#literally i know of like 5 places that are cheaper with the same quality of food. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

likeawildthing · 4 years ago

Text

Not to be morbid on main, but everyone dies and people are rarely prepared for it. It’s so much easier when you know your loved one’s wishes. So even if you’re a teenager or twenty-three and healthy, I hope this helps you start thinking about end-of-life wishes, because it can happen to us all (both the dying and, rudely, being died upon).

Cremations are an affordable way to subvert the funeral industry, but going this route puts the burden of “the little things” on the family. I’ve learned a lot in the last 36 hours and wanted to pass those things that weren’t on any checklists, because the burden is on you to navigate the process.

Putting this under a cut because it’s so long (although not comprehensive). Obviously some of this is altered because COVID and some is meant to be applicable in some distant, theoretical future when we can go out to lunch again.

Before you die

Think about it, talk about it, write it down

Think about what kind of rememberance you want, if any. If it doesn’t matter, tell people that so they don’t fret about it and grieve in whatever way works best for them.

Communicate now to save your family and friends angst later.

Build an “in case of death” binder, zip drive, google doc with links, etc. Make sure your passwords are up to date so that’s not an administrative nightmare for your loved ones.

Advanced directives. Here’s a great article explaining the types of medical advanced directives and decisions to make before an accident or illness happens, including whether you want to donate your organs.

We lost grandma for about twenty minutes yesteday because we couldn’t find the paperwork and grandpa couldn’t remember where they signed up for services. Death. Binder. Have a death binder/folder/zip drive so no one loses grandma.

Insurance.

You likely have insurance through work, so consider that. It will also expire if you leave your job.

You can usually get, with minimal fuss, a 10- or 20-year term policy with enough to cover your arrangements and debts for less than $20 a month. Death expenses are anywhere from $5-$20k, conservatively.

Talk to your auto insurance agent and score a multi-line discount.

Body snatchers.

If you want to be cremated, talk to a local crematory beforehand and give them your basic information. It can be paid out of your estate (i.e. by your family or a life insurance policy) when it happens.

Most funeral homes (I believe) require pre-payment. It’s super morbid but there are TONS of heavily discounted grave sites for sale on Craigslist if that’s the route you want to go.

Here’s a list of certified green burial sites in the US.

Donating your body to science 101.

Memorial service.

The idea of a “proper” funeral is more or less out the window, especially in the time of COVID. Celebration of life? Religious ceremony (or not)? A picnic at your favorite park? Anything goes, so figure it out now.

When my sister-in-law died, we had a celebration of life at a non-profit who donated the space and had a poker tournament with her ash tin (she lost).

Whether you have strong or no preferences, write that down to guide decision-making.

Memorials.

Traditionally people would donate money in the event of a death to a charity, foundation, or family account, or flowers to a funeral home or church.

Family accounts (like for children) are traditionally done in care of the deceased’s bank but online fundraisers are a thing.

If you have a particular charity you love, add this to your list of wishes.

Food.

Before COVID it was pretty typical for there to be some kind of meal after a funeral. Will this be a restaurant?

This is ultimately up to the family but if you have strong preferences (i.e. no church or Italian food), tell people now.

Obituary.

Writing down the basic facts of your life, hobbies, and accomplishments you want included in your obituary means your family doesn’t have to do a guessing game.

Plants, animals, stuff, etc.

Do you want your clothes to go to a specific charity?

Do you NOT want your stuff to go to a specific charity? (Goodwill is terrible!)

Who will get your car (person, donate, sell)? Want to have your record collection to go one sister? Obviously family will divvy up stuff how they like, but write down any special considerations.

Have a plan for your pets (insurance, vet info, guardianship).

Please organize and digitize your photos if they aren’t already.

If you lose someone close:

Identify the primary griever

Support that person/those people by providing feedback when solicited, running errands as needed, and running interference so they aren’t inundated with all the little things.

Notifying people

Use the phone tree method. Great Aunt M will be happy to help by calling your cousins. Your boss, coworkers and HR. Your mom’s best friend/your adoptive aunt, your mom’s bunco group.

Ask that family not put anything on social media until the principal people are informed. I found out my grandpa died on facebook!

Esp these days, set boundaries for visits (who, where, and in what capacity).

Designate one person to be the primary contact for extended family to keep the burden off the primary griever(s).

Give this persons’ information when the first phone calls are made. It also makes sense for this person to be the travel coordinator.

This person should have a good handle on family dynamics (i.e. my aunt is flying in and would drive my grandma nuts so she’s staying with Mom).

This should be their only task because it’s time consuming.

Food

When people die, people gather, even in the time of COVID. Be responsible but expect a ton of drop by food. Clean out the primary griever’s fridge in anticipaton.

Organization

Start a shared family Google doc or sheet. Consolidate to do lists, anecdotes, important contact information, questions and inquiries, etc.

Pay to have the houses of anyone hosting (gatherings, people coming in from out of town, etc.) cleaned. Or, delegate. This can be an act of service for someone who wants to help and doesn’t mind doing the work.

Find the death binder (hopefully), legal documentation, etc. Get a folder or binder for papers if one doesn’t exist. And start a shared google doc for loved ones to track everything.

Delegate

I know I have said this three times, but it’s important. If you’re a primary decision maker do not be the primary do-er. My mom is the primary decision maker so my sisters and I are doing literally everything else.

Say YES when people ask if they can help you. Look at your running list of to-dos and say yes.

Pay to have the houses of people who are hosting cleaned. It will seriously be such a life saver, or this can be an act of service for someone who wants to help.

Social media

You will need to decide what to do with a person’s social media. Do you start a tribute page? Turn their facebook (if they’re old) into a tribute page for a time? Indefinitely? Things to think about.

Thank yous

Keep a running list of people to thank after via hand-written thank you notes. The link includes guidelines on

who should receive a thank you note (gave flowers, brought food, made donations, helped with arrangements or the service(s), did readings, or went well out of their way to warm your heart or show up)

when to send them (ideally 2-3 weeks after the funeral)

here’s how to write them (it doesn’t matter if you buy fancy, ones or dollar store ones, make sure they’re hand written).

Receipts.

Don’t be the petty biatch your cousins hate, but do save significant receipts to be reimbursed by the estate. (I.e. catering hundreds of dollars of food, paying $250 for programs and thank-you cards like I just did, etc.)

Service.

You will have a million decisions to make including

what kind of service to hold, if any

where to hold it

costs

hymns, readings, and anecdotes to share

who will be pall bearers, readers, vocalists, and give eulogies

Crematories handle cremation only, not the service details.

you will need photo boards (Hobby Lobby has nice black foamcore ones) or a powerpoint (and a way to display it depending on the venue)

a guest or memorial book

a card basket,

memorial cards, possibly programs, and thank you cards

Officiants, musicians, religious institutions, etc. all need to be paid (and tipped) for their time.

If we ever wrangle this pandemic, donating funeral flowers to a nursing homes is a fantastic way to brighten residents’ days.

Obituary.

Obituaries are expected, but traditionally costly ($200-$800). As part of the publishing fee, most newspapers keep the obituary on legacy.com indefinitely.

A funeral home will assist you with this, but the burden will be on you and your loved ones if using other methods.

These take hours to write and many hands does not make light work. Keep it to 2-4 key people. Having the facts laid out will help, and so will looking at other obituaries. I read a great tip which was to write about your loved one in present tense first, then change the tense before submission.

Newspapers will update your spelling and grammar but that’s about it. Cheaper alternatives:

Death notice which gives age, date and location of death, and who is handling funeral arrangements. Our crematory put in the death notice for us because they had her body, but the requirements on this likely vary state-to-state.

Here is a place to put a free online obituary.

Plants, animals, stuff, etc.

Save the plants and pets.

Household misc. are usually not dictated by the will, except in special circumstances or contested items. Closest members will go through possessions first. Voice early if you want something in particular, but understand that you may not get it. That’s ok.

Going through someone’s life is an overwhelming process. You may be repulsed and sad and overwhelmed and amused, all at the same time.

In deciding what to keep, as I’ve now cleared out three houses, I’ve found that quality over quantity is the way to go. The sweet spot? 1-2 sentimental + useful things. My great grandmother’s thimble and juicer? Use them all the time, and I remember her lemonade.

It’s okay to throw away some keepsakes and let things get thrown out or donated, depending on the thing.

Don’t give into guilt if you don’t want the china your Aunt Karen is pressuring you into taking when she doesn’t want it either.

Legal stuff.

If someone dies, there will be all kinds of legal things you will need to do (bank accounts, utilities, debtors, education, etc.), investments or 401k, etc.

This varies too much by state and circumstance to talk about in depth but there are guides to specifically help you.

If someone you love has lost someone they love

Do not give platitudes or ask if they’re ok

Don’t expect a response from someone grieving

Do send a card! It’s so thoughtful. I keep a stack of blank condolence cards and a set of forever stamps in my closet. It doesn’t have to be a $20 card to be special.

Don’t judge someone by how they grieve

Offer specific, actionable help if you’re close enough to give it

I am going to come over and clean at 10, leave the house unlocked

I’m at the store and am going to buy cheap vodka unless you tell me what kind of wine you want

oops I got you an uber eats gift card in your gmail sorry/not sorry

Buy thank you cards with stamps as a condolence gift, depending on the person and situation

Send a plant instead of a bouquet of flowers

Make a donation in the loved one’s name if you have the funds

If the grieving person is someone super close (best friend, sister, etc.) add the date in your recurring calender so you can check up on them this day next year with a card and/or phone call

#cw death #grief #end-of-life decisions

99 notes · View notes

imadeletingmysocials · 5 years ago

Text

Things cheaper at Dollartree (after much research)

This is a big list I made for myself and anyone else who wants to know what is legit cheaper at the dollar tree and not just 1 dollar for the sake of there, some things might surprise you what is cheaper and even better at a dollar tree. I try to also pick the healthiest options and compare them to prices in places such as Walmart or a large stock place like BJs. I have also used fooducate.com to see which ones are more healthy, of course with things such as chips and snacks though don’t consider them to be healthy but in those cases I opt for the off-brand ones that taste better than the brand ones. Note: This is USA based.

Food:

Drinks:

Azul Coconut Juice, 16.5 oz. (cheapest and healthiest coconut water out there)

Gatorade Fruit Punch Thirst Quencher, 24 oz.

Stacker 2 B-12 Vitamin Shots is also cheaper.

Rockstar Pure Zero Silver Ice Energy Drinks (energy drinks are bad for you but it’s like 30 cents cheaper here than in walmart)

LaCroix Lime Flavored Sparkling Water 1 litter

(don’t even bother with any or all of the cheap soda it’s the worst, please drink water if anything else, all of the good soda is cheaper somewhere else also)

Snacks:

Cheez-It Original Baked Snack Crackers, 4.5 oz is cheaper at Dollartree.

Nabisco Cheese Nips Baked Snack Crackers, 7 oz is cheaper at Dollartree.

Nabisco Ritz Bits Cheese and Cracker Sandwiches, 3-oz. is SORTA cheaper at dollartree.

Island Choice Dry-Roasted Peanuts, 7.5 oz. (shelled nuts cheaper everywhere else of course in bulk)

Island Choice Honey-Roasted Dry-Roasted Peanuts, 7.5 oz

Pennysticks Mini Pretzels, 12 oz (pretzels the same, these cheaper)

Tropical Chips Plantains, 3-oz (30 cents cheaper)

Barcel Takis Fuego Flavored Churritos Stix, 4 oz (apparently, 9oz is 2,50 so 3 would be 12oz and 3 dollars, it would be kinda cheaper?)

Pringles Grab & Go Barbecue Chips, 2.5 oz (buying in bulk anywhere else is cheaper though, however, this single container costs 1,25 everywhere else)

Brim's Fried Barbecue Pork Rinds, 2.635 oz

Carolina Country Snacks Salt & Vinegar Pork Rinds. 2.75 oz

Sheila G's Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle, 2 oz

Barcel Takis Crunchy Fajitas Tortilla Chips, 3.2 oz

T.G.I. Friday’s Jalapeno Cheddar Potato Skins Snack Chips, 4.5 oz

Snack Factory Original Pretzel Crisps, 3-oz (50 cents cheaper!)

PopCorners Kettle Flavor Popped Corn Chips, 3 oz. (better in bulk also)

Good Health Veggie Chips with Sea Salt, 2.75-oz (better in bulk also)

Stacy's Parmesan Garlic & Herb Flavored Pita Chips, 3 oz (better in bulk also)

Rudolph's OnYums Onion-Flavored Ring Chips, 3 oz (it’s off brand Funyuns but it’s actually BETTER and cheaper depending on where you buy them because they’re often sold more expensively at gas stations than Funyuns, fun fact)

Island Choice Banana Chips, 6 oz. Bags

Island Choice Sweet and Spicy Trail Mix, 5 oz (healthy!)

Breakfast Blueberry Biscuits, 7.93 oz.

Harvest Hill Quick Oats, 16 oz. Canisters (Top choice too)

Canned and Pickled

Pampa Tropical Mango Slices in Light Syrup, 15 oz. Cans

Bell's Pitted Olives, 6 oz

Green Giant Sliced Carrots, 14.5 oz (but mostly because I cannot find them anywhere else, all other Green Giant stuff is sold cheaper in bulk though)

Margaret Holmes Finely Chopped Spinach, 27 oz (TOP CHOICE)

Crider Premium Chunk White Turkey 5oz

Libby"s Sliced Pineapple, 20 oz (surprisingly!)

Margaret Holmes Seasoned Field Peas and Snaps, 15 oz

Cans of Pampa(R) Peach Slices, 15.25oz

Pampa Mushroom Pieces & Stems, 10 oz

Pampa Extra-Long Asparagus Spears, 12-oz (by the way Pampa is a really good healthy brand which is cheaper so these alternatives are great)

Libby's Premium Mandarin Oranges, 15 oz

Breckenridge Farms Pickled Jalapeno Slices, 12.5 oz (however Old El Paso Jalapeno Slices, Pickled 12.5oz is 1 dollar more expensive in other places and considered more healthy)

Van Camp's Chunk White Albacore Tuna 5oz (keep in mind this is the only canned tuna that is cheaper at dollartree, Albacore is very healthy and usually more expensive than Tuna, but dollartree sells white albacore in water on the same price as light tuna, this is a very good tuna brand as well)

Mc. Trader Tender Green Asparagus Spears, 10.5 oz

Pampa Smoked Oysters in Oil

Healthy Choice Chicken Noodle Soup, 15-oz

Beach Cliff Sardines in Mustard Sauce, 3.75 (top choice)

Beach Cliff Sardines in Water, 3.75 oz (top choice)

French Onion Dip, 8.5 oz (all onion’s dips the same as well)

Condiments and Spicing

Goya Sazon Seasoning, 8-Packet Boxes

Deli Market Yellow Mustard 20oz (not only is this the best healthiest mustard, but it’s cheaper if you buy it like this than any other mustard in stock size, I wish I had known of this before already stocking up buy buying a 2 pack of 20oz mustard at BJs which is enough to last a year for me)

Louisiana Supreme Hot Sauce 12oz (top choice too)

Kendale Farm Beef Broth, 32 oz (top choice, cheaper than most 32oz broths)

Heinz 57 Sauce, 5 oz. (1,50 cheaper than Walmart)

Hunts Tomato Ketchup, 20 oz (all ketchup is the same)

Deli Market Deli Spicy Brown Mustard (top choice)

Riverton Orchards Lemon Juice, 32-oz (lemon juice the same)

Kraft Bullseye Everyday Original Barbecue Sauce, 17.5-oz (80 cents cheaper than the same product in Target)

A.1. Thick & Hearty Steak Sauce, 5 oz. (SURPRISINGLY, not even in bulk is it as cheap as this? Weird, 5oz is 1 dollar right? 30oz for A1 is usually 8 dollars in stock supermarkets, but 5 times 8 would be 40oz! This is... Interesting. Especially considering it’s a well known brand as well, I wonder who is their dealer or are they just selling it cheap out of donation?)

Healthy Chef Canola Non-Stick Cooking Spray (this one’s pretty wild too, it only is sold at dollartree and is considered the healthiest cooking spray in the entirety of America according to fooducate)

Candy

Gonna go on a safe bet here and say that everything can be found for less and in greater quantity anywhere else. Hairbo Twin Snake is the same price at Walmart though. Most candies are sold 40% cheaper at bulk supermarkets though.

Office & School Supplies

You can probably find all of these at an Ebay auction, but it’s more accessible here.

Crayola Washable Glue Sticks, 2-ct. Packs (1.50 cheaper than walmart)

Duck Tape is cheap as hell

All-Purpose Krazy Glue, .052-oz. Tubes

Other stuff:

Laundry stuff, I’d recommend Ajax 40oz or Fab. Those are AMAZING brands and known as top quality in Australia. And it is insane how cheap this is, they must import it??

Scott Toilet Paper: Oh my god HOW IS 4 TOILET PAPERS THIS CHEAP HERE AT THE DOLLAR TREE???? TP is literally more expensive everywhere else.

Kitchen appliances, a glass salt shaker is like 5 dollars at Walmart but it’s 1 dollar at dollartree. All of the Betty Crocker kitchen appliances like spatulas are only a dollar too and so good. (They are 3 DOLLARS cheaper at dollar tree). IT IS INSANE HOW CHEAP this shit is here, like the can opener they sell for 1 dollar is 6 or 5 dollars everywhere else.

Fisher-Price Smart Care Aloe Vera and Chamomile Baby Wipes, 80-ct. Packs

All Arm & Hammer stuff including the Arm & Hammer Ultra Max 3-in-1 Fresh Scented Body Wash, Shampoo, and Conditioner, 12 oz are good choices. Deodorant too is good. All Arm and hammer stuff here is cheaper than on Walmart and a great brand.

Hand soap might be found for 97 cents at Walmart but it’s a small difference.

Not Cheaper, Best bought at a bulk store:

Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels

snack bars.

V8 Vegetable Juice

Potato Stix

Cereal

Canned Soup

Canned Tuna

Badia Original Complete Seasoning (this took a while to calculate but yes it’s cheaper to buy in bulk, dollartree has 2,5oz for 1 dollar, usually a 2 pack of 12oz each is 13 dollars. if you do like 2.5 times 2.5oz, it’s like 32oz which is more than 24oz for 13 dollars, but you can find 1.75 lbs. of this for 8 dollars)

Iodized Salt (get it at Great value honestly)

Dill Pickles in general, but Vlasic Kosher Dill Pickles is the healthiest choice

Cambell canned soups

Goya canned beans

Sunny Sea Sardines in Tomato Sauce, 7.5-oz

Here’s hoping me publishing this doesn’t crash the market or anything but seriously, you can live healthily and frugally like this. I literally survive like this easily, I just spend like 60 dollars a month max with supplies.

#dollartree #frugal #money tips

1K notes · View notes

anabantoid · 5 years ago

Text

The Ubiquitous Betta Care Guide

Literally everyone and their mother has written a care guide about bettas, but I felt like I could provide a care guide based around my opinions and experiences in keeping bettas. I’ve kept bettas since I was about 15 years old, they were one of my first fish, and I fell in love with them and at one point I had over a dozen bettas at one time! That’s ridiculous now, but this was 2005/2006, bettas were cheaper and not as disposable then, definitely lasting for the oft-quoted “2-3 year” lifespans that people struggle to see today. Nowadays, I struggle to be able to get a betta to live past 6 months. So, what’s happening? Am I suddenly taking worse care of bettas than I did when I was 15?

Well, no, all of my most recent bettas were kept in tanks that were over 50 gallons, well planted, my tap water is soft (kH of 5), my pH is neutral (7-7.4) and my water is easily modified with botanicals or wood to be about 6 if need be. They live in filtered tanks with 80 degree water, eat nothing but live or frozen food, and never fall ill with disease or parasites. That’s more than I can say about teenage me. I dealt with a lot of issues, obviously, from bacterial to fungal infections because of my ignorance, but nowadays I can’t say I’ve had to treat a betta for anything, they just sorta..die, and at seemingly random too. What’s going on?

Today, bettas come in every color, shape and variety you can think of, which wasn’t the case when I was 15. The reason for the huge variety is the desire for more ornamental fish, but for commercial selling, there’s mass breeding on an industrial scale which leads to poor stock, inbreeding, and deformed fish and genetic issues we just can’t see. It doesn’t matter if it’s a local breeder or from a store, they’re all coming from the same stock now.

I’ve touched about betta problems in the past, and if you’ve followed my blog for a few years or see me in my discord server (Fish Tea), then you already know how I feel. That’s not what this post is about! This post is about caring for your betta, what I’ve learned in my experiences with them, and how to treat and care for the common ailments that befall them.

THEIR CARE:

Min tank size: 10 gallons. Why 10 gallons? In all my time keeping bettas, they do best in larger tanks that allow them to move, they get proper muscle tone in larger tanks because they’re able to move, and I’ve never had an issue with constipation in bettas when placed in larger tanks because movement makes it easier for animals to pass their waste. I can’t think of any other 2 inch-3 inch, active fish that anyone would suggest for a 5 gallon, but for some reason people all say 5 gallons is fine. This is MY recommendation, this is something I will tell people to follow, but whether or not you agree is up to you. You can keep them as you wish, but I prefer having bettas in larger tanks.

Temperature: 80+. In the wild, the Betta genus comes from hot, humid environments in Southeast Asia, living in shallow bodies of water that can be over 80 degrees in temperature. Wild Betta splendens have been observed living in rice paddies with an average temperature of 84 degrees (Jaroensutasinee & Jaroensutansinee, 2001). While it can be argued that domestic bettas are different from their wild counterparts, we have not bred them for cold resistance, and bettas display poor health in colder temps, lethargy, loss of appetite, bloating and constipation.

Water Params: My position about water parameters has evolved over time, but I still think a betta does best in neutral to acidic waters, because a betta in a pH of 8+ will not have a great time. Essentially, most people’s tap water will be fine, you don’t need RO water to keep a domestic betta.

Feeding: I feed my bettas live food in the form of blackworms, fruit flies, random small bugs I find, a spider….anything that’s an invert and they can swallow, they can eat it. I also feed them frozen foods such as bloodworms, krill, mysis, cyclops and sometimes just cut up cocktail shrimp. You can feed them live and frozen, and you can also give them prepared foods, like New Life Spectrum, Bug Bites, or Bug Pro. They have excellent sources of protein that are not derived from soy like other brands such as Hikari, Omega One, Tetra, Aqueon and such. You can also make repashy grub pie and feed them that.

Furnishings: Bettas naturally come from environments that are dense with vegetative growth (Jaroensutasinee & Jaroensutansinee, 2001), which means your bettas should also be in tanks that are filled to the brim with plants! I like live plants, but you can use soft silks too, anything that can provide them some cover that they can serpentine and swim through. My rule of thumb usually is if you can see straight through one end of the tank with no broken lines of sight, you don’t have enough plants. Lack of proper coverage can make them stressed out, lethargic and more susceptible to illness and refusal to eat.

Tank mates: If you want to keep bettas with other fish, I suggest a 20 long as a minimum. If your betta has long fins, avoid getting any boisterous, nipping fish like tetras. Kuhli loaches make wonderful tankmates for bettas because they tolerate the high temps a betta likes, as well as Hypancistrus plecos, some corydoras, smaller spiny eels and more. I don’t recommend ever putting shrimp in with bettas, aside from larger shrimp like amanos, because shrimp are a betta’s natural prey and they will hunt them all down!

WHAT IF MY BETTA GETS SICK?

Bettas can and will get ill, you will most likely encounter an issue with your betta one way or another, but what can you do to help? In most cases, the problem is lack of proper care and poor water conditions. The best way to insure your betta remains happy and healthy is to have a clean tank. The easiest way to do this is to make sure your tank is cycled and you do regular, weekly water changes of 25%-30%.

When you buy a betta, make sure you are picking out an active one, don’t try to be a saint and pick out one laying on its side, half dead. The likelihood is that it will just die, you’ll feel upset, and then you’ll go out and try it again. I’ve been there! It doesn’t work! Get a fish that wiggles at you and looks like it wants to kick your ass. That’s a good betta.

Here’s some common betta ailments:

Popeye: This happens because your water quality is poor and a bacterial infection brews up, causing fluid retention that can pop the eye out. Your best course of action is to address the water quality issue, then use an antibiotic such as kanaplex or metroplex.

Bloat and constipation: The betta is fed too much, the tank is unheated, the water quality is poor, the tank is too small, and more. This is a symptom of an underlying issues, and it needs to be addressed by seeing what you’re doing wrong. To treat it, give your betta a soak in an epsom salt bath for 10-15 minutes in a bucket or other container, with 1 tbs of epsom salt per gallon. Feed them some frozen food like daphnia or brine shrimp to aid in passing their waste.

Ich: This can literally happen to anyone, and it sometimes just. Happens. Inexplicably. Whether or not it’s introduced or always in the water, it can crop up in even the warmest of tanks, as ich nowadays seems to have gotten particularly strong. Up your temps to about 86, your betta can handle temps into the 90’s, and use an ich treatment, I usually do Ich X, follow the directions on the bottle. You can also do a salt dip on the betta at the first signs of ich, 1 tbs of aquarium or table salt per gallon in a separate container, do a 10 minute soak. Up the temps and see if the ich subsides, if not, follow through with medication.

Fin rot: This is a water quality issue, you need to address this first before proceeding with treatment, as usually providing clean, warm water is enough to stop fin rot. If you do this but notice the fin rot is especially aggressive or starting to proceed onto the body, treat with an antibiotic such as kanaplex.

Velvet: This is a parasitic infection like ich, though for this one it comes from yet another water quality issue. It can happen in the store they come from, or it can happen in your home if you’re not up and up on your care. You would treat it the same way as ich, however shut your lights off, as it appears to be light sensitive.

Lethargy, bottom sitting, loss of appetite: These are symptoms of a bigger issue, be it water quality, age, or simply just something going wrong internally that we can’t see. If your tank is too cold, you’re not feeding enough or you’re not on top of water changes, you can help by adjusting all of that. If it’s from age or something else, all you can do is wait and see how much longer the betta has left, or euthanize if you feel he won’t get better. You can attempt an epsom salt bath, raising temps, and feeding live or frozen, but at that point it’s palliative care rather than a solution.

What if you just got your betta, and it seemed fine, and then one day it didn’t look good and the next you found it dead? Well, circling back to my long winded intro, you can see that the answer is in the poor breeding practices. Bettas are not as strong or hardy as they used to be, in fact they seem to just be about as durable as tissue paper nowadays and will die after a few months or a year, with some exceptions. It can be disheartening to feel like you’re failing at a fish that’s touted as being one of the hardiest fish out there, but I promise you that if you’re providing the best care for them, they’ll still die early, and you’re not at fault. I still get bettas, but I only buy one after another passes, and I try to not spend more than $15 on one. I settle with the fact they won’t live as long, and I enjoy them while I have them, and if you feel the same way, go for it.

If you’d like to learn more about bettas, their alternatives and more, the best way to reach me and a whole community of experiences keepers is through Fish Tea, an lgbt+ friendly discord server dedicated to all things aquatic.

(reference: Jaroensutasinee, M., & Jaroensutansinee, K. (2001). Bubble nest habitat characteristics of wild Siamese fighting fish. Journal of Fish Biology, 58(5), 1311-1319. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2001.tb02288.x)

#fishblr #betta fish #bettablr #betta #fish tank #megs does guides

210 notes · View notes

caelpictor · 4 years ago

Text

QHAVPPFAQ

Quarantine Halloween: A Virtual Paint Party

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Who are you?

Kyle Marcus Bryant, aka @caelpictor. He/him/his/pronoun-flexible, Black, queer, 26 (and a half), Taurus, INFP, ADHD af. I’m an artist (with a degree in it, as of 2018!), a nerd, and a lover of Halloween!

What is this event?

Quarantine Halloween: A Virtual Paint Party is an art class conducted via video call in which I teach you step-by-step how to paint a Halloween masterpiece! #distancelearning

When is this taking place?

There are two classes scheduled: Friday October 30, 2020, and Saturday October 31, 2020 (AKA Halloween) from 7-9 PM EST.

Where?

It’s all happening on Zoom! Technology is amazing!

Why?

Like many of us, I lost my job to the pandemic. I am now safely quarantined away in VA with family, staring down my student loan debt, bored out of my mind, and looking for a fun way to connect with others while also offering my talents in exchange for your cold. hard. cash!

How much does it cost?

The $10 instructor fee covers one participant for one night. If you want to take both classes, make sure to get two tickets! And if two or more people will be joining the class from one location, please make sure everyone in the group is covered! Thanks 🙂

Is there a difference between the two classes?

Nope! They will be the same. I’m just offering two different dates for your convenience! Aren’t I nice?

How do I sign up?

Simply send in your payment and the best way to contact you, and let me know which day you’ll be participating (Fri 30 or Sat 31). Once I receive your payment, I’ll add you to my little list, confirm with you that you’re on it, and I’ll send you the Zoom link/meeting ID and password on the day of the event.

Where do I send my payment?

Venmo: @KyleBryant

PayPal: KyleMB13

CashApp: $KyleMarcusBryant

None of these are case-sensitive. If there’s one you prefer that’s not listed, let me know, and we’ll see what we can do!

Which is your preferred payment method?

Venmo, but any of the ones listed above are great!

Do you accept tips/donations?

Yes 🙂 always :)))

What’s the vibe?

Very casual. Drinking, Halloween costumes, and conversation are all highly encouraged! (But never forced)! I will be in costume, probably sipping wine or a cocktail and jamming out to music while I teach. It’s quite liberating, being able to drink on the job.

What’s the etiquette?

We try to stay on mute while the teacher is teaching, but otherwise, go wild. ***And please ALWAYS feel free to jump off mute if you have questions or comments!

Who can join?

Literally everyone! Spread the word! Bring your friends! The more the merrier!

I have no artistic skills! Can I join?

I said EVERYONE, didn’t I? That’s exactly what I’m here for! Just think of me as your personal Bob Ross; I may not be able to hold your hand in person, but I will break every brushstroke down for you as simply as possible, and you’ll be surprised at how well you do. Again, if you ever have questions or need my advice, feel free to chime in at any time! And remember to focus on the experience of the painting, not the product!

General advice for first-time painters?

Work in big, general shapes first, then focus on smaller details later. I also usually start with the background and build the foreground on top of that. Also, relax, experiment, and have fun with it! There are no rules!

How long is the event?

Two hours, but please allow a little extra time for people to settle in at the beginning, finish up at the end, etc.. I promise it’ll breeze right by, but don’t feel pressured to be there for the whole event. If you miss the beginning, I’m great at catching people up, and if you duck out early, I won’t mind!

What image are you teaching us to paint?

Coming soon!

What materials do I need?

Here’s a breakdown:

Essentials:

1. Acrylic paints (a nice set of 5-12 colors is plenty)

2. Palette (for holding/mixing paint; a paper plate works just as well)

3. Brushes (at least one small brush for details, and one large brush for covering large areas; preferably one medium-sized brush as well)

4. Canvas (either a stretched canvas or a flat canvas panel, any size!)

5. Water cup (a vessel to hold brushes; I’m using an old plastic gelato container)

6. Easel (to hold the painting upright and steady; not strictly necessary, as you can use a desk or table or your lap instead if you’d like)

7. Paper towels or old rag (for cleanup and drying brushes)

Other:

1. Workspace (away from things you don’t want paint on; lay down tarp or newspaper to protect walls, floors, and other surfaces if necessary)

2. Paint clothes, smock, apron, etc. (wear something you don’t mind getting paint on!)

3. Trash can, running water, acetone, etc. (for cleanup)

Bonus:

1. Hair dryer (to help paint dry faster)

2. Pencils, pens, markers, pastels, etc. (for sketching, signing your name, etc)

3. Glitter, collage materials, sponges, stamps, stencils, etc. (just for fun!)

4. Your favorite drink (for inspiration 😉)

Where can I get them?

I’ve bought literally everything on this list from Target and Michael’s (except the easel, which I bought online). I would mask up and check your local department store or arts and crafts store (Walmart, Blick, Plaza, Hobby Lobby, Jerry’s, JoAnne’s, etc.), or if you prefer to order it all online, you can do so easily from those same retailers or… 😬 Amazon. (Protip: If you’re lost on the internet, but would like to avoid buying from Amazon, you can use its search engine as a jumping-off point and go directly to the retailers they have listed 😜) Pretty much everything else is just household items.

What will it cost me?

If you’re not worried about the quality—and you shouldn’t be! I’ve found the cheaper stuff works just as well!—you can buy the essentials (paints, palettes, brushes, and canvases) for ~$20. These items are also often sold in bulk, or in sets with each other!

What colors are we using?

My current plan for the palette is black, white, yellow, purple, orange, and green, the sp00kiest of colors! If you just want to get those six, feel free. However, I always recommend having the primary colors: red, yellow, and blue, plus black and white; that way you can mix any color you want!

What size canvas should I buy?

That is entirely up to you! 8 x 10” and 16 x 20” are pretty popular sizes, though.

Are there any extra precautions I should take?

Acrylic paint comes off skin, hair, nails, and smooth non-porous surfaces fairly easily, but it does stain clothing and carpet, and is very stubborn once dried. I would recommend being careful to prevent spills in the first place, but if it does get on something precious, rinse immediately and completely with water. If already dry, try acetone or a similar cleanser to break down the plastic particles in the paint.

How do I clean up afterward?

My method: Scrub brushes along the bottom of your water cup to get all the paint off them, then rinse under running water until water runs clear. Either let the paint water sit in the cup until the paint particles have settled to the bottom, or pour it through a filter (coffee filter, cloth, etc, because acrylic paint is made of a micro-plastic that can be harmful to the environment and your plumbing in large amounts!) Leave everything else alone until it’s completely dry, and then peel or scratch dried paint off your palette if desired. Scrub your paint-covered hands and other body parts until clean, preferably with something exfoliating.

Is the paint non-toxic?

I mean, I wouldn’t drink it on purpose, but yeah, paint left on the skin or ingested (in small amounts) is harmless.

How can I contact you?

You can comment right here on this post, DM me on any of my social media, or email me! I promise to get back to you ASAP!

Social Media: @caelpictor (everywhere)

Email: [email protected]

I will update this post as questions are asked between now and the event, so please let me know if there’s a question I didn’t answer here for you!

Thanks for reading, and I’m excited to see you all there!!!

#caelpictor #quarantine #Halloween #painting class #art

11 notes · View notes

0poole · 4 years ago

Text

Bloons

Honestly the entire Bloons series has been some of my favorite flash/other-than-flash games out there, and I feel like it’s worth bringing it up since I just crossed the 365 day threshold for BTD6. Maybe in the past, but nowadays I definitely don’t feel like I ever play a game daily for a year straight. Chances are it was a little desperate when I first started playing, but as of now literally every single day I open the game up and play the daily challenge just for the sake of it. Plus, since the chest technically resets every 9 hours or so instead of 24, I could’ve cheesed it a bit, but I didn’t. That’s a pure 365 days of playing the game.

And even apart from that, the entire Bloons series has been in my mind since the first one and my middle/elementary school Coolmath Games days. Even though the puzzle, pure form of Bloons wasn’t as much in my interest, the staying power of the Tower Defense version is crazy. Flash Tower Defense games are plenty, and yet the one with the stupid monkeys throwing darts at balloons was the best.

I went back semi-recently and played a round of each BTD, and I gotta say, it was fun seeing where everything came from. 1 is absolute garbage, forcing you to just spam Super Monkeys if you want to get anywhere, but a good starting point obviously. I honestly know nothing about the people creating these games, but obviously it wasn’t made by a AAA crew, so you can’t expect everything to be put in place in the first iteration. 2 and 3 feel much better, but obviously not much after being so used to the modern stuff, and 4 and 5 are the ones that really shine the most, apart from 6 obviously.

I definitely was one of the types of people who initially reacted poorly to the artstyle change of 5 and 6, but I’ve definitely turned over. I don’t know if the whole BTD community rioted at that point, but I at least was like “ew, they’re cute now” when I first saw it. Thankfully I turned over, and realized the current designs are the absolute best out of the entire franchise. Also, I love their cuteness, as I love cuteness in general, so basically just call it character growth. Even though 2D art always is more interesting for games than 3D in general, the entire art direction of 6 is genuinely really good, being so bright and cartoony (at least before the fifth stages of upgrades) really fits the cartoony idea of monkeys popping bloons. 5, and the entire franchise before it, really is proof enough how horrible a pure top-down perspective is. On the title screen, you can see what the monkeys are supposed to look like, but in-game they literally look like weird blobby scorpions. Even though in the back of my mind I knew what they were supposed to look like, the pure top-down perspective completely ruined the image. Not to mention the OG designs for the monkeys was really weird and bad anyway. Even if you wanted a goofy fat kind of monkey, there are a million better ways to achieve that than how it used to be. Again, of course, they weren’t exactly AAA game-level quality, so you can’t expect such perfect character design.

But, oh my god. One of the things about this game that must’ve kept me through 6 was the character designs. If you know anything about me, it’s that I love a good character design, and 6 is full of them. It’s so interesting to see how they extrapolate the main concepts of each tower into their three different paths. The generic Superman-based monkey can turn into a Batman-based monkey, a Terminator-based monkey, and a fucking ancient god of the sun. The seemingly chill Druid can smite people with the power of Zeus, become the much more expected forest-based type, but also turn into this completely out-there being of pure wrath. I could go on and on about that, but needless to say for so many of them look and are designed so great. I think the tower with the coolest level 5s of the game is the Ninja. It’s hard to explain, but they all just look really cool while also not deviating too much from the cartoony-cute art style. I think my all-time favorite level 5 is the top path of the Wizard, mostly just because he looks really cool, but also because the parts of the path before it show him aging and growing out his beard. I also have to say the 2-0-3/4 Wizard also looks exactly my style, with the dark purply-ness and gold rims. Also, if you haven’t noticed, the Magic monkeys are my favorite type, and not just because their signature color is purple. That’s part of it though. Magic is also just cool in general. My main RPG-class of choice is almost always a mage/wizard.

Also, the heroes are also really fun. As someone who often creates species of aliens/monsters, I always feel like I want to create a dedicated character out of them no matter what, so I feel like the heroes are basically just that. And, of course they have good designs too, and of course as you can probably guess my favorite is Adora, basically being the same thing as the 5-0-0 Wizard with the Sun God aesthetic. Since she has her own stage and a special interaction with the True Sun God/Vengeful Monkey, I think she’s a pretty big deal anyway. I will say that I highly slept on Gwen, but then for Easter they gave her the Harlegwen skin and I fell in love. It’s insanely good stuff. Apart from looks, it does feel nice to have some sort of interchangeable tower that you basically just place and forget about, aside from using their powers. Plus, it makes a really easy type of thing to periodically add to the game to keep things fresh, even with the skins in general. It definitely is much better than the stuff they had in 5, where you had to use Monkey Money to buy each one, and you could only use them once per stage. Obviously 6 has the extra powers to help you out, but they feel much more optional and cheaper than the heroes of 5. Since I barely buy anything with Monkey Money to begin with, and since I’ve obviously had 365 chest openings, and AND since I barely use them to begin with, I’m completely stocked up. I only ever use the farmer and sometimes the tech bot if I get lazy. I did use the portable lake I got from my 365th chest opening after I got it, just for the sake of celebration. That’s literally how my mind goes.

6 does have the slight tinge of a mobile game artstyle, but in this case it’s really just better. I’m not into mobile games, and especially not the generic artstyle they have, but it is really pleasing to look at anyway. It did chase me off before I converted, though. That, and the fact you had to buy it now. Like a true gamer, I was put off by the fact that something that was once expected to be free now has to be paid for. But, then, I realized that the entire franchise has provided much more than 10$ worth of entertainment to me throughout time, so it was extremely fair to pay that. It is still kinda weird how 5 has to be paid for for mobile, when it is just free online, though. However, unlike a true gamer I think the microtransactions of the game are extremely fair. Considering they just give you things that you don’t need, and can get for free otherwise, I think it’s completely fine to have them. It sounds bad on the surface to have to pay for the game and have there still be microtransactions in it, but since they’re completely optional there’s no good reason to hate it. I think people assume that means that you have to pay for the game, and pay extra for different major parts of the game, and that sours their opinion on everything. Gamers are a strange, irrationally angry breed. I do hate using my phone for pretty much anything, though, so once I bought 6 on Steam I haven’t played it on my phone since. It’s just so much better in every single way...

I bought the game around the time of one of my family’s semi-annual trips to England because I thought it’d help when we were traveling between wi-fi spots, and it really did wonders for me then. Probably looked like some asshole teen to strangers who don’t know I barely ever use my phone for anything, since I was playing it so much. My sister even saw me playing it and bought it for herself, although I don’t know how much she’s played since then.

For the sake of stats, I have 235 hours played of it on Steam alone, and in game I’m level 115. My most complete map is Monkey Meadow with all medals except CHIMPS, which I put the effort in because it’s the default map, and definitely not because it’s an easy/good map because it’s just kinda bad compared to so many other ones. My Dart monkey has a total of 4 million XP, and the only towers that haven’t crossed a million are the Ice, Heli, Alchemist, Druid, and Spike factory monkeys/tower. I think the farthest I’ve actually gotten round-wise is 200 once or twice, but I don’t remember if I’ve actually beaten that level and continued on or lost there. I think I might’ve gotten past it once, but just sort of lost interest in micro-managing my powers and let myself lose. I probably got there once after that and lost on it. As someone who didn’t look up the optimal strategies for things until very recently, I think that’s pretty good. It definitely feels like the kind of game where if you know the best strategies, you can literally just replicate that over and over and win really easily, but that just sounds kinda boring. Since I pretty much only do daily challenges nowadays, it forces me to use a limited amount of towers, so I either go much farther because it forces me to build up less towers more, or it makes sure I can’t even pass round 90 because it just was made to get you to round 40 and that’s it. When I have the full range of towers to use, I feel like I try to get the instant satisfaction of getting a new tower to increase DPS instead of making the few towers I have/need reach their full potential, which seems to be the better option. I also don’t really sell anything when I don’t have a limited number of monkeys to place, which I think is also a good strategy if you can eliminate the major money loss in it, since it can give you a massive boost in cash to get you the better upgrades quicker. I may or may not try to learn the strategies to wipe the rest of the game clean eventually, but right now I’m fine with just doing the dailies.

But yeah, that’s like the whole thing with Bloons Tower Defense and me. Something something reject modernity, embrace monke, or whatever the kids these days are saying.

I will say that if I didn’t have so many OCs to work with and could just pump out animated shorts on the reg, I’d love to do some sort of Bloons shorts. They’d all lean into the ridiculousness of it all. Like, the first one could do the 2001 thing with the monkeys learning to use sticks, and as the main one is bashing the ground with one or whatever and throws it up, an ancient, leathery patchwork bloon flies overhead and accidentally bumps the stick such that it lands back on the main monkey’s head, knocking him out. Cue the monkeys around him to go berserk and start throwing other sticks at the ancient bloon, and once they pop it using a sharp stick, they realize what they must do. Cue a long montage of the different stages of war and invention using the monkeys finding better ways to fend off the bloons, with the whole idea being that the monkeys are getting irrationally angry at the bloons, who are just sort of around and not actually sentient, even though they assume they’re malicious because of their history and upbringing. Absolutely no political message in there whatsoever. Just comedy.

Other short ideas could include, for the start of the modern time story, it could be the backstory of some sort of chiseled veteran main character, which would involve a bloon floating into his town, and from the people’s panic someone knocks over a lamp post that sets his town ablaze, only for him and his people to blame the carnage on the bloon, causing his classic edgy character motives for fighting against the bloons. Another, much more golden idea, would be an interrogation scene, where a bunch of monkeys capture a bunch of bloons for interrogation purposes. They’d obviously do the whole “Silent treatment, eh? Well, we have ways of making you talk...” thing, except the “way to make them talk” is to strap them to a wall with one dart guy on one side to systematically pop them to try and extract info. But, of course, it would look and play out exactly like the classic Bloons puzzle game. That’d be the fun part. If not that, then it could be like the classic carnival game that likely inspired the idea of using darts to pop balloons. I really just think this weird world of monkeys and bloons is perfect for some good comedic content. Watching the monkeys severely overreact to the bloons sounds extremely fun, and I’d love to see someone do something with it some day.

#bloons tower defense #btd #6 #poole #rant #rambling #opinions #bloons #ninja kiwi #nk #flash

5 notes · View notes

audifotograf · 5 years ago

Text

How I travel as often as possible

By: Claudia Manganiello

Pictured: Philippine Pesos

1. I’m a waitress.

I think the biggest reasons I love being a waitress is that I make decent money and can virtually make my own schedule. I tell my manager what days I’m available which really means what days I want to work and for the most part that is my schedule. And anytime I want to go on a vacation I just put in a request a month before, but it’s really more of a formal notice. Granted I make sure I don’t travel during busy season, too close together or for too long because I don’t want to risk not having a job when I get back. But in the past I’ve been able to travel up to 6 times a year!

2. I save alot of my extra money towards travel.

This one takes self control. Even though friends constantly invite me out to restaurants and bars, etc. I have to be selective and make sure whenever I spend it’s on something I REALLY want to because I know I much rather spend it on travel.

3. I research.

I always do some general research ahead of time on what the prices of a flight to a place are and how much things cost there (currency exchange). I also check if the prices will have a chance of spiking for instance around a busy time or holiday. This is something I look out for when I go to Miami every year for Ultra Music Festival. Most other times of the year the prices are ~$150 roundtrip, but because the festival is during Spring Break the prices can go up to $350 if you wait too long. So I start checking the flights a month earlier than usual and if I see a normal price or better I buy it because I know the prices are only going to go up. Last year I was able to find a round trip from NY to MIA for $100!!

4. I look for flights on sites like Expedia.

Two months before domestic, three before international trips I start looking up flights on Tuesdays. I check Expedia, Kayak, Syscanner and Google flights to see all different results and prices. What's great about these sites is they have features where you can see side by side how the prices can differ before or after the dates you select. This way you can choose the cheapest possible days to arrive and leave while still maximizing the time you can go away for.

Photo taken from google.com/flights.

5. I try to be as flexible as possible.

I try to work around my schedule. For example, when I was in school I had class from Monday to Thursday so ideally I would go away on a Wednesday or Thursday right after class and come back right before class on Monday. I usually worked it out so I only missed exactly one of each of my classes. But sometimes I had to weigh out the importance of the prices versus time I could go without missing too much school. I ended up going away almost every 2 months while I was in college, but I always planned in advance.

I also try to be flexible about the airport I fly out of. One time I waited too long to buy a flight to Miami and the flights were $350 roundtrip, so I flew to Fort Lauderdale instead for $200! The 45 minute drive to Miami was well worth the $150 I saved. However the cheapest airport to fly out of the New York area is usually Newark but it's not as cheap to get a ride to and its not the easiest to take public transportation with luggage. So most times I just choose the airport easiest to get to.

Less often I'm flexible about the airline I choose. I try to avoid airlines that have poor customer service because if something goes wrong the money is not worth the headache. I missed my flight home from Rome while I was literally AT THE AIRPORT waiting at the wrong gate where a flight was leaving for the same place at the same time (please learn from me: ALWAYS CHECK YOUR FLIGHT NUMBER). American was basically like sorry not sorry. This was definitely mostly my fault but I went through security, checked in and everything, so they knew I was in the building. Yet no one called my name on a loud speaker like they do in the US when someone is missing. No one would help me in person (another lesson learned: look for flights on other websites but always try to buy directly from the airline). No standby was offered. I ended up sobbing to a random lady on the phone in the middle of the airport to get a somewhat affordable flight back home the same day because everyone was just trying to sell me $1000 flights 3 days later. So even though American is often one of the cheapest options, I can't say I wouldn't pay a little more to fly a different airline.

Also sometimes flights are cheaper from smaller airlines but they don’t include a carry-on in the price like most do so it ends up being the same price anyway. If you can fit all your stuff in a backpack (which is totally possible) it could be worth it, but again be weary of the quality of customer service.

6. I stay at Airbnb's/ hostels.

If I can split a room with someone I usually coordinate and book an airbnb atleast a month in advance to get the best options and deals. One time I stayed at a private apartment in NYC for just $25 a night before! But when I traveled alone I found the cheapest option was to share a room at a hostel. I enjoyed time by myself but when I wanted to share experiences I had a bunch of people around who wanted the same thing, it was great.

7. I sort out my money ahead of time.

I have credit and debit cards with zero foreign transaction fees and once I arrive to a place I take out however much I want to budget myself at a bank atm. When I can I use my credit card and if I need more cash I take out just enough to last the rest of the trip so I don't go home with a bunch of money I can't use.

8. I use my phone as little as possible.

I don't like to use my phone much while on vacation anyway, but usually you can't really get out of needing it for GPS. I used to have Sprint which includes 2G international service in alot of countries (a fee for faster speeds), but now I have AT&T which costs $10/day so now I really only use my phone for emergencies. I try to do everything on WiFi and when I can't I try to download any maps, tickets, movies etc offline.

9. I buy groceries when I travel.

I try to buy easy stuff to eat for breakfast and lunch from a grocery store and treat myself to dinner out. It saves time and money and seeing what they sell in grocery stores in different countries has become one of my favorite things to do. I still get to try new foods but at a good price!

10. I take public transportation when possible.

Usually I have to take an uber or local ride share from the airport because of my suitcase but when I pick my airbnb I usually make sure it's also accessible to where I want to go throughout the trip.

11. I avoid expensive tours and other tourist traps.

Before paying for something I try to find a way to enjoy it for less. Instead of taking a tour of a park I just look around myself and it's often much more peaceful and interesting. I saved $20-$30 by simply going to see the Colloseum in Rome instead of paying to see the inside. Not to mention I saved myself from waiting on the long line. Another example is when I went to the Venetian hotel in Vegas I didn't ride the gondolas for $20-$30 but I still got to see them and hear them serenade.

I don't skimp on everything though, I still love to enjoy experiences as much as possible. But I spend my money on things that are worth it instead. I've gotten full body professional massages in the Philippines for $20 before, you just have to decide what is worth it to you.

#Travel #miami #nyc #Ultra music festival #Expedia #kayak #skyscanner #google flights #travel tips #airbnb #Hostel #colloseum #venetian

26 notes · View notes

blackfox-thorn · 4 years ago

Text

consideration on witchcraft supplies and ethics (expecially for newbies and broke witches).

caveat emptor: brace yourself, this is a LONG post, but please if you could find your time to read it, me and planet Earth will appreciate. x

we have all been there; we start our journey into witchcraft and all of a sudden we find ourselves with that compelling need to buy 15 billion candles, herbs, crystals and the more you name them, the more there are.

I usually find so many posts that state that you must go with what you have, and you shouldn't mortgage your home or sell a kidney to buy witchcraft supplies.

and by all means, I stand by this.

however, I always had my concerns when I see such advice.

it is that advisable to buy crystals on wish.com and use plastics container to pursuing cheapness?

I know this may upset some, but here's my view:

I usually can talk with 10 different witchcraft practitioners and have 15 different way to practice witchcraft as a result (the beauty of confronting ❤).

however, 98% of the time, there is one common ground where we all stand: a deep respect for the environment, nature, mother earth or whatever we are going to call it.

is hard to believe that such a variegated world can (basically always) come down to this simple, yet so important topic, in finding a common ground.

now more than ever, as witchcraft practitioner, our role in preserving the environment should be key to us, because you know, let's state the obvious: if the environment collapse so does we.

and it seems that the human race is doing its best to make it collapse.

but what does this has to do with witchcraft supplies?

well, let's go state the obvious again, shall we? every single object and material we use in our craft come from somewhere (you may call me 'captain obvious') and "somewhere" means from the planet earth in a more or less direct way.

when this is quite a straightforward observation when it comes to herbs for example, it may not come straight to our mind when we go on more "complex" items, such as candles, paper, strings, containers, crystals, etc. etc.

the truth is that every single object we use in our life (thus in our witchcraft practice) come from a more or less processed version of a material that is being harvested from the Earth.

it is exciting and frustrating at the same time to confront ourselves with the endless amount of tools we can take advantage of in our practices and, especially for early doors practitioner, it can be overwhelming to think to how much they "need" to buy.

the truth is another story.

starting from a very basic principle, which is "you are the tool" (aka the magick is firstly within you), the first thing we need to remember and eventually assimilate as deeply believe, is that we don't need any tools.

you can see tools like a bicycle; if you have to go from A to B, and you have a bicycle, you'll go there faster.

however, you can still go there by feet.

but, if you start to train, and you build up your muscles and resistance, you will eventually be able to run from A to B and by all means, you'll be exactly on the same speed of those who use a bicycle, and guess what? if you were to use a bicycle after you train that hard, you will be able to smash any other competitor.

but let's not forget one extremely important thing: either way, it is you, and you only, that finished the run.

it's not the bicycle alone that brought you to B, but your muscles that pedalled it.

the bicycle alone, without any input on your side, will stay there.

so here, tools simplify our practice, but ultimately, if we are not able to direct and use the energies we want to work with, not even the fanciest, most ancient, most expensive tool ever created will do the job for you.

but we still haven't talked about the "ethics" connected with our choices and the inevitable impact on the environment.

before I delve into it, let me tell you that I KNOW.

I know because I've been there. I've been in the craft for the last 11 years of my life and - no surprise - I've been so broke.

yes, now I can make better choices and afford higher quality, but that's only because I've worked fo f*cking hard for them, and usually adulthood comes with its perks (aka: a better job).

I've been an extremely underpaid waitress and a not·much·better·paid barista.

I had to live for months with a weekly food shop budget of £20/£25 for two people, and have the constant worry that I might not have been able to pay rent for that month.

so I hear you, I hear you when you're broke and you just don't have the money for it, I hear and I know how it feels. x

however, even when I was terribly broke, I never compromised on my witchcraft.

but yes, I did compromise in my everyday life on everything else, because you know: rent & bills > everything else.

when it comes down to witchcraft supplies, I always ask myself a few questions:

· do I really need that?

· does it have to be new?

· can I buy it ethically?

· what material is it made of? it is sustainable?

· can I make it / harvest it / grow it / find it / etc. myself?

· do I know where it comes from?

do I really need that?:

this should be literally the first question popping in your mind.

I will not go over the boringly long point I just made about tools, so I'll bring you a new one.

while there is no such BS as universal crystals/herbs that can substitute any others (although yes, certain herbs/crystal posses a broader spectrum of properties and you can indenfy them as 'master crystal/herb'), is true that many different herbs and crystals domain over similar aspects.

also, when it comes to witchcraft, the neighbour's grass is NOT greener (translation: look for local herbs rather than 'across·the·boarders' one).

let us take as example this bunch of herbs: thyme, basil, artemisia and elder.

those are all herbs that preside over the art of purification, yet each one has a very specific way of express itself upon it.

for example, thyme offers a specific aid against physical pain and thus is more adapt to purifications concerning the body.

basil is deeply connected with prosperity and love, and it's usually kept within the household to ensure its protection.

artemisia is the excellence when it comes to purification of objects and ambients and its infusion is usually the one of choice when it comes to purifying magickal objects.

elder is a particularly sacred plant, and thus is mainly used in the crafting of talismans for personal protection and purification (yes, usually the two goes hand in hands).

what I'm trying to convey in this example is that a deep knowledge of the ingredients/tools/supplies you're looking for is not only beneficial in choosing the most appropriate match (thus enhancing your magickal performance), but it can also help you understand better what do you exactly need (IF you need it) and whether you may be better of looking for something else.

does it have to be new?:

before giving out a kidney for something shiny new, have you considered whether you can find it second·hand?

remember my blathering 15h ago in this post? each and every single thing that passes upon our hands come in a way or another from resources that have been extracted from mother Earth. yes, even a dagger or a jar was once a piece of our planet.

essentially, you need to question yourself where what you are going to do is more a 'waste of money' or an 'investment well placed' (think of it as a house. if you live and work in London, is it really the best choice for you to buy a house in Edinburgh that may be the coolest house you ever stumble across but is clearly going to be unhelpful for your situation?)

and you may get a piece that might have not been taken with all due environment respect.

that super cheap object you found on wish.com has the same environmental impact of a similar one sold by an ethical company that may be 3 times as much? no. just simply no.

only that, you might not always be in a position to buy from that super ethical company for that price.

but, still, do you really have no other choice but to buy it new?

is it really more important for you to have a shiny new thing than pursue the key role you have in defending the environment? (for me, there is no other answer than "no").

likely, we live in a society where is not too difficult to find alternatives for pretty much everything we need.

charity shops and thrift shops are your new best friends.

everything is sold cheap in there, and let me tell you, you may find goods in there that are as much breathtaking as the most expensive fanciness.

plus, you have a wonderful bonus when you buy second·hand: you can practise your skills in the purification art (after all, second hands also means you have no idea to which energies that object is been exposed to).

but you don't even need to leave your home to buy second·hands, in fact from eBay to Etsy, you have a plethora of tools to go second·hands and save the environment.

can I buy it ethically?:

let's get this straight: ethical is NOT equal to expensive.

in fact (and I can tell you from experience as I'm slowly switching to zero·waste and plastic·free and generally sustainable lifestyle), in the long run, it becomes cheaper and cheaper.

yes, I get it, beeswax candles usually cost from 3 to 5 times more to a regular candle, but between plastic and beeswax, there is an ocean of alternatives.

first, let's address a point: do you really need 7 candles for that spell?

maybe, if you deeply study your spell, and selectively chose your ingredients, your £5 budget for those cheap 7 candles, can be redirected to a single, ethically produces beeswax candle - as a result, you will have not only saved a tiny bit the environment but you will also have a much better quality ingredient for your spell.

second, ethical doesn't mean fancy.

buy your eggs from the local farm, usually is cheap AND ethical.

take a long walk in your countryside and harvest a reasonable and respectful amount of herbs and other natural material is cheap AND ethical.

make your own tools from natural materials and or local supplies can be cheap (depending what you making and with what - it's obvious that if you planning on making a 3 meters silk cloak in just not gonna be cheap) AND ethical.

you're getting the idea.

what material is it made of? it is sustainable?:

you want to make a jar spell, you don't have any jars, you end up using a plastic container.

do you see what's missing there?

you don't need a new shiny, fancy, expensive glass jar.

as a matter of fact, you may not always need a glass jar at all.

oftentimes, I find myself planning a jar spell which will end up buried in the ground.

you don't need to be a scientist to know glass ain't gonna recycle for the next thousands year. so do you really wanna put that thing in the ground?

wouldn't it be better, for example, reuse the core of a toilet roll, which is perfectly biodegradable?

of course, there are certain spells in which you'll have to retrieve your jar at some point, well, in that case, go ahead and use a glass one, but the bottom line is "think before you do".

as I mention earlier, I am in my slowly·but·surely journey on zero·waste and plastic·free. this means I'm a jar horny.

every time I see a jar, an inevitable orgasm pervade my body. a shameful truth.

and I also need lots of jars to fill all my goods (I use a wide variety of herbs, seeds, flours, and other grains, just to mention a few needs for jars).

do you know how much I've paid for all my jars (MY jars.. MY precious..)? £0.00

ok, this is not entirely true. but let me explain.

once, I had to buy some tomato passata for a dish I wanted to make.

I used the passata, washed and kept the jar. now, that very same jar is the home for my quinoa.

and OH MY, jars come in such a weird a wide variety!

just have a scroll down the asile, point the fanciest looking jar and see what it holds: mango chutney? that stuff will not set foot in my home nor even after I die. pickles? my goddess they are distasteful at THE least, but hey! my partner has them in his every day work lunch and he's running low, I will need them, I can take them. nocera olives? DID YOU SAY I NEED TO BUY 7000 OF THEM?

liquor and alcohol bottles, usually come in the prettiest shape.

choose a nice personal use bottle of liquor or wine, and you'll get yourself a perfectly fancy jar for you spell, virtually for free.

BONUS: yeah, you know it. you contribute to save the environment.

The bottom line is: THINK. do you know what material are you using for which purpose? if you don't know, is best follow the wise adage "better safe than sorry" and simply skip it!

can I make it / harvest it / grow it / find it / etc. myself?:

do I need to explain?

you want a wand your first thought is..

1· let me check some expensive holy·moly on esty, on which I'll then cry over because I knew before I started looking I can't afford it! :D

2· let me see which kinds of trees I have around my home, and what can I do to safely harvest some wood for my wand.

the right answer is.. 2! (what a surprise..)

can you even imagine the added values (without even considering how much more powerful) this object will be if done with your own hands?

but wait, I can already hear it.. "but I don't know how to carve a wand!".

(prepare yourself for some bitter irony) I'll share with you a secret, you live in the XXI century and there's a fantastic tool out there you can use to help you.. it's called the internet!

you can find instruction on how to make a bomb worthy of a terrorist, I'm sure you can find instruction on how to make a wand to!

(you can't afford an internet connection? then how are you reading this post? - end line for the bitter irony).

you can make better choices for your and the environment simply by investing time in what your doing (a very hard and difficult to come·by skill in the "all and now" society we live in..).

do I know where it comes from?:

least but not last.

OH MY, how tempting are those quartz point sold at £0.03 on wish.com

yeah.

have you stopped to think where they come from?

crystals, more than anything else, is the clearest example that EVERYTHING comes from mommy Earth.

and it should come with no surprise that, unfortunately, not all crystals are harvested ethically.

so yes, when you pay for a crystal, you are also paying for the people who worked in the mines from which come from, for the machinery/electricity and so on that were needed to work on the mine and generally all the things that a business must cover.

and it should come with no surprise vol.2 that a company that harvest crystals in an ethical way, respecting the environment and paying a fair wage to their employees will be more pricey than a crystal that comes from a company that does not care about such thing.

you need to realise that crystals ARE luxury items and thus, they won't come for cheap.

so for that spell where you needed 7 different types of crystals, it may be worthed to:

· once again, carefully and in·depth study each ingredient to evaluate what do you actually need and thus restricting the choice to fewer ingredients with better quality.

· make wise investments. search for good companies. you'll find usually companies that adopt good ethics are pretty proud of it! and they will state loud and clear where they source their products and which other ethicalities they follow in offering your such products.

· compare the market. yes, of course, there will be companies that will be cheaper than other. your best shot is to research the market for the thing you need to establish which is the fair price you should look at.

· go to the source. you can do this two way, either by literally go to the source and do a nice trip to the location where you can find that crystal, or go to a wholesale where you'll find way cheaper items without compromising your quality.

don't gift money to those who overprices and check carefully before paying someone who underprices!

· WELL DONE YOU ❤️·

you did it! you almost reached the end of this kilometric post.

I'm really proud of you.

go get yourself a nice apple and a glass of water. ❤

if you feel tired just by reading all this, well.. you're getting it right!

because it is tiring and time·consuming take the responsibility for your purchasing (and in general your actions).

it is hard, it is challenging, my goddess if sometimes is boring, and more, in general, is just a lot of time and effort!

so yeah, actually go through all this for your next glamour spell will make the planning of it last probably 10 times longer.

but hey!

you are walking the path of the wise, you are a practitioner of witchcraft, you are handling a BIG power, and with a big power, come some BIG responsibilities.

you know though, what you're are going to gain?

1· patience:

yep. the more time you'll have to invest in something, the less you'll be tempted to the "all and now" of modern society. after all, who does to wast a month of her/his life to make more ethical choices to then just give up everything?

2· knowledge:

you may be a slow learner, but even there, it will be impossible for you to not retain at least some of the information you so carefully had to investigate! and hey, who knows, you may also have fun!

3· critical evaluation:

when you spend so much time in searching and evaluating, you will eventually build up the tool kit that will allow you to make the same choices, with the same depth in less and less time.

be able to to make constructive criticism upon something, is a skill that not only enhances your craft but is also priceless in real life.

4· result:

probably the most important thing of all, and ultimately my first reason why I never compromise on my witchcraft supplies.

in real life there's nothing more true than "we are what we eat", and I believe that in witchcraft a similar statement hold; "we produce the energies we invest in".

what I do, it need to be a perfectly smooth line from my intention to my end result.

how can I achieve so, when the tools/resources/materials/etc. that I use are not in line with what I do?

how can a man constructed*, polluting, paraffine candle convey the same energies as a naturally produced beeswax candle? what energies and added values has to offer the paraffine candle compared to the beeswax one?

*(I don't mean that making something by hand is worng, if that would be the case, I'm the first sinner. what I mean is something that wasn't harvest and create from nature (like a cotton or linen dress), but something artificially produced in a laboratory, mix and matching chemicals.

and NO. buy all means I'm not a nonsense, I do "revire" science and scientifical progress, but yet I'd rather living in a more natural and less artificial world).

how much better will respond in my hands the wand I made myself, compared to the fancy one I had me shipped form a stranger, maybe from the other side of the world?

this humongous post, it is, as the title says, just a consideration at the end of the day. a consideration I hope will spark some reflection in your next action. let me know what you think ❤.

so, my dear newbies and broke witches out there, I hear you, I really do.

but I also urge you..

THINK.

this is it, you've reached it, the end.

I'm so proud of you, go to watch some cute kittens pictures. ❤

~ mem the fox

7 notes · View notes

itsclydebitches · 5 years ago

Text

RWBY Recaps: The Greatest Kingdom

Hello, glorious RWBY fandom! It’s that time of the year again. No, not the holidays. Rather, it’s the roughly twelve weeks where my Saturdays are lost to the void of churning out 4,000+ words of typo-laden analysis for our favorite web-series. Does that sound like a good time? If so, stick around and keep reading.

Now, those of you who joined us last year will recall that I took issue with numerous aspects of Volume Six. Many of you are capable of summarizing these aspects in great detail considering that the conversation never stopped on my blog between January 26th and, well, today. But for those of you who don’t otherwise suffer my metas or who might be joining us for the first time, here’s a very short guide to the stuff we’ve been chatting about the last few months:

Holy shit they really went all in on dragging Ozpin, huh?

Is the group part of a collective consciousness now? What happened to diverse thinking?

Should un-licensed teenagers steal military property and start grimm-drawing battles with national allies? No or double no?

We hate adults? Is that really a thing?

When will Oscar’s on-screen development come back from the war?

There are numerous, numerous other connected topics, from Rooster Teeth’s handling of physical assault all the way to theories regarding the relic’s potential influence and Jinn’s motives, but that’s the basic gist. Oh, and we now have a subset of the fandom who got big mad over fans headcanoning trans!Nora based on her new color scheme. ... So that’s where we’re starting this volume off.

Just so we’re all on the same page:

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

Anyhoo, with that bare-bones context out of the way, let’s dive in.

We begin, as usual, with a shot of the shattered moon. Except this is the first volume where we know precisely what happened to it and all it may mean for humanity. It lends a certain amount of gravitas to our start. Now, rather than the more generic, “Ah. Right. That motif. Still a mystery, huh?” shots of the moon function as a quick reminder of the group’s new stakes. 99% of the time the focus is on Salem and our heroes’ attempts to keep this genocidal dictator from destroying and/or enslaving the entire world, but “The Lost Fable” set up that the true, end-game antagonists have always been the gods. Even if Salem is destroyed, they still exist as a continued threat to humanity. If they wish to use the gods to help them in their quest against Salem, they likewise risk their judgment. Having introduced them, that’s a tricky problem the show is going to have to solve before its end.

For now though we pan down to the Atlas military, numerous ships and lots of chatter over the radio setting up precisely how massive, organized, and deadly this army is. I would like to remind everyone that this is what the group deliberately decided to piss off by not merely stealing an airship, but unnecessarily attacking the head special operative of the Argus base. The fact that the military has grown more “aggressive” in Weiss’ absence has no bearing on her original knowledge that stealing/attacking this group would be a horrendous idea. She knew it. Qrow knew it. Everyone ignored that in favor of Jaune’s idiotic plan. I bring this up not to rub more salt in a long open wound, but to re-establish how the group is, thus far, unable to think ahead and accurately weigh the consequences of their actions. More on that later.

Their ship, Manta 5-1, is welcomed home and instructed to land so that a security team can debrief them. Whoops. Jaune, again in his infinite wisdom, reminds everyone that they achieved their goal of getting to Atlas. So now they just need to find some answers, yeah? Not quite. Weiss immediately points out that landing with a stolen ship means that security won’t let them anywhere near Ironwood… which, again, is something that holds true regardless of whether the military got more aggressive and their leader more dictator-y. This is not new information. Oddly enough, a group of teenagers with only one licensed huntsmen among them (considering that Maria is presumably still keeping a low profile) flying a stolen airship doesn’t exactly breed the sort of confidence that lets anyone---paranoid or not---approach a leader. These were all issues from the start that the group didn’t bother to consider in their haste to finish this mission.

“They might even take me back to my father,” Weiss says. Another concern that they’re only realizing now, yet one that the fandom latched onto immediately. Though mostly in the wrong way. It’s because Jacques is a threat that they should have found a more covert way into Atlas, or waited to hear from Ironwood, or just send Weiss herself with Cordovin’s blessing… Yes, much of the fandom got quite defensive at that suggestion, claiming that sending Weiss “alone” (she never would have been alone. Bird uncle. Fits into a suitcase grandma) was tantamount to handing her to Jacques wrapped up in a bow. Except, as is made perfectly clear here, it’s their illegal activity that endangers them. Which is more likely to get you sent off to daddy? Acting like a child by stealing military property and then getting caught? Or entering Atlas as a huntress with a special operative’s blessing, carrying instructions that you are to meet with Ironwood as soon as possible? To say the team dropped the ball on this one is an understatement.

Those, however, are all past options now far out of reach. Weiss decides then that she’ll simply call Winter and I absolutely adore Kara’s voice acting here. She managed to imbue so much into a single name, conveying Weiss’ realization, hope, and love for her sister in just two quick syllables. I feel like I got more insight into Weiss through that moment alone then the entirety of Volume Six. Only problem? Blake notices another feed where a recording of Winter emphasizes that anyone found breaking Atlas law will face punishment---something our group will be quite familiar with by the end of the episode---and Qrow decides that they probably shouldn’t go charging into Winter and Ironwood’s hands until they know more about the situation.

Which is the smartest decision we’ve seen in a while, considering that Ironwood’s own feed leaves little to the imagination. He continues to sport that beard, giving him more of a disheveled appearance compared to Volumes 1-3. His voice is as authoritative as ever and he literally towers high above all the people he’s supposedly protecting, keeping his distance from both the city and the airships that ‘govern’ it. A few moments earlier we got to see the startling contrast between the military life and the civilians’. Warm reds and browns give (in this case a literal) down-to-Earth feel and the neon signs are easy markers of a low-class neighborhood. You know the stereotyped kind: cheap food and cheaper entertainment. Compared to the whites and blues of the Atlas clouds, paralleling their elite (and thereby expensive) technology, the city below feels like a slum in comparison, reinforced by the dirty, drunk, and at times violent background characters that populate it.

As Maria says later, “A home in the clouds is as bright as it gets,” to which Nora responds, “Unless you’re the one having to look up at it,” something she’d be very familiar with as a child stealing bread in the otherwise plentiful looking Kuroyuri. There are contrasts in coloring, dialogue, as well as framing here. Compare Ironwood’s sky-high observation to Pietro’s existence as a black man, in a wheelchair, doing volunteer work in what’s established as a dump. He’s as “low” as he can possibly be and acknowledges that he prefers to actually be among the people, not standing literally or figuratively above them. Just in case the audience misses these cues, we get some rather ominous music on top of all that and fearful looks between Ruby and Yang.

Ironwood’s recording says that some people may view these as “uncertain times,” likewise contrasting Glynda’s recording in the very first episode, announcing that they live in an “extraordinary time of peace.” Whether there’s uncertainty or not, Ironwood promises that Atlas will remain “safe and strong,” even if the other Kingdoms have begun to falter. The speech has a very ‘Us vs. Them’ quality about it.

“He looks tired,” Ruby comments and I just need to chuck another fandom into the mix real quick because:

Under these circumstances, “tired” doesn’t just require the John Mulaney advice of, “Get some rest, tall child!” It’s a clear dig at the leader’s capabilities and even their mental faculties. “James… what have you been doing?” Qrow asks, thereby re-framing “tired” as the nice euphemism for “gone off the deep end.” It remains to be seen though precisely how much of Ironwood’s paranoia is literal paranoia in the sense that it’s illogical and undeserved, and how much of these changes are highly undesirable, but potentially justifiable decisions. After all, we as the audience know precisely how dangerous Salem and her crew are. We know why Beacon fell. We’re privy to the stakes in a way that the average, angry Atlas citizen is not. All Ironwood can do in the face of such odds is try to prepare for every eventuality… it just looks like he’s reached a point where those preparations have started infringing on basic human rights. It’s a very sad setup. A classic case of the wrong things done for the right reasons.

There’s a check-in from the radio tower, whoever’s in charge wondering why Manta 1-5 hasn’t gone towards their landing pad yet. Maria comments that the lady should take a hint and starts finding a different place to land. Which in hindsight is kind of funny because they obviously did take a hint… and then sent out a special team to deal with the implications of that hint.

As the group starts exploring we get a lovely shot demonstrating how much they stand out in this new environment.

Though there’s some color in the neon signs, the otherwise overwhelming brown/beige/black/red makes elements like Nora’s pink skirt and Weiss’ white hair stick out like sore thumbs. As we’ll see in a minute, there are obviously in-world difficulties with them passing as average citizens, but it’s also a signal to the audience that, for now at least, they’re really out of their depth. This is the “greatest kingdom” referenced in our title.

Maria is leading them to a friend of hers when a bot takes an interest in these obvious outsiders. It approaches Yang at the back of the group, takes an unexpected picture, and she responds by kicking it into the street where it sparks with damage before getting hit by a truck.

(Flashback to Ruby and Penny, anyone?)

Now, I’m honestly on the fence about this moment. You could make the case that they’re all traumatized fighters and responding to that flash was a logical, instinctual response. You can even argue that, just hours after taking her first faunus life, Yang is more than a little on edge—even though the premier doesn’t reference this incredibly significant event at all, outside of Blake’s quick realization that her blade is still broken. Both are valid and easily supported readings. However, I’m still hyper aware that this is Yang. The character who, for two volumes now, has been characterized very strongly by her, “attack first, ask questions later” attitude. Out of all the characters we could have seen instinctively attacking something that hadn’t actually done her any harm, choosing Yang holds the most weight. The story also lightly acknowledges that this was an extreme response, what with the group staring at her and Yang’s sheepish expression.

Whether it’s specifically in the context of trauma over the fight with Adam, or more broadly acknowledging Yang’s tendency to both assume and act on the worst in people, I hope this volume helps her manage these instincts. One talk with Tai about not punching through problems isn’t going to cut it. Especially when her forceful attitude has caused much of the internal conflict recently.

It’s after this that the group is accosted by a drunk man, functioning largely as exposition to explain what’s been going on in Atlas and why the people are so scared and angry about it. Pissed enough to get literally pissed, of the inebriated variety. Here then, we return to the “this group of teenagers is really bad at thinking ahead” issue that I mentioned earlier. Ruby is all ready to start a fight---referencing her newfound willingness to escalate situations that don’t necessitate escalation---and it’s Blake who holds her back, reminding Ruby that they can’t afford to cause a scene. Which is fantastic. Except they end up causing a scene anyway when the drunk calls Blake a “stupid faunus” and Weiss uses a glyph to chuck him into the trash.

Is seeing a racist asshole get his just desserts extremely satisfying? Absolutely and from a representation perspective I’m thrilled to see Rooster Teeth taking a hard stance in their story. From an in-world perspective though, that was an incredibly bad decision. We’ve been establishing since minute one of this premier that the group needs to be cautious. Blake herself, the victim here, just told Ruby not to endanger the whole group by defending her honor… and then Weiss swoops in to do it anyway. There are two priorities here, to your friends and to your mission, and the issue is that Team RWBY has a tendency to consistently prioritize the former, something that wouldn’t be an issue if this was still a low-key story about a group of students and not would-be, formal huntresses trying to save the world. The choice to attack rather than walking away---paralleling last volume’s final battle---speaks to their inability to think ahead and weigh their priorities. “It was worth it,” Weiss says, but is it? Now that you’ve caused the scene that you couldn’t afford? Now that this guy recognized your glyphs and you’ve blown your cover? I realize I’ll probably get heat for this, but there’s a difference between calling out micro-aggressions in everyday life and calling them out when you’re fugitives trying to keep an invaluable relic safe. It would have said more about the group’s maturity if Blake had succeeded in avoiding a scene and they expressed anger/sympathy among themselves that she had to put up with that shit. Throwing guys into dumpsters is satisfying as hell, but it’s not the action of a level-headed adult conducting a job.

Provided that the story actually acknowledges how young they are and that it’s expected they make such mistakes, we’re golden. As it is though, these issues are usually brushed aside. Later Maria says that Pietro “likes to keep a low profile. Something I’m coming to realize you know nothing about,” but it’s said in a joking, fond manner. This isn’t treated as an actual flaw and is therefore not set up as something for the team to work on. And that, right there, is the heart of the conflict between RWBYJNR and Ozpin. He’s a fine scalpel. They’re a sledgehammer. RWBY continually introduces threats that require a delicate touch---whether it’s the possibility of spies in your midst that force you to carefully monitor who has what information, or needing to move through a city without drawing attention to yourself---these battles require a certain level of strategy and without fail our heroes are characterized as people who can only solve their problems through direct, immediate violence. You don’t walk away from a fight. Ever. Be it Cordovin or a racist drunk. The more I see of their behavior, no matter the good intentions behind it, the more it makes sense to me that Ozpin lied and kept his secrets. Our heroes simply don’t have the patient, level-headed, forward-thinking personalities required to fight this kind of delicate war. Their talent lies in the hack-’em slash-’em situations.

Anyway, I’m getting off topic. The group runs from the guards that show up after the drunk guy incident and they manage to make it to Pietro’s place. After some fun dialogue about whether he remembers Maria and the state of his shop, we get a potential explanation for Maria’s strange behavior on the train. Everyone remember this?

Obviously the camera focusing on Maria helps us, the audience, realize that she’s a character who will eventually become important to the story, but it’s also a bit coincidental that she’s hanging out near Team RWBY’s room. Especially when she inexplicably ends up on the back half of the train when everyone else was evacuated. It was clear at the time that she’d deliberately stayed back, but to what purpose no one was sure. Here, Maria gives a general answer about how she thought this group might have needed her guidance while fighting all those manticores… which is still an odd explanation to my mind. Because up until her confession leaving the farmhouse, Maria wants to keep that low-profile. She’s done with being the Grimm Reaper, so why get involved now? Especially when, with hired huntsmen to protect the train and a large group of teens with their own weapons, she probably would have assumed they were all in good hands? Even if it was just a fighter’s natural instinct to help, what would that guidance have looked like? Pretending to be a normal, formal huntress lending a hand where she can? Admitting she’s the Grimm Reaper? Is she still able to fight? There’s still the highly coincidental nature that Maria, the greatest huntress of a generation, just happened to be traveling the same route as and randomly became interested in the group involved with Salem, gods, and the relics.

To be clear, I’m not really arguing that there’s some big conspiracy surrounding Maria. Coincidences are common in all fiction because if things happened based on real-life probability, it would all be pretty boring. Rather, I’m simply pointing out that between losing her eyes as a young adult and coincidentally getting involved with Team RWBY now, we pretty much have no idea what Maria has been up to for most of her life. If the story wanted to establish some sort of betrayal/trickery/what-have-you, there’s room for it.

That would make me super sad though. I quite like Maria.

We learn more about Ironwood’s increasing paranoia, a hint that not everyone on the council is happy with his changes---that mysterious woman we keep seeing on the posters, perhaps?---and the acknowledgement that whoever helped bring down Atlas’ tech at Beacon has to be “Either a genius, or one of our own.” Probably both. Enter Watts, seen typing at a computer in our opening.

With all this info bearing down on them, a few characters like Jaune and Oscar start asking whether they can just leave and yes, please tackle that, because it’s a very important question. Right now the show has stalled the, “Will the group continue the fight against Salem and what’s their reasoning for doing so when they all think it’s pointless?” question by throwing up another roadblock with the relic. They got it to Atlas, but they’re not sure they can hand it off to Ironwood yet, which just leaves them twiddling their thumbs. That portion of the quest isn’t technically complete yet, putting off an answer as to whether and why they’ll go onto the next portion. We need to tackle the group’s new motivations though. Soon. I sincerely hope that when Ironwood announces he has a way of defeating Salem, we finally get the group challenging their own assertions that such attempts are fundamentally useless. We had a whole volume of, “Oh no. Oh god. Salem is immortal and all our work is for naught.” We need at least a little attention paid to the development of a new perspective to counteract that.

Before things can get too bleak though, Pietro recognizes Weiss as a Schnee. Yang, in a lovely moment of support, desperately tries to re-direct the conversation back to the council. Pietro then recognizes her arm, puts it all together to get Team RWBY, and drops the loaded comment, “My daughter has told me so much about you.”

Many fans saw it coming. Even more hoped for it. Honestly? I think that’s great. Too many shows nowadays rely on “twists” that don’t actually make sense, or even undermine the original setup. Those are frustrating beyond belief and feel like the authors are selling out good story for cheap, undesired shock value. The fandom saw Penny’s resurrection coming a mile away? Great! That just means Rooster Teeth did a good job of setting up that possibility and then following through on it.

I’ll talk more about Penny’s introduction in a moment, but first I just want to throw out that I legitimately enjoyed the fight scene. Good action and creative teamwork at times. I particularly liked Weiss and Ren working together to take down four grimm in as many seconds. Oscar likewise takes a grimm out with a very impressive strike… more impressive than I was expecting from him, honestly. Right now I suppose I’m just inclined to shrug that off with, “He and Ozpin are slowly merging, so he picks up stuff way faster than everyone else,” most notably Jaune. Also, I’ll be blunt. I wouldn’t touch canon-based rosegarden with a ten-foot pole. You know, because of all the issues like a massive age difference, two minor characters involved, questions of consent, the fact that Ruby was Ozpin’s student---pesky ethical concerns like that. AUs though? I think the ship is adorable. Provided that Oscar is fully his own person and there’s consent on both sides appropriate for whatever ages they currently are in your fic or fanart? Very nice. So, it’s for those fans that I point out an entirely coincidental parallel: Ruby saves Oscar from a grimm with a bullet in nearly the exact same manner that Blake saves Yang from a grimm with a bullet. Make of that what you will.

Back to Penny though. Overall, am I thrilled that she’s back? Absolutely. I actually spoke about this recently while answering an ask, expressing how much I’d enjoy this very scenario: having her consciousness saved and thus allowing for her resurrection. Do I think her new look is adorable? Yes, yes I do. “And yet,” you say, “It sounds like there’s a ‘but’ somewhere in there, Clyde.” Yeah. Sadly there is. Because although I’m happy to have Penny, I wasn’t particularly taken with how they re-introduced her.

Simply put, there was far too much humor for what should have been a touching, emotional scene. With the exception of one moment where Ruby tries to voice the word “killed,” everyone treats Penny’s resurrection as a surprising, but not terribly notable event. Yang, Weiss, and Blake express a sort of long-suffering fondness as they comment on how wholesome this is. Pietro laughs at any shock over her “death” and shrugs about how yeah, it technically was. Whatever. Qrow takes the time to nonchalantly say that things are going better than he expected. Ruby is holding it all together with barely a blink. Penny herself is nothing but exuberance and funny dialogue. Maria cracks a joke about how she has no idea who this child is. Jaune goes, “Well, that was unexpected” as if Penny had showed up in Atlas when they all thought she was in Vacuo. That sort of surprise. The whole thing is treated flippantly with, “Never a dull moment.” Summarized, all this really isn’t the appropriate reaction to realizing a friend is no longer dead.

Yes, Ruby was the closest to Penny by far---we can’t expect everyone to get misty-eyed---but does everyone remember what her death was like? It was the turning point of the entire series, not just for the audience, but the characters as well. Penny was the first casualty of the Fall of Beacon and her death was appropriately gut wrenching. It was then shown across every TV turned to the Vytal Festival, the moment where the whole world watched their golden girl, Pyrrha, unintentionally murder a newcomer who turned out to be a robot. Moments later grimm start attacking and the safest place on Remnant is destroyed. Penny’s death heralded all that. The one time we see Ruby tackling the trauma of it all is when she speaks with Oscar and, notably, crumbles a bit when she instinctively uses Penny’s catch phrase.

What I had hoped for was the group grappling with the sudden, completely unexpected shock of getting one of two losses back; working through the knowledge that their lives have been defined by two friends’ death and now one of those has been retroactively erased. Perhaps we’ll see that in future episodes, but right now it feels like a disservice to the impact Penny’s death had on the characters and the story to treat this as such a comic, light-hearted moment. Let Penny tackle-hug Ruby and then let Ruby give her a much more sincere embrace. Let her cry. Have Yang put a hand on Ruby’s shoulder, giving her a look that expresses how she understands what this means to her. Have Jaune looking away, devastated that Ruby miraculously got her friend back, but such an event is impossible for Pyrrha. Let him or Oscar or Ren or anyone seriously acknowledge that, holy shit, this is a joyous occasion we never expected to experience. We’ve spent months dealing with trauma and pessimism, now here’s Penny, reminding us that there’s still so much good in the world. Have someone acknowledge that sometimes the impossible happens (cough-defeatingSalem-cough). You can allow the moment to function as the momentous occasion it is and then lighten the mood by having Maria announce that she has no idea what’s going on.

This isn’t the first time Rooster Teeth has implemented comedy when they were better off sticking with drama. See: the choice to animate punching Ozpin last volume in an absurd, cartoon style. So yeah. Happy to have Penny back, but that first moment felt underwhelming, to say the least.

We then have an admittedly very cool shot—

— (semblance? Just awesome drama?) right before the group is taken out in seconds by Atlas’ elite. They’re… I don’t know how to spell their name yet. Is it something like Ace-Ops for elite special operations? Or Aesop like Aesop’s fables? Potentially both? Idk. The fandom will figure that out in the next day or so, if they haven’t already. What’s important though is that this group charges our team with stealing an airship, illegally entering the city with it, and starting an unauthorized fight in the streets. If I could just take one second to…

Ahem. I’m good. Seriously though, if I’m at all optimistic for Volume Seven it’s because the story is finally acknowledging that the group made some pretty massive mistakes last volume. Not that it looks like there will be much punishment attached to that. Between them meeting with Ironwood in the trailer and the Blah-Blah-Ops’ clear status as heroes this volume (they’re in the opening a bunch and seem to be working with RWBYJNR), I’m not yet convinced that this arrest will lead to anything other than getting precisely what they want: seeing Ironwood. To be clear, it’s not like I want the group languishing in jail for twelve episodes. That would be one hell of a boring volume. But rather, I’m interested in whether the story will continue to imply that Atlas is in the right for arresting them, or whether Episode Two will quickly turn that on its head and forcefully announce, as they did in Volume Six, that these actions are an egregious insult because we’re the protagonists. How dare you not let us do whatever we want?

Because the group was in the wrong here. It can be easy to miss considering that the rules they’re refusing to obey are tied up in a dictator-like society---aren’t we the heroes for ignoring and circumventing evil Ironwood’s laws?---but what they actually choose to do has far more of an impact on innocent civilians than it does on The Man. Like endangering all of Argus with your needless battle. Or, to a much smaller extent here, jumping into a fight when you’re not authorized to do that. Now, I actually don’t blame RWBYJNR for that one. They are huntsmen and it’s their job to protect the people. Going out to defeat grimm is 100% their thing. Rather, I’m talking about stuff like their commentary on Atlas’ defenses. When the fight starts we get, “I guess the city’s defenses aren’t doing much” and “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.” It’s more of that, “Us huntsmen are the only true defenders of the world. Your attempts with robots would be funny if it weren’t so dangerous” attitude. It’s a certain level of arrogance. As we see just a minute later though, Ironwood’s setup works. Because the civilians all know to get indoors. Because he has Penny. The robots hold off the grimm until she arrives, defeating the rest with a speed and an ease that frankly doesn’t compare to what we saw the group accomplishing. She does from above what it took nine of them to manage, often (as we saw with Oscar and Yang) with great danger to them in the process. When they’re bound and accused of unauthorized fighting, it’s clear that they were, in fact, shouldering their way into a situation where they weren’t needed---and potentially causing trouble in the process. Rules exist for a reason. Are they always perfect? Far from it, but in the characterization folding over from Volume Six, the group has forgotten that most of the time rules are there for others’ safety. They have been thought out. This particular situation is easily defendable (of course they’re going to go fight grimm) and there were no consequences to the group jumping in when they weren’t allowed (like property damage or injured civilians), but this moment does function as a good representation of the overall problem. Just because there weren’t consequences for saying, “Screw your laws” this time doesn’t mean there won’t be in the future. Or that there hasn’t been in the past.

It likewise stands out to me that Qrow consistently tires to use his “I’m a licensed huntsmen” as a justification. He flashes it at the two goons on the train to get them to back off. He tires to use it to get past Cordovin. He now tells his captors that he has every right to fight and protect the people because of this card he carries. Qrow is well aware of how important the status of a huntsmen is in this world… yet he’s running around with eight fighters who don’t have that legal backing. I don’t think the show would ever go for my suggestion of another school arc so they could finish their training, but at the very least we should provide some sort of loop-hole for these characters. Have Ironwood provide special licenses based on their heroics at the Fall of Beacon and their work since. Because right now we have a world that’s continually emphasizing being a huntsmen as a job, something you earn the right to call yourself, yet 95% of our group doesn’t have that right in the eyes of their society. We know they’ve done great, secret work to protect the people. But the people only know that these are a bunch of teens with one year of formal training. So you really can’t blame any officials for going, “Sorry. We’re not in the habit of letting random people with weapons cross our borders. Or fight in our streets.” It’s like if a bunch of 14-18yos arrived at a crime scene with guns and demanded that they be let in on a case. No, we never graduated from an academy, but you should adhere to our demands anyway. The good intentions are there, but you need to iron out the formalities first.

Really, RWBY should just fix the whole license thing with a throw-away plot point if they’re not going to tackle it seriously, just so this isn’t an ethical issue anymore. I’d rather smooth it over soon since the story doesn’t seem interested in tackling whether a group with one year of formal training should be allowed that status. So just give it to them and let’s move on. They might still run into issues with Atlas, but at least the rest of the world won’t be expected to trust them purely on faith. Not everyone belongs to a small town terrorized by a geist, with four random teens as your only option for safety.

Which finally, as the doors close on our group with heavy heads, brings us to the opening. Some things to pay attention to:

1. We get a glimpse of that mysterious woman shown in numerous posters across the city.

(I’m likewise interested in the very long shot we got on this “show your teeth” graffiti.)

2. Watts and Tyrian are presented as primary antagonists. Interesting that Neo and Cinder aren’t there (not that I caught anyway), especially since we know they were heading to Atlas last volume as well. It makes me think that they’ll be the true threat at the end of the volume. Keeping things quiet, even in the intro, so we have no chance of guessing their plan.

3. The main conflict seems to be between Weiss and Winter, as opposed to Weiss and Jacques as many originally assumed. Those expressions don’t bode well.

4. We still see an image of Ironwood briefly flickering to Jacques though as an angry citizen throws a rock at it. Implying Jacques is secretly pulling the strings? James has simply become too much like him? We’ll have to see.

5. We get a shot of Oscar and Ironwood… training? Fighting? I’m inclined to say fighting based on his and Ozpin’s past difficulties, but that’s also up in the air.

6. The image of our staff…

…and 7. an absolutely massive cast this volume. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m concerned with RWBY’s insistence on continually introducing so many new characters, particularly characters who are important enough to warrant decent development. There simply isn’t time for them all.

(Although, is Maria in that shot? Wonder if she’ll leave the group now that she’s done her duty of helping Ruby out with her eyes.)

Which brings us to the end of the premier! Finally, I’d like to end with a personal note. As is quite obvious, I’m still watching and recapping RWBY, but I feel like I should be upfront about my overall lack of investment in the series right now. Chock it up to getting burned last volume, fading interest in a long-running show, just growing up and changing… I don’t claim to know precisely why I’m no longer jazzed about a new volume like I once was. But, if I perhaps appear overly critical of what I generally thought was a good—and honestly better than expected—premier? That’s probably why. The details just don’t cut it for me anymore. All caps, screaming excitement over Penny’s return or Qrow’s new outfit just doesn’t resonate much, which leaves me with a more critical perspective on the show overall. So if that’s something you’re interested in, stick around because, baring unforeseen circumstances, there will be more metas over the next three or so months. More invested in a flailing celebration of RWBY as a whole? You’re better off hitting up another blog.

Basically, you know that shot in Pietro’s?

Note the “Days since our last nonsense” sign combined with the defeated expressions. That’s what RWBY feels like to me these days. A lot of nonsense and limited enjoyment. Ah well. Maybe Volume Seven will prove me wrong and I’ll be re-invigorated by the end of the season!

Until then, ❤️️

Minor Things of Note

Maria refers to the group as “kids” in the airship and Penny as a “child.” Acknowledging last year’s debate, I stand by the argument that just because many (but not all) of the group have reached the age of maturity in our world doesn’t mean they’re on par with the adults they were so recently rejecting. There’s a reason why the very old Maria naturally uses “kid” and “child” and it doesn’t come off as weird.

I really like the design of Pietro’s chair. Giving him something that walks on four legs is both different and a nice nod to nature among all the tech. Also, kudos to the Pinocchio reference on his bookshelf in the form of a whale.

Nora remains as adorable as ever. I particularly liked her energy in Pietro’s and her high-key annoyance at Ren getting a jump on the fight. I’m interested in what we’ll be learning about her this volume.

Not sure I’m a fan of Rooster Teeth using these squeaky toy noises whenever the group is comically surprised by something. Comedy is great, we need it in this story, but sound effects like that are remnants (ha) of a tone we haven’t really seen since Volume 1. I think the show can still get away with exaggerated facial expressions---Nora in her excitement, Ruby laughing at Jaune’s Pumpkin Pete’s sweatshirt---but this feels a bit out of place now.

“Maybe Atlas isn’t as safe as we thought” and yet, astoundingly, no one is inclined to ask Ozpin to weigh in on this. Even now that they know he’s listening. I think I’ll start a tally. See how many episodes it takes to actually acknowledge, let alone act on, the primary conflict of Volume 6.

Image Credit

Personal screenshots from RWBY

Transflag: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Transgender_Pride_flag.svg

Doctor Who GIF: https://tenor.com/view/doctor-who-tired-harriet-jones-gif-5627138

How I Met Your Mother GIF: https://giphy.com/gifs/celebrate-2o5Ypf4fP6ahq

#rwby #rwby volume 7 #rwby volume 7 spoilers #mymetas #rwby recaps

67 notes · View notes

thyandrawrites · 6 years ago

Text

Random facts about Hawks

[yes I’m doing another one a single day after the last one because today is his birthday, so sue me]

- In Horikoshi’s preliminary design, Hawks was said to have the head of a bird, much like Tokoyami, making the “one whole bird” joke a lot funnier bc he was supposed to be a whole bird on his own

- He was inspired by a character, Takahiro, from one of Hori’s previous works, Oumagadoki Zoo. The guy looks like this:

But Horikoshi’s team didn’t seem to be much into it, so Hori changed it. We’re lucky he did tbh

- He still kept some elements of Takahiro’s character design tho, including the baggy pants and the headphones

- Incidentally - and it’s probably deliberate, knowing sensei - Takahiro is written as タカヒロ; The japanese word for “hawk” is “taka”, which can be written as タカ.

- Hawks is 172 cm tall (5.6 feet), so he’s not as short as people believe him to be. He only looks tiny because he often hangs out with Endeavor

- I’ve always thought that his hair looked like a rat’s nest, but then I saw the light

- Even his eyebrows look like ruffled feathers

- He’s the same age as Fuyumi, meaning that if he hadn’t been recruited as a kid to be groomed into a hero, they could’ve been classmates.

- As much as I like to headcanon that he wears eyeliner, he seemed to have those black lines around his eyes even as a child, so they’re probably genetic (will know better once I can look at a printed copy of this volume, as it might just be the image quality)

- It’s implied that he lived in poverty as a child, as evidenced by the piles of trash all around him and the fact that the Hero Public Safety Commission “bought” his family’s consent by giving them money. You know that doll you see him holding in that one panel?

It didn’t sell at all, so they had to lower the price from 3000¥ to only 500¥ (roughly 4,50$). He probably had one because it was cheaper than the All Might one.

- That’s not to say that if the All Might doll was cheaper he would’ve bought that one, because he never was a fan to begin with. But the price totally helped there

- When I say that he was groomed to be a hero, I mean that he literally didn’t have a choice. Poor birb was robbed of his childhood.

- That’s also why he wants to contribute to creating a society where heroes can have leisure time. He debuted at 18 and made it to the ranks a couple of months later. He never caught a break till then because he’s still in the top ten.

- He’s left-handed.

- He eats a lot, though it’s unclear if he was just stuffing his face because chicken is his favourite food, or if he always has a big apetite

- It doesn’t actually take him that long to grow back his feathers once he sheds them. A couple of days at maximum. Compare the normal length and bulk of his wings (first pic) to the one he was sporting after Endeavor was discharged from the hospital two days later. He’d grown almost half of them by then, and mentioned that he needed another day or so to fully grow the other half. So, rough estimate is 4-5 days max.

- He’s really observant, and he knows how to use that skill to his advantage. (His being slightly manipulative is what I asked op for clarifications in the first place, which prompted that ask)

- When he’s flustered/uncomfortable he hides his face in the collar of his coat

- Also, an major implied trait of his is that he likes to keep himself well-informed. He somehow managed to snoop around classified information about operations he wasn’t a part of. He was also said to have offered an internship to Tokoyami because he wanted to keep watch over UA after the frequent interest of the League on them.

He also investigated roumors about presumed sightings of Noumus all around Japan, without being prompted to, and went far out of his jurisdiction to do so, which shows just how important it is to him to keep an ear to the ground. He’s really dedicated to hero work, and takes his role as a protector very seriously.

- Stressing that last point, he got really pissed at Dabi when the latter let lose a really dangerous Noumu on a wildy populated area. Dabi is literally the only person so far who has managed to make Hawks lose his cool (and also outsmarted him in the same move, which... guys, not enough people give that enough credit)

- He knows that when you cook, you’re supposed to chop things evenly. This either suggests that he can cook or that he has watched people (on cooking shows? or personal experience?) cook before

- He’s also extremely playful and sarcastic, finding the time to mess with Endeavor even as they’re literally fighting for their lives

- He is a “fly or fall” kind of mentor and sees value in attempting to reach goals that other people might give up on in fear they're not good enough.

- The title “The man who goes too fast” refers to his hero career, but also to his actual speed. As a kid, he stopped a car that was speeding up at 130 km/h, meaning that he could fly just as fast. Who know how fast he can go now.

- He sent an internship offer to Todoroki. They foil each other, so I can see why. He also probably wanted to meet Enji’s son because he’s a dumbass like that :’D

- He never went to U.A. so that only leaves Shiketsu or Ketsubutsu, unless he received a private kind of training (which seems likely tbh, given how he was scouted)

- Apparently, he models.

- He also seems to have his own brand of accessories, judging by how many bird-related knickknacks he’s wearing. That, or he really likes birds. I wouldn’t put the latter past him tbh

- He buys stuff promoted by Endeavor like the fanboy he is

- Though what he feels for Endeavor is a strong admiration, not idolization. He remains pretty damn aware of Enji’s flaws

- He doesn’t take himself too seriously, and always jokes around.

- Despite that, he’s a real hard worker and someone with a good head on his shoulders. He’s observant, smart, compassionate and friendly, and all of that helps making him a really popular hero.

- He thinks of himself as a greedy person, or maybe just a really determined one

- He thinks that he’s lacking the charisma and mental fortitude needed to put people at ease, but we as readers know that’s just him being too hard on himself.

- He has such huge “big bro” vibes I wouldn’t be surprised if he was really good with small children tbh

- We haven’t seen enough of him on screen. That’s also a fact, one I wish Horikoshi will change soon tbh.

More you might enjoy:

Random facts about Kirishima

Random facts about Bakugou

Random facts about Kaminari

Random facts about Todoroki

Random facts about Ochako

Random facts about Aizawa

Random facts about Dabi

[Since tumblr decided to hide posts with links from the tags/searches, reblogs are really appreciated! or you could buy me a coffee if you wanted to support what I do]

#hawks #bnha hawks #hawks bnha #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #my post #bnha meta #I ended up doing one anyway #happy birthday you dumb birb #random facts tag

2K notes · View notes

fapangel · 5 years ago

Note

Hey Planefag, I've been considering getting a gun for a while now, and one I keep coming back to is the CZ Scorpion EVO 3 S1 Carbine. I've always found myself more comfortable with rifles over handguns, though that might just be because I've actually shot rifles before and never handled a handgun that wasn't a dinky .22 single action revolver my dad found in my grandparents basement. What's your thoughts on this gun? Is it too much for a first time gun owner? Thanks.

NICE CHOICE MY BROTHER!

Among the under-appreciated and unsung heroes of firearms engineering and manufacture, CZ firearms and their fantastic Czechnology™ are king. CZ has a long lineage (they’re responsible for the famous CZ.61 Skorpion submachine gun/machine pistol, which the EVO 3 carbine is named after,) and they make a wide variety of firearms, from their immensely popular CZ 75 double-stack 9mm pistols to hunting rifles that are beloved by hunters across Europe.

As for the CZ Scorpion EVO 3 itself, you’re best served by watching some youtube reviews on the gun; as always Hickock 45 is a good place to start. He always has good feedback on how the gun actually handles and feels when you shoot it; as evidenced by his videos always featuring him having a blast knocking down steel in his backyard. But as far as this general kind of firearm as a first-time buy goes? I can say this is an EXCELLENT firearm for a first-time owner!

Carbines chambered in pistol calibers, such as 9mm, .45 ACP, etc. are commonly known (unsurprisingly) as “pistol caliber carbines.” Debates have raged over their “tactical usefulness” or home-defense utility versus other options, but what is hands-down incontestable is that they are tremendously fun guns. Handguns make a lot of trade-offs to get their small, portable size; both in accuracy and stability (due to lacking a stock) and in power (since they use significantly smaller, weaker cartridges than a rifle.) When you take a handgun cartridge designed to have manageable recoil in a handgun, and put it in a lightweight rifle, you get a firearm with almost no notable recoil, much greater accuracy (since you’ve got a much better platform that’s more stable due to the shoulder brace) and even generates more power (the longer barrel lets the gas from the gunpowder accelerate the bullet for a longer period of time and achieve higher velocities.) Carbines also have the benefits of dirt-cheap ammo (pistol ammo is cheaper than rifle ammo by a decent margin since it’s just smaller; compare and contrast over at ammoseek.com,) and they’re lightweight and handy compared to most normal-sized rifles. They have other applications too; they’re gaining popularity as a home-defense firearm (though people argue incessantly about other options being better, the simple fact is that these guns will work great for home defense if its the only one you own,) and then there’s hunting applications - I’ve actually been eyeballing a .45 ACP carbine for years because I’d like a “coyote gun;” something that can reach out and pop a coyote slinking around the property, but with a pistol cartridge that won’t ricochet off frozen ground or a rock and hit a neighbor’s house a mile distant.

Ergo, a pistol-caliber carbine is a really, really fun gun, and is very forgiving for a first-time shooter. The only gun that could possibly be more forgiving is a .22 carbine, like a 10/22, which is also a fun target rifle with cheap ammo, but isn’t a reliable threat against anything bigger than a woodchuck and is hard to use past 50 yards or so due to the “rainbow” trajectory:

5 inches of drop isn’t hard to compensate for; it’s more the rate of drop that makes things iffy. If your coyote pops up at 90 yards or 110 yards, your point-of-impact changes drastically. There’s also wind-drift; even a gentle breeze plays merry hell with that lightweight 40 grain bullet.

9mm from a carbine shoots significantly flatter and further: (link or click the image to fullsize it and get rid of the damn blur:)

So a 9mm carbine has most of the advantages a .22 plinker has, but with far greater practical utility as well. As the most common handgun round on Earth, 9mm is easy to buy and you can get plinking ammo dirt cheap.

You’ll note that there’s competitors to the Scorpion EVO on the market in the 9mm blowback-operated carbine market; from the Sig MPX to the ugly, but perfectly functional and very affordable Hi-Point carbine. All these companies have legendary reputations (even Hi-Point, which has phenomenal customer service and after-sale support) so its hard to go wrong with any of them.

My only complaints vis a vis pistol-caliber carbines is price. Yet another (theoretical) advantage of a pistol-caliber carbine is the ability to use a “simple blowback” method of operation; wherein the chamber is kept sealed until the gas pressure from the gunpowder drops to safe levels by nothing more than the intertial mass (i.e. weight) of the slide itself, after which the cartridge case itself being blown back by the equal and opposite reaction move the slide rearward and cycle the action (thus the name.) Most medium-caliber handguns above .380 ACP power or so use a fancier - and more expensive - locking-lug system to seal the breech because simple blowback would require too much weight in the slide and make the gun bulky. Hi-Point’s (in)famous pistols are so cheap because they use simple blowback even for normal-power pistol cartridges, which is why their guns look like a damn brick and have weight to match.

You know where that weight doesn’t matter, though? In a carbine! Simple blowback also has no moving barrel like the short recoil system most handguns use to cycle, so it’s also surprisingly accurate. But above all, simple blowback should be cheaper.

And they ain’t.

The Scopion Evo 3 is simple blowback and costs about a thousand bucks, retail. There’s multiple “entry-level” AR-15s on the market right now, chambered for an actual rifle cartridge, using a much more complex and expensive gas-operated recoil system... for about 600 dollars USD. That has never, ever not pissed me off, and has kept me from buying a PCC myself. The Hi-Point carbines are only 300 bucks or so, but they also look like a 300 dollar rifle - there’s no properly-priced “mid market” option for PCC’s and that just frosts my ass no end.

But there’s good news! After years of bullshit, you can finally find 9mm AR-15 complete uppers for something approaching sane fucking prices. Check out the price drops over at Palmetto State Armory. (They mark ALL their stuff as “on sale” but typically not with $100+ price drops.) Everyone is lowering their prices because nobody’s fucking buying these at their previous rip-off bullshit pricing. And even better, the corona catastrophe hasn’t driven these prices up yet, and probably won’t for a while because, as you can see, these are for unassembled guns, not straight-off-the-shelf ones.

Best of all, as far as AR-15s are concerned, “unassembled” basically means “you have to put the bottom part on the top part and pop two pins in with your thumb.” And that’s it. That’s quite literally it. It’s so damn easy I have no problem recommending it to a total newbie. What you do is, you buy a complete upper assembly (which means the factory guys screwed together the barrel and upper receiver for you and attached the wee flippy door and other stuff which is fiddly for you - they usually come with a bolt, too, but if they don’t that’s not hard to find separate and they just slide right in.) Then you go and find yourself a 9mm lower receiver; a complete one will look something like this. The lower receiver decides what kind of magazines you’ll use, and depending on compatibility with the upper may or may not have a working bolt hold-open interaction; you’ll have to do a little research to see if the combo you’re eyeballing works together. Fortunately there’s more than a few guides out there for this sort of thing, and you can also ask on forums like ar15.com to quickly get feedback from people with way too much disposable income who have actually built guns with the parts you’re looking at. This is all made a lot easier if you buy the upper and lower from the same company (they typically make sure their shit all works together, natch,) but even then research is prudent.

Or you could say “fuck it, I’ve got money” and buy the EVO 3, which wouldn’t be a bad choice either. Yes, you’ll be overpaying a bit, but at least the EVO 3 is nice, and has bells and whistles and things. And the other big advantage of an AR PCC build is also with the EVO 3 - a fairly strong aftermarket. For instance, if you think the EVO 3′s trigger is stiff, there’s already aftermarket options for it. There’s also handling to consider; find a Friendly Local Gun Store with the Scorpion in stock and pay them a visit and ask to hold the thing; then you can compare to pretty much any shorter-barreled AR-15 rifle on the wall and you’ll have a pretty good comparison. You can look up youtube reviews comparing the two all day, but nothing tells you what you’ll like better than actually holding it. The advantage the Scorpion EVO has is, unlike people making Le Generic AR-15 Pattern Parts, is the freedom to customize the weight, balance and overall useability ergonomics while still retaining modular features like the standard picatinny rails (the carbine you’re looking at even has integrated M-LOK attachment points in the handguard!) There’s a fucking reason this carbine is getting so much attention despite 9mm PCC’s being a Thing these days. The prices on 9mm AR uppers finally dropping is relatively new, but even with that, CZ is typically considered to be of a quality comparable to the upper end of those AR manufacturers, which also narrows the price difference.

I know that’s a lot of ~words~ to fling at a newbie who’s highly unlikely to dive into the pain-in-the-ass journey of researching 9mm PCC parts, but I wanted you to know what your options were, and to start early in demystifying the ~building a GUN~ process; as with a completed upper it’s mostly about popping together a few simple parts, screwing this thingajigger onto that, and then pressing some of those fucking roll pins in with a c-clamp from your workshop. Yes, skip the 20 dollar roll pin punch from Brownells (and the six dollars and two weeks shipping) and let The Internet show you all the dirty tricks to make shit even easier. The AR market is so inflated and AR’s so popular now that there’s people selling fifty dollar tools to help install one part in the lower, and exasperated guys on youtube showing you how to do it with a fucking banana.

So. the TL:DR:

* A pistol-caliber carbine is a REALLY nice choice for a first time shooter; it’s handy and easy to use, wonderfully affordable and fun for target shooting, and can be used for real practical uses like small-game hunting or even home defense if you want.

You have multiple options on the market right now for these, and if you want to save some money or want access to the most insanely populated aftermarket parts market, you can build a 9mm AR-15 pretty easily now, if you do your research first.

With that said, the CZ Scorpion Evo 3 is selling well and is quite popular despite how crowded the market is right now, and there’s a reason for that - everyone says its a well put together gun, its from a company with a legendary reputation for quality and design, it has all the bells and whistles you’re going to want (ambidextrous features, picatinny rails and M-LOK forward handguard,) and it has a sizeable aftermarket of its own, allowing you significant customization options to build on a known solid core firearm. IT EVEN HAS AFFORDABLE MAGAZINES. Seriously their magazines are the same price as you know, normal magazines from normal companies; you’re not being forced to pay out the ass for proprietary mags, it’s just

You know what, nevermind what I said, buy the Evo 3. YOU’RE GONNA LOVE IT BRO

4 notes · View notes

my-random-domme-thoughts · 5 years ago

Text

Will Session Prices Go Down?

I felt compelled to write a post today because of a link that has been forwarded to me, of a forum discussion on MaxFisch, and I was asked for my opinion. Since I am not a member on that forum, I will make a post here. The topic of this discussion was whether the BDSM session prices will go down after the quarantine. The link to the discussion forum is below:

http://www.maxfisch.com/thehang/ubbthreads.php/topics/1751558

Here are my 2p about that:

Whenever I am asked about pricing and pricing strategies, I always make an example of a Prada bag:

Will Prada bags be 50% cheaper after this lockdown? Because, you know, Prada needs to make money... And pay store rents...And, you know, new bag makers are entering the market every day... And, you know, because there will be a recession? Will they be 40% cheaper? 30% cheaper?

Or will they remain roughly the same price they’ve been for last 50 years, inflation adjusted, and leave the localised market if it becomes not cost-effective?

Now, my personal prediction is that Prada bags will cost the same they have always cost. But you’d be able to score a bag, capable of carrying things just as much as a Prada bag, in Primark for £1.

Did the ‘invention’ of Primark make Prada drop their bag prices? Did Primark make Prada go out of business? Lose business? Did Primark steal Prada’s core client base through poaching and undercutting? I think we all know the answer to those questions...

There are Ladies who charge north of £1K per session, and did, are doing, and will do splendidly well while running a waiting list, and there are those who couldn’t find a client for £50 even before SESTA/FOSTA, COVID-19 and the Incoming Recession were in existence. That has always been the case, that will always be the case. There is no judgement being passed about it, this is just the reality of things.

Many answers in the thread seem to have their expectations and estimates based on the perception that all Dommes have just one source of income, are chained to a radiator within their post code, and only ever do RL sessions. Out of the top Dommes that I know, not one has only one stream of income. Most of us have diversified if not into other businesses and investments then within the s3x industry itself, through clips, online sessions or fan sites years and years ago.

Yes, Domme Business is different to Bag Business. But as it is a BUSINESS there are more similarities than there are differences. And those Dommes who were good at Business and Marketing before quarantine are good at it during and will continue being good at it after quarantine, during recession, after recession and up until their eventual early retirement.

There is also some hope noticeable in the posts that there will be a huge influx of “new dommes” on the market because of unemployment as apparently there is no entry barrier to the industry. I hate to burst the bubble, both for the prospective dommes, and for their prospective clients, but Domination is not the first port of call for the unskilled and the unemployed. Far from it. There was a mention of a surge after 50 Shades of Grey as an example. What the kind gentleman who mentioned it has forgotten is that it was BEFORE SESTA/FOSTA. I myself have started when the only entry requirement for a Pro Domme were 5 pictures and an ability to string three sentences on a BackPage ad. That time, and that site, have long gone the way of the dodo. Seen Bonding? I am still waiting for the “tens of thousands of new dommes” to materialise after that...

To enter the profession now, you need solid knowledge of Business Admin and Marketing, hefty skill set of creating, curating and maintaining a website and all the costs involved in that should own skills be insufficient, heavy advertising costs to place that website on the advertising sites, creating and maintaining highly marketable online content, both free and for paid platforms, maintaining half a dozen of social media profiles on various platforms while constantly dodging censure, shadow banning and downright deletion of accounts, not to mention looking good and well-presented, being confident, and having the necessary toys and/or access to dungeons. And A LOT of hard work. Which, in the time of a recession, will not bear much fruit at all. And no, you do not get a business loan from a bank for this line of work. Most of those who are forced into s3x work by circumstances do not venture into Domination, now even more than before, but stick to traditional fields, where a pink thong and some baby oil will often do the trick.

But what about the Recession, then, and the “shrinking of client base”? Now, that is clearly written by someone who is expecting the middle class to literally die out. I can explain this with a simple chart:

This is how I see the distribution of wealth and income now, and after the Great Quarantine of 2020. The world will indeed become poorer, much like during the Financial Crisis of 2008, through lower middle class and working class sliding down the income ladder.

Those who are wealthy and affluent now are not going to wake up in two weeks and find themselves on the dole, or looking for a job at McDonalds. Why? Because they are usually very highly skilled, high earning individuals and have diversified income, investments, savings, pension funds et al. Yes, their stock portfolio might (and I say might!) take a hit. But it will not suddenly make them destitute. It just means that, for 2020, they might make a bit less money. But, 80% of a million is still 800K, and 80% of a thousand is 800. See the difference?

Now, let’s talk about me, for a minute, and my own business model, pricing strategy, cost control and target market/client base:

I chose to move to a low income, low cost of living, high quality of life country. By choice, and for those very reasons. But I neither work on the “local market” nor for it! I charge five times what the average price per session is here, and my daily rate is higher than an average national monthly income. Exactly one of my current clients lives in the same country, and he pays me my rate. The rest of my clients are foreign, and either fly in to see me, or fly me out to join them in their endeavors elsewhere, and yes, they all know they can find someone much cheaper.

But “cheaper” is not what they are after. Those buying Bentleys don’t price in a Seat Leon, just in case. ALL of my current clients are my regular clients, and they bring me much joy even in these dark times! If they enjoy being my subjects even half as much as I enjoy being their Mistress they will remain my clients for years to come. And those who couldn’t afford my rates before the pandemic won’t be able to afford them after.

But how will the Great Quarantine of 2020 and the Incoming Economic Depression affect me and my business? Let’s see!

I personally do not know whether I will be able to see my clients this year, because even if the isolation orders are lifted, no one has cancelled the disease itself. I might get ill. They might get ill. Up until a vaccine or an easy treatment is invented all travel is in a precarious state, as are all sessions. At your own risk, as they say! I’d risk it for my regulars to a degree, but there are limits to everything, and I certainly wouldn’t want them to risk their lives and health for a session.

That said, we do not know what travelling post-quarantine will even look like. If I am required to spend 2 weeks in a lock down every time I have to take an international flight -- I am unlikely to be flying anywhere at all. If it goes back to pre-quarantine simplicity then it is a different story and I will be back to posting my Michelin starred client dinners from different cities in no time. But what if not?

Well, here comes the trick: remember I was talking about the diversified streams of income? While most people were busy with Netflix, I have used my quarantine time in to push for passive income, offering a product that is significantly cheaper than my RL sessions and client fees, but aimed at a much wider target market segment.

I am proud to say that currently my cost of living gets covered by pure passive income in 20 calendar days. That is, I can fall into a coma for a month, and on day 20 of me being in a coma, all my bills and expenses will be covered, and I will wake up to 10 days of profit to get me to a SPA and treat me to some nice meals and still have some left over. And this is passive income. Online sessions are an entirely different thing, in addition to passive income.

What does that mean? It means that I do not NEED to have another RL session at all, EVER, even at my rate, if I do not wish to. I can retire. And if I cannot travel, I will happily spend my time developing and scaling up my online and passive income sides of business further, while sipping cocktails by the sea, in the safety of my own terrace and avocado tree.

So when people ask whether sessions will become cheaper after this Quarantine, I just smile. Thing is, you WILL be able get cheaper sessions after this. But you could get them before this, too! There are, there have been, and there will always be cheap providers. Of everything. And if you are into “cheap cheap” you will always be spoiled for choice.

But it won’t come from established and business savvy dominatrices. Top ranks can afford to step away from the RL sessions altogether, for the risks involved, or only see their regular and trusted clients, at same rate or higher. Mid-range and upcoming will be likely to raise rates while diversifying to compensate for potential loss of foot traffic. And the cheaper ones will join the newcomers in the race to the bottom.

You know that saying, if you have to ask how much something costs -- you cannot afford it? :) Still goes!

1 note · View note