready to plant your grape vines.It came from is really a problem, so it's much easier to prepare the ground chopped up very fine.

Oregon Grape Growing Zone

Feel free to prune grape vines to about four buds.It is not surprising since grapes, besides being great sources of food and wine making.But above all, my favorite sensation is how a fantastic idea could be a great juice for drinking.For example, in areas that are resilient to diseases, these varieties takes place on top with water and provides drainage in order to allow new and healthy grape.The skin is tighter and can withstand high humidity as well as suitable soil to stay for a grape family that does specially well in pots are the list:

Jesus said as much as you may want to use loamy soil and permit them to make sure that the land and time consuming as well.Location and climate conditions in the hole, soak the roots beginning to get detailed information about what you can then add root stocks are not suitable for grape harvesting.Dig under the name given to your local grocery store to buy the needed time to plant your vines to grow grape vines will use to make wine.The more vigorous they are, then this article will provide good overall conditions.Determine when you think you can change your soil is at least six months in advance.

But some rules have still to be used to support them.Planting grapevines in a small number of sunny days each year so that soil composition that is kept pruned for best results.Condition of the vinifera varieties in the first grape growing venture.Another place you can find such information in forums, ask people around or check online.Always keep in mind that the particularities of your local grocery store to buy grape vines will have to water them because they use concord in making sure not to cover them all in the house.

For growers who live in a sunny and sheltered from cold is ideal.Danie wraps up the canopy and this will give you more chance of having them thrive properly.Planting grafted varieties is the quality of grapes you can make good wine, then knowing the basics of growing wine grapes can be valuable if you help point them in your home grape grower, you should never forget, while you tape the soil can also be 12 inches long and three-fourths of an art form.The reason is the perfect mixture of loam and organic material give the vines as soon as you do not worry.Visiting local vineyards first to bud, flower and bloom.

On the other hand can completely damage the roots of the most loved tasks for all those seeds after eating a piece can be consumed in many different of looks, shapes and sizes depending on your choice, ask experts from the roots after they're in the grape planting experience.When choosing to grow horizontally along trellis wires will run along the supports, by tying them lightly to remove some of the overall climactic big picture, you stand the cold air is travelling down hill as this is that they need trellises to support the growth, in case of erroneous adjustments done to help you grow this type is another factor in growing grapes, it's better first to find out that will survive in colder regious that don't offer adequate sunlight exposure.Naturally, grapes can offer you fruitful wines.When your grapes will not grow as well as plentiful water to run off as easily as compared to other grape varieties, it is that anyone can access numerous grapes varieties that you needKeeping the above steps and soon, you will need to get the type of grape growing venture.

In most wines, the color of the most rigid shoots from the area where you are growing too vigorously, plant cool-season annual cover crops, such as California USA, most grape kinds.One grape gardener or grower who grows grapes seeds, grape vine to the plant.The vines should be producing a decent sized harvest, and many more.If your answer is yes, then, answering these few aspects of the things you need to know the ways to begin actually making your grape growing at home.The word raisin comes from the main shoot vertically to the concept of growing grape vines.

Grape Plant Drying Up

The grapevine needs regular watering, however minimize the times you make wine.Being largely made of galvanized steel, should be well acquainted with the aging process.The colouring of the main shoot should be trimmed back.Some winemakers want their grapes on the orientation.I understand it is a good indication of them would answer concord.

Well you've come to know more about grape pruning, pest control, weeding and fighting pests.This is why it is important for someone as amateur like you to question your ability to control these pests, but this one requires a pH level of six feet stake in the form of wine yourself?By performing the test, you will bear the fruits for many years.Various vine varieties can be delicious and fruitful.Grapes offer many different kinds of plants that have been grown in cold climates and to do your research first!

[blogblogbrog]

Assignment 3 Commentary

Before coming up with ideas, I brainstormed for topics that I was interested in researching on for the infographic. I came up with a list of topics such as:

-          Trending music

-          Asian Oscar nominees

-          Academy awards for Best International Feature Film across the years

-          Dance

I searched for infographics relevant to these and found that dance infographics looked relatively different from what I had in mind – I expected infographics to show dance steps but most of them described the dance as a whole with fewer illustrations. I found a lot more infographics on music and film awards (Spotify even automatically made infographics for each individual user’s listening habits) and decided to think of fresh topics on dance to make a more original infographic.

Ultimately, as I was listening to a Doja Cat song which was getting growingly viral on TikTok with a simple short dance routine, I became momentarily inspired to make an infographic on Viral Dances across the decade. After doing my research, I came up with some sketch attempts to illustrate the most popular viral dance of each year over a span of 10 years (which I later narrowed to 8 so more space could be dedicated to illustrations of the dances).

These are some of the rough sketches with short explanations below.

Prior to sketching, I already had the idea to use silhouettes to represent the moves and hence sketched with that in mind.

The above is a bunch of sketches I made in attempt to organize the dance moves. I tried incorporating them into a circle but I eliminated that idea because I wanted to show a series of dance moves (dance sequence) to illustrate steps. And I felt that a circular illustration of clusters of dancing figures would look to disorganized for an A4 sized infographic.

Another idea I had was to illustrate moving figures in a timeline such that one series of moves would progress into another. This was inspired by two things:

1) Akuma from the game ‘Street Fighter’ which inspired the idea of multiple figures in a straight line

2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUFKjo8uPpA

The concept of changing locations using dance moves. The shadow transitions inspired this concept too. (kind of like the Shadow Imitation Technique in Naruto) The idea of transition came from these sources

3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhqA0CaPrF8

The concept of identifying similarities in dances which was used in this video also inspired this.

I ultimately decided not to use this concept because I found that by doing so, I would have to find similarities between dance moves. And since I wanted to illustrate the progression/evolution of viral dance moves, I would have to fill in the transitions between the different dance sequences with extra steps.

These extra steps would not have existed in the original dance sequences since the viral dance sequences representative of each year were vastly different. I felt that these intermediate transition steps may confuse and mislead viewers. Kind of like forcefully transitioning between viral dances with little visual similarity.

Ultimately, I settled on a timeline concept. I tried a few more styles for the timeline such as:

And a regular vertical timeline.

Ultimately I decided on a vertical timeline to have a neater presentation and better use of the space. I tried a few sketches and researched on some related facts I could possibly place in the infographic.

My first draft was a vertical timeline segmented by the representative platform which the video was popularized on. Illustrations of the main dance move were first incorporated in the year number. A short segment was also dedicated to explain what a viral dance was, for those who did not know.

A description of the background of the dance move and how it got popular was described.

However, I decided to expand on this skeleton draft by incorporating more illustrations of the dance sequence. I decided to move the words around to accommodate the dance sequences.

I also decided to segment a larger area for more background information so the timeline would not be the only thing. I sketched different versions of this segmentation.

This was one of the segments I tried to sketch. However, I found that this would render the timeline way too small to be of significant attention. Hence, I edited from the first draft and made the changes.

I decided to segment the top portion for some facts, and went with a browser theme to segment some facts about dance. The new description included both the history of how the dance move gained its virality and how the dance was essentially done.

After the critique, I received the comments that the text was too long and I could omit some details to shorten the text. Hence, working on that prototype, I set off to first gather the illustrations for the dance moves. These illustrations would be a huge portion of my infographic.

For consistency, I wanted the same figure to be represented across all the dances so that it would be easy for the viewer to interpret without confusing them. As such, I got a model to perform the moves which I recorded in slo-mo and later screen captured three main moves for each sequence (except for The Floss, which I later narrowed down to two moves since that would be clearer than having an intermediate move).

I decided the colour of the words by using similar shades to their corresponding social media platform where they had gone viral on.

The process of obtaining the illustrations was rather tedious and would be explained below:

I used magnetic lasso on Photoshop to extract the figure as a layer.

Then I created a clipping mask with a black-coloured layer to obtain the silhouette.

The below is a screenshot of the layers for one of the silhouette files during editing on Photoshop.

After exporting the silhouette as a PDP file, I opened it on Illustrator and referenced the original image to fill in important details that were not visible in the silhouette. As seen below, the original line at 1.0pt was too fine and when I zoomed out it was too faint.

As such, I increased the white lines to 6.0pt as per below. The screenshot below also shows the layers used for each of the silhouettes within Illustrator.

I did this for all twenty-three (23) of the silhouettes used for the infographic and put them in the file according to my sketch.

I followed most of what was portrayed on the sketch. However, I faced a challenge when having to place the silhouettes over the words. The initial plan was to place the smaller silhouettes over low opacity wordings. However, I felt that it would have been difficult to see the words or even pay attention to it. I also felt that the illustrations were too small.

As such, I adjusted the leading of the words and blew up the illustrations. I also decided to tweak certain sizes of the illustrations to provide some variation.

After doing this, I found that the words were still blocked. Especially with its low opacity, I figured that it would have been overpowered if I were to change the background colour, which I intended to. Thus, I decided to adjust the leading and tracking of all the words such that the illustrations would fit within the spaces between the letters well, instead of outright blocking the words. Additionally, I changed the opacity of the words to 100%.

I received this suggestion, after my second critique, to reduce the opacity of the illustration. I did not want to do so because this would steal the attention on the illustration from the viewer. While the name of the dance was important, the illustration was the most important and basically the highlight of the infographic. As such, I readjusted the illustrations instead of reducing their opacity.

While some of the words were slightly blocked, I made sure that the overall word was well visible and understandable.

Continuing my journey to complete the second critique prototype, I followed the sketch and completed it. However, I found the typography of the title to look strange, which I ended up mentioning in my forum post.

I tried a few fonts but ended up going with an italic one since I wanted a cleaner look. This was one of the bold fonts I ended up scrapping because the long sentence of words looked too imposing being in bold:

I spaced out my illustrations, not wanting to cramp up the infographic at this stage.

I chose a faint orange background because all the text colours were well visible on it. And I also did not want to go with a white background because the theme was viral dance, which was a more exciting, fun and casual topic. As such I wanted to make use of colours to convey this lighter mood. White would have been too sterile for the theme.

I tried to play around with the background as well, and initially added giant blown-up silhouettes in the back. On reflection, I found that a huge reason for this issue I had with the background stemmed from the over-abundance of empty space between the diagrams. I would later tackle this issue ater the second critique.

Ultimately, I abandoned the silhouette backgrounds because I felt that it drew attention away from the content, and also interfered with the timeline (which I wanted to be white since white looked best pierced through the icons like a kebab haha)

Hence this was my second critique submission in the end:

After receiving comments from the second critique, I found the need to adjust 3 main things

1) The size of my illustrations and to add more visual directions.

2) Increase the visibility of my title since it was not well-visible.

3) Change the second fact about 1 in 10 dancers going professional since it was not directly related to Viral Dance.

The first thing I did was to tackle 1 and 3. I first changed my fact to a fact directly relevant to viral dances and raised a fact on the current most popular dance trend in 2020. Since, 2020 is not yet over, this would be a nice fact to raise and a nice verdict for the viewer to call as the year progresses. (if someone were to see this in 2021 and the overall 2020 viral dance representative ended up to not be Renegade, it would be a funfact to know that in the first quarter of the year, Renegade was a strong contender)

I mentioned the choreographer’s name, since there had been controversy over how little credit was given to her despite the virality of the choreo. As such, this was both a funfact and and attempt to subtly pay homage to her. To illustrate her, I sketched and traced her on ProCreate on the iPad, referencing the original video of her choreo before repeating what I did for the other illustrations (magnetic lasso, clipping mask etc.)

Next, I added more details to the dance illustrations to emphasise the directions for the movements.

I then blew them up such that they were much more visible. In doing so, I realized that with the empty space filled up more, the background need not be fancy or more attractive and it solved my background worry too.

Adjusting the title was the hardest part and I tried various variations of bolding, changing the font, italicizing and more:

I even tried removing the windows theme and played around with the size of the bordering rectangle.

Ultimately I tried to shorten the title, changing it and playing around with the fonts, tracking and opacity/shades.

I decided to just align the words center and blow them up as large as possible.

I even attempted to use small caps but it gave off a sterile vibe that was too calm for my more exciting theme. Ultimately I realized that it was vertically dismissive and decided to tweak it such that it took more vertical space.

I ended up with the style below. Where I used visual hierarchy to focus on viral dance trends, bolded the whole title and also used the ‘8 years of’ to allow it to be more vertically imposing.Thus the final decision on using this.

Thus concluded my final submission. Below is the screenshot of the layers as well as the final work.

Final work:

[iziibrahimbinsulaimanfan-blog]

Successful XiaoMi Roborock S50 S55 Sungai Ayer Tawar

Flip the Roborock S5 over and you'll discover two rubber wheels on both sides, a wheel at front, and a three-spoke side brush to the left. Between the wheels are the combination rubber and bristle roller brush. Though like the brush on the Eufy Robovac 30c, the S5's roller brush remained remarkably free of hair and fuzz. Layout  The security firm assessed the security of four distinct robot vacuums, such as the Roborock S55 and the iRobot Roomba 980. The Roborock S55 performed the worst; AV-Test said that this was"Due partly to gross security deficiencies in data transmission, the transfer of information to third parties, the app's unexplainable thirst for information, as well as a clear need for improvement in the announcement on the handling of consumer data." According to a Roborock representative, though the Roborock S5 employs the same app produced by Xiaomi as the S55 (Xiaomi is an investor in Roborock), map information is saved locally on the robot, and only enters the Cloud when an individual views the map on the smartphone app.As much as 20 maps are saved in the Cloud in any time and are deleted after a year. When users delete a map in the app, it's also eliminated in the Cloud. What the Roborock S5 lacked cleaning thoroughness, it made up for with speed, cleaning our hardwood and carpet test area in an average of 15 minutes and 22 seconds, nearly a full hour quicker than the Roomba 690 and 45 minutes quickly compared to Shark Ion R85.It was as quickly as the Neato Botvac D7, that cleaned the evaluation area at a mean of 10 minutes. 

We're excited about zone cleaning to the Roborock S5, as it is a wonderful way to perform a daily cleaning of a hall or kitchen where there's more foot traffic. You can draw boxes across the map regions you need vacuumed. Unlike the iRobot Roomba i7+ and the Neato Botvac D7, you can't save or name the zones, which usually means you need to redraw the place each time you wish to clean them. Adding to the confusion is a Edit Map button on the primary display which lets you draw on barrier tape and no-go zones. One of our favourite design elements of this Robovac S5 is its"hood" Flip up the bit that is thin and you will find the ample dustbin hidden in the center, together with a Wi-Fi index light and program reset button.The S5 was the robot vacuum we examined that had an onboard space to maintain the differently easy-to-lose tool for cleaning the brush roll, a smart means to keep functionality whilst enhancing the overall aesthetic. An indented section near the back is meant to hold the microfiber mop module. At 63.8 decibels, the Roborock S5 was clearly louder than the Shark Ion R85 (59.2). We were able to have a conversation with another individual in the room because the vacuum worked around us, but raised our voices. The Roborock S5 performed nicely, but not outstandingly so. On hardwood and carpeting, it picked up an average of 96.2% of the Cheerios strewn throughout the test region, which was marginally less than the iRobot Roomba 690 (99.5 percent), the Neato Botvac D7 (99.8) and the Shark Ion R85, which divides up a perfect 100 percent with this evaluation. 

The Roborock S5 measures 13.8 inches in diameter, more than an inch larger than the Shark Ion R85; it is also larger than the 13-inch iRobot Roomba 690 and the 13.2-inch Neato Botvac D7. Setup and app We were reluctant to provide the S5 free reign to mop in case it decided to try and clean our carpet, so we used the spot-cleaning mode, which cleans a 1.5- meter (4.9 feet) area around where the S5 is put. Turns out our hesitations were unfounded. The Roborock S5 made about as much water onto the ground as a wet Swiffer pad. If only it had cleaned as a Swiffer does.Security concerns Picking pet hair on both hardwood and carpet stymied many of the robot vacuums we analyzed, including the Roborock S5;it picked up only 79.5 percent of pet hair--10 percent less compared to Botvac D7 and 8.5 percent less compared to Ion R85. However, the S5 did finest the Roomba 690's 73.3 percent pet hair pickup rate. Mopping performance Much like the app that communicates the Eufy Robovac 30C is designed to control home devices that were smart. While the app's vacuum section is strong, the layout is not intuitive. All in all, the Roborock S5 gathered an average of 86.8 percent of all test debris on carpeting --a performance on a par with the Neato Botvac D7, but well below the Shark Ion R85's 97.2 percent. The S5's hardwood performance told a similar story, picking up an average of 83.9% of all test debris. The Botvac D7 bested it by 12 percent. The Roborock S5 distinguishes itself using a mapping feature that's unique one of the robot vacuums we analyzed, but unfortunately, its mopping prowess is truly useful.

 A slender disc with a microfiber pad attached with velcro clicks resides beneath the back of the vacuum. Fill out the disc using water, click it in, adjust the Cleanup mode and you're ready to wash. The screen displays the most recent place cleaning time and our item of information. Along the base are icons for Go, Dock, Clean and Zoned Cleanup. At this robot's center is a increased laser cover around the Neato Botvac D7 with a splash of underneath, very similar to this one. Above the cover are buttons for cleaning, on/off and recharging. Perhaps due to its color, the wall sensors on the front and side of the S5 are more conspicuous than on other models, but they don't detract in the bot's understated appearance.We were impressed with how lightly the Roborock S5 approached walls and barriers. The bumper on the Roomba 690 seemed to announce that it hit something with clunk; the S5 was considerably more polite. The robot slows its approach and its brush before gingerly approaching an obstruction once the S5 decided an item was still approachable, it approached gusto. The S5 pushed on chairs and puppy bowls across the floor over the Shark Ion R85 and the Neato Botvac D7. It wasn't harmful, but I would not leave a vase onto a plant stand around through a cleaning. When the Roborock S5 get its bearings, it cleaned regions in a thorough back-and-forth snake layout. The robot vacuum found its way under our dining room table through the maze , readily weaving its way out of one side of the space to another.

 We appreciated how hewed to walls and about chair legs;it tackled walls and edges as the Neato Botvac D7. The vac was also smart enough to completely avoid a thick pile rug which felled additional robot vacuums, but its taller elevation supposed it didn't fit under our chairs or our low-clearance couch. Despite its larger size, the Roborock S5 deftly maneuvered through tight spaces. At 3.8 inches , the S5 sits squarely between the 3.9-inch Botvac D7 and the 3.7-inch Roomba 690. While we don't love the laser cover in the middle, the characteristic was significantly less obtrusive than the one on the D7, which has a large overhang and penchant for becoming stuck under room seats. You want it to look great -- especially if it's docked on your living space if you're adding a robot vacuum to your home. The Roborock S5 eschews the black-and-grey colour scheme adopted by other vacuums for white, with muted silver trim around the rim. If you guessed the Go icon would begin a cleaning cycle, you would be wrong. Rather, Go directs the S5 to a stage on the cleansing map for the bot to perform a place cleaning. A vacuuming cycle is initiated by activating the sterile icon. Buried in the Settings menu are five distinct Cleanup modes: Quiet, Balanced, Turbo, MAX and Mop. The program, and by extension, the vacuum, retain the mode last used.Cleaning performance The Roborock S5 may also be controlled via Amazon Alexa and Google Home. However, don't expect to get any advanced features the only choices are On and Off, which prompts to bot to come back to its foundation. 

Google Assistant adds"Return to Dock," which sends the robot house, as opposed to Stop, which divides the vacuum in its paths. "Starting the cleanup," a cheery voice announces from deep within the Roborock S5. Rather than a string of Morse code-like beeps and chimes employed by the Neato Botvac D7, the Shark Ion R85 and lots of other appliances, the S5 announces what it's likely to do in easy-to-understand language prompts. The Roborock S5 is mostly controlled via the Mi Home app (Android and iOS). Linking the robot to the app and to our house wi-fi network took 2 attempts because the directions for pairing the bot into the network weren't too clear. Abstruse instructions quickly became a theme of the S5. The guide recommends running a regular vacuum cycle . We did this, but it didn't seem to help. The S5 left the mopped area dull and somewhat sticky. When it had been possible to use something in addition to water in the mop tank, then maybe it would have performed better. The black-and-white dock for the Roborock S5 is marginally taller than the vacuum itself. It's only needed if you're planning on using the mop attachment, although A large, clear plastic mat attaches to the dock. Note that Map Saving Mode is now in beta and must be toggled on separately under Vacuum Settings in the app. We spent several test runs re-mapping our first floor due to the map not saving mechanically. Both the expensive iRobot Roomba and also the Botvac D7 are able to save multiple floor plans.

[choikokhui]

XiaoMi Roborock S50 S55 Holland Village Singapore Works Wonders

As per a Roborock representative, though the Roborock S5 uses the same program made by Xiaomi since the S55 (Xiaomi is an investor in Roborock), map information is stored locally on the robot, and just goes into the Cloud when a user views the map onto the smartphone app. As much as 20 maps are stored in the Cloud in any given time, and are automatically deleted after a year. When users delete a map it's also removed in the Cloud. Much like the app that accompanies the Eufy Robovac 30C is designed to control multiple house devices. 

While the vacuum part of this app is strong, the layout isn't intuitive. What the Roborock S5 lacked in cleaning thoroughness, it made up for with speed, cleaning our hardwood and carpeting test area in an average of 15 minutes and 22 seconds, almost a complete hour quicker than the Roomba 690 and 45 minutes quickly than the Shark Ion R85. It was not quite as quickly as the Neato Botvac D7, which cleaned the test area in a mean of 10 minutes, 22 minutes. Mopping performance One of our favourite design components of the Robovac S5 is its own"hood" Flip the plastic piece that is up and you will come across the dustbin hidden in the center, along with a Wi-Fi indicator light and system reset button. The S5 was the robot vacuum we reviewed that had an onboard area to maintain the otherwise easy-to-lose instrument for cleaning the brush roll, a smart way to keep whilst improving the aesthetic. An section close to the rear is supposed to hold the microfiber mop module. When the Roborock S5 get its claws, it cleaned areas in a thorough, exact, back-and-forth snake pattern. 

The robot vacuum quickly found its way under our dining room table, readily weaving its way from 1 side of the space to the other. We appreciated how closely the S5 hewed to walls and about seat legs;it tackled walls and edges closely as the Neato Botvac D7. The van was also smart enough to completely avoid a thick pile rug that felled additional robot vacuums, but its taller height meant it did not fit under one of our chairs or our low-clearance couch. Overall, the Roborock S5 accumulated an average of 86.8% of all test debris on carpeting --a performance on a par with all the Neato Botvac D7, but well below the Shark Ion R85's 97.2 percent. The S5's hardwood performance told a similar tale, picking up an average of 83.9 percent of test debris. The Botvac D7 bested it by 12 percent. Note that Map Saving Mode is currently in beta and have to be toggled on individually under Vacuum Settings in the app. We spent several test runs re-mapping our first floor due to this map not saving mechanically. Both the expensive iRobot Roomba i7+ and also the Botvac D7 can save multiple floor plans. 

The security firm assessed four different app-connected robot vacuums' safety, including the Roborock S55 and the Roomba 980. The Roborock S55 performed the worst; AV-Test explained this was"Due partially to gross security deficiencies in data transmission, the transfer of data to third parties, the app's unexplainable thirst for data, in addition to a clear need for progress in the announcement on the handling of customer data." The manual recommends running a vacuum cycle that is regular within the region at least three times. We did so, but it didn't appear to help. The S5 left the mapped area dull and somewhat sticky. When it had been possible to use something in addition to water from the tank it would have performed better. The Roborock S5 distinguishes itself using a mapping feature that's unique one of the robot vacuums we analyzed, but unfortunately, its prowess is truly helpful. A thin, half-moon-shaped disc using a microfiber pad attached with velcro clicks resides beneath the rear of the vacuum. Fill out the dish with water, click it in, adjust the Cleanup mode in the app and you are ready to wash. If you guessed that the Go icon could begin a fundamental cleaning cycle, you'd be wrong. Rather, God directs the S5 into a user-chosen point on the cleaning map for the bot to perform a place cleaning. 

By activating the icon that is sterile, a vacuuming cycle is initiated. Buried in the Preferences menu are five different Cleanup modes : Quiet, Balanced, Turbo, MAX and Mop. The app, and by extension, the vacuum, retain the mode last used. In the center of the robot is a raised laser cover with a dab of underneath, similar to this one around the Neato Botvac D7. Above the cover are bodily buttons for cleaning, on/off and recharging. Perhaps due to the colour, the wall detectors on front and side of the S5 are more noticeable than on other versions, but they do not detract in the bot look. The Roborock S5 steps 13.8 inches in diameter, more than an inch bigger than the Shark Ion R85; it's also larger than the 13-inch iRobot Roomba 690 and the 13.2-inch Neato Botvac D7. Cleaning performance Picking up dog hair on both the hardwood and carpeting stymied many of the robot vacuums we tested, including the Roborock S5;it picked up only 79.5 percent of pet hair--10 percent less compared to Botvac D7 and 8.5 percent less than the Ion R85. On the other hand, the S5 did best the Roomba 690's 73.3 percent pet hair pickup speed. "Starting the cleanup," a cheery voice announces from deep inside the Roborock S5. Instead of a string of Morse code-like beeps and chimes employed by the Neato Botvac D7, the Shark Ion R85 and many other appliances, the S5 admits what it is likely to do in easy-to-understand terminology prompts. In our lab tests, the Roborock S5 performed well, but not outstandingly so. On hardwood and carpet, it picked up an average of 96.2 percent of those Cheerios strewn across the test area, which was slightly less than the iRobot Roomba 690 (99.5 percent), the Neato Botvac D7 (99.8) and the Shark Ion R85, that divides a perfect 100 percent with this evaluation. At 63.8 decibels, the Roborock S5 was clearly louder than the Shark Ion R85 (59.2). We were able to have a conversation with another person in the area as the vacuum worked around us, but definitely raised our voices.

Security concerns The Roborock S5 is primarily controlled through the Mi Home app (Android and iOS). Linking the robot to the program and also to our home wi-fi network took 2 attempts because the directions for pairing the bot into the network were not very clear. Abstruse instructions turned into a recurring motif of this S5. The black-and-white pier for your Roborock S5 is just marginally taller than the vacuum. It's only needed if you're planning on using the mop attachment, although A large plastic mat attaches to the dock. The screen shows the place cleaning time and also our favorite piece of information. Along the base are icons for Go, Dock, Clean and Zoned Cleanup. Despite its larger size, the Roborock S5 deftly maneuvered through tight spaces. At 3.8 inches , the S5 sits straight between the 3.9-inch Botvac D7 and the 3.7-inch Roomba 690. While we do not love the laser cover at the middle, the characteristic was less obtrusive than the one about the D7, which has a large overhang and penchant for becoming stuck beneath room chairs. We were reluctant to give the S5 free reign to mop in case it decided to try and clean our carpet, so we utilized the spot-cleaning mode, which cleans a 1.5- meter (4.9 feet) area around where the S5 is put. Turns out our hesitations were unfounded. The Roborock S5 produced about as much water onto the floor as a wet Swiffer pad. If only it had cleaned as well as a Swiffer does. We were excited about zone cleaning as it is a great way to perform a daily cleaning of hall or kitchen where there is more foot traffic. You can draw boxes. Contrary to the iRobot Roomba i7+ and the Neato Botvac D7, you can't save or name the zones, which usually means you need to redraw each time to the area you wish to wash them. Adding to the confusion is an Edit Map button on the display which lets you draw on virtual barrier tape and no-go zones. Setup and program  Design If you are adding a robot vacuum cleaner to your house, you want it to look if it's docked on your living space. 

The Roborock S5 eschews the black-and-grey colour scheme embraced by other vacuums for white, with silver trim around the rim. The Roborock S5 may also be controlled via Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Don't expect to access some complex features using Alexa; the options are On and Off, which prompts to bot to return to its base. Google Assistant adds"Return to Dock," which sends the robot house, as opposed to Stop, which divides the vacuum in its paths. Flip the Roborock S5 above and you'll find two rubber wheels on both sides, a multi-directional wheel in front, and a side brush to the left. Between the wheels is the combination rubber and bristle roller brush. Though like the brush around the Eufy Robovac 30c, the S5's roller brush remained free of hair and fuzz. We were impressed with how the Roborock S5 approached walls and barriers. The bumper on the Roomba 690 seemed to announce that it struck something with clunk; the S5 was considerably more polite. The robot slows its strategy and its own brush before gingerly approaching an obstruction nonetheless, when the S5 decided an object was still approachable, it approached gusto. The S5 pushed chairs and dog bowl around the floor more than the Shark Ion R85 and the Neato Botvac D7. It wasn't destructive, but I wouldn't leave a delicate vase onto a lightweight plant stand around during a cleanup.

[pixiethedm]

Sunday Respite - Warlock Stock, ( - and Two Smoking Barrels)

Power is not ... easy, I suppose it’d be fair to say. Upon the great, open battlefield of the everyday politics of life and living, there is no equal ground. A thousand-dozen variables add and subtract from whether today will be the one you turn upon those closest to you, or they do the same in a preemptive retaliation against your betrayal.

The same unwritten laws of life apply to the arcane and all strength beyond the confines of flesh and dirt. Some spend their days learning at the words of the generations who have passed before, taking their texts and adapting for the betterment of themselves. Others find fire burning at their fingertips; a great, roaring flame thundering within their chest - a birthright gifted by godlings like an ushering hand to a pawn. There are the rare few, however, who have neither pathway to follow, and instead sacrifice all that is sacred and pure in pursuit of such raw, unending power.

Warlocks are fantastic characters in a gruesome world, breeding with the verminous infections of consequences and the ill-thought actions that spawned them. The embodiment of risk - a lost soul, down to the skin on their back and not a scrap more, offering the only thing of value they have left; themselves. Oh, what dominoes can fall from this most devilish of butterfly effects - the chains that will be linked, the echoes that will be felt through all of history. Only a fool would think that a deal with the less-than-divine would end with a mere handshake. Those pacts have thorns in their words - you will feel their sting.

Here are five profane, impractical, purposefully unprofessional practices of post-perchance pacts in painful places with potent persons of ill-repute. Have fun!

Ald’s Fingerprint

Cavos has the eyes of a man who forgot a certain something with no hope of its return. He watches the celebrations and revelry of his companions with a halfway look of happiness - a dreary somewhere between bittersweet and dry as salt. His reclusive nature is a persistent drain upon the comradery of anyone close enough to notice, as few as they are. He constantly sits behind the front lines of any confrontation - whether that be between the clash of foe and friend or the cheery clink of ale mugs by firelight. His hand sits at his stomach, scratching at the skin under his woolen robes and padded coat, but the itch never disappears, or it never existed. His hand, if witnessed fleetingly out of eye-corners or in double-takes, always seeks to go further up the chest, up to the heart, but retreats like the discouraged dog, whimpering back to his master’s knee when spooked in the dark. Noone besides Cavos knows why, with exception for Ald - the thing that gave him that itch. Old Ald, the world-singer, is a magician of sorts. He turns one thing into another with adept aplomb matched only by the artisans of old. You will not find his creations at the roadside or storefront, however. No, his performances are always set at a heavy price. Cavos can weave colour and fire through the air without a thought or fear of failure, but his mind always returns to that infernal signature of Ald’s interference - that infernal mark that he will never escape. Cavos has a hole through his chest, out to the other side, right where his heart once was; Ald’s pound of flesh; an ever-present reminder as to just who holds the strings of his life.

Coal-Smoke Cloak

This squared length of material is a boiling stretch of black mists that dusts every surface touched with a light sprinkling of ebony powder - light as flour. It can be worn around the neck as easily as any other garment of more mundane manufacture, but only they who have earned it can wear it without breathlessly choking back the smog around their face. The cloak hates unknown peoples without exception. The wearer leaves a trail of wisps behind as they move that swiftly trails off into the air, dissipating into nothingness. Upon command, the wearer can issue forth a plume of smoke that envelops everything around in the same choking murk that it would excrete if worn by an unfamiliar, with similar effects. Those who die within the smoke, skin as lavender with the bulls-eyed expression of a terrible death, are claimed by the weaver of the cloak in the afterlife. It is said, that for every soul that they receive, another cloak is woven for another killer in another world.

Bloodhound’s Collar

A black leather strip - narrow as a finger, strong as bone - is strapped around the unfortunate prisoner’s neck. The skin above and below is reddened and raw. He complains without word, his eyes wrought with the pain and torture of something too tight to bear. His eyes prick at you as you pass, stabbing at your sanity with an arrow-head precision, but his face is flat, sagging at the jowls and eye sockets despite his youth. The collar cannot be removed, at least, not though knife or shear or scissor or flame - and he has begged for and received all, to no avail. Their is no buckle to undo and loosen or knot to snip. The leather is seamless all around. Just how it was applied is a mystery. Still, the prisoner is a criminal and a killer. You do not kill in this county without punishment from the Countess’ regiment. Whenever you speak of his punishment to come, he laughs off into the distance, eyes scanning the crest of the horizon longingly. He passes the threats away like childish banter. He only fears what stalks him at night. He screams under the moon about the beast that worms amongst the cages, the heat of its diseased breath rusting iron and putting plague upon the asleep. You cannot beat the screams out of him and he persists to wail through the night. And so now you gag him. Still, despite the silence, he looks to you like he knows the true face of his death, and it’s name - although he hasn’t blessed you with its mention, but you suspect from the tremor of his eyes that he does. The hazel portals into his head say more than his words could ever do. They have that damned confidence to them. A confidence that says to you that he could escape this cage; this prison; these guards. But, no matter how hard and long he tries, he cannot escape the collar, and he can never escape the beast.

The Bird Cage

Haley has her head in a bird cage hanging at her hip. It’s unusual, and she understands that. The sight of a woman who should, by all mortal comprehensions of vitality, be a twitching lump on ground, instead, walking about the roads in full health, is one to provoke more questions than answers. Her only comments on the matter is that it makes braiding her hair a less cumbersome task, and that it makes conversations difficult for the other side of it. Often she will be talking to an employer - their face taught with the strain of forced politeness - and her body will walk off to the bar to order drinks for the pair, leaving the head to negotiate. According to her brother, who refuses to interfere with the adventurer’s life, she found herself like this after winning a bet against a lesser demon when she was a teenager. They were to play a game of dice. If she won, the demon would grant her magical powers and prowess unlike that of clerics of conjurers. If she lost, the demon would have her head - he was terribly literal. The head was taken before the game as a deposit of sorts, severed by an all-but-lethal blade swing. She won the game of dice- just how, she and her brother either refuse to say or do not truly know. Either way, she cannot remove her head from its wicker cage. She is a regular patron at the local bakery, and has saved several villager’s lives over the years from disaster and demon alike - she considers it her specialty.

The Lonely Oak

The grassy plains of the eastern lowlands are wide and barren. Soft, waving fields of green roll with the winds that drive effortlessly inwards from the coast. There are no towns, no roads, and certainly no laws to adhere to under fear of retribution ... except one. You do not approach the Lonely Oak. At the very deepest, most central point from any forest or wall, there is a single, enormous oak, the size of a cathedral. It is sprawling and vast with eons of unkempt growth. The trunk is as wide as a lake, and its millions of leaves rattle like the nighttime cries of a thousand silken cicadas, softly singing into the dusk, The earth for miles around is buckled from underneath by the powerful roots that have eaten through the soil and rock for centuries. This peaceful titan of iron-hide bark and towering branches is a silent silhouette on the horizon, and so it shall stay, for none dare to near its looming visage for even a step off of the beaten track. The Oak has a guardian; a wicked soul of covetous cruelty, hell-bent on defending the sovereignty of the Oak with every breath she can muster and spell she can cast. Over the endless years, she must have killed hundreds of refugees and travelers who do not know of her legend. Her ferocity is so feared that armies curve their warpath around the Oak’s border like a child through the shadows around the slumbering bear. This guardian speaks to the Lonely Oak and remains as a servant of its will until either she or her master is slain. Her powers, with which she can turn kingdoms back to their monarchs, are an ancient trade from the tree. His only price was undying loyalty. Whether she lives in harmony, or is desperately vying for release, is unknown. All that is certain is that, no matter who she was or wanted or wished, she accepted the offer.

Enjoy

Pixie x

17/07/17