#like unless you don't have the $30 you need to buy one there's no reason not to buy one if you want one.

[giantkillerjack]

Reblogging this today to add a reminder that if able-bodied people buy shower chairs just because they want them, then the companies who make those chairs will make more, which is bad because then the world will have more shower chairs, which would hurt a LOT of people, somehow, probably!

(Same for when people with perfect vision wear decorative glasses or non-prescription sunglasses! They are selfish impostors stealing from the truly pitiable virtuous!!)

Sure, YOU might be more comfortable; you might enjoy yourself more taking your daily shower, but at what cost??

Are you SURE you want to risk making your bathroom more accessible for any disabled guests you have??

We can't have disabled people thinking that they can just give up and use readily available mobility aids by treating those items as normal household objects with no shame attached!

Disabled people need shame! How else will they be motivated to stop being disabled??

Anyway, all this is just to say, if you're thinking about getting a shower chair, definitely DON'T!!!

You shouldn't get a wheelchair, walker, cane, shower chair, or any kind of assistive technology mobility aid because then you might become dependent on them. Just like how you also shouldn't get glasses if you have bad eyesight because then you might become dependent on those.

For instance, if you end up stuck using corrective eyewear, you could actually lose your ability to tell what things are even when they are extremely blurry! You need to get used to having migraines from seeing unclearly because if you wear glasses all the time, you are basically giving up!! You don't need to see things coming at you from far away! You just need to get good at dodging, and if you can't, then you have no one to blame but yourself!!

For example, I read a really heart-worming article recently about a girl who was stuck using glasses - just absolutely, tragically trapped in her eyewear from dawn to dusk, even though she was good and never ever complained; and I heard she trained herself to discern the blurry faces of her loved ones with 60% accuracy! - she was even able to walk down the aisle at her wedding WITHOUT forcing the discomfort of seeing a woman in glasses on all her guests!!

Sure, she had to give her vows with a splitting headache, and she couldn't see her husband's expression when he said "I do," but overall, SO inspi-ration-al!!! So up-lifting!!

(She didn't even have to use a seeing eye cane, which would have been the worst-case scenario, obviously, because she worked hard to make sure she looked LESS disabled, not MORE disabled!!! Everyone knows blind people exist solely to be a cautionary tale to sighted people!!)

Also, did you know some people get glasses when they only need them a little bit?? How selfish of them! Sure, there's not a shortage, and an increase in demand would result in overall increased accessibility to glasses--but emotionally it's like taking glasses away from someone who needs them more! After all, if everyone who needed glasses got them, then...... um...... more people would have glasses! Which is probably bad!!!!

I also had a friend who was trapped in glasses who saved up all her money for laser eye surgery, and I don't know why everyone doesn't just do that! Sure, some doctors say some people don't "qualify" and it "won't help" those people, but that's why you can't give up!! You don't want to be one of those people!

After all, what's the worst thing that could happen with an unnecessary laser surgery to the face that comes with crippling debt??? It's worth the risk to gain your FREEDOM back, and I'm so proud of my friend!!

Tragically, she did die later that year while driving Uber and squinting at street signs, but at least now I know my friend is finally free from the shackles of her terrible eyesight. #ripAshley #rippedAshley #justripit 😌😌😌❤😇😇😇

And that's why you shouldn't get used to using a mobility aid!! Because, like glasses, they are inherently embarrassing to be seen with; and - like glasses - it is more noble to suffer silently than to depend on unnatural technologies that force you to rely on them; AND - just like glasses - by abstaining from using them, you DEFINITELY benefit SO many people in tangible life-changing ways!!! (Besides, everyone else will be so much more comfortable if you just look normal! 😊)

I hope you learned something today. 💖

[r0-boat]

Super Basic WHB guide in the easiest way on how to get keys

This is especially for newer people going into whb

HOARD EVERYTHING!!

These red gems are your primary currency. It's not like obey me, where You can use these suckers to exchange for demon ass... No, it's more like Genshin Impact. You still want to hoard these red gems because you can buy keys with these Oh my God do not use it to buy anything else.

You used to buy 30 red keys (equal to 10 summon more on keys later) in the pancake shop But this has changed pancakes are still kind of good I guess... Because with enough you can purchase a whole legendary character but that's for people who have them...

Money and books are super worthless The only reason why you're going to have so many is because you're going to be grinding these battles. Trust me you're going to want to!

You're not going to have Solomon seals often and when you do there's highly likely a chance you probably won't get anything So really save your seals with everything you have unless you want something you really want

50 seals = 1 summon

500 seals= 10 summons

So you need.... A lot of seals. It's not worth just to summon just hoard them until you have about over a thousand... Hoard them with everything you have

DO NOT USE SEALS ON CHARACTERS THAT WILL BE SUMMONABLE 3 MONTHS AFTER.

Now keys!!✨✨✨✨❤️

Yellow keys are not as good as red keys but they're still pretty good. You also get them more often than red keys. You can use as many of these greater keys as you want though you're not going to get a lot of good stuff.

Red keys however... Save them save them like your life depends on it. Only summon them when a character comes out The only way to get keys is to have characters...

Now I don't see a lot of people talk about how to get keys per se... So here's how you get red keys.

Every character as rank and up has an affinity button... Which mostly just talks about useless shit occasionally a comic or a chat depending on the character.... But no one cares about that.

If you click on it and scroll that bar goes all the way to 100.

ALL CHARACTERS GIVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF KEYS SO IN REALITY S RANK CHARACTERS ARE BETTER BECAUSE THEY AREN'T AS RARE AS L CHARACTERS.

They only give you keys three/two times per character

characters give one 100 greater (yellow) keys

And 21 red (lesser)keys

It's not enough red keys yes but you still get those greater keys which you could possibly use to summon hopefully getting an S rank character...

Edit:

Well Ro what did you do when you started the game?

Do not use your red keys You should be only using your yellow keys unless a legendary character you like is coming out!!

make sure You complete the weekly and daily missions for those red guilty gems and the little bits of keys they give you

*************************************************

It's not as in-depth as I want it to be but this is just the basics.

What does that mean for Pretty Busy?

Pretty Busy should release more S rank characters alongside there L ranks than just one really hard to get L rank character per month.

[alpaca-clouds]

Trying to figure out Gortash's backstory

As I said before, I am right now very much inspired to write a redemption story for Gortash. Like post-canon, Gortash lives AU (because I still hate that he dies), and he actually gets a chance to redeem himself. Not only like: He turns good, but he actually does something good enough to be considered a redemption. And he does so without dying.

But... Yeah, that story is going to be from Gortash's POV, which means that I very much need to come up with some fillings for the big ass holes that the game leaves in terms of his backstory.

We don't know how old he is, but I would estimate him to be around his late 30s or early 40s. Which means we kinda have like 20 years to fill up.

While the entire timeline of Raphael "buying" him from his parents and him escaping the hell is very vague, he was probably somewhere between 18 and 20 when he got out of the hells. And the exact stuff what happened in between is vague. Even how he escaped the hells is not quite clear. I mean, was Helsink responsible for that? Or how did he get out?

And then he starts to do illegal weapons trading once he is back in Baldur's Gate. Which is fair. I am going to assume that he is actually going to throw some stuff in there that is of his own making, given that he clearly is a tinkerer.

Given Karlach is 30, I do not think he hired her before she was 15, so at max she has worked for him just a couple of years.

I mean, technically those details don't matter. What does matter however is: How does he become a Chosen of Bane, and how does he get into contact with the Dark Urge?

As quite a few people have pointed out: Technically the Dark Urge existing is very confusing given that they have been created by Bhaal and Bhaal was dead for about a hundred years until ten years ago. So unless Durge is ten years old, this does not fully make sense. Sure, technically speaking Durge could be immortal, I guess, but... Well.

See, the issue I see with Gortash is, that I just do not pick him as the religious type. I do not see him going to the Banite church and actually give enough fucks to make himself a name in the church and after some great show of faith getting the status of chosen. I mean, if you talk to him, he just... Ketheric is devoted to Myrkul, sure. And Orin was indoctrinated into the Bhaalist cult from her birth onward. But Gortash? He would follow nearly every god if that god gave him powers. At least that is my reading of him. Sure, the entire tyrant thing plays well with his pompous and kinda narcissistic personality (and I mean this in a neutral way - given how he grew up narcissism in a medical sense is to be expected), but... Like, had Oghma thrown him a boon, he would have served Oghma, right?

So, why is he a chosen?

Usually chosen are either one of two: Either, they are very dedicated to the god and have proofen themselves to them over and over again, or they have something (power, knowledge, influence) that the god is interested in. As I don't see Gortash falling underneath the first umbrella, the second one could be it. Was Bane interested in Gortash maybe, because Gortash had a lot of knowledge about the hells maybe? Was Bane originally interested in the crown or something else that Gortash knew about? That would be one possibility.

Though, there is another one. Because it just so happens that in the lore of Faerûn something happened just 8 years ago, that could have given him chosen status without him doing shit for it. Even though it would also mean, that him being a chosen is almost random. Because 8 years ago the second sundering happened. And during the second sundering for a variety of reasons the gods picked quite a lot of chosen. And yes, that included the Dead Three as well. And a lot of those chosen were in fact not people super dedicated to the gods or anything, but just people who generally aligned with the domain and alignment of the god in question. And I cannot help but wonder: Was Gortash just one of the chosen Bane got from that event?

It would work out fine. Because there is one thing that keeps bothering me: Sure, Gortash kept secrets from Karlach. But she still was his personal bodyguard. And she had no idea that he was aligned with Bane. Which makes me think that indeed he was not a Banite when he sold her off to Zariel.

And yeah, I cannot help myself. The timeline would work out rather well: Gortash becomes a chosen closely prior the events of the second sundering, but after he sold of Karlach. After a bit the Dark Urge (who somehow very much is an adult, because I guess he time travelled or something) finds him. The two hit it off (whether romantically or platonically) and come up with their grand evil scheme. At some point Ketheric joins.

Of course, there is one big hole in that explaination, though: Who are the other people working for Gortash while he just is a black market weapons trader? If he was a Banite it would be easily explainable (other Banites), but like this it leaves open the question: Who are they and what happened to them?

I don't know. I am rambling. But yeah. I like this asshole. And his story is fun to think about.

[reallyromealone]

I saw that requests were open so... eddie munson resilient part 4?

Or how Billie Hargrove and reader first meet with an Omegaverse?🤨

What I have so far

WIP

Title:

Fandom:

Characters:

Fic type:

Pairings:

Warnings: male reader, reader insert

Notes:

🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️

(Name) Sat at the diner booth once more, staring at his cup of coffee anxiously as he glanced out the window, Steve sitting beside him watching calmly for any sign of Eddie "You know you don't have to do this, right?" Steve said to his friend, the Omega letting out a shaky breath "I gotta do this, this isn't about me... This is about my son" (name) focused on the task, face going calm as the sound of the front door bell jingled and the two looked to see... Nancy.

The beta woman walked in to collect her lunch order, having placed it over the phone as she locked eyes with Steve and smiled at the Alpha before glancing at the Omega beside him and the room went cold. It wasnt a secret that Nancy still had feelings for Steve despite being in a relationship, she acted like she could collect mates without any thought of others feelings.

(Name) Just stared at her, the other straightening her back at the omegas cold stare but still she walked to them "(name), Steve" she tried to keep civil and (name) spoke "don't worry, we aren't fucking so you don't need to be here" he smiled and Nancy glared at him "Ok can you get over that?"

"Over you turning my rape into a reason to ruin my life further? Not a chance in hell"

"Nancy leave" Steve said seriously to the woman who glared at (name) but the Alpha tone wasn't one she could ignore as she angrily left, passing Eddie who seemed confused at the affair that went down but decided not to press as he was here bigger reasons than petty drama Nancy is starting.

"Steve... Long time no see" Eddie seemed a bit nervous at the other alpha who could fold him like a lawn chair within seconds, (name) holding a paper of His rules and boundaries be wanted set for his son.

"Munson" Steve said flatly and (name) sighed "lets get started" he whispered as he slid his list to the rockstar "visitations are supervised, he eats what I allow, he goes where I go and you don't buy him things unless I approve it" he said seriously "my focus is my son, if you try any shit I will have Steve drop kick you into the next century"

Eddie never seen (name) so composed and serious "and if you want to be in my son's life, you don't go running off and leaving him" (name) got close as he stared at Eddie seriously "I will not let you hurt my son" Eddie kept composure, he had years to grow up and he did "I will do whatever is needed to be with my son" and you, god he wanted to hold him close but he knew if he even got close to him that Steve would punt him.

"Good, we can arrange the meeting next Wednesday" no room for any nonsense as (name) sipped his drink "he has naps at 12:30 till 1:30 so come for 2:15" Steve was proud of (name) "do you have any questions or things if the sort?"

"Can I buy him a toy?" He asked genuinely and (name) bit his cheek but nodded "nothing that makes mess" Eddie's smile could blind a person and (name) held back from any reaction as to not give the Alpha any hopes, even if his heart fluttered just like when he was a teenager.

"And nothing that will drive me up the wall!" (Name) Said seriously and the rockstar deflated slightly "not even a guitar?"

"Maybe when he is a bit older" (name) stood up with Steve while Eddie followed suit, offering his hand to shake "see you then?" He asked hopefully and (name) took a deep breath 'for (sons name)' he thought and took his hand, tentatively shaking it and Steve could see the stress in his eyes.

When the two got into the car, Steve watched (name) have just

[fuck-customers]

Jeez a lot of customers need to have lessons in general manners. Adults. Not children. These offenses are repeatedly made by grown adults who are old enough to be my parents, generally 40+.

▪︎If you need to speak to an employee, but that employee is currently on the store phone, unless it is a life-threatening emergency, WAIT for that employee to finish the phone call. I can't tell you how many times I've been on the phone with a customer and an in-store customer thinks whatever they want is more important and starts talking to me while I'm on the phone. I simply ignore them. Be rude, I'll be rude back idgaf.

▪︎If you need to ask an employee something, greet them first so the employee knows that you're talking to them and aren't just on the phone or something. And don't yell your question from across the room. Simply say "excuse me" or "Hi, could you help me please?" Or something similar and when you do that....

▪︎Be polite. Say please and thank you and phrase your requests in the form of a question rather than a demand. Basic kindergarten manners here.

▪︎If you want something from an employee, such as an extra bag or a gift card that the employee may have to retrieve for you, communicate that you want the bag/card/etc. Don't just stand and stare at them. Employees cannot read your mind and are contractually obligated to help you, but will not be able to do so if you don't communicate your needs.

▪︎Keep your opinions about an employee's (and honestly every stranger's) physical appearance to yourself? I shouldn't even have to say this wtf. If you don't like the way someone has dyed their hair or if they have acne or bad makeup, shut the fuck up about it.

▪︎Do not stand in the middle of the aisle and block the entire aisle for customers and employees both, especially not the main aisle. And if you space out and accidentally block the aisle and someone says "excuse me" to try to get past, LISTEN and MOVE.

•If you change your mind on an item in your cart and you don't remember or don't feel like putting it back where it goes, give it to the cashier to put in go-backs. Don't shove it on some random shelf.

•If you knock something over and break or spill it, notify an employee so they can clean it up so no one gets hurt. Retail chains generally don't have "you break it, you buy it" rules.

▪︎The vast majority of employees actually have extremely little control over the store. Problems with inventory, online orders, return policies, etc are not caused by anyone you will ever see working on the sales floor of a retail store. These problems are caused by outside forces, such as corporate or third-party delivery services. Ask an employee for the number of corporate to give your complaint to them if you absolutely must voice your complaints.

▪︎If you ask one employee a question and you receive an answer you don't like, suck it up and move on. Asking a different employee will not get you a different answer, it will just piss the employees off and now you're DEFINITELY not getting whatever it was you wanted.

▪︎Stay the fuck out of employees only areas? Shouldn't have to say this one.

▪︎If you arrive at a store before it opens, stay in your car and wait until the doors are opened. Or go somewhere else until opening time. And do NOT try to force open the doors yourself.

▪︎If you're in a store and it is near closing time, most stores make warning announcements 20-30 minutes before closing time. Listen and follow those announcements. The only reason you should be in a store after closing is if you got in line before closing time and you need to wait for the people in front of you to be rung up.

▪︎Do not go to a store 20 minutes before they close or less.

Posted by admin Rodney

[nyxwanderland]

♡ boyfriend iwaizumi hajime

pairing → iwaizumi hajime x reader genre → fluffwarnings → none word count → 611

• boyfriend iwaizumi is usually rough and blunt in his actions and words, but he tries to be as gentle as possible if it's you. • you don't mind because you know he's trying to be better and you appreciate him his efforts.

• boyfriend iwaizumi loves doing skin care with you. • he is going to complain the entire time, like "ah shit, it's too cold." or "how long will it take for this to dry?" and also "don't peel it off! it hurts!!" • but he will certainly join you for another session again.

• boyfriend iwaizumi sends you memes at any time of the day, whether it be in the morning before leaving for work or at 2:30 am. • "this you lol." • and you HAVE to send another one back to match his energy.

• boyfriend iwaizumi crashes at your apartment whenever he has an exhausting day and doesn't feel like driving to his place. • one reason may be that his workplace is closer to yours than it is to his. • but you surely know that the main reason is your company and the meals that you feed him yourself. • he sometimes stays the night as he demands your cuddles and featherlight strokes on his back before going to sleep.

• boyfriend iwaizumi wakes up way before you and just stares lovingly at your sleeping face, chuckling a bit as he wipes off the drool from your chin. • he takes some photos of you before you wake up from your slumber as well.

• boyfriend iwaizumi doesn't know how to cook, but he just watches you prepare breakfast for both of you in the kitchen, occasionally kissing your neck whenever you walk past him. • once, he tried to make breakfast while you were sleeping. • and... he burned the eggs. • you do teach him some basic recipes from time to time so that he doesn't starve himself to death when he's at his own place.

• boyfriend iwaizumi identifies as the 'sunshine protector' and his pronouns are protect/atallcosts. • not the oh-so-protective type; he knows you can take care of yourself and trusts you wholeheartedly. • the protective mode is on when he finds anyone looking at you with unholy intentions or harassing you. • he WILL punch the living hell out of the said person.

• boyfriend iwaizumi is used to getting his ass smacked by you every now and then. • he doesn't really understand why you're obsessed with his butt, although you try your best to explain to him that his ass is delicious you just can't help it. • you find yourself touching his biceps and chest as well. • "...you good, y/n?" "excuse me? it's not my fault you have insane body proportions."

• boyfriend iwaizumi is super touchy. • he just can't walk with you unless he's touching you. • your arms brushing past each other, holding hands, his arm around your waist or shoulders—he just has to keep touching you otherwise he won't function.

• boyfriend iwaizumi melts when you take the initiative to kiss him first. • it's usually the other way around, but when you suddenly kiss him out of the blue, his face turns as red as a cherry. • he may show annoyance, but of course he loves it so much. he just hates to admit it.

• boyfriend iwaizumi will leave everything behind just to tend to your needs if you're having a bad day. • he buys you your favourite snacks and other stuff to cheer you up. • he lets you cry on his shoulder; it doesn't matter if your tears or even your snot is ruining his shirt.

• boyfriend iwaizumi goes above and beyond just to see you smile. he loves you more than just to the moon and back.

[youcouldmakealife]

Hello! Another writing question! Which word processor do you use? I've been relying on Google Docs, but want to upgrade. TYIA!

I've been using Scrivener for many, many years now. Like a shocking number of years, given I am the kind of person who picks up every new program or app with 'this will surely fix me' energy, only to discard them when they did not, in fact, fix me (or they stopped providing The Dopamine, or I started tracking too many things and things got too convoluted, or--)

Before I was using Scrivener, I was using Word (or an open source alternative, depending), and I use Google Docs for editing, but Scrivener, and its ability for me to have a work space that includes all my projects (they're all in one project called 'kitchen sink', unless it's a novel I'm prepping for publication, in which case it gets its own project). It's basically the ideal program for someone who flits from piece to piece, and it's insanely customizable, which is probably the reason I've never left for more novel pastures: if I change the way I want to work, I can alter it to suit.

If you're a one project at a time person, I still pretty heartily recommend it, because it has spots for ancillary bits that you need to have access to but don't necessarily fit in the main file (character profiles, a scene you cut but really like a few lines from, research, etc)

It can do a ton for you if you put the time into learning it (I not only write in it, but also format my books for publication within it), but you don't need to use all its bells and whistles.

Most exciting of all: you buy it once. Like. Seriously. Not even once per laptop or whatever, though I'd still be hyped about that.

They also have a really generous trial where you can use it for 30 days (not calendar, but days of use -- if you used it once a week, say, that'd be 30 weeks).

I'm genuinely really happy to stump for them because I use it like...every single day and every time I've had trouble with it, it's because of something I did or didn't do (say, forgot to set up auto backup) rather than a problem with the program. They've also been actively refining it and working on it the entire time I've had it. In a world that's gone all in on apps over programs, subscription based models over ownership, and general enshittification, it's a product that just...works. I love it. Could not more highly recommend at least giving the trial a shot. (it's available for Mac, PC, and IOS)

[tobiasdrake]

UGH. YOUTUBE HAS MADE THEIR SITE TOO COMPLICATED FOR USERS. WHAT WAS WRONG WITH IT BEFORE, BACK IN 2005-2009?

Well, they're owned by Google. So. Y'know. Same thing that was wrong with their search engine.

Which is to say, Google has grown beyond the point of sustainability for a publicly-owned company with growth incentives.

The fundamental flaw of the U.S.'s growth-based economy is that it imagines a world in which an infinitely expanding revenue intake is possible to achieve. This, unfortunately, flies in the face of reality.

The way a growth-based economy works is that if your company made 100% of all money that exists on Earth this year, it would have to then make 104% of all money that exists next year. And then 108% of all money the year after that.

This is a problem that isn't apparent for small up-and-coming businesses. How can I grow my company's market? Easy. Expand my customer base. Sell more products to more people.

But there's a ceiling. A point at which infinite forever-growth ceases to be achievable through simply doing business. You already have as many people buying your product as are ever going to buy your product; There is no reasonable avenue available to turn your 50 million customers into 75 million. You've hit a plateau.

Or worse, they already bought your product last year so they don't need to buy it again this year. Why would I need to buy yearly tractors?

That's a problem, because the demands of investors do not let up just because it's not actually possible to keep growing the business by doing business. The guy who put in $30 million expects to get $45 million back out of it. Your job is to make that happen. Nothing else that the business does actually matters. Go grow the market value and get back to me when it's done.

Once a business grows beyond the point of sustainability, that's when it starts having to get creative. If you can't grow the customer base, then you need to find ways to get them to pay more money for less product. Increase revenues and decrease costs while supplying to the same set of customers you were before.

This is why the film and AAA video game industries have lost their goddamn minds. They've long-since passed the point of sustainability.

This is what CEOs mean when they say it's "Too expensive to make games." They don't mean they can't make profit by making games. They mean they can't hit their profit growth goals unless they come up with yet another new way to get the existing base of gamers to pay them even more money this year than they did last year, without proportionally increasing their costs to achieve it.

They need the line to go up. And they can no longer achieve that by doing the thing that their business exists to do.

This is also where things like planned obsolescence come from. Why would I need to buy yearly tractors? Because the tractors are designed on purpose to fall apart after a year so I have to go to the store and buy a new one. That's a solution to the "Everyone already bought my product" problem. An evil solution a problem created by unsustainable economics.

Google, too, is long past the sustainability ceiling, and it's causing them to shit themselves and reveal their true colors. Because Google's customer has never been their users. The users are the product that they sell to advertisers. Their revenue comes from getting your eyes on an advertiser's products. That's it.

And as they continue beyond the sustainability ceiling with each passing year of infinite forever-growth, they're having to pursue more and more nakedly predatory means of churning their userbase into mass-produced views.

Why is their search engine so shitty? Because if you have to search for something five times, you're gonna see five times as many ads. That's good for Google's growth margins.

YouTube is the same. Their algorithm is designed to feed people into loops. Not to show you content they think you'll like to see, but to show you content that will keep you engaged. That will make you watch the next video and the ads that go with it. It's clickbait in video suggestion form.

And it's just going to keep getting worse and worse and worse until either legislation steps in or the bubble pops. Those are the only two futures possible for a company that's beyond the sustainability ceiling. And they've gotten very good at postponing the popping of the bubble.

This, all of this, is what people are talking about when they use the term "late-stage capitalism".

[manikas-whims]

how do you manage LADS as F2P? I'm having a hard time collecting gems 😭 is so difficult compared to games like genshin

Okay so..i know it sounds difficult (IT IS) but it's not impossible.

the grind can be heartbreakingly annoying..i know! Before i used to find grinding in Genshin and HSR difficult but its..so doable and easier compared to Love and Deepspace 😭

Their constant barrage of Banner after Banner is another issue especially when they don't even run for long. FOMO gets to a lot of people who find it hard to spend due to personal reasons, which is just unfair. IMHO, every limited card banner should run for at least 30 Days.

And i think these are issues that should be thrown at the Devs every once in a while. So fill out the survey forms whenever available and list all your grievances to them. LADS isn't exactly F2P friendly.

-> However, with the launch of version 2.0, they're trying new stuff and giving out a bunch of Free 5 star memories as well as materials. So thats..something ig

It's also a fairly new game, one of a kind sorta thing..so i wanna give them the benefit of the doubt. They're still trying to find their way around things and i hope they gradually add better stuff for grinding of materials and gems. (Abyssal Chaos counts as one)

As for playing as F2P, here's how I do it..

If you can spend a little, then i suggest atleast buying the Aurum Pass (i have). It ain't much but it increases stamina cap to 170. And gives 100 gems + 60 stamina daily

only make pulls on a banner when you absolutely want that limited card

save up the red gems & empyrean wishes (blue tickets) for your bias/fav LI & make pulls only for his banners (unless you absolutely want a card of another)

Use your stamina daily. Don't let it stay full. Like expend at least 80 stamina in the morning. Then play again in the evening with a nearly full stamina cap.

Focus on one LI at a time & grind materials for him only. For example, i am a Xavier main so i expend 80 stamina for the yellow/green stellactrums (ascension material | fight Lemonette) and another 60~80 on the EXP bottles (experience material | fight Heartbreaker)

DON'T WASTE MATERIALS ON 3 STAR. You can waste them on 4 star cards but I don't suggest upgrading them more than Level 40 unless absolutely necessary (i.e. you don't have any other card options)

Fight Mr. Beanie once or twice regularly! You also need that gold to upgrade your memories.

And then of course, the achievements, completing a 5 Star memory story, tender moments and secret times also give gems.

Once a week try to grind for Protocores. Even your maxxed out 5 star memories are useless without good protocores. (50 : 100 ratio between crit. rate & crit. damage is ideal) And ofc, upgrade those protocores from time to time.

This all sounds like a lot but takes less than 20 minutes to do daily..And yes, you'll find some full length guides on Reddit & Youtube.

HOPE THIS HELPS YOU ANON ♡

[writingquestionsanswered]

I'm trying to write historical fiction for the first time, and a lot of tips online say that I shouldn't try to "show I did the homework". That I only need historic details that advance the story. That's understandable. But no one ever explains how. How do I know what advances the story? How do I know which information is useless? So, how do I identify what I need and what I need to cut out? I'm only in the early stages of research right now, btw! Just curious for future reference. Thanks!

Researching Relevant Details for Historical Fiction

It's sort of like this... don't include a scene where your Regency era protagonist takes a turn about the garden with a female caller during which time they have a rousing discussion about the steel boning and two-piece nickel grommets in their short stays unless those details are somehow important to the story. Otherwise, these types of irrelevant details come across as showboating and flexing your research muscles.

Does your heroine use the steel boning and two-piece nickel grommets in fashioning a contraption to get herself and a friend out of a sticky situation at some point in the story? That would be a case of "advancing the story" so the details can stay. Otherwise, if the steel boning and nickel grommets don't become useful for any reason, then it's useless information.

So, when including a detail, ask yourself:

-- does this help the reader understand the character or situation? -- does this help the reader understand the story's world? -- does this detail help the reader imagine the character? -- does this detail help the reader envision the moment or scene? -- does this detail play a role in something that happens later on?

If the answer to any of the questions above is "yes," the detail is relevant enough to stay. If the answer to all the questions is "no," the detail doesn't belong.

And, a shortcut would be just asking yourself what is lost if the detail is removed. If the answer is nothing, you can skip the detail.

I hope that helps!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[d0zuki]

Imagine Akito with a reader he hated at first (and he wouldn’t hide it) but now would do absolutely everything for them

Like before:

Akito:get away from me!

After:

akito:Do you need something?oh that new phone that requires me to sell Ena because I’m too poor? Of course I’ll get it for you!

“True Beauty” -"Fate has its own ways"

⋆˚࿔ Fancy bow from Kuro𝜗𝜚˚⋆ :: a bow to feel fancy

― ʚ summary ɞ ― Akito with reader he hated at first

― ʚ words ɞ ― 590

― ʚ warning ɞ ― designer found no danger in her creation

― ʚ author note ɞ ― I feel like I know who you are anon, but I won't say anything, anyway that was an amazing request I loved writing it

Oh how he hated you, how come you everywhere where he is?! He could be walking in the park and then he sees you, even when having practice he will see you, was he cursed or something he didn't do anything wrong for it to be that case, unless we count the fact that he told Ena her hair looks crispy, but that doesn't matter what matters is how come you everywhere, it's getting annoying seeing you literally every time, why does he have a see your cute ugly face?!

Akito was thinking about all that while walking in the park, but suddenly a dog appeared and Akito just stood there, hoping the dog won't go towards him and he was incorrect, the dog indeed ran towards him and they were running around till suddenly the dog was stopped, Akito looked who it was and saw you, standing on the dog leash while it's owner thanks you for catching the dog and walks away, and for a moment Akito blushed a little before becoming just as angry as anger from inside out

"couldn't you catch that damn dog earlier?!"

"I was waiting until it got tried"

"by sacrificing me?!"

"yeah, you are quite fast so a perfect sacrifice in my opinion"

"I fucking hate you, can't you just leave me alone"

"I know you hate me, you said it 30 times this month, and we didn't even pass the 20th day of it, plus I'm not following you! It's not my fault we see each other often"

"then how the hell do I see you everyday?!"

"maybe because I live in the area?"

"..."

"...You didn't think about that did you?"

"shush"

Well Akito indeed didn't think about that, damn he feels stupid, so he was hating you for no reason, I mean yeah seeing you everyday, but you lived in the area that's why he was seeing you everyday

"anyway I should get going, bye"

"bye..."

Shit why is he blushing, don't tell me he fell for you, just randomly?! No there's just no way that happened

୨⎯ "Time skip" ⎯���

Akito from 3 weeks ago would be pissed now probably, Akito was walking around with you after the incident with the dog, you became good friends or more of, he became crazy in love buying anything you ask for, causing Ena to worry about Akito bank account, does he have anything left?! Well it's healthy to assume no because yesterday Akito literally asked her for 50 dollars

"why do you need it"

"[Y/N] phone broke and they need a new one, so I need 50 dollars to buy it"

"can't you use your money?"

"I am, I just need 50 dollars to buy it counting mine too"

"Jesus Akito you became a simp, but fine, just give me a minute"

And that kept going, eventually Akito got a part time job to buy you stuff, and even there was a point when he thought, selling Ena might help, I mean she's pretty so, but then again that's his sister, yeah that's out of the book, Ena would probably kill him

In less than a week from Akito taking Ena money, again she cussed him out saying he needs to stop bitching around and confess, but he won't do it willingly, so Ena hid all his money and forced him to confess!

And while you were walking back home, Akito asked you out, surprised you agreed, and Ena was surprised too. But hey it was fun watching her brother be a boy failure

[wistfulnightingale]

The Metatron's Second Coming ("I will not Hesitate to Mock you!")

Part 2 of 8 in the Chess Moves Theory Set by @wistfulnightingale

As I've been pondering the Final Fifteen (and connected scenes, not like I'm obsessed or anything. Really, I'm fine...!), the scene with the Metatron in the coffee shop that day kept making my brain twitch. Everything about the Metatron appears normal, but is it too normal? Meanwhile, Nina initially acts out of character. Even for a woman who spent the night battling demons from Hell.

The Metatron is from Heaven.  Yet he knew what to order, fairly quickly, and under pressure from a rudely impatient person. How? The archangels don't understand books or sushi or matchboxes or human love or needs or relationships or wanting to keep one's original children... When the Metatron pretends to take an interest in Muriel's book (Yep. Pretends. I'll die on that hill), the Metatron doesn't ask them, "What's that you're reading?" -- he asks, "What's that you're holding?" Heavenly beings are unfamiliar with earthly objects or customs, unless they purposefully learn about it.

"Order accurately and fast... I will not hesitate to mock you if I don't like your order."

It's a comic moment, but it's out of character for Nina, IF it's unprovoked. Yes, she hasn’t slept in 30 hours and was fighting demons most of that surreal night, so it seems reasonable that she might explode.  But this is Nina.  Nina remembers people by their coffee order.  Nina is a practical business woman. 

Why would Nina, who had tidily set her emotions aside and started her workday, now suddenly be inexplicably rude to a new customer, a well-dressed man who appears to have significant funds and could possibly become a regular? Threatening to mock customers is not a sound business model, even on an Extremely Bad Day.

Bear with me, I'm about to propose something radical. But it certainly gives us something to talk about as we wait for the final story!

I think that the Metatron was in the coffee shop the previous day. Learning about the complicated human ritual of buying a coffee. And ingesting his first sample of human consumables.

Here's why...

As we get to know Nina, we learn that she is private, rather guarded, and blunt. She is also incredibly practical and dedicated to running her business smoothly and efficiently. Even when briefly socializing, she is wiping tables, or signaling a "six shots expresso, big cup" order with gestures. Her coffee business is about earning a living. Nina didn’t understand Maggie’s sentimental attachment to a store that can’t sell anything. When dramatic issues with Lindsay happen during work hours, Nina sets boundaries but keeps herself from snapping at customers, even when Mrs. Sandwich criticizes her.

The morning after the demon attack, Nina had already shifted into business mode -- she was late, people need their coffee. She shuts off consideration of the bizarre night, and is prepping and planning. She calmly started putting down chairs, and knew exactly what milks she needed Maggie to pick up. Maggie returns promptly, and everything is well under control before the Metatron's turn in line.

The Metatron is a very intelligent Heavenly being, but we've seen that he has no concern for, nor interest in, humanity. He doesn't know human ways, and when he speaks, he fills his sentences with British posh slang as if he just took a crash course from a travel brochure! And he was just in a bookstore, but doesn't know what a book is. (Probably because he doesn't see it as important.)

How does he know how to put together a coffee order, from the multitudes of choices, for the very first time? He understands the difference between an expresso, a frappuccino, a cappuccino and a latte? Caffeinated or Decaf? To select whole milk, nonfat milk, almond milk, oat milk...? Cold, or steamed? Nondairy sweet cream? Heavy cream? Half and Half? Would you like whipped cream on that? And, by the way, how many syrups are on the "Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death" selection list?

(****Also, have you ever been with an older person the first time they visit a coffee shop? It takes time to figure it all out...!)

"Order accurately and fast... I will not hesitate to mock you if I don't like your order."

The VOICE OF GOD puts his hands up in surrender and says, "Yes, I quite understand." He's okay with this? Why? I suspect that when he came in yesterday (in Episode 5) he had NO IDEA how to order, and would have held up the line looking at the many, many choices.

I can imagine it! The first time the Metatron showed up, Nina walks back in the shop after her conversation with Crowley. She doesn't like thinking so much about Lindsay during work hours, and she's trying to refocus. It's important to her to keep the line moving. Meanwhile, this posh fellow comes in with no clue what he wants, asking ridiculous questions and ordering things that don’t make sense together and that means he’s taking Forever and Holding Up The Line.  

The next day (Episode 6), she’s again trying to just FOCUS and run her shop, and NOT think anymore about battling demons all night, but here he is again, this upper class elderly sophisticate-wanna-be, about to mess up her morning and put her even FURTHER behind and if he asks for something STUPID AGAIN,  SHE. WILL. MOCK. HIM…!!!

This time, however, he places a reasonable order, quickly and sensibly.  So Nina quickly calms down, and can even tolerate it when he asks such an odd question.  “They don’t ever ask for death, no.”   Nina can bear with a customer who is strange, and can be polite (even if blunt) to someone who says odd things.  

But DON’T. HOLD. UP. HER. LINE. 

I think this idea, on it's own, is worth considering. I hope you might think so, too. It's at least a question worth asking.

..........

Now, please, breathe deeply, and please don't hate me.

I broke down the Episode 5 scene outside the coffee shop with dozens of screenshots, lightening, brightening, and posting only the best in another post, The Metatron Misdirection. There's a guy wearing an orange shirt moving around inside the shop, behind Nina. There's also a guy with white hair and a dark overcoat. In the scene photos, he seems to be talking to the orange-shirt man before taking his place in line. I think it's the Metatron. Perhaps he's asking the orange-shirt guy for advice about how coffee orders work. (See my Part 1, The Metatron Misdirection, for lots and lots of detail to back up my absolutely bonkers idea!)

I think it was a Time Misdirection, across 2 episodes. (See Misdirection in Magic, a Masterclass article.) The most significant part of the magic trick happens before we start looking for the trick. If we wondered at all about Nina's outburst, it wouldn't occur to us to look for the answer in the previous episode. We didn't think the Metatron was there yet! (inside, on the right, in line behind the orange-shirt guy!)

I reeeeeeeally wouldn't expect you to believe this, just from one photo. I'd be grateful if you'd check out my other post with all the details before you come at me, please please please (she implores🥺). (And you might especially like #8, Aziraphale's Jubilant Smile!)

😊

If you'd like to see more of my ideas/meta-theories about the stuff I think is radically interconnected to the Final Fifteen, please check out the other parts of my Chess Moves Theory Set at @wistfulnightingale for the full picture of what I think might be happening for our Ineffables.

Thanks for coming with me on this crazy ride!

The 8 Chess Moves MetaTheory Set:

1 - The Metatron Misdirection

2 - The Metatron's Second Coming

3 - Ineffables in Check

4 - A Hefty Jigger of Death

5 - Nothing Lasts Forever

6 - The Circle Kiss Theory

7 - The Nightingale DID Sing

8 - Aziraphale's Jubilant Smile (Not the crazy elevator grin)

Also: The Chess Moves Theory Set, Why Chess & Magic?

[ulircursed]

TOA Aniversary Munday

From Neffi!

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is.

Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing!

Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

Name: eri

Pronouns: she/her

Birthday (no year): 9/30

Where are you from? What is your time zone? Taiwan! GMT+8, currently 12 hours ahead of TOAST. Good news: the apocalypse hasn't hit the future yet!

How long is your roleplay experience? Probably around 10+ years at this point, unless running around as Pokemon on the playground counts, in which case more like 20 years ahaha

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole? I'm reasonably certain Fire Emblem was my first foray into tumblr RP, and Emmeryn was my first muse! There was a little indie community that I joined back then, though I haven't kept in contact with them

How were you introduced to TOA? I don't really remember, but all I know is that I lurked around the masterlist around the time of L&K but didn't pluck up the courage to join until nearly a year later when I saw there was a Reyson (shoutout to birdie!)

Do you have any pets? Nope! Moved around too much as a kid and current living situation doesn't support having one. Closest I got was sharing an apartment with my roommate's floofy cat for two years in college; his name's Chester and he was super adorable. I'd like to have a dog someday though!

What is your favorite time of year and why? (Season, holiday, general period) WINTERRRR I am a human furnace and summer is suffering. Every spring I start counting down the days to the next winter ahaha

What is your IRL occupation? I work at the counseling department in a junior college!

Some interests and things you like/enjoy? Learning languages, singing, obscure fun facts and watching Youtube video essays

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? Used to be a big Pokemon person but I stopped playing the mainline games by Gen VII (not for lack of interest! RL circumstances changed around that time and I just never got back into the habit of buying those games); nowadays I play a few mobile games daily but that's about it

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: Water; too many, but if I had to name just one I will probably say Rufflet

Tell us some funfacts and trivia about yourself! The first fun fact is that the moment I get asked questions like this I immediately go Brain Empty and this is why I rarely fill out toa monthly feedback forms dakfjslfj uhhhh my favorite color is blue! I joined an archery club in grad school (two years ago) to understand what shooting a bow feels like. I love swimming but haven't been to a pool for maybe like 9 years now. I really like going to zoos.

How did you get into Fire Emblem? My older brother introduced my younger brother and me to Japanese FE4 when we were kids, when we knew absolutely no Japanese and just messed around the first map and never beat it. I properly started playing when I was in high school, with FE7 being the first game I beat! I normally count my official FE gaming journey as starting with 7 in high school :'D

What Fire Emblem games have you played? All the mainline ones except 1-3 and Echoes (I'm...... working on it)

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games: FE7; FE3H

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series! You can't do this to me man. UHHH ok Lucius is my very most favorite FE character. Andrei needs to be here. I lump the Heron sibs as one unit for questions like this. Tibarn. Sylvain. There are probably a dozen more but

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason! HONESTLY Andrei thanks to the Oosawa manga. His arc changed my brain chemistry permanently

Any Fire Emblem crushes? 😳 I don't think I've really crushed on fictional characters before ahaha

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? - Awakening: Chrom I think; uhhhh Lon'qu or Cherche?? - Fates: Silas I think???; I'm currently partway through a Birthright playthrough and I seem geared to S support with Jakob so him - Three Houses: Dimitri; started my first and only Myleth run a few months back and I'll probably go with Miss Thea :flushed: - Engage: None; man I don't know

Favorite Fire Emblem class? Bishop

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable? I think I could be a War Cleric wielding a giant hammer. If you don't go to bed on time I will forcibly join your army and make you

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? Blue Lions I guess!

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent? Axe boon, Reason bane, Riding budding talent

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? Brodia

How do you pronounce TOA? TOE-uh

Current TOA muses: Just me and my bow man for the moment

Past TOA muses? Leanne, Lucius, Altena, Nino

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again? Leanne was my first! Honestly she always lives in a cozy little corner of my head, so she can be back at any moment if RL permits

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? Nice Girls (gender neutral) who have no quarrel with 99% of the world. As you may be able to see, Andrei does not fit this mold.

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could? Flirts. They're so much fun to read but I don't think I could flirt my way out of a paper bag irl so I would never know what to write

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? I honestly love fluffy cozy fun friendshippy situations!!! Again, Andrei is not conducive to this. I mean I do also like painful scenes but--

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”? that Yngvi AU where Brigid never disappeared because things will still go to shit but the circumstances would be so different. Honestly Brigid doesn't even need to explicitly be there for this to work so if any Gen I Jugdrals ever want to do this then I grip you

Favorite TOA-related memories? So many, but the West Faerghus Croc lives rent free in my brain forever.

Present or past tense? I started off with past tense, but now default to present. When the stars align and I notice my partner using past tense, sometimes I will also switch, but not always.

Normal size text, small text, no preference? Small text, though I am happy to switch for my partner's preference if needed!

Got any potential muse delusions to share? 😉 Waves goodbye to my faceless Glenn delusions honestly thank u new anniversary ruling for saving me from those eternal brainworms

[ozwuv]

If I have hand pains (as artists get) what’s should I do? Do you recommend any exercises?

hmmm so i don't get hand pains necessarily, but i did damage my ulnar nerve pretty badly end of 2019-2020 from the oz fanbook grind lol. this led to a constant, dull pain in my dominant arm and persistent numbness in my hand. for a long time, i couldn't hold a pencil at all and to this day my grip is pretty weak. i remember when acnh came out in march 2020, i cried out of frustration constantly bc my grip was so lax i couldn't play.

that said, i'm speaking from experience when i say that taking advice on stretching techniques i found online made things way, way worse for me because it exacerbated the nerve damage i didn't know i had until i saw a doctor. the wrong kind of stretches can be more damaging than helpful if you're not doing them correctly, and especially if you have some kind of underlying issue that would be counterproductive for. the same thing goes for wrist braces and such -- a lot of people recommend them, but the wrong kind of brace can damage you further, and you should not be constantly wearing a brace unless a medical professional has told you to; constant usage of braces weakens your muscles over time because the brace prevents you from actually using them. if you have the means for it, i would really recommend consulting a physical therapist for preventative care.

but i didn't have access to medical care for a long time, so i get that's not feasible for everyone. if that's you, basic harm reduction guidelines are good to keep in mind. these are going to be things you've undoubtedly heard before, but they're drilled into your head for good reason:

take breaks. set a timer for every ~30-60 min and every time it goes off, get up, walk around, flex your hands and wrists, etc. ideally at least 10 minutes.

keep plenty of water within arm's reach at all times. hydration manages/prevents pain more than you might think. as soon as my grip gets too slack, i know that i need to stop drawing and drink a ton of water, but you should be drinking fluids at a semi-constant rate so you don't get to that point.

if you're in pain, stop drawing. no "i'll just wrap up the lines and then stop" -- listen to your body. if you're hurting, you've already pushed it too far and anything more is just going to make it worse.

posture posture posture -- any kind of posture advice for office workers generally applies to drawing.

^if you use a screen tablet (like cintiq or ipad) it's going to be virtually impossible to maintain good posture without buying a tablet arm or something. in cases like that, you should place even more of an emphasis on harm reduction or maybe even consider switching to an analog tablet so your monitor is at eye level. personally i'm in it for the longhaul with my ipad though lol

unfortunately advice like this kinda sucks for ppl with ADHD (meee) because pausing in the middle of something can cause you to become distracted or lose motivation. i don't really have a solution for that, but ultimately i got to the point where the nerve damage was so bad that i solidified these habits to prevent making it worse. i do get distracted and lose motivation a lot, but i did that to myself by not treating my body with the care it deserved.

if you take one thing from this response, let it be this: if you don't already experience chronic pain and/or nerve damage while drawing constantly without taking necessary precautions, it's not a matter of "if" you develop these issues, but "when". if you don't already have chronic pain from drawing, your goal right now should not be to preemptively look into things to remedy it, it should be seeking to prevent these issues altogether. work in some good habits, even if it's just taking breaks every now and then. even just one break per drawing is better than no breaks at all. i thought i was immune to these issues for over a decade & then i developed arthritis in my upper vertebrae at 20 years old lol nobody is immune i prommy<3

[milkweedman]

HI! I'm buying a niddy-noddy but can't figure out what size - I'm seeing tons of sizes but does it actually matter? I spin using a drop spindle if that affects it!

Yes and no. You can wind your yarn into a skein on any size niddy noddy (or as I'm sure you know, on the backs of chairs, on your arm, around a book, etc) and it'll work just fine.

As far as I've ever been aware, there's only two things to consider when picking a niddy noddy size: how big your skeins usually are, and whether you want to do math.

Skein Size

If you've ever tried to wind what you thought was a decent sized chunk of yarn around a very large object, you've probably noticed that you ended up with a very disproportionate skein--long and skinny. Or the opposite--if you've tried to wind a lot of yarn around a small object, you may have found that you couldn't even fold it in half to finish it off, because it was too thick.

Those are pretty extreme examples, but they're the reason it matters. If you tend to spin small skeins, a small niddy noddy will make them look better as a skein. If you tend to spin huge skeins, a big niddy noddy will ensure you don't have to wrestle with your yarn at the end.

One thing to note is that you can wind around only two arms instead of all 4, like so:

(Image Source)

... following the path of the red line rather than the blue yarn actually on it. This is what I do for miniskeins on my average sized niddy noddy. So you can get a proportional smaller skein out of a bigger niddy noddy, but you can't get a proportional bigger skein out of a smaller niddy noddy. Your only recourse then is to split it into multiple skeins (or find something bigger to wind it around, ig).

So, my 2 yard niddy noddy (and since yards and meters are close enough to not matter in this discussion, please mentally substitute meters if that's your unit of measurement) makes a good skein out of 4 ounces (110 grams) of yarn--that's pretty much the ideal size niddy noddy for that amount. If your skeins are more like 2 ounces/55grams, a 1 yard niddy noddy might be ideal for you. If they're more like 6 ounces/170 grams, a 3 yard niddy noddy would probably be great. There are of course lots of niddy noddys that are fractions or mixed numbers of yards as well, which brings me to the other consideration:

Math

Niddy noddys are a little more ergonomic to wrap yarn around than most things, but their real feature is eliminating math. On my 2 yard niddy noddy, if my skein has 100 strands, then it's 200 yards. I never need to do any math--it's just count the strands, multiply by two.

A 1 yard niddy noddy is even better there--no multiplying ! The number of strands you have is the number of yards you have. Easy as pie.

A 30 inch/76 cm niddy noddy, though--or any niddy noddy that is not 1, 2, or 3 yards (if you are in the US, or meters elsewhere--and it's important to not accidentally end up with a yard niddy noddy if you don't use yards, because then you have to convert your final number into meters--which is of course math) is Lots Of Math. If I've got 100 strands on a 30 inch niddy noddy, that's 3,000 inches, which is... idk man, I'm not even checking that. 100 strands on a 76 cm niddy noddy isn't so bad--7,600 cm is obviously 76 meters, but what about 129 yards, hm ? What then ?

If you're scoffing and saying you love math and this deprives you of beloved math, then you should definitely get a non-whole number niddy noddy, because that won't cause issues for you. And if you carry your phone everywhere and can't realistically conceive of a scenario in which the above would inconvenience you, that's fine too !

If, however, you don't want to look for your phone or do math in your head every time you finish a skein, a niddy noddy in whole numbers of either yards or meters (whichever measurement system you actually use, as I said earlier) will eliminate math from your skeining.

--

So, in terms of size you as a drop spindle user (unless you use it in a way that results in 4 ounce/110 grams skeins) would probably get the nicest looking and most balanced skeins from a 1 yard or meter niddy noddy. And in terms of math that's also the 'absolutely zero math' niddy noddy, so for most people that's ideal ! You'd also be fine on a 2 yard niddy noddy (as far as I can tell, these are the 'standard' size for wheel users*, who almost all have niddy noddys or some other tool for winding yarn) but your skeins will look perennially skinny, even if it's a pretty big skein for you. If you think you're gonna get a wheel soon, or you've been eyeing those plying spindles, then a 2 yard would give you some room for expanding, too. Anything bigger than that is really only useful for people who frequently spin big skeins--such as those whose jumbo flyer on their wheel is just their everyday flyer.

Hope this helps !

*edit: had forgotten about the antique wheels with small bobbins and/or only one bobbin. In that case the appearance of the skein is gonna benefit from a smaller niddy noddy, because it yields smaller skeins. But again... it's just aesthetic.

[droughtofapathy]

how do you see so many shows so often? I want to start seeing more shows but I don’t know where to find really cheap tickets

This is my favorite question and the answer is actually not rush or lottery. I never pay full-price for anything unless it's a very rare circumstance (like the Follies concert where I didn't care what I paid so long as I was in that room).

Here's what you need to do:

TDF: $35 yearly membership fee (first year only, after that it's $40) for the best discounts across NYC theatre. Tickets cost between ~$11-$60, depending on the class, and seats are assigned by the box office. I've been able to sit prime orchestra in seats costing hundreds for about $60. It's gotten a little pricier over the years (used to be $54 for a Broadway musical back in 2019, now it's $63, including fees). Membership is closed to specific groups/communities, but nearly everyone is eligible. It pays for itself within a show or two, so it's worth it.

Age-based discounts: the non-profit Broadway companies all have some sort of "30 under X" discount for young theatergoers. Many off-Broadway companies have really great student/under 30 deals too if you just do some searching before you buy.

Second Stage is "30 under 30" and I've found that by buying the season subscription (five shows for $150, so same price as single ticket sales), I get access to much better seating choices. Can be ordered online or at box office (sans fees). The shows are a mix of two Broadway, and two or three off-Broadway, and possibly a small fringe show thrown in depending on the season. Last season it was two Broadway and three off.

MTC is "30 under 35" and consistently has great shows. Can be ordered online or at box office (sans fees). The MTC's theatre (Friedman) has the most comfortable mezzanine seats in all of Broadway. Plush, high back, wide. It's luxury. And the side seating has pretty good sightlines, so there's not a bad seat.

Roundabout has the most generous one at "30 under 40" with their HipTix program, and this also eschews any fees even when ordering online. It's the easiest out of the three, though slightly more restrictive in what seats are offered. Never sit in the rear mezzanine of either the Todd Haimes or Studio 54 theatres. Bad times for very different reasons. Go side orchestra every time.

All three of these programs allow two tickets per show, though some won't allow guests of any age and some will.

Comp Tickets: There are a few paid programs you can join to get access to free (with a $5 per-show ticket fee) tickets. Last year I did TheatremaniaGold for $80, and this year WillCallClub for $15. Neither are really worth it, if you ask me. Most of the shows are the weird little fringe things that aren't selling, and while that may be fun, it doesn't really end up being great if you want to see Broadway unless it's a Big Flop. The Broadway shows I've seen listed include: Bad Cinderella, The Shark is Broken, and Lempicka, to name a few.

I'm also somehow on some comp lists where I get emails every now and then to see shows for free. I cannot tell you how to get on these lists, because I didn't do anything. It just happened. That's how I got to see Kimberly Akimbo so many times for free.

In-Person Box Office: If I have to get a ticket outside of these avenues, I always go to the box office to save on the online fees, which can be anywhere from $9 to $17, and that's money I want for me, not the predatory sites like telecharge and ticketmaster.

NYU ScholasTix: As an NYU alumnus, I get access to the school's discount program, but I've found the tickets aren't that discounted, and the seats are bad. And also you have to go all the way downtown to the NYU box office at Skirball Center to pick them up instead of going to the theatre box office before showtime. I hate it, and it's inaccessible, and the accessibility service is garbage, so I don't do this unless there are no other options (i.e. really popular Broadway play that won't ever be on TDF). Many city schools have similar programs, and you should definitely check because they don't advertise well.

Rush/Lottery: Every now and then, I'll do a digital lottery or rush. I don't do it in person because I just can't with my knees. Also, I have an adult job and can't just stand around the box office at ten in the morning. Shubert Broadway shows use the telecharge rush system. Jujamcyn/Ambassador use Lucky Seat for lottery only. Nederlander shows use Broadway Direct. Then there's the off-Broadway companies and non-profits that use the TodayTix app, and that one's a bitch to win, but hey, it's possible.

Seatplan: If you're like me and see too much Broadway, you can start uploading seat pictures to SeatPlan to earn rewards points. Every 4,400 points, and you get a free $50 telecharge gift card. Depending on how many points you earn per show (between 40-120), you can get a card every 36-50 shows, so that's easily one a year for me.

Other programs I don't use include:

The Theatr app, which is a new thing where people can sell tickets their not using either at cost or discounted, so it's never a situation where resellers profit. Anyone trying to sell fraudulently is immediately removed, and their customer service is pretty quick on the trigger.

TKTS booths at Times Square and at Lincoln Center. Those are day-of tickets usually going for 30-70% off depending on the show. I've gotten tickets through them before, but I don't stand in lines anymore. It's decent for the tourists though.