#but that's like. maybe $50/$300 total

[gil-notskajla]

[OC] related to helrobu: running gig where new people enter his silly little hideout/chambers for the first time only to stumble upon bodies upon bodies upon bodies and freaking out

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Why do people still go to Mostro Lounge if Azul enslaved 225 students? Like how is he not out of bussines

I DON’T KNOW 😭 I’ve never understood that part???? And how easily everything is resolved????

The end of book 3 tries to hand-wave it off as, “well, Azul implemented a point card system/promotion that was just so good that it compensated for all the negative rumors about the bad things he actually did” but like 💀 even then, I never bought it…

Consider the prices plus how the point card system and its perks work:

Assuming that you need 50 points to get that consultation with Azul + the items listed here are the only ones that qualify toward the point system, that means you'd be spending at LEAST 250 thaumarks (which I'm going to consider the equivalent to 250 USD for the sake of simplicity), if not 300 thaumarks. That's not including any potential tax or tip they may charge on top of the cost of the actual menu items. If you're going for the three-point card perks, you're easily spending 750 to 900 bucks on the Mostro Lounge. Maybe that seems like chump change to some of the rich, privileged kids that attend NRC but that's still a considerable amount of money to spend at one establishment... I'll concede that the argument can be made that this investment is "worth it" because of Azul's consultation being such a useful thing. It seems like you could ask him for anything, so long as its within his means. So yeah, it’s true, his services can be an extremely powerful boon to have on your side (assuming, of course, that he's capable of granting your wish and you agree to the terms set). The issue then becomes a matter of trust between client and Azul.

I don't know about you, but I cannot believe that after Azul tricked and enslaved 220+ students (over a QUARTER of the total student body) with his promises that everyone would so easily forgive what he did and suddenly trust that he wouldn't try pulling similar shit again. And since I doubt any mob would drop 250-300 thaumarks in one day just to get the consultation ASAP (but a bunch of food he can't eat), the points system would be a long term commitment... meaning mobs go into this establishment regularly, knowing that it's run by a guy that would double cross them if it benefitted him, weirdly trusting that he wouldn't???????? Trusting that he had a sudden change of heart and wouldn’t revert back to his old ways???????? Not holding grudges??????? Nah, I don't buy that one bit. AZUL'S REP WOULD BE IN THE TOILET, AND I DON'T THINK A GOOD DEAL ON EATERY LOYALTY WOULD REVERSE THAT... At that point, the mobs are practically begging to be scammed… Also???? The only thing that Crowley technically told Azul he can't do is to take anyone's powers 💀 so literally nothing is stopping Azul from trying to one-up or cheat his clients out of other things... Agreements like the one where he tried to claim Ramshackle Dorm for himself would still be totally valid under Crowley's new but poorly defined restrictions. Why doesn't the headmaster just forbid Azul from running his shady side business altogether 😭 or at least revoke the manager position from Azul?????? The school gets 10% of the lounge’s profits, so maybe Crowley doesn’t want to lose that income—but if that’s the case, why not just put new management in charge and still reap the monetary benefits??? Even just upping the percentage the school takes from their earnings would be more of a punishment…

I'm about to cancel this man on Magicam for his crimes/j I guess this is easily explained by the mob students all being dumb/arrogant, but that’s such a cop-out 😭 My only hope is that volume 3 of the light novel adaptation will go more in-depth about the post-OB backlash Azul experiences (similar to how it did for volume 1) 💦 because the way the game presents it, it feels like he and the Mostro Lounge made an almost immediate comeback 😭 which isn’t realistic at all…

I guess all I have left to say is…

[ladykissingfish]

*Kakuzu, giving math word problems to Hidan*

Kakuzu: Okay, now; say I want to buy a sweater. The sweater costs $50. I manage to talk the store owner into giving me a 25% discount. How much is the discount, and how much do I end up paying for the sweater?

Hidan: *brow furrowed, writing it down on paper*

Hidan, out-loud: A 25% discount of $50 is $12.50. So you minus $12.50 from the original price of $50, and you pay … $37.50?

Kakuzu: Very good. Alright, now what if I find a tear in the sweater, and convince him to give me another 5% discount? What am I paying then?

Hidan: You’re … paying …5% of $37.50 is about $1.87. So minus that from $37.50 and you pay … about $35.63, maybe round it up to $35.65.

Kakuzu: Very, very good, Hidan. You’re getting so good with numbers.

Hidan: Yeah, but, I still need a fucking piece of paper to figure stuff out. You do everything in your head …

Kakuzu: Hidan. You went from having trouble with simple addition and subtraction to calculating percentages. Not only that but your reading has picked up so much …

Kakuzu: *hugs Hidan* I am so, so proud of you, brat.

Hidan, blushing: T-thanks, old man. Hey, how about a reward? Like, you buy me a new blade for my scythe?

Kakuzu: A blade for your scythe? The cheapest ones are like $200!

Hidan, writing on the paper again: Actually, that one weapons shop up the road is having a sale this weekend: 60% off a purchase of $300 or more. If you buy me two new blades, at $400 total, then your discount will be … $240. Minus that from $400, and you’d only be paying … $160. That’s $40 cheaper than it’d be for one!

Hidan, grabbing Kakuzu’s hand and pulling him towards the door: Shit, you’re right; math IS fun! Come on!

Kakuzu, sighing as he grabs his wallet: I think I’ve made a mistake …

This is for you, @ama-tera 😊

[bsaka7]

only 4more weeks of this posting godbless but anyway this marathon DOES have pace groups which i didn't realize but they're for 3:50 and 4:05....idek if that's normal but neither of those times are THAT useful for me

last race i ran a 4:04 (4:03:51) splitting like 2:05/1:59 for the halves...this course has a much more downhill second half (final 9mi almost all downhill). it's not a SUPER hilly course - 989ft total of elevation but that's not nothing. my GOAL is sub-4, my secondary time goal if i had one is probably sub-3:55. my sense is that going out with the 3:50 group would be a little too fast for me -- in training, i've been operating as if my MP is 9 flat and dropping to 8:45 to run with the 3:50 just seems like there's too much possibility for error. that being said my training has gone fucking amazing so far. and i have done one 20-miler where i split 8:51/8:57/8:54/8:52/8:43/8:41/8:37 for the last seven miles and i did not check my watch once it was just by feel and i was feeling awesome

i do no intentional running at MP and all my speedwork is with my track club. so maybe like. with the taper...that WOULD be there? but i also don't want to fuck up my race plan and hit the wall. my general strategy is the same as it is for every race which is like, first third hold back, second third maintain, last third push. at the same time i like. really don't know if i'm going to have the speedwork opportunities that i did this summer for like, a while (ever?), and i feel like i'm in amazing condition so i really do want to run my fastest possible race and feel like i don't have anything left in the tank (my first marathon which was a 4:34:51 jfjfjff i was like yeah i still have juice. the last one i had SOME but not a ton). this speed worry would be SLIGHTLY alleviated if i had raced a half (or any distance) during this build (my half pr is 1:53:27 from a race in spring 2023 but i've only run...4 halfs? and that was the only road half. i was in decent shape but nothing crazy). so anyway i don't really know what i'm capable of there either

my plan will probably just be to run my own race and aim for around a 2:00 first half of the race and then hope to reverse split again by a minute or two (i've reverse split every training long run so far + there will be that downhill so not too worried about that). and if it's a bit faster awesome! tbf during my last marathon i was like oh i'll run with the 4:30 pace group and then ditched them after like 1 mile but that race had 19k runners in it lmao so there were always people to chase. this one has about 1000. my first one had uh. 300. and you know. it's not like this is going to be my last marathon. already have my eye on one for next year! (and a trail half and depending on where I'm living I'd love to run a trail marathon. etc. and you know. maybe someday. a 50k. i got years baby! )

Edit: my dad's advice (i learned he has run 3 marathons - I thought he ran more!)

[spooksforsammy]

Yo, what’s the usual price for a high end AAC? I’m speech impaired as part of my autism, and speech therapy didn’t help me.

Hello anon. Apology for so much text but have lot say to try help!

Not fully sure what mean by high end. Think mean high tech.

Insurance can pay for speech generated devices but have very… strict requirements and likely won’t qualify. Would also need speech language pathologist (slp) to evaluate you (in us, not sure other countries).

Can create by self, but that price vary depending on what need. Best tablet is iPad, even though more expensive have more common and “better” apps (additive wave, TD Snap, touchchat, ect.) also have more of the free version.

Price change based on app (some like proloque2go have subscription of $250 but not sure is lifetime. Avaz have lifetime for $200, TD snap have lifetime for $50, touchchat have for $300)

And type tablet. Is recommended the AAC tablet is only for AAC though this commonly said for little kids (if see as game tablet might not want use communicate like meant for). Don’t need super high generation tablet for AAC unless want. Can buy generation 6/7 for $160-300 on Amazon. The newer iPad generation cost $400-600. If tablet for multiple, not just AAC then maybe get more storage/ newer generation.

Saw some say can diy (do it yourself) AAC for $500. This pay for

iPad:is brand new, price lower for refurbished(~$350)

Screen protector: (~$20)

Tablet case: (~$20)

Aac app: changes base on app, research price and type set up/ app need. For this we going use proloquo2go & touchchat

Proloquo2go: $250 half price $100

Touchchat: $300. Half price $150

The AAC apps go on sell during autism awareness month and AAC awareness month (April & October)

Total price for diy AAC including Proloquo2go is $640 or half price of $490

Total price for diy AAC including touchchat is $690 or half price of $540.

This just rough idea and price can go up and down based on actual needs.

Feel like highest price can be $1000 for diy and lowest be $300. Is no usual price which why explain all this.

And something not a lot talk about is that with AAC, will likely need speech therapist help learn use. Is okay if don’t, but if you need help and do speech therapy; get it. I have it and once have tablet my therapist going help get use, explain to family, add to iep and whatever else need

Hope this helps anon! Ask if have anymore questions

[moon-struck-net]

Yahoo Japan/Josei Jishin Interview July 4th 2023

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/1d9cf92309815982cc6fa71684362c64fc9763ea

Up until now, the impression I had of age 50 was "the end of your life". I was conscious of Oda Nobunaga's saying that "life has 50 years". But now I understand that "life has 50 years" doesn't mean you can only live for 50 years, it’s about how much can you get done before you're 50. You can't go back to being in your 30s or 40s. I came to feel that what's most important in life is how much you were able to run at full speed up to that point. 

Previously I had been wondering internally how much I could get done by age 30, and I thought that it would be downhill from there and end at 50. So honestly what I'm thinking now is "Somehow I'm still alive," and "I've made it this far," that kind of thing. 

GACKT had his 50th birthday on July 4th. The release of the long-awaited movie that he is starring in- "Fly Me To The Saitama: From Lake Biwa With Love" has been announced for November 23rd. GACKT had previously kept his age secret from the public, and first announced it in 2009 along with the production of the play Nemuri Kyoshiro Burai Hikae, which he was starring in. We asked his honest thoughts. 

The question of whether to announce my age or not wasn’t really on my mind. But at the time, I wondered if it might be time to say it. My fans didn't know either.

The producer I had back then happened to suggest that I tell people my age, so I said "Ok". It wasn't something I particularly wanted to hide. So then I think there were a lot of people who thought "Wait, he's younger than me? He acted like he was older (laughs)."

[Translator’s note: GACKT is talking about how in Japanese culture, younger people usually defer to people older than them, but GACKT was behaving as though he were the one with more seniority]

There was only one reason that I concealed my age. When I was 20 and I moved to Tokyo and started doing music, everyone around me was senior to me. So if I said how old I was I'd immediately be treated as a junior and they'd walk all over me. The roles of senpai (senior) and kouhai (junior) are just decided by age, right? If I said my age, people older than me disrespected me, so I never told anyone my age, outside of my band members at the time. So I made up that I was 448 years old.

If someone was like "You're definitely younger than me. If you're going to have a disrespectful attitude toward me, then I'll crush you," I'd be like "You wanna go then?" Back when I was in a band it was like that all the time.

Most years, GACKT celebrates his birthday with a private party

On July 4th I usually have a concert or a birthday event, and when that's all over and I'm tired out I have a private party. 300 to 400 people attend, so I prepare a large amount of alcohol. In the beginning it was wine, but for the last 12-13 years it's been tequila. Even if each person speaks for one minute, if 400 people are there it takes 400 minutes, 7 hours. It's tough to keep drinking wine for that long, right?

So I thought I'd make it a "tequila survival challenge" party for everyone to participate in. I contact people and tell them that only those who are always in a state of readiness should come. I make them sign a contract at the door too. Saying no matter what happens here it's their own responsibility.

When my birthday party begins, my friends come on stage and immediately drink 10 shots of tequila, so it's tough (laughs). So everyone rapidly fades. At the end only about 30 people remain. At the end everyone staggers home.

I'm all alone when everyone leaves. But I'm totally hyped up and can't sleep, so from morning I start texting everyone. Of course no one replies. When it gets to the afternoon, finally people gradually start to reply "Are you okay?" I reply "I've been texting people all morning. I'm lonely."

At those times I think, "Maybe this is what the battlefield is like." They say people who survived the war and came home, go back to the battlefield. They can't psychologically accept everyday life and feel a sense of emptiness. No one wants to drink any more, and it's not that I want to drink either, but I understand the feeling of wanting to return to an extreme situation. Though people will probably call me strange for thinking things like that (laughs)"

But, when I went on hiatus due to my health issues, I became unable to handle alcohol. I couldn’t drink 5 or 6 bottles of tequila like I used to. On my previous birthday, I only drank about 3.

At the end of last year, in an interview with this magazine, GACKT spoke of writing a will during his one year hiatus. It seems that ahead of turning 50 he had an opportunity to think about his end-of-life plans.

I wrote about 20 wills. Saying things like, "Divide my fortune like this, sell my cars". I wrote about leaving my pet dogs in the care of my sister and my staff, that kind of thing.

I've also told my sister about my burial. I said, "Scatter my ashes in the sea in Okinawa." I don't need a grave. I've never wanted one. I don't want people to visit my grave. It's enough if people will look at the sea and clasp their hands in prayer. I thought about this when buying graves for relatives and things like that. I don't want to be in a grave.

Every year I go back to Okinawa and clean my family's tomb. That's become my role now. I bring at least 20 to 30 staff and clean the graves.

I've been helping clean the graves since my late 20s, but everyone else in my family got old and couldn't do it any more.

Okinawan tombs are big in the first place. Ours is in the mountains, and was rebuilt because it was old, but it's still the size of this studio (where today's photo was taken).

It used to be bigger. I remember when I was 6. We'd go through the sugar cane fields in a car, and then walk the paths between the fields into the mountains, so it was a hard time even getting there. Moss and weeds would grow on the big tomb, and we had to clean off all the dirt too. We tried to go at times when habu (Okinawan pit vipers) wouldn’t come out.

There was an altar as well as the tomb, and the altar and the tomb are in different parts of Okinawa. My ancestors originated in the southern part of Okinawa. So the tomb is in the south, and because my great grandfather founded a town up north, the altar is in the north. So it's not possible to clean the tomb and the altar on a day trip. At the very beginning I went in a group of 6 people, but we couldn't finish and it took two and a half days just to clean the tomb.

I don't want the generation after me to have to do unpleasant things like that. If people have to keep organizing things every year after I die, that will be tough on them, right?

So scatter my ashes. I'll be happy if people come to the sea and I can say "I'm here". And if eventually people stop coming, it won't cause trouble for anyone.

[theterribletenno]

Zahhak, the Host of the Murmur Warframe

(based on submissions made by @dapperkobold and @infestedslime). Zahhak might be my personal favorite from this season, or maybe I just like warframes designed to kill legions of enemies with minimal effort. I'm literally pre-emptively baking an anti-afk clause into his shoulder turret so it's DE compliant. Zahhak is another frame associated with the Sanctum Anatomica bounty missions. Zahhak has a chance to appear as a bonus objective for any Sanctum Anatomica bounty as an additional boss encounter. Upon discovering the chamber the boss version of Zahhak is dwelling in he will attack the players with modified versions of his abilities and signature weapon. Zahhak has two stages to his fight which must be repeated three times in total. In phase one Zahhak summons a number of Hurling Fragments on the walls of the chamber he is currently in and becomes invulnerable to damage. Once all Hurling Fragments have been destroyed phase two begins; Zahhak's health becomes vulnerable but only to void damage. Any damage type other than void dealt to his health will be reduced to 1 and trigger a radiation pulse with high status chance, causing players to become vulnerable to friendly fire. When Zahhak's health is reduced by 33% he becomes vulnerable to a parazon finisher for 10 seconds. A successful parazon finisher will trigger the next phase of his fight and make the damage he took permanent. If a parazon finisher is not administered in time he will recover the third of his health he had lost and re-enter phase one. Every time he re-enters phase one the total number of Hurling Fragments summoned increases. On death Zahhak will drop an Entrati Lanthorn and one of his four blueprints, with all having equal probability. Zahhak can also be affected by warframe abilities that trigger extra drops for a chance at a second blueprint or Lanthorn.

Health: 270 (370 at rank 30) Shields: 370 (470 at rank 30) Armor: 300 Energy: 150 (200 at rank 30) Sprint Speed: 1.0

Passive: When Zahhak is in danger the symbiotic murmur fused to his body lash out to protect their host. While Zahhak is staggered, knocked down, or bleeding out the murmur fragments flail their arms, striking any enemy that comes within 5 meters of him with 300 impact damage while ragdolling them and knocking them away.

Ability 1: Conjoined Warden, 25 energy. One of the larger murmur entities now fused with Zahhak, the Conjoined Warden is based on the murmur foe The Severed Warden. Mounted on Zahhak's back the Conjoined Warden's three arms are able to attack foes within range and line of sight with aggressive void gestures without needing Zahhak's activation or direction. To prevent interference while aiming the arm which the void gesture attacks fire from is over the shoulder opposite of the player's camera, however switching camera position does not alter the behavior or targeting of the Conjoined Warden, only which of its arms is animated attacking. Normally the Conjoined Warden will target and attack a single randomly selected enemy within its valid attack range and change targets at 5-15 second intervals, however by tapping the ability key the player can select a target for the Conjoined Warden to target for the next 20 seconds or until the enemy dies or leaves valid targeting range. Manually targeted enemies take 50% bonus void gesture damage. Holding the ability key cycles between the Conjoined Warden's three void gesture attacks. Damage, status chance, critical chance, and critical multiplier for void gestures all scale with ability strength. Fire rate of Void gestures can be affected by ability casting speed but cannot exceed a 25% increase in fire rate.

-ZUR: A void gesture with short range but unavoidable deadly effect. ZUR fires a continuous beam of energy at an enemy within 15 meters dealing 75+X (where X is equal to the enemy's level times 5) radiation damage at a rate of 12 ticks per second with 10% status chance, 25% critical chance and a 2.5x critical multiplier. ZUR can fire for up to 12 seconds continuously before needing a 3 second recharge. -PTAK: A far-reaching void gesture which is very powerful, but slow and innacurate. PTAK has both a maximum and minimum range, only able to fire at enemies that are between 15 and 60 meters away from Zahhak. Once every 10 seconds PTAK fires a large, slow-moving projectile that explodes on contact with any surface dealing 5,000+X (where X is equal to the enemy's level times 10) magnetic damage in a 7.5 meter radius with 100% status chance, 5% critical chance and a 1.5x critical multiplier as well as inflicting a guaranteed stagger. -ORARA: A void gesture which is accurate even at long range but is less lethal. Fires a four-round burst of hitscan projectiles at enemies up to 60 meters away once every three seconds. Each round in the burst deals 100+X (where X is equal to the enemy's level) impact and 100+X (where X is equal to the enemy's level) puncture damage with 50% status chance, 20% critical chance and a 2x critical multiplier.

To prevent AFK farming the Conjoined Warden will cease fire if Zahhak has not fulfilled at least one of the following for more than 15 seconds -Manually activated an ability -Moved at least 10 meters in any direction -Dealt weapon damage to an enemy Conjoined Warden will resume firing once any of these three conditions has been met.

Ability 2: Engorged Vein, 50 energy. Zahhak is encircled by a docile murmur symbiote based on The Hollow Vein, creating a new layer of protection for himself. Engorged Vein has two effects. First, upon activation Zahhak gains 1,000 points of overguard. Engorged Vein cannot grant overguard if Zahhak's current overguard value exceeds 10,000. Second, for 12 seconds after Engorged Vein is activated he will release a 15 meter pulse of radiation every time he takes damage, up to a maximum of once per second. The pulse deals 50 radiation damage with 75% status chance to enemies not yet affected by radiation status proc, and 200 radiation damage with 25% status chance to irradiated foes.

Ability 3: Atomizer, 75 energy. Zahhak temporarily separates a murmur fragment from himself visually similar to a shrunken down murmur Anatomizer which then becomes stationary and attacks enemies with a copy of the void gesture currently selected by Zahhak's Conjoined Warden ability. The Atomizer lasts for up to 10 seconds. Only one Atomizer can be active at a time. The behavior of the Atomizer's void gesture is identical to the original but there is no way to cause it to prioritize a selected target.

Ability 4: United Horde, 100 energy. Letting indifferent void energy course through him, Zahhak brings the murmur parasites that replaced his flesh to a fervor, causing them to outstretch their opalescent silver arms and begin releasing void gestures for the next 10 seconds at the cost of a 50% penalty to movement speed. A total of 12 extra murmur arms will emerge from Zahhak's body, each one able to use one void gesture. Each arm of the United Horde has behavior identical to one of the Conjoined Warden's void gestures but there is no way to cause them to prioritize a selected target. Ability strength mods will increase the number of arms activated by the United Horde.

Subsumed ability: Engorged Vein

Signature Weapon Empty Embrace: A cruel, imperfect imitation of hands. Zahhak uses these hooked murmur fingers to protect his own hands in combat. Claw-type melee weapon, average per-hit damage and attack speed but slightly above average reach and follow-through, extremely high status chance at the cost of very low critical chance and below average critical multiplier. Deals roughly equal values of impact, puncture, slash, and magnetic damage with a slight bias towards magnetic and puncture and away from impact and slash. As a special unique feature heavy attacks pull in nearby enemies with a pulse of magnetic attraction while channeling. As Zahhak's signature weapon these claws have increased parrying angle in his hands.

Closing Notes: Oh my god like half of this text is for one ability lol. I admit, I made Zahhak using a very old-school formula that is essentially built around using escalating versions of the same ability. It's something you saw a lot of in the first generation warframes. As usual my priority is fun and novelty not meta-enslavement or perfection. If you're worried about the void gestures being overpowered I ran a few calculations along the way and even the strongest of them only does a fraction of a similar primary weapon with good modding. Oh yeah, and Zahhak's name is taken from an evil sorcerer from Persian mythology.

[millepara]

Biscuit got gold yesterday 🥇 I assumed it was at 51 so I was pleasantly surprised!! ...at first.

turns out that it takes like 60000 iine to rank up as soon as you hit gold (not a gradual increase, like is normal for any other game in the world). that's like 7 hosted promises vs. the 2 it takes for silver :( with the promise success rate, it's a total slog. then I was thinking, "well, that must mean the rewards increase too! like maybe we get 5 tickets instead of 3!!" nah, it's still 3. lmao

for those who get fired up about score data like I do, there are two bonuses within the rhythm game itself that are affected by your rank. (which I somehow totally missed when I made that long post abt scores before.) (even though it's exactly like the arcade game so I have no excuse for overlooking it.) one is during the appeal and one is during the making drama. it's +50 for bronze rank, +100 for silver, and +200!! for gold (x2 for both bonuses). so if you let me join your promise I can bring you an extra 200 or 300 iine yay :)))) doesn't make up for the sudden jump in rank up difficulty though!!

[arosnowflake]

Experiences so far trying to find fics centered around female characters in the LOZ fandom:

Zelda (BOTW, pre-TOTK release fics only): Easiest so far but still insultingly difficult. What really got me was that a very large majority of fics that DID feature her prominently at least partly revolved around Link as well. Link, on the other hand, had plenty of fics centering him where Zelda wasn't the co-star.

Zelda (A Link to the Past): Paltry. From the top of my head I can think of like one fic centered on her. Tbh she barely even appears once you filter out the zelink. To be fair it's been a while since I checked and I might be misremembering.

Zelda (Ocarina of Time): Trawling through Link Angst and badly tagged porn. Lost my patience and straight-up filtered Link out as a character. Still was like 30-50% 'Sheik as a different character' fics.

Riju (pre-TOTK fics): Filtered Link out as well because it was impossible otherwise. Age of Calamity is carrying the Riju fic industry. Sadly I haven't played that.

Impa (Skyward Sword): Lol. Lmao, even. I even left the zelink in this time and still got a total of. Five? Maybe six fics featuring Impa as a central character. Exact number could be off but it definitely wasn't more than ten. Link Angst fics 'dealing' with that time she was rude to him easily outnumbered them. There are 300+ fics in the tag.

Marin: Surprisingly okay once you filter out the TWO THIRDS LINKED UNIVERSE MAJORITY

[trainofcommand]

Fic Writing Review 2023

tagged by @chaos-monkeyy - thank you and dang, you're right, I do love excuses for stats and graphs and suchlike! You know me so well.

AO3 writing stats

204 630 words (this number astonishes me, tbh), and 85 fanworks (including 6 collabs!!), for an average of 2407 words per work.

Shortest fic: 100 words; Longest fic: 9208 words (collab); 6290 words (non-collab).

I wrote m/m, f/f, m/f, multi, other, and gen categories (neat!)

I dabbled a little in graphics stuff and made some moodboards, so the fanworks breakdown is: 84 fic entries, 1 graphic entry.

Top 5 works by kudos

Lost Somewhere (Fellow Travelers) -> I am a bit surprised that this was my most kudos'd fic! Surprised in a good way!

On the Job (Stargate Atlantis AU)

The Line is Thin, Now (Stargate Atlantis)

Seasonality (Stargate Atlantis)

Down to Earth (Stargate Atlantis AU)

I made a chart and all (gosh, what does it kind of look like???):

Fandoms

I primarily wrote in Stargate Atlantis fandom (surprise!), but I branched out a bit too! Other fandoms were (in order most frequently->least frequently and then alphabetically when tied): Stargate SG1; Original Fiction; Peacemaker; Star Trek: Strange New Worlds; Who is Erin Carter?; Coffin Jackson; due South (crossover with SGA/SG1); Echoes; Firefly; Star Trek: Picard; Star Trek: TNG (crossover with SGA).

Most frequent fandoms

Stargate Atlantis (66)

Stargate SG1 (13)

Original work (4) (!!)

Peacemaker, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and Who is Erin Carter? all tie for 4th place, with 2 fics each

Tags and more!

Most-written characters

John Sheppard (50) (wtf, I thought it would be Lorne) (I'm falling down on the Lorne job here) (Lorne would probably look at me sternly) (oh no, terrible)

Evan Lorne (43) (okay, that's not bad, though)

Rodney McKay (26)

Ronon Dex (16)

Teyla Emmagan (15)

Most-written ships

Evan Lorne/John Sheppard (16)

Evan Lorne/Rodney McKay (8)

Rodney McKay/John Sheppard (7) and Cameron Mitchell/John Sheppard (7)

Ronon Dex/Evan Lorne (6)

John Sheppard/Todd the Wraith (5)

Top Additional Tags

Blow Jobs (21) (shock! le gasp!) (25% of my 2023 fics)

Alternate Universe (15) (yeah, that checks out)

Dubious consent (14) (yeah, that really checks out)

Maybe it's pushing it, but I think I need to include Humor here too, because it turns out I used it 9 times.

Ratings breakdown

Explicit and Teen+ tie at 32 works each. Mature = 14. General Audiences = 7.

A few other things

I wrote 26 gift fics (most for exchanges or organized events), and wrote 5 things for the Stargate Kink Meme. I had set a mini-goal of trying to reach a total of 300 works on AO3 this year. I didn't make it, but I did get to 298 (with a last-minute addition yesterday), which is pretty sweet.

Tag taggy tag-tag: Anyone who wants to do this! And go nuts! Here are some guidelines/rules if you want them!

Feel free to show whatever stats you have. Only want to show Ao3 stats? Rock on. Want to include some quantitative info instead of stats? Please do this. Want to change how yours is presented? Absolutely do that. Would rather eat glass than do this? Please don’t eat glass but don’t feel like you have to do this either.

[kernels-art]

Emergency Commissions

Current Slots Open: 2/3

Long story short, I'm hovering just over broke and I need to pay for medicine. Plasma donations can cover some of it, but not all.

I'm opening three slots for now, and plan on opening at least seven in total, maybe eight or nine depending on complexity, but that'll be a bit further in the future because I'm currently on a bit of a time crunch. I'll keep this post updated with how many slots are available. I'd like to make $300 total by the time all seven/nine are done.

Anyway, on to pricing.

---------

Sketch + Headshot = $15

Sketch + Bust = $20

Sketch + Half Body = $25

Sketch + Full Body = $35

---

Lineart + Headshot = $30

Lineart + Bust = $35

Lineart + Half Body = $50

Lineart + Full Body = $60

---

(Color + Shading) + Headshot = $40

(Color + Shading) + Bust = $45

(Color + Shading) + Half Body= $65

(Color + Shading) + Full Body = $75

---

+ Extra Character: 50% before background

+ Simple Background: $30

+ Foreground Elements + Large Props: $30

---------

Examples:

---------

One important thing to remember, though, is that I do traditional art, not digital. I've tried swapping to digital a few times, but it's faster and easier for me to do it this way. The lighting on these example pieces aren't all great, but I will hold them to a higher standard - as in, they'll be clean, like the lighting of the rabbit characters' pages - since these aren't just personal projects and clarity matters a lot more in this context.

I can edit the photos to remove the white "background" of the page and alter the colors a little bit, but once the lineart is on, it's on, and there's no changing it without redoing the entire page. I have a light board, so it can be transferred fairly easily, but it will still take time. That's why it's the most expensive step.

Will draw:

Humanoids

Animals

Pokemon

Ponies

Slugcats

Iterators

Furries (Mutants included)

Mobians (separate bc their proportions are different)

Chao

Skeletons + other Monsters (UTMV)

Won't draw:

Mecha

NSFW

Comics

... Mainly bc I'm not used to these yet, although maybe I could try in the future. That's quite a ways off from now, though.

I reserve the right to turn down any offer at my discretion. It should go without saying that it will be an automatic rejection if the order includes any form of hate speech/symbol, and I will research the subject to avoid proship content as well.

I'll ask you before posting the finished piece, and you are free to post it separately as well. Just remember to credit me, and maybe mention somewhere that my comms are open, if that's not too much trouble. You can use the art for icons, character sheets, whatever you like, as long as it's not monetized.

Payments will be made over P@yp@l, and are listed here in US dollars.

If you're interested, DM me here, or on Discord @ kernelbastard

[brxkxnhxxrtsclxb]

with the drop of the addams family skullector set, i checked mercari out of curiosity yesterday and just now…

SIGH

why buy from scalpers ?? :(( why are there listings going for $170+ and SOLD ??!! that’s double the price !! they were $90 !!!!!

i know it’s so easy to say “where else are we suppose to get them from” — like obviously resellers BUT you don’t have to pay those atrocious prices. even if you have the money, SAVE IT !! the extra money you’re putting into that set can be used for a different doll you want !! (even more so with dolls being pumped out so quickly and close together)

like, please be patient. if you can wait for release dates, you can wait for prices to lower. if no one buys from scalpers, they’ll have no choice but to lower their prices cuz they’re not gonna want to sit around with boxes upon boxes of unsold dolls they DO NOT WANT

we know this works. the proof? the bride of chucky skullector set. a lot of people didn’t like them so there was less chance of them dumping $200+ on them. with no one buying them, look at them now. they’re selling for retail price, sometimes even LESS. initially when they came out there were fresh ebay listings that had them for $300+ so we know not buying works !!

again, please don’t buy from scalpers, they’ll lower their prices if you don’t. there’s no reason to pay so much money. this hobby is suppose to be fun and NOT expensive. and it really isn’t. save for dolls and buy what you like. you’re not gonna like or need every release. i know i didn’t (lenore, outta fright operetta, creature skullector), so i skipped those and feel like i missed nothing. for play line dolls, they’re widely available for over a year and sales happen sometimes. it’s okay to wait !! when you were a kid, you didn’t get every doll, so why do you want every single one now ?? you don’t . do you actually want that doll, or is it just hype ?? if i went by hype, i’d have every single G3 doll and that’s… a lot. way too many, so buy what you like !!

(i honestly wouldn’t have bought every G3 draculaura doll if buying her clothes and accessories separately wasn’t for a total of $30+. at that point it’s cheaper to get a new doll. we’re in dire need of fashion packs >.< i just want her to have a cute wardrobe T_T but that’s beside the point)

there’s no reason to pay ridiculous prices for a doll. take haunt couture draculaura for example. she was $75. she’s going for $300+ so people say that’s her value. i personally believe that “value” isn’t real. it’s just something we made up along the way. HC drac has a value of $75 cuz that’s what she costed. i see listings going (and sold unfortunately) for $300+ and she’s NOT in box or her box is scuffed, or her stand is broken. like be so fr. her being out of box, box is scuffed or stand is broken… by this logic shouldn’t that decrease her value ?? out of box ?? $60. scuffed box ?? $65. broken stand or missing pieces ?? $50 (or less depending how much she’s missing tbh). why ?? cuz if you had bought her brand new for $75, she would’ve came with everything and in her box and a less chance of her box being damaged (it happens but not always). she would be fine, so why pay $300+ for an incomplete doll ?? even brand new in box, she was $75. maybe a little more cuz collector and so people get back what they initially spent with taxes and shipping. anything else is overboard (even more so when the rest of the dolls from the same line do NOT go for that much). scalpers see people are willing to pay these prices, so they keep doing what they’re doing. please stop encouraging them. scalpers set the price and collectors perpetuate it

“some releases only increase over time” — because people won’t stop paying those prices. the more we pay, the more prices rise. they’ll keep pushing it because they can and we let them know it’s okay. i hate that people miss out on drops of dolls they actually love and want because scalpers buy them all. sure you could argue that’s no one’s fault and it isn’t… until we give into buying from them. again, we let them think it’s okay, so they keep doing it. missing out is already bad enough, but knowing you missed out because a fellow collector who loves the dolls got them over a scalper is less painful and we’re happy for our fellow collector. a collector having a doll isn’t gonna make another angry. it’s the scalpers who do. that’s different

point is: this hobby should be fun and not cost you a pretty penny and requires patience. desperation is not an excuse to pay those prices. again, if you can wait for release dates, you can wait for prices to lower

[acnelli]

20 questions for fic writers!

Thank you so much for tagging me @cassiaratheslytherpuff :)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

25, but two of them are collections of microfics (up to 50 words per story) and little ficlets (up to 300 words) I write every now and then for challenges in a HP fanfic discord server.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

60,754

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Only for a Harry Potter so far.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

My Boyfriend (Harry/Ron, 7k+, E)

Another Shot (Ron/Draco, 4K+, E)

First Time Falling (Harry/Ron, 3k+, T)

Small Delights (31 microfics with various ships and ratings)

A Favourite (Hermione/Ron, 2k+, T)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do reply to all comments because they brighten my day whenever I get them. I don’t think that writers have to respond though. Writers invest a lot of time and creativity to create something for us for free and our payment is kudos & comments. That’s fair imo ;)

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably My Boyfriend

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I guess almost all of my fics.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I got hate on one fic that touches on a difficult topic, but I was smart enough to enable comment moderation for that fic, and I also tried AO3s block feature for the first time :)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do, but I’m still kinda newish to write it. Check out my E-rates fics and you know what kind haha.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Didn’t write a crossover yet.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I know.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No. And I don’t think I would have much fun. Too much pressure to get ready with my part(s).

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

First place gets shared by Romione and Ronarry. Though I shipped Romione already while reading the books, so…it’s probably Romione.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Just have drafts so far. I have so many ideas for multi chapter fics, but my writing muse is still on strike rn.

16. What are your writing strengths?

To describe feelings, I suppose.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Unfortunately, I’m not good at outlining fics. That’s why I had never written more than a one-shot haha.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I’m learning italian rn, so maybe one or two sentences might make it into a fic one day.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Twilight. Left that fandom pretty fast though and the fics were deleted a loooong time ago.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

That’s a tough one. My Boyfriend definitely is one of my favs, but I loved writing Orchestra. It’s not really one of my more popular fics, but I think I did a good job with it and I’m still very proud.

Tagging @reallybeth9 @voldemorts-tap-shoes @adenei @lumosatnight to answer the questions too if you like.

P.S Four Gallons of Oblivious by @cassiaratheslytherpuff is a masterpiece and one of my all time favs <3

[vodid]

in a bit of a pickle. i'd like to design jazz/prowl pride stickers. same design, different flag. i'd like to use 6–8 flags, which would mean 6–8 different stickers to choose from

i'm unsure if i should make individual stickers for each flag or if i should get a sticker sheet and cut them up that way. on one hand, individual would allow for an easier way to make more designs but would cost more total (i have to buy a minimum of 50 per design so i'd have to ask for help with funding), while on the other hand, a sticker sheet would be cheaper (because it only requires a minimum of 25) but it would be less ideal for adding additional designs ...and i'd have to cut them into blocky kiss-cuts

its a matter of "do i want 300+ stickers on my hands or only what i need" LMAO to put it simply, 50 stickers per design x 6 designs = 300 total, would cost me $278, while 25 sticker sheets with 6 designs would be $61.

i guess a lot of it is down to personal preference. i do really want to make individual stickers but sticker sheets would be cheaper, even if less practical

maybe i'm overthinking it

[eternitysoup]

As I write this, my stomach is killing me because I had to stay up late and drink a RedBull and eat some donuts. What was I thinking? Anyway, onto my thoughts this morning.

Frugality is a hard necessity to master. Or maybe I'm just stressing because it's the 1st of the month, and I'm paying off some debts while watching our paycheck shrink just hours after it hit the bank. The first thing we did was pay back my sister and our neighbor: $300 and $420, respectively. They are great lifelines for loans when we need them, and I don't want to jeopardize anything like that. Someone who will lend you a few hundred bucks until payday without interest is just indispensable in these times.

The second thing I did was pay off the phone bill entirely. I had been making half payments on it for a while, but it didn't stop them from cutting it off last week. So this paycheck, I doubled up and paid everything off, past due $108, and current due $118, so I don't owe anything more until May. Having a phone is very important, even if I never leave my house. Also saw a notice that they are raising their base prices on my bill. Fun.

The third bill to be taken care of this morning is the electric bill. I'm still so miffed that last month, TXU charged me $25 because they charged my empty debit card instead of using the checking account I know I had set up in their app. I blame them, but I probably missed a step or a button somewhere.

After paying the electric bill, I took care of the Xfinity bill for $144 since it was due on the 3rd anyway.

I sat down and started going over our monthly pet supply order from Chewy. The dog needs new supplements, and we have to buy different cat food this time since it seems like the little girl cat throws up with the current brand. We're switching from Iams to PurinaOne this month to see how it does, and it's also on sale for a good price.

Funny thing, while I was doing my Chewy order, it said, "Orders over $100 get a free $30 gift card," so I used the promo code, and it increased my total amount. They charged me more tax and also took away my other discounts for brand loyalty with our American Journey dog food. My order was $280 before the promo and $285 after it. I opted to keep the promo, though, because I'm still ahead $25 with how it all shakes out, and the gift card will definitely be used in May.

That just leaves rent for $897, four credit card payments of about $50 each, and various small subscriptions like Hulu ($9), PS Plus ($17), YouTube ($25), and my FFXIV subscription ($15). I'm also aiming to put $100 in savings. So that leaves about $557 for the month for food, household items, or anything else that may come up. I definitely don't want to spend that entire remainder if I don't have to.

Side note: Absolutely forgot we have to return the old comcast equipment, still. Some of that stuff has been in our closet a year.

[abarbaricyalp]

Hey! I absolutely adore your fanfics and I've started to come up with ideas for my own fics but somehow I'm stuck at actually writing them down in a fully formed version, I just have vague plot ideas and moments I want to happen in the fic but actually transforming it into a fanfic feels impossible to me -- I have a few lines here and there written out, but those are just tiny scenes. Maybe I just lack the creative drive and I'm simply not a writer. Still, I wanted to ask, do you have any advice for anyone who wants to get into fanfic writing? Where do you draw inspiration from?

Thank you so much for such kind words! I'm so glad my stories resonate with you! ❤️ And it's so exciting to hear that you're venturing into your own story making 🎉🎉🎉🎉

I've been thinking about this question since I saw it and I think my answer boils down to "you have to train your brain to be open and be thinking constantly." (Of course, by constantly, I don't mean you have to be taxing and straining yourself every single moment) Being a writer feels like a full time job (or hobby!) sometimes because my brain is always going. Does that streetlight inspire something? Is that weird tree a candidate for a new character? Was that joke funny enough to use in a fic? Do I wanna set something in an antique store just to include this weird timelessness vertigo I have? I'm gonna take a picture of that "cow crossing" road sign to use later.

I have been writing for as long as I can remember. I have distinct memories of being five years old and squirreling away stories in drawers all over the house. I've always been a voracious reader. My inner voice never stops. And my imagination has always been stronger than my attention span 😄 All of this to say, it feels like stories come pretty naturally to me, but that's because I've been making them up my whole life. I'm very sorry if this is not so helpful.

One starting point I've often come back to (even as a long time writer) is to WRITE stories the way you TELL stories. How do you talk to your family or friends when you're recounting an event? That's telling stories. How would you explain something you saw to someone taking a statement? That's telling stories. How do you recap an episode of TV or a book you read? That's telling stories. Sure, it's not as flashy and verbose as some written fiction, but it's still telling stories. And you may find that that is a voice you relate to as you're writing. Plenty of authors have a straight forward style. The more you stretch that story telling muscle, the more likely you are to find the rhythm of the story and your voice. If you're finding it difficult or daunting to write down a whole idea at once or you can't find the link between A and D, write down how you would describe it to someone. Nothing ever has to be a final draft, certainly not a first draft.

Similarly, start small. I can't tell you how many of my stories began as single lines of dialog or a quick scene image. It's totally fine to write 50, 100, 200, 300 words because that small aspect interested you. (It's fine to post that! If that's all you want to say or share about it!) I have a whole file of small moments like that, which I go through every now and then to see if the rest of the story has found me yet. Quite often, I think you may find that as you sit with a line or an image for a while, something else is going to slot into place. Maybe not the exact next line, maybe just a plot idea, maybe a character dynamic or new relationship. Let these things come to you. Or write down your idea and then just keep typing, even if it makes no sense. Writing is kind of like fishing sometimes. I just keep casting my hook out and waving the pole around until it catches on something. (You know, how normal people fish) Inspiration is important, but it's not the be-all and end-all of writing. Unfortunately, it's usually just the bait on the line. Writing can be a bit of work. You have to put in the effort after an idea grabs you and you have to keep writing on your own. There is, unfortunately, no divine delivery most of the time.

Inspiration is one of those things that you have to train your brain for. (Seems counterintuitive, I know) But hear me out: in any given day, an author will experience the same sights, sounds, news, movies, songs, and phenomena that every else around them does. Any of those things can trigger you into saying, "wait, this could be a story." I have plenty of posts on here where I talk about AUs based on movies or songs or video games because at the moment it struck me that this situation could be repurposed for a fic or a story. Interacting with other art in the world and learning to recognize tropes, emotional triggers, arcs, plots, conflicts etc etc and then how to play with and break them is definitely one way to train yourself to be open to Inspiration and new ideas.

Once you do have an idea, write it down. I promise you will not remember it, no matter how cool it was. Keep some paper or a designated notes app for these things. Be as thorough or vague as you like. I have so many random lines, character names, AUs, plots, and images saved. Ponder these things, especially if you're really grabbed by one. Think about what you would like to see with it. Who else is filling out the space? What is the end goal? Writing is full of big questions that may be answered easily, may need to be forced through, or may need to sit back and rest for a moment. I wish I had better advice here, but it really is just that sitting with your inspiration for a while can help your ideas so much, especially if you're stuck. Ideas want to talk to you. They (you) just need to find the words.

So inspiration doth strike. Now what? Like I said, now is the work. A whole fic will likely never come to you all at once. Take what you know of the fic-- your lines, your images, your trope etc-- and write them out. Then begin making the connective webs inbetween. This where the verbal story telling comes in. Quick lines often blossom into full scenes. Even if they don't, no biggie. You're learning the story here. You're getting to know it. You wouldn't expect to understand a person fully upon just meeting them. I've even created outlines before with my big ideas, then just kept getting more specific in the subheadings until much of the full plot was there and waiting.

This takes practice. Finding (and trusting) your creative voice is a skill that can be worked out the same as any muscle, but you do have to put in some hard work with slow results. Don't be afraid to backspace or go in a different direction. I can't tell you how many of my stories were supposed to be one thing but ended up going in a completely different direction to great results. Tell It To The Bees was supposed to be a quick, goofy Three (or five) And One story about Bucky getting caught talking to the bees, very silly and light, but once I started writing it, it became such a different story and I think it's so much better for it. Inspiration, imagination, interest, and desire are all working in tandem (or fighting) as you write. Along with learning to be open to inspiration, you must also learn to listen to these instincts as you write. Which really just takes practice and trust. I'm sure you are already in tune with these things inside of you. Let them roam as you write too.

It sounds like your creative voice is awake and kicking! Now it's just about putting in work-- pay attention to the world and art around you, write often and badly and slowly and smally, and figure out what connective webbing looks like for you. Stories really are living things. You have to give them the space, attention, resources, and love to grow, and you have to help them along. Don't be discouraged that you're just beginning this journey but can't sprint to the finish line right now. Writers are also living things, who need space, attention, resources, and love to grow 😊 Just keep writing and taking risks and you'll see a pay off.

Oh! And READ! READ EVERYTHING. Creativity rarely grows in a vacuum. You have to see good art to make good art. You won't know what possibilities are unless you're out seeing what other people are doing. A certain turn of phrase, a camera movement, character interactions, descriptions, these all can inspire you or just give you the knowledge and confidence to grow as a writer. Read everything you want, watch everything you like, listen to music and pay attention to the lyrics or the instrumentals, devour podcasts and news stories, go to art museums and make up stories to go along with the pictures. The whole world is there to teach you and help you grow.