#no i dont remember any technical details of this figures origin

[1zashreena1]

Got these today

And knew immediately what needed to be done

tiny doritos: superior

[moonshine-nightlight]

Any advice for writting longform stories like NWWD?

@honoikazuchis

thanks for this ask!

thats a pretty open ended question and my answer will inherently be relatively specific to me and the way i write, but i'm happy to share my advice!

I will link a few other posts where i answered some other writing asks:

worldbuilding [x] editing/exposition [x] writer's block/POV [x] plotting vs pantsing [x] how long does it take me to write stuff [x] my writing process [x] writing spicy scenes [x]

otherwise, see below for me rambling way too long about writing.

disclaimer: this is just my opinion and how i do things, obviously there's a lot of variety and nuance for everyone's writing process.

firstly, is that personally, i'm inclined to writing longform stories so thats a bit of a built in strength of mine. generally speaking my story ideas come with lots of lore (see above for my love of worldbuilding) and i like relationships that are deeper/longer, with slow burn being a favorite of mine (why basically all my short stories have the two people involved having met prior to the story starting). that being said, technically the main character in 'Nothing's Wrong with Dale' doesnt meet demon!Dale until the flashback of chapter 2 and why is part of why that story is so long/has a built in arranged marriage premise. Of my two potential long form stories i'm going to do next: one they already know each other (and are basically already in love just being pining idiots about it) or two the story takes place over several months/high stress situations and does not end with marriage etc. But thats more of a concern if you're writing romance.

in general, my advice for longform stories is to already have a relatively complete, high level view of the story when you start. some people can just improvise the entire story as they go--I cannot. i think its very helpful to know where ur story is going to end, more crucially when it is long and you'll be taking a while to get there. by this i primarily mean the setup for the story, then general ending, and vaguely what sort of metaphorical journey they take to get there. you do not need to know every scene and detail in the middle--and plot points/characters can and will evolve as you write and think more on everything--but having the broad brushstrokes figured out asap is critical, in my opinion.

I also, as a side note, don't set out with a story length in mind. i can generally get a good handle on how long a story will be by the idea and outline, but i dont try to make it long. if anything, i did try to challenge myself to write shorter stories, like my novellas, when i started this blog/posting original writing here. that was not only because i do tend to get very complicated/long original ideas, but also because i think it was important to me to actually finish some original work, which i had never done before.

shorter stories tend to have more straightforward plots. not that you can't boil down longer stories to simpler summaries, but generally longer story ideas have more stops along the way so to speak that come to me when i'm developing the idea because i want to cover more with the story. the main character in dale having had childhood illness, dale raised by his grandparents, there being tournament stuff and assassins stuff and uncomfortable parties and most importantly MC figuring out dale was a demon immediately and dale not knowing the MC knew that were all things i came up with (loosely) very soon after i started working on it.

which leads into my next piece of advice: write everything you brainstorm down - you will forget and you will remember there's something u've forgotten and it will annoy the hell out of you. write your notes, write your what ifs, write down possible character names, write down cool ideas for scenes--heck write some of the scenes up then, evn if its for chapter 24 of 35. dont save what ur most excited for as like a carrot on a stick, i find that it doesnt help and that having part of my story that i love existing already is a much better motivator to write the rest

i'm also a big outliner and planner. i think some people think what that means is that u should b able to write a plan once for a story and then never change or deviate from it--but no! change the plan as you go; scrap things that dont work out and add new ideas when they come to you. however, i do think having something down that covers the whole story, lets you get a good idea of the shape of the story, and reminds you of your end goal, are all incredibly helpful. i also keep multiple worldbuilding notes docs; character and location lists; picture inspiration; etc to support the longform idea

i think u also hav to hav confidence/delusion that you will in fact finished. i hav started multiple longform original writing ideas in the past. none of them are done except dale. and part of it was not taking some of my own advice up top, but i think i also just wasnt as committed? lik it'd get lost in worldbuilding, or writing other projects, or life happening (which is all absolutely fine) but dale was the first longform idea where i like, really believed i could write it all and where i was dedicated to putting in the time i'd need to finish it. i knew i would need to take breaks and it would take more than a year (which i did and it did) but i still believed i'd get to where i am now, with a finished draft which i think was really key.

also, practice, i've been writing for years and year; i've been reading for even longer; and i've been writing and posting fanfic for years as well. some of my longer fanfics were such good practice for how to plot a long story without having to generate all the lore myself and having guardrails on for the story/characters in general. aside from dale, my next five pieces of longest writing are all fanfic.

lastly, find at least one person you can talk to about your story. i really think that helped me stay excited and motivated about my longform story in particular. i of course like talking about shorter stories too, but i dont think i felt as compelled to keep talking about them during the process of writing them as i did for my longform stories (even my longer fanfics i talked with other ppl in the big bang about or other writers on discord). and i dont just mean posting the rough drafts as u go like i did, but friends, irl or online, that either are also writers or are just interested in what story you want to make. i think it helps make it more real to you, it gives you ways to talk through issues that come up, its a way to get excited because they're excited, and it makes someone besides you ask how everythings going. the longer stories ideas i had but never got finished are also ones i primarily kept to myself, because i dont think i'd realized how helpful it could be to share them and also because i was still sure that in order to justify telling someone or evn for someone to care, it would hav to already be written, but it doesnt! and in retrospect, i wish i had because maybe those stories would exist--or maybe i'll dig up those notes and talk to someone about them and then find myself back to writing about them (rip to Aftermath, that corrupted external hard drive did u dirty and killed my motivation).

i think getting to understand and figure out your own process, to really look at yourself and see what works and what doesnt (as honestly as you can) is extremely helpful. u'll also figure stuff out along the way--dont hesitate to try to new strategies or drop one that are really not working for you. its all a learning process. be nice to yourself! give yourself the grace to make mistakes (or tell a friend so they can bully you into to cutting urself some damn slack when u can't stick to a weekly upload schedule u made up for urself).

whatever longform story you've got in ur head is one worth sharing and seeing through to completion--and then inflicting on everyone else lol OUR problem now ;)

[spacesymbol]

made a super cool discovery about the origins of my pokemon special interest today.... all of the details and ramblings are under the cut but the tldr is that my general interest in pokemon (first acquired pokemon plushie, i only got an actual pokemon game last year and ive known about pokemon in general for much longer) is four years old today!!!! 🥳

so. this whole rabbit hole of "how did my poketism actually start?" began when i looked at my nintendo switch purchase history and realized that soon (september 24th) itll be a year since ive owned and started playing a mainline pokemon game!

but that got me thinking... when did my pokemon interest REALLY start though? because ive liked pokemon for much longer than that.... and i think ive had some of the mobile pokemon "games" for longer than that, so i checked my app store purchase history....

well.... apparently thats the first technical pokemon game ive owned and played. but personally i do NOT think pokemon sleep counts. but i think ive owned some pokemon plushies for longer, so i started looking into when i got each of my plushies...

so. for some context: my two favorite pokemon (and arguably the catalysts for my poketism) before actually playing any core series pokemon games were always snorlax and mimikyu. these two little guys mean the world to me!!! i dont remember how or why i started liking either of these pokemon specifically, and i cant find any tangible evidence of me talking about or liking either pokemon prior to any plushie acquisition. but i did eventually start collecting plushies of both of them, and this is how my collection looks now (4 snorlax and 2 mimikyu)

but i realized, the date i acquired each of these plushies might be the key to figuring out when i really started to develop an interest in pokemon. so, in reverse chronological order (newest to oldest), this is my best estimate of when i obtained each pokemon plush in my collection.

december 25th, 2023: the babies

well okay theyre not actually babies but they are VERY small. definitely the smallest in my collection. i dont have real "evidence" of this besides an updated picture of the collection from the date above with the babies in the picture, but the babies were both on my amazon wishlist for christmas presents that year and i remember opening them. theyre still on amazon actually!!! such tiny guys...

sometime in december 2023 i think: target brand snorlax

so this one was a hanukkah gift im pretty sure. as such im listing it as earlier than the babies because hanukkah was earlier than christmas last year (december 7th to december 15th). also i dont remember (or have evidence of) which night of hanukkah this guy was a present for. anyways i was shopping for hanukkah gifts (also in december i think) for the rest of my family in target with my mom and i saw this dude chilling in the plushies aisle of the baby section. it took a lot of convincing but my mom eventually agreed to buy him as a present for me even though i picked him out. he also is still on the target website/app but idk if they still sell him in stores??? he is definitely the highest quality snorlax plush i own though... very soft and snuggly

late november 2023: snorlax squishmallow

no idea when or where i got this guy but i have some guesses. i went on a two day trip to delaware with my dad from november 25th to november 26th and two days after that i posted on my photodump accounts instagram story that i had obtained the snorlax squishmallow. i dont really have a place that i look for squishmallows where i live, but there is a store in delaware that has a shit ton of squishmallows in stock. so im assuming i got him while i was there??? anyways im not sure what size squishmallow this dude is but hes a great hugging size and i toootally dont hold him while i sleep because thats lame and childish and i would neeeever do that....

august 31, 2023: build a bear mimikyu

first mimikyu plush! so i obtained this fella at six flags in new jersey which has a build a bear store as part of the parks shops for some reason. anyways i saw him in the window of the aforementioned build a bear and was like 😮🫵 we went on roller coasters and rides and such and while we were leaving the park i begged and pleaded with my dad to let me get the mimikyu build a bear. they had a dapper little top hat and bowtie for him in the store as well and he makes silly mimikyu noises when you press his right ear :)

september 1st, 2020: bootleg arcade snorlax

so, this is it. the snorlax plushie that started it all, and the first evidence i have of demonstrating any interest in pokemon at all. honestly, i have no idea what my thought process was when choosing to use my arcade winnings to obtain this fella. i didnt even remember when i had gotten this guy until today, when i started going down this rabbit hole and realized i had no idea how long ago i got him. luckily, my dad takes pictures of me and my sister every year that we use our arcade winnings to get massive plushies. so i asked him to search his photos for this fella, and he found the picture. i dont have great memories of liking pokemon at all prior to last summer, so its entirely possible that i thought snorlax looked cute and got him for that reason alone. but id like to think that this massive guy sparked my eventual special interest in pokemon. also the arcade was in delaware that feels important to mention. anyways, this picture is of pre-transition me and my biological sister so our faces and the location are blocked out 👍

okay this is the end of my awesome pokemon autism origin story. pokemon has been a huge part of my life for... basically a year now and while i didnt grow up with the games like others i know did, nor do i have the same nostalgia for older pokemon games, i am very glad that i was unintentionally convinced to buy pokemon violet by my stepsister :) yaaay poketism

[zozophoenixxx]

Serotonin Booster :D 🐉

How to train your dragon edition

Here are some things I had forgotten or little details I just noticed on my rewatch, maybe even Unpopular Opinions 🤭👀

✨Race to the Edge✨

SEASON 6

I love how the twins were basically the reason Hiccup figured out that Johan was the spy

NOOO THE WAY GOTHI WENT TO TRY AND STOP STOICK FROM THROWING AWAY HER MEDICINE AND THEN GOT THROWN OFF THE CLIFF WAS SO FUNNY [ep2]

Omg that fight between Hiccup and Stoick in ep2 was crazy whenever Stoick said "I'm talking to the expert in getting duped by Trader Johan" and THEN HICCUP WAS LIKE "but I was only duped for half as long as you were. So what does that make you?"

Awww the way both Toothless and Skull-crusher were trying to get them to talk

And also Astrid being the only one that wasn't caught by the Hunters right away, she's just superior bro

I love how both of them were right - Stoick was right to not trust the merchants and Hiccup was right about Johan's plan

Toothless is actually so strong like he's not only agile and clever, I mean he just flew up to the ballista and crashed against it and destroyed it without using his Plasma Blast 😎🤩

Mala and Dagur fighting over where the Dragon Eye lenses are gonna be hidden is hilarious. Mala is so calm I love it

I got chills when Atali was like "no, Hiccup, this is my island I will defend it"

I really want to know the origin of the Wingmaidens, like where did all these women come from? How come they're still there?

I love Minden and Snotlout's relationship, the way he tried to convince her to not give up AND SHE KISSED HIM!!!

Krogan's Singetail actually cares about him

Never gonna get over Adelaide Kane voicing Mala

Also Snotlout running when the dude had the razorwhip on him LIKE HE WAS LITERALLY FLYING AND HE WAS STILL RUNNING Y'ALL HAVE TO WATCH THAT SCENE I JUST DONT KNOW HOW TO DESCRIBE IT ITS IN EP3

Generations ago Fishlegs's ancestors were dragon hunters

The Loyal Order of Ingerman - decimated the Dramillion dragons, pushing them to the brink of extinction

Grump is amazing I love him

Dramillions - have both a lava blast and a magnesium blast. Omnivores. Still being hunted.

The Hunters were founded by Ingar Ingerman

The Dramillion trying to take the manacle off his tail🥺

And when Fishlegs threw his helmet and THEN THE HAND THING 😭🥺

I love the Dramillions they're so smart they learned how to get rid of the manacles by just looking at what Meatlug and Stormfly were doing 🥺

I just realized that the twins are 19 AND I FIND THAT ABSOLUTELY CRAZY HOW CAN THEY BE THAT OLD

I really wish we knew each of their birthdays like I wanna know which one's older and which one's younger

I feel like for some reason the twins would be the oldest ones then Fishlegs then Astrid then Snotlout and lastly Hiccup. Idk I'm still iffy on this

Most Thorstons don't make it to 19

I love the twins' relationship, they love each other so much that they would rather be alone and not form part of a clan than leave each other alone and the fact that other people know this too? Plsss like the only reason Gruffnut got them back into the fake induction trials was by telling them how bad it'd be for each other to not be part of a clan.

Titanwing Zippleback HOW DO THEY KNOW ITS A TITANWING IT LOOKS THE SAME AS THE OTHER ZIPPLEBACKS

"Ughh, what's the point of winning alone? Being a Thorston means nothing without him. We are one Thorston."

I love them and also technically Ruffnut won the induction trials.

THE LAST LENSE GOSH

Love how Fishlegs cares about global warming

I'm all Snotlout, Toothless and the Triple Stryke reacting to Mala and Dagur- I'm also Mala whenever someone tickles me I'LL KILL U

UGHHH I HATE HOW SNOTLOUT MADE HICCSTRID UNCOMFY FOR HAVING A DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIP

Astrid overthinking 🥺😭

"How would you like your yak cooked?" JSHDHHA

bro I love how both Tuff and Toothless noticed the betrothal necklace

"So want to deliver some scrap metal?" Hiccup baby? Why are you so oblivious?

At least he asked her if she was alright in the armorwing's island 😩

No but if I was Astrid I'd be pissed too, the dude saw a dragon eye lens from far way and didn't notice her betrothal necklace? 🙂😤

No I can't that scene was too harsh to watch, I mean I loved to see Hiccup noticing something was wrong with Astrid but then the way Astrid compared their relationship to Mala and Dagur's and then threw him the betrothal necklace... And the way he caught it too I can't- 😭😞😖😭😓🤧

Seeing the twins trying to capture Mala was hilarious JAHDHDHHSHA

I love how when they're fighting Astrid's still there for him whenever he's expected to have all the answers. She ignored her anger and went over to him and grabbed his hand and that single thing was what gave him confidence in a moment of panic 🥺

"I'm with you"

"I know"

That final Hiccstrid scene in Mi Amore Wing was just too perfect, we have Hiccup grabbing Astrid's hand to bring her outside and talk to her, the sunset in the background, every little thing Hiccup told her about being there for her and loving her with everything he had and that he should've noticed the necklace right away AND THEN THAT KISS WAS JUST AMAZING❗️❗️❗️ it was passionate and sweet and Astrid was blushing and then Fishlegs was all uncomfortable and Mala was like "okaaayyyyy😏" and Dagur like "alrighhtttt👌🏼" ig the only thing I didn't like is that Astrid didn't say I love you back 😭 but it's ok cause yk she does I just wished she had said it.

Baby razorwhips love the water

Tuffnut named the baby razorwhip that bonded with Ruffnut, Wingnutt

Top scenes of Ruff Transition ep7

Tuffnut throwing up in Ruffnut's mouth and Ruffnut throwing up in Wingnutt's mouth just do that he could be fed- seeing the windmaiden's reactions is the best lmao

Hiccup trying to teach Ruffnut how to fly (with his dragon flight suit) and then Ruffnut losing balance but Hiccup helping her regain it BUT we still get overprotective Tuffnut jumping off of Toothless to try and help but all he did was make things worse HIS SCREAM WAS HILARIOUS nonono and the way Toothless tried to help BUT AGAIN MADE THINGS WORSE 😩😮‍💨😂

Ruffnut finally figuring out how to connect with Wingnutt and fighting the dragon hunters and saving Atali was so badass and then Atali riding Barf 😭🤩

Hiccstrid kiss count (approximately) : 6😘

The way he slightly and carefully touches her face to reassure her that he'll be fine

The Singetail's only predator is the Skrill

The Berserkers used to use metal daggers to lure Skrills into traps. The dragon is drawn to it due to its electrical properties

VIGGO JUST DID THE HAND THING THING WITH THE SKRILL WTF

If I could have any dragon it'd be in this order

Skrill - it's so badass and powerful

Nightfury - it's badass, powerful, pretty, strong and fast

Deadly Nadder - it's extremely fast and agile, has multiple attacks and the spikes

Dramillion - has multiple attacks and is very smart

Just realized that ep8 is called Triple Cross because 1st Johan crossed Viggo 2nd Viggo fake crossed Hiccup and 3rd Viggo and Hiccup crossed Johan and Kogan

That episode was basically jusr to show Viggo's arc and the way he changed for the better and learned to respect dragons

That's why the Singetails wouldn't leave in ep9 whenever they were trying tp free the Deathsong- their eggs! They're in that island.

I can't with Hiccup and Astrid sitting together just chilling but with Astrid feeling guilty and Hiccup assuring her that he was also at fault 😭

I love Narrator/Author Snotlout! The titles of the chapters of his book remind me of the ones from Pjo

Stoick and Skullcrusher acting as 1 and being worried about each other 🥺 I love their relationship

Also the way Stoick bats off the shots from the Singetails with his axe just like Astrid. They're both truly warriors

No but Toothless asking for a head scratch from Gobber bc he's worried abt both Hiccup and Stoick🥺

The way Toothless tried to make Hiccup feel better- I mean the man blamed himself for putting Stoick in "his deathbed" it was just so awful seeing Hiccup in that state and the way everyone was trying to make him feel better but it was ultimately Astrid who managed to get through to him😭

I love it when they put scenes of the movies

I love how Astrid always knows what to say without lying

Looks like it's you and me, then.

Always... was that corny or-

Probably. Nice, though.

The way Astrid is so natural at being a leader and putting everyone on their places 🤩

That lil moment they had in ep12 where he holds her face and thanks her for everything and I just love them too much 😭

I love how Spitelout is so happy when he's beating ass, this dude literally goes "I'm sure I've had more fun than this. But at the moment, I can't remember when"

Have I mentioned I love the Dramillions before? I love them way too much they're amazing and the sound they make is so 😩 I love it

The Dramillion is a distant cousin of the Changewing which means the Titanwing Dramillion shares the de-cloaking ability with its subspecies.

Stormfly's spine clone was literally so badass, my girl was surrounded and she finished every single dragon flyer with it. Badass move. Wish we had seen it more throughout the series

It really pissed me off that Hiccup had to choose between getting Tuff, Ruff and Snotlout out of that sinking ship when he could've been following Krogan. Like ofc it was the right decision but that wouldn't have happened if the twins and Snotlout didn't follow Gruff into the ship :/

I love how strong Barf and Belch are! They literally carried the a Titanwing Dramillion on their own.

That scene when they figured out that the Titanwing Dramillion is not the King of Dragons but instead the last piece of the puzzle to get to the King of Dragons

When the Wingmaidens got to the battle it was amazing

Also the way Dagur was so proud that the King of Dragons was a Berserker and how Ruff was so excited to see Wingnutt and Snotlout to see Minden🥺

THEY REALIZED THAT BBYS AREN'T AFFECTED BY THE KING OF DRAGONS BC OF THE BABY RAZORWHIPS

that last Hiccstrid Scene where Hiccup is worried about Astrid's safety- I mean his face 🥺🥺🥺 and she told him that his dad would be proud and that she's proud too and when she was about to leave he held her back and kissed her 😭😭

Ik I said this before but I simp for Astrid as a leader, she's just so natural at it

Also I love how the King of Dragons has ice powers instead of fire

WAIT SO IS THE EGG THAT HICCUP FINDS IN THE FINALE THAT THEY GIVE TO VALKA IS THAT THE KING OF DRAGONS THAT VALKA CARES FOR IN HTTYD2?!!

Valka being friends with the Wingmaidens sits absoluteky right with me

no but the way Toothless hesitated when Hiccup told him to leave him and get the egg

I love how all the dragons arrived to fight the dragon flyers, it was just so poetical to me, the dragons finally getting to fight the people that hurt them 🤩

I FINISHED IT AND NOW I'M SAD!!! I loved the end tho and I'm glad we got to see Shattermaster at Dagur's wedding, also Astrid's outfit change- we love that. And them leaving the edge is just so sad bro 😭but I love how we got to see some "insight" ig u could call it on HTTYD2 😭 also seeing Snotlout and Fishlegs's love for Ruffnut start forming was hilarious

[enixamyram]

Hey, guess what, I’ve found another screen rant I want to react to! I wasn’t planning to do any more but, reading through this article, I just have SO many problems with it... So Let’s do another, agree or disagree with a Screenrant article made by someone with no bias at all. (Sarcasm for the last part by the way.) So let’s see:

Agreed with this point. People act like, if the characters weren’t on screen then they disappeared or something. Maybe they were just living their own lives?

... I don’t even understand this article. Apparently this is 20 things people get wrong and this point is that the timeline can make sense, but then OP goes on to say “However, the more characters were introduced and the more worlds the characters ventured into, it became clearer and clearer that time didn't work the same way everywhere... However, in a world of fairytales, expecting anything more than that is simply asking too much. What does it matter, exactly, when some of these events took place as long as we know that they were a long time ago in a universe not at all like our own?”

Like, so that means this isn’t something people get wrong - the timeline DOESN’T make sense - so what the hell is it doing in this article? You can’t claim you’ve solved it just because you shrug and go “yeah but it’s magic so what do you expect?”

I mean the text directly conflicts the title/bullet point. Luckily I can still safely say I disagree, both with the title and the text because the timeline became f*cked, and just making an embarrassed shrugging face doesn’t change that.

I can’t even say disagree because this is just plain wrong! I don’t quite understand this writer. I can’t tell what they’re deal is, like did they just give a poor title to their article?

Season 1 - The Original Curse Season 2 - Belle and Sneezy lost their memories. Season 3 - Everyone lost a year. Season 5 - Camelot Season 6 - Emma lost her memories Season 7 - Another Curse.

Notice how I left out 4? Well this is where I’m getting confused because this is what OP had to say about Season 4: “While season four dabbled with alternate universes, memories were never wiped or reset in the way they were in every other season.”

... But their memories WERE wiped! They were essentially in a curse because their memories WERE wiped and they WERE given new identities just like the original curse. So yes, memory wipes did in fact happen every single season!

So I can’t agree or disagree because maybe some people do call Ruby a lesbian, but most everyone I talk to calls her bi... So I’ma just skip this one.

Note: She’s bi people. This is canon. If you don’t agree then tough shit.

Agreed, there’s plenty of other ways true love can be proven. TLK is probably just the most convenient, lol.

Kind of agree? I mean I think most people do know and acknowledge this but I guess it can sometimes escape people without realising in passing sentences?

This is true. It was a lame and terrible reveal that made no sense but it was revealed.

... Like, I’m getting confused again. Because this title either doesn’t fit or the writer lives under a rock because no one get’s this wrong! Everyone - rightfully - calls out Zelena for what she did. Even Zelena fans admit what she did was messed up!

... I do agree, I don’t think she made up for all the awful things she did and she definitely became “one of the team” way too quickly for my liking. (I’m hesitant because I suddenly have an idea what side of the fandom wrote this article and I can pretty much predict where it’s going.)

AND THERE IT IS!

DISAGREE.  DISAGREE. DISAGREE. DISAGREE. DISAGREE. DISAGREE.

“Nothing says good guy like being an older man who takes advantage of a young girl, impregnates her, and lets her go to jail for crimes you yourself committed.” First off, we don’t know his age. Second, he didn’t ‘impregnant’ her. She got pregnant. It takes two to tango though I doubt the writer knows this. And third, Emma went to jail for HER crimes. Sorry, dear writer, but let me just fill you in. Aiding and abetting a fellow criminal IS A CRIME! Emma did wrong and she was punished for it. I don’t necessarily agree with what Neal did but he is not responsible for where Emma ended up.

“Even further, nothing says good guy like someone who mocks the woman he allegedly loves for the years of trauma, suffering, and scars she endured as a result of your callous, selfish behavior.” ... WHEN?!

“... Neal Cassidy became more and more like the selfish, frequently malicious parents who raised him.” ... Again, WHEN?! Like seriously, selfish maybe but malicious?!

“In no world would he have been the right man for Emma or a good father to Henry because he could never accept accountability for any of his many wrongdoings.” Except, you know, Neal knew Henry all of five minutes and was already dedicated to being a great dad to him and literally was WAY better at being a father to Henry than Hook ever was to the kid. And I added the Hook part because my God, the writer of this article couldn’t be more obvious a CS shipper if they had every sentence end with swans and pirate flags.

It’s amazing how, even dead, they’re still threatened by Neal’s character.

Maybe this was true in S6, but by S7 they had clearly retconned it, making the Wish Realm a very real place. Otherwise there’s a ton of plot holes and you’ve got to be a real idiot to say you’d rather accept plot holes than that the Wish Realm might actually be real.

(Also, just saying, another terrible title because what happened to Emma and Regina when they were in the Wish Realm very much DID happen. So again, really poor titles for this article that clearly doesn’t know what it’s point is.)

... She VIOLATED everyone’s minds by erasing their memories and TRIED TO MURDER ZELENA!

She may have had good intentions but that doesn’t change the fact that she was a villain for a season! Dude, have you never heard the phrase “the road to hell was paved with good intentions”?! I’ll defend Emma turning Hook into a Dark One for sure, but trying to completely ignore the awful things she did?! Jesus Christ!

Again... What? OP... Everyone already KNOWS this. This article is meant to be things people gets wrong but, honestly, I think OP’s the only idiot who gets things wrong at this point. So I’m once again torn because I agree with the statement but I don’t agree that this is something people get wrong.

*Sigh* OP’s giving me a migraine. Not because their statement is incorrect, but because all their reasoning is!

“Regina, as we know, went back and forth to points outside of Maine many times during the preceding 28 years.” It was actually explained, by Regina herself to Hook in Season 2, that because she (and he) had no cursed memories, crossing the town line would not affect them.

“Greg and Tamara are also able to cross the town lines, with Greg even remembering the tiny town for years and years after a traumatic encounter within it during his childhood.” Again. The town line affects people who ARE CURSED! This is made very clear! Henry can also cross the town line when he went to get Emma.

The title, once again, is misleading. People are able to leave - so long as they don’t CROSS THE TOWN LINE. That’s the part CURSED people are not able to do.

I’ve given up Agreeing and Disagreeing at this point. OP’s points are making my brain hurt so let’s just move on.

You’re right OP. It did serve a purpose. It’s purpose was to be a cash grab!

Apparently OP’s excuse is that Anna and Elsa helped Emma come into her own as a magic user? Like yeah, I’m calling bullshit. Emma had no problem using her magic until they brought Frozen in, then they made a whole storyline of Emma having problems just to justify having Elsa struggle and then help her with it.

And after they left they were barely even mentioned. So, again. NO PURPOSE. (Apart from a cash grab.)

Okay, so actually, I do agree. Regina is still Henry’s mum but the fact is, his adoption can’t be legal because Regina would need to have lied on her application and all the usual checks usually done for people wanting to adopt couldn’t possibly have happened.

I was going to agree on technicality but you know what? No.

DISAGREE!

Just because the couples aren’t perfect doesn’t make them toxic. (Using OP’s examples:) “Robin's relationship with Regina results in his being repeatedly assaulted and fathering a child as a result of that assault.” Wow, dude, wait to blame the girlfriend for some of the bad stuff that happened in Robin’s life. I sure feel sorry for whoever you end up with if this is how you see it. “Hook and Emma frequently lie to one another as well,” Lying does not equal a toxic relationship! Certain lies, maybe, but general lying is just what people do when they’re embarrassed or ashamed or upset. What counts is what you’re lying about and also whether or not you come clean about it.

The only one I’ll agree with is RumBelle but even then OP completely misses the reason WHY they’re a toxic relationship. Instead they generalise it into very un-toxic details.

... Again... Like... I agree with the statement but NO ONE GETS THIS WRONG!

OP is clearly just using this article as an excuse to bash Regina. And I’m not a Regina fan, but no, dude, if you’re gonna do this then make a “20 of the worst things Regina ever did” list. Not a “20 things people get wrong” and then list a bunch of things that one in ten people gets wrong!

And now OP’s repeating. Because I’m pretty sure this was covered in the 4th one? Like, agree. I guess. But it feels like OP was running out of things and figured Regina bashing again would be too obvious or something.

Okay. Now this is something a lot of people won’t agree with but... I do.

I agree the show was intended to be Emma’s story and that it then got popular and other characters got popular and it branched out into something more.

... However OP is still a colossus idiot because they ended on this sentence:

“It's what made the concept of a seventh season without almost any of the Charmings such a laughable concept - and such a colossal failure, as well.” And while Season 7 may not be the masterpiece I pretend it is to piss of anti’s, it is also far from the worst. OP just hates it because their fav wasn’t centre stage and they’re bitter as hell.

Wow this was probably the stupidest article yet. OP either clearly doesn’t know what they were meant to be doing (a list of things people often forget about the show) or they just wanted to make a list where they bitched a few points and couldn’t be bothered to think of a catchy title or reason why. Either way, OP’s an idiot and most of these points are ridiculously dumb.

[elddansurin]

i filled out that entire got damn OC meme not once but four times for my main TES OCs because you know what? i have that power.

featuring: Gavriil, my dragonborn, Serras, the dragonborn’s weird boyfriend/travel companion, Lleris, my Nerevarine, and Gerrick, a non-vestige 2E OC who lives out the aldmeri dominion questline. this thing is long as shit behind the cut, but idc if anyone reads it, i did it for me. 

1. It’s a little unreasonable for everyone in a Middle Ages-esque fantasy to be perfectly literate, and writing with quills was considered legitimate labor! How well can your oc read and/or write? How detailed is their quest log/journal, if they keep one at all? -Gav: He's extensively literate and very well read. He keeps a pretty detailed journal going, though it's kind of a hybrid of field notes/emotions log. He does a lot of alchemical research when traveling, so he might have a few pages of notes on reagents, field sketches, etc, then another five pages of intrusive thoughts. His biggest fear is they'll be published after his death and everyone's just gonna be like "huh." -Serras: Just barely literate. He's got very childlike printing abilities, can barely spell, and struggles reading any big words. He's extremely self conscious about this. He doesn't keep any journals, but he writes letters about his adventures to his father every now and again. -Lleris: Again, quite well read. He does a lot more reading than writing, and his journaling is kind of the equivalent of writing notes on his arm. -Gerrick: I'd say he maybe has around an 8th grade reading level. He's got the core stuff down no problem, but as soon as technical jargon or anything too esoteric kicks off, his eyes glaze over.

2. How educated is your oc? Did their parents teach them, did they have a tutor or were they apprenticed to a master, or did they attend a university? What university? What are they educated in? How long did their education take? (Learned skills like blacksmithing count here too!) -Gav: Overly so. He has the education/research equivalent of phD, I'd reckon. All the best schooilng daddy's money could buy. -Serras: He was "home schooled" by a man with no resources undergoing a 30+ year nervous breakdown. So like, it's shitty that Serras is as uneducated as he is, but kind of understandable, given the situation. -Lleris: Also more or less home schooled, but at the opposite end of the spectrum. His aunt (the person who raised him), was a fucking genius. Balls-out eccentric, but a genius. -Gerrick: He was raised and educated by kind of an ensemble cast of characters, so his education is fairly well rounded and extremely based in practical over theoretical. He later joins the mages guild, but he uses that less as an opportunity to pursue higher education, but moreso a way to figure out how to sling a better lightning bolt

3. Does your oc have any kind of crafting skills that either aren’t in-game or don’t have as much importance in-game as they would in real life? (For example, can your oc sew or weave, etc? Are they skilled in any kind of art? Can they make jewelry or work glass? Are they musicians? etc) -Gav has a practical knowledge of most crafts necessary for a sad bachelor life. He can cook well enough to keep himself fed, he can patch up most of the wear in his gear, but nothing that would really impress anyone. I'd imagine, in another lifetime, he played the lute. Not sure he'd remember how at this point, though. -Serras is extremely crafty. He'd an extremely resourceful cook, he can repair just about anything, and he's a natural outdoorsman. Dude's had a lifetime of learning how to do a lot with very, very little. Art is kind of a hobby for him that he doesnt get to indulge in quite as much as he'd like. -Lleris can barely function on his own. He cannot cook a damn thing, when his clothes tear he throws them out, and he almost dies of exposure on more than one occasion. It's a sad sight to behold. -Gerrick is fond of roughin it. His life skills are exactly as honed as they need to be. Not much, but enough to keep him alive and scrappy.

4. What pantheon does your oc worship? If they worship the Cyrodiilic/Imperial pantheon, does that include Talos? If they secretly worship Talos, how do they justify hiding it?   -Gav: Pretty straightforward believer in the Altmeri pantheon. He's especially devout to Mara, though he's got a long way to go toward internalizing the whole "love yourself" thing -Serras: He's never really figured out what to believe in. Way back in the day, his family was heavily involved in House Indoril, and when the Tribunal kind of fizzled out, they were all pretty lost and not exactly stoked to go back to worshipping the "good" daedra. That more or less carried down to Serras, although he's not even aware of his ties to House Indoril or any of that Tribunal stuff. He has a learned fear of any sort of daedra, courtesy his father. -Lleris: He's pretty tight with Azura, natch. -Gerrick: Dude straight up does not care, but will absolutely pay lip service to Auri-El if it makes him look good.

5. How religious is your oc? Do they come into conflict with others over their beliefs? If their patron deity told them to do something extremely undesirable or against their moral compass, would they do it? Would your oc sell someone’s soul for a corn chip? -Gav is devout enough to have taken a shake at becoming a priest. Didn't pan out, because he couldn't deal with the pressure of being any kind of authority figure, and he's been kind of having a crisis of faith in the midst of his most recent extended nervous breakdown. As soon as he starts clearing his head again, he pretty much goes back to being pretty dang devout. -Serras is struggling to figure out his moral compass on his own. He wouldn't mind being religious, but growing up in a non-religious setting can make it hard to just start believing in something. -Lleris becomes way more into Azura worship as the whole Nerevarine thing plays out, and he would absolutely fuck things up in her name. His sour opinion of the Tribunal is absolutely influenced by Azura’s grudge. -Gerrick, again, does not care. His morals are his own, and no one's going to talk him into doing something that doesn't align with his own beliefs about life.

6. Does your oc have a family of origin? How many members of their FoO are still living? Do they have a good relationship? How much contact does your oc have with their FoO? How in-the-loop is your oc’s FoO about your oc’s being Dragonborn/HoK/Nerevarine? -Gavriil's immediate family are all still alive (except his sister, who died before he was born), and they have not been in contact in like, 200 years. None of them even know if he's still alive until a few years after the whole Dragonborn thing starts making its way back to Auridon. His parents are just kind of like "huh." and then continue to never bring him up in conversation. His younger brother eventually seeks him out to try and forge the relationship they never got to have. -Serras has a codependent relationship with his father. They love each other a lot, but their relationship was very, very unhealthy. That's the major reason why he ended up leaving home, because he finally realized the only way to heal the unhealthy dynamic was to learn how to be his own person. He has a pretty good relationship with his (maternal) aunt. His mother is still alive, and he has three half-siblings he's never met. None of them ever end up meeting. His mom never does figure out what happened to her firstborn. It is what it is. -Lleris is completely on his own at this point. His parents died when he was barely a year old, and he went to go live with his wacky aunt abroad. Those two were thick as thieves, but when she passed, Lleris was legit on his own. -Gerrick and his weird pirate family are all still on good terms. Both of his parents are still alive and although they dont see each other often, it's a grand old time when they finally do.

7. What social class was your oc born into? Did they change classes at all? How? -Gav: Super, super upper-crust. His family was nobles marrying nobles all the way back, and Gav just couldn't cut it in that world. His slump into absolute poverty is gradual, but pretty vicious. He does eventually pick himself up out of the gutter, but I'll go more into that a few questions down. -Serras: He was born into a weird, backwoods cult and spends the next 30-something years of his life living an extremely hand-to-mouth existence either in some slum or the legit middle of nowhere. Dude wasn’t exactly born into privilege. -Lleris: He was born into House Telvanni and lived a pretty well to do life until he was in his early 20s. After his aunt passed, he lived a few months as a street urchin before being arrested, then he slogs across Vvardenfell for like three years, "re-joins" House Telvanni and starts living a cushy life again, then gets tossed onto an Akavir-bound boat with a bag over his head. Takes a bit of a while before he lives the high life again after that. -Gerrick: Outlaw from birth. He was the son of the ship’s captain and her then-lover, and he was raised by the entire crew, more or less. He grows up to become, of all things, an Eye of the Queen. Yeah.

8. How politically active is your oc? Are they obviously influential, or is their influence more subtle? -Gav willfully keeps his head in the sand when it comes to politics, especially in places he doesn't think of as home. It's not an accident that he started moving further and further away from Summerset as the Thalmor became more entrenched in local politics. He absolutely does not touch the Imperial/Stormcloak tension. And honestly, even when he was at the height of his Dragonborn influence, no one wanted his opinion about the war, because not a single person in Skyrim wants to hear what an Altmer has to say about Nord politics. -Serras has a lot of opinions about the way Nords treat non-Nords, but he has pretty much no political agency. -Lleris starts out mostly entangled in Telvanni politics and helps his bff Aryon sack Gothren. He also tries and mostly fails to rub elbows with Neloth, because Neloth. Later on down the Nerevarine rabbit hole, he starts getting more and more vocal in general Morrowind politics, which culminates in him "volunteering" to go "explore" Akavir. -Gerrick, surprisingly for someone born a pirate, he canonically carries out the Aldmeri Dominion questline from ESO, so yeah he's just a little bit involved in politics.

9. What unplayable faction would/did your oc join, if any? Why? -Gav is associated with the Mage's guild, or I guess was associated. Which by the way? Bullshit that the guild was written out. But also, since I absolutely headcanon that enough of House Telvanni survives the Red Year to rebuild outside of Vvardenfell, I also imagine Gavriil worming his way into House Telvanni after he busts ass out of Skyrim. He never becomes very involved in House politics, he's more interested in going back into academia. Which he does. He more or less spends the rest of his days chillin in a mushroom house in Morrowind, writing books about levitating and shit. -Serras briefly had a stint with the Skyrim thieves guild, but he cuts ties pretty quickly because he is pretty disgusted with robbing from the poor to give to Maven Black-Briar.  -Lleris has always had ties to House Telvanni, though he does have a brief stint with the Mages Guild before they are like holy shit, please leave us alone forever. He later swings by Solstheim as an old man to bother Neloth, who is like holy shit, please leave me alone forever. -Gerrick may not actively be a pirate anymore, but he is on pretty good terms with a bunch of them.

10. How trustworthy is your oc? Would they ever change opposing factions? -Gav: He's pretty much your lawful good kind of guy. He's decently loyal, even if only due to constant, overbearing guilt. At very worst, he'll just disappear rather than fulfill an obligation, but he'd sooner die than double cross anyone. -Serras: This is a guy who's mostly looking out for himself and the ones closest to him. In otherwords, Gavriil and/or his father. Probably not wise to put too much trust into him otherwise, because he's not exactly loyal if he's not actively benefitting from the arrangement. That said, he's not too much of a double-crosser, but don't trust him not to steal from you then lie about it. -Lleris: His loyalty can be bought. He won't feel too many qualms about changing sides if it benefits him more. So far, no one's offered him a better gig than being a champion of Azura, so it'd take a lot to get him to betray her. -Gerrick: His trustworthiness is super situational. He's in tight with Ayrenn, because you can't get much better than being the queen's go-to guy. He's smart enough to know not to betray her or the people involved with her. For the average person that he meets? Might be best to sleep with your eyes open around him. Patty is pretty much the only other person he wouldn't stab in the back at the drop of a hat. Outlaw roots, and all.

11. What is your oc’s main source of income, if they have one besides plundering tombs and adventuring? If they’re mercenaries, are they part of a company? Does your oc own their own business, and if so, what is it? -Gav has no source of income. Most of what he earns in his time in Skyrim is from acts of charity. For a few months, he pulls a legit job copying old texts for a bookseller in Solitude, but that only lasts as long as his precarious mental state will allow. Apart from that, he's pretty reliant on Serras's money. -Serras steals almost impulsively. He doesn't exactly keep a steady income, but its enough to keep both him and Gavriil in good supplies. Mostly. That they're both living off the land a lot does help. -Lleris does a lot of odd jobs where ever he goes. That and he has a bit of a history of pawning high ticket items that don't exactly belong to him. Keep your eyes on your soul gems when he’s in your house. -Gerrick lives the high life when he's actively working for the queen, but between Queens Eye stints, he's mostly earning a mercenary's salary. And he picks a lot of pockets. Why do I have so many thief-y characters?

12. Is your oc good with finances? Bartering? How long can they keep the money they make? -Gavriil: Not at all. At least not anymore. His parents never really taught him the art of finance to begin with, and his whole "functional" alcoholism thing makes it a bit hard to hang onto his money. He does get a bit better with time, but it DOES take time. -Serras: He's very good at knowing what things generally cost. Not worth the risk of stealing something that doesn’t get a good return. -Lleris: He can spend pretty loosely, but he also earns a fat cut with all the daedric weapons he gets his hands on. Him and that mudcrab merchant are pretty familiar with each other. -Gerrick: Generally earns a lot more than he spends. His standard of living is not particularily high, so even when he's "living large," he's not living THAT large.

13. Does your oc have any particular rivalry or mutual dislike with any NPC? -Gavriil has a really reluctant relationship with Delphine. He doesn't particularily respect her, and she's not impressed with who he is and who he chooses to be. That said, they do both realize they have some level of dependence on each other, right up until Delphine gives him the ultimatum about New BFF Paarthunax. After that he's like "lol bye" and they never see each other again. -Serras hates pretty much everyone in Skyrim for some reason or another, but they're all extremely one-sided relationships, because no one knows who the fuck he is. -Lleris is in the shit with virtually everyone in the Mages Guild, as well as anyone in every other great house. Both because of his connections with House Telvanni and, well, Lleris can be hard to be around sometimes. -Gerrick had always had a bad feeling about Estre and the fucking second she shows her ass, Gerrick's all “I FUCKING KNEW IT.” Estre wishes Gerrick would just die because who the HELL is this half-Maormer pirate asshole who's suddenly playing way too big of a part in Summerset politics.

14. How well-liked is your oc? What is their reputation, if they’re well-known? Are they simply liked/disliked, or are they respected but feared, or personally liked but not taken seriously, etc? Do major factions consider your oc an important player? -Gav: People have such mixed reactions to him. They usually hear about him well before they meet him, and at first they're like oh shit!!! Dragonborn!!!! Then they meet him and they're like uuuh he's a weird homeless dude with blatant unaddressed trauma. Kind of wish he wasn't the one who was going toe to toe with all these dragons. -Serras: Who? -Lleris: House Telvanni loves him. Except for like, Gothren, who gets killed by him. And Neloth, who never did get that robe of drake's pride. And Dratha. As for the rest of Vvardenfell, people start slowly warming up to him as he becomes more certifiably Nerevarine. Then they get real sick of him again. -Gerrick: His reputation is tied firmly with how someone feels about Ayrenn. If they like her, then Gerrick is unconventional but damnit, he gets the job done. If they oppose Ayrenn, then Gerrick is symbolic of everything that's wrong with Ayrenn and her foreign policy.

15. Does your oc have a horse/other mount? A pet? How did they get this animal? If they were given the animal, do they have the money to maintain it? How careful/careless are they with their animal? What do they do with their pets while adventuring, especially on dangerous quests? -Gerrick is the only one, and he has a giant stag mount that kind of comes and goes. He also has a constant clannfear familiar, which is, you know, conjured.

16. Does your oc take their time as they travel, or are they purposeful? How do they survive in the wilds, especially if they aren’t hunter-types? How dependent is your oc on civilized society? -Gav and Serras both spend ample time in the wilderness, even if civilization might be available. Gavriil enjoys keeping a low profile more and more as the whole Dragonborn affair goes on, and toward the end, he's keeping his head down as much as possible. Serras is fine with it because that's just what his life's like. -Lleris makes a beeline from town to town and will take silt striders whenever possible. He doesn't know how to hunt or dress game, he can barely pitch a tent, and more often than not will just sleep on the bare-ass ground like an idiot. Again, he has almost died of exposure on more than one occasion. -Gerrick could disappear into the wilderness for months and be just fine. He could be equally fine spending months in the middle of a major city. He's flexible.

17. What does your oc like to eat? How much food do they eat? Can your oc cook, and can they do it well? -Gav used to be a super picky eater in his earlier years. Now he'll eat anything that'll keep him alive. Too much grain alcohol has dulled his sense of taste. He knows how to decently fire-roast small animals, but he's not exactly an inspirational cook. -Serras is a fan of good food. One of the biggest inspirations for him teaching himself how to cook was so that he could eat good food on the reg. He can make a little go a long way, in terms of quality of ingredients. -Lleris is the kind of guy who'd burn spaghetti. -Gerrick is a pretty decent cook. His specialty is hearty campfire shit like stews and chowders.

18. What does your oc wear in the city/settlements? In the house? When travelling, but not adventuring or expecting combat? Do they vary their clothes depending on what hold/city they’re in? If they don’t, why not (e.g., if your oc wears the same outfit to tend their garden or lounge around the house as they did to meet Ulfric or Elisif, why?) Does your oc have a good or bad sense of fashion? How many clothes does your oc have? -Gavriil has one outfit, the same tunic and threadbare enchanted robe he's worn for the past dozen or so miles. It's all he's got, babey. -Serras has more outfits than you'd expect from the kind of guy who lives out of a tent 10 months out of the year. He likes to look cute. Also, he's almost always wearing a scarf, because he's pretty sure that's just what Dunmer do. -Lleris's outfit of choice is flowing, elegant mage robes, daedric boots, and pretty much nothing else. Naked under your robes seems like a pretty Telvanni thing to do, if we're being honest here. -Gerrick wears roguish pirate garb fairly often during the adventure phase, but he does have some fancy threads when he's in the company of royalty.

19. How picky is your oc about their gear? Do they have different equipment for different adventures, or is it the same suit of armor for everything (not counting upgrades like from steel to ebony)? -Gav, again, has one outfit. He does swap out his tunic after one is shredded/absolutely drenched in his own blood, but the robe has been with him for years at this point. He cannot be assed to enchant a new one. -Serras is not particularily picky about what his kit looks like. He's usually fine with a bit of leather armor, but he opts for pauldrons more often than not as, again, he's convinced that's just what Dunmer do. -Lleris won't wear it if it's not cute. -Gerrick is surprisingly discerning about his gear. He has a very high standard for what his weapons should look like, and everything needs to be properly enchanted if he's gonna be using it.

20. How does your oc acquire their clothes, and from where/whom? -Gav's robe is an old piece he enchanted himself when he was a bit more put together, and the rest of his outfit is more or less charity. Like hey, couldn't help but notice you got nearly torn in half by a dragon, can I offer you this shirt? -Serras's clothes were all honestly bought with money he earned from pawning stolen goods. Hmm. -Lleris will always make the time to shop for cute outfits when he gets to a big city. The boots? Conjured. -Gerrick's things were mostly honest purchases, but not all of them. He's not above pulling a pair of nice boots off a dead man's feet.

21. Can your oc swim, and how well? Have they ever swam in the ocean, or only lakes/rivers? Remember, it’s much harder to swim in the ocean than in a lake! If your oc is an Argonian, do they take special advantage of it somehow (e.g., do they go diving for fun/for profit, do they instinctively hide in the water, etc)? If your oc is a Khajiit who can swim, how do they get their fur dry? -Gav was born by the sea and as long as the water is warm, he loves to swim. The rivers and lakes in Skyrim are all too damn cold for him, even in the summer, so he water walks more often than he swims. -Serras is a decently strong swimmer, though he's never actually seen the ocean. Rivers and lakes, though, no big deal. -Lleris can barely swim and will water walk 99% of the time he encounters water. Even though he knows a water breathing spell, he's never actually used it. -Gerrick was born on a boat and is half Maormer. He fucking knows how to swim ok.

22. How easy/difficult is it to rob your oc? Pickpocket? Bribe? -Gav: Too easy. He's got nothing of value to take, so his guard is at like, 0. -Serras: He's a pickpocket by trade, he knows all the tricks. You'd have to be pretty fucking crafty to life something from under his nose. Even if you did, you can be sure as shit he'd steal it right back. -Lleris: He's been robbed a handful of times. -Gerrick: It wouldn't be impossible to pick his pocket, just very difficult and very unwise.

23. If your oc is part of one of the more morally questionable or outright evil factions, how do they justify it to themselves? Do they still consider themselves as morally good? How well known is their affiliation to these groups? Do they have separate personas (e.g. Dragonborn to some people, Listener to others)? Do their family/friends know? If they have separate personas, how do they keep their less than righteous activities secret? -Gav, despite being provably morally good, deals with a lot of completely unjustified guilt. He doesn't think of himself as that great of a person, because he feels too selfish. -Serras doesn't really hide that he's a thief by trade, at least to anyone who knows him. He's had his shot at honest work, and he just couldn't cut it. And well, a dude's gotta make a living somehow. He tries to keep his mind clear by only stealing from people who can afford to have things go missing. Or just if he hates them. Either way. -Lleris is very hush-hush about any work he's done with the thieves guild. He doesn't consider him to be affiliated with them, moreso that they stay in fleeting business arrangements, arrangements which become less and less frequent the more involved he gets in Telvanni politics. -Gerrick having pirate roots is something of an open secret. Part of his appeal as an Eye is his roguishness, and it's not exactly hard for him to work with shadowy sources. He'll never deny his heritage to anyone who directly asks. Not many people have the gall to do that, however, so rumors do fly.

24. How helpful is your oc, and why? Are they helpful or kind even during difficult situations? Are they pragmatic, or do they have a hero syndrome? -Gav has a weird obligation on/off switch. He feels guilted into helping people in certain situations, while he can walk away from others with a clear conscience. When the guilt hits, he will go so far against his own interests to help people, even if he's actively suffering as he does so. Even then, god does he hate being recognized as some kind of hero. Nothing he does in Skyrim makes him feel like a hero, and he actively lives out the world's most aggressive case of imposter syndrome even after Alduin fucking dies. He immediately leaves Skyrim after Alduin's death, because he can't live with the recognition he feels he fell dick first into. No one knows or cares who the Dragonborn is in Morrowind, so he busts ass to the eastern border the second his ass gets back to Nirn. -Serras historically doesn't go that far out of his way to help people, unless they're someone he already cares about, or who he owes some kind of debt. Part of his Growth is slowly taking up his father's mantel as a healer, and dedicating the rest of his life to helping people. Big claps for Serras! -Lleris has such a bad hero syndrome. The fucking second he gets the impression that he might be Nerevarine, that's how he's introducing himself to people. He does get to play big damn hero for a little while after the events at Red Mountain, but the novelty does eventually wear off, at least for the people around him. Well into his second or third century, he'll still bring up that time he was Azura's champion and killed not one, but two living gods. For like the thousandth time. -Gerrick can help or hurt. When he's helpful, he's super fucking helpful. He's your fucking MVP. But the second you cross him, he’ll be out for blood. And while he does have a reputation that often precedes him, he doesn't exactly milk it.

[yasugapped]

Tagged by @superjojolimon , considering how vague the “rules” are i have Rebelliously Interpreted the questions as changeable so i just like swerved whatever seemed 2 plain for my tastes. also a lot of these just seem repeated/too similar?

rules: answer 30 questions and tag 20 blogs you wanna get to know better

gender: female

star sign: sag rising, libra sun, taurus moon ;^)

height: 5′3″ but can and will kill you 

mood: a dimly lit image of a possum eating oreos. munchin crunchin havin a good night

favorite bands: death grips ..... i’d say more but i’ll let u all think on that one for awhile .... 

song stuck in my head: like. the ending credits to spongebob

favorite animal: trick question its All of Them.

last movie I watched: i watch NOTHING ......... i have. never watched shit or fuck in my entire life?? ?. .. i actually cant remember i Really dont watch movies, the only ones i really like are perks of being a wallflower, internal sunshine of the spotless mind, and donnie darko

last text u sent: ok i screenshot this picture of funny valentine and his stand like “couple goals” ... .. . .. .

when did I create my blog: i dont know or care but when i made it i hadnt even read part 8 ??? i literally was committing to yasugap before i even really knew what it was like ............ im such an authentic fan,.. also, the only other part i’ve read is 4, which i read solely because i saw a picture of josuke and loved him with my Life .. i literally only read it for josuke content and didnt care much (and still dont) for the real story of it. i enjoy part 8, story wise, way more but also i love josuke2.0 a lot and i just.. . love josuke And josuke bitch whathe thefculk1!!!

fear fear fear fear fear: i am extremely hesitant to invest in any potentially horrific or goretastic display because i have like. the worst paranoia. in january youtube kept playing when my sister and i fell asleep and when i woke up it was on a video of markiplier playing an scp game and it Shook me so much. i have literally never been the same. theres an scp thats just shadows on the wall and now i cant stop hyperfixating on the shadow on my bedroom door at night... it iis !! the worst!!!! bitch!!!! :^(

another strange fear is that, i sometimes get this extreme paranoia im not alone in the bathroom and i will typically pull back the shower curtain to make sure nothing’s hiding. i’ve also legitimately checked under my bed and in my closet, but the bathroom fear is a lot stronger than those for some reason.

last thing I googled: oh my god its “funny valentine” ... w-what a shock!! wh..o wouldve guessed. ... .. have i mentioned i havent read part 7,

sipp: i actually cannot live ... without coke ... uhm ..., i prefer coke entirely flat but also cold. i pour them out into a cup and set them in the fridge to fizz out. literally. also i cant stand ice in drinks. 

hmmm one of those uh GET THE BOOK NEAREST 2 U AND READ THE 69TH WORD OF THE 420TH PAGE: ok so this book is house of leaves. it is my favorite book and has been for a few years but i’ve never finished reading it ;^) 

i think the technical 69th word was ‘in,’ but here’s the whole lil paragraph there: “Near the centre, in crisp focus, squats Delial, bone dangling in her tawny almost inhuman fingers, her lips a crawl of insects, her eyes swollen with sand. Illness and hunger are on her but Death is still a few paces behind, perched on a rocky mound, talons fully extended, black eyes focused on Famine’s daughter.” this book has a writing style i extremely admire. it is filled with senseless, mindnumbing extents of detail and confusion, it feels almost like a modernized version of poe’s style???? also neat about this book is the looks - if you’re interested, try looking up just pages from house of leaves.

last thing u devoured viciously: we went 2 this mexican restaurant i’ve been to a bunch, i always get the same thing, but this time i got this taco salad. it was disappointing. like it literally wasnt good and i was upset, 

NAME???? i just realized this question isnt here like how are u going to get to know me without THIS ...: like,, i dabble a ton in original content & characters, and my ... sonas are always named maizzey starr, and “maizzey starr” is like my BRAND so i go by maizzey a lot but as far as my real literal name ITS KAMRYN !!!!!!! like im so unique and good ..... ... ... starts crying

password style: i have only had like four different passwords in my Life. this makes it supremely easy to figure one out on a really old account or website.... i dont understand people who ...... make up different passwords for everything,, i also never initially use capital letters unless prompted. i do use numbers in like one of them.

favorite colors: i usually like colder colors more than warm, but in general i prefer bright and colorful things. rainbow rainbow rainbow rainb

average sleeping hours: oh my god ........... this is wild. i don’t have any kind of sleeping schedule whatsoever. my schedule will do fucking FLIPS 3 times a week - i recently got melatonin gummies to try and get myself on a schedule but i legitimately think i have like a sleeping issue :^(

what am I wearing: d-dont ask questions u arent prepared 2 hear the answers to.............

dream u can remember: my last dream sequence went like this. i lurking forums for club penguin. people were discussing a penguin who was kin with napoleon. like kin as in the THIS IS ME not kin as in family. and other people - .. penguins....- were also starting to be napoleon kin and it was a trend and the original napoleon penguin was angry? this vision entirely dissolved and i was in my room at night, in my bed, and i looked over to my closet as an unknown, fleshy figure leaped for me. this is literally the most terrifying dream i’ve had in my entire life. oh my god

last meme u made: FUCK .... also this

how do u have pizza: I PREFER PEPPERONI ... im ok with plain cheese especially like when its cold??? i odnt like hot cheese pizza idk why ,, .. im not very adventurous with my pizza.... i really want a dessert pizza 

weirdest thing u’ve Actually put in ur mouth: nail polish...... i saw one of those my strange addiction episode with a girl who ate nail polish. i think i tried like three different colors - they burn slightly, the taste isn’t totally disgusting but its also not like.... appealing?? OMFEJFSDJJDGDHJFDJFDSGFD 

also one time i thought. we had a those huge bricks of baker’s chocolate BUT IT WAS WAX CUBES so ive tried cinnamon wax cubes too oops!!!!!!! i mean they tasted like cinnamon so..., .h-heh , , ,..kvkfkj

any pets: YES BITCH .  .,, . i have.. THREE (3) entire whole living dogs. and also ! three guinea pigs. i love dogs more than i love anything. .. ,, . .. . 

also im 2tired 2 tag so i mean u kno goodnight 

[wyrmsandrocs]

You know what you dared (anyone really) me personally to send all the writer asks so FUCKIBG ALL OF THEM BETCH

1. Favorite place to write. - I really like taking my laptop with me and writing at parks or in hotel lobbies when my fam travels, but its comfortable and familiar to write at my desk in my room2. Favorite part of writing. - letting characters be sassy and snarky. also letting characters heal.3. Least favorite part of writing. - actually putting words on the page lmfao4. Do you have writing habits or rituals? - i put on my writing playlist and if i can grab a diet coke bc it helps me feel like im ready to be productive5. Books or authors that influenced your style the most. - ooh, for writing style Caroline Lawrence’s books influenced me a lot when i was younger and more recently @lbardugo and six of crows6. Favorite character you ever created. - ahhh probably Linde, a shapeshifter who rejects all human concepts including gender7. Favorite author. - again, Leigh Bardugo. also @canipetyourdragon but like technically shes not published yet 8. Favorite trope to write. - enemies to lovers lmfao9. Least favorite trope to write. - ahh idek 10. Pick a writer to co-write a book with and tell us what you’d write about. - @canipetyourdragon and we’d probs write abt some wacky adventure11. Describe your writing process from scratch to finish. - 1) have an idea and daydream abt it for a month 2) worldbuilding/character building for a g e s 3) finally get around to writing a shitty draft 4) s u f f e r 12. How do you deal with self-doubts? - whine at someone and then remind myself that nothing starts perfect and i have time to make it better. tbqh a lot of the time i remind myself that Six of Crows started as smthn like 31,000 words and is a lot longer in the final form and, no offense to leigh, was probs kinda crap at first lmfao13. How do you deal with writers block? - i remind myself that its not gonna get written if i dont write it, i sit my ass down, and i write something. anything. any stupid sentence. and then i write another one.14. What���s the most research you ever put into a book? - hoo boi am i bad at research n o t m u c h 15. Where does your inspiration come from? - a lot of my inspiration comes from music and other books, i have playlists that remind me of my characters and story on spotify and those help a lot16. Where do you take your motivation from? - i remember that i’ve always wanted to be a writer since i was like 5 and could barely write my name and i think about how much i want that to be a reality.17. On avarage, how much writing do you get done in a day? - ehh i’d say maybe 400 words on average? the least ive written recently is 100 words the most was 1,50018. What’s your revision or rewriting process like? - ah i havent worked on one story enough to know yet19. First line of a WIP you’re working on. - No matter how many she saw, Siora couldn’t get used to Outer Land bars.

20. Post a snippet of a WIP you’re working on. - “In a shocking plot twist, the rich Kitonian girl used to be a thief,” Linde said, mimicking some sort of announcer.

“Are you just here to add sarcastic commentary?” Siora glared at them.

She seems to glare at them a lot, Dema thought.

“That’s the whole reason I’m following you,” they said, then added, “Don’t give me that look, you know I don’t really care about the war.”

“My question is why is Siora still putting up with you,” Asteria laughed.

“Don’t give me any ideas,” The Beati girl grumbled, a smile playing on her lips.

“Oh yes, don’t encourage her. She might try to hurt me with one of her toothpicks.”

Dema laughed, “Don’t insult a lady’s knives, it’s not wise.”

“What’s a lady?” The Gerum asked, feigning confusion.

“Dema is a lady,” Asteria kissed the girl on the cheek, laughing.

“Doesn’t seem very ladylike to me,” Siora snorted.

“Like you’re one to talk,” Dema shot back.

“If anyone here is a lady, it’s me,” Linde said, sticking their nose in the air.

“You aren’t even a girl!” Asteria shrieked, grinning.

“Fair enough,” They nodded.

21. Post the last sentence you wrote in one of your WIP’s. - “Yep, now we’re just doing a final check to make sure we have everything,” The girl said without looking up.22. How many drafts do you need until you’re satisfied and a project is ultimately done for you? - ahh depends i havent really “completed” any big projects, but for short stories usually only one or two23. Single or multi POV, and why? - multiple because i have so many characters and none of them is really the /main/ character24. Poetry or prose, and why? - i love prose but tbh im a poet at heart i write a l o t of poetry

25. Linear or non-linear, and why? - linear, otherwise i get too confused26. Standalone or series, and why? - standalone, because i think the story im working on rn is only one book long. altho i do have another story in this world planned dont tell anyone 27. Do you share rough drafts or do you wait until it’s all polished? - i share as i write

28. And who do you share them with? only sharing with @canipetyourdragon tho29. Who do you write for? - myself and my future readers30. Favorite line you’ve ever written. - for prose? “You complain so much I’m starting to think it’s a religious observance,” Siora said, leaning against the wall. the answer is dif for poetry tho31. Hardest character to write. - a s t e r i a i love her but shes not fully fleshed out yet. also shes so good32. Easiest character to write. - linde that snarky bastard33. Do you listen to music when you’re writing? - yep i have a playlist that reminds me of my story34. Handwritten notes or typed notes? - both35. Tell some backstory details about one of your characters in your story. - Siora was raised to be the right hand guard of the princess, but was exiled when she died.36. A spoiler for story? - the villain gets redeemed37. Most inspirational quote you’ve ever read or heard that’s still important to you. - hm i really dont know. writing wise, i love the quote “if the muse is late for work, start without her.”

38. Have you shared your outline of your story with someone? If so, what did they think of it? - I tell wyna about all my story shenanigans and schemes, and so far i think she likes it lmao39. Do you base your characters of real people or not? If so, tell us about one.- not characters i like. sometimes background redshirts are based on people i hate so that i can kill them40. Original Fiction or Fanfiction, and why? - both. I love writing fanfiction, but i also have a lot of original stories to tell41. How many stories do you work on at one time? - only one at a time for me42. How do you figure out your characters looks, personality, etc. - a lot of the time it just comes to me, but i also answer ask memes like this as that character43. Are you an avid reader? -  y e s 44. Best piece of feedback you’ve ever gotten. - hm im really not sure45. Worst piece of feedback you’ve ever gotten. - most unhelpful? “it sucked ass” - daedalus46. What would your story look like as a tv show or movie? - o h dude i would love to see it as a movie it would be a really cool fantasy aesthetic omg the effects for the shapeshifters would be so cool to see

47. Do you start with characters or plot when working on a new story? - this story actually started with setting48. Favorite genre to write in. - YA isnt a genre is it? technically fantasy i guess49. What do you find the hardest to write in a story, the beginning, the middle or the end? - the middle for sure50. Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had. - idk abt story idea but when i was 12 i killed a character by turning him into a tortilla ¯\_(ツ)_/¯51. Describe the aesthetic of your story in 5 sentences or words. - fantasy eclectic influence and design.52. How did writing change you? - honestly writing poetry gave me a way to express my feelings safely. it honest to gods helped me stop self-harming.53. What does writing mean to you? - to me it means putting my ideas and thoughts and self into the world in a way that people (hopefully) read and enjoy54. Any writing advice you want to share? - start writing and dont stop. if you think that its crap, remember that everything starts as crap, and if you think no one in the world wants to read it, remember that i definitely want to read it if you tell me about it.

tysm for asking omg!

[samanthasroberts]

The NFL’s New VR Highlights Take Football to a Whole New Level

Deep in the second quarter of the New York Giants’ win over the Chicago Bears on November 20, Giants quarterback Eli Manning slunga short pass to running back Rashard Jennings, who was forced out of bounds at the 28 after a five-yard gain. Nothing about the play, which lasted all of six seconds, stood out as particularly noteworthy. Except for one thing: Safety Deon Bush and linebacker Danny Trevathan shoved Jennings out of bounds right in front of NextVRs bug-eyed sideline camera. Watching the play on a VR headset made you instinctively want to get out of the way. The “you-are-there” sensation was strong.

NextVR is all but ready to flip the switch on live football.

OK, time out. You’re rolling your eyes, with good reason. Video on aVR headset is usually pretty disappointing. The novelty ofwatching something from a cool virtual vantage pointerodes quickly. There’s a screen door effect when seeing pixels on a magnified screen, shatteringthe illusion of being there. The content typically lacks narrative, offering nothing to direct your attention or provide urgency or drama.

But NextVR’s remarkable work with the NFL and the NBA provides a virtual experience that is far more engaging and dramatic. The slick highlights packages they produce for the NFL are released after the games, but NextVR is uniquely equipped to do live VR video. The company uses the same crew, gear, and processes to broadcast one live NBA game each week. They useeight camera rigs, hopbetween camera angles, and include onscreen graphics and play-by-play announcers.

We aren’t talking 360 video, either. There’s no confusion about where to look, as NextVRs rigs use a 180-degree field of view to record only the action in front of them. The hardware is more 3-D camera than VR camera, with processing tricks that add depth and boost the sense ofrealism. Each double-barrel RED rig captures 6K video for each eye. That’s tens of millions more pixels than any headset can display now, but NextVR wants to future-proof its content.

The result represents the dawn of a new kind of VR video, an experience that truly combines the best parts of watching a game on TV and being in the stadium.

Monster Truck

Tim Moynihan

The on-field cameras each use a pair of super wide-angle 8mm lenses to send two fisheye views of the action to the production truck, where the producers watch it on the monitors. You’ll find several Gear VR headsets in the truck, but no one is wearing them during a game. They’re there just so the crew and on-air talent can give the NFL VR experience a spin before blasting it out to the masses later on.With the NBA, it just goes out live,” Earl says.

The barrier to live NFL coverage goes beyond inking deals. The execution is already as polished as anything you’ll see on TV, but NextVR is still feeling its way through some details of shooting sports. Something as simple as panning is a no-no, because it may make peoplesick. Zooming is also off-limits, as it chops off the field of view. Both limitations make it tough to capture fast breaks in the NBA and long bombs in the NFL. When switching between cameras, NextVR producers favor a slow fade between angles, often when the action slows down.

The company has optimized its NFL field coverage by mountingcameras under each crossbar, placing manned cameras on the sideline of each end zone, and having four camera operatorsroam the sidelines. The setup favors action in the red zone overplays between the 30s, where each team has its bench. “The hard part about doing football is that with the 8mm cameras, you need the action to come to you,” Earl says. It’s a bit easier with basketball, where most of the action happens in front of the NextVR camera under each hoop. Anything that happens, we have a great angle of it,” he says.

That said, NextVR is all but ready to flip the switch on live football. The crew essentially produces complete games already, they just don’t broadcast them.The reason we do the NFL highlights the way we do it is because we want it to be exactly the same, says VP of content Danny Keens. We dont want there to be any loss of quality, any loss of resolution, any of that stuff. Itd be easier to just piece that show together and record it bit by bit. But we go start to finish and do live graphics and replays in real-time.

3D + VR = OMFG

VR is only now moving into the mainstream, but NextVR has been at it for two years. What started as a simple one-camera setup at midcourt during an exhibition game evolved into the current multi-camera setup with all the fixins. Earlier thisyear, NextVR announced it would carrylive NBA gameseach Tuesday as part of NBA League Pass. It marked a huge step forward for virtual reality.

For the first time ever, we announced a production schedule, says company CEO Dave Cole. We had more than 500 hours of live VR production under our belt before the NBA deal, but they were all one-off productions. Thats not the type of thing you can get viewers to schedule. I liken it to going to Best Buy and buying a television and the salesperson saying, ‘Well, theres probably going to be a broadcaster for this device someday.

NextVR’s secret sauce is its3-D effects, which date toits origin in 2009 developing 3-D television transmission tech. The company’s video-compression technology shrinks files by removing redundancies between each rig’sleft camera and right camera. Because that process involves detecting the edges of objects in a scene, the same technology can create wireframe replicas of everything the camerasshoot. When the video is rendered in a VR headset, it overlays stereoscopic video on top of those wireframes, creating the illusion of volume. It’s a mix of video and video-game tech.

It sends a hugely impactful message to your brain that youre actually in this environment, Cole says. Right now, the mesh, the number of vertices in the wireframe is quite low. In the next generation camera, which is rolling out in the middle of the season for the NBA, we are quadrupling the resolution of that mesh. That sense of presence is what were amping up.

Hacking Your Memory

NextVR outpaces the VR competition with the quality of its tech and scale of its deals, but it’s already eager to refine the experience. We will have done our job right when people cant remember whether they actually went to the game or watched it on NextVR, Cole says. I think thats an achievable goal.

Crazy as it sounds, that actually could be an achievable goal. At least in part. My answer to whether or not that could be possible is … sort of, says Julia Shaw, a memory expert, criminal psychologist, and author ofThe Memory Illusion. Shaw hasn’t studiedVR’s effect on memory, but she has successfully implanted false memories into the brains of test subjects.Because our memories are unreliable, convincing VR experiences could fool our brains. But only to an extent.

“Reality is multi-sensory,” she says. “When youre looking at something, no matter how high-def it is, if you dont have things like proprioception, your sense of space, you dont have smells, you dont have taste, you dont have temperature. These are things that we generally rely upon as markers to let us know weve experienced something instead of just imagined it.

So if Cole is serious about taking NextVR to that level, he’ll have to figure out how to infuse the experience with a lot more sensory input. Things like smart thermostats synced to the action and stadium-smell simulators.

VRs Biggest Challenges

NextVR has some more important technical hurdles to clear first, but they likely won’t be barriers for long. You can only watch its programming on the Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream, but Cole hints you’ll see NextVR on PlayStation VR soon.1 And NextVR is talking with other sports leagues and entertainment companies about getting more content in the pipeline. Cole says 4k-capable phones will make the viewing experience that much better within the next year, and 5G connectivity will make accessing content easier on mobile devices.

NextVR

All of this begs the obvious question: Willviewers embraceVR as a first screen option for sports? Already, watching a game on NextVR is a better eyeball experience than watching it on TV. But here’s the thing: VR is a solitary pursuit, one that requires clamping a headset on. Watching sports is a social endeavor, one that revolves as much around the camaraderie of the experience as it does the game itself.

So there are compelling reasons to strap on a VR headset to watch a game, but it’ll likely only happen if you’re home alone. Duncan Stewart, director of technology research for Deloitte Canada, says the solitary viewing experience is just one mainstream adoption barrier. According to his research, a few trends are shaking out in these pioneer days of VR: The medium still appeals primarily to males, hard-core gamers, and those with deep pockets. Deloitte’s global surveys show that more than 95 percent of people dont own a VR device and arent interested in buying one.

“There are indeed some people who are interested enough in the VR perspective to watch sports and wear a device on their head that blocks out their wife or husband, kids, parents, friends, pets and smartphone for hours at a time,” Stewart says. “But not many.”

There are other impediments, not the least of which is VR’sillusion of immersion is shattered every time you need to use the bathroom or grab a snack. And then there’s the simple fact that watching a game isn’t as simple as flipping on the TV, popping open a beer, and flopping down on the couch. You’ve gotta hook up the gear, launch the app, and find the content. NextVR’s incredible videos may represent the future of VR, but sports fans may determine the future of NextVR.

1UPDATE 12/12/2016 at 5 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to include information about NextVR’s recent launch on Google Daydream VR.

Source: http://allofbeer.com/the-nfls-new-vr-highlights-take-football-to-a-whole-new-level/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2019/02/20/the-nfls-new-vr-highlights-take-football-to-a-whole-new-level/

[megacarapa]

What are your thoughts on the recent manga developements? Like the climax of the vs stanley arc and the suika mini arc etc, idk ive just been loving the recent chapters and wanna hear more talk about it and your rants so far have been really entertaining ^^

ANON FCGB;;;😳

WELL i did make an entire playlist based off those 3 suika chapters so i guess you could say i’ve been enjoying the current arc gfgfh. ok here are my VERY extended thoughts on the last 10ish chapters under the cut (manga spoilers obv) (LUCY DON’T READ THIS ONE FR) (also cw for like.. discussion of diseases and stuff tho i dont go too much into detail, i’m not an actual doctor obviously dfgdfg)

this ended up being way longer than i expected so i tried breaking it into a few sections and adding images to make it easier on the eyes, i’ve really loved the south america arc as a whole but these last few chapters have been especially amazing

vs stanley climax

first of all, i gotta love how you called it the "vs stanley fight", and i mean, you're technically right since he is the antagonist of this arc, but it's interesting how they never have a direct faceoff with stanley, it's more like stanley and his troops attacking super one sidedly in a way the kos can't really fight against, so they use communication between their different teams to trap stanley & co in a situation they can't run away from and win in the long term

i love that dr stone "fights" are most often won strategically rather than in a straight up 1v1 brawl, in fact those more standard fights are most often used as a way to keep the enemy at bay until senku & co can figure out a way to actually win, also it's just really cool that the team that delivered the final blow was thousands of miles away from where the actual fight was taking place, or even hundreds of thousands if you count whyman as the "person who delivered the final blow"

stanley theorizes at the end that the kos will probably keep his statue as a hostage to make xeno work for them on the rocket if he wants stanley back (lmao gay), but considering their track record of letting past enemies join the crew, i have a feeling we’ll have both xeno and stanley (and the rest of the americans) back rather than just xeno

the only antagonist so far that hasn't been redeemed is ibara, who is just being kept as a stone statue somewhere, but you could tell that would be the case based on his design alone, he just screams *irredeemable villain*

xeno and stanley, while antagonists, are also clearly designed to be likeable characters, so i don't see them getting the same treatment

the only problem would be keeping a constant watch over xeno to make sure he doesn't do any Side Projects™ and develop firearms again, but it could also be that xeno was actually convinced of senku’s philosophy in their last talk before the beam hit, so maybe he will be willing to help even without having stanley be a hostage, but i guess we’ll just wait and see

as a side note, whyman periodically sending the petrification command was basically a chekhov's gun now that i think about it, so it makes sense in a meta way that a second worldwide petrification would happen, why establish it if it wont come into play later in the story? i actually felt kinda dumb for not seeing it coming fgdfg

aftermath/suika chapters

the first strategy they had for defeating stanley was a good one, but it wouldn't really make for good storytelling if it just Worked and they won just like that, it would be pretty anticlimactic after running from him for almost 20 chapters, so it makes sense then that what they had to go with in the end was the same strategy, but on a much bigger scale

suika being the one to be depetrified first and have to save everyone is also a good choice both thematically and to make sure the victory isn't too easy

having someone like senku or chrome who understands the platinum method to make revival fluid and then have it done in less than a day, or having suika simply find some extra revival fluid lying around like she was initially planning would, again, be anticlimactic, it would've lacked impact after everything they've been through

these 3 chapters also nicely bring back the theme of science not being exclusive to the “pros”, everyone can use it as long as they have the proper steps to follow, the most impressive example before this was the corn city crew managing to make a diamond by following senku’s instructions despite not having any scientists on board (and before that, gen and the villagers making a telescope)

and now suika is even more impressive, being a literal child and all, even though she wasn't able to understand the more complex methods, there was still a way for her to succeed, all she needed was to be patient and diligently go at it step by step, i adore these 3 chapters and i love suika so much now it's insane

suika being the one to get revived serves another purpose as well...

honestly, already around 188/189 i was starting to get really worried about how the story would handle the emotional aftermath

shonen jump manga has a tendency to just gloss over the psychological consequences of traumatic events (one moment i remember finding really frustrating was in bnha, when kirishima gets really fucked up during the overhaul arc but the next time we see him he’s just joking around about looking like a mummy because of all his bandages🙄), so i was worried they wouldn't treat the aftermath of an event like this with the gravity it deserves, (i think LITERALLY DYING could be considered a traumatic event but i'm no psychologist🤔)

suika’s time alone shows a nice contrast to senku, while senku is definitely not emotionless, during his time alone before taiju was revived he is still very cool and collected, not showing any emotional weakness like the king of repression he is

suika is a whole different story, she’s a kid, she doesn't repress her emotions like senku does, so during her time alone she is scared and lonely, especially at the beginning, we see her breaking down into tears multiple times, imagining her friends statues talking to her, hugging kohaku’s statue for comfort etc

this really provided the emotional catharsis i was hoping for, through suika, the audience is genuinely able to feel the gravity of what has happened

i do wish more of the older characters could be allowed to show emotional weakness like this, but i guess having suika serve as a proxy for everyone works well enough

on that note, senku was alone for only 6 months and even then its implied in treasure island that he may have a problem with loneliness

suika on the other hand was alone for YEARS, i can only imagine how that affected her mental state, tho honestly i can't say i expect the story to delve into something like that too deeply (or at all) since this is a shonen manga after all.. 

immortality

i’ve seen some people interpreting hyoga’s resurrection in 197 as “they can revive somebody that died from an injury, but people will still die eventually due to old age”, but i don’t think that's really the case, people don’t just die from “old age” by itself, they die because their body slowly degrades over time, which makes it harder to fight against numerous diseases, one of which will eventually get you and kill you

but dr stone (aka the combination of medusa+revival fluid) can nullify that degradation and bring your body back into a healthy state, we’ve already seen this with kaseki on treasure island where senku explains that dr stone healed his arthritis, a disease which probably would have lead to his natural death sooner or later

while we already know kaseki was in better shape than most people his age, it’s still surprising to see an old man like him jumping around so energetically, thats how much the restoration improved his health

we also know it healed mirai who was brain dead before being revived, so i think it's a pretty safe bet that it can heal other brain related diseases such as alzheimers

if so, then dr stone can heal injuries, diseases and even death as we’ve seen with hyoga, i think it’s pretty accurate of senku to say that humanity has gained immortality with it

honestly this development has been a long time coming, the idea of dr stone being able to bring back the dead was introduced as early as the first arc when tsukasa killed senku but taiyuzu were able to bring him back, but it really does seem like such an out there concept so i’m interested to see how they will base it in science... (and also how they will handle the whole… moral dilemma of immortality but i ain't ready to even attempt to think abt any of that)

my favourite theory that has sprung up from this is that if people really can live forever thanks to dr stone, it could be that whyman is actually a normal human who has been continually petrifying and reviving themself to live for 3700 years

wat will happen nixt?

back when 196 came out it kinda dawned on me just how much the crew has been set back in the progress they've made so far that it was giving me anxiety for real gfgdfg

seven years have passed, and in that time a lot of the tools they've made must have degraded, along with that, everyone they've revived so far has been turned to stone once again, there was nobody to upkeep the wheat fields and sundial and basically everything they've left in japan, and after all this time even the perseus must be in bad shape and in need of repair, as chrome suggests

how long will it take them to repair the ship? to repair all the tools they've lost? their original plan was to go around the world building cities where they can get all the materials to work on that rocket they’ll be making eventually, they already kinda started up corn city, but that has been out of commission for a while now, they were planning to build superalloy city in south america and have barely started on that

so they need to keep building these cities but also need to go back and revive everyone if they don't want their progress to go to waste, how will they go about this?? will they just tackle it one by one or split into teams, so one team can stay behind and work on superalloy city and the other can go back and revive everyone? who knows?? ryusui certainly made it sound way easier than how i've been imagining it dfgdfg

other than that, i gotta wonder are the kingdom of science really the only humans left on earth now that there's been a second worldwide petrification, or has some other group revived somewhere during the timeskip, OR maybe there might be another group out there who also devised the revival formula and was able to escape the 2nd petrification, which would then give them 7 more years to develop while senku n co are just stuck in stone 🤔 dr stone has always had some human antagonist so i wonder who’s next now that xeno and stanley have been dealt with

honestly my favourite arc has always been age of exploration precisely because it doesn't have any human threat and the characters are just left to craft and work on rebuilding society without the pressure of a looming war or a crazy american hunting them down, so honestly i'm hoping we will get another arc like that now, i think the crew definitely deserves it dnjd

random bonus ramblings

-using poop and shells to create nitric acid and it being a process that would take a long time is something that has already been mentioned multiple times in the series, so it’s really cool to see it actually utilized in the story rather than being random throwaway info

makes you wonder what other seemingly throwaway lines could actually be foreshadowing...

😬😬😬

-since joel managed to fix a medusa im very excited for him to be revived so we can learn how he did it and how the petrification works in the first place!! (and for joel and kaseki to finally meet in general)

-drst has a habit of introducing a character in one arc and having them be Just kinda There for some time until they finally have their time to shine in a later arc, examples being minami and of course yuzuriha, so i'm wondering if the same will happen later on with some of the americans, charlotte seems like a good contender for this (the girl that suika saved in 185, i gotta wonder how she felt having to shoot down the people who saved her life)

-on that note i feel like matsukaze also still hasn’t had his time to shine or contribute in any unique way yet (other than exposition gdvdj)

-i was also really liking dr brody as a character so i was kinda disappointed that he just blindly decided to kill everyone in corn city instead of talking and trying to come to an agreement w them like he has been up till then (though i guess it was necessary for the plot🙄), interested to see what they do with him as well

-i wanna see stanxeno on screen makeout sesh 🙄!

-will senku not losing his petrification cracks be explained? if he still has them, will xeno, stanley, luna etc still have theirs too? (honestly i hope so, i don’t wanna have to stare at xeno’s big shiny forehead for the rest of the series gsdhgfd)

ok i feel like i've finally exhausted all the numerous thoughts i had sdfdfd thank you for giving me an excuse to ramble on for so long and congratulations if you've managed to make it til the end <3

in conclusion

[adambstingus]

The NFL’s New VR Highlights Take Football to a Whole New Level

Deep in the second quarter of the New York Giants’ win over the Chicago Bears on November 20, Giants quarterback Eli Manning slunga short pass to running back Rashard Jennings, who was forced out of bounds at the 28 after a five-yard gain. Nothing about the play, which lasted all of six seconds, stood out as particularly noteworthy. Except for one thing: Safety Deon Bush and linebacker Danny Trevathan shoved Jennings out of bounds right in front of NextVRs bug-eyed sideline camera. Watching the play on a VR headset made you instinctively want to get out of the way. The “you-are-there” sensation was strong.

NextVR is all but ready to flip the switch on live football.

OK, time out. You’re rolling your eyes, with good reason. Video on aVR headset is usually pretty disappointing. The novelty ofwatching something from a cool virtual vantage pointerodes quickly. There’s a screen door effect when seeing pixels on a magnified screen, shatteringthe illusion of being there. The content typically lacks narrative, offering nothing to direct your attention or provide urgency or drama.

But NextVR’s remarkable work with the NFL and the NBA provides a virtual experience that is far more engaging and dramatic. The slick highlights packages they produce for the NFL are released after the games, but NextVR is uniquely equipped to do live VR video. The company uses the same crew, gear, and processes to broadcast one live NBA game each week. They useeight camera rigs, hopbetween camera angles, and include onscreen graphics and play-by-play announcers.

We aren’t talking 360 video, either. There’s no confusion about where to look, as NextVRs rigs use a 180-degree field of view to record only the action in front of them. The hardware is more 3-D camera than VR camera, with processing tricks that add depth and boost the sense ofrealism. Each double-barrel RED rig captures 6K video for each eye. That’s tens of millions more pixels than any headset can display now, but NextVR wants to future-proof its content.

The result represents the dawn of a new kind of VR video, an experience that truly combines the best parts of watching a game on TV and being in the stadium.

Monster Truck

Tim Moynihan

The on-field cameras each use a pair of super wide-angle 8mm lenses to send two fisheye views of the action to the production truck, where the producers watch it on the monitors. You’ll find several Gear VR headsets in the truck, but no one is wearing them during a game. They’re there just so the crew and on-air talent can give the NFL VR experience a spin before blasting it out to the masses later on.With the NBA, it just goes out live,” Earl says.

The barrier to live NFL coverage goes beyond inking deals. The execution is already as polished as anything you’ll see on TV, but NextVR is still feeling its way through some details of shooting sports. Something as simple as panning is a no-no, because it may make peoplesick. Zooming is also off-limits, as it chops off the field of view. Both limitations make it tough to capture fast breaks in the NBA and long bombs in the NFL. When switching between cameras, NextVR producers favor a slow fade between angles, often when the action slows down.

The company has optimized its NFL field coverage by mountingcameras under each crossbar, placing manned cameras on the sideline of each end zone, and having four camera operatorsroam the sidelines. The setup favors action in the red zone overplays between the 30s, where each team has its bench. “The hard part about doing football is that with the 8mm cameras, you need the action to come to you,” Earl says. It’s a bit easier with basketball, where most of the action happens in front of the NextVR camera under each hoop. Anything that happens, we have a great angle of it,” he says.

That said, NextVR is all but ready to flip the switch on live football. The crew essentially produces complete games already, they just don’t broadcast them.The reason we do the NFL highlights the way we do it is because we want it to be exactly the same, says VP of content Danny Keens. We dont want there to be any loss of quality, any loss of resolution, any of that stuff. Itd be easier to just piece that show together and record it bit by bit. But we go start to finish and do live graphics and replays in real-time.

3D + VR = OMFG

VR is only now moving into the mainstream, but NextVR has been at it for two years. What started as a simple one-camera setup at midcourt during an exhibition game evolved into the current multi-camera setup with all the fixins. Earlier thisyear, NextVR announced it would carrylive NBA gameseach Tuesday as part of NBA League Pass. It marked a huge step forward for virtual reality.

For the first time ever, we announced a production schedule, says company CEO Dave Cole. We had more than 500 hours of live VR production under our belt before the NBA deal, but they were all one-off productions. Thats not the type of thing you can get viewers to schedule. I liken it to going to Best Buy and buying a television and the salesperson saying, ‘Well, theres probably going to be a broadcaster for this device someday.

NextVR’s secret sauce is its3-D effects, which date toits origin in 2009 developing 3-D television transmission tech. The company’s video-compression technology shrinks files by removing redundancies between each rig’sleft camera and right camera. Because that process involves detecting the edges of objects in a scene, the same technology can create wireframe replicas of everything the camerasshoot. When the video is rendered in a VR headset, it overlays stereoscopic video on top of those wireframes, creating the illusion of volume. It’s a mix of video and video-game tech.

It sends a hugely impactful message to your brain that youre actually in this environment, Cole says. Right now, the mesh, the number of vertices in the wireframe is quite low. In the next generation camera, which is rolling out in the middle of the season for the NBA, we are quadrupling the resolution of that mesh. That sense of presence is what were amping up.

Hacking Your Memory

NextVR outpaces the VR competition with the quality of its tech and scale of its deals, but it’s already eager to refine the experience. We will have done our job right when people cant remember whether they actually went to the game or watched it on NextVR, Cole says. I think thats an achievable goal.

Crazy as it sounds, that actually could be an achievable goal. At least in part. My answer to whether or not that could be possible is … sort of, says Julia Shaw, a memory expert, criminal psychologist, and author ofThe Memory Illusion. Shaw hasn’t studiedVR’s effect on memory, but she has successfully implanted false memories into the brains of test subjects.Because our memories are unreliable, convincing VR experiences could fool our brains. But only to an extent.

“Reality is multi-sensory,” she says. “When youre looking at something, no matter how high-def it is, if you dont have things like proprioception, your sense of space, you dont have smells, you dont have taste, you dont have temperature. These are things that we generally rely upon as markers to let us know weve experienced something instead of just imagined it.

So if Cole is serious about taking NextVR to that level, he’ll have to figure out how to infuse the experience with a lot more sensory input. Things like smart thermostats synced to the action and stadium-smell simulators.

VRs Biggest Challenges

NextVR has some more important technical hurdles to clear first, but they likely won’t be barriers for long. You can only watch its programming on the Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream, but Cole hints you’ll see NextVR on PlayStation VR soon.1 And NextVR is talking with other sports leagues and entertainment companies about getting more content in the pipeline. Cole says 4k-capable phones will make the viewing experience that much better within the next year, and 5G connectivity will make accessing content easier on mobile devices.

NextVR

All of this begs the obvious question: Willviewers embraceVR as a first screen option for sports? Already, watching a game on NextVR is a better eyeball experience than watching it on TV. But here’s the thing: VR is a solitary pursuit, one that requires clamping a headset on. Watching sports is a social endeavor, one that revolves as much around the camaraderie of the experience as it does the game itself.

So there are compelling reasons to strap on a VR headset to watch a game, but it’ll likely only happen if you’re home alone. Duncan Stewart, director of technology research for Deloitte Canada, says the solitary viewing experience is just one mainstream adoption barrier. According to his research, a few trends are shaking out in these pioneer days of VR: The medium still appeals primarily to males, hard-core gamers, and those with deep pockets. Deloitte’s global surveys show that more than 95 percent of people dont own a VR device and arent interested in buying one.

“There are indeed some people who are interested enough in the VR perspective to watch sports and wear a device on their head that blocks out their wife or husband, kids, parents, friends, pets and smartphone for hours at a time,” Stewart says. “But not many.”

There are other impediments, not the least of which is VR’sillusion of immersion is shattered every time you need to use the bathroom or grab a snack. And then there’s the simple fact that watching a game isn’t as simple as flipping on the TV, popping open a beer, and flopping down on the couch. You’ve gotta hook up the gear, launch the app, and find the content. NextVR’s incredible videos may represent the future of VR, but sports fans may determine the future of NextVR.

1UPDATE 12/12/2016 at 5 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to include information about NextVR’s recent launch on Google Daydream VR.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/the-nfls-new-vr-highlights-take-football-to-a-whole-new-level/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/182945578062

[allofbeercom]

The NFL’s New VR Highlights Take Football to a Whole New Level

Deep in the second quarter of the New York Giants’ win over the Chicago Bears on November 20, Giants quarterback Eli Manning slunga short pass to running back Rashard Jennings, who was forced out of bounds at the 28 after a five-yard gain. Nothing about the play, which lasted all of six seconds, stood out as particularly noteworthy. Except for one thing: Safety Deon Bush and linebacker Danny Trevathan shoved Jennings out of bounds right in front of NextVRs bug-eyed sideline camera. Watching the play on a VR headset made you instinctively want to get out of the way. The “you-are-there” sensation was strong.

NextVR is all but ready to flip the switch on live football.

OK, time out. You’re rolling your eyes, with good reason. Video on aVR headset is usually pretty disappointing. The novelty ofwatching something from a cool virtual vantage pointerodes quickly. There’s a screen door effect when seeing pixels on a magnified screen, shatteringthe illusion of being there. The content typically lacks narrative, offering nothing to direct your attention or provide urgency or drama.

But NextVR’s remarkable work with the NFL and the NBA provides a virtual experience that is far more engaging and dramatic. The slick highlights packages they produce for the NFL are released after the games, but NextVR is uniquely equipped to do live VR video. The company uses the same crew, gear, and processes to broadcast one live NBA game each week. They useeight camera rigs, hopbetween camera angles, and include onscreen graphics and play-by-play announcers.

We aren’t talking 360 video, either. There’s no confusion about where to look, as NextVRs rigs use a 180-degree field of view to record only the action in front of them. The hardware is more 3-D camera than VR camera, with processing tricks that add depth and boost the sense ofrealism. Each double-barrel RED rig captures 6K video for each eye. That’s tens of millions more pixels than any headset can display now, but NextVR wants to future-proof its content.

The result represents the dawn of a new kind of VR video, an experience that truly combines the best parts of watching a game on TV and being in the stadium.

Monster Truck

Tim Moynihan

The on-field cameras each use a pair of super wide-angle 8mm lenses to send two fisheye views of the action to the production truck, where the producers watch it on the monitors. You’ll find several Gear VR headsets in the truck, but no one is wearing them during a game. They’re there just so the crew and on-air talent can give the NFL VR experience a spin before blasting it out to the masses later on.With the NBA, it just goes out live,” Earl says.

The barrier to live NFL coverage goes beyond inking deals. The execution is already as polished as anything you’ll see on TV, but NextVR is still feeling its way through some details of shooting sports. Something as simple as panning is a no-no, because it may make peoplesick. Zooming is also off-limits, as it chops off the field of view. Both limitations make it tough to capture fast breaks in the NBA and long bombs in the NFL. When switching between cameras, NextVR producers favor a slow fade between angles, often when the action slows down.

The company has optimized its NFL field coverage by mountingcameras under each crossbar, placing manned cameras on the sideline of each end zone, and having four camera operatorsroam the sidelines. The setup favors action in the red zone overplays between the 30s, where each team has its bench. “The hard part about doing football is that with the 8mm cameras, you need the action to come to you,” Earl says. It’s a bit easier with basketball, where most of the action happens in front of the NextVR camera under each hoop. Anything that happens, we have a great angle of it,” he says.

That said, NextVR is all but ready to flip the switch on live football. The crew essentially produces complete games already, they just don’t broadcast them.The reason we do the NFL highlights the way we do it is because we want it to be exactly the same, says VP of content Danny Keens. We dont want there to be any loss of quality, any loss of resolution, any of that stuff. Itd be easier to just piece that show together and record it bit by bit. But we go start to finish and do live graphics and replays in real-time.

3D + VR = OMFG

VR is only now moving into the mainstream, but NextVR has been at it for two years. What started as a simple one-camera setup at midcourt during an exhibition game evolved into the current multi-camera setup with all the fixins. Earlier thisyear, NextVR announced it would carrylive NBA gameseach Tuesday as part of NBA League Pass. It marked a huge step forward for virtual reality.

For the first time ever, we announced a production schedule, says company CEO Dave Cole. We had more than 500 hours of live VR production under our belt before the NBA deal, but they were all one-off productions. Thats not the type of thing you can get viewers to schedule. I liken it to going to Best Buy and buying a television and the salesperson saying, ‘Well, theres probably going to be a broadcaster for this device someday.

NextVR’s secret sauce is its3-D effects, which date toits origin in 2009 developing 3-D television transmission tech. The company’s video-compression technology shrinks files by removing redundancies between each rig’sleft camera and right camera. Because that process involves detecting the edges of objects in a scene, the same technology can create wireframe replicas of everything the camerasshoot. When the video is rendered in a VR headset, it overlays stereoscopic video on top of those wireframes, creating the illusion of volume. It’s a mix of video and video-game tech.

It sends a hugely impactful message to your brain that youre actually in this environment, Cole says. Right now, the mesh, the number of vertices in the wireframe is quite low. In the next generation camera, which is rolling out in the middle of the season for the NBA, we are quadrupling the resolution of that mesh. That sense of presence is what were amping up.

Hacking Your Memory

NextVR outpaces the VR competition with the quality of its tech and scale of its deals, but it’s already eager to refine the experience. We will have done our job right when people cant remember whether they actually went to the game or watched it on NextVR, Cole says. I think thats an achievable goal.

Crazy as it sounds, that actually could be an achievable goal. At least in part. My answer to whether or not that could be possible is … sort of, says Julia Shaw, a memory expert, criminal psychologist, and author ofThe Memory Illusion. Shaw hasn’t studiedVR’s effect on memory, but she has successfully implanted false memories into the brains of test subjects.Because our memories are unreliable, convincing VR experiences could fool our brains. But only to an extent.

“Reality is multi-sensory,” she says. “When youre looking at something, no matter how high-def it is, if you dont have things like proprioception, your sense of space, you dont have smells, you dont have taste, you dont have temperature. These are things that we generally rely upon as markers to let us know weve experienced something instead of just imagined it.

So if Cole is serious about taking NextVR to that level, he’ll have to figure out how to infuse the experience with a lot more sensory input. Things like smart thermostats synced to the action and stadium-smell simulators.

VRs Biggest Challenges

NextVR has some more important technical hurdles to clear first, but they likely won’t be barriers for long. You can only watch its programming on the Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream, but Cole hints you’ll see NextVR on PlayStation VR soon.1 And NextVR is talking with other sports leagues and entertainment companies about getting more content in the pipeline. Cole says 4k-capable phones will make the viewing experience that much better within the next year, and 5G connectivity will make accessing content easier on mobile devices.

NextVR

All of this begs the obvious question: Willviewers embraceVR as a first screen option for sports? Already, watching a game on NextVR is a better eyeball experience than watching it on TV. But here’s the thing: VR is a solitary pursuit, one that requires clamping a headset on. Watching sports is a social endeavor, one that revolves as much around the camaraderie of the experience as it does the game itself.

So there are compelling reasons to strap on a VR headset to watch a game, but it’ll likely only happen if you’re home alone. Duncan Stewart, director of technology research for Deloitte Canada, says the solitary viewing experience is just one mainstream adoption barrier. According to his research, a few trends are shaking out in these pioneer days of VR: The medium still appeals primarily to males, hard-core gamers, and those with deep pockets. Deloitte’s global surveys show that more than 95 percent of people dont own a VR device and arent interested in buying one.

“There are indeed some people who are interested enough in the VR perspective to watch sports and wear a device on their head that blocks out their wife or husband, kids, parents, friends, pets and smartphone for hours at a time,” Stewart says. “But not many.”

There are other impediments, not the least of which is VR’sillusion of immersion is shattered every time you need to use the bathroom or grab a snack. And then there’s the simple fact that watching a game isn’t as simple as flipping on the TV, popping open a beer, and flopping down on the couch. You’ve gotta hook up the gear, launch the app, and find the content. NextVR’s incredible videos may represent the future of VR, but sports fans may determine the future of NextVR.

1UPDATE 12/12/2016 at 5 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to include information about NextVR’s recent launch on Google Daydream VR.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/the-nfls-new-vr-highlights-take-football-to-a-whole-new-level/

[my9inctravelblog]

DISCLAIMER-The opinions expressed in this post are my own. We reserve the right to change or modify any of the site, posts, pages, terms, and conditions. Your continued use of these Sites following the posting of changes or modifications will confirm your acceptance of such changes or modifications. My9incTravelBlog undertakes no responsibility to update or review any Third Party Content found this site or in any of our sites. Thank You for your understanding.

Check Out My9inc Top Posts

Are you not making any money on your blog, frustrated with your instgram unfollowers, and Pinterest doesn’t make sense to you? You know tons of bloggers are killing it on Instagram, Pinterest, but you just can’t seem to figure it out. In this detailed guide, You will learn exactly how to make money through blog step-by-step.

Forget all that mumbo jumbo you got fed on social media and sites follow this instrustion to the latter unless you are a guru, then you best follow through-

This is not some pro- blogger, guru, high-level technical mumbo jumbo about robots.tx, canonical URLs, disavow files, and other stuff you don’t understand, strugling to remember, dont care about and won’t help you and a newbie who doesnt know jack!

Instead, you’re going to see what SEO is all about on a practical and easy-to-understand level.

Like I mentioned in my previous posts at the end of the day: SEO is hard for newbies but not as hard after you know a thing or two about it.

So if you’re looking to brush up on your SEO skills and knowledge, you’ll love this guide. And perhaps share the post and buy me coffee.

Let’s begin!

NEWBIE BLOGGER

Please this post might be modified for better user feel, dont fret, just going to make it better!

WHAT IS A BLOG?

——> Definition Of Blog

What Is A Blog?

– A Blog is an abbreviation that is widely used, but the original term is a weblog. A blog is actually not much more than a place on the internet where articles are regularly posted. Such a place can be a special blog platform like WordPress.com, but often a blog is a regular website where news is regularly posted. Blogging one of the most popular hobbies.

A blog can contain images and video as well as text. A reader can leave a comment under a blog post. The articles YOU ARE READING NOW is called a weblog or blog posts or post. But how does a blog or blog work exactly and what is its use for your company or private life?

The origin of blogs

Blogs or weblogs were first a sort of diary on the web in the early days of the internet. They were often used as a travel report. Because they were online, it was an ideal way to keep the home front or friends informed about the trip. It is similar to a logbook on ships. In such a logbook the captain keeps the trip daily. Also, a mum who prefers to work from home blog about their life and including book writers eventually it became popular then as a source of income as well. Now let’s get back to why you are here in the first place, shall we?.

How many blogs are there?

No precise or objective figures are available as people post every day. The figures ranging from 150 million to as many as 400 million blogs, out of some 980 million (or more) websites on the Internet and still counting.

There are lots of blogs out there that continue to exist online but have effectively been abandoned by their owners for years, many blogs get abandoned just three or four months after launch. The blog stays online, unremoved, undeleted, but otherwise dead in reality. There are over 1.5 million new posts daily, so that must mean quite a lot of blogs are still alive out there.

Most blogs searched queries:

In this post, we will be concentrated on key areas. I will try to provide easy guide and possible tips to all the listed questions, of course, with time and in-depth research, I shall do a post on them all as we go along. For now, let’s concentrated on question 1 and 2

How to start a blog *

 Beginners Guide For Pinterest, Instagram​ And Blo*

How a newbie can start a blog without much experience *

How do I start a luxury travel blog without much money?

How do people travel around the world if they’re not rich? Can people get a part-time job with a travel visa so they can work while traveling?

How to start a blogging business?

What’s the best way to travel the world?

How do people travel around the world if they’re not rich? Can people get a part-time job with a travel visa so they can work while traveling?

How do bloggers get paid to travel the world?

Blogging isn’t Nike -Just Do It thing! it has become way more complicated and increasingly difficult for newbies to grab, but not entirely impossible to achieve. Here are beginners guides and Tips for Newbie Bloggers, Instagram and Pinterest Beginner on how to grow their social media and blogs scattered all over the internet but what’s you should be weary of is too much information becuase it can be dangerously misleading and one could end up more confused.

You are probably thinking aloud by now how do we get started then? Good question!

Every Professional Will Tell You To Follow This Tips To:

Sign up and Register for a blog

Add your site to Google Search Console

Add you site to Adsense

Add your site to Pinterest

Add your site to Yandex

Add your site to Bing

Ping Your Site

Grow Your Pinterest Visibility

In other to Increase Your Instagram Followers (Unless you plan to buy followers, you should make time to grow your followers)*

Increase Your Blog Visibility and Brand Awareness*

Builds Dofollow Backlinks

How to Turn Your Blog Visitors into Paying Customers*

How To Engage With Your Social*

Increase your blog followers and Hits

Check Your SEO Follow Instructions For Optimization

Increase Your Site Traffic*

make time to grow your followers)*

Increase Your Facebook Like (Unless you plan to buy followers, you should make time to grow your followers)*

Overwhelming Right?, I know, I am afraid it is the only way to get your content and blog seen. But look on the bright side whether it’s a luxury travel blog, foodie blog, book blog, event planning blog etc, you really don’t need that much money to set it up – it’s the hard work, trips that cost more, still as explained in my previous post blogging isn’t a rocket science

How To Sign up and Register A Blog

Starting a blog can be very low-cost if you choose the right platform and tools. That being said, sign up with free WordPress.com or pick self-hosted WordPress, Blogger, Wix site and choose a domain name, next chose a hosting provider (if you are all set to buy a domain name), ortherwise use the free blogger or wordpress.com, work on your contents, choose a travel-related theme and start from there. It’s the very basics.

When Signing up for your Blog please learn more about how to set up a blog here

All in all, it should cost $120-$150, after the initial price, you renew the domain name and hosting plan each year, which is half the total price.

The next thing to do is decide on the topics, the overall travel blog strategy, content creation, bog promotion and that kind of stuff. In addition to that, I recommend reading all the link articles listed at the end of this post. Go ahead and:

Sign up and Register for a blog

Add your site to Google Search Console

Add your site to Pinterest

Add your site to Yandex

Add your site to Bing

Ping Your Site

Stay Focused, Be Inspired, Work Harder, Go For It And Don’t Look Back!

Once you have done all that, you should be posting and sharing your posts. Before you go oh, this process is too long and defficult!!. I hate to be the one to break it to you there is no shortcut or easy way to success, but there is always a way to get there through hard work, dedication and persistence!

Yes; lots of people who buy fake follower, sugar coat their blogs, pride themselves on being successful, but even them did some hard work too.  Of every social media post you see online, one in every ten of them is a blog, some are even a few weeks or months old that’s how much blogs are sprouting up like mushrooms!! whats more those who have already made it are also competing with followers and audience, its a never ending cycle once you are in, get ready to do the race!

Do not despair and don’t worry your beautiful self, I am here to encourage and share a few techniques I have learned about my journey as a fellow blogger. I will also share some stories of how I had to deal with Instagram and Twitter unfollowers, perhaps you have been dealing with them too.

Yes; you will find inspiring posts telling you how to grow your blog but not one of them will give you the complete package free of charge, and so you will be directed to link after link, link after link until you end up giving up or eventually buying their products. Well, I have got good news for you whatever I learn I will share to help you, especially for those who can’t afford to pay for the costly SEO optimization plugins. Why don’t we go straight to the point?

Patience!

If you haven’t subscribed to my blog posts yet, now is the time to do that, and if you are here for the first time, I am delighted to have you on board.  Subscribe to My9incTravelBlog by Email

In my previous post about 12 Ways How To Review And Improve Blog SEO For Newbies ?   I provided great tips for you, so go on and run a test on your site then come back here and finish reading the post or you can do it the other way as you wish.

I made a promise to assist newbie bloggers and especially those who cannot afford to pay to get their site tweaked. Well, I did some research and it turns out to be helpful for those who tried it. And now, having come across several posts about newbies desperately seeking for help on the social media, one thing was strange very few people responded and those who cared to explain further were busy urging them to pay for the service to which they are asking help for.

I decided to do something about it or at least fulfill my promise.

So here we are again, I urge you not to quit just yet. Your day will come and you will be thankful that you didn’t succumb to that negative voice inside your head, telling you-you can’t do it.

Again before you go, I am so new to this!- what, does it matter? Working round the clock and constantly researching for a way to grow a successful business outfit may not pay off immediately especially if you are just starting, and even if you are doing it right it might take some time to start yielding results so do not to give up. This is not the case of the blind leading the blind. Before I did this post I have done my research for this post at least to the extent necessary!

Let’s Begin,

Pinterest For Beginners

Hmmm, in other to grow your Pinterest you must first learn the basics and the best way to do so is by no other than by the site Pinterest Beginners Guide 

By the way have you been thrashing your work? You could be thrashing the best posts ever made!

Conduct a research within your recycles bin or paper thrash can!

First, go straight to the recycle bin to reopen that scribbled posts you threw away in frustration, yep go get it, now read it again, does it make sense to you now?

We sometimes throw away the best piece of our work in anger or frustration until someone else discovers them for you or steal them and put them to good use, don’t lose your hard work!

When I started I usually scribble some notes or good points I thought will make sense, then throw them away in frustration when I couldn’t bring it together until one day I made a huge discovery. I was going through my notepad when I stumbled upon a beautiful piece I wrote and when I took my time to read it all over again, it gave me a new idea of how best I could make it better and before you know it, out came a beautiful post!

People want information–make it interesting and they will pay attention. Make it really compelling, and they might even keep it around for a while, but make is complicated they will simply give it a try a little and dump it to look elsewhere for a more basic and easier information. Get the drill?

Back to Pinterest beginners guide-

PINTEREST BEGINNER

If you still think Facebook and Twitter are the coolest and end-all of social media marketing tools, you best think again.

Now, say hello to your SEO friend  – Pinterest!

Yup, Pinterest pins are 1000 times more spreadable than a tweet. If you don’t have an account already, or if your account is personal, you’re going to need to sign up for a Pinterest Bussiness account.

Pinterest can be used to create a share and engage space for your blog, such as youtube or blog, displaying your products and creating an idea of what your business or blog is all about. Your pin’s success relies on creating ‘pinnable’ images that other users will want to repin such as travel photos, foodies recipes, weddings ideas, Blogging tips, DIY crafts ideas, and interior designs etc. But before you start, make sure you claim your site. Copy the given code in Pinterest follow the instructions and past in your site. Also, make sure your blog or business has a social media account such as Facebook and Instagram, Twitter etc, you will need to connect your accounts to your Pinterest accounts this is a good way to increase your reach and engagement.

Make sure you verify your account!

Verifying your account is a good way to gain authority and build trust. When Pinterest users see that little red check mark next to your website, they know you’re legit.

You can verify your website in the settings section by adding a meta tag. This will give you a verification badge, and you’ll be official. If you choose not to verify your site, you can still include a link to your site on your page, but you won’t be able to use Pinterest Analytics. About that, hmmm, ok, to me one of the best features on Pinterest is the super helpful Pinterest Analytics. Although this feature is only for business accounts and allows you to see: All the stuff happening on your account behind your back!. To get this feaur,e just regiter your pinterest as a business account.

Also, You Can Apply For Pinterest Promoted Pins-Business

Pinterest promoted pins offers a simple advertising platform for all your business needs. Just sign up to a Pinterest account and get your promotions going. To start off, you will need to select a pin that you want to use to promote your brand or blog posts. Next, you will set your goals and then you will choose your audience -potential pinners as explained above.

Make your site images pinnable so people can pinnit. Also create boards and pins on your pinterest with clear sharp photos using a longer title and description. Remember no one is going to find your pin if you don’t optimise it for engagement.

The easiest way to explain it is that Pinterest is a one-stop shop for bloggers business and brands, in fact, in essence, Pinterest is a shoutout platform for your blog, brand or business. Over the year Big and small businesses have keyed in on the many benefits that Pinterest can offer including:

Expansion and growth

Increased visibility and brand awareness

Builds dofollow backlinks- (I did a post about this find it below)

Increased your Sales

High Social engagement

Powerful SEO

Increased Traffic

Increase in sales and services

INSTAGRAM

Increase Your Instagram Followers (Unless you plan to buy followers, you should make time to grow your followers)*

If you’re just starting out on Instagram, posting photos can be pretty depressing. When all your excitement and hard work are met by nothing more than few likes from a handful of followers, it’s easy to get discouraged, even if you know the drill.

How To Grow Your Instagram Followers 

I am pretty sure it is everyone’s dream to hit 1 million like per day with a social network with over 800 million people that not asking for too much. Either way, you need at least 100k followers before brands will start to take you seriously. Be focused just because you haven’t reach 1k subscribers and hits, let alone a 100k does not mean you can’t get there, me neither, I couldn’t care less either, even though I am not running a super blog on a hosted domain, either way I did this post becuase it could help someone out there who is struggling and almost giving on blogging. So cheer up, you could be on your way to becoming a pro-blogger sooner than you think. Just follow this tips, I am doing the same too, and bottom line is you got nothing to loss!

Cool easy tips you can try:

Guest posting

This will always work for you and has been helping bloggers grow. Get on online and search for any industry or any blog, next share your experiences, tips, and tricks, posts that are useful and helpful are most sought after, so post something useful.

Cool Hashtags You Can Use For Instagram Posts

#coolblogs #photography #instablogs #blogger #timepost #wanderlust #instagood #photooftheday #vacation #nature #travelgram #love #blogging #postoftheday #photography #like #amazing #instagram #countrye #my #picoftheday #beautiful #architecture #mywork #cool #follow #o #view #instadaily #blogposts

 Forums Posts

There are forums dedicated to bloggers. Join them and repeat the process from Facebook. Eventually, you’ll be seen as an expert and people will naturally gravitate towards your website and possibly connect.

Sadly, it’s only when you have enough traffic and engagement that brands will consider working with you. But look on the brighter side, that should be your motivating factor! Every brand has different guidelines so you’ll have to be proactive once you think have what it takes or you’re big enough to blow their minds.

YouTube

Please keep this in mind unless you are willing to maintain your Youtube, You will find it quite useful as this is another great medium to grow your audience and command a premium for working with cool brands out there. The process of promoting Youtube account is also similar to Blog posts but keep in mind that all your videos must have good clear audio and should be of high in quality to keep people coming back.

Facebook groups

Facebook has been spammed badly, lots of people who are now using facebook are mostly spammers the key is to apply the correct technique because Facebook is  still a goldmine of traffic although badly mined. Unless you are ready to part with your monies for Facebook ads, instead do this before joining and dropping your link you  will have to join and participate in the groups-choose group relating to your blog genre and follow their rules for posting. Help others, share insights, follow, like and leave good comments. Every now and then, let them know about a new post you just published.

How To Tweak Your Blo

Write and SEO-Friendly, and Engaging, Headline

Your headline may be the most important part of your post. According to research, eight out of ten people will only read a headline, and won’t even bother to click through to the full post, which underlines the importance of getting it right. The first time I started blogging I messed up big time, and did all sort of hurtful things to my posts, but all that will be corrected as time goes on, I have been studying and doing my due deligence. In other words, it doest matter how messed up your blog is,  good or bad you are going to do something about it, at least that is what matters, time and research will solve that problem did I add patient, yup, that too. Don;t beat yourself up, follow through with this posts. I also added external links to other sites to help you learn more and get it right.

Headlines Strategy For Bloggers

One great strategy for headlines is to think about the various needs of your reader – what problem are you solving for them with your blog post and it is worth their while? The most common Google searches are people like you and me looking for fast, easy solutions to solve their problems – look to address that focus head-on with your headline. So the next time you pick up a topic make sure it is helpful to other too.

Proofread

Read over your text to spot any errors – then do it again. Then, if you can, ask someone else to do the same. As for me am still proof reading, I used grammerly but found out that there are still errors on my posts here and there. The trick is to run a weekely proof reading on all your posts, overwelming right? I know, alternatively if you are leveled-up I mean (loaded) why not pay for that service, proof readers gotta eat too!. By the way if you spot any on my post why not be a sweetheart and whisper it to me here

Perform A Free Website Speed Test

Ping your site with Pingomatic

Perform a site Speed Test 

To get advanced SEO optimization for your blog find the link to SEM & SEO at the end of the post.

Tips:

– Always use good filters in all your pictures

– Use storytelling in your captions

-Again Keep working harder.

-Follow your followers do not unfollow

– Whenever you can use a mix of videos and images for your posts

– Create Instagram stories so people can follow your day to day Activities

– Repost from followers and popular accounts it gives people a sense of

– Post-high-quality pictures (you knew that already)

– Post often (at least once a day)

– Post consistently-not spam

– Communicate with influencers to like your content

– Research and use popular and not so popular hashtags, also share to increase your Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest Followers reach.

– Create a color theme for your profile.

WHY I LOVE TO TALK ABOUT OTHER’S POSTS AND SHARE THEIR WORK?

Have you ever been at a social gathering and met someone who seems to self-proclaimed themselves to be the most interesting well-achieved professional man or woman in the world? I bet nobody will like to spend another second with that kind of person — after a few seconds of conversation anyone stuck talking to them will suddenly do the following:

-A sudden need to visit the loo,

-Spots a “friend” they haven’t seen in ages across the room

-Or just suffers through by downing conversation

That brings us back to blogging, as we strive to keep up with the constant need to, end up obsessed about ourselves in our tweets, our blogs, and our Facebook posts.

I recommend sharing a few blogs you like and also help give them a shout out. I do this almost all the time. Of course, the process of growing your blog or social media handle does take some effort and time, but like most things in life that are worth it, don’t’ always come easy. The good news is you are ready, up and kicking  your way to success!!.

I continue to work on my blog, I tweak and try to do as much as I can to improve the hit rates and SEO optimization including speed check, at the moment it is low, so we are in the same shoes, still I am working on it. However, I am more concentrated on creating better helpful contents. Also I recently changed the look of my blog for more user friendly and accessibility. Do you like the new look? I want to hear from you, please share your thoughts.

I hope this post inspires you to know your worth, go ahead and make things happen. If you don’t ask you’ll never know.

I look forward to reading comments on how you improved your site, blog, social media and how you landed a deal to collaborate and partnered with cool brands. If you like this post pin it, share it or leave me a nice sweet comment!

As for me, I look forward to emailing some hotels and resorts in West Africa requesting to do a review on their services! Am saving for this trip!!

Links I promised-

CHOOSE YOUR CAREER PATH WISELY

SEO OPTIMIZATION FOR NEWBIE BLOGGERS

SEO TITLE GENERATOR

UPCOMING POSTS!!!

Coming Soon-

-What is Your Tea Culture?

Brief Post Intro-

Japanese Tea Culture-Coming Soon

Tea culture is defined by the way tea is made and consumed, by the way the people interact with tea, and by the aesthetics surrounding tea drinking. It includes aspects of tea production, tea brewing, tea arts and ceremony, society, history, health, ethics, education, and communication and media issues.

The Japanese tea ceremony, also called the Way of Tea, is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha, powdered green tea. In Japanese, it is called chanoyu or sadō, chadō, while the manner in which it is performed, or the art of its performance, is called temae.-(Source)-Wiki

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Tea are known to boost immunity, increase fetility and maintain general health. Scientists have found that the catechins–antioxidants in green tea extract increase the body’s ability to burn fat as fuel, which accounts for improved muscle endurance also, drinking tea could help reduce the risk of heart attack but do not exceed 4-5 cups per day. Tea might also help protect against cardiovascular and degenerative diseases. Drinking the tea every day will actually help prevent IBS bloating and gas in the first place, if you’re suffering from common Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms-IBS fennel tea will help relieve them. Also Peppermint tea is great too – Peppermint is one of the oldest of herbs and has been around for ages. Chamomile tea not only reduces stress and anxiety, but it also helps treat insomnia. Just like peppermint tea, chamomile tea has great benefits in relaxing the muscles and reducing irritability.

How to fix- Dry chamomile, add 3-4 tablespoons in 8 ounces of boiling water, boil for a sec and serve.

6 Healthy benefits of tea:

Tea may help with weight loss.

Tea may help protect your bones.

Tea may keep you sleep better.

Tea contains antioxidants.

Tea has less caffeine than coffee

Tea may reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke

Tea may boost your immunity

Shop now: Shop SPF essentials at everyday low prices from Walmart.comSupport healthier habits with wellness essentials available at Walmart.com

I can wait to do this next post!

Do you have A Question?

Don’t be shy, remember if you don’t ask how would you know?

Well if you won’t ask here’s my question:

Am I missing something  vital out?

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Thank You for stopping by,

I love you all but Jesus loves you more!

Bye for Toodles,

My9incTravelBlog

    This blog contains affiliate links. If you click one of them, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you-(for which I am deeply grateful).

  ©M9incTravelBlog2020

Best Easiest Beginner’s Guide For SEO, Bloggers, Pinterest, And Instagram For You Learn More DISCLAIMER-The opinions expressed in this post are my own. We reserve the right to change or modify any of the site, posts, pages, terms, and conditions.

[theconservativebrief]

A longtime Republican member of Congress is retweeting Nazis and arguing in interviews that Somali Muslims shouldn’t be permitted to work in meatpacking plants in his district — and no GOP official appears to want to publicly challenge him.

The Republican is Rep. Steve King, an Iowan congressman who has served in the House of Representatives since 2003. He has a lengthy history of racist remarks that seem to go largely undiscussed by his fellow Republicans.

Even the speaker of the House, who was more than happy to ask another member of his chamber to apologize for comments made at a rally, has denounced King’s comments only through his press secretary. The spokesperson said, “The Speaker has said many times that Nazis have no place in our politics, and clearly members should not engage with anyone promoting hate.”

Lately conservatives are trying to pivot to a discussion of “civility” after White House press secretary Sarah Sanders was asked to leave a Virginia restaurant on Friday because the owner disagreed with the administration’s policies. Yet King’s race-baiting and coy references to white nationalism remain “just kind of white noise,” according to a Republican who tried to challenge him in a 2016 primary.

But why?

Steve King’s love of far-right sound bites isn’t new. In fact, in his estimation it’s the very foundation for his political career and even served as the basis of his first run for office. As Talking Points Memo detailed in a 2014 profile of King:

During the (Iowa Senate) campaign, he stumbled upon his signature issue in the legislature: English as the official language. He remembers the moment, down to the exact date. During an October 10, 1996 fundraiser at Yellow Smoke Park sponsored by then-Governor Terry Branstad, a Republican, he made the speech that shaped his political future. “I was running through my topics and I said, ‘And I believe English should be the official language of the state of Iowa.’ And it just brought the house down. There was this huge applause,” King says. “I knew how strongly I believed in it. But I didn’t know how strongly they believed in it.”

Kings remarks came at a time of increased concern among Iowans over demographic change within their state resulting from immigrants arriving to work in factories and on farms. Such concern ended up giving populist and anti-immigrant sentiment real clout.

In fact, the same year that King gave his “English should be the state language” speech, paleoconservative nativist Patrick Buchanan was hosting rallies about an hour’s car drive north of Iowa’s Yellow Smoke Park, saying very much the same, as the New York Times reported in February 1996:

Meanwhile, at a restaurant next door to the motel, Patrick J. Buchanan spoke at a noontime rally this month and sought out a local newspaper reporter to denounce a local meat-packing plant for hiring what he said were illegal aliens. Then, he demanded that English be designated the United States’ official language.

Within the House of Representatives, King’s role is relatively small; his only leadership position is on the Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on the Constitution and civil justice. And he’s not particularly popular among mainstream Republicans. One conservative writer described him to me as “marginal.” Another commentator and pundit told me that King was “a joke” and “a stupid asshole.”

But all this and King’s nativist rhetoric have not prevented him from becoming an incredibly important figure among conservatives. As National Review wrote in 2015, “The outspoken congressman commands tremendous influence among conservatives who agree with his staunch stances on immigration, abortion, and same-sex marriage, especially in his western Iowa district.”

And his endorsement — and the Iowa Freedom Summit where Republican presidential candidates tried to impress him — played a massive role in the Iowa’s 2016 Republican presidential primary (though many Republicans didn’t particularly enjoy it.)

But most Republicans, particularly those in the Midwest, have not embraced nativist politics — and white supremacist politics — to the extent that King has, particularly over the last decade.

King keeps a small version of the Confederate flag on his desk. (Never mind that Iowa was a Union state during the Civil War.) In 2008 King said that if Barack Hussein Obama won the presidency, “The radical Islamists, the al Qaeda … would be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on Sept. 11 because they would declare victory in this war on terror.” He later explained that they would supposedly do so because of Obama’s middle name.

In 2016 King filed an amendment to block efforts to place the image of abolitionist luminary Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill. He criticized “liberal activism on the part of the president that’s trying to identify people by categories, and he’s divided us on the lines of groups.” And in 2017, he said in an interview he predicted that Hispanics and blacks would be fighting one another before nonwhite Americans surpass white Americans in population. (During that same interview, he recommended Steve Bannon’s favorite and extremely racist book The Camp of the Saints.)

And of course, there have been the tweets.

Diversity is not our strength. Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, “Mixing cultures will not lead to a higher quality of life but a lower one.” https://t.co/ZlMXzcc87w

— Steve King (@SteveKingIA) December 8, 2017

Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny. We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies. https://t.co/4nxLipafWO

— Steve King (@SteveKingIA) March 12, 2017

The day after his March 12 tweet about Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders (which King repeatedly defended), the neo-Nazi website Daily Stormer said that King was “basically a white nationalist at this point.”

On Monday, King retweeted British neo-Nazi Mark Collett, a frequent collaborator of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.

In a June interview with CNN, King said that the retweet hadn’t been intentional, but he wouldn’t be deleting it, “because then it’d be like I’m admitting that I did something, now I’m sorry about it. I’m not sorry. I’m human.”

The Republican response to King has been muted, to say the least. When King tweeted about “someone else’s babies,” Speaker Paul Ryan said that he “would like to think he misspoke.”

And even in the midst of the ongoing conversation about civility among members of the GOP, especially in reaction to Rep. Maxine Waters’s statements at a rally that have been widely condemned by Republicans and some Democrats, Republicans have remained quiet about King’s continued comments.

When I spoke to Jay Cost, a conservative writer and historian who writes for National Review and the Weekly Standard, he said that the reason for the Republican silence on King was simple: It’s easier, and better for Republicans.

“Republicans making hay out of the [Maxine Waters] thing advances the goal of electing more Republicans, while focusing on King impedes it,” he told me. And Cost added that the situation presented by King was similar to that of Ron Paul, a former Republican member of Congress and Libertarian Party candidate: There is little Republican leaders can do to control someone who’s a giant pest but who hasn’t technically broken any rules of the chamber.

“There is virtually nothing they can do about King, anyway, even if they wanted to (and they probably would like to),” Cost said. “Leadership has certain strings they can pull with their members, but not as many as they’d like us to think.”

And despite King’s rhetoric, he keeps winning elections in a Iowa district that’s still quite conservative and still very worried about immigration. In 2016 one potential Democratic challenger to King even dropped out, after claiming to have received death threats. Nonetheless, King does have a Democratic challenger in 2018: a former professional baseball player named J.D. Scholten.

For now, Steve King has no reason not to tweet. And there’s no reason for Republicans to stop him — and they’re not going to try.

Original Source -> Steve King is a racist, and conservatives don’t want to talk about it

via The Conservative Brief

[beyondthebarricadephotos]

Personal Update

Hiiiiiiiiiii……….. iiiI have absolutely no idea how to start this, but i guess the beginning is a pretty good start.

(Im not gonna lie i am absolute shit when it comes to talking about things in my life especially my health but im trying to work on that and hopefully use it to help educate in the future)

Il'l be honest this last year and a half-two years has been rough, no one ever tells you the sheer difference between just knowing about something and coming to terms with it being reality.

Growing up we always knew i had ADHD and even got that tested/medicated very quickly. But we also always knew i had Autism to some degree, unfortunately living in the south in the late 90s there weren’t many people willing to test/label a girl with that (things are ass backwards down here what can i say). What they don’t realize is its essentially social suicide by not getting me tested then because being the outcast of the outcast and not be able to offer explanations that does thing to people. But, At least we knew about it early on because i was able to do my own research over time and even found ways to work with people on the spectrum to better understand my own problems.

Now flash forward to the summer in between my 2nd and 3rd year of college, i can’t explain it but its like reality was playing catch up to the point that the DAY before my junior year was supposed to start I dropped out. Although i will admit at the time my reasoning was because of my mom having surgery and someone need to keep an eye on her for a bit. What I didn’t know however was giving my mind room to breathe finally would start sort of a domino effect of problems.

So now lets jump to the spring of 2016. I’ve had a lot going on both mentally and physically my whole life (especially right now) but for some reason one night as im sitting at a music festival camera in hand waiting on the main act to start i look around and for the first ever I felt like i was at home. You’d think that’d be a good thing right? Almost but not quite. Following that little realization i FINALLY got someone to get me tested and sure enough right in the middle of summer not even a week after Warped Tour, i got the answers I’d been waiting ages for. Not only did we finally have definitive diagnosis of Level 1 ASD we also found several things that had been lurking in my minds shadows (i.e. More anxiety, depression, insomnia, bi-polar, slight manic) which was fine but also felt like the entire floor had ripped out from under me with no warning.

Now, Ive dealt with depression off/on my whole life but it is TERRIFYING to be in an all out mental free fall and not even be aware of it at first. Im not even joking when i say i felt like i was going insane. I can say now though that I completely get why people love New Years. After months of trying to understand things and recalibrate meds we’d finally found a combo that works, and even driving that point home with me having a huge mental break through happened on New Years eve. As im typing this right now i can tell you my mental state is miles better than it was at the beginning of this year, theres still a lot of work to be done on my end but my self awareness and recognition has increased exponentially for someone late to the show here.

Oh, But wait! Theres more……….

Remember me saying there were physical problems occurring too? Well, around late 2015-all of 2016 I started having intestinal issues again which as someone who’s had ulcers before thats not something you want to feel again, ever. Except it wasn’t ulcers and after a shit ton of test we did determine it wasn’t my gallbladder either (s/o to my genetics), in the end it just kind of got chalked up to anxiety considering i had also been dealing with what we had thought was the start of TMJ (thanks mom).

And really that was pretty much the running theory up until February of this year happened. When i tell you my body has impeccable timing im beyond serious because literally TWO DAYS before my umptienth visit with the oral surgeon my jaw……well long story short, my jaw had been partially dislocating itself for a year until it finally just decided popped back into place on its own. Which yeah great that answers that problem, but the gut issues han only gotten significantly worse at this point. Spareing some details and numerous appointments, about mid spring this year we found out I actually have what is known as Auto-immune Pancreatitis, Sounds bad right? Because it is. Sad part is it would’ve been found a lot sooner too if it wasn’t for my almost inhuman pain tolerance. Even funnier is both EDS (associate with my jaw problem) and Pancreatitis are fairly common in Autistic and ADHD people (Story of my life at this point).

Were, still not done though!

Ontop of ALL of this ive also been getting significantly more frequent migraines, again not new in my life but it is something thats finally being paid proper attention to (kind of). Migraines aside, another problem being that my whole life i’ve always had a higher resting heat rate than most people, again very common in adhd people and athletes. Whats not common about it, is for my average to be 115bpm while sitting perfectly still and then jumping on its own all the way to 170bpm without me having moved an inch (bare in mind 115 for me is what 60 would be for most people so 170 is probably more like 130 in normal people).

Which bring me to the last couple of months here. Technical jargon and process aside we(my cardiologist) have fortunately found that it’s not a valve and it’s not a rythm problem but it is an electrical problem known as Sinus Tachycardia or laymens terms; my heart beats way to fast naturally and randomly speeds up on its own without any outside prompting. At this point in time the main goal is to figure the why i have some sort short circuit in my system and then the migraines and other things i haven’t mentioned can be dealt with.

And that “self tanner” photo (on insta), that is from me havin a LINQ montir placed in my chest so that my heart can be monitored 24/7. No i can’t feel it, yes i was awake, yes i mean my boob, no it doesn’t stay in forever it only has a battery life of about three years……

As for what this means in terms of the future of my photography: I’m not giving up on Beyond the Barricade I actually even have several ideas to make it so much better than what i originally had planned. But for right now i have to raise the caution flag and take a step back from basically everything in music. As much as i dont want too my health comes first and even if mentally im in a much better place physically its hard to even just get out bed most day and getting this sorted is my number one priority. Yeah, I might be down at the moment but i will be damned if i let life count me out. I’m still here I promise.

-JT

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/thiggy_/

[symbianosgames]

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

Midnight Hub is a Swedish indie studio run by former Mojang and Paradox developers. Right now we're hard at work with our story-driven mystery game Lake Ridden. Feel free to reach out on Twitter if you got any questions!

This post was originally posted on our developer blog, by our talented art director Erik Nilsson. By posting it here we hope to spread his advice on how to make a kickass art portfolio when applying for a games industry job! So, without further ado, here are Eriks' advice in his own words:

A few weeks back I found all of my usual artist work for Lake Ridden replaced by one thing: sorting through applications we had received for the available 3D artist intern position. We only had one spot but dozens of applications, so for me that meant portfolio reviews, meetings, emails and interviews all day long.

I really don’t mind it, I love looking at other people’s artwork, but as I began to dig into the pile of emails from students, one thing became clear to me: no one had taught them about presentation or what a good portfolio should look like. Almost all of the applications needed the same kind of pointers. 

An example of concept art for a "hero prop". This was actually the art test we sent some of the artist applying for the internship at Midnight Hub. Each enlarged item tells a story and shows that there is a thought out idea behind the prop.

Knowing how to create and present your portfolio when you apply to a game company, is just as important as having awesome 2D or 3D skills. If you have a badly presented portfolio you will struggle to find work.

This all left me very frustrated, portfolio creation should be a mandatory part of any game art education by now. You can't just teach people a software and then expect them to get jobs, they are competing with every other artist in the industry, or at least the country. And some of those other people certainly know how to present a portfolio.

So! In this blog post I have assembled a few tips on what I think every artist should take to heart, student or not, hopefully it will help some artists that are just now searching for their first game art job or internships. Get ready for some tough love!

Portfolios Are Really Important!

Your portfolio is king. As an artist it is the single most important information about yourself you can send to a company. Of course a short (like half a page max) personal letter is also important too: personality and teamwork is a vital part of game development after all. But as an Art Director, the first thing I will look at is your portfolio.

I don’t really care about your resume, it's always a nice bonus if you have some experience from another company, if you have shipped a title before, or are able show that you can work with other people. All that is great, but none of it matters if your portfolio is no good. As an AD I might have 50 other portfolios to review after yours, and unfortunately I don’t have the time to read a really long personal letter. If your portfolio is not interesting, an AD usually won’t bother with the other stuff.

Our producer Sara wrote a short blog post about on how to apply to a game company in general, check it out here.

Keep It Clean and Simple!

So, since ADs' and recruiters' time usually is very limited, you need to make their work as quick and easy as possible. I want to open an email, press a portfolio link and immediately see your three best pieces of artwork. One click, bam! Your best art right in front of my eyes! Don’t make me search through your email for the portfolio link, don’t make me wait for a long loading time, don’t make me download a plug-in that I might not have on my pad and never send me your portfolio as a zip. 

A robot concept from my own portfolio. As you can tell all the info you need is collected at one place, without any distractions. The contact info is included.

When I say a “good” portfolio I don’t necessarily mean a pretty looking one, don’t spend time decorating your website or blog with flashy fade effects or “cool” layouts. I am there to look at your impressive 3D models, not your pretty website, after all, I am not looking for a web-designer, right? A simple, neutral background color with a bunch of images and some contact info is all I need.

Always put your contact info somewhere at the top of every page in your portfolio, just make sure it’s not distracting me from your pretty pictures. Don’t send me just a demo-reel (unless you apply as animator), or a Sketchfab page. They are cool, but they take time to open and are usually a bit clunky. I want a portfolio page (with your reel on, if your an animator, Youtube embedding works fine). I really don’t want to open a Sketchfab window unless the model looks really cool. And they might not always give me the best first impressions of your artwork. Give me a portfolio with simple images so that I can quickly look at all of your art, even on a phone. Then give me the option to look closer through Sketchfab.

Website or Blog?

It will always look really cool if you have your own website, but today you usually don’t need one. A simple blog with your art on is often enough, or why not use Art Station? A lot of people do, it’s easy to use, clean and most ADs already know how it works. With that said, it does look a bit more professional with your own site.

What Should I Put In My Portfolio? 

When making art for your portfolio there are a few rules you should consider: 

1. Quality before quantity - You only want to show me the best images you got. If you are uncertain on a piece: drop it! Bad images might actually cast doubt on your best ones. I would much rather see five strong images than one good and fifteen mediocre or bad ones. Remember, my time is limited, if I only see three images make sure it’s your best work.

2. Generalist or specialist - Figure out what kind of company you want to work for. Or figure out what kind of work you want to do - large companies usually want people that can specialize.

If you love making every detail on a high poly rifle look kickass, but not much else, chances are you are more suited for a job at a big company. They have tons of people hired to work there and they are competing against the most advanced tech in the industry. Because of this, they would rather pay you for doing one thing amazingly awesome, than doing a lot of different things really well.

Small companies on the other hand (like we at Midnight Hub), usually don’t have the money or space to hire a lot of people, so for them it’s usually more important that you have a broad skillset. They can’t really hire you to only sit and do rifle parts all the time.

3. Adapting to what a company is looking for - If a company is looking to hire an environment artist it’s probably a really good idea for you to have some environment art in your portfolio.

You can’t always adapt your portfolio to everyone’s needs, but if you are really interested in applying for a specific position, and you don’t have anything close to that in your portfolio already, it might be a good idea to make a new piece just for that! For example, if you want to work as a character artist on The Division, try making a next gen post-apocalyptic survivor character for your portfolio before applying.

4. Presentation - Presentation of your art is key for your portfolio. A good model can easily look horrible with the wrong composition and/or lighting. If that’s the case it will also show the AD that you don’t understand these basic artistic concepts. But having good composition and lighting will not only show that you understand this, they can also help your art stand out from the crowd.

A nice 3D environment piece by my friend David Österlind. It tells a story and works great as a beauty shot. It also contains a fairly large amount of props and textures that can be shown in separate images along with their wireframes and maps. 

The same can be said for texture work and design, you want to find some way for your art to stick out from among the huge pile of other artist portfolios. Another really important thing to show in your presentation is workflow. For a 2D artist this can mean including thumbnails, sketches and variations under the final rendered design. For 3D artist you usually want to show one or two beauty shots, with a wireframe, maps, triangle count and maybe a few close-ups or in-game shots.

5. Storytelling in your presentation - Telling a story with your art is another great way to stand out. If you have a concept image of a character, try doing a few more concepts from the same world, maybe a monster, maybe a location, maybe the hero and the villain etc.

With 3D you can do the same thing, or maybe do an animation. If you made a cool tree, try putting it into a game engine, build a scene, light it, maybe add a few plants etc and try to tell a story about the location. Use that as a beauty shot and include another more technical image containing all of the props, maps, wireframes etc. Present your art in a context, rather than just as a bunch of separate images. This will show that you understand storytelling, workflow and pipelines, after all, this is probably how you would work at a real company! 

A few quick environment sketches i did a while back, they are all based on the small black thumbs and they are all set in the same world. This gives a context and a meaning when they are put together. This shows I have an understanding for the 2D workflow.

Time To Summarize!  

1. Portfolio is king. This is your single most important piece about yourself as an artist. Make it awesome!

2. Clean and simple. Art Station works fine. One click, bam! Your best art right in front of the art director's eyes.

3. Quality before quantity. When in doubt, don’t include the piece.

4. Adapt - what kind of games do you like making?

5. Presentation is 50% of the work. Include your items in a scene or put them together in exciting ways!

Thanks for the read and hope this helps! Feel free to ask me in the comments if you think I forgot something you consider important! Also, we managed to find a great 3D artist who will soon join the team, but more about that later. Now, go make some awesome art!   

- Erik