#building 3 is much bigger and we basically pulled back all the design work we did in the semester bc it was too complex

[ent-is-undecisive]

Teachers : hey you should really focus on like 2 buildings from the 5 you guys worked on since you're alone that last week

Me : building 1 is established but cant choose between presenting building 2 and 3, tries to redesign both in a weekend

Me : this is a normal solution and won't fuck me over

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

What do you believe is the greatest technological achievement mankind ever did?

I think all the things we call "technology" (I am using the word "technology" broadly here) are basically all just tools, but a lot of the ones we've produced over the last ten thousand years or so were pretty cool, even if some of them are kind of silly (the wheel, the abacus, the steam train).

What's the most technologically impressive thing that has ever happened?

I'm gonna say the steam locomotive. The steam engine was invented around 1800 (but it took until the 1830s for it to become economically viable for something like passenger trains, because it was only good for small things), and by the middle of the 19th century trains were really important, in addition to carrying goods and people, and so on. A few people have really thought about the technical challenges involved.

That steam locomotive was powered by a steam engine that produced a ton of power for a really simple mechanism. Instead of using a boiler, you have a big stack of tubes that act like a "steam cylinder" where the hot water inside comes out and gets super hot, and it's hard to make it do much, and the steam itself makes the train go fast. And instead of using a piston, the steam makes a cylinder move forward -- if you think of it as a piston connected by a rod to a wheel at the other end of the cylinder, instead of pushing the rod back in the direction the piston is moving, the rod pulls on it and causes the cylinder to move forward.

This is a neat device, it's not very complicated and it works, the train moves forward and the steam engine can produce a ton of work. But of course, any steam engine that size would only have a few of those cylinders. The next step in steam engine technology is to make a bigger engine by putting a lot of these smaller cylinders together. This wasn't done, at least not in the first few decades after steam engines became a practical technology. Instead, the design that was used to do that next step was an innovation of a guy named Richard Trevithick (I'm not sure the exact year he invented them, I've read the name on this one guy's website and I can't find any dates).

He was a bit of a weird guy -- he was born deaf, he was also a big fan of alchemy and chemistry, and he liked to make really elaborate contraptions and build stuff that would later be copied by other people. (The "high-pressure steam engine," in the picture above, was one of his, and he had other, similar things.) But his work went a lot farther than I can give a single short answer, and I'm only giving a single short answer here because this is a list post and not a full-on response to a question, so I think the details I'm giving here are more important than what the picture above looks like.

Anyway, one of his innovations was that he realized that if you used a lot of these steam cylinders in a row in parallel, they can work together and give you a lot more power and speed than if you had one or two at a time, because the steam in each cylinder can work together -- they each produce a lot of high-pressure steam in the right place at the right time, so you can use each cylinder to make the others go faster rather than slowing down the whole thing. So with eight cylinders in a row the "steam cylinder" (it's a cylinder, not a piston; it's a very different system) can give you an output of about 2/3 a steam cylinder can give you, meaning you get an output of 8/3 = 2.333333...., which means the steam engine can give you almost twice the output of a single cylinder.

This meant that you could use very simple steam engines, which used just one or two cylinders and one boiler, with this technique to build really big engines. This is a thing that we've managed to achieve, and it is the basis for the "bigger steam engine" design that I think of as the "next step in steam engine technology" -- this is how steam locomotives work, and these were made in the early 19th century using smaller steam engines.

(Richard Trevithick was famous in the 19th century for inventing things in a very simple way. In 1808 he was building a steam ferry on the River Mersey, and it failed because they couldn't figure out how to build the steam valves correctly, and they tried to make steam valves that would just close under the pressure. Trevithick's solution was to build a big tank with a hole in it -- if you put water in the hole, it expands and makes the hole bigger, and then you can force the steam through the hole. And that made the steam ferry work. Later, when the steam engine was big enough to use a "steam cylinder" (not a piston, like the one above), his technique came up with another really simple solution to a different problem with the engine. And then a bunch of other people picked it up and used it as the basis of the steam engine we know today. It's not hard to understand when you do the examples, once you know what the things are.)

You can see some pictures and even see a real-life picture of a steam train in operation in the 18th century. That was a very long time ago, though, and that steam locomotive was using steam engines about the size of a steam engine we'd use today. They still didn't know how to do bigger engines in the 18th century.

At some point it became clear that this next step in the steam engine was getting harder and harder to build -- the biggest ones were very complex (so, for instance, they required a lot of valves with small, precise-sized holes). But no one knew how to build them yet -- it didn't really seem like something that could be done.

Eventually, in 1835, a guy named Richard Roberts started building engines that were a lot bigger than any of his predecessors (and he was famous, because he built a couple of really big ones that were used to carry trains very fast), using some of Trevithick's ideas but with a much bigger boiler. And then in 1836 he managed to build the world's first big steam engine. It was so big that it

[hopeymchope]

Parascientific Escape: The sci-fi “escape room” visual novel-style series nobody talks about

I can’t help thinking that Parascientific Escape would probably have an active fandom somewhere on the Internet if it wasn’t TRAPPED ON THE 3DS ESHOP.

I mean, it’s an escape room-centric visual novel-style sci-fi Japanese game that is clearly inspired by Zero Escape and very anime in its style. There are endearing characters, including optimal waifus/husbandos, plus a gradual buildup of an interesting fictional world full of political intrigue, its own countries, its own companies, and of course... psychic powers. Because you can’t have a trilogy of Japanese visual novel-style games featuring escape room puzzles without mental powers, now can you?

But as I said... they’re trapped as download-only titles for the 3DS. That’s fucking brutal. 

Even so, there’s a pretty big 3DS/2DS user base still in existence. It’s not like they’ve never been translated or something, so at least we have the capability to play them. So if you look into them, what are you getting?

A basic overview: Parascientific Escape is a trilogy of anime-style games about solving escape room mysteries and tracking down evildoers via the use of psychic powers (obvious Zero Escape influences). There’s an overarching plot about a mysterious mastermind who believes it’s time for the recently emerged psychics of the world to take their place as the next evolution of humanity and get their own nation (obvious X-Men influences).

They don’t work very well as standalone stories; each story relies on information from the last one, culminating in a game that stars the protagonists of both parts 1 and 2 together as they finally unravel the motivations behind the events of the whole series and face off with the people behind everything. In addition, the escape room puzzles start out pretty easy in the first game build to be pretty frustratingly obtuse by the tail end of the third. And on top of all that, each game taken on its own only contains about 3-4 escape rooms. So when you bundle all three together, that’s when it all works as a single satisfying package. 

Don’t worry about burning a lot of cash to play the whole series, however. The three games are $5.00 US each on the 3DS eShop and are usually on sale for $2.50 each these days. I got the entire trilogy for $7.50 US!

So let’s break down the gameplay and setup in a little more detail. Don’t worry; I won’t give any spoilers that go beyond the first five minutes of any game in the series. The twists and turns are part of the fun here.

The first game is Parascientific Escape: Cruise in the Distant Seas. You play as  Hitomi Akeneno, a high school girl (because of course she’s a high-schooler) with the dual abilities of mild telekinesis and a type of clairvoyance that lets her peer past barriers or into the insides of objects. She finds herself trapped on a sinking cruise ship where some mastermind keeps systematically locking her into isolated sections while she’s trying desperately to escape. 

I really liked how you could look inside of an object with clairvoyance and then use her telekinesis to manipulate the various switches and levers within, gradually pulling some object you need out from within a maze. I also thought it was clever how the solution to a new escape roomight require you to backtrack to a previous escape room to investigate some object or area that wasn’t relevant to that previous room’s original puzzle. 

(One of the things I found most fascinating about this one is the ethical debate raised by Hitomi’s friend Chisono regarding how Hitomi got herself involved in all this. Chisono offers a perspective that is extremely unusual to see in most fiction. You can even say it’s pretty cold, but it’s not without having some merit to it. I don’t want to say too much about what I’m talking about, though; it’s better left as a surprise.)

The second title, Parascientific Escape: Gear Detective, almost seems standalone at first. You play as Kyosuke Ayana, a private detective and actual adult (!) who is 22 years old. A young woman shows up at his office and asks to hire him for protection. See, there’s a serial killer on the loose, and she believes she’s the next target.

We are swiftly told that Kyosuke was once in an accident that necessitated the replacement of his left arm and right eye. He volunteered to be a guinea pig for some very special prosthetics that granted him artificial psychic powers. As such, he now has “chronokinesis” — to the power to look back in time. However, he can only look back for five days, and he only has limited ability to move or manipulate the things he sees in the past. 

Naturally, Kyosuke’s investigation winds up trapping him within some escape rooms that require use of his unique abilities to solve. Some of the hints at the proper timestamps or exactly where you should be looking when you peer into the past are a little vague, though, which can cause momentary frustration. Because I like to always be making forward progress, I actually preferred Hitomi’s telekinesis/clairvoyance powers from the first game. Still, Hitomi had some pretty basic puzzles in her rooms. I can’t deny that these puzzles took more thought.

Outside of the escape rooms,  everything is undeniably a huge improvement. The first game presented strictly linear segments of storytelling between the rooms, but this one is more of an adventure game. You can choose where you go, select from a limited menu of things to do when you get there, and do all of it in any order you like. There’s usually a correct sequence order to progressing the story, but it’s typically pretty clear what the next step is, so it’s not like you’re just flailing about and trying a bunch of locations blindly. Besides, there’s no way to get stuck, so don’t stress it. There are even a lot of actions you can take that have no impact on story progression at all — they’re just there to generate additional dialogue that further develops the characters. 

The tradeoff is that you actually get fewer escape rooms overall. The first game had four, but the second only contains three. This is also the first game in the series to introduce multiple endings; you get a number of dialogue choices throughout, and unfortunately, it’s far too easy to trigger the “bad” ending. There are guides online to help you trigger the Gold Star “true” ending, however. Just hit up GameFAQs. You might want to use the guide on your first playthrough, because I can say from experience that it’s annoying to have to replay all the dialogue sections just to make the correct choices. (Luckily, you can skip over any irrelevant sections of each chapter — including the escape room puzzles.) 

In spite of my above whining, the second one is probably my single favorite story in the Parascientific trilogy. It’s a lot of fun.

The final game in the trilogy is Parascientific Escape: Crossing at the Farthest Horizon. Mysterious characters who were plotting offscreen for the previous two games are finally given faces, locations that were talked about extensively in both are finally visited, and the two protagonists of the first couple games finally meet and team up. It’s absolutely a culmination of what they set up in the first two.

The narrative jumps around from the perspectives of many different characters, but the most time is undoubtedly spent with Hitomi and Kyosuke. Sadly, there is no gameplay usage of Hitomi’s powers this time; the escape rooms are all done with Kyosuke, and they are more devious now than ever before. Personally, I found the next-to-last one to be incredibly obtuse and frustrating. I ultimately had to consult a video playthrough on YouTube for that. (The YouTuber in question didn’t seem to have the same issues figuring things out that I did. So I guess your mileage may vary.)

The “adventure game” segments make a return here as well, although they’ve also become a bit tougher to figure out. There are a couple of times when you might find yourself wandering the various location options, clicking on every possible action to try and progress. Luckily, there aren’t so many default options that you’re left flailing for very long. Even the longest period of clueless wandering lasted me a maximum of 15 minutes.

Once again, you have to make the correct dialogue choices if you want a positive ending. And once again, GameFAQs is your friend and co-pilot.

Ultimately, even the gated endings and occasional puzzle frustrations did little to curb my enthusiasm. I really had fun with these characters and their stories, I greatly enjoyed the majority of the escape rooms, and I was pretty satisfied with how it all wrapped up. The character designs/artwork get better and better as the series goes on. The selection of music tracks may be the same throughout the whole series, but I really dug on them, so I can’t complain. Do I have any other misgivings? Well, just one; the English localization is pretty sloppy. There are a pretty large number of typos, and the dialogue can sound stilted and awkward at times due to being a direct translation. It’s actually at its worst at the start of the first game. Luckily, after about 30 minutes of playtime, it settles in and finds its voice.

Seriously, they should really figure out a way to re-package these games for another system that doesn’t use the the dual-screen setup. Put all three of them together, and it’d easily be satisfying as a full retail release!

But for now, if you have a 3DS/2DS, they’re only $7.50 in total most of the time (and $15.00 at the worst). Do you like adventure game-style mysteries and visual novel-esque progression and, of course, escape rooms? You should give these a shot! And I hope these devs get to make games with bigger budgets and better localizations in the future.

[luciesbabyboy]

The Letter.

Something momma and me wrote together, the background to this is fact, the solution is pure fantasy. But OMG this was such fun to write together.

Steve came home to an empty house after 21 days working away. It had been the longest stretch working away and he was completely broken. His wife had sent him a message earlier saying she was sorry she wouldn’t be there when he got home from his flight, but not to worry she would be home at 9pm, she was just having coffee with an old friend.

He made himself a cup of tea and sat down on the sofa and flicked on the TV. His eye was drawn to the fireplace and an plain white envelope with “Darling, please read me” written in his wife’s handwriting

Having picked it up he returned to the sofa and gently prised open the envelope, his nostrils caught the sent of his wifes perfume and he smiled at the thought of her. He opened the letter and began to read.

 “Darling,

First, let me tell you how much I love you and how proud of you I am for everything you do. You make me feel so loved and our time apart is only made so much better when we are together. However, I’m really worried about you. I know you’re not telling me the whole truth about the hours you are putting in, but I know as you read this letter that you are completely destroyed mentally and physically and its will take you days to recover. But you’re not recovering, you’re surviving, you’re not eating properly, you’re not getting the sleep you need, you’re not getting any exercise, you’re waking up, going to work, eating crap to feed your depleted energy, you’re working 15 hours a day and 7 days a week and you’ve just done this for 21 days. How you’re not in hospital I really don’t know.

 What you have done at that business, is beyond remarkable, you’ve single handed built it to an extremely successful, profitable business, but you have to look after yourself. If you don’t I fear you’ll self implode. I’ve seen you when you come home from a tough period away and I can tell you’re just minutes from going down the drain. How you recover enough to face another week is beyond me.

 We need to get you back to where you were mentally and physically 4 years ago, cooking and eating great healthy food, loving life, exercising and reading....remember how you used to soak up books, almost a book every week, and we used to sit listening to classic alums on the record player. Now you just sit down and because you’re exhausted you don’t engage with much. I understand, but we used to have so much fun, we’d spend time with friends and family or just being on our own.

 I know you’re at breaking point, and I fear that any day I’m going to get a call from your work saying you’ve had a heart attack or a mental breakdown. Thats why, this week, I contacted your CEO and she agrees with me. Again she is amazed at what you have achieved for the company and the group, but she agrees that you’re on the verge. The business will cope, you’ve built the foundations, you have got the staff in there running it, you now need to step away and relax.

 So from this weekend, with your bosses blessing, you have a 10 week leave of absence. We have 10 weeks to reset you, to get you back into a mental state that gives me confidence that you’ll not kill yourself before your next birthday.

 And I know exactly how to rest you “little man” 😊

 On the other side of this letter is a 10 week program to take you back to basics, to allow your brain and body to dump all of that stress and then to slowly build you back up. You will, if you agree, give up all responsibilities and I will make sure you are looked after like the gorgeous little man you are.

 Weeks 1 & 2

                Regressed to a 9 month old. Momma will take care of your every need, she will bathe you, feed you, clothe you, read you bed time stories, cuddle you, change your nappies, love you unconditionally.

                During this period, you are not allowed to walk, talk (9 month olds can’t do either), you communicate by using your hands and either crying or babbling. Just like a little baby. You are allowed to crawl around the house, but you are to use your nappies for their true intended purpose. No phones or computers and no tv except early learning tv like sesame street and in the night garden. Early bed times and day time naps. Me feeding you with a spoon, having all your drinks in baby bottles. Millions of cuddles on the sofa.

 Weeks 3 & 4

                My little man is now a proper handful as a 2 year old: You can toddle around the house and can use big words, but you still need momma for cuddles and everything else in weeks 1 & 2. You’re still not able to use the toilet, you can watch a few more interesting things on tv and you can play with lego and cars and colour with crayons. Your food is a less babyish, and you love food time and getting all messy with eating with your hands. You need to ask momma for everything you need, even though you can reach the counter top, cookies and treats are off limits without asking. Time out on the naughty step if you get caught doing something momma has said you can’t.

 Weeks 5 & 6

                Oh my, what a cute little 3 year old you are. So independent, but so naughty, trying to do things yourself and getting into all kinds of scrapes. Momma still has to tie your shoe laces and get you dressed and you still have problems with the potty, so momma is keeping you in nappies for a little while longer. But you’re old enough now to let momma know when you need to go poopy. Where she can undo your nappy and sit you on the big boy potty and wipe your cute little bottom after, and put you in a fresh nappy. You’ll be in a lot of trouble if you forget to tell momma you need to go number two and momma will smack that poopy bottom and make you sit in a dirty nappy to remind you what a dirty boy you are. We can now watch Disney cartons together and you’re learning your abc’s and numbers so well. You still need nap times, and momma needs to still take you for a bath, but can leave you to play with your bath time toys.

 Weeks 7 & 8

                 6 months older and such a handful for this momma. You’re getting much better at potty time, so momma has decided to let you wear pull ups. You need to tell momma when you need to go potty and she will pull your trousers and pull ups down and sit you on the big plastic potty. Little boys who are potty training still need nappies at night and you’ll be wrapped up tightly in a big fluffy nappy after bath time every night. Of course I’m sure you’ll forget about needing to go potty which is why momma will constantly ask you if you need to go, however if you say no and then wet your pull ups, you can expect momma to pull those down and put you over her knee for a well earned bare botty spanking. Momma is going to be strict with you and any rule breaking will result in a red bottom and corner time. But now you’re older you can help momma bake cookies and cakes and she’ll let you lick the spoon. Lots of cuddles with my little man and you can help momma around the house. You’ll look so cute in just your Spider man pullups and dinosaur t-shirts. It makes momma’s job of checking you for wetness so much easier

 Weeks 9 & 10

                Oh my you’ve grown up and momma is getting you ready to go “back to school” You’re nearly fully potty trained with only the occasional wetting accident. So momma has gone out and bought you some proper big boy briefs. They have lots of cool designs on them. Spiderman obviously, I’ve got several pairs of them, some other marvel prints and some basic plain colours so you can feel like a big boy when we go out. Momma is still going to ask you if you need the potty, especially if she sees you doing your little potty dance. As you’re bigger now, you have lots more responsibilities, you are big enough to put away your toys after play time is over, you can read books by yourself. You help momma clean up the house and do the laundry. And you can help her big person cooking. We have put the big plastic potty away in the cupboard and now you’re using the big boy toilet all by yourself and wiping our bottom properly after poopies. Momma is so proud of your journey to being a proper little man, but understands you still get into mischief. You sometimes still have little wet accidents in your big boy pants and that means momma will turn that cute little bottom of your red and put you back in a nappy for the rest of the day as punishment. You can go the whole night without wetting your night time nappy, but momma knows you sleep more soundly having one on, so she still gets you properly wrapped up for bed every night.

So that’s it my love. I need you to be better, to get you’re head in the correct space you can be a proper functioning adult. We’re going to have so much fun over the next 10 weeks. I’ll take you to the park, we’ll go for picnics and walk the dog and feed the ducks. You’ll get an allowance to spend on sweeties at the shops if you’ve been a good boy. You’ll get to go shopping with momma and she’ll make sure your bottom is checked when we’re out for wetness.

 Now the bad news. You’re not allowed any alcohol for the whole 10 weeks. You have to do everything momma says without questions. Any breaking of my rules will result in you getting a proper hard bare bottom spanking. You are never allow to touch your nappy at any time or play with what is in it 😊 Which brings me to “Mommas needs” Obviously momma has needs, that only a grown up can provide, seeing you naked 4 or 5 times a day as I change your nappy, or bathe you, or even when I turn that tight little butt of yours over my knee will inevitably make momma hot in all kinds of places. Therefore momma is going to need you to fix this her whenever she needs to satisfy her needs. I will take you out of your nappy and you will be allowed to be a proper man, then straight after we’ll go back to our plan.

 If you agree to this plan, and giving me full responsibility for you over the next 10 weeks, just send me a text with a “Baby emoji” and the words “I’m ready momma”

Love you so much baby boy.

 Your darling wife.

 He let this sink in for a moment, and an emotional wave came over him. He felt so loved in that very moment that he started to cry, all the stress that had built up was too much for him. With tears in his eyes he reached for his phone and sent the message his wife needed to see.

 His phone immediately buzzed back with a heart emoji and 10 seconds later buzzed back again with the following message:

 “Finally and you’re not going to like this one little bit. When I get home, I want you standing in the corner in just your underwear. I want you to get a high backed chair from the dining room and place it in the middle of the lounge. You will also need to get the paddle, the hairbrush and the cane from under the bed. I know you have constantly lied to me about the hours you are doing and I know you’ve been going back into work when you said you are tucked up in bed. So I’m going to really punish you for this behaviour so you remember what happens to naughty boys who lie to me. This is not going to be a normal spanking where I turn your bottom red and then we make love afterwards. I’m going to teach you a lesson through your bottom that you will hopefully remember. If you end up sobbing and begging me to stop then I know its working, but only I will decide when the punishment is over. You will be so thankful to be put back into nappies tonight to protect a very sore bottom when you sit down over the next few days. I’m sorry baby, but I have to show you that lies and sneaking around are not good for our relationship and I’m only doing this for your own good. Love you, see you in 30 minutes. Don’t disobey me or it will 10 times worse.

[sevensided]

how did you get into writing fic? i'd love to start but idk even where to begin! I loved adats so I was wondering do you have any advice?

Oh my goodness! I am so flattered you’ve asked me this. Yes, I can absolutely help. I’ll throw a bunch of rambling under the cut.

I started writing fic probably when I was... sixteen years old? A lot of my early works were oneshots. I couldn’t figure out how to do anything plot heavy for the life of me, so I just stuck to AUs or whatever I felt like. I wasn’t in any particular fandom -- I really wrote whatever I had ideas for. I remember I tried once to do a plot-heavy story and I received a review absolutely ripping it to shreds. Like, it was so cruel I cried lol. I ended up deleting the fic. Years later, I get what they were trying to say (basically, more substance, less style), but at the time it cut to the quick. Really, it was only when I was in my twenties that I started writing work that was longer and/or better.

The fandom that helped me actually write plot heavy work was a historical-based fandom. As I’m a historian, it was perfect. I got to use my research skills and knowledge to create works that, above all, aimed to feel authentic. I mainly read historical fiction, so I was familiar with how that genre worked. Miraculously, people loved my work. I think I wrote about ~200k in the period of a year? These were several short stories (20-40k) and a few oneshot filler fics. While I was part of this fandom I also helped organise a Big Bang which was a lot of hard work but was extremely rewarding. Along with that, I interacted mainly with other fic writers, so I spent a lot of time chatting to people about ideas and encouraging other writers, and it just created a lovely medley where no concept was impossible or any line of dialogue too difficult. We supported each other and it was truly like a little commune. I gradually stepped away from the fandom mainly because it was just a part of my life at a very specific time, and almost as soon as that time was over, my love for that story/ship faded, but I firmly believe I figured out a lot of how/what I do now purely through that experience.

Regarding ADATS

With ADATS, it stemmed entirely from wanting to “explain” three months in canon (at the end of season three). I was interested in the idea of season four setting up Will/Mike in canon, and I wanted to test the source material to see if I could draw from what already existed to create something authentic. I began with that simple idea: what happened from July to October in 1985? Then I thought about the major themes I wanted to hit -- family, friendship, coming of age, sexuality -- and I nested them around the bigger concept: how do I get Mike from being ostensibly straight to realising he is gay? That meant thinking of two steps: Mike discovering his attraction to guys; Mike discovering his attraction to Will. Those two concepts were separate “arcs” that needed addressing in different ways. Balance was key to weaving them together and making the reader feel like they knew what was coming (and that they felt smart for putting the pieces together) without just rushing through and going “now kiss!” That’s partly why ADATS needs a sequel, lol: because it’s not finished!

Writing process

The first thing I do when I start to get an idea is I write it down. Sounds obvious. But when you have a killer line of dialogue come to you in the shower and you think “I’ll remember that” -- reader, you will not remember it. You gotta get it down ASAP! I do that the whole way through, as generally I’ll be thinking of scenes I’m stuck on and then it’ll just come to me and I’ll quickly jot it down.

The next thing -- or what I do in the meantime -- is start structuring. I plan. I try to plan a lot. Sometimes it’s okay to write “and something happens here to get them here”, because you’ll figure it out later, but for the most part I’ve discovered that planning is like gold and you can’t get enough of it. I break my work up into generally 3-4 parts/sections, and I treat each section like a mini story. So each part needs a conflict and resolution, and it needs to flow into the next section. You need to have a feeling of things evolving and maturing. Once I’ve planned those little bits, I start thinking about the bigger plot arc and how I can drop in hints along the way. I’m probably not a subtle or skilled enough writer to yet pull off that sort of gasping twist you get in really excellent books, but I’m trying to get there. It’s hard, is what I’m trying to say, but that’s okay, because we’re all learning.

Then I generally do aesthetic stuff. Sounds stupid, probably. But nothing helps me get more into a mood than doing a Pinterest board or -- most of all -- making a Spotify mix. I start thinking about the vibe and the general atmosphere, and then I almost exclusively listen to that mix when I’m working. Sort of like muscle memory? Just to get the creative juices associated with that particular selection of songs.

Another thing I’ll do along with plot structure is character structure. This is a biggie. I mean, a story is nothing without characters. So I’ll just jot down a bunch of bullet points of characters and particular aspects that I want to highlight or remember. I hate continuity errors in fiction. Like, if someone says they work on Maple Street but later in the fic they’re working on Pine Street. I hate that. So I keep note of specific things that my main character might notice at repeated points in the story (colours, places, smells, names, sounds -- so they’re all consistent even as the narrative evolves). That’s another thing -- your characters’ motivations. Not everyone is going to be a huge player, but they all do serve a purpose. The most important character is obviously your main character. I personally think it’s important to let your M.C. be an arse at times. They’re going to be mean, they’re going to misinterpret things or fly off the handle... just let ‘em. Let them be wretched humans, and then bring them back and make them realise what they’ve done. Let them learn! I love consequences in fiction, lol.

At the same time, I’ll probably start writing. We’ve already written down some snippets of neat dialogue or descriptions, but now we should start the actual process. For me, I used to start at the beginning. Usually this was the most fleshed out anyway: I’ll have a clear idea of the beginning and the end, but nothing in the middle. These days, if I have a scene in mind that I can’t forget, I’ll just write it. It will possibly get scrapped or rewritten, but that’s okay, because at least you’ve got it down and now you can devote your brain power to something useful (like figuring out what the middle is supposed to be). I’ll have half a dozen of totally out of context scenes just littered in my Word document that I’ll add to as I go along. Eventually, though, you’re going to start writing properly, and that’s when you write your opening scene.

Opening scenes: super important. Every time I write a scene I think: what is the point of this? What do I want the reader to learn or takeaway? Sometimes you do have filler scenes, but they also serve a different purpose (perhaps to establish a group dynamic or to explore/describe a character’s surroundings). Mainly, though, every scene should push something forward in some way, whether it’s character development or a plot point. So, with an opening scene, I always think you have to establish: where you are; who you are; what they are doing; where they’ve come from (in a philosophical and practical sense); and where they’re going (ditto). That doesn’t have to happen in the first paragraph -- that would be silly. But if you sprinkle that information in over time it’ll gradually build up a picture of your character and that way the reader can get an idea of who they are. You basically need to give a snapshot of what your story is about. This also goes back to the character creator stuff: where they are at the start should be different to where they end up. How that happens is, of course, because of plot, and because you’ve structured everything to the nth degree, we’ve got a very clear progression of that character’s growth (/s easier said than done lol).

General advice

Write down everything: every idea, a bit of dialogue, a description, whatever. Write it down. Doesn’t have to be neat. Just has to be on paper. You can’t remember everything, so if you’re spending time trying to hold those things in your head, it’s taking up space for new ideas to come along.

Structure, plan, structure, plan. Sometimes it’s boring and I hate it. Other times, when I’ve not written in a few days and I open the Word doc and think wtf is this supposed to be, I am very grateful for Past Me for leaving such detailed notes. Seriously, it helps so much. Oneshots don’t really need planning, in my experience. You just get those out there. But multi-chaptered stories really do, even ones that “just” focus on a relationship.

Whatever you want to write, commit to it. Space goblins invade Hawkins? Do it. Eleven and Max find themselves in a cult akin to Midsommar (2019) and must escape? Yes. Just... whatever you want to do, remember that you’re writing it for you. Write what most interests you, what makes you when you reread it go AHHHHH I LOVE THIS!! Because that makes it a thousand times easier to actually get on with the writing when you enjoy what you’re doing.

Write a lot. Every day, if you can, or at least at designated times. Occasionally I have a very specific headspace/vibe I have to be in, but sometimes it just hits me and I’ll say to my partner “I need to write now” and just disappear, lol. The more you write the more you write. It’s so, so, so true. Cannot emphasise this enough. When I wrote that ~200k in twelve months? It was because I literally wrote every. day. Or near enough. Remember that some days you’ll write 200 words, and other days you’ll write 20k (this happened to me with ADATS -- part of the reason I finished it so quickly was because I had sprints of writing 10k+ at a time that only happened because I was in the rhythm of it). Write, write, write. Who cares if it’s crap! No one will see it until you are ready. In the meantime, just write!

Probably last of all (although I could go on and on) is connect with other writers. If you’re struggling to start, sometimes just talking about it can help a huge amount. I hope it goes without saying that you can message me whenever you want, anon or not, and I will talk to you. We can talk about ideas or I can beta stuff, whatever you want! Find like-minded people and talk to them about what you want to do. Another thing this helps is in advertising your work when you do publish. I see a lot of first time fic writers get super down because they publish their magnum opus on AO3 but no one comments. Honestly, it’s because no one knows you’ve published! You don’t have to be tooting your own horn every which way, but just actively talking about your work and even collaborating with other content creators with get you hyped and other people too (and the input and encouragement other fandom members give is just... out of this world. Anon messages helped me finish ADATS when I was really worried I wouldn’t [that’s the truth]. Seriously, support is everything). When you have people excited about your work, you get excited. It’s really as simple as that.

I could go on but this is already horrendously long. I hope even a bit of this helps! If you want to chat or have any more questions, just hit me up any time.

[littleeyesofpallas]

Bleach Cosmology 4/4

Last post in this series on Bleach world terms: [1] [2] [3]  The super super unaddressed Quincy realm from the final arc, soon to be adapted into the final anime season...

Schatten Bereich(シャッテン・ベライヒ) Sha-tte-n' Be-ra-i-hi, German for “Shadow Realm” and pretty literally interpreted in Japanese as [影の領域] “Realm of Shadow(s).”  A straight forward description of what it’s supposed to be as a place hidden in(?) the shadow of Soul Society, and the Seireitei specifically.  It’s a real shame we didn’t get any actual explanation of what this realm was or how it worked or really much of anything other than the super vague description...

Did the Quincy make it themselves to hide in?  Did the Shinigami make it to banish them to?*  What was that thing about Yhwach having a time limit he could spend away from it that just never came back???  If the Quincy were wiped out 200 years prior, how are there so many of them in there?*  Had they been recruiting new Quincy from the human world?(As Nodt having been in a hospital bed suggests yes)  How were people getting in there?  Or were they supposed to be original Quincy from the conflict 200 years ago, in which case... we were told Quincy were specifically humans who’d just mastered and passed down a set of distinct skills, so how did they survive 200 years without just aging and dying?

*[edit]: My mistake. It’s mentioned at the start of the second attack that they hid themselves in the shadows of soul society specifically 1000 years prior, and following the alluded to first conflict between the Shinigami and Quincy.  Although that event wasn’t really elaborated on either, so that just raises other questions.

Anyway...  none of that has to do with the locale itself, and frankly there aren’t really any answers to uncover in the sparse world building material the final arc gave us...  As to the physical features of the realm itself, Kubo really pulled an awkward repeat of Hueco Mundo with the stark white stonework in a realm of eternal darkness...  But this time, it’s more explicitly cold and also literally icy.

I feel like there was supposed to be some kind of theme about the Quincy living in shadows and not seeing the light of the sun, and being denied its warmth, which just seems like a tiny tweak of the Arrancar Arc’s night sky and day light/sun and moon imagery.  Was the Soul King meant to have a sun motif that we just never got to see? (equating light of the sun with love of god and loss there of, harkening back to biblical revolt of heaven imagery?)  Sun gods and sun king and god kings are all pretty classic to Japanese mythos, and also to Japan’s fetishization of some of classical Europe (although that’s more French rococo, ala Louis XIV, than German)  If there’d been a more overt Sun theme with the Soul King it would’ve made a much more interesting parallel with Ichigo’s Black Sun(opposite Rukia’s white moon) motif.

Sorry, off topic again, and mostly just filling space here...

Wahrwelt(ヴァールヴェルト) Vaa-ru-ve-ru-to meaning “True World” and written as [真世界城] “True World/Society Castle.”  Note that while [真世界] being read as “True World” obviously is meant to mirror Wahrwelt, [世界] can also read as “Society” which is probably meant to directly mirror Soul Society[尸魂界] although they don’t use the exact same construction to denote “Welt” and “Society.”  It suggests that Soul Society is a false regency over the spirit world, and that the Quincy are the rightful rulers, rather than being outsiders come to take over.  Although it feels a little misplaced that the Wahrwelt was specifically the replacement for the Royal Realm and not what replaced the Seireitei.

Silbern(ジルバーン) Shi-ru-baa-n' just meaning “Silver.”  Written as [銀架城] meaning “Silver Mounted Castle.”  I've seen people translate this is “Silver Cross Castle,” but I think this is a misunderstanding of the verb kakaru[架かる] meaning "to cross."  But that's not "(a) cross" like the Quincy cross, it's "to cross" like to cross a street.  The Quincy had a whole thing about silver stretching pretty far back in the series so there’s consistency there, but it doesn’t seem like there was much more going on with it...

As you might expect from the kind of shoddily put together final arc, there’s not a whole lot else to go off of here.  Which is a shame, because although there’s not a wealth of potential the way the Arrancar arc had, there was certainly a lot of empty space to fill as far as world building or character motivations go.  It would’ve been nice to have actually taken the time to explore any of that...

In particular there was the super SUPER curious bit with what appeared to be Quincy ruins left in Hueco Mundo that we didn’t really get much of an explanation of.  Kubo even does a remarkably good job with visual story telling where the rough stonework we get only a glimpse of makes it very clear that the ruins aren’t the same same as the clean, sleek designs of Los Noches.

I think one of the light novels gave them the name “Negal Ruins” that the Bleach wikia references, but I don’t have Japanese copies of the LN to confirm that, and the wikia confusingly doesn’t cite where it got the name from or include any kind of kanji or kana...*  But as little as that is to go off of, I do LOVE the idea that the Quincy once occupied Hueco Mundo in the past, and it just feels like the first tiny tiny step toward what should’ve been a much bigger plot point.  Even the fact that Urahara is out there with scientific equipment doing some kind of research seemed to imply that he’d come back with some crucial information...  I guess that was supposed to be the hollow pills plot device?  But that wasn’t especially clear, let alone remotely satisfying either as follow up or even as its own plot development.

*no no, i was way off.  It’s right there in the same chapter they show up. [ネガル遺跡] “NE-GA-RU” + “Historic Ruins/Archeological Site.”  Dunno why my eyes just glossed right over that.  Not that it really clarifies anything.

Curiously, the Taiyou-no-mon[太陽の門] “Gate of (the) Sun” that plays kind of a deus ex machina role toward the climax of the arc isn’t named in German at all.  (it is mentioned on a few separate occasions, so it doesn’t come out of “nowhere” exactly, but it’s never really elaborated on either)  It’s not clear if that’s supposed to mean something, or if Kubo just gave up juggling dictionaries to come up with a new name on the fly.  It sticks out like a sore thumb by comparison though.  Very odd.

Anyway that’s basically it for big world terms across the major story locales...  There are a few misc. locations like the Valley of Screams or or Hell focused on in the movies and only briefly brought up in the manga, but they’re all pretty literal names: Kyougoku[叫谷] “Scream Valley” where the lost souls, Blanks wind up when they can’t make it to Soul Society, referencing their unheard voices.  Jigoku[地獄] just the actual Japanese word for an underworld, originally borrowed from the Chinese Diyu[地獄] and the mix of indigenous Chinese and Buddhist influences mythos, but at this point linguistically used as the translation for any kind of penitent underworld, regardless of cultural origin.  It’s written with the characters for “Ground” and “Prison.”

I may not have had a lot of take aways from all this, but I gotta admit going back over some of this material did kind of rekindle my excitement for the anime this year, so that’s something.

Bleach Cosmology posts: [Karakura] [SoulSociety] [Hueco Mundo] [Wahrwelt] [Hell/Naraka(allusions)] [Animal Realm(?)] [Preta Realm(?)]

[aros001]

Going in blind: Watching season 4 for the first time. Random thoughts.

I never said anything about it before but I love Shadow Weaver's DCAU Batman eyes. They're so expressive.

Episode 1: Okay...I wasn't expecting Catra to do that. I mean, it makes sense. If she has leverage over Hordak then she's basically in charge of the Horde and that's what she's wanted (or at least believes she wants) since episode 1. It's an aspect that made her a good antagonist, that she's not blind to the evil of the Horde, she just doesn't care as long as she herself is secure. Which naturally begs the question, when the rebellion and the princesses are crushed, when the Horde is on top, when Adora is dead, when Catra finally has everything she's ever wanted...will she actually finally be happy? Somehow, I have my doubts.

I definitely feel for Glimmer in this. When you go through as big a loss as she did you need to be able to feel and vent if you're ever going to get through it. It doesn't have to be right away but everyone doing everything in their power to avoid the topic entirely can make you feel like you're going crazy. It'a especially bad for her since it unintentionally makes it feel like everyone is acting like it doesn't matter that Angela is gone when it clearly means everything to Glimmer.

Episode 2: I actually had a potted cactus plant once. Accidentally forgot about it and left it outside for an entire winter. Once the snow was gone the cactus looked like it had melted.

I kind of want to see what an interaction between Double Trouble and Clayface from the Harley Quinn animated series would look like. I'm guess Catra was just testing how good Double Trouble was as a doppelganger because it doesn't seem like she did anything while Adora was being distracted, though I suppose that could be a reveal in a later episode.

Not much to say except that I love how buff Huntara is while still clearly being a woman. Like, women can have a variety of different body types, as this series and Steven Universe show, and Huntara's build isn't just, like, Bow's body with lipstick and ponytail and the animators calling it a day. No, she looks like a freakin' jacked adult woman.

Episode 3: I didn't figure out the Flutterina = Double Trouble twist until a minute before it was revealed, so good job there. Before that I was wondering if Flutterina was some fan's original character where they won some contest where their OC got to be in the show for an episode. She was giving off some weird self-insert vibes. That twist made it all work though. It's honestly not a bad plan. Shapeshifters haven't really been a thing in the series before now so there's no reason to suspect it. Even if they did they'd probably be expecting it by way of magic or technology, while Double Trouble's seems to be a natural ability.

I like that even though Bow is definitely the goofier one of the trio he is still consistently shown as competent. That's never in question. He was very heroic and reassuring to the villagers this episode. I get why those kids idolize him so much.

Catra's having guilt over what she did with the portal and to Entrapta and her response is basically to just double-down. She doesn't know any other way to be. Not going to lie, I am kind of hoping we get another moment in the show where Adora just completely overwhelms Catra with the sheer power of She-Ra. I'm not saying like brutalize her or anything but just something where Catra is made to realize just how powerful Adora is and that she could just destroy Catra if she had a mind to do so.

Episode 4: Well, I was saying I wanted Adora to do it but I guess I don't mind Glimmer being the one to get some good shots in on Catra. Like I predicted, Shadow Weaver's moving in to become her teacher like she was with her father. Honestly I like that that was more Adora's problem than Glimmer using her as bait, which she seemed to get over pretty quick. Yeah, it was kind of a heartless thing to do but it was an understandable tactic and she clearly outright told Adora that she did it and why afterwards, which at least means she's still being honest.

It occurs to me that Glimmer and Catra may be the ones running parallel right now. Both are basically leading their respective sides of the war. They both have lost someone very important to them. And both are trusting someone they probably shouldn't. Both even have outfits that've been updated in the intro. The difference is Glimmer's just trying to deal with a bad situation while Catra's is entirely self-inflicted.

Minor thing but I like Glimmer's new outfit this season. I'm sure this is the intention but it makes her look older and more mature. A little more muscular in some shots too.

Episode 5: Heart of Etheria project. No idea what that is but assumedly whoever's a part of it doesn't like Light Hope and Mara being friends. Sounds like it's very much interested in She-Ra being just a warrior, and perhaps a tool, for the greater good. It does make me wonder though how much Light Hope remember from when she was rebooting. Even if she deleted the Mara memory she could potentially still have the memory of her and Adora watching the Mara memory, as well as Adora asking to be her friend.

Episode 6: Yep. Scorpia; definitely favorite supporting character. There is something kind of funny about her whole "Scorpions are loyal" line when you remember the story about the Frog and the Scorpion, where it stings the frog despite it meaning death for itself as well simply because that is its nature. But finally we're having someone go save Entrapta, and I can only assume at some point Scorpia's going to access the power of the Black Garnet.

The parallels between Catra and Hordak are definitely at their max here with that speech of hers to him. She's basically trying to convince herself that she doesn't need anyone, the timing of which is appropriate since she just drove away Scorpia and now truly doesn't have anyone. Not that I blame Scorpia, obviously. Like Adora before her, however good you believe someone can be and that you can help them, at some point you just have to cut the toxic people out of your life. You have the right to be happy too.

And man, Bow is just the best. He saw something was wrong between Adora and Glimmer and defused the situation like (snap) that, pushing them to talk like any sane person would.

Episode 7: I'm sure it is just because I've seen way too many TV shows and movies (both animated and live action) that don't do it but it is just such a relief to have a show where the characters just TALK and LISTEN to each other. It doesn't solve all their issues but they're at least not being stupid and freakin' petty. It helps the drama feel a lot less forced and contrived.

Episode 8: A little bit of amusement in Bow thinking at first that Glimmer and Adora didn't even notice he was gone despite them coming to his rescue very shortly afterwards, given Catra is only now realizing Scorpia has left and assumedly she did so a while ago. Bow and Sea Hawk hadn't been gone for that long so it's not unreasonable Glimmer and Adora wouldn't be worried about their absence (Bow was literally talking about "me time" when they last saw him), while Catra is only noticing Scorpia's absence now and it was because she wanted something. Like Scorpia said, she's a bad friend.

Kind of ironic given that a lot of Catra's issues are the direct result of Shadow Weaver giving her very little love growing up but it does seem this tough love is probably what'll get through to Catra the best. She might finally stop making bad decisions and lashing out if she's forced to live with the consequences of them, like Adora told her last season.

Glimmer gets a bit of slack from me since she suffered through a huge loss, that being her mother, and then was immediately thrown into being queen right after. It'd be hard for anyone to be 100% on their game and well-adjusted in a situation like that, and I buy that she was on some level resentful of Adora for coming back instead of her mother, even if unintentionally so. What definitely helps is that Glimmer very clearly and immediately regretted what she said to Adora. Like Catra she's lashing out but unlike Catra Glimmer recognizes some of the damage she's doing and knows, at least in this case, that she went too far.

Episode 9: Now that I can see the design in color I definitely prefer Mara's She-Ra with pants to Adora's She-Ra with shorts. Honestly, while the differences are pretty minor, I do think Mara's She-Ra design is overall a lot better than Adora's. Sharper shoulder guards. Bigger cape (especially the cape, I love capes). I don't know, there's just a lot that clicks with it and I wouldn't mind Adora getting a similar outfit later.

Madam Razz definitely had a Yoda feel this episode. I was very much expecting her to start wacking Mara with a stick over the sugar like Yoda did with R2. Though while that was Yoda acting crazy, for Razz it's because she experiences time out of order, and I don't think I've ever seen that concept taken to this extent, or at least done this way before. There are characters like River Song from Doctor Who, Professor Paradox from Ben 10, or even the Reverse-Flash who interact with other characters in time out of order but those characters are still on a linear path from their own perspective, even when travelling through time. Razz is just bouncing around her own timeline, seemingly not even any real reason or cause to it like Subaru from Re:Zero. Clearly she's not just remembering things oddly because her talk about things of the present are heard by people in the past and have an effect. I wonder if maybe the reason why is because Razz was at ground zero of Mara's actions and this is a side-effect of pulling Etheria away from the rest of the universe.

Bringing more Star Wars into this, it basically sounds like the Heart of Etheria project has turned Etheria into a magic Starkiller Base; storing power that'll be unleashed to destroy whole planets. And jeez, I think this was the first time I really felt creeped out by Light Hope when she was talking to Mara.

I'm looking forward to seeing what it means that the First Ones only made the sword and that Etheria made She-Ra. If that's the case, why is only the sword able to bring out the She-Ra form? Is it like MCU Thor's hammer and the weapon was just meant to help him control the power he already had? Or is what we think is She-Ra not actually She-Ra and that form that Adora and Mara take is just a stand-in for the real thing?

Episode 10: It didn't even occur to me until now but Double Trouble's capture is another blow to Catra's circle of "friends" too. They were at least able to make her laugh. One less person for her to talk to and just...really just distract her from her thoughts.

It's a good dilemma this episode presents about what to do with the Heart of Etheria. The safest and probably best option is to just dismantle it, like Adora and Bow want, since it could easily lead to the destruction of the entire planet if it goes off. Not the mention there's so little they know about it and what it was intended for and the one person who can potentially tell them, Light Hope, they were warned not to trust. But it's not hard to understand where Glimmer is coming from in wanting to use that power to fight the Horde. They're already losing the war and now she knows Hordak Prime and his FAR more powerful forces are on the way. Tapping into the Heart is a huge risk but she's not seeing any other paths for the rebels to win. It's a really good dilemma, with good arguments presented from both sides, and I buy this widening the schism between Adora and Glimmer.

Episode 11: I have mixed feelings on King Micah still being alive. On the one hand there's a lot of good potential interactions we can now have with him, primarily between Glimmer and Shadow Weaver, and he is a fun character. But on the other I can't help but wonder if this kind of lessens the impact of what Angela gave up to overcome the false reality. Part of what made it so emotional was that she had to accept the person she loved was dead and not coming back...except now we see that he wasn't dead and now he is coming back. Yeah, their family lost out on years together and that does still carry some emotional weight but I was already also half-expecting Angela to come back later in the series because she's stuck between dimensions, meaning there's a chance she could still be alive. If both Glimmer's parents come back then that really feels like it takes a lot of weight out of her story. But I guess we'll see what happens.

Also, why did the Horde exile him to Beast Island? Why not just kill him?!

Episode 12: So the Horde exiles Micah to Beast Island instead of killing him. The First Ones protect their secrets by sending their bad tech to Beast Island. Does no one know how to just destroy things in this world?

Ohhh, I am so looking forward to next episode. While it's debatable whether Glimmer should be going through with her plan she is at least being smart with how she's going about it. Double Trouble was being paid by Catra to work for the Horde, not out of any sense of loyalty. Glimmer has the resources of Bright Moon at her disposal so it's reasonable she could pay them more to switch sides. Double Trouble was very good at sabotaging even a group as tight-nit as the heroes, so Hordak and Catra are probably easy pickings with all their issues.

Episode 13: ....WELL THAT AIN'T GOOD!

I'll admit, I had a little bit of an unintended laugh. After all we've heard about Horde Prime, like this shadowy all-powerful monster, I wasn't expecting the fabulous flowing dreadlocks and smoothness. Credit where it's due, man has charisma and charm, which goes a long way in helping your big evil world conqueror not be a very flat character, because it's doubtful he's going to have the same kind of sympathetic motivation as Hordak or complexity as Catra to keep him elevated.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Double Trouble kicking at Catra while she's down. Adora and Scorpia were honest but they never wanted to hurt Catra. Not so much with Double Trouble and they just shove reality into her face. Everyone leaves Catra because of Catra. She's the common factor. It's her fault and no one else's. Again, I don't know for certain if Adora and Catra get together at the end (Catra would have a LOT to make amends for regardless) but Double Trouble was definitely implying Catra had feelings for her with the way they put Catra's hand on "Adora's" cheek while talking about how she left her.

I like that we see Glimmer's plan actually working at first. The princesses get a massive power boost and decimate the Horde forces. But the minute it starts going wrong she immediately admits Adora was right and she tries to stop the energy flow. I imagine having her there with Catra was intentional by the writers. Despite some parallels, Glimmer can actually accept her failures and work to try and fix things. Unlike Catra, she didn't blame Adora for things going wrong.

So the sword allows the First Ones to control She-Ra and the energy she'd be absorbing from the planet. Assumedly that means there are at least some parts to She-Ra that have nothing to do with the First Ones and thus maybe Adora can still use some of those powers without the sword.

Season 4 verdict: Yeah, the show keeps getting better, though I will admit last season's finale had me more emotional, but that's a bit of an unfair comparison given everything that happened in that finale vs. this one. This is definitely the series hitting its darkest hour, where it feels like EVERYONE lost. Not just the rebels but the Horde as well. The sword and Light Hope are gone and She-Ra (for now) along with them. Glimmer and Catra are basically prisoners. Hordak's probably going to have his personality stripped away. The Fright Zone is in ruins. The only one who's gained anything is Prime.

Really looking forward to what the final season has in store, especially since there seems to be the implication that Catra just saved Glimmer's life.

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/PrincessesOfPower/comments/o1j5gk/going_in_blind_watching_season_4_for_the_first/

[fapangel]

>need to make our primary CAS aircraft heavier and slower | So it's doctrinal then. >heavier; fair enough it IS a gigantic cow >slower; It's literally faster than both Apache and Viper and if my memory serves well Operation Mount Hope III was motivated largely by that.

Okay, since I’m awake I can say a little more about this. Rotary wing isn’t really my thing but I have some general thoughts derived from a wider familiarity with (combat) aviation, the physics and the engineering trade-offs that result from it to hazard some guesses. 

Welcome, to Brainlet Theater. You have been warned. 

First off, there is some obvious utility in having attack helicopters with some small passenger capacity, and we know this... because we’ve done it with our own Apaches: 

Them dudes sitting on the outside of the chopper? They’re secured to the machine with a short purpose-made strap. This is mainly useful for getting a downed crew out of dodge in a hurry, but it’s also been used operationally and offensively; some Royal Marines (the absolute mad lads) rode into a Taliban compound on Apaches to provide a small ground presence while the gunships did most of the blasting. 

So the capability is definitely useful. But, generally speaking, the point of a gunship is to optimize for the guns, not the ship. With that said, however, infantryman are heavy; esp. once you’re done adding body armor, guns, lots of ammo and their packs. Easily 300~ish pounds a man, and you want to lug at least 9 of them in there (the average squad) on one transport, and hopefully more. 

So, intrinsically, a transport chopper has a big strong engine and a lot of lift capacity, which means a passenger transport and an ammo/cargo transport are basically the same aircraft, with the difference being a few lightweight bucket seats most of the time. 

Now keeping this in mind, consider that one thing every attempt at airborne cav has learned is that inserting while people are trying to shoot you down is very goddamned hard. Because of this, it’s always very, very good to bring as many damned guns as you can to shoot back and cover your own approach and the landings of your wingmen. This job is, of course, ideally suited to gunships... but the nature of combat means that the best gun you can possibly have to return fire is one on your own aircraft. Whoever is shooting at you, personally tends to be very obvious to you, and even in the modern era, with the nascent age of Information Warfare upon us, it is still almost always quicker to point your own gun at the guys lighting you up and hose them down than to call the gunships and hope that 1. they see the dudes without you playing 20 questions while you’re getting lit up and 2. have ammo left and 3. aren’t already busy trying to save someone else’s ass. And the more guns all of you bring to shoot back with, the better - simple as. 

This is why the Chinooks that the Special Forces use to insert have a big-ass minigun on each side, and why even the Osprey - which doesn’t really have many good places to put a gun and not much weight allowance to carry one - ended up finally working out an articulated arm to get a machine gun useable from the back ramp, and they’re still working on installing a minigun in a forward firing belly mount for the pilots to use when entering hot landing zones; much like the nose-mounted miniguns found in some LOH’s and Hueys in Vietnam.

In short, between the very strong need for more guns and the extra lift capacity transport choppers require, bolting more guns onto them is something that almost every military ends up doing. And once you have some “defensive” guns on there, it’s not a big stretch to shrug, pull all the troops off, and use that aircraft to build a dedicated gunship out of. Many Hueys in Vietnam were built like this, and in the modern era the Russian MI-8 “Hip” (and the many successor choppers which more or less share an airframe and appearance, but sport vastly upgraded engines) are much the same. The difference between a Hip or Huey transport and a Hip or Huey gunship, in both cases, boils down to - are you using your load capacity for troops, or for guns? The ultimate example of this in practice was the ACH-47A, Chinooks that were modified into very fucking big dedicated gunships. 

However - gunship helicopters like the Cobra and Apache exist for a reason. If one looks at the Cobra, you’ll note how very thin a profile it presents from the front - a stark contrast to the w i d e Huey. Then there’s the seating arrangements, the gimballed, turreted gun, and of course the significant change in flight characteristics, maneuverability, and of course efficient use of armoring. A purpose-built gunship is always going to be better at being a gunship than a transport or general purpose chopper loaded down with ordinance. 

The point of all the above is this: guns are always good. Troop transport capacity is very useful. So gunships tend to either be general purpose/troop transport choppers that evolve into gunships, or gunships that finagle some way to sling a few passengers if need be. 

So - which one do you think the Hind is? 

Well, take a look at an early A model and have you a guess: 

Compare and contrast this to a civilian MI-8 HIP, the aforementioned ubiquitous general-purpose chopper: 

Yeah. In point of fact, the MI-24 was based off a fucking MI-8 (if Wikipedia is to be believed.) The Hind stands out, however, because just from what I got skimming the MI-24′s Wikipedia article, it seems that Mikhail Mil, the Hind’s designer, anticipated that the air cav concept would end up mirroring the armored personnel carrier’s experience - to wit, once one is armoring a vehicle to directly insert troops into a fight, one also discovers that firepower is as crucial as armor in keeping the troops alive until they can deploy. Hence he was thinking of a chopper as a “flying infantry fighting vehicle.” In practice this simply means that Mikhail Mil was smart enough to add some stubby wings and hardpoints onto his design to begin with. America’s air cav concept didn’t have nearly as much focus on armed helicopters to begin with - perhaps not unjustifiably, as US forces knew they could count on some very, very thorough fixed wing air support to cover landings. Once they found out just how hard air insert was, they started taking Hueys and packing them with firepower. 

The Wikipedia article says “the early 1960s” so there’s no strict dates involved, but if I had to guess, I’d say Mikhail Mil was going around talking to Soviet brass and pitching his hybrid aircraft - a transport that traded half it’s troop transport capability to carry some boom boom to get them down alive with - at roughly the same time the US Army was packing Hueys full of miniguns to turn them into gunships to cover the troop transports (”slicks.”) Thus, the wisdom of Mil’s tradeoff was immediately apparent. 

Hence my comments on the MI-24 before - given that it was based on a transport chopper, and envisioned as a hybrid platform, you can see how dedicated gunships would have an advantage at being a gunship. 

H o w e v e r - this is not to say that the MI-24 is necessarily bad. 

Let’s take another look at it. 

Using the cockpits (and thus the pilots) for scale; compare and contrast to a Cobra: 

And the Apache: 

You’ll note right away that the Hind is a fucking big helicopter. Empty weight of almost 19,000 pounds to an Apache or Cobra’s 11,000 pounds. This is neither good nor bad; more weight makes your aircraft more ungainly, slower to maneuver and a bigger target, but also gives you more room for guns, missiles, armor and fuel. Wanting more is why the ACH-47 gunship was built, recall. 

Now look at our Hind again: 

Since it wasn’t just a transport chopper with guns bolted on, but was originally envisioned as a hybrid platform, it has a good, purpose-built seating arrangement for the pilot and gunner, and stubby wings that both provide a place to mount munitions and provide lift in forward flight. The Hind’s excessive size - and the large size of the stub-wings - work together for the Hind; that longcat fuselage and weight will work against it if you want to do helicopter things like drifting sideways and strafing and such, but with those big-ass engines and sizable wings it should handle pretty damn well flying in a forward direction; if you were to handle it more like a fixed-wing aircraft. 

Now note, especially, where the passenger compartment is (with the windows.) If you were to redesign the machine with no passenger room whatsoever - what would you put there? Fuel tanks, perhaps? The passenger accommodations don’t actually cost the Hind that much weight; they’re just empty seats and some empty space. The engines are above that compartment; if you eliminated it it’d just look goofy, like a hollow-bellied Skycrane with nothing (much) taking up the space intended for cargo: 

To actually utilize that wasted volume you’d have to redesign the entire goddamned chopper to position the engines, fuel tanks, stub wings, etc. To make something skinny and efficient like a Cobra, or a lot shorter and more evenly distributed like an Apache... and at that point, you may as well make the chopper smaller, lighter and more nimble, as well, and make up the difference in munitions by just building a few extra choppers. 

In other words, it seems to me that for a chopper of it’s weight class, the Hind doesn’t actually suffer that much from having passenger capacity. The need for that capacity is what determined its weight class to begin with; but once you move into bigger, heavier choppers like that, engineering and aerodynamics considerations means that even a purpose-built gunship isn’t going to get all the advantages that smaller gunships do, but you’ll still be copping some of the disadvantages of a big chopper. IN general, the more mass you are throwing around, the harder it becomes to start and stop on a dime, and if you’re using the extra power from bigger engines to carry as many munitions as you can, you don’t have that power available to course-correct - at least, until you expend that ammo and fuel. 

Much like a modified MI-8, the Hind always has the option of leaving the troopers at home so it can carry more ammo - hell, sometimes MI-24s use their passenger compartment for door gunners, helping to compensate for the lower maneuverability! Fire arcs to the rear are restricted a bit by the wings and weapon pods, but given that you’d be handling a big, heavy, fast chopper like that more like a plane - making strafing runs instead of trying to play peek-a-boo from behind ridgelines - that’s less of a concern. 

In sum; the defining characteristic of the Hind, to me, is that it’s just a big helicopter; and an integral capacity for more payload is part of a big helicopter’s intrinsic nature, just as limited maneuverability is. And those tradeoffs translate directly to how they do gunship things; bringing more firepower (good) but less maneuverability (bad.) Whether or not that tradeoff is a net benefit or drawback rides heavily on whether or not the operator’s overall force structure and doctrine is suited to take advantage of the platform’s strengths and mitigate its weaknesses. For instance, if you’re a Soviet successor state operating Hinds, you may well purchase some Little Birds; when not being used for Little Bird things, they would very neatly complement your Hinds in combat; being fast, nimble little monsters that can turn and pounce on pop-up threats like Rikki Tikki Tavi on cocaine. 

So America doesn’t have a straight analogue to the MI-24 because, doctrinally, we don’t have a need or desire for a big gunship helicopter... but that doesn’t mean that big gunship helicopters are inherently bad. 

[misschiuahua]

Marjorie

Explicit - Part 3 of 3

Marjorie had come to a bizarre conclusion. She’d thought about it a lot -she didn’t have much to do -and it sounded absolutely ludicrous, but there was no other possible answer.

Walter had fucked her because he’d wanted to.

And it was a bizarre conclusion, because it made no fucking sense. Walter was a synthetic; he was supposed to be pure logic.

How the hell was he bullshitting her to get laid?

It was not possible. She had to be seeing this all wrong. If Walter had basically offered to eat her out and then fuck her, he had to have a reason.

There was no other explanation.

As he was acting normally the next day -even after he checked her ankle again -she decided he did have some reason. Maybe it wasn’t clear to her, but he had to. Maybe he did it because she was hurt and he wanted to give her some nice endorphins.

Marjorie could almost buy this explanation; only because it made more sense than he wanting to fuck her.

She put the -ridiculous -idea in the back of her head and things seemed to go back to -what she considered -normal.

She caught herself looking at Walter more often, even fantasizing more often -and she’d been doing that plenty before.

But you know… Things were pretty normal.

Marjorie had periods of time when she felt like shit. Things were much better now, but it didn’t change the fact that she was stuck on this ship, seeing years of her life just passing by. She felt as if her life was going down the drain and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.

Those were years she’d never get back.

Walter seemed to know when she was feeling particularly down; probably because she got really quiet. In those days she’d spend a lot of time in her room, and Walter would have to get her for her regular activities (he insisted they were important, so he never let her skip them).

Three months after they’d last had sex, Walter asked Mother to call Marjorie to the bridge. The woman sighed, but went.

“You’re not feeling well.” He told her as she entered the bridge.

Marjorie sighed once again. “It’s not that bad, ok? Some days are just harder.”

Walter was analyzing her carefully. “Is it because of the wait?”

“Yes. I’m not getting these six years back. I’m going to turn 30 in here, I’m going to lose more birthdays here. I feel like my youth is being wasted.”

Walter nodded his understanding. “What if we make plans?”

“Plans?”

“Yes. Find you the perfect place to build your house in Oregae-6, choose the color of your walls, plan your first steps on the planet. That way you won’t spend time figuring it out once you get there.”

It was such a silly thing. Marjorie wasn’t sure she wanted to spend more years planning and re-planning for that.

But then again, what else could she do?

She accepted the idea mostly because she didn’t have anything else to do, but Walter seemed actually interested in the whole process.

He showed her the images they had of Oregae-6, and let Marjorie choose the place where she’d build a house. She didn’t even know if she could actually do that -just claim a piece of land in the new planet -but she chose it carefully.

It was up a hill and it would give her a great view of the closest lake. There were also lots of trees around, and she’d always wanted to have a chalet by the woods.

Then once she started thinking about the house itself, Walter once again brought up images. They really discussed materials that were available and could realistically be used, but that lasted less than a day. On the second day, Marjorie was planning a mansion with pink marble columns and Walter was encouraging her.

One week later she was on the bridge, abusing her privilege with the hologram table to build an underground indoor pool with a water slide in her imaginary home.

This was how Walter found her.

He took one look at her project. “The hill does not have the appropriate terrain for that type of construction.”

Marjorie gave him a look over her shoulder. “Yeah, because that’s the problem with this project.”

Walter smiled at her and went around the bridge to take care of his business there.

They hadn’t done anything since that time she fell. It was exactly like after the first time, they didn’t even mention it.

But…

There was this little devil on Marjorie’s shoulder, pressing her to see what would happen if she gave Walter a suggestion, just a hint of something.

Maybe nothing would happen, but Marjorie was pretty sure it would.

She changed the pool project for the bedroom project. This one was the realistic one; it was a simple bedroom, with a bedside table, a bed and a wardrobe. Marjorie wasn’t really into decoration -she didn’t even know what color she wanted to use on the walls -so she mostly copied from the images Walter showed her.

She gave the bed a look, then threw a look at Walter over her shoulder. “Do you think I can get a bigger bed?”

Walter turned to her and came closer. “Is it not big enough?”

“It’s okay.” It was actually a great bed -a double bed -and Irydiana never really needed that much space in beds -although the cot she currently slept on was a bit too small -but that was not the point. Her eyes turned back to the design. “But a bigger one would be better.”

She felt Walter coming closer, until he was behind her, but not that close. “Why?”

She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, and her face on her hands. Posing might be pushing it a bit, but Marjorie didn’t really feel the need to be embarrassed. “More space to sleep and relax.”

“Good sleeping habits are important for your health.” Walter spoke in that enciclopedia voice of his, but his hands weren’t that proper, as they settled on her waist.

Marjorie didn’t mention it. “Yes, that’s the point.” She hummed. “Besides, bigger beds are better for everything.”

He was quiet for a while, but his thumbs were rubbing circles on her waist. “Everything?” He finally asked.

Marjorie gave him a look over her shoulder. “Yup.”

Walter nodded like it made a whole lot of sense to him.

Marjorie moved, straightening her back, but Walter’s hands didn’t leave her waist. “What are those hands going to do now?” She decided to ask, her back against his chest.

“Whatever you wish, Marjorie.” He told her simply.

“Am I getting cranky again?” She teased.

Walter’s hands squeezed her waist for a minute. “No. I do not feel sensations like you do, but I discovered an interest in your pleasure.”

Marjorie tilted her head to try and look at him. “What do you mean?”

“I find your reactions fascinating. And even more so that I’m the one who makes you feel so.”

Marjorie thought about it for a minute. “So you like giving me pleasure?”

“I’m not sure the term ‘like’ can be applied to me.” He admitted. “However, knowing I can do this for you carries a certain… Interest for me.”

Well, would wonders never cease? Because as much as Walter was going around with the words, it sounded exactly like he enjoyed giving her pleasure. Enough that he felt satisfied -perhaps even proud -of what he did to her and wanted to see more of it.

Who would’ve thought that technology would get them to this point.

“So you really wanted to do it that last time, hm?” She teased. “It wasn’t because I needed the endorphins.”

“You did need them.” He pointed out. “But, yes, I wanted to have intercourse with you.”

Marjorie chuckled. “Let’s not call it ‘intercourse’, ok? Sounds weird.” She put her hands over his and made him slide them under her T-shirt. “Now let’s put those hands of yours to work.”

“Yes, Marjorie.” He answered by her ear.

His hands slid up until he was touching the curve of her breasts. Marjorie had given up on wearing bras a good while ago, and she could only see benefits so far.

Walter touched the underside of her breasts, skimming their curves. Marjorie let her body rest against his, sighing softly in pleasure, even as she waited for him to do more. Then his hands captured her breasts more firmly, as if feeling their weight, squeezing a bit.

“What should we call it then?” He asked.

“What?” Marjorie asked, a bit confused.

“If not ‘intercourse’, what should we call it?” He asked, even as his fingers pinched one of her nipples.

Marjorie bit her lower lip, let the sensation course through her before answering, “We call it ‘fucking’.”

“As you wish.” He agreed.

Walter pulled one of his hands out from under her T-shirt, and used it to tilt her head so he could kiss Marjorie. She threw her arm back to hold him there as they kissed, excitement building up inside her.

While one of Walter’s hands continued to tease her nipples, the other one pushed Marjorie’s pants and panties down a bit, just enough so he could get to her pussy. He teased her clit in slow circles for what felt like forever, until she was mewling in his mouth and trying to press harder against his hand.

Finally his caresses became firmer and faster, but he didn’t linger there. Instead, he went lower, traced the entrance of her pussy before sinking a finger into her.

“More.” Marjorie demanded against his lips.

Walter -as usual -complied easily (perhaps Marjorie could teach him how to tease a bit more later). He fucked her with his finger for a while, before putting another one in.

He let go of her breast and used the second hand to play with her clit and he fucked her with his fingers. Marjorie was moaning, her hands grasping at his jacket as her hips moved on their own, looking for more and more.

When she came, her cry echoed in the empty room, and Marjorie might have felt embarrassed, if she hadn’t felt this good. besides, there wasn’t really anyone to hear it.

Marjorie noticed he was holding her, so she could take a breath. She gently pushed his hands away and pushed her pants the rest of the way down, kicking them to the side, then pulled her shirt off.

She leaned over the table, sticking her ass up. “Come on.”

But Walter was standing there, giving her position a considering look. “I won’t be able to see your reactions like this.”

Marjorie snorted. “I’ll make sure you hear them then.”

Walter seemed satisfied by this. Marjorie heard the rustling of fabric, and soon the tip of his cock was pushing against her folds.

Marjorie’s forehead fell against the table once he was fully in. “You feel so good.”

Walter’s hands went back to her waist, caressing it. “How do you mean?”

“Perfectly thick and long.” She told him amidst a moan. “It feels so… Don’t stop!” She whined.

“Keep talking.” He requested.

Marjorie chuckled. “Fuck me properly and I will.”

Walter took her request quite seriously; his grip on her waist became firmer, and his hips snapped against hers.

True to her words, Marjorie was mostly screaming praises and encouragement to him, saying how good it felt, how she wanted more of it. Walter seemed particularly interested in the moments when she couldn’t finish a word because of him, and he focused on making her do it more often.

He switched up between fucking her really hard -making her claw at the table and barely be able to keep standing -and fucking her real slow. He would pull his cock almost all the way out, just to push it roughly back in. He held her pinned flat against the table as he fucked her.

And when Marjorie thought she couldn’t take this any longer, he slid his hand around her hip and rubbed her clit furiously, before pinching it.

She came like a rocket.

Walter dropped his jacket over her and stayed closed in case she needed help standing up.

“Pull a chair.” Marjorie asked, her voice muffled as her face was hidden between her arms.

Walter did as asked and pulled a chair and took a seat, before pulling Marjorie to his lap.

She chuckled in surprise. “You have really good post-sex manners.” She told him, resting her face on his chest.

“Thank you.”

She hid her smile on his chest. They stayed in silence for a while, Marjorie trying to get her breath back and Walter letting her.

“I like the idea of a big bed.” He finally said.

“Do you?”

“Yes. Would I be welcome in it?”

“Well… Can I keep doing this to you once we reach Origae-6? Technically you belong to Weyland Corporation.” She pointed out.

“If they have a problem with that, they can send someone to seize me back.”

Marjorie dissolved in giggles. “I guess they can.” She put her hand on his chest, where his heart would be if he were human. “Yes, you’d be welcome in my bed. And you don’t need to wait months before fucking me again.”

“I see.”

Marjorie squealed as he got up suddenly, holding her in his arms. But he just settled her down on the table.

“Is this table made to withstand such abuse?” She teased.

“I can fix it if necessary.” He pushed her legs open and stepped closer. “Can I proceed?”

Marjorie laid back, a grin on her lips. “Please do.”

At least the rest of this journey would be much more interesting now.

[theurbansquared]

Guide To Avoiding A Loser Brokerage

by James Hill | theurbansquared

Brokers can be bastards and some even get better at it while other brokers are legitimate life-changing business Sherpas

A broker is supposed to guide you through a career in real estate much like a coach or pimp - offering protection and how to understand a complicated system better and direct it to revenue  without getting your neck broke while playing the game. I created and ran the most well-reviewed, largest full-service brokerage in the fastest-growing city in America.  This gave me access to nearly ever broker and their broker's pay structure and innovations. I also got the agent's version of my same broker buddies brokerages when they eventually joined my brokerage; hovering anywhere from 20–60 agents. Trending insider chatter has blame going to real estate brokers of decades past (and current) and how they’ve managed their agents - - letting unsupervised  agents with no experience run wild on the streets practicing on the public wearing out Realtor love and making a need for all the Mountain Dew-made Zillow-y options that currently exist.

Brokers are out of touch more than ever with today’s current media load, having to understand and use social media platforms for their advertising (since the private Town & Country affair that real estate once was is forever over and the landscape is a bit more like a half Juggalo, half programmer flea market).

Let’s dive into some situations and tenets that most agents don’t consider when choosing a brokerage.

Sales Volume

This is a bit of negotiating psychology and due diligence. Simply ask how much sales they (the brokerage) did last year and how much they’re currently at. If they don’t know these numbers they’re goons. If they don’t give it, you guessed it - they’re hiding something; their lack of revenue. I’ve hired and fired hundreds of agents and in interviews so few ask this question but it’s one of the most important questions you can ask as an agent and you need the information. An agent that doesn’t ask this has already given a tell that they’re not a top producer since they’re not interested in the production capacity of the team they may join. No bueno. Creep the brokerage as well obvi -- reviews, FB & IG engagement and current running ads, and make sure the company Christmas Party isn’t catered by Chic-fil-a at a Burnet Road dive bar.

Office

40% of your learning and 350% of your work will be done at the office. Those numbers will make sense 90% of the time after a few years in real estate. The rest should be on the streets - your car, properties, driving 75 mph talking and sending out docs, gorging on breath mints. Office, home, tiny homes, motorhomes have all blended into one larger conversation where work/live ethos are all in re-definition.

But, when you do need a more savvy moment in any market when people talk about borrowing or selling something that’s over $100K they don’t want to hear some bullshit too loud pedantic conversation seated right next to them at Starbucks or the local kooky coffee shop. In real estate Murphy’s Law is always in effect. The super important listing sign off that has to go well and they want to hear you pitch again before deciding? There will be someone (at this super ‘caj’ coffee house meeting) there projectile vomiting, or throwing cats, or something else tiresome or bad that takes more calls.

Speech and body language are massive parts of sales so when the entire set is thrown because a barista is running through a whole Sublime album. You want the most inviting cool office you can ever pull off at any given moment in real estate . Was that ever a question? There's a balance  -- you can't afford that year one or three, but it’s called real estate for a reason. Sexy, exciting buildings is what the brochure said when I joined. Also, it’s about style not size.

If you haven’t lost business to coffee house back pressure you really haven’t failed at agency properly.

Social IQ

Social reach is the only conversation now. Many brokerages won’t make it as the lead generating aspects of the industry aren't powered by a private MLS anyone and the publicly-hated ‘Realtor’ designation have both brokers and agents guessing about tomorrow. Calendars, best practices and free shitty tips & templates are the du jour of the day for anyone trying to get an agent's eyes. You can Google and get all the ‘basic’ social media dance steps, but with everyone at the same happy hunting spot, you’re being covered up, which leaves all your new artistic efforts fruitless and also squandering winning time.

Traffic, leads and engagement are all separate areas that have to be fulfilled properly and even this is in flux with historic corporations and current start ups all on the same advertising playing field. Social reach and engagement is about going to the consumer direct and becoming their friend with soft bribes -- free food, gifts, prizes (trips, events tickets) or industry work tools. The great news is, real estate has always been mostly consumer direct - start up a convoy at the grocery store (bar, church, meetup) and you’re in the car that weekend looking for houses with a new client. While you, your brokerage and the world are figuring out their exact social media mix, you need to make sure a brokerage isn’t lost on social media since many won’t be able to stay in business in the next few short years. Your brokerage needs to have a plan and and at best some presence on social media. Plus, they should be running low-cost performative marketing ad campaigns to get a feel for what and if set user groups are responding to ads. Anyone can post on IG but people engage on IG when they become inspired. A brokerage should have some sort of inspiration and relationship tied in with the local allure of their city --  or heading that direction.

Mentoring

Much like a neurotic buyer chasing an interest rate for their home mortgage (and then never buying a house) agents too focused on commission may miss the essential career need for mentoring -- for their clients and career. I had a 5 deal minimum for my new agents before they were ever unsupervised and received more commission. I've had new agents with celeb clients in hand and celeb agents with no clients in hand. No one wants to do business with someone with absolutely has no, experience but they do it because they like you as a friend or fam. Your mentor is the person riding shotgun with you at the beginning of your career. On many levels you want to be this person since they embody the position and role. You're literally and figuratively are borrowing experience from them and they deserve to be paid for it. You always have to strengthen your brand outside of your brokerage but if you don’t have any experience your brand doesn’t have ‘strength’ you simply have a logo and a drag & drop website where you're possibly talking about yourself and love of unicorns or football shit but the big boat deals you dream about in bed aren’t gotten this way. Remember, no unicorn could ever throw a football good without a lot of practice and a good mentor.

Support

Support in a brokerage is really communication and solutions for small problems, and systems for managing bigger ones with people. Most of the annoying things in real estate happen outside of the deal - contracts, calls, emails, docs, signatures, more docs. You typically want a super admin, broker, or agent manager that you can call and they pick up the phone. It’s pretty simple. With a mentor, admin, or broker you’re going to have a n 8:30 PM question or deal that’s going down. You’ll need printer help. Real estate always happens now (this was one of the main mantras in my office). Printing, prequal, weekend support and constant post dinner shenanigans.

Training

Meet Frank Miller, David Mamet, the Sex Pistols, Tony Robbins, Wayne Dyer, Hendrix, Tom Hopkins, The World’s Greatest Detective and Conan The Barbarian. We had a lot of different inspirations for the style and ethos of our urban brokerage. The World’s Greatest Detective is Batman. It was a moniker that became popular in the seventies. We used this example about how important due diligence and proper Fact Finding techniques are for serving and closing deals for clients. (It’s almost essential to be inquisitive in real estate esp about property/development to have success). Training is largely your sales meeting(s). Although I don’t come from a car background I’ve mentored many car guys transferring to real estate (they typically are out of the industry within 2 years and are there only for boom markets). Car guys have meetings every morning 6 days a week and they’re not at 9 or 10 am. They’re already working.

free module: The Burger King Phenomena: Why Agents Do Less Working For Themselves Than If They Were Working At Burger King

Many brokerages have no training/meeting schedule (monthly doesn’t count -- that’s a meet and greet company pump and catch up meeting). If a brokerage doesn’t have training on a schedule then there is no training. You’ll possibly be thrown a 3-ring binder, or given some PDF’s, or links to old bizarre training videos or a soup sandwich of all three and sometimes even a bill for the training. An agent’s training/meetings and their attendance to them are the difference between an agent making it or not when you’re 24 months or less in the role as an agent especially in the fast turbulent waters of the current 2021 market where brokerage and agent purpose and pay are under attack. From my experience, new agents that hide die.

Media

Having a background as a creative director I’m aware with great detail of agency and brokerage media needs, the cost and time they extract, and the corresponding revenue they’re projected to bring back. Brokerages are looking for their purpose now as simply having a brokerage doesn’t bring in leads like it used to. This is fitting, since the digital dumbass brokers that that didn’t understand the importance of ‘the web’ rickshawed our MLS data and sold the agent/broker centric real estate system for their benefit while current agents are left with an empty greasy enough to-go box to curl up with. Brokerages were never media houses or ad agencies but now that consumer level graphic programs and website builders are ubiquitous and any agent after being licensed for 10 days can drag & drop a website up in 4 hours and make it look like a brokerage that’s been around for years. I know I’m going wide on the subject here but stay with me because this is the crux of where the industry and consumer are renegotiating roles.

A brokerage’s value proposition has changed drastically with the telecommute revolution that was only sped and strengthened by Covid. Also, generational knowledge base gaps in technology are more apparent than ever with technology as younger agents can often be more media savvy than their broker. The market is flooded with self appointed companies or gurus that are taking on the role of the classic ad agency (Mad Men) or media production house. Also beware of real estate coaches with little or no real estate experience offering to guide you in social media. Okay media can’t be used in apex situations (such as the luxury listings you’re after) and doesn’t draw apex listings. Beware of tapioca room temperature tips and general lists from companies that can appear informative but are really boilerplate low grade data to get your attention to ultimately upsell you on a paid service.

As an agent or a brokerage, consumer level graphic and website building programs can be a death ticket to your business as your competitors have the same tools and are cranking out the same type of style of messaging you are now. Now agents, principals, admins and in art class creating flyers. This has been done since the nineties as the valleys of dead agent careers is full of 2-day Microsoft Word (or any of their shitty office offerings) seshes to produce nasty flyers and presentations. These programs are fun and making bad flyers absolutely work related - the kind of work you don’t want’ related to your business because it’s adult crayon coloring. Activity does not equal production. Staying busy doing the wrong things doesn’t make money in real estate. Rather than spending agent winning time staying in the wrong lanes for way too long, get with a team or brokerage that are providing the most exceptional visual media you can find in your market. It used to be cool 2 years ago, now it’s the only thing that matters. Visual content.

free module: Better Agent Media, Less Agent Money (media tips and hacks).

Access

This is access to your broker. Brokers with families are typically less available. Your best bet as an agent is looking for a grinder broker who sleeps on the couch at their office. This person doesn’t have kids to build into so they’ll build into your career and you’ll get the most out of these brokers. Beware of cheesedick, apathetic, rich boy, bored brokers not around and more concerned with projects like a shitty vanity wine brand that their wife’s forced them to launch since she’s not living her best life anymore as an agent.

Style

What kind of style is your brokerage? Is there an opportunity to bring more style sophistication to the market -- standout in a smaller market? Or, are you in an ultra stylish market currently and butt hurt because you already have a little story about how you’re going to keep it real and be a Dockers wearing slob for eternity? The thing about style in agency is you always need to look like you can list a million dollar house. Oh, is it really that simple? Yes it is. You complicated it. Clients always care about their housing a little bit more than they care about your real estate career. They don’t have time to figure out why you’re wearing shoe styles from 7 years ago. Don’t make it hard for people to do business with you. If you’re ugly, even better. It can be a massive advantage. Everyone on the planet loves when someone who doesn’t fall into our general current ‘attractive’ spectrum doesn’t give af, looks great and puts themselves together in a stylish way that the viewer can understand (can I get away with Teen Wolf?). A great side benefit from this step in the right direction is it’s a great way to make someone who is conventionally attractive insecure.

You want to be in the same style as the people in your area but the secret is you need to lead that style pack if you can -- you always lead and dress apex. Years ago this was anecdotal but after over 100K hours in real estate a good suite (tailored) saved my ass and literally got me business. I listed the largest house in east Austin because of a suit (and got a front page story on the newspaper real estate section for free because the owner saw me walking into the next door neighbor’s house).

Offices, dress, logo, email signature are all elements of you and your brokerage’s style. Style in and of itself isn’t enough to be a top producer in real estate. I’ve had stylish and even celebrity agents that didn't do zilch, but style often is a fingerprint to something more.

Picking the right elements for your agent style is an art because you have to offer something from yourself that’s unique enough as well as something familiar (a bridge to your uniqueness). I have a background as a musician and also as a merchant sailor. Fortunately those are easy convo starters. You could be a philatelist and have some challenges, but regardless it absolutely will take a year or three to develop your own angle and style towards the market as you learn it and the agent role more.

Things that look attractive and familiar puts client’s psychologies at ease. So, if skinny jeans are in you better get in them (that’s like five years old now). You’re on stage. You don’t wear what the worker people behind the camera wear. If you want to wear boring shit get on the other side of the camera. If you want less leads saddle up to a forgettable brokerage. People have hard days. They want you to put an effort into your real estate agency role. Currently it’s a fried role so you’re dealing with that too. People love to be smiled at and sold and especially from someone who smells good. It doesn't ever get old. Don’t make them beg for your charm. Be a nice charming person with a shirt that fits good, it’s a powerful combo.

Get My Damn Paper

If you’ve never seen a werewolf in daylight mess with an agent’s commission after the deal’s done and funded. Admin? Who is the damn person who does the admin? (accounts payable is the icey pro word if you like). That person that you contact to get your commission check cut? If that person is a weirdo, or there’s an unfriendly or sketchy quality to the office or admin staff, do not go forward (don’t confuse this with new people or industry jitters). Grab some free coffee, leave the smarm and jet to the next brokerage blind date.

Software

CRM is an annoying conversation. Here’s the things with CRM’s - for all the work CRMs curtail, because of their complexity and existence and the work(time) they take to interact with you need to consider how much work you’re putting into operating the CRM software verses how much time it’s saving. Many times brokerages have expensive yearly subscriptions with per agent fees for their CRM which can make the brokerage have a zealot meth thing for the ‘team’ software and promise you can’t have a career without taking a bump too. To understand CRM better before it was a name, Client Relationship Management is what analog Proximity became. Let me explain -  being close to people in Church, bar, school, same building -- all give proximity. This becomes familiarity, then ease, then trust. People do business with people they trust & like. Once people disconnected physically and started using other means more contact attempts have to be made to work for or ‘prove’ worth.

Follow Up is a large component of most CRM’s and there are gobs of money for agents who follow up meticulously. Simply ask the broker what CRM they use and research it. Something to remember - unless you’re extremely busy with your career you don’t need a CRM. You can manage & database your clients & leads ‘by hand’ and strap it to the cloud with G-Suite/Google Sheets.

Brokerage Name

A small but important aside, if a brokerage have named themselves after a precious metal or a gem, or if it says elite in the name then it’s not elite. If it has the words prestige or worldwide or international it may not be any of those either. I know a handful of exceptions to this rule but this is a great dirty primer to use when choosing a brokerage that’s going to propel your career and have shrimp options at the Christmas Party.

[electricscooters]

Prime 10 Electrical Scooters

What triggered the increase in recognition of electric powered scooters? In modern years, electric motor and battery technology has innovative enormously. Today's LEVs (Light Electric Automobiles) have very clear advantages above fossil gasoline run cars in the regions of functionality, relieve of use and working charges. "Green is in" ... a lot of men and women have turn out to be environmentally-friendly these times. You can say that it has now turn out to be trendy and stylish to vacation in these "environmentally friendly" modes of transportation. Pollution free ... ηλεκτρικα σκουτερ Due to the fact electric powered autos operate on batteries and do not burn fossil fuels as their principal system of propulsion, they provide the chance to minimize your private environmental effect and improve regional air top quality. Tranquil ... There is certainly nothing at all much better than cruising down the streets and the only factor you listen to is the wind blowing in the air. Electrical motors are tranquil and give you an entirely various feeling when riding. A lot of gasoline-run private autos are louder than garden-mowers. Tranquil electric autos seem to be to glide down the road with relieve and are welcomed in most communities. Whatsoever your reason could be for choosing to acquire an electrical scooter, I have compiled a record that you may possibly discover helpful in narrowing down your selections. In no specific buy, the prime ten electric scooters are: Vectrix Maxi-Scooter VECTRIX is the acronym for: Car, Electronic, Commuter, Transformation, Revolution, Innovation, X element, and was commenced by a quantity of engineers. The huge news here is the nickel steel hydride battery, simply because with any electric vehicle, it really is only as excellent as the battery inside of. The V1 product ($11,000) is at present available in a two-wheeled scooter as opposed to the 3-wheeled V3 design (which is not going to be available until finally afterwards this calendar year and will be priced at $15,000). The V3 has two wheels mounted in the front for better handling and stability. Advanced design and style developments of the sharp, placing Vectrix consist of a higher-effectiveness gearbox and drive train, aluminum building for fat reduction and aerodynamic styling to decrease drag. A reduced middle of gravity, rigid frame and even excess weight distribution supply outstanding handling. The Vectrix is nearly silent and hugely productive-a patented regenerative braking technique redirects energy back into the Vectrix battery pack, which helps to lengthen its selection by up to 12 p.c. For customers with city commutes, Vectrix is each handy and value successful. The driver can cease and go with 1 hand by just twisting the throttle back for acceleration and twisting it ahead to slow down smoothly and securely. Rapidly acceleration and managing make it easy and risk-free to zip in and out of visitors. In addition, an onboard charger plugs in to any standard a hundred and ten/220V electrical outlet to demand the battery pack in just two several hours. Functions of the Vectrix Maxi-Scooter include: - goes to 50 mph in six.eight seconds - prime speed of sixty two mph - range of 70 miles on a one demand We really feel that the Vectrix electrical scooter is the wave of the long term and will revolutionize the electric scooter business. Vectrix was named as one of MSN's bikes of the yr in 2007. Created with appears in head, the Vectrix is responsive, great-looking, trustworthy and fun to trip. Go-Ped ESR 750 The Go-Ped ESR loved ones is composed of the adhering to types: ESR 750, ESR 750EX and ESR 750H. The Go-Ped ESR750 merely is in a course of its very own and no scooter in the market place comes shut to its develop good quality, electrical power, overall performance and trendy style. Its longevity, reliability and impeccable overall performance without having compromising on any details helps make it 1 fo the best electric powered scooters. Not to mention it is an environmentally friendly substitute mode of transportation as properly. The ESR750 is the most cutting edge, reliable and flexible electric powered scooter in the market place right now. The Go-Ped ESR750 EX is outfitted with larger sealed direct acid batteries, which produce a selection boost of far more than fifty% more than the normal ESR750 inventory variety and period. The ESR750EX will offer users with an amazing 12+ mile variety in Economic climate mode - a leading speed of twelve mph - and up to an eight mile range in Turbo Mode, which enables users to reach a best speed of twenty mph. It is best for Electric fanatics and scooterists looking for an electric scooter with an superb selection. In addition to it really is unmatched electricity, reliability and functionality, it is compact and effortless to have. The Go-Ped ESR750H Hoverboard electric scooter is based mostly on the highly regarded and award successful GoPed ESR750EX , but incorporating the amazing Cantilevered Unbiased Dynamic Linkless Indespension (C.I.D.L.I.) suspension system featured on their highly successful off road merchandise this sort of as the Trail Ripper and Riot mini motorbike. This two wheeled sensation will quietly, efficiently and easily go riders of up to four hundred lbs earlier mentioned the ground with the sensation as if they have been magically levitating on a cloud. The ESR750H Hoverboard provides two.seven" of suspension vacation in the entrance and 3.five" of suspension journey in the rear. This hover method is adjustable from "plush to company" to accommodate and suit all rider preferences. HCF 737 Pacelite The HCF 737 Pacelite Electric powered Scooter is a lengthy-lived, well-built scooter. This is 1 of the handful of electrical scooters that powers up speedily from a entire quit, then can just take on hills with no hesitation. The HCF 737 Pacelite is a excellent commuter scooter, folding up for effortless storage and transport. Presented its pace, power, excess weight and dependability, both the novice and experienced rider can value its performance. It is a really light scooter - only fifty nine lbs with the battery, and will simply in shape in the trunk of your automobile. Traveling at a leading velocity of 15mph, the HCF 737 Electrical Scooter will go distances of up to 12 miles on a demand. Adjustable handlebars let you to customise your trip for greatest convenience. And the removable seat and folding body allows you just take this electric powered scooter practically anywhere you want. This is one of the handful of electrical scooters that offers full entrance and rear suspension for a clean experience no matter what the terrain. Zapino Electric powered Scooter ZAP is the acronym for: Zero Air Air pollution and they just lately launched their new Zapino electric powered scooter. Not only inexpensive and eco-pleasant, the Zapino is powerful with an advanced 3000-watt brushless DC hub motor, perfect for town commuting. Capable to reach speeds of 30 mph, the Zapino will be able to preserve up with city traffic without having contributing to city air pollution. The rear wheel hub motor on the Zapino results in far more room on board for further batteries and efficiency. This innovative drive technique eradicates the want for belts or chains reducing it is all round routine maintenance. It also delivers a far more fulfilling trip simply because it is virtually silent. It accelerates easily with no shifting and has no engine vibration - just good, eco-welcoming cleanse fun. There is an optional improve, with Lithium batteries, that will increase the assortment up to a very respectable 65 miles from the 30 miles that appear from the normal batteries. Forsen Hummer The Forsen Hummer is the first compact scooter in the enterprise to supply room for two riders. These scooters are made for older teenagers and grown ups who want reputable brief-to-medium variety transportation that is not limited by hills. The Forsen scooter is avenue lawful and complies with Usa DOT recommendations (headlight, brake light-weight, and switch alerts). The Forsen Hummer is a heavy duty electric powered scooter able of traveling at 28-33 mph with a variety of twenty five miles for a 175-lb. rider. With it truly is a thousand-watt motor mixed with one hundred-amp controller, this scooter truly can take care of two riders (overall fat of 350 lbs.) with no issue. Selection of twenty five miles comes by way of a 24V/40Ah battery offer which is 3-4 moments bigger than most scooters. Effortlessly handles most off highway problems. Functions include total suspension, front disk brake, flat-evidence tires, and a rapidly battery charger (four hours or much less). Ego Cycle 2 LX The Ego LX is made for daily commuters and errand runners who will be driving in moderate to heavy visitors. The LX is entirely outfitted for registration in any condition and gives the same assortment and pace as the Moi Vintage. In the GO Quick method, best velocity is 24 mph, electronically constrained. Zero to twenty mph in significantly less than four seconds. In the "GO Much" method, leading pace is 17mph, and acceleration is easy and basic. Using a solitary battery pack, selection is twenty-twenty five miles in the "GO Far" mode and 15-twenty miles in the "GO Quickly" manner. The Ego Cycle climbs up hills with relieve. It will climb a fifteen% quality at eighteen mph with a 170lb rider. The heart and soul of the Moi is a challenging DC motor developed specifically for the Ego Cycle. It is effective enough to pull heavy riders up large hills. The delicate experience of the Ego cycle two is the consequence of a personalized front twin spring suspension fork. The Moi Cycle LX utilizes a tranquil belt drive transmission that calls for no lubrication and is practically silent. Motorino XPi The Motorino XPi is the subsequent generation bicycle/scooter product. Built on a motorbike frame, it has motorcycle grade three.5" extensive wheels which can make it extremely steady in any weather conditions problem. With the pedals on, it is labeled as a bicycle and does not need to have to be certified or registered. If you just take the pedals off the scooter, it gets a LSM (reduced pace motorbike) and you need to have it licensed and insured. Its motor is uniquely constructed with outsized rare earth magnets, which increases the torque and effectiveness. You can truly feel this when you begin - it accelerates for five seconds to 32km/h. The regenerative brake also returns much more electricity in the battery when braking. Its hydraulic entrance suspension absorbs any vibration and can make the ride extremely clean and comfy. Business Name: Ηλεκτρικα Μηχανακια Phone Number: +30 210 802 4862 Email: fpvcrewgr@gmail.com

[physcoticfrog]

Project

Request: "I saw that. You just checked me out"

Tanaka is my main man but you have blessed me with the Tanaka smau so let’s go to my og love, bakugo with a female reader where they are in college. Maybe they are in one of their off campus apartments, working on a project that they got assigned together and then maybe leads to some nsfw 🤭 (only if you are comfortable with that)

A/n: Yes yes yes yes yes!!! I love this so so muchhh! (For the sole purpose of this, let's just pretend reader has a powerful telekinesis quirk)

This was requested by @wonderland085

Warnings: nsfw, smut (obviouslyy), daddy kink, and a lot of other stuff I am just way too lazy to list.

(College au) Katsuki Bakugo x Reader

I haven't proofread this so I apologize for any mistakes

----

It was August, and you had just graduated from the infamous UA, but you wanted more. You wanted to be able to work in multiple fields. You had already taken the hero course at UA, but you wanted to go to their college to take the support course.

The apartment you bought was nearby to the school, only about a 5 minute walking distance. You had opted to not stay on campus, seeing as if you wanted to have a little bit of freedom after living in the dorms in high school. A few of your friends had moved into the complex with you, but the only one on the same floor with you was Bakugo.

You all went to the same college, but they were trying to figure out how to start agencies and join agencies. You all only had one class together, and that was a tech course.

To no one's surprise though, Denki, Mina, and Sero often skipped that class, but if you really wanted to see them, they would go.

A little while later into the year, the professor wanted to see how much you all had truly learned. So, he assigned a project. It being that you had to design a piece of tech that would fit your quirk and almost enhance it.

The professor had paired everyone up, choosing for them. You would have much preferred to work with Mina, but you got paired up with Bakugo. It wouldn't be too hard to find something to make a piece of tech for him. You on the other hand, weren't sure for yourself.

In order to work on it, you already started scribbling down ideas for the gadgets. What you didn't notice was the bell ringing and Bakugo coming up to talk to you. You were so lost in thought you almost fell over when he tapped your shoulder. Almost meaning that he caught you as you fell.

You couldn't exactly hide the growing blush on your cheeks, considering you crush on him since high school. But you tried to play it off to the best of your abilities. "So, um, what's up?" You asked him, trying to keep your voice steady.

"We need to figure out where we are going to do this, dimwit." Oh, right, that. You and forgotten about where to do it while you were so cought in focussing on how.

"Oh- well I think your apartment is bigger than mine, but how many tools for you have? Because I honestly have a shit ton." You were trying, and you couldn't even tell if you made sense because you were trying to speak fast.

"Oh, I do too. I guess my apartment works. How about 5:30? Does that work for you?" He asked. You so badly wanted to tease him, just because.

"Oh? I thought that was last your bedtime" you said, sounding like a pouting toddler. You then just started giggling and laughing, since you could almost see smoke coming from his ears. "Hey, asshole, I'm just kidding around. 5:30 works just fine for me."

"Oh shut up" he said, rolling his eyes. He was about to walk away to go back to the complex, considering it was about 3:15 at the moment.

"Make me" you laughed out, just for shits and giggles. Bakugo is never any fun if you don't tease him back, you learned that from you years of friendship with him.

What you didn't expect was him walking towards you again and lightly wrapping his hand around your throat and whispering in your ear "I will." It sent shivers down your spine, and you were so happy that everyone had left already. You were left a blushing mess, trying to pick everything up and head out.

If you were nervous already by hanging out with your long time crush, you were even more nervous now.

--

5:20 rolled around and you decided you wanted to look somewhat presentable, so you put on a loose shirt, and a pair of black shorts. You didn't bother with your makeup since you knew having to be around all the tech and testing out bakugo's quirk would get incredibly sweaty.

You walked down the hallway after about 10 minutes of playing on your phone, and knocked on Bakugo's door. When he opened it, you had to really work to try to keep your eyes up, since he decided to wear a black tank top and grey sweatpants.

You found it a little funny that he had chosen the forbidden gray sweatpants, but you didn't sped too much time thinking about it.

You walked in, and immediately put your two pages of ideas on a small coffee table. He walked over to you and looked at it. "So, which one do you want to test out first?" He asked you, and you looked at his page for designs. You pointed at the one you though was best. That being a piece of metal that wrapped around his wrist, and when he fired off his quirk, it would build up pressure on the inside, and then it would concentrate into a small hole, which allowed the pressurized explosion to become even more powerful.

"What do you think of that one?" You asked him, talking about that one design in question.

He replied after thinking for a second "I think it'll work." You couldn't really believe your ears. He just admitted it? You though it would have taken explains or something, but instead he just instantly agreed.

"And for me I was thinking we could do something like this." You pointed at the second page, you one meant for you, and it was a head band type thing, where it basically transmitted your brain waves into small devices that worked with your quirk. "You've seen the movie Big Hero Six, right? That's basically where I got the idea from." He nodded his head in understanding, and then you got to work.

--

You both had decided his would be much easier to do, so you worked on that one first. After about an hour and a half of building it, you opted to go outside and test it. So, you went into the small patch of land behind your apartment complex and he fired his quirk. You both discussed that he would only have it be very slight, to truly see the power behind it. And it worked perfectly. It had a bit of lag time, but in about 3 seconds, it came exploding out from built up pressure.

You both were excited, and you gave each other high fives. "Hell yeah!" You both said in unison.

When you both went back into the apartment, you couldn't help but take in his sweaty form. You looked up at him, the way the sweat was rolling off of his brow, and the way his tank top stuck to his torso.

It outlined his very toned abs, and muscular chest. You almost drooled at the sight. Then you kept moving your eyed lower, taking in the way the cinched band hugged his waist. You tried to keep your eyes away from the bulge in his pants, and you loved everything about how toned he was. When you looked back up, he wore a light smirk on his face.

"I saw that. You just checked me out." You felt your whole face go red, and you could only sputter out small words.

"N-no I didn't. I just- looked at how new your shoes look!" You cringed at how bad of an excuse that was. He let out a small laugh and stalked closer to you.

He had you pinned against the wall, still wearing a smirk that you found insanely hot. "If you wanted to look, you could've just asked." You felt the heat starting to pool between your legs, and felt your knees start to go weak. Within seconds, he captured you lips in a searing kiss, with so much passion that you couldn't help but return.

He pulled you further up onto the wall, wrapping your legs around his waist. You could feel his growing bulge, and it just turned you on even more.

He picked you up like you weighed nothing, and brought you to his bedroom. He dropped you onto the bed, and enjoyed the sight of your small frame bouncing on the bed. He just asked you "are you sure you want this?" And when you nodded he still didn't continue.

"You need to say it, baby girl". The neediness just continued to pool up in yourself, and you arched your back off the bed.

"Yes daddy!" you almost yelled. You wanted- no- needed him so bad, you couldn't even control what you were saying. You could see his eyes widen, and then a small smile grow on his lips.

He didn't even have to say anything in order for you to know he was slightly taken back to know you wanted to call him daddy, but he didn't have any complaints.

He bent down and again captured you lips in his. He started taking off your shirt and touching your breasts, and when you moaned he shoved his tongue into your mouth and explored the wet cavern. He had to pull himself away so he could breath and pull off your shirt.

He then took off the bra you were wearing, and threw all of it off to who knows where.

For a second he marveled at your chest, and then he immediately started kissing down your neck, finding your weak spot and biting down and sucking on it.

He then kissed down your body, and when he go to your shorts he looked up at you asking silently for permission. You nodded your head, and he hooked his fingers into your shorts, pulling down your panties with it.

Once he saw how dripping wet you were, he let out a sadistic chuckle. "You're so damn wet, and we haven't even done anything yet." And with that he licked a long Stipe up your folds, latching onto your swollen clit. You moaned and a shudder went through your spine.

While his mouth was doing wonders one of his digits slipped into you with ease, heightening your pleasure. Then he added another, and started pumping then in and out. The coil in your abdomen was tightening, and you felt your walls clamp down on his fingers like a vice, and with his mouth still tasting you, he gave one last suck and your coil snapped.

Your legs were shaking, and you felt in udder bliss. He got up, and started taking his shirt off. You stared, loving the view. And when he started taking his pants and underwear off, you practically drooled at how big he was, in both length and girth.

He lowered his hips while picking up your own, and he dragged his length against you. You let out a pleasurable sigh at the feeling, but in a moment, you felt him shove himself inside of you, and you felt the delicious stretch of your walls.

He gave you a moment to adjust, but then started ramming himself into you at a bruising pace, loving the way your breasts bounced and your tight pussy around him. He loved all of it.

Within mere minutes, you both were reaching your high, with him pulling out and emptying his load on your stomach. You both were already tired and fucked out.

He got up and went to go grab a warm cloth, while you could barely feel your legs. When he came back, he started wiping off your stomach and the rest of your body.

He pulled you close to him, and said "You know I do really like you, right?"

Of course you answered "I like you too Bakugo". You had since high school.

"Call me Katsuki."

[projecthalemaw]

The three teens were now successfully off on their adventure, and conversing amongst one another. "Alexis. Was everything okay, back at the pokemon center?" Hera asked as the three walked.

"Hm? Oh uh, yeah. My brain got overwhelmed with all of the lights, sounds, and my eyes had been hurting." Alexis admitted, adjusting her sunglasses.

"Ah. Gotcha. I experience it occasionally, although rarely." Hera nodded in understanding. "So. I'm thinking that, when we get to Nightvale city, My gran will want to have dinner with me one last time. And because shes a total sweetheart, You two can stay for dinner too." Hera spoke, slipping her hands into her jacket pockets. "So, I know Miranda's kind of a tough gym leader. Her gym is certainly eccentric, if I remember some of her battles that are televised. Three floors, each one works with a different weather effect. Remind me what they are, Lucius?"

"Sandstorm for the first floor, Hail for the second, and Sunny day for the third. The top floor, where shes located, is actually the rooftop of the weather facility in Jupiter city. It almost always rains in that city, as well. So when we head that direction, we'll wanna have our umbrella's to be easy to access." Lucius explained.

Alexis nodded, looking up from her pokedex. "I'm reading over Gible's pokedex entry, which also seems to list the ability for the pokemon, and what it does. Sand veil ups evasion in a sandstorm." She spoke. "Meaning that gible will likely be highly useful for the first floor, in my case." She spoke.

"Correct. The ability listing feature was of Professor Morgan's own design, if you're curious. Also. We should use this route, and the cave, to train our partners." Lucius spoke.

"Cave?" Hera asked.

"No. We're not going near the cave on the other path." Alexis spoke, her tone seeming to shift.

"There's a hidden cave nearby, that has pokemon that are rare elsewhere on this island." Lucius elaborated.

"Oh, okay. Sorry for my tone shift." Alexis spoke.

"All good. Yeah. That other cave, on the other path. It creeps everyone out, so mom made it illegal to go near there, at least for our towns residents." He explained, taking a pokeball out and releasing beldum. "Beldum will be harder to train, as it only learns one move until it evolves, into metang. Meaning I should get the jump on training it first, while still training Chomp, my main partner." Lucius spoke. He was going to say something, but got cut off by a girl getting his attention.

"Hey! Wanna battle? I just got a new pokemon, and wanna test it out." The girl spoke.

"You can take her on Lucius." Hera spoke, gesturing for him to go on. "Alexis and I can watch, or go train on wild pokemon."

"Y-yeah. Let's go train on wild Pokemon. Catch up with us after, lucius." Alexis spoke.

3 hard hours of training later, and one sudden thunderstorm that lasted 20 minutes

Alexis, Lucius, and Hera met back up in a Clearing in the Route. Their pokemon, had all gotten stronger.

"Anyone else hungry, or just me?" Alexis asked, as her stomach growled rather loudly. "Just realized I hadn't eaten yet."

"Well. We're close to my Gran's house, and closer to Nightvale City. It's about Lunch time at this point. We can go get lunch at a cafe, then take a few hours to relax before going to my Grandma's for the night." Hera offered.

"I got plenty of Money from the trainers I beat, meaning I can pay for lunch." Lucius nodded.

"Yeah. Let's get healed up at the pokemon center, then go get lunch. It's about another six hours or so till dinnertime, so we have plenty of time to kill at like an arcade or something. The one in Nightvale is moderately large. We can do some arcade games, if we havent blown all of our money by lunch." Hera nodded.

"What's an arcade?" Alexis questioned, not realizing she said it out loud.

"Basically, a place where you can pay money to earn tokens and play games. My dad used to own the one in nightvale city, before he sold it to the Mayor of Nightvale after meeting my mom when she joined him for a game of DDR, or rather. Dance, Dance, Revolution." Hera explained without missing a beat, as they headed toward the entrance of Nightvale city.

Once the three arrived in Nightvale city, Alexis's mouth dropped. This was one of the largest places she'd ever seen. (Not that she remembers anywhere larger.) "Woah. It's... massive." Alexis spoke, blinking slightly.

"There are bigger cities. Heck. The Island where we get our fifth gym badge, the entire place is all the city." Hera spoke.

"Ew. Sounds gross." Alexis reflexively spoke.

"Yeah. I personally enjoy places that have variety to them. I've heard Twilight Island is like a maze." Lucius spoke, as they walked into the pokemon center.

"Hi! Welcome to the pokemon center. Let me know if I can do anything for you, please." The Nurse spoke as she walked out from one of the back Rooms.

"Hi! I was wondering if our pokemon could get a quick heal." Lucius spoke.

"Can do! Just put the pokeballs on the tray here, and Blissey can take care of them for you." The nurse spoke as she put the tray on the counter in front of her.

Alexis put her pokeballs in top slots, although she was somewhat hesitant to.

Lucius put his in the middle, seeming a bit relaxed.

Hera put hers in the bottom slots.

"Blissey will bring you your pokeballs personally, after healing your pokemon. She can heal them through their pokeballs, so dont worry about her getting them mixed up. Feel free to have a seat." The nurse spoke, before turning to follow blissey to the back to work on something.

The three teens sat down, and began to converse among each other. "So. Since we're going to be traveling with each other for the foreseeable future. I guess we should get to know one another." Hera spoke, taking her hat off. "Lucius, pass me a drink?" She asked. "Gotta take my meds."

"Ah, yeah, of course." Lucius spoke as he opened his bag, and passed her a water bottle.

"Well... guess the meowth's gotta come out of the bag. I don't remember much of anything. I only know my name." Alexis spoke, rather quietly. She wasn't sure if the two would still be friends with her.

"That's quite okay." Hera spoke, as she took a couple of bottles out of her jacket, and opened the bottles. "We're not gonna look at you any differently, Alexis. Right, Lucius?" She asked, before taking her medication. Her tone had an essence of "Answer correctly, or I'm gonna smack you." to it.

"Yeah, of course." Lucius nodded.

Alexis let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks. I was feeling freaked out, and was trying to figure out how I should explain it." She spoke. "I dont even know where I'm from."

"Gotcha." Hera nodded. "Well, maybe we can make getting your memories back a side endeavor in our journey." She offered, as Blissey came up to their table, with their tray of pokeballs in hand.

"Thank's blissey." Lucius spoke, as the three sorted their pokeballs back among themselves.

"So yeah. We'll try our best to get your memories back." Hera nodded, her sunshine personality sort of showing in the instance.

Lucius nodded in agreement. "Yeah." He nodded. "So. Now that our teams are all healed up, where are we going first?" He asked as he stood up, hooking his pokeballs back onto his belt loop.

"Hm. Food and drink sound good?" Hera asked as she stood up, gesturing for Alexis to follow.

Alexis nodded. "Yeah, sounds fine to me." She spoke as she stood, and followed the others out.

Once the three were outside, Hera opened her map. "Now. If I recall correctly, theres a really good little cafe that doubles as a burger place, just up the street from here." Hera spoke. "I don't know about burgers myself, but I could definitely go for a Chocolate moomoo milkshake and fries." She spoke, as she put her map away, and began to walk right from the pokemon center entry.

Lucius and Alexis exchanged glances, and followed after Hera, who was already a good two feet away.

After a good Twenty minutes of walking, the trio arrived at a rather large building. "Used to come here all the time after school. Don't remember why I stopped." Hera spoke, grabbing the door and opening it.

Alexis and lucius followed her in, exchanging a look as they got greeted. "Hey there, welcome to Cathy's. Today we've got a deal on burger's and shakes. Buy ten dollars worth and get a third set free." The cashier spoke.

"You two get whatever you want, I'll just get a large thing of fries and a chocolate shake." Hera spoke, as she pulled out her wallet to start counting how much money she'd need to set aside for their meal.

After time passed, and the three sat down after ordering their food, a pair of women walked into the Café, looking no older then Hera. The most eye-catching feature the women had among the two of them was the orange haired girl having a mechanical arm. It wasn't audible what the two had ordered, but it didn't seem overly complicated, as it was done before the trio's meal.

The black haired girl who had it tied back and to the side walked up. "Hey, there's not a whole lot of places left to sit. Do you three care if we join you?" She asked. She adjusted her glasses, as she waited for an answer from one of them.

"Of course! We were just stopping in to get lunch ourselves. We just started our own adventure and all." Hera spoke, seeming a little sheepish.

"Ah, yeah. I remember those times." The orange haired girl spoke. "I think you and I started at the same time, right, rey?" She asked her companion.

"Yes, we did. Now, apologies, but we've seemed to have forgotten our manners. I'm Reyna, and this one here is Cassidy." Reyna spoke, nodding slightly.

Hera nodded. "The guy getting our food is Lucius, I'm hera, and I'll let her introduce herself."

"I'm Alexis." Alexis spoke, nodding gently to the two taller girls.

The two girls who had joined them nodded. "Nice to meet you too. You seem a little young to just be starting your adventure." Reyna noted.

"As much as I wish I were younger, I'm glad to be Seventeen." Hera laughed a little. "Means I dont have to see my parents again." She spoke lightly.

Lucius set their tray down on the table. "Hera, who are these two?" Lucius asked as he sorted their stuff among themselves.

"Cassidy and Reyna. They asked to sit with us as there isn't anywhere else that they can really sit." Hera explained.

"Ah. Nice to meet you." Lucius spoke, as he sat down.

Cassidy nodded. "Mind if I ask who you guys chose as starters? I've heard interesting things about this Region's starter selection." She spoke.

"Well. This year was a bit different, and the professor gave us each two starter pokemon." Hera explained.

"Interesting." Reyna noted, writing it down in her notebook after taking a sip from her drink.

"I chose this Region's variant of Piplup, and Larvitar. I'll let these two answer the question themselves." Hera spoke before digging into her food.

"Region's totodile variant, and gible." Alexis quietly spoke after swallowing the bite she had been chewing on. It was clear that she had something on her mind, but nobody could be entirely sure what it was she was thinking about.

"Cyndaquil Variant and Beldum." Lucius nodded.

"Interesting. And what are the types of your regional variants?" Reyna asked, glancing up from her writing.

"Totodile is dark and fairy, according to my pokedex." Alexis nodded.

"Cyndaquil is an Ice and Dragon type here." Lucius spoke.

"And Piplup is just a ghost type." Hera spoke, after swallowing the food she had in her mouth.

"Fascinating. We came to the region on business, mostly because someone called us here for said business." Reyna spoke.

"She still won't tell me, for whatever reason." Cassidy spoke, shrugging lightly as she stretched her legs out.

"Because if I do, you won't shut up about it. You'll find out in about a month's time. We mostly came a month early to get a lay of the region." Reyna spoke.

"Oh. Okay." Cassidy spoke. "Think we may try the gym challenge. Might be worth it after all, now that we're here. Y'know babe?"

"Yeah. Gives us an idea on how tough some of the trainers in this region are." Reyna nodded, as she looked up from her notepad.

"Ah. About that. Nobody's been able to complete the gym challenge in two years at this point." Lucius explained.

"That's a surprise." Cassidy spoke. "Why?"

"The eighth gym leader, Minerva, disappeared two years ago. Nobody knows where she went." Lucius explained, after taking a sip of his drink.

"Fascinating." Cassidy spoke.

Reyna simply nodded, marking something down in her notepad. "Seems interesting. I guess that's why Victory road looked untraversed?" She questioned.

"Yeah. And the league officials have been unable to hire a new leader to replace her, as her gym is sealed shut." Lucius nodded again.

"Oh, interesting." Reyna nodded. "I need to step outside for a moment, make a couple of Phone calls." Reyna spoke, standing up and stepping away from the table.

"Everything okay, babe?" Cassidy asked.

"Yeah. Just gotta make a couple calls correlating to our work here." Reyna nodded, reassuring her girlfriend before she headed outside.

"So. What's with the arm?" Alexis asked, finally deciding to speak up a little. She gestured vaguely to Cassidy's metal arm, before going back to poke at her food.

"Lost my arm in a fight back home. Reyna built this one for me, when she found me bleeding." Cassidy chuckled lightly, adjusting her hoodie. "What sparked the question?"

"It just looks out of place, with the rest of your attire." Hera elaborated, since Alexis had her mouth full.

"Ah, yeah. Had to unscrew it to get through the metal detector to board the boat to get here. That was not a fun experience." Cassidy admitted.

"Yeah, I imagine so." Lucius nodded. "Anyone wanna battle? Just all friendly like?" The teen asked, cleaning up the wrappers from all of their food. "We've still got time to kill."

"Yeah, sure. I'm down." Cassidy spoke, standing up, and collecting her and Reyna's drinks. "I'll meet y'all outside." She spoke as she slipped out.

"So. Those two are eccentric, to say the least." Hera noted as she laughed a little. "You can go battle Cassidy. Think I'm gonna hit the mall with Alexis, if she wants to come along." Hera spoke, as she stood up, finishing her shake.

Alexis nodded, re-wrapping the rest of her burger she still had and stuffing it in her pocket. "I figure we'll meet back up in an hour or two?" Alexis asked, remaining soft-spoken.

Hera nodded. "Here's my number Lucius, in case you need to contact us before we meet at gran's." She spoke, writing her phone number down on the wrapped and passing it to him.

The trio separated on their own paths, to do their own thing for a little while.

Following Alexis and Hera for the next little while. Lucius will pop back in later.

"So, uh. You've been pretty quiet, Alexis." Hera spoke, slipping her hands into her pockets. "Something on your mind?" She asked.

"No, everything's fine. I'm just... I don't know. It feels weird, not being able to remember things. The food was fine, If that's what you're wondering." Alexis spoke, kicking a couple rocks.

"Alright. If you need to talk to someone, you can. Y'know that, right?" Hera spoke, nodding slightly to Alexis. "Also. Is there anything you want, while we're shopping?"

"A cellphone would be nice. I didn't have one, when I woke up in that room." Alexis spoke quietly.

"Alright. Yeah, we can look at those. You can't get most places without one." Hera smiled a bit.

Alexis nodded. "I figured. I've been observing everyone, and it seems like theyve become an intricate part of everyone's lives." She spoke, looking up at her friend.

"Yeah, it's interesting." She spoke, as they walked into the Mall. "Here we are. The Nightvale Mall. I used to come here a lot. Stopped when my friends moved away." Hera shrugged. "I'm thinking we should get you a couple more outfits, because as nice as your current outfit is, it's kind of out of place seeming." Hera explained.

"Yeah. That'll be fine. I'm keeping this jacket though, to go with any outfits we get." Alexis spoke.

"Yeah. The Jacket's fine." Hera spoke, as she and Alexis walked. "Anywhere you wanna go first?" She asked.

Alexis nodded. "Uh... hm. We could go look at the books first. I think having some reading material would be nice." She spoke.

Hera nodded. "Then off to the bookshop it is." She spoke, as she helped Alexis Navigate to the bookstore on the second floor.

The two girls walked into the Bookstore, which was Relatively empty, outside of a cashier and a couple of elderly people sitting down somewhere near the back, in a couple or chairs. "Get whatever strikes your fancy. We've got a budget about Nineteen thousand, to spend here at the mall." Hera spoke.

Alexis nodded. She really didn't have any idea where to start. After all, she didn't even know if she had a favorite genre. After about fifteen minutes of wandering the store, Alexis had picked up a few mystery novels that caught her eye. "Hey Hera. Found a few books that looked interesting."

"Oh?" Hera asked, walking over to Alexis, to see what Alexis had found.

"Yeah. Just a few mystery novels that caught my attention." Alexis spoke. "Think we should probably get the phone next, then save the outfit shopping for last." Alexis nodded as she and Hera went up to the register to pay for the books she picked out.

"Sounds good to me." Hera spoke, keeping her hands in her pockets as the cashier scanned the books, taking out her wallet when it was time.

After Hera paid for the books, Alexis took the bag that the books were put in, and held it in her left hand as the two girls walked out, and headed for the next shop.

After a while of the two shopping, Hera's phone buzzed, with a text from Lucius, asking where the two were.

Hera shot him a text back, stating that they were leaving the mall right as he texted, and were on their way.

The two girls walked through Nightvale city, eventually arriving at a house, with lucius standing outside, and Cassidy having a smoke nearby. "Hey kiddos. Lucius wanted me to come with him after the battles, as he had questions. Now that you two are here, ima dip out. Maybe we'll run into each other some other time." Cassidy spoke, not giving the two time to answer, as she left.

"...that was weird." Hera spoke. "Oh well. She's probably right, that we'll run into her and her girlfriend again." She shrugged, as she walked up the steps to the front door, and unlocked it. "Gran! I'm home!" She called.

"Hey Hera, welcome home!" Hera's grandma called back from the kitchen. "Are your friends with you?" She asked.

"Yeah! Lucius, Alexis. You two, come on in." Hera gestured.

Alexis was the last to enter, and closed the door behind her. "Thank you for having us, I think." She spoke, nodding gently.

"Mhm! I figured I should feed you three before you go off on an adventure around the Islands." Gran spoke, as she was chopping onions.

"Thanks, really." Lucius spoke, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm making sausage and mac and cheese, with sauteed onions." Her grandmother nodded. "Do any of you wanna help?" She asked.

"Yeah." Alexis spoke. "I may not be of much help, though." She spoke, putting her bags down, and heading to the kitchen.

TBC in another post, because tumblr decided it was too long.

[ravnicaforgoblins]

Ravnica for Goblins

8 Interesting Places

Welcome back to another look at the sprawling chaotic cityscape that is Ravnica! Are you tired of the usual taverns and back alleyways common to all D&D campaigns? Are there buildings and locations a normal city would have that just seem to be missing from the limited maps available in the GGtR? Do you not have time to scour through Ravnican lore on a Wiki? Well fret no more! Here today we have 8 interesting, exciting, and possibly extremely dangerous locations for your Ravnica campaign! As with most lore in this campaign setting transferred over from a trading card game, details are very scarce about these locations; where they are, what goes on there, what they look like, etc. You’re going to be filling in the holes with your own details. As you’re probably getting used to doing by now, when in doubt, make sh*t up.

#1 Udzec Maximum Security Prison

This is the Big House. You don’t end up here for a drunken brawl at the bar, kicking an Azorius Lawmage in the nuts, or being exposed as a Dimir operative in the Orzhov Syndicate. This is where the Azorius put away individuals who have proven themselves to be serious threats to Ravnican society. Such acts range from smashing up Tin Street to disintegrating an entire building to threatening the existence of the entire city of Ravnica!

Udzec is located in the Second Precinct of the 10th District (aka, the map you have to work from). Most of the Second Precinct is firmly Azorius territory. Their Guildhall is there, their offices, their courts, their prisons, their officers and officials. To this degree, the greatest defense measure for Udzec is the fact that breaking out of the prison itself doesn’t mean anything if you can’t get out of the whole precinct before every available Azorius arrester is on you.

#2 The Moon Market

Held only once in every 5 full moons, the pretty obviously named “Moon Market” is the mecca of forbidden wares and contraband. Anything guaranteed to get you arrested for possession of will be in there, as well as other potential buyers who, by the very fact that they are in this blackest of Black Markets, should not be messed with. This is where the nastiest, scariest, and most dangerous individuals come to shop. Rakdos Blood Witches, Golgari Lich Lords, Dimir Assassins, Orzhov Tithe Drinkers, and unaffiliated psychopaths just trying to make the voices happy. Good news, you don’t have to worry about law enforcement here! Bad news, anyone here may try to kill you and your body would never be found.

The market is held in the Sixth Precinct, run predominantly by the Orzhov and the Golgari. It’s a safe bet that half the population here is undead, making wandering around the precinct at night at best a death wish and at worst an undeath wish. This means anyone in your group who is a cleric, paladin, or specializes against undead should stay home. They are not welcome in this market and the very act of showing up is likely enough to cause a TPK.

That said, if you need to find something or someone extremely dangerous, this market is, ironically, a safe bet. And if you don’t find the exact evil you’re looking for, you’ll certainly find others.

#3 Duskmantle

There are two Duskmantles. Like with many Ravnican Guildhalls, the old one has fallen into disrepair and become lost to the passage of time. The original Duskmantle was founded by the Dimir Parun, Szadek, and was among the most well-kept secrets in Ravnica throughout his reign. It is now an even more well-kept secret, being forgotten by all, except perhaps Lazav, the current Dimir Guildmaster. While the Dimir are not the type to be swayed by such things as “nostalgia”, “sentimentality”, or “great history”, they are the type to value information no one else knows. Whose to say what might remain in this former headquarters of espionage and scheming? If you wanted to hide something, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better spot than a hidden underground fortress that literally erases your memories of it when you leave.

As to where it resides, that’s anyone’s guess. The Undercity is as big as (and in some cases even bigger than) the sprawling cityscape on the surface. Compounding this is the fact that the whole Undercity is effectively a deadly labyrinth that even citizens who spend their entire lives (or afterlives) residing in will never fully master. I suppose one could ask Lazav, but several things would need to happen first:

1. Find Lazav, who is specifically designed never to be found unless he wants to be.

2. Confront the ultimate spymaster without him escaping or killing you.

3. Convince an individual who is immune to being charmed, frightened, or scryed to give you one of his most cherished(?) secrets.

4. Trust the word of someone who is incapable of being caught in a lie.

5. Traverse the Undercity’s darkest, most dangerous passages and find one of the most heavily-warded constructions in history.

6. Leave with all the memories you entered with.

So yeah, if you’ve already done six impossible things today, why not take a trip to a gloomy underground cathedral for some treasure hunting?

#4 Catacombs of the Obzedat

Within Orzhova, the opulent Guildhall of the Orzhov Syndicate, there are bejeweled catacombs wherein past & present members of the Ghost Council are interred alongside the wealth and riches they accumulated in their lives. This is where the oldest records and dealings made by the Syndicate are kept, hidden away from all but the Guildmasters. This is the heart of Orzhov power. But even beyond the riches, something even more valuable also exists.

Ancient magic predating even the Guildpact lies within these walls, making it one of the only locations on the plane where the magically binding laws hold no sway. There really is no understating the value of such a place. In a city where the laws are the single most powerful magic in existence, immunity to such magic has value beyond measure. This room is one of the biggest secrets in all of Ravnica.

No matter what sort of campaign or story you’re running, this place is a game-changer. Whether a party is intending to rob it for treasure, use it for acts that break Guildpact laws, break free from an ancient debt, borrow some of its power to take elsewhere, hit the scheming Orzhov where it hurts, or have a climactic showdown without outside interference; this is the place to do it. Getting there is the hard part, and getting out again almost impossible if you raise alarms, but there’s no denying the possible rewards if you succeed.

#5 The Jester’s Crypt

Depending on where one lives, one can occasionally forget that a 30-foot-tall Giant Demon Lord of Chaos roams the streets. Under normal circumstances, this would be cause for great alarm in citizens. However, this is Ravnica, and a living embodiment of mayhem & hedonism is not the worst thing you have to deal with on a regular basis. Odds are you have more to fear from your tax collector than Rakdos the Defiler. The Demon Guildmaster of the cult named for him does whatever he wants, and if nothing going on in the city interests him, he may well stay in his lava pit for months or even years at a time, just sleeping.

Having the demon lord’s attention can be a blessing and a curse. Having his ire, however, is pretty much the worst fate one can suffer on Ravnica. Rakdos does not tolerate anyone stealing his spotlight. If you are the poor soul who does thus, he brings you to the Jester’s Crypt to torture you forever. There are no appeals, no one is coming to rescue you, and the only people you will ever see again are similar individuals to be tortured....and Rakdos himself. It’s a door everyone knows but no one ever asks what’s inside. To do so invites suffering beyond measure.

If you are a player, you do not want to ever see this place. If someone you love/care about is sent here, any rescue is going to take preparation out the wazoo. If you’re looking for a breeding ground for tortured souls and individuals capable of challenging Rakdos the Showstopper, there’s no better place to pull one out of. It’s basically a Big Bad breeding ground for demons and malcontents. Considering the spectrum of sins to get one sentenced here ranges from talking sh*t about Rakdos when you don’t think he can hear, to openly challenging him to a deathmatch for control of the Guild, you can conceivably pull NPCs of any & every CR rating from out of here.

#6 The Red Wastes

The Rubblebelt is Gruul territory that makes up the borders around the entire city. Most of it is composed of broken buildings, smashed pavement, and, predictably, rubble. Beyond the Rubblebelt, however, lie the Red Wastes. These are the true untamed wilds of Ravnica, the last in existence. Meaning this is where the beasties too big for the Gruul to wrangle would roam. Wurms, hydras, elementals, and any other giant monsters one can have in a D&D campaign. Out here there is no law, no Guilds, no backup, no nothing. Forest, desert, grasslands, maybe even some tundra; but that’s it.

If your party needs a break from the city or needs to go hunting for rare animals/plants, this is the place they’d go. Pure, undiscovered wilderness savage enough to withstand any attempts at colonizing for over 10,000 years. Anything could be out here.

#7 The Overgrown Tomb

Deep in the Undercity, sparingly touched by rare beams of outside light, lies the lair of Vraska the Unseen. What may have once been a fountain in a plaza is now an underground mausoleum covered in moss and the petrified remains of Vraska’s victims. Given Vraska can range from an urban legend told around campfires to the deadliest assassin in Ravnica or even the Golgari Guildmaster, this, her most private of secret lairs, is one of the most well-kept secrets in all of Ravnica (lot of those, aren’t there?)

If you’ve found the Overgrown Tomb, Vraska will be seeing you shortly. If she’s in the tomb already, prepare for high tension and a strong possibility of certain death and/or petrification. If she isn’t, that’s possibly worse. Anything stolen from her lair will guarantee you a spot on her “Everyone Should Die the Death They Deserve” List. Odds are, if you stole something, she’ll steal an organ or two in return. Which means either you stay awake for the next month straight and die from exhaustion waiting for her to slither out of the shadows to murder you, or you wait around for her and try to appeal to the better nature of a Gorgon Pirate Assassin Planeswalker to hear you out and not kill you on the spot for invading her lair. If your campaign involves eliminating Vraska, this is likely where the final battle will take place. Plus side, there’s nowhere for the assassin to run, which is what assassins typically try to do. Minus side, you are fighting the deadliest individual in Ravnica in her home.

Regardless of the circumstances that might lead one to the Overgrown Tomb, this is one of the coolest places to see from a player perspective. From a character perspective, it’s one of the most terrifying places to be.

#8 The Implicit Maze

Central to The Dragon’s Maze TCG set from Magic the Gathering’s sequel release to Ravnica is the Implicit Maze, aka the Dragon’s Maze, aka Azor’s Labyrinth, aka the Ravnican Mega Dungeon. The Implicit Maze was designed by the Azorius Parun Azor I, a Sphinx, in the unlikely event the Guildpact was ever broken. Like it was. The maze itself winds and navigates its way through the territory of every Guild, hitting each of the wonderfully drawn Guildgates whose art you can post for your players to admire. It goes underground, above ground, through markets, up buildings, and in & out of the entire city. In short, it goes everywhere.

Given the size of the city and therefore the size of any puzzle path snaking its way throughout, the Implicit Maze is truly gargantuan. One could feasibly set an entire campaign around just navigating it. As far as the actual design of the maze/dungeon, there is none, or at least none that’s been released thus far. Which means one can either design their own labyrinth, or find a maze generator, or even steal layouts from other D&D modules/campaigns and just replace with Ravnican NPCs and features. Whatever floats your boat.

If you need a dungeon or even a mega dungeon, this is it. Plus, it’s designed by a Sphinx, who are notorious for being way too smart for anyone’s good (even their own), so it could conceivably have or do anything. It can be whatever sort of puzzle you need for whatever sort of character is tackling it. After all, every Guild’s champion navigated it successfully, from the brilliant mental magic planeswalker Jace Beleren to Ruric Thar the two-headed giant who negotiates corrupt authorities by smashing them with a big club.

[haylanmakesstuff]

Day 1 & 2 of my 21 day Skeksis Costume Build

I usually work as a seasonal Interpretive Ranger for outdoor agencies, like National Parks and Forests, and last year when I got back from working all the way across the country from my home, I had less than a month to pull a Halloween costume off! I always make my costumes from scratch (except things like shoes, but I often alter them, etc.)

I wasted about a week of my time debating what I should do. I had a few ideas but I wasn’t crazy about them. I often feel like I need to be CRAZY excited about whatever I make. When I didn’t work during the summers out of state, I would often start my costumes any time between late June and early August depending on how ambitious it was. Now I had less than a month!

I had been watching The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and was thinking about how since I was a little kid I’ve always wanted to make a Skesis costume. Then I realized – I didn’t have a job or anywhere to be until school started, so why not go nuts and make one in just 21 days? I did just that. I took pictures along the way to be able to show how I did it…now welcome to the first post detailing the experience!

Also, I had posted about this costume on a Halloween Costume Club I used to run as a Facebook group and actually had people being jerks about it. I am not here for your negativity. I am here to share my process and love of crafting with others, and I am happy to answer questions, too. No, you don’t have to make this costume or anything in just 21 days, even I would usually start months in advance and only work on it intermittently for a better product, I just didn’t have that option in 2019. But please, I’m here to share the happiness of crafting, not to hear how stupid you think my hobbies are. 

First, the end game:

Now, let’s back up 21 days and start from the beginning. I kept a calendar with notes on what I worked on because I eventually wanted to go back and make this post. Currently (July 2020) I am updating the costume for a second Halloween (if that happens during this pandemic) and those updates will be the last post of this series. Enjoy!

DAY 1: OCTOBER 10TH

Today I worked on the head/face, and eyes. Go big or go home, because if I couldn’t make the most important part of the costume, then the rest is cancelled.  I first gathered a bunch of screen shots of Chamberlain from the new Netflix show, googled images of the character, the puppet, and models. I started the head and completed that process before I realized I liked Skekso’s character design WAY more than The Chamberlain. And I had seen Chamberlain done several times before online and realized I wanted to take on a new challenge. That’s why you’ll notice the head shape is that of Chamberlain and not of The Emperor.  That morning I went to craft stores and hardware stores and got the stuff I would need to start off. This would mean many trips to these places, and since I live in a partially rural area, it’s a drive for me so I try to limit these visits so I don’t waste all my creating time driving. You’ll see each material listed as we go along.

First, here is Skekso, The Emperor from Dark Crystal; Age of Resistance, so you know what he looks like from the source material. If you haven’t seen this show, obviously I would recommend it, and would tell you start with the show, not the movie from the early 80’s, because the show is a prequel. I think to new viewers the movie may be more exciting if you see some of the back story on why it’s happening.

So now to the build:  

1.)    I started with plastic craft mesh in white to make a skull shape:

 I used a paper pattern so my sized would line up correctly, etc. You’ll notice I’m not only terrible at math, but I absolutely hate it. Not a great quality for a Maker and I have to compensate A LOT for my lack of math love and skills. I missed a lot of school growing up and never actually learned stuff like long division until college, so….make do! Our weaknesses and flaws won’t end us, we just find a way around them.

2.)    Once I got the plastic mesh pieces the right shapes, I glued them together with hot glue, very carefully.  I cut out a spot for the eyes making sure the future-eyes that were still ping pong balls fit snuggly. Notice all of my shopping and material decisions are heavily reliant on being light weight – I’m only 5’2 and not very strong, I knew I couldn’t pack a 50 pound costume around all night. I can keep my carry-on bags under 20 pounds usually, so I was confident in tricking this costume to be as light as possible.

3.)    Next, I used upholstery foam from the craft store (look in the furniture/upholstery section) to coat the mesh skull with without any contours, etc. That will all come later. I also made my favorite 3 ingredient pumpkin cookies that are the BOMB. Let me know if you want the very short recipe.

4.)    After I had all the basic forms of foam where I needed them and hot glued on, I started carving out the foam into the various shapes and valleys to look like Skekso. This took a long time and make a crazy mess, so beware if you have pets, roommates, or husbands – you’ll owe them some of those cookies to put up with your bull.

5.)    Then, I started on the eyeballs. Keeping it lightweight, I used regular old ping pong balls.

In the background, to the left of this picture, you’ll see a yellowish-hand. During this time I was also making a Halloween Decoration/Party Decoration; a full size Dementor from Harry Potter, for my yard for the month of October, and for November when I have an annual Hogwarts Feast; both of which I will showcase on here later! I liked these hands so much I ended up adapting a fancier version for this Skekso costume, so more on that later.

  DAY 2: OCTOBER 11TH

                       Face, teeth, eyes, and head dress.

1.)    Today I continued painting the eye balls, giving a base coat of off white, painting the iris and pupil, and veins. I used acrylic for all of this, but dipped the reds and pinks in water before using tiny brushes and toothpick points to create the veins. I actually glued a part of a wooden skewer (thicker than a toothpick) short, maybe 1.4 inches at most, to the back of the eyeball so I would always have something to hold onto without messing up the paint job. I figured this would be handy when gluing it into the head later, and it was.

I also continued the carving of the foam on the head from yesterday, finally getting it where I wanted it, ready for the next stage.

2.)    Next, I drew dark spots of different sizes on the jaws of the head to see how many of what size teeth I wanted Skekso to have. I used a picture as reference and got it as close as I could. Counted how many large, medium, and small teeth there were, so I knew how many to make.

Then, clearly, it was important that I sang him a little song of encouragement. It could be reenacting that scene from Alien 4 that’s so darned sad too, hard to say.

Now I know what you are wondering: What the heck am I wearing on my head? No, I don’t have a mushy skull like a bitty baby, I’m actually preparing myself to get used to the helmet that will be used for the costume later. I am not sure how heavy it will be, so I want to get used to the bike helmet, and you’ll see later I slowly add some weight to it. Yeah, I look kinda crazy, but at least I got to do it in my own home. And I am not superhero Christine McConnell – I never dress in anything but slouchy pajamas for the most part if I’m heavy into a crafting project. I want comfort and not to ruin everything I own because shit gets messy! 

3.)    Now that I know how many and what sizes teeth I need, time to make them. I bought a shit ton of Crayola Modeling Magic for this costume because it’s lightweight and I am used to using it. I used only white, mold it how I want it, then it dries for at least 24 hours for these little teeth. Anything bigger will add time – you’ll see more made of this later. Here are the little teeth on a pretty platter to dry:

4.)    Now time for more work on the head: I painted the mesh inside of the mouth black so it couldn’t be seen once the head is done. The mouth will be slightly open so you can see the teeth. If I had more time, I would have made a tongue, to.

5.)    First unexpected fix: when working on the head I noticed I didn’t like how wide part of it was, between the eyes. The head already is Chamberlains head shape instead of The Emperor, so I used a stitch through the middle to pull in the eyes, making the bridge of the nose narrower.

   That’s all for today! And it was a lot. Come back for more posts about my journey through the Cliffs of Insanity to build this Skeksis costume in 21 days. Happy Halloween All Year!

[iturbide]

hmmmm 1, 9, 25, 26, 29 and 30

haha whoops i wrote a novel again

Author Asks

1. Where do you typically get your ideas?

I guess when it comes right down to it, I get my ideas from asking questions.  Sometimes they’re silly questions, like “I love this narrative but what if it was Fire Emblem?” (Cursed Fate, Heart of the Moon, the Promare AU), sometimes they’re speculative questions like “how different was Lucina’s timeline compared to the revised one” or “why does Grima act that way in the game when they should hold all the cards?” (Future Built), sometimes they’re ‘what if’ type questions like “what if Robin was raised in Plegia?” (Crown of Shadows/Shrouded Throne), and sometimes it’s just a matter of asking “what happens next???” at the end of a completed story (Across the Bridge, Scourge Post-Canon which was literally me going “holy fuck Bany I love this what do you mean there’s no more here’s a loose three-arc concept and a downpayment of 10k words”).  This may explain why most of the series I write for are ones that make me ask questions, because if I’m not wondering I’m not creating.

9. Do you tend to have an external narrator or use one of the characters?

Oh, embedded characters all the way.  I think it’s amazing what people can do with external narrators and omniscient perspective, but I’ve always had the most fun picking a character and writing from their view.  It helps to build out the world and the characters in interesting ways, because every individual looks at things slightly differently, up to and including themselves.  Robin in Future Built tends to be one of my favorite examples of this: since we follow him exclusively through the first several chapters, we get a pretty strong sense of him as a high-strung young man who’s constantly trying to feign calm, though he often worries he fails at it; once we switch over to Chrom’s perspective in the Ferox chapter, we realize that Robin is significantly more adept at his act than he gives himself credit for, because Chrom finds him unreadable and even impassive, verging on emotionless.  Narrator’s bias is a delight.

25. How do you create an original character?

OH THERE ARE LOTS OF WAYS.  In stories where I have a solid understanding of the plot and need specific roles filled, I’ll often design original characters specifically for that part in a story, using the niche as a mold and filling in everything about them (this is how most of the kids in Project: Elements came to be).  Especially in original works where the plotline may not be as strong but the overall world concept is, I’ll start with personality or concept seeds and grow out from there (this is how most of the Starships crew came to be).  It is…also not uncommon for me to be playing games with generic recruits and make them characters based on random coincidences in battles (this happened a lot with Final Fantasy Tactics: Advance okay).  also there’s a not insignificant number of ‘original characters’ I have that were just dragged out of their actual canon and evolved whoops

26. How do you go about world building?

Worldbuilding is an arcane and mystical thing and honestly I kind of go about it in the same way that I approach story ideas: asking questions.  For existing properties like Fire Emblem, a lot of the questions tend to be rooted in things the game shows (for example, why was Gangrel king in Awakening and not Validar?) or doesn’t show (what does the Grimleal faith actually look like, since I refuse to believe that Validar’s cult is representative of all Grima’s worshippers?), teasing out threads of consistency through the larger context.  For original work, a lot of it starts with setting: understanding the world itself, what rules it follows and how it operates, and then digging into how the populations within that world work with or against those rules, with cultural contexts developing based on environmental factors (such as, for example, how a population in a colder region necessarily acts and interacts differently with the world than a population from a temperate or desert region).  Basically it’s a ton of who, what, when, where, and especially why questions.  This becomes especially fun when you throw it at friends and they start asking you the questions.

29. How do you plot your stories?

Recklessly and with abandon.  And it actually depends a lot on the length of the story: for shorter stories (anything I can reliably predict a chapter count for), I’ll usually chart the whole thing out in some form or another, planning the major beats of each chapter, maybe even doing an actual outline; for bigger stories, I tend to leave things a lot more loose, and usually start grouping by arcs rather than chapters, defining each one by either major events (like with Future Built, where Arc 1 is through the end of the Ylisse-Plegia War ending in Gangrel’s death, Arc 2 is from the ensuing peacetime through the war with Valm, Arc 3 is the ensuing peacetime and ends with Everything Goes Wrong) or by the general theme of what’s going on (like with the Post-Scourge, where Arc 1 is the whole fallout and associated investigation into the Parnassus Incident, Arc 2 is the transition and settling period where Galo and Lio both try to adjust to the major upheavals in their lives, and Arc 3 is all about change and growth once things finally stabilize).  From there it’s mostly just about defining the timeline of events, writing things out, and getting things grouped so that each chapter feels complete.  But regardless of how I do the planning, I always have the ending in mind: without an ending I really can’t write the story (which is part of why I have a ton of AU ideas with nothing but piecemeal snippets written, because I like the overall concept but don’t have a complete story arc with ending in mind, so I can’t make real progress on them).

30. How do you edit your stories?

I abandon them and go on vacation.  Fairly literally, too: once I finish something and decide that it’s done as a draft, I’ll put it aside for at least a few days (sometimes a week, sometimes longer, it depends on what else is going on and how much validation I’m craving); when I do finally go back to it, having fully disconnected and pulled my head out of the proverbial storytelling weeds, I’m better able to see areas that need to be smoothed out, words that need to be varied, inconsistencies that need to be addressed, etc.