#major skillz

[gfmaterials]

ok but if i were to sell short lgbt+ stories, would anyone be interested?? i’m thinking like the customer gives me a pairing, any sort of important details they want in the story, and i write a personalized tale for them. i’m not sure how much i’d charge just yet so give me some feedback bc i would love to do this for lgbt+ folks, especially youth. i know how hard it was for me to find tales i wanted to read growing up, and it’s still a hassle to find decent ones of the right genre. i can do a multitude of settings and genres but probs sticking to fiction and/or fantasy! 

[familiaanteomnia]

im totally normal about the goth guy, fire footed guy mlm relationship dynamic

[johankasas]

"We must keep going, Comrade Major"

"Fu- Let me rest, Chraz"

(@fly-in-butter is poking me here to practice my azbuka writing skillz haha-)

[transzilla]

U ever meet that brand of anger issues city tboy? Like usually from some major fag city like montreal or seattle nd tgeir idea of a joke is just insulting somebody. No sick skillz no nothing they cant back anything up just blind aggression covering up a toxic shame complex. See these guys i never know how to act around cus i grew up around a man like this so my defensive reaction is non existent and i just freeze. i have to work through it cus i get taken advantage of a lot. Meanwhile i see these types like wahhh i dont know how to feel bad for people and all my friends and significant others leave because im an incredibly abrasive person!! like dude you can probably tell when youve been an asshole im sorry not everything is a hill you have to die on becayse your feelings got hurt. THATS TOUGH BROOOOO

[flushed-for-the-trolls]

Boyfriends Webtoons Discourse

The more I read this ‘controversial’ webtoons, the more I’m convinced that the people that are so offended by it have NEVER even read a single chapter in full.

I understand not liking it, that’s fine, the issues people have with the creator are personal and if you can’t forgive X thing that he did, then that’s with you and I won’t bother arguing, since it has the potential to be personal/hit close to home for some.

But, like, when it comes to the ACTUAL webtoons??? Like, have any of you read the basic introductory chapter?

“It’s not serious!” “It’s cringe!” 

Literally the FIRST BF profile card says “Epic Gamer Skillz” “Tweetch Subs” and “D’ARKNESS LV.” Could it be any more obvious??? Of course it’s not serious, of course it has cringey dialogue, the majority of these chapters have memes in them. The point is that it’s NOT serious, and it NEVER pretended to be in the first place. The damn characters speak like personified Discord Servers. “WTF” “EZ”. In a close follow-up chapter one of the characters literally says “OWO Choco?” Like???

So of course it’s not serious, of course it’s over the top and cheesy, to be over the top and cheesy IS THE POINT. But it seems like no one has actually read the comic, they’ve simply seem a few reactions and out of context clips from the comic and decided they know how everything works... Disregarding the fact that they’ve never read it...

Next is people claiming that the comic “fetishizes gay people”.

First of all. The Author is gay. Second of all, literally who cares? If someone is dumb enough to gather all their opinions of gay people based on a webtoons comic that’s basically a longstanding meme, their opinions never mattered to begin with.

Lastly, I get an icky feeling in my stomach whenever I hear this talking point. I remember feeling it back when I was in the hell that was the MHA fandom.

It was during shipping wars when an eerily similar point was made concerning gay couples. “They’re fetishizing gay people!” “All this shipping is because of the Fujoshis!”

You know who was saying all this? STRAIGHT PEOPLE.

Yes, for whatever reason which is beyond my understanding, when the topic of gay couples is brought up, it’s always Heterosexual people who think they know what’s best for the LGBTQ+ community. They often talk over gay people, and what happens when gay people don’t agree with them? “I bet you’re just a Fujoshi!” They say, unaware that this stranger they’ve never even seen the face of, is, in fact, gay and male. 

So even now, I have to wonder if the people that are declaring this as sexualizing gay people are even gay themselves, if they’re not, do they realize that THE CREATOR is gay himself? Not only that, but as a personal account, I can recall many open and proud LGBTQ+ people (primarily gay) that act like stereotypes. There’s NOTHING wrong with how these characters act, nor those very real people. It’s an insult to these people’s real expressions.

Tell me, would you go up to a gay person and tell them that their form of personal expressions are “wrong”? Who on earth would any of us be to talk down to others like that?

That is also to say that LGBTQ+ people are under NO obligation to act “normal”. We should not be expected to suppress our real forms of expression for the sake of “not letting everyone else down”. If we all had to act normal, if no other depictions of being different were allowed, life would be worthless and meaningless.

This partially off topic tangent is to Segway into the talking point (or implied talking point) that this webtoons is publicizing unflattering stereotypes and is therefore bad.

Firstly. If you think this story is some sort of blow to LGBTQ+ Pride, the problem is with you. There’s nothing wrong with how you express yourself so long as it hurts no one. If you think this makes everyone under the rainbow banner look bad, you should look inward and wonder why you need to gatekeep how others express themselves (and to be clear, yes, I know I am referencing fictional characters with no will or mind of their own, but I believe the general point still stand firm when transferred over to real life).

Two, as I covered, these aren’t mythical stereotypes, there are actual people who live like this, and they’re valid and entitled to living how they see fit.

But you know what? I hear you, in spite of the numerous arguments I’ve made, You still have your objections, but here’s where my secret Uno Reverse Card kicks in.

My final argument.

It’s Refrainbow’s webcomic.

It’s as simple as that. Any content creator is not beholden to their audience and their whims. You can not like the comic, that’s fine, but you’re NOT entitled to changes made at your say-so. People frame their points like they deserve changes made so it can personally appeal to them, but that’s just not the case. If you don’t like the webtoons comic, rewrite it. Make it into something you like, but posting about how all the BFs are going to hell and how you want to run them over with a truck isn’t helping anyone or anything, you’re just being incredibly childish and whiny.

Once again: This is a FREE Webcomic made by a small set of people (I think just two? According to the Webtoons chapter outros at least). This webtoons is not going to revolutionize gay relationships, nor is it reasonable to expect it to. It’s a personal passion project, and it has every right to stay that way and not branch out like so many seem to want it to.

A final few disclaimers.

1. If you’re a straight cis person, just don’t argue. I’m gay, and I’m not about to have a straight person try to talk down to me and tell me I’m wrong, or worse, claim I’m a Fujoshi/Yaoi Loving Fangirl, there’s a reason I stepped away from the MHA fandom ya know.

2. I’m not a dedicated fan of this fic (although I do admit to having a bias, as I enjoy it and find humor in it) or of the author. I personally don’t care about the past controversies, and as I’m not affected by any of them, It’s not my place, duty/obligaton to forgive them on behalf of the people they harmed, that’s not the goal of this conversation. I simply am tired of seeing all this hate, both from arrogant straight people, and this senseless infighting from a section of the LGBTQ+ Community. To me it all seems like trumped up claims that don’t align with the reality of the situation.

Finally: If you like this webtoons, you’re valid. If you don’t like this webtoons, you’re valid, if you harass fans or the creator, you’re invalid, and if you talk over minorities while not being a member of said minority, your opinions, in that situation, are invalid.

[carltonlassie]

Well the lecture was interesting at least. At a time where chatgpt can generate code, why do students even have to study how to code? It's because we want them to learn problem solving skills, skills to translate their ideas into code, and skills to identify issues and debug what's wrong with things (bc chatgpt can be wrong at times).

obviously even before chatgpt programmers were like why do we need to do coding interviews, we can Google everything in our real job. But the skill we were looking for was not about googling but whether you can identify the problem itself and think through things. You have to first know what question to ask, sift through garbage on Google to find what you need, and adapt it to fit your use case.

If they really want to help students grow that skill, maybe they should look into doing oral exams for cs classes like. Just do an exam question 1:1 with a Prof and let students talk through the problem solving process. Prof is there to ask the right questions and steer them towards the answer. Just like an interview. Prepping for real skillz. But also there's like 1000000 cs majors now so it's impossible to do that lol

[duckapus]

Asshole 4 Hire

So...you know how Toad both lived and worked at the old castle? Yeah, one thing he didn't account for during his globetrotting therapy arc is that he'd still be jobless and homeless at the end. Peach did give a standing offer of his old position at her new castle, but considering that job was a major contributing factor to his depression, trauma, and general assholishness it's not an offer he's seriously considering. Though he's not sure how long he can deal with the current American job market and crashing on SMG4's couch before he does get desperate enough to go back to that. Not that he doesn't appreciate 4's hospitality, especially since his (mostly) new outlook on life and everyone's development make it much easier for him and the Crew to tolerate each-other now, but a shroom's gotta have some control over his life, you know? Plus he's well aware that there is such a thing as overstaying your welcome.

So, nearly out of options, he officially turns to the Crew for help in finding a job. Bullshit ensues.

Eventually they find out that Toad learned how to play the saxophone during his travels, and that he is really, really good at it, and Bob and Saiko manage to set him up with a night club owner they both know who's been looking for some new talent, and a jazz musician seems like just the thing. So that's the job taken care of, now the only problem's the house.

But worry not, 'cause Mario reveals that he..."found"...a New Super Mario Bros-style Toad House with a bigger-on-the-inside actual two-story house interior, and installed it in the Showgrounds with his Mad Plumber Skillz.

[blessyourhondahurley]

Saving Memories One Page at a Time

Cas takes up scrapbooking with a passion and Dean tries his best to avoid getting involved.

Suptober prompt: Wicked Flufftober prompt: Supporting Silly Quirks/Hobbies Fictober prompt: “How would that even work?” Inktober prompt: Scallop

(Read on AO3)

“Dean, would you like to help me?” Cas looks up from the kitchen table, which is currently covered with several teetering piles of crafting supplies, and offers his boyfriend a beseeching smile.

Dean has been avoiding this conversation all week.

Newly human and blessed with almost endless spare time now that Sam's hunter network covers the majority of cases in the country, Cas has been trying out some hobbies. In the past few weeks, he's knitted dozens of scarves and hats (most of which have been donated to the homeless shelter downtown). There's a new garden behind the Bunker, lush and thriving. He passed level 12,000 on Candy Crush. And he dusted off a film camera that he'd found on a back shelf of the library and used it to produce approximately a metric shit-ton of photographs. Cas has now thoroughly documented the Bunker, its inhabitants, their daily routines, their every meal, the garden and its surroundings, and just about every stray mammal in the county.

These pictures cannot simply be shoved into a shoebox like Dean had assumed, however. Oh no no. They must be lovingly preserved, a handful at a time, on acid-free paper, in themed groupings, adorned with complementary accents, borders, rubber stamps, stickers, and hand-calligraphed inspirational quotes.

In other words, Cas has gone gaga for scrapbooking. And he wants Dean to join him.

Now, never let it be said that Dean shies away from the creative and the domestic arts. Once he settled into the Bunker and let himself shake off his Dad's bullshit rules for “How a Man Should Act,” Dean dove headfirst into homemaking.

He's got a Pinterest board where he saves recipes that the whole family will eat (because you try cooking a casserole that can be enjoyed by a Meat Man, a Paleo-flexitarian, a freshly-fallen connoisseur of individual molecules, and God Himself with a four-year-old's palate). He's dabbled in interior decorating, running up their bottomless credit cards at Pottery Barn and IKEA to freshen the living areas with overstuffed couches and coordinating throw pillows. And when someone's got a ripped flannel or a pair of jeans that needs to be altered? Dean's the guy with the mad needle skillz they all turn to.

Scrapbooking, though? That feels a little too much like the sort of thing Karen from the suburbs does with her time, in between wine-soaked book club meetings with her gal pals and clandestine dalliances with the pool boy. Dean is firmly uninterested.

But Cas has been sending out increasingly loud “come join me” signals ever since he pasted his first snapshot of a sunset onto a piece of blue card stock last Tuesday. All week, whenever Dean took some downtime in the Dean Cave or popped a squat in the library, within a few minutes Cas would be at his elbow, spreading out his supplies and casting hopeful glances his way. It's become harder and harder for Dean to pretend he doesn't know what Cas wants here. Yesterday he got so desperate, he faked a wicked migraine and slunk off for a 3-hour nap. But now here he is, cornered.

“Uhhh,” Dean replies, stalling for time. “Help you... How would that even work?”

“Well, you could assist me in choosing the accent colors, or you could take over trimming the scalloped border pieces. Or you could make your own page, if you like. I can show you how!” Cas eagerly clears a space among the mounds of stationery supplies and lays out a fresh sheet. Dean knows when he's been defeated. With a sigh, he plops down on the chair next to his boyfriend.

Cas launches into a spirited tutorial on the joys and pitfalls of assembling an attractive page. Dean tries to pay attention, but he can't help it – he tunes out almost immediately. Cas is nattering on, shuffling paper around on the table, and Dean's nodding and thinking about which cars in the motor pool are due for an oil change. He's not listening to any of it, until...

Cas hands him a sheet of cowboy hat stickers. “I thought you'd enjoy these,” he says with a smile. “Oh, and also...” Cheeseburger stickers. A rubber stamp of the Metallica logo. A 4-inch die cut of a pristine black 1967 Chevy Impala.

“Holy shit,” Dean says with wonder. “Marry me.”

Cas freezes for a few seconds, then croaks, “What?”

The words had kind of slipped out of Dean's mouth, but he means them. Cas knows him better than anyone else ever has. He's thoughtful and sweet, and he wants to share his weird hobbies with Dean, and Dean loves him so goddamn much. He plucks the die cut from Cas's limp fingers and places it reverentially on the table, then takes his boyfriend's hand.

“You're awesome, and I love you. Marry me.”

Cas grins. “Yes.”

The first page they work on together commemorates their engagement. Dean puts a cowboy hat sticker on it.

[jmdbjk]

Jimin’s bday WeLive v.2022

As I am listening in the first few minutes, I am having difficulty determining if the background sounds I am hearing are a door opening and closing and perhaps someone moving around in the room or is that his feet and shoes under the table? Like maybe it’s the shuffling sound of his shoes/feet? And he does look off to the side every now and then, sometimes just glancing at nothing? but also a few times actually looks as if his eyes focus on something specific...or not. Maybe not.

You know, I have seen the comments about hearing a certain someone whisper “Jjyaman” during a moment but me, being the skeptical asshole I am, just pooh-poohed that... y’all are reaching! don’t be like them! But now.... (listens very very carefully now). Hmmm. 

Jimin putting up his own printed out birthday decor on the wall and he can’t seem to hang them correctly and me over here with my most basic of basic, like SCREAMING basic knowledge of Hangul can tell right away that he is hanging some of them upside down... Jimin, hun.... you are a born-and-educated-in-Korea, Korean... full bleed as we say here. It’s upside-down, babe. 

Ok, Jimin sucks at handling tape. We know its not his first time too... 

Finally he sees his mistakes and corrects the ones hanging upside-down... goodness. But now I am spurred on to get on with it on my Hangul lessons. FIGHTING! Anyway.

OMG him singing Happy Birthday in English, his pronunciation is immaculate. Him reading some of the comments in English! He understands that Army is majority international and I am grateful to him for making the effort to sharpen his English skills. I will do the same with Korean.

I can also hear traffic in the background... that room must be on the ground floor of the building or close to/facing Hangang-Daero (the main thoroughfare that the HYBE building is on). And it’s midnight there and that traffic still sounds like hell. 

Jimin showing us his photo folio book and not wanting to spoil it for us... unintentionally artistic? Right. 

Jimin asking if he’s too ugly after using those purple sunglasses to hold his hair out of the way... BAHAHAHAHAHAH.... if he only knew how much we all just swooned and fainted when he did that! At least I did. Bless his heart.

Ok, I got to the part where everyone swears it’s JK whispering “JJyaman” but I think it’s just Jimin saying “jyah” just like he did 17 seconds prior, only softer the second time. Yep, that’s me, crusher of delusions. Sorry. 

I love how he’s so confident he can make this LEGO flower in no time and immediately can’t find the correct parts.... hahahahah... and his need to prove he can multitask... so cute of him. Relax, Jimin, it’s a LEGO kit, not a 4-minute high impact complex choreography in which you have to sing and hit the high notes on key. We know you got skillz. You don’t need to impress us with a LEGO kit.

Hahahaha! “You should read the instructions first” he says 30 minutes into it... that’s the left side speaking there... if you know, you know. Also, why does he have to pick the most difficult kits to be his first go at it? He’s such a nerd doing this. And I love him 2000% more for that. Then he realizes it took him 45 minutes to make that one flower hahahahahha! 

Something I noticed...remember in the Las Vegas V Live when Jungkook came in at the end and the pillows fell off the back of the couch and Jimin explained to him they were trying to hide that nude picture on the wall and Jungkook looked up at it and went all smirky “oh... ho ho ho ho” ... Remember that? Jimin has done that exact thing twice in this video. Talk about picking up each other’s mannerisms... classic. 

And I guess time will tell what exactly did he mean by this:

I know they know and they know we don’t know so LET US KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING JJYAMANNN!!!

Ok, I genuinely think he was alone in the room. That flower balloon was slightly reflective and I did not see any strange unexplainable movements during the entire video. Or... who are you looking at Jimin?

But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t someone waiting outside the room and watching on the other side of the glass.... 

I am impressed Weverse got the subs up so quickly. Jimin must have been wearing his lawyer chelsea boots yesterday. 

Ok, I am off for the evening to try to get some sleep and wake up in time for the concert. See you all on the other side.

[damnation-if]

wrestling with canva like i’m crocodile dundee... this probably won’t end up being anything like a real UI because i don’t think a lot of it is Possible jsfdbgs

It looks amazing, how did you do that? 👀👀👀👀👀

hi, thank you for the compliment! i took a bit to answer this because i'm not really... equipped to be making Design tutorials haha. graphic design is my passion neither ironically nor unironically and i'm absolutely rubbish at art - however, canva has enough tools to help me feel like i'm building something visually interesting despite my. abject lack of talent XD i'll put a cut here and some like. explanation and tips underneath.

i have premium for my non-IF-related work, but the free version is what i started out on and it's honestly surprisingly good and has a generous licensing agreement. the biggest drawback for the free version for me is the inability to save files with a transparent background or resize files mid-edit, but for most people making banners or concept art you're not going to Need transparent files - that's more of a thing for actually creating assets.

the biggest ADVANTAGE of the free canva license is that you are licensed to use anything you make using the free assets in commercial products if you want/need (including games or promo for them). many similar design products only allow personal use for free licensing. (however, i'm not trying to sell canva to you; rather i'm pointing out that sticking with the free version is actually very convenient and the premium features are probably things you won't need lol)

basically canva allows you to search for graphic design elements by keyword and drag and drop them onto a design piece, mix them around, change their colours and sizes etc. and combine them together to make something. i'll talk a little bit about the UI design you're mentioning (the one i showed off here for anyone curious) not to brag about my Skillz(TM) but just to show how easy canva makes it for a total newb to make something that looks really neat!

there's about 30 different elements in that particular UI design - the "console-y" looking frame itself is half a dozen on its own: the basic frame (those cyberpunky lines at the top and bottom of the screen); a semi-transparent box i added to make it look like a holo-screen; the panel on the side, which was originally square until i cropped it down to make it look like a panel and colour-shifted to match the main box; the little connector between the side panel and the screen, which is actually two of the same asset with one upside-down and cropped; and then the various text assets, not to mention all the logos, which are also all separate (and also the little 2 unread messages symbol is another 2 separate design elements i put together lmfao).

canva will probably seem overwhelming once you first start using it because it has So Many tools, but most of these are for companies and you'll probably find you don't need to even look at the vast majority of them. for example, it'll probably ask you to choose a template to start a design, and there are like. 100s. that it'll want you to sort through. but you very probably won't ever use more than one or two. i think i've used three Ever for IF stuff - tumblr banner (for banners, obviously), social media banner, for the RO banners you can see on the ROs page, and 16:9 Blank Presentation, which is what i use for UI designs because it's just. a big blank page size. you can Literally ignore all the others unless you need something specific!

you can either use the pre-generated aspects of the template and simply replace their designs with ones you prefer, or do what i do and delete it all and put your own stuff in lmfao. the templates can help if you don't have much of an idea of what you want your design to look like but obviously for me with UI design it's a bit. Pointless because canva doesn't have a template for that XD

anyway once you have your blank canvas, you can search for "elements" in the search panel and look through them for ones you want to use. the pro version assets are labelled pretty clearly so you probably won't mistakenly pick something that requires paying to use and the search filters themselves are pretty hefty - i rarely run up against a search term that brings back nothing unless it's HIGHLY specific lol

here are just a couple of tips that help me get basically closer to what i want out of the whole thing:

when you're changing the size of an element, canva only increases or decreases its size by the exact ratio of its original dimensions - you can't Only make an image wider, for example, it will also automatically increase the height to match. that's why the "frame" asset in my Gone Dark UI design is centred in the page instead of taking up more of it - i couldn't make it wider without it getting taller and the top and bottom bars disappearing off the page. you can get around this by using elements that are mostly plain - i could have, for example, made the semitransparent screen box as wide as i wanted, because it's uniform in design and there'll be no visible difference in where i draw its boundaries as it all just looks like plain rectangle.

combining photo images and less realistic graphics can look jarring but there are handy image editing tools (found by clicking "edit image" in the top toolbar with the image selected, and then "show all" in the lefthand sidebar to show all of the filters) that you can use to make photos look Less Photolike - lowered blur and heightened clarity especially can make it easier to make photos fit better with other graphics.

some of the text effects (found by clicking "Effects" in the top toolbar with the textbox selected) can make it way easier for text to be visible against certain backgrounds - this is not much use if you're designing something for another medium like a UI, because you can't replicate them in other software, but if you're just producing an image like a banner they add a lot of neat flair.

when you have a lot of elements working together they often look a little better with at least a slightly lower transparency to hide that their borders/edges aren't uniform - 85-90% is usually opaque enough to not notice it's slightly transparent but soften the edges.

it can be hard to figure out the exact size (in pixels) of an element while you're In a design - there are rulers that can be applied through the settings menu, but the maths often fucks me up, so i find it's easier to resize the image by dragging the expand handles by like a single pixel and then putting it back to normal - while specifically holding the expand handles (until you let go of the mouse and "drop" it in the desired size) it will give you an exact reading of the height and width in pixels along the bottom toolbar that you can read easily.

this one is pretty specific but when you're making boxes to put behind text they often look better with a slight blur filter on them as well as transparency - for Gone Dark in particular the blur gives it a nice fuzz that makes it look even more like a projected screen. if you look closely you can see a slight difference between the text screen and the side panel screen background - that's because i forgot to blur the side panel lmfao.

aaaand that's probably all the advice i can offer. i'm far from an expert, but i do feel like i have fun with it XD i'm glad so many people have thought it looked cool! sorry this got so long but. it's hard to explain without actually Getting Into It haha

[nebuvoid]

if theres one thing i cant stand its a fan that claims their theories based on very vague and unclear information is infallible fact like theyre the authority on things and act all condescending when people send asks/reply questioning things or try to discuss things with them lol like sorry to say but youre a fellow pleb like the rest of us, no amount of epic analysis skillz can remedy major lack of information

[zumpietoo]

Ummm....

Hey, I hate the musical eps as much as the next person, but WHY does Racist watch the show again?

Ummm....dude? Season 1 WAS only 13 eps, after all, and despite there being no actual musical ep, those eps were jammed chock full of Douchie Bolton and all his clowns that never laughed before----to say nothing of “nightingale” Vermin’s endless caterwauling.....

Ummm....while he admittedly winds up (quite consistently, in fact) conveying very different impressions and personas that intended, I think the show could be viewed as grasping this. Especially considering RAS attended Ivy League schools and you’re at Freezing Cold Canadian Cowtown U....for toddler ass wiping, no less.

Oh we’ll most assuredly have eps musical numbers....

Hey, I too, hated that number (that LBR, was Tinkle, who fully agreed has no talent), buuuuuuttt....you also JUST confirmed you aren’t just a racist, Racist, you’re an ultra elitist one. 

Honestly, why is THIS your concern? They’ve endlessly pimped Crotchi “singing” as Vermin since season 1----to say nothing of repeated attempts to make the P-Cats happen....Nearly EVERY musical number they’ve ever done have sucked. 

Soooo....OFC, she next moves onto Cole....

First off, it’s the ONLY jizzy duet, EVER....and Cole sounded fab.

No, he sounded great....

Yes, cuz COLE isn’t the one who’s had training thusly since childhood and used to be on Disney (it’s why he’s also an accomplished ballroom dancer and I’ll direct you to when he’s singing karaoke, etc for further evidence)----but I’m sure you’ve had lots of performing arts training, in addition to your brilliant mad writin’ skillz up in the frozen tundra.....

PP’s voice and, as always, is adequate at best....and straining harrdddd....

Umm.....I do agree about them, but so autotune is good, except it isn’t? Also I think Racist’s “expertise” is entirely derived from watching American Idol...and we’ve heard MM sing in Carrie, yes, she sucks.....so, again, does Crotchi.....so, essentially does PP.....even FB, a musical theater major, largely ONLY sounds good with the right songs.

And.....again, WHY does Racist watch, exactly?

[writer-rider-flirty-thirties]

I think one of my personal main problems with YA shows that aren't primarily black casts is that they always throw the one black character (because there's usually only one main and maybe one supporting character active or alive at the same time) with

1. A character of a different race that treats them badly/will cheat on them (Bonnie from TVD ~ even though she and Jeremy were cute for a while)(Toni and Cheryl from Riverdale)(Kat with Jamie from Instant Star)(Also, Kwest with Sadie from Instant Star)

2. With the only other black character on the show (obviously where they're going with Bianca and the mayor's son in Wednesday)(Bonnie with that warlock's son in TVD)(The brother in South of Nowhere)(Majority of the black characters from Degrassi)

3. A good character that's leaving/gonna die soon (Bonnie with Enzo in TVD)(Honestly most of Bonnie's love interests)

4. Unrequited love or just single (I can't remember Skillz from OTH having a love interest)(Pete with Chloe from Smallville)(Lisa in Saved By The Bell)

Or 5. They don't have main black characters to begin with (like Gossip Girl or majority of the seasons of Teen Wolf or the really old popular shows like OTH (I mentioned Skills but he's in and out), 7th Heaven, majority of Boy Meets World (where I'd put Shawn and Angela under 1 because, although I love them, he was shitty to her), etc.

Or maybe those are just the ones I watched, 😂

[dorematrix1]

Exploring the Thrilling World of Real Money App Games

In recent years, the gaming landscape has evolved dramatically, giving rise to a fascinating niche: real money app games. These games have captivated millions, blending the excitement of gaming with the allure of potential financial rewards. But what exactly are real money app games, and what makes them so appealing?

What Are Real Money App Games?

Real money app games are mobile applications that allow players to wager real money on various game outcomes. Unlike traditional mobile games that focus purely on entertainment, these apps introduce a financial element where players can win—or lose—actual money. This genre includes a wide array of game types, from classic casino staples like poker and blackjack to skill-based competitions and fantasy sports.

The Appeal of Real Money App Games

The primary draw of real money app games is the potential to earn money while engaging in a favorite pastime. This concept appeals to a broad audience, from casual gamers looking for an added thrill to serious players aiming to turn their skills into a source of income.

Monetary Incentives: The possibility of winning real money adds an extra layer of excitement. Each game session holds the potential for financial gain, making every win more rewarding.

Skill-Based Challenges: Many real money app games are skill-based, allowing players to hone their abilities and improve their chances of winning. This competitive aspect attracts players who enjoy testing and showcasing their skills.

Accessibility and Convenience: With the ubiquity of smartphones, these games are easily accessible. Players can engage in real money gaming anytime, anywhere, without the need for a physical casino or gaming venue.

Diverse Game Selection: The variety of games available ensures there is something for everyone. Whether you prefer card games, trivia, puzzles, or sports betting, there is likely a real money app game that suits your interests.

Popular Real Money App Games

Several real money app games have gained immense popularity, each offering unique gameplay and rewards:

PokerStars: A premier app for poker enthusiasts, PokerStars offers various poker variants and tournaments with substantial cash prizes. It combines skill and strategy, making it a favorite among serious poker players.

DraftKings: Known for its fantasy sports contests, DraftKings allows players to create fantasy teams in various sports and compete for cash prizes. It's particularly popular during major sports seasons.

Skillz: This platform hosts a variety of skill-based games, from card games to puzzle challenges. Players can compete against others worldwide, adding a global competitive edge.

HQ Trivia: Once a cultural phenomenon, HQ Trivia offered live trivia games with real cash prizes. Its interactive format and scheduled game times created a communal gaming experience.

Considerations for Players

While the allure of real money app games is undeniable, players should approach with caution:

Risk of Loss: As with any form of gambling, there is a risk of losing money. Players should set a budget and play responsibly.

Legality: The legality of real money gaming varies by region. Players should ensure the app operates legally in their jurisdiction.

Security: It is crucial to choose reputable apps that offer secure transactions and protect personal information.

Fair Play: Look for games that use random number generators (RNGs) and have measures in place to ensure fair play.

The Future of Real Money App Games

The real money app game industry shows no signs of slowing down. With advancements in technology, such as improved mobile connectivity and virtual reality, the gaming experience will only become more immersive and accessible. Furthermore, as regulations evolve, the industry is likely to become more transparent and secure, enhancing player trust.

In conclusion, real money app games offer a unique blend of entertainment and financial opportunity. For those who enjoy the thrill of competition and the possibility of monetary rewards, these apps provide an exciting avenue to explore. However, responsible gaming practices and awareness of legal implications are essential for a safe and enjoyable experience.

[astramthetaprime]

And the Wave Hits

So. Lost my job on Friday. The contract ran out and was not renewed.

It feels good to have some time off, I've been tired. But at the same time, y'know, I'm doing applications again. But thanks to paying off the house and all the rest, I'm not actually in a bad position at the moment. So I'm in a weird lacuna where yeah, Trouble is In The Air but at the same time Imma Taking It Easy.

The Year of the Jackpot has now run to sixteen months. We're in overtime gameplay.

My therapist yesterday encouraged me to try to get published, use this time to work on my writing and associated skills. Which, yeah, I'm always in favor of that. In an academic way, really, so to speak.

I'm a coward, honestly. Fear of rejection kicks the hell out of perfectly valid skillz and abilities and deprives the world of good quality content. I have no actual concrete reason to believe my work would be rejected, btw. But fear needs no reason, only implication of a reason.

For most of my life I've shoved print-outs into people's hands saying "read this, read this, please!" The vast majority of the time the prints have been put aside with an obviously fake smile "sure, I will" and never another word. They're forgotten, or tossed in the trash after. I don't get feedback, good or bad. Very rarely, I get vague "it was good, it was fine". No specifics. Just ... nothing.

So I stopped trying to get feedback. I don't talk about my stuff, I rarely print anything out, and I don't try to get people to read my stuff. No one wants to know, no one has time. No one cares. I've never seen any evidence that anyone near to me cared. My mother outright hated science-fiction, and the rest of my family either doesn't care or considers genre fiction of any sort to be garbage.

My dad would have read it, and that would have been good enough for me. But, well ... he was dead long before I ever really got started.

So yeah, I write all this stuff, hundreds of thousands of words, and never submit it anywhere or try to get anyone to read it. Because I figure it's not worth it, it's not good enough, and no one cares.

People care about the fanfic, and AO3 is a hothouse environment because people are actively reading ships and fandoms and actively commenting. That's like building one of those zero-tick farming machines in Minecraft, where you've got a dispenser chucking bone meal onto one square of tilled dirt and you've standing there with carrots in one hand and a hoe in the other and it's instant villager food by the ton. In original fiction, in the real-world publishing biz, especially these days where everybody is producing content, it's a mosh pit fight to get eyes on your work. We're all competing for a finite resource, readers' time and attention. Someday when we've got robots doing all the jobs and none of us have to work and money is no object, we'll all have much more time to read. But right now, when we're all trying to survive? No. People read when and as they can, if they can, if they care to.

I come from an era where you had to have perfect copy arranged to very specific margins and double spaced, single-sided pages, your print had to be absolutely perfect or an editor would toss it out without reading the first page. And then they might toss it at the second page when your characters didn't immediately grab his attention. Or at page 30 when they realized your theme was something he didn't agree with. Maybe not so much in sci-fi, we're more open-minded than that thanks to our entire genre being based on differences. But still. Editors were the enemy and you had to work your ass off to convince them your story was worth bothering with.

And now, there doesn't have to be an editor at all. Anyone can print anything whenever wherever. Do everything from cover art to ebook to audiobook to promotion. Or if you can't do it yourself, you can hire other people to do it for you. There's no gatekeeper to convince. And one wonders what that does for quality, because the gatekeepers of old were the arbiters of that.

I don't know precisely where I stand on the subject now.

But I've thought I may teach myself how to do prompts in Midjourney, to do my own cover art. And there's Reedsy.com. And ACX. And my old ebook publisher sent me my latest royalty payment from a book that they published in 2003 and is still selling one or two copies every six months. I made a whole $1.73. Maybe they'd like to take a look at some of my old stuff.

The future isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes it's just as much worry and bad decisions. But it happens nonetheless.

As ever, for you Sir Arthur, with my fondest regards.

[transmissionsfromthebattlefield]

There's No Trains To Heaven

Things I made this semester: A just barely 19 page long historiography paper. An accompanying 7 and a half page long research proposal with 22 page long annotated bibliography because I found too many interesting sources and had too much to say about them. An 8 page long paper about seditious speech that could have been a little shorter but I had too much to say about that, too. One data research analysis report (with accompanying fun bar graph). A basically functional, entirely responsive website with 7 individual pages (which I'm still putting the final touches on). In between all of this I recorded an eleven song album of nuclear reactor core folk ditties, all by my lonesome.

T’was a good semester.

I also changed my major. Again. This summer I'd declared a second major in history to go with my studies in emerging media and technology with a minor in web design. But I wasn't too sure about the latter degree. Part of why I was clinging to EMAT was plain ol' fear, to be completely honest. Not a crippling or conscious fear, but the oft-restated assumption lingering in the back of my head: it'll make you marketable. If you get a bachelor of arts, you'll either be out of a decent job or trapped in the stressful, low-paying world of education. Get that ~science~ certificate in your life and you'll be rolling in that dough and not destute, unlike those silly B.A. kids.

Well, I don't necessarily agree with that train of thought. Having had the concept of "STEM" shoved down my throat in even middle school, I've grown critical of the importance we place on those fields specifically. As vital as technology and science are, you also have to realize that the social sciences are just as useful to, well, society. Yet such fields are looked down upon. No wonder people nowadays are barely capable of critical thought, take everything (especially media) at face value, and barely know the basic facts about their own country's past. It's because we condition kids to doze off in their classes and not take education on any level seriously, especially not the subjects associated with boring, stuffy things like reading and interpreting and thinking. Too much hard work, let's rah-rah the football team instead.

Learning history and connecting it to the present is one of the most important things you can do to become a more aware citizen, and it's time we stop pushing this culture of self-consciousness over what people think of us because of our degrees or careers and actually work on ourselves to actually get some informed participation in society. As for the career part, my workplace on campus is proof enough to me that studying history can get you a fulfilling job that lets you utilize the skills you honed and information about the wider world you picked up in your studies. It helps you connect with people and their past experiences. It helps you contextualize the world you currently live in. And by studying things objectively, it helps you become a more logical person less swayed by disgusting propagandic appeals to emotion. It just helps you become a better person. Realizing that that is the path I want to take, as opposed to sticking with a major I just wasn't fully jiving with in the name of some enigmatic ideal of making my chosen institution proud or something, is very freeing.

The web design minor is staying because I just genuinely love twiggling around with my little HTML and CSS files and applying my graphic design Skillz in that manner. On the other hand, I've picked up another minor: creative writing. I've always taken my writing abilities for granted; I'm a great writer, I'd say. But only now have I really felt empowered (to use a cheesy term for lack of a better one) to express it in a creative way - and not just in the songwriting department. I think I felt for a while that I had to suppress my "creative" side in order to appear serious to...I don't even know who I was trying to appeal to. But my brain has been firing off in too many directions lately, and has been too inspired by the world around me and my various influences to let my individual perspective linger in the background. I gotta do me.

So I went from English while enrolling --> Journalism because I was under the assumption that all the English majors were going to be Swifties --> Public Relations for a few weeks because I had no idea what I was doing --> Emerging Media and Technology with web design concentration --> History + EMAT + web design --> History major + web design minor + creative writing minor. That's a really weird and still incomplete circle, but it's fun to think about.