#no beta read post: we die like Marcus will to live

[volturilovers]

🪩✨sparkling✨🪩

and

✨shining bright like a Diamond✨ that only the skin of a killer can do

A day when the volturi is on a trip.

Aro: Caius have you seen Marcus? He told me he was going with you.

Caius: no I thought he was with you?

Aro:……

Caius:….

Aro: oh shit.

Meanwhile Chaos is happening in the volturi coven

Marcus sitting at the ens of a cliff thinking about his love

[nerdieforpedro]

Weekend Update 05/19/2024

Three weeks in a row. I should play the lottery, I might hit for some big money!

Nerdie, please. We think it’s fine that you play the lottery, but have you done much this week?

I will have you know, that I worked three 12 hour shifts in a row, one of which I was the charge nurse. Something I’ve never done before and only had a 4 hour class once. The person that was supposed to be training me was not there so I just did trial by fire. I also worked this weekend. 

Though the highlight of the week was Friday night!

What? You had a hot date? Good for you!

Huh? This is Nerdie you’re talking about, no. Not at all what happened. I got to see Hozier live in a concert! It was wonderful! I might still be singing all the songs, have played them for my coworkers and that one guy whose room I was in for 30 minutes getting him cleaned up and bed changed should know a fair bit of “Almost (Sweet Music)” and “Something New.” I think I also had a brunch with my family this week somewhere in there.

We have so many questions…did that man even know what you were singing? Is he now a fan? How was brunch? How did you even find out about the concert? Why wasn’t that the first thing you said?

Sometimes you gotta bury the lead. Brunch was with mama Nerdie and two of Nerdie’s brothers. I have three total. I’m the only girl. The concert was magical, I’m trying to figure out something for September but it’s likely sold out. I think I really lucked out last Friday. 

Nerdie, do you have anything fanfic related? We’re happy to know you’re doing well. We wonder sometimes, but you know, this is Tumblr.

This week will be a bit different. I did a lot of reading last week but this week, I didn’t read much of anything except beta reading for a couple people. So Nerdie will highlight some series she thinks you should peek at:

Symphony by @maggiemayhemnj (A wonderful series featuring Joel - who is having a moment with his new hair by the way. I did notice, how could one not? Has Joel and a female OFC in post outbreak Jackson.) Fun fact - one of my patients called me symphony so it’s going to be one of my many aliases now.

If Wishes Came True by @schnarfer (A Dieter Bravo trilogy. Our beloved trash panda is many things and has many expressions, some not so great. Can it turn into something worthwhile?)

Headshots by @secretelephanttattoo (Marcus Pike - being the sweet man that he is. The OFC is a photographer. Love blooms. It will give you warm fuzzies and you’ll sniffle. It’s totally fine to do so.)

Bloody Kisses by @perotovar (Shane Morrissey and Tim rockford are the combo I was not aware I needed and now I think about them. The longing, the realization, the understanding, the build up, and the growing pains. Just read it and you’ll get it.)

IRL by @grogusmum (A sweet Javi G fic. You and Javi have been chatting about your shared interest in movies and sparks fly. So much so that you fly to see him in person. How does that go? Read and find out.)

These are five series I’ve read, loved and will read again because I enjoy them. I hope you all do too. 

I believe I did post a Dieter one shot for the Dieter Bravo Brain Rot May challenge about aliens. 

Also @fhatbhabiee back! 💖💖

I was tagged by people for WIP Wednesday through Saturday so I’ll do something from my not titled Pero x Dragon fic (look - it was a thought I had and it morphed into this but it’s dialogue):

Darkness is beginning to take him as is the cold. Pero cannot feel his limbs nor tell if he’s moving them. “Hmmpf, you care nothing of your life? Just to let it slip away like this. You appeared to be a warrior of some sort. Do all human warriors lay on their belly and wait for their final breath? Such a pity.” This voice, such torture before death to be mocked like this, couldn’t he have died in battle?  “I’m already in hell only hearing this voice before I die. Goddammit.” The mercenary laments.  “Are all humans fools like this? Why will you not heed my words? I am not trying to reach you for simple vexation.” “Stop with your flowery words then. Say what you actually need. I’m not going to listen to you the entire time before I leave this earth.”

Pero is the type to curse and argue with demons, angels, monsters and Gods if it means he has the last word. I stand by this. Contrary to what this conversation reads like, Pero does not die. His fate could be worse than death, we’ll have to see. 👀

The Peeps who maybe tagged me? @tinytinymenace @connectioneverywhere @magpiepills @604to647 @djarinmuse

@megamindsecretlair and @for-a-longlongtime There are either people I missed or people who didn't tag me. My bad either way. 🤣

I’ve also been toying with which series between my Marcus therapy series and my sweet Javi P series to start posting on Tumblr. I’m not sure which one. Everyone one’s welcome to ask me questions about any of these WIPs, just know I may not stop talking about them like most fic writers. 

I think I do dialogue well in my fics, and wacky ideas, but I could use work on world building, smut, descriptions and other things. I think. Who knows, I'm just going to keep wiring and we'll see what happens.

Stay safe and hydrated everyone!

Love Nerdie!

[argyle-s]

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME CHAPTER 20/38

Rating: Mature

Read at Ao3

Start at the Beginning

Maggie is confused, Kara is busy, and Alex is taking a boat tour of a river in Egypt.

Thanks to @ifourmindbeso for her great work as a beta. Any remaining mistakes are entirely my own.

Chapter 20 –  Building the Brand

Kara touched the button on the holoprojector and the green screens behind her disappeared, replaced by the interior of one of the guest lounges in Sanctuary. The backdrop was chosen carefully. The room could have been part of any structure anywhere on Earth. It was unusual only in the curved walls, circular floor plan, and the paintings hung on the walls. One of her and Kal’s fathers, Zor-El and Jor-El standing together in their science guild robes. There was one of Lara holding Kal, and one of Kal sleeping on the couch with Krypto curled around him, and another of Lara holding Kal, with Jor’s arm around them both, and Krypto at their feet. The painting of her mother and Astra, as well as the paintings of her with her mother and father, and her with Astra were carefully kept out of frame of the projection. She wanted to share as much as she could with the world, but there were limits, having Astra’s face plastered all over YouTube would make it impossible for her aunt to ever have a civilian identity.

“You ready?” Wilma asked.

Kara nodded. “As long as my cape is on straight,” she said.

“You look fine,” Marcus said. “After all, I did your makeup.”

Kara and Wilma both laughed and Wilma reached over and gave Marcus a bit of a shove, then hit the record button on the camera.

Kara fixed her gaze on the camera and smiled.

“Good morning YouTubers,” she said. “Supergirl here, bringing you the first of what I hope will be a number of videos. Now, I’m sure right now a lot of you are asking why I’m taking the time to do YouTube videos instead of flying around helping people, and that’s a great question. The thing is, I can do both. Even my cousin doesn’t spend all of his time flying around in his cape, and just like him, I’m able to use my super hearing to listen for trouble in the city while I take a minute to talk to you about things that are important. On top of that, the wonderful people at Catco have offered to edit the videos for me, and help me out by moderating the comments section, so I can devote more time to helping people.

“Some of you may also ask why I want to do these videos in the first place, or why Catco’s helping me set up a Facebook page, an Instagram account, and a Tumblr. After all, my cousin doesn’t have them. Neither does Batman or Wonder Woman. So, why me? Why am I taking the time?

“My cousin once said, when asked what he stands for, ‘Truth, Justice and the American way.’ I think that’s a wonderful sentiment. My mother was an Adjudicator. Truth and Justice were her purpose and goal in everything she did. To see my cousin take up that mantle warms my heart, and makes me feel like a bit of my mother lives on in him. And the American ideal is a good one. A place where everyone is free, where we come together, regardless of race, creed, or place of birth, and work together to build a better life and a better future.

“But that’s not why I put on this suit. I wasn’t sent here to carry on my mother’s fight. You don’t need me for that. You already have police officers, lawyers and judges working to ensure justice is done. You already have people like Cat Grant, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Vicki Vale and Perry White working to find the truth. What I believe this world needs more of is compassion. Someone to lend a hand, to help when we’re in need, and to offer hope that that we can make it through today, and that tomorrow will be better.

“My cousin once told Lois Lane that this symbol means hope, and he’s right. In one of the languages of my homeworld, it is the glyph for the word hope. But more than that, it’s the Coat of Arms of the House of El, and it stands for our Motto. El Mayarah. It means Stronger Together. I believe that with all my heart. That we are stronger together than we are apart. That we can help each other and give each other hope. That hope is stronger than fear, and the only way we can move forward.

“That’s why I put on this suit. That’s why I’m out there. That’s what I believe in. Hope, help and compassion for all. Human, or alien. That’s what I want these videos to be about. A way to reach people I can’t just by flying around the city. A way to remind people that someone cares, and a way to remind people that all it takes for them to be a hero, is to care, to reach out and offer a helping hand, or a shoulder to lean on when someone needs it.

“Now, I’m sure there are those of you out there who are going to say that this is nothing but a publicity stunt. There are already people out there who are questioning my motives, asking why I’m doing the things I’m doing. To those people, I want to say this. If you don’t want me here, if you don’t want me in the skies above National City, or in the streets helping people, then do better. Make the world better. Make a world that doesn’t need me or my cousin. Make a world that doesn’t need Wonder Woman or Batman. We would all love to live in a world that doesn’t need us, where we don’t hear cries for help, or sirens in the distance.

“For the rest of you, that’s all for this video. I’m Supergirl Zor-El here on YouTube, Facebook, and Google+, SupergirlZorEl, no spaces or dashes, on Tumblr and Instagram, and @SupergirlZorEl on twitter. Also, if you’re interested in information about my homeworld of Krypton, check out my website at kryptonremembered.com. It’s got everything from a full Kryptonian encyclopedia, to an archive of Kryptonian music, recipes for how to make traditional Kryptonian food using Earth ingredients, a library of Kryptonian literature, and even courses that will teach you how to speak, read and write Kryptahniuo, which was our main language, and Kandorian, Vath, Twenx, Urrikan, and Lurvanish, the five classical languages spoken on Krypton prior to the planetary unification. All the content is available for free, in fifty different languages.

“Until next time, may Rao light your way.”

“And we’re out,” Wilma said.

Kara smiled. “How was that?”

“Good,” Wilma said. “I want to do one more take, just to be safe.”

Kara nodded. “Okay.”

Supergirl @SupergirlZorEl 15 Nov 2015

Good morning to the people of National City, human and alien alike. #elmayarah

From Instagram

(image of argo city)

SupergirlZorEl

I know it’s cheating a bit, but for my first Instagram post, I wanted to share something really special. This is a picture of Argo City near sunset. According to the time stamp, it was taken about five Kryptonian days, or ten Earth months before I was born. The tall building in the middle of the image is the House of El’s Argo City Tower. You can actually see my childhood bedroom in this picture. And off to the left, you can see the Citadel, where my mother worked with other Adjudicators to bring justice to our world.

November 15, 2015

“I’m not sure whether to be proud or jealous,” Kara said as she leaned back in the chair, a smile on her face. “The YouTube video’s only been up for two hours, and Supergirl’s already topped half a million followers.”

“Did you really think our girl would do any less?” Cat asked, causing Kara to jump a bit. She turned around, looking away from the bank of displays she’d been looking at, and forcing herself not to smile as Winn scrambled to take his feet down off his desk.

“I wasn’t sure,” Kara said. “She’s got a good message, but she’s only been around a few weeks.”

“True,” Cat said, with a slight tip of her head in acknowledgement, “but in that time, she’s managed to save a plane from certain disaster, foil a bank robbery, prevent a disaster at the docks, took down a villain that her cousin couldn’t defeat on her first try and kept a cruise ship from going down in the middle of National City Harbor. Not to mention what she did at the Gala.” Cat raised her index finger and gave it a little wag. “No, our girl’s star is definitely on the rise. The public is hungry for Supergirl, and she’s using that so well, it’s almost like she learned it from me.”

Kara knew she was blushing and couldn’t quite meet Cat’s eyes. She could feel the pride radiating off Cat, and she could feel the butterflies in her stomach. She wanted to kick herself to make it stop, but she couldn’t help it. The other Cat, the Cat in the original timeline, had offered praise so rarely that when she did, it had always had a profound impact. In that timeline, Cat had left, and she’d come back only to die in the Battle of CatCo Plaza. She’d always wondered if things would have been different if she told Cat. Oh, there wasn’t any doubt in her mind that Cat had known in the other timeline, just like there was no doubt in Kara’s mind that Cat knew in this timeline.

The difference was, this time, when Cat finally confronted her with it, she wasn’t going to lie.

“Now,” Cat said. “I believe I was promised a tour.”

Kara looked up, and this time she did meet Cat’s eyes. “Of course, Ms. Grant.” She stood up and led Cat towards the studio. “We’ve got the studio for the YouTube videos set up in here. I just used CatCo’s standard rapid-deployment studio package…”

Kara sat down on the sofa opposite Cat in Cat’s office as Kaldur’ahm carried in a pair of trays. One of them held Cat’ usual sushi order, while the other held a small family-sized Chef’s sampler, and two orders of pot stickers.

“I hope you didn’t have plans for lunch,” Cat said as Kaldur’ahm set the trays down.

“No,” Kara said. “Nothing urgent. And if something comes up…” she held up her phone, “people know how to reach me.”

“Good,” Cat said, then waited as Kaldur’ahm finished setting the trays down, and left Cat’s office. “I have to say, you did a good job finding Jacob.”

“Jackson,” Kara said, “but you already know that.”

Cat just smirked as she reached for her chop sticks. “I’m impressed. You put together an entirely new department in the span of five days. I wouldn’t have bet you could get the construction permits cleared in under two weeks.”

Kara shrugged. “I know people,” she said. “Some of them are on board with what Supergirl is trying to do. A little bit of judicious name-dropping, a little bit of helpful arm-twisting here and there, and some careful horse-trading.”

“Hmmm… I’d be curious as to what kind of horses were being traded.”

Kara picked up a pot sticker. “One of my contacts may have traded the design for a meta-human containment system to the city in exchange for expediting the permitting process.” She tossed the pot sticker in her mouth, moaning softly as she bit into it.

“That’s quite a trade.”

Kara nodded. “A good one,” she said. “National City PD gets something it needs, and so do we. Everyone wins.”

Cat smiled at her. “You keep surprising me. I still don’t think I’ve figured out just how badly I’d underestimated you.”

Kara laughed as she started mixing wasabi into her soy sauce. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said.

“You should,” Cat replied. “I hope you don’t mind working over lunch. I have the initial proposals in from the first batch of licensed Supergirl merchandise, and I wanted to go over them.”

“Okay,” Kara said. “Any trouble with the requirements she put down on the clothing and toy makers?”

“The clothing companies were fine with it, though they wanted to get the standard sizes out right away and release the plus sizes after they had time to do a study on how high demand would be.”

“You shut that down, right away?”

Cat nodded. “I told them exactly what Supergirl said. Everything launches together, or not at all.”

“And the toy makers?” Kara asked.

“Confused,” Cat said. “They had no idea why she insisted on multiple ethnicities for the Supergirl dolls, and they balked when they saw the percentages she insisted on, but when I threatened to take the license elsewhere, they folded like a cheap suit.”

“Good,” Kara said. “We’ll probably get a lot more proposals from them once they work their way through the Encyplopedia. Especially when they get to the section on Garata.”

“What’s that?” Cat asked.

“Supergirl said it was like soccer, with dragons.”

Cat grinned. “Well, whatever charity she eventually designates, they are going to make an awful lot of money.”

“We might have an answer on that soon,” Kara said. “She’s apparently meeting with Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince while they are in town to discuss work with the Wayne Foundations and the Artemis Society.”

“Our girl is going to be awfully busy, between making videos, taking meetings, and rescuing kittens. I hope she isn’t taking on too much.”

Kara reached for another pot sticker, avoiding Cat’s eyes this time. “I worry about that too,” she said. “But I get the impression that she’s got good people backing her up, and she’s being careful to try and build a solid support network that can handle everything except the actual punching and flying.”

“What about the other aliens. The ones that showed up to the Gala? Supergirl’s Aunt and Uncle?”

Kara looked up from her food, staring at Cat for a moment, before looking down and picking up a piece of spicy tuna roll with her chopsticks. “She’s not ready to talk about that just yet.” She dipped the sushi in soy sauce and popped it into her mouth, chewing slowly, then swallowing. “I know a lot of the news outlets are buzzing about it, but I think she might be willing to address that in another interview soon. Maybe we could even talk her into letting us tape it for a joint release on her YouTube channel and on CatCo’s.”

“You think she’d do a live interview?” Cat asked.

Kara shook her head. “No. Definitely not.” She frowned when she saw the way Cat’s face fell. “Ms. Grant, I don’t think it’s a matter of trust. I think she’s afraid that it might provoke an attack on CatCo. Reactron attacked her while she was pulling people out of a wrecked bus. If someone knew where she was going to be for a long period of time, they might attack just to get at her. That’s why she brought in the hologram projector for her video. She doesn’t want anyone to know they’re being taped in this building.”

“I hadn’t thought about that,” Cat admitted.

“Considering how many times the Daily Planet has been attacked by someone looking for Superman, I’m sure it’s something she’s given a lot of thought,” Kara said. She looked into Cat’s eyes, making sure Cat understood the weight of her words. “She’d never forgive herself if something were to happen to you, or anyone else here, because of her.”

Cat stared back at her for a moment, and Kara could feel how thin the pretense that Cat didn’t know was wearing. Part of her wondered if she should just say it, but something was holding Cat back. In the other timeline, Cat had confronted her as soon as she realized. Here, Cat knew, and Kara knew she knew. Neither of them were being subtle about it, but for some reason, Cat hadn’t pushed, and Kara wasn’t quite ready to throw aside that decision.

“Well,” Cat said, “for now, we’ll just have to respect her judgement on that.”

Kara nodded. “Of course.”

[brothersapart]

FAQ

(the mobile-friendly version)

Background information:

Brothers Apart was started by @nightmares06 October 24th, 2014 and has been going strong ever since! During the last two years two other writers have been added to the team along with a very helpful assistant!

The main storyline, Brothers Apart, has since sparked a collection of AUs. Each storyline is individual in and of itself, but all tie into the main arc in their own way. Visit Links to find your way to the stories.

Why don’t you just post Brothers Apart and not all these other stories?

Since Brothers Apart is (mostly) written by myself, there isn’t enough story built up to have a backlog. Due to a falling out with a former beta reader, writing for Brothers Apart was frozen for a year. During that time we conceived a number of other storylines, and we invite you to enjoy them along with us.

When/where do the stories post?

Sunday, 9pm EST Wednesday, 9pm EST

Any changes to this schedule will be announced on the tumblr as soon as we know about them.

There are three different sites the stories post on:

Archive of Our Own || Fanfiction || Deviantart

Any prompts received will be posted to the tumblr blog before appearing on any other sites, otherwise stories are on the three sites listed above.

Order of creation of the various AUs:

Brothers Apart– “But what if I never fixed Sam?”

Brothers Found– “But what about JACOB?”

Brothers Adopted– “Okay but Jacob’s too cute, let’s make him small”

Brothers Divided– “… bad, Dean”

Brothers Together– “OSCAR”

Brothers Lost– “Okay we should make BOTH brothers small”

Brothers Asunder– “Wee Sammers and Bowman as brothers!”

Brothers Unexpected– “Because Sam/Jacob and Dean/Oscar are too cute to contain”

Brothers Consulted– “I wonder how Sherlock and Dean would react to each other…”

**Various unannounced ideas**

Brothers Saved– “Big Sam and his tiny big brother strutting around”

I love the artwork! Why don’t you have more of (insert character)?

We love the art too! But since we’re writers, and our skill at actual drawing is lacking, all of the artwork you see posted here (with a few incredibly rare exceptions), are either commissioned with our own money or submitted by fans (you lovely, lovely people). We love supporting our favorite artists, so we won’t stop commissioning anytime soon, but it’s dependent on if we have money at the time we get the idea.

If you want to help us out, please Buy Me a Coffee and let us know what character or AU you want commissioned! Once we have enough money for that AU, we’ll get it done.

When does (insert story) start posting?

We’re not sure when each story goes up, we only have a timeline for the days stuff will post. To prevent any stories from gaining favoritism over others, we started running a poll. During the last week or two of a story, there will be a poll with (2) to (6) options offered, and the winner will be the story that starts next!

Keep in mind that the stories that appear in the poll will be fully written/edited and beta’d by our wonderful beta readers, any stories that are incomplete in any fashion will not be included.

The poll is run through SurveyMonkey, and each person gets only (1) vote! Duplicate votes WILL BE REMOVED.

Can you go back to posting stories about only Sam and Dean?

No.

Seriously, we’re going to keep writing together because we do it for fun. You’ll see classic Brothers Apart stories come around when I finish them, but you’ll also get a lot of the collabs we do. We write for ourselves and to get rid of stress. Since we’re not paid to do this (in fact, we spend a decent amount of money on story things), we’ll continue to write what we like.

We still love feedback and getting new ideas from all you readers out there, so keep sending us prompts and suggestions! Just don’t be upset if we don’t do yours– we might not be feeling it.

There’s a book? Where can I get a copy!?

There used to be a book, but it has been discontinued and no longer offered as an option in the contest. Thanks for your interest!

Will Castiel be in the story?

Go read all the stories.

Why didn’t my ask get answered yet?

Generally only one ask is answered a day, please be patient with us.

Popular Tags:

#commissioned art– all the artwork commissioned by the writers of the BA for the stories/ideas we have.

#fanart– artwork done by the fans.

#contest entry 2016– entries submitted for the 2016 BA contest

#bac 2017 tumblr– entries submitted for the 2017 BA contest on the tumblr side (for DA entries, go here).

#daily update– all the story excerpts posted since the beginning.

#prompt– finished prompts (or unfinished prompts, multiple things get filed here).

#submission– wonderful submissions from you readers!

Commissions are open!

What characters belong to who?

@nightmares06–

Supernatural characters– Sam and Dean Winchester, Bobby Singer, John Winchester (though I’ll warn that any prompts for John Win are the least likely to be fulfilled because he usually gives me writer’s block), Castiel, Gabriel, Rufus and Rumsfeld. Various other Supernatural characters.

Original characters– Nixie, Ilyana, Celeste (problematic fave), Walt Watch, Mallory Watch, Briella Watch, Moira Wainscot, Krissy Vent, Sean, Kara Bolt, Christian Bolt, Mikael Foyer, Noonia and Elenia.

@neonthewrite–

Original Characters– Bowman, Jacob Andris, Oscar, Rischa, Cerul, Scar, Vel, (any of the wood sprites, basically), Colfax and Adrian (better prompted at @alittleblogoftrust ), Asp the shadow sprite, Indigo Seraf.

Only original characters, as canon characters tend to come very slowly for me.

@borrowedtimeandspace--

Sherlock Characters– Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, Greg Lestrade, Mrs. Hudson, Molly Hooper and Mycroft Holmes.

Doctor Who Characters– Mostly Tenth Doctor, will do Nine, Eleven, and Twelve (I’m working through Classic Who at a snail’s pace xD) Willing to write for companions from New Who as well.

Original Chracters– Zepheera is my main OC, Stan Baker, Simon Baker, Nathan Sullivan and a bunch of borrower bbys: Kernel, Orrick Shelf, Boston Mantel, Baycliff, Klerida, Marcue Overmantle; basically, if you’ve read my stories, any of the OCs are up for grabs.

Story excerpts

Each day on brothersapart.tumblr.com, we will be posting a new excerpt from a story we are working on at the time. This happens at 10a.m. est, and it’s a tiny blurb from the story.

A bit on the tags for our story excerpts:

#trnt here is the abbreviation of the story the excerpt came from– later revealed to be “The Road Not Taken”

Abbreviations we’ve used and their names if announced:

#trnt– The Road Not Taken (posted)

#twf– The Water’s Fine (posted)

#tnplh– There’s No Place Like Home

#atth– A Time to Heal

#iatwaa– It’s a Tall World After All

#sow– Sam of Wellwood (posted)

#don– Dean of Nowhere (posting)

#bofa– Bobby of Far Away

#dow– Dean of Wellwood

#awos– A World of Secrets

#eotm– Epidemic of the Mannequins

#ws– Wayward Sons

#bah– Bigfoot's a Hoax

#coth– Clash of the Hunters

#auv– An Unexpected Visitor

#sotw– Shadows on the Wall

#gacs– Garlic and Cold Spots (posted)

#tsotf– The Study of the Four (posted)

#tttb– The Ties that Bind (posted)

#ababs– A Burglary at Baker Street

#teome– The Enemy of my Enemy

#jiw– Jacob in Wonderland (posted)

#rt– Road Trip

#a:asocs– Aftermath: A Series of Consulted Shorts

#bp– Bittersweet Parting (posted)

#ffh– Far From Home 

#fs– For Science

#adod– A Day of Duality

#bftp– Blast from the Past

#apias– Any Port in a Storm

#thoaw– The Heart of a Wolf

#san– Sam and Nicholas

#apfo– A Place for Oz

#sb– Something Borrowed

#ttol– The Trials of Logan

#lald– Live and Let Die

#aol– Avenue of Life

#malc– M&Ms and Lucky Charms

#afin– A Friend in Need

#boan– Birth of a Nightmare (posted)

#rj– Regarding Jacob

The last kind of tag you’ll see is the queue tag:

All this means is it is a reblogged excerpt from 2016, you can go to the original post to find out its tags.

This has been a dissertation on tags!

If you see any questions we left out, be sure to send in an ask!

[damajority]

DaMajority Fresh Article https://www.damajority.com/week-iphone-x-worth-hype/

A week in with the iPhone X — Is it worth the hype?

A week in with the iPhone X — Is it worth the hype?

Before I begin, here’s a TL;DR for you if your attention span is short and you’re on the fence. The iPhone X is great. It’s a definite step up from previous iterations, and is better than the iPhone 8/8+. The screen is gorgeous, the phone feels weighty and substantial, the speakers are clearer (not louder), photos are noticeably better, and the notch should only really be annoying if you’re coming to the X from an Android device. Do you need a case and screen protector? Yes. This thing is a scratch magnet, and if you drop it, it’s game over. Do you need AppleCare+? Absolutely, because repairs will break your soul. For a more detailed review, photo comparisons, and video, keep reading.

https://www.damajority.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/video-1510711079.mp4

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During my second year of undergrad, I lost a political science paper to a blue screen of death. Nine pages and two weeks of research on how Marcus Garvey’s black nationalism compared to the Nazi philosophy of lebensraum, gone. I got a matte black MacBook, and never looked back. I’m completely immersed in the Apple ecosystem—a die-hard fan. I’m also dramatic. The kind of dramatic that would make me play “Barry Bonds” as I unbox my iPhone X. Somehow, Kanyé rapping “This what y’all all been waiting for, ain’t it? What people paid paper for damn it, they can’t stand it, they want something new, so let’s get reacquainted” feels like a fitting way to introduce myself to Apple’s newest offering. This isn’t going to be one of those reviews where I talk lustfully about the iPhone’s innards and drone on about things that you couldn’t care less about. This is an everyday user review where listen to music, spend time arguing with people on social media, occasionally use the camera, and hope my battery lasts until I call it a night. Here we go.

So shiny — an introduction

I’ve been waiting for Apple to redesign the iPhone since the 6 Plus. I had hoped that the iPhone 7 would be where that redesign happened, but it was not to be. The candybar form factor with the bezels on the top and bottom is dated—like Jheri Curls and Fila gear. So, when the rumour mill started churning out news of a redesign, I was all in—when I picked up the redesigned iPhone X for the first time, I was sold.

My first thoughts were that it was the most beautiful piece of technology I’d seen in recent history. The phone feels weighty, the materials used are gorgeous, and the fit and finish is on par with what you’d expect from a $1,100 phone. My first gripe is that I wish Apple would have put AirPods in the box, but we can’t have everything. In typical Apple fashion, though, the transfer process from my 7 Plus to the X was seamless. I turned the phone on, went through some steps, and iOS 11 noticed I had an new device in close proximity to an old one, and offered to set up everything automatically over the air. When I tell people that the Apple ecosystem is incredible, these are the kinds of creature comforts I’m talking about.

Screen play

The screen on this thing is incredible—the new Samsung-made OLED blows everything I’ve ever used out of the water, perhaps with the exception of the 5K Retina iMac. The Galaxy S8+ and Note 8 are beautiful devices, with screens that would make the most loyal Apple fan jealous. But they have nothing on this. Blacks are pitch black, colours are vibrant without being oversaturated, and everything looks incredible. The notch is noticeable at first, but not in a way that I find upsetting. I may come to hate it eventually, but right now, it doesn’t matter. I will say this: if you’re coming to the X from any previous model of the iPhone, the notch likely won’t bother you much either. If you’re an Android convert, especially if you’re accustomed to Samsung’s huge, gorgeous screen real estate, then it will definitely be more visible, and probably more annoying. If I were to complain about something, I’d say that I would have preferred a wider aspect ratio, because this thing is long. Not long enough to be uncomfortable, and certainly not longer than the competition. Just long enough to make you notice.

Face ID?

With all the pre-release hype (and criticism) over the home button being gone, users needing to get used to a new gesture-based interface, and Face ID being a poor replacement for Touch ID, I was a bit apprehensive about how everything would work. After setting up Face ID, which was seamless, I started going through my usual routine of checking email, deleting old notifications, and overusing social media. This is where the X surprised and impressed me most. It’s also why I detest pre-release reviews from writers who spent 10 minutes or so with the device on launch day.

First, I never missed the home button. Swiping up felt as natural as putting my finger to the Touch ID sensor—perhaps more natural, since Face ID allowed me to glance at the phone and swipe up in one fluid motion. Second, Face ID feels like a near perfect security solution. Critics of Face ID have harped on about how it doesn’t work under all circumstances, which puzzles me because Touch ID didn’t work for me all the time either. Wearing dark sunglasses in bright light while using Face ID is the equivalent of trying to use Touch ID with wet hands—it will or won’t work. Is it mildly annoying? Sure. Is it a backward step because Touch ID was perfect and Apple ruined everything? No. I’m convinced at this point that some tech writers are luddites who loathe progress, especially when Apple’s the frontrunner. Headphone jack, anyone?

Third, the True Depth camera and Face ID work together using Attention Detection to handle notifications and prevent random unlocking for those people who prize their privacy. Messages and email, for example, show up with a name and time stamp but will not show their content until the device recognizes your face. To unlock the device, you have to be awake and looking at it, so the hypothetical situation where a jealous or nosy partner uses your face to unlock your phone while you’re sleeping is near impossible.

Fourth, and maybe most importantly, is how Face ID handles passwords. I have not needed to remember a single piece of security information since I picked up the iPhone X. Apps, website logins, shipping and billing addresses, and banking security information populate automatically once my face is recognized. If you use LastPass or 1Password to supplement Safari’s native password saving capabilities, then Face ID can authenticate those too. I’m excited for a Mac ecosystem where biometric scanning is ubiquitous, and I can sit at the computer and start working without needing to type in a password.

Housekeeping — AppleCare+, phone cases, and battery life

There is no way around it—this phone will break if you drop it. Apple claims this glass is the hardest glass it’s ever made, and the hardest ever in a phone. Cool story, but it’s still glass, and glass breaks. It’s also a scratch magnet, so especially on the space black version, scratches will ruin your vibe. If you want to protect your phone and still show it off, I recommend this Tech Armor screen protector and this transparent Otterbox Symmetry case or this one from Spigen. Otterbox is synonymous with bulletproof drop protection, Spigen’s pretty good, too, but your mileage may vary. True, AppleCare+ is an eye-watering $199US on top of your $999 or $1,149 phone, but with iPhone X screen repairs at $279 and other out of warranty damage at $549, I’d argue it’s essential.

Battery life is what you’d expect from a phone made by Apple. Long enough to get you through a day, but definitely not long enough to survive 9 cumulative hours of heavy screen use. With all-day bluetooth tethering to my Apple Watch, 3-4 hours of music, pictures of my food, the occasional social media argument, and constant texting, I can call it a night at 11pm and wake up with 20% battery the next morning. If you live on your phone all day, consider a battery case or a charge pack of some kind.

Photos & Video

I don’t have earlier models on hand currently to compare exact scenes, but I do have photos I’ve taken with various iPhone models going as far back as the 3GS. That might be overkill, so I’m going to stop the backwards comparisons at the 5S. I won’t compare the iPhone with other brands, simply because much more qualified people than me have already done so. Professional photographer Austin Mann has an exhaustive and comprehensive review on his website, and the guys over at Fstoppers compared the X to their favourite camera, the Panasonic GH5.

I’ll post a more in-depth review at a later point with photo and video comparisons, but my first thoughts are that the X is noticeably better than the 7 and 7 Plus, and much, much better than previous generations. Photos on both the front and rear cameras are crisp in good lighting, not overly saturated or washed out. In low light, there is some noise, but significantly less so than in previous generations. Throw in a camera app like ProCam or Camera+ and your DSLR is (almost) obsolete. The Portrait Lighting beta still feels like it’s, well, in beta. It doesn’t always get selfies right, and sometimes it mangles an ear or shave part of my head in real world use. Overall though, to make an Android comparison, the X is a few software updates away from the Pixel 2 XL in terms of photo perfection. Video is as detailed and rich as you’d expect from 4K, slow motion in 1080p is brilliant, and with a gimbal or tripod, you could easily shoot a movie off this thing. Again, your mileage may vary.

Augmented Reality

What’s to say about it, except that it’s really, really good? I got my hands on a Microsoft HoloLens headset a few months ago, and while I enjoyed playing with it, it felt incomplete. The iPhone is better, cheaper, and has broader application. I’ve played basketball on a table-sized half-court, measured my entire condo (at scale!) and made a 3D model of it,  and developers are still thinking of ways to get more out of this thing. Changing tires, building treehouses, rebuilding engines, interactive how-to videos, the applications are endless. I’m excited about where this technology is heading, and with Apple mainstreaming it, broad adoption is inevitable.

Final Thoughts — worth the hype?

Well, it depends. If you have $999 in disposable income and want to upgrade from any other iteration of the iPhone, you won’t be disappointed. The X is familiar enough to feel like home, but different enough to warrant the purchase. The screen alone is worth the upgrade, in my opinion. But with new technologies like TrueDepth and Face ID, the updated form factor, and that new camera, it’s a must buy. If you’re an Apple fan who jumped over to Android to escape the small screens and boring form factor, it’s a great “welcome back to the fold” moment waiting to happen. If, however, you’re looking to be completely blown away by something vastly different from anything Apple branded that you’ve used in the past, leave this one alone. It’s worth the hype for the faithful. For those on the fence, if the reviews haven’t convinced you, wait a year and buy it at a discount.