#post-secondary readiness programs

[ladderingyoursuccess]

Best Books for Career Development: Empower Your Future with Knowledge

Career development is an ongoing process that requires continuous learning, self-reflection, and strategic planning. One of the best ways to fast-track your professional growth is by diving into books that offer insights, strategies, and proven methods from successful leaders, entrepreneurs, and experts. Whether you're just starting your career or looking to advance to the next level, the right book can provide the knowledge and inspiration you need to achieve your goals. Here’s a look at some of the best books for career development that can guide you on your path to success.

1. "Atomic Habits" by James Clear

Success doesn’t happen overnight. It's built on a foundation of small, consistent habits that compound over time. James Clear’s "Atomic Habits" explores how making tiny changes can lead to big results. By focusing on improving 1% every day, you can transform your professional life by cultivating positive habits, breaking bad ones, and mastering the art of personal growth. This book is perfect for anyone looking to improve their productivity, mindset, and efficiency.

2. "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R. Covey

Stephen Covey’s classic work has been a go-to resource for individuals looking to improve their personal and professional lives for decades. "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" outlines practical advice on leadership, goal-setting, and time management. Covey emphasizes principles of fairness, integrity, and human dignity, making this book a must-read for professionals aiming to make a lasting impact in their industries.

3. "Dare to Lead" by Brené Brown

In today’s workplace, leadership isn’t just about managing teams, it’s about cultivating a culture of trust, vulnerability, and courage. Brené Brown’s "Dare to Lead" challenges traditional notions of leadership by showing that the best leaders are those who are willing to be vulnerable and emotionally intelligent. Her research-backed insights into leadership will help you create a more connected and effective workplace.

4. "You Are a Badass" by Jen Sincero

Confidence and self-belief are two major keys to career success. Jen Sincero’s "You Are a Badass" is a motivational guide that encourages readers to stop doubting themselves and start living their best lives. Packed with actionable advice and inspirational stories, this book helps you break free from limiting beliefs and empowers you to take bold actions toward your career aspirations.

5. "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries

For those interested in entrepreneurship or innovation within existing organizations, Eric Ries’ "The Lean Startup" offers a blueprint for creating and managing successful startups. With a focus on continuous innovation and adapting to market needs, this book is a game-changer for professionals looking to become more agile in their careers and businesses.

6. "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance" by Angela Duckworth

Angela Duckworth’s "Grit" dives deep into the idea that talent alone isn’t enough to guarantee success. Through stories and research, Duckworth shows how perseverance, passion, and hard work can help you overcome obstacles and achieve long-term goals. If you’re struggling to stay motivated in the face of setbacks, this book is a powerful reminder of the importance of persistence.

7. "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle

In the fast-paced world of career development, it's easy to become overwhelmed by future goals or past failures. "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle encourages readers to embrace the present moment and live more consciously. This book is an excellent choice for those seeking to enhance their focus, mental clarity, and work-life balance.

Take Action with Laddering Your Success

While books are an excellent source of knowledge, true career growth happens when you apply what you've learned. If you're looking for personalized, actionable steps to guide your career development, Laddering Your Success is here to help. Our expert career coaching and development resources provide tailored advice, strategies, and tools to help you achieve your career goals.

Start laddering your success today by connecting with us. Together, we’ll create a roadmap for your professional journey, ensuring you're not only achieving success but maintaining it for the long haul.

Take the first step toward your dream career now!

[zeroeightzeroone]

your heart and my anchor - han jisung

love collection

genre: hurt/comfort

pairing: fem!reader (infp) x idol!han jisung (intp)

warnings: descriptions of anxiety and of a panic attack

wc ~2.6k | moodboard

notes: if this looks familiar, it was originally posted to my secondary blog @zerothreetwentyfive so i'm republishing everything here on my main blog.

originally requested by @pcchacoseung

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ｡ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:

sometimes, you wonder why you decided to work and be a university student at the same time, that is until you remember the money that goes into tuition fees and the fact that you needed to move out in order to attend school. you're privileged enough that your parents are able to help pay your tuition whilst you pay for your rent and the other necessities you need to live in the city but that doesn't lessen the amount of stress that plagues you on and off again throughout the semesters. especially at the end of the year when exams are creeping up on you, figuring out how to move your schedule around to accommodate studying, working and finding the time to take a breather and relax; the latter option is usually dropped from the equation. 

when you aren't on campus or at work, you've locked yourself up in your room. sitting behind your desk and stuck to your laptop, your textbooks and notebooks sprawled and spread over the surface, multiple pens around the area. sometimes you lose all sense of time when you're so hyper-focused on the task at hand that you only get a couple hours of sleep before you rush to get ready for work. you're done work when the sun goes down and once you get home you're back behind your desk, working till the sun comes up. the routine only repeats whether you like it or not. 

jisung has been pretty busy as well. behind-the-scenes work with writing, producing and directing songs that may or may not end up on the next album, attending schedules and practicing day in and day out. it's been a while since you've been able to see each other, the both of you exchanging a few texts here and there.

j.one<3: i miss you baby i wrote some lyrics today thinking about you

you: i miss you too :,) a lot, a lot a lot

j.one<3: how have you been love? school and all?

you: it's been good

whenever he asked how you were doing, you'd always tell him that things were going fine, that it's okay, that you've got everything under control; acting like everything is a hundred and ten percent fine and dandy and you aren't on the verge of a breakdown every couple of hours. you didn't want him to worry about you. you didn't want to add to jisung's own current struggles, not wanting to burden him with your own.

j.one<3: hmm ok love you know i'm here right whenever you need me

you: of course and i love you for that

j.one<3: i love you more you got this, i believe in you baby

after your short text conversations, you'd turn on 'do not disturb' mode and a little message would pop up on jisung's side that you've switched it on.

j's one and only has their notifications silenced

a little signal for both you and him to get back to work. 

…

j.one<;3: hey love i'm gonna be in the studio all day working you wanna come by and do your work here too?

and that's how you ended up sitting on the couch inside the studio. your laptop rests on your thighs, two browser windows opened up alongside each other on the screen with a notebook and pen sitting next to you. across the room, jisung sits at the recording desk in front of the computer with the program opened up on the screen, a headset over his ears and a notebook sitting in front of him, twiddling a pencil between his fingers.

although, the longer you're seated inside the studio, with your laptop displaying your calendar on one side and schedule on the other; showing off tasks that need to be finished today whilst the other side shows off the tasks and events coming up in the week.

the more you're convinced that you're going to have a mental breakdown with each passing minute. 

you thought that maybe, just maybe, being in the same room as jisung would help as motivation, as comfort. having your person in the same room might hold you back from taking cover inside a hole, alone, curled up into a ball and ignoring the stresses life's currently throwing at you. 

but instead, as the time passes you feel deep envy growing for your boyfriend who is seated at the recording desk. you find yourself envying the way jisung is twirling his pencil, bopping his head to whatever track is playing through the headset and the way he is able to—unlike you—focus on the tasks at hand.

how were you supposed to focus on anything when your mind continues to relentlessly remind you of all the work that needs to be done today? that you'll wake up tomorrow, only to repeat the process of slaving to get the work done.

how could you even try to focus when that tightening sensation in your chest, the one that restricts your airflow, only gets worse as the time passes?

you couldn't—you can't and you hate it.

you absolutely hate how you feel right now.

how you're mentally and emotionally trying to calm yourself down. trying to talk yourself back onto the ground and out of your frantic mind to breathe.

your heart's racing, the pulse only picks up as the time passes. it beats so loudly you can't seem to hear anything other than your own heartbeat, your hearing completely zeroed in on it. 

your chest not only feels heavy but it starts to hurt, a throbbing sensation begins to come and go. it's like there is someone sitting on your chest and no matter how hard you try to get them off, you just can't. the harder you struggle, the more you feel suffocated, as if the air inside this vast recording studio only occupied by you and jisung is being sucked out, the walls closing in on you.

that painful feeling of your breath caught in your throat only leads to your heart rate picking up double time, your body feels restless while your mind repeats the same shit over and over again. the angel on one shoulder tries to calm you down, telling you to take a breather, take a break but the devil on the other only talks over her. overpowering her completely, as she reminds you that you aren't deserving of a break or a breather right now; seeing as you haven't completed any significant amount of work since entering the studio. 

unbeknownst to you, your body trembles as your hands come together in front of you, fingers fiddling and picking at the skin on the opposite hand. 

y/n, you think to yourself, come on, pull on your big girl panties and get on with it.

you're distracted trying to calm yourself down.

trying to bring yourself back down to earth instead of currently being inside your own head, you feel like you've lost any semblance of control you once had. god, you hate this feeling, you absolutely loathe how your heart quickly palpitates beneath your heavy chest, gradually getting dizzy as your restlessness only builds. however, no matter how anxious you feel, your body is nailed to the couch—you're frozen and unable to will yourself to get up on your feet.

it's like everything around you is speeding up and leaving you behind. they're leaving you behind in a state where your self-control slips away and causes your fear to grow tenfold. 

you're scared. you're terrified that you won't come down from this— that you don't know how to come down from this, how to regulate everything inside you. the dread slowly sinks in as you slowly convince yourself that you will never be free from this state of overwhelming emotion that consumes you as the minutes pass. 

jisung's hands move to adjust the headset, moving one cup away from his ear as the track has finished playing a moment ago. initially, he wanted to note something down in the notebook in front of him but the moment that one cup is off, he completely removes the headset and places it down in front of him on the desk. for a moment, he stills, listening to the room:

the echos of you clicking around on your laptop isn't heard.

this leads jisung to wonder if you've dozed off in the middle of working prompting him to spin around in the rolling chair, only to be met with you sitting on the couch wide awake. 

when his brown eyes are laid on your figure, jisung's heart drops at the sight; you gnawing at your bottom lip, your chest trembling as it heaves, your whole face is flushed and your eyes are the slightest bit blown. 

jisung immediately knows what's going on, he knows it all too well.

your boyfriend rushes to his feet and towards you, shutting your laptop and moving it on the couch beside you. slowly, jisung is kneeling in front of you as he gently encapsulates your hands in his.

he can feel the way your body trembles beneath his touch.

"y/n, baby, my love," jisung calls for you softly, his chocolate brown eyes sparkle as they gaze up at you, "you're okay, you're safe."

his eyes scan over your face, watching as your own slowly meet his. there's a dullness to your eyes, a sense of apprehension laced in your features as your thoughts plague your body and mind.

"hey, love," he smiles and lightly caresses your hands with the pad of his thumbs, "just keep your eyes on me, i'm here. i'm not going anywhere, okay? just focus on my voice, love."

you fight your own body to regain control, to regain the strength to regulate your own emotions. you've grit your teeth in an effort to stay focused on your boyfriend's voice.

"hey, hey… you're safe love. i'm gonna move beside you, okay baby?" he moves slowly to sit next to you on the couch, careful not to startle you with any quick or sudden movements. 

one of his hands move to your cheek gently caressing you there as well. a feeling of delight washes through his body at the sight of you instinctively leaning into his touch. 

"you're okay. i know it feels scary right now but you're going to be okay. you're going to get through this, yeah?"

the hand on your cheek moves to pat your hair down gently. jisung's gentle touch moves around your body as a physical reminder that you aren't alone and that he is here with you. 

"just keep focusing on my voice."

jisung continues to look over you, observing your current state and identifying how else he could help.

"i'm proud of you, you know?" he says fondly, "i know things get hard and it's scary sometimes but you always find a way to get through it. you're always doing such an amazing job."

a deep, unstable breath leaves your lips. 

"good girl! you're doing great. breathe, breathe with me okay?" he inhales deeply and you attempt to follow him. then he exhales, "...one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten."

your exhales are shaky, your control not totally regained as you're fighting to get yourself out of your own head. but you feel the tension slowly dissipating from your body.

"one more time with me. concentrate on your breathing, okay?" this time jisung shuts his eyes as he inhales, hearing you take in a breath as well, before letting the air out slowly, "one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten..."

jisung notices your previously blown-out eyes have softened, he then decides to move on another strategy to further help you anchor yourself back down into the present.

"that's my girl, i'm so proud of you," he pats your hair once again, "does my y/n need anything right now?"

your voice is incredibly hushed and strained when you squeak out the next two words, "hold me."

jisung scoots even closer to you. adjusting himself so one arm is around your shoulders, wanting to hold you close to him. his other arm moves your head to rest on his chest and he gives you a moment to adjust as he whispers reassurances that you're okay, that you're safe and that he's here. 

your ear presses up against his clothing as his hand rests on your jaw, caressing your skin with his palm. the warmth radiating off of jisung's body has your body reacting the way it usually does, melting into him as a wave of comfort washes over you. another deep breath leaving your lips, still a bit shaky but an improvement nonetheless. 

"what are three things you can hear right now?"

your eyes flutter close as you try your best to tune into your surroundings, trying to identify noises inside the quiet room.

you hum, "your heartbeat… the vent… your breathing."

"how 'bout three things you can smell?"

"your cologne… coffee… brownies."

"now, can you tell me three things you can see?"

your eyes open slowly with blinks as you adjust to the light before you scan around the room.

"recording desk… microphone… computer."

jisung's hand moves to wrap around your wrist, gradually lifting your hand up in the air in front of you both.

"wiggle your fingers for me," your fingers wiggle, "kick your leg up for me," you kick your leg up slowly, "roll your ankle around." you roll your ankle around, "good job my love, i'm so proud."

your arm moves to wrap around jisung's body, pulling yourself closer to him. a breath of relief leaves your lips at the sense of ease that comes with the action, how you're able to grip onto the fabric of his shirt and nuzzle your face further into his chest.

"inhale," he sucks in a breath and you follow suit, "exhale... one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. do you need anything else, y/n baby?"

you shake your head, melting into his side as you feel your pulse and breathing regulate to a normal pace. you feel like your feet are back on solid ground, in control and in the centre of your mind instead of backed into a corner hiding away from it.

"i'm here," he coos, swaying your bodies back and forth, "you're not alone. never. i'm here. i'm right here with you."

when you shut your eyes, tears fall down your flushed cheeks-- tears that had welled up due to stress and overwhelming bursts of emotions you weren't able to control--but now they fall with a sense of relief.

"i love you," your voice is quiet, trembling the slightest bit, "thank you… thank you for being here. i love you so much."

jisung hushes you, his hands gently running up and down your back, "it's the least i can do. I'm always gonna be here, y/n, always."

you nod, your eyes still closed as you take a couple of moments to yourself in jisung's arms. this time you're trying your best to anchor yourself back down to earth by thinking of what you love, what relaxes you, reminding yourself of the light and the good.

you know this isn't going to be the last panic attack you're going to have but at least you know that you aren't alone, there's always someone willing to help. jisung continues to remind you of that, that he'll be there for you no matter what, in any way he possibly can. at the same time, jisung knows that you'd do the same for him as you've done it time and time again. 

jisung has told you multiple times that he doesn't know how he'd function without you, feeling like he would be completely lost without you. 

you are his heart. 

meanwhile, jisung is your anchor.

in the middle of an uncontrollable storm, when the harsh waves rock the boat every which way, an anchor is vital to stay strong and controlled during such conditions. an anchor is a symbol of stability, a symbol of strength; a person you can rely on to support you to stay strong, to hold on even during the toughest of storms.

you found that person in jisung.

[verpineshatterrifle]

okay so your post abt alpha-17 and the other alpha arcs got me thinking (and im sorry for using you as sw google but in my mind you're Alpha Legends Lore mutual) who ARE the oldest clones? I feel like everything got... really confusing with a bunch of super secret REAL first clones getting shuffled into the order. is boba the oldest? in my mind it goes 1 boba 2 nulls 3 alphas 4 the rest of the initial clones that obi-wan saw in aotc but I have no bloody clue 😭

I AM HONORED TO BE YOUR LEGENDS LORE GOOGLE MUTUAL

ok so. sources probably conflict bc this is star wars, of course they do. what i care about is repcomm so we're just gonna go with that as our primary source with wookieepedia as secondary sources

first we gotta get some dates. unfortunately star wars doesnt really give months for most dates but years is still a starting place. these dates are all pulled from wookieepedia, legends page when applicable/different

also we're using geonosis as our date reference point since the timeline is honestly so hard to work with

order 66 happens 19 bby

1st battle of geonosis, 22 bby, the clone wars are 3 years long

boba fett's birth date is listed as 32 bby, meaning he was 10 at geonosis. cody, rex, ordo, fi, spar, and sull are all also listed with a birth date of 32 bby, so we're down to a difference of months here. essentially they're all the same age though- boba himself, troopers, nulls, commandos, and alphas

I REPEAT. ALPHA IS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY OLDER THAN THE CORE OF THE GAR. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. HE ISNT THE ONLY ALPHA EITHER.

but who's actually oldest? and is wookieepedia entirely correct? this is the part where i open repcomm and ignore everything else. i don't even know if anything else contradicts because i'm not checking

chapter 1 of triple zero, kal has just arrived on kamino. it's eight years before geonosis, and 2 years into the cloning program

(ALSO ITS SO FUCKING GREAT THAT THIS IS KAL'S INTRODUCTORY LINE LMAOOO <3)

he does see a lot of clone babies in gestation vats, just like we see in attack of the clones as well as cadets of varying ages- the kaminoans continue producing troopers through the entire ten years of the cloning program, so yes, the 'first generation' (clones deployed at geonosis) ARE older than a lot of later clones. but we dont really have a lot of those later clones as named characters as far as i know

anyways

the nulls appear to kal to be 4 or 5 (also peep jango apparently being legitimately shocked by them)

chronologically the nulls are NEARLY two, which probably means like 1 year and 11 months or something

(pause for me to cry about this entire scene, 'kal was instantly proud of all of them,' 'how would you like to be called ordo, he was a mandalorian warrior,' kal teaching them to embrace their fear as a mechanism their body uses to help protect them, but this is gonna be long enough as it is)

and then we have jango showing up with boba. no real indication of if boba or the nulls are actually older, but it's implied that they're very very close in actual age, if not the same age. we also get mention of the commandos and the alphas.

now, this is now just down to what i think and what makes sense to me. the whole point of the nulls is that they were experimental units- the kaminoans wanted to see if tinkering with the genome would be worth it, and ultimately decided it wasn't. it would actually make sense to me if the nulls were at least a year or two older than the rest of the clones- the kaminoans need time to see if their experiment panned out, don't they? but the nulls are also 10 at geonosis

while the nulls have been flash-trained and put through some trial runs at this point, it's indicated that the alphas and commandos aren't quite ready for training yet. this could be because the alphas and commandos are just a bit too young yet, it could be that the kaminoans put the nulls through training at a younger age than they're doing for non-experimental units. not totally clear

this is another point that is important to me: multiple times the nulls pass for clone troopers. i keep seeing headcanons of them being noticeably taller/bigger than other clones and while it is true that they're canonically slightly heavier, i think the difference is probably like 10-20 pounds, most people cannot easily tell the difference. ordo puts on corr's armor and just notes that it's slightly tighter than he's used to. mereel infiltrated kamino in trooper armor unnoticed, even while directly speaking to a kaminoan

here is my opinion on it: -the nulls and boba are basically the same age -the alphas were created next, but a few months after. by this point the kaminoans had decided (possibly because of the nulls' high mortality rate in gestation) that the alphas would be fully unaltered aside from the accelerated aging. the nulls' behavior 'issues' proved to the kaminoans that this was the right call -the commandos were created at the same time or shortly after the alphas. we're talking within weeks if not days. they have minor genetic changes to work better as a team but that's about it. -the troopers then begin production, now that the kaminoans have lots of practice altering jango's genome. heavy alteration for better social cooperation and obedience. -we're talking a span on like 4 months for all of this

you could say that ordo's gray hairs support the nulls being maybe 4-6 months older than everybody else, but i really think he is just that stressy, and there's also book evidence for clones actually aging at variable rates depending on how much stress they're under

quick note for omega: i think her existence is just insane and she's only here because disney was making a children's show and needed a child character (and girl so they can get inclusivity points), but i could see her being made anywhere from at the same time as boba to up to 3 years later. her wookieepedia page doesn't say, because the bad batch never bothered to give us any concrete information on... anything.

WE ARENT EVEN TOUCHING ON EMERIE. WHAT THE FUCK

[dead-set-goat]

Character Introduction time!!

Still have not decided on a final design, but I’ve been putting off showing her for way too long! So here she is:

Tatiana

The main character of a story I’m trying to build, Tanya (as she’s also know) is a young woman trying to find hope for the future in her anxiety-riddled, yet bluntly mundane life. Living with her mother and younger sister who she feels do not quite get her, Tatiana tries to get a little something out of her free time before she finally swallows her demons and enrolls to an University.

From programming her way up to making her own videogame to toying with the family’s car and whatever other appliances don’t get much use, you couldn’t deny that she’s quite capable when it comes to the tech-side of things. Not that she thinks it’s anything worth noting as her mother insists that to be worth something you’d have to join some, at least respectable, University ASAP.

But besides the cold she feels at home, outside’s maybe even worse. She doesn’t have almost any real friends. Secondary school was rough, as it is for most, but paired with troubles at home and general sensitivity on her part, she’s still having a hard time recovering. A great reason for which she feel she isn’t ready for such a big change in her life, even if it may be for the better.

But anyway, she likes it or not, she’ll have to throw herself out there because by some ridiculous bullshit sci-fi magic that none shall explain, she ends up, while on a walk to do the shopping, in this ridiculous fantasy world in which she’ll finally feel like her skills might amount to something after all!

In short, in this parallel world she finds herself in, while technological advancements had taken place at some point, by events long gone, the society was massively set back and the knowledge that remains is guarded tightly and spread between few disciples across the world. In short, the people must stay blind and faithful… Yet here she comes, from lands unknown, with quite some knowledge on the mystical devices given by the gods, she must be some sort of messiah! Kinda’ puts some pressure on…

Here’s some themes I came up with:

^This is supposed to be her theme condensed along with the intro of the story

^the original theme I came up with at random that basically inspired this whole world. Should reflect the major religion governing this world as well as the looming threat of a great empire assimilating the surrounding “backwards” kingdoms (Will rework this)

Concept art for the world elements

And her. Seen in the second image, she is hiding from cult members who probably don’t mean well.

3 other variants. Would appreciate if you would let me know which of the 5 designs you like most for her (Personally I am fond of the two i posted first but still hard to decide…)

Aaaand the og worldbuilding concepts!

This world will be saved under the #CKnight tag!

AND ALSO if you have random question about/for her, my asks are open and they’d help me develop her!

[quins-makeshift-menagerie]

I joined this blog a couple of minutes ago and I'm now realizing that I have a lot of story to catch up on, so could you maybe give me a quick run down of everything that has happened so far?

(I asked this same question on your "Joys Of Reality" blog but then I noticed that it was a side blog so now I'm re-asking this question here lol)

Gonna be real even a quick run down leaves a lot out, so I recommend reading it from the beginning if you have the time(link can be found in the blog’s pinned post)

That being said I will make an attempt

Zeus and Mnemosyne are trapped within an abandoned facility, in a digital program(they’re romantic partners)

With the help of various people they manage to create phsyical bodies for themselves

Something goes wrong in the process, Mnemosyne is left in a coma for several months

The fear and stress causes Zeus to mega evolve, alerting Fuji(OG Mewtwo) to their location

The duo are brought to Mirage Island, where they get aid from Fuji and Joyce(First movie Nurse Joy)

Agnita(the sample donor of Mnemosyne’s body) catches wind of Mnemosyne being unwell and helps them recover with some speedy gene therapy

Mnemosyne eventually wakes up, the duo is now free to experience life as flesh and blood

Sometime around this point Janus(OG Mew) makes their way to Mirage Island since “what why is there another Mew I’m the only Mew”

Mnemosyne gets pregnant

Seeing as Mnemosyne has no idea how to handle a Mew’s power and is now trying to bring more into the world, Janus offers to help them get to know the basics so they(and the unborn mittens) at least don’t blow the place up

Mnemosyne goes into labor

Various factors cause their first born, Calliope, to be born premature and weak, it’s expected she won’t last the night

Janus begrudgingly gives Calliope a boost, they’re alive and well but still pretty frail compared to their siblings, Clio and Erato

Also Callie’s blind(?). Another side effect of being premature, but it’s okay she’s got Oops, her seeing eye ‘mon

Seeing as all is well, Fuji heads out to find this other Mewtwo he’s being told about

There’s a kinda interlude here where we spent some time with Janus TL;DR Janus is very old, very tired, and isn’t ready to be Callie’s grandmewther even though Callie is PERSISTENT

Mnemosyne has a VERY bad time in a VERY bad dream with a VERY bad pile of slop that totally isn’t relevant to the story(he is, his temp name is “Goopy”, people love him for some reason)

Joyce gets super worried after watching Fuji’s vitals spike while he’s away

Joyce fails terribly in thinking Fuji went and got himself killed after he’s late coming home(man is late ONE TIME-)

Surprise! Fuji isn’t dead but his main and secondary neck have some pretty bad wounds that are Concerning™️

Double surprise! That Mewtwo he went to go find? Yeah she’s a feral little kitten that tried to divorce Fuji’s head from his body

Her name is Bellatrix(Movie 16 Mewtwo)

She’s very grumpy, enjoys pecha juice, and has now grown very attached to Joyce. Still thinks Fuji is a jerk tho but they’re working on that

[ravenstargames]

✦ Lost in Limbo Devlog #7 | 11.02.23

And November is here! 💜 This month has been packed with work for all of us and a few of irl events like birthdays, family vacations and so on! We hope October has been a good month for y'all—we have made some progress on different areas, so let's jump right into it, shall we?

For the spooky month we had Kayden work on both the Halloween Special Ravenstar icon and an art piece of our dear Master Gael enjoying the festivities! I wanted to feature this piece in the devlog as we only posted it on Twitter—my fault! I came back from a trip with my parents last saturday so everything was a bit chaotic and I didn't schedule the tumblr post T_T But here it is! We hope you like it as much as we do!

And now for the actual progress of the game, Raquel has finished Amon's CG and has been working on Envy's (we are giving you this little sneak peek!). She's also getting ready to work on Gael's, and we estimate that as soon as Gael's is finished, we'll be able to open our itch.io page! I have also been working on the itch thumbnails, covers, etc! 💜

We have also started working on the concept art of the first secondary character you'll meet in the demo. They had a sprite already, but we have improved so much it didn't sit right with us to just use the old sprite. We are redoing their design for it to be more attractive and unique!

In previous devlogs we talked about having six supporting characters in the first demo, but that changed along with the script. Don't worry—you'll meet them eventually!

The programming department (me) has been working hard to finish the last few screens of the demo, those being the Extras screen, the Gallery selection screen, each LI's individual gallery, and the credits. I have also been testing how to unlock the CGs and adjusting a few more things. This month I'm confident I'll finish the last screen left and then there will only be a few adjustments left. We'll see, hehe. I like to remain positive! 💜

The demo script is officially done and being revised by Allie, our lovely editor! As of right now, they have finished reading the script for the first time and we have already talked about having a meeting to discuss some things. We are beyond excited! I have also sent the script to a few friends who are interested in the project to gather as much feedback as I can, so hopefully I can start coding the script really really soon! 💜

In this devlog, you can tell some departments are finishing their work! Writing and Programming are coming to an end, so I (Seyl) will most likely move to other areas that need help. We are still working hard to bring you the demo around February, but we'll see how things work out for us. There's still a feeew things to do, but we hope you are as happy with our progress as we are!

See you all very soon! Remember to rest, take care of yourselves, and remember that your best and your worst looks different every day! 💜

[eddiethehunted]

Feeling very lost in life rn. I should be graduating after this semester as long as I don't fail anything and I just don't know if I'm ready to NOT be a student anymore you know? I've been in post-secondary for 6 years now. I have a diploma from the college I went to and I'll have my bachelor's after I'm done this program now.

I'm like, do I go back for a masters? Or do I STOP going to school because I'm broke as it is and I'm almost 30 and my parents are still helping me pay rent, fuck. But really, where I am rn I don't think a bachelor is gonna get me anything. But I can't afford to move anywhere else, because Ontario is fucking expensive as hell

I don't know what to do and I am stressing out because the semester just started but I know it will fly by and then I'll just be done and I'll never see my school friends again bc none of them live here and it's just all very bittersweet. Like I WANT to be done this degree I'm sick of it, but I also don't know how to not be a student anymore

I am so stressed and I dont know what to do and no matter WHAT I do I'm POOR so I'm gonna have to worry about money and and and and and nadsdfklgjfdkh

[persephoneprice]

just a random lil thought but I've been thinking a lot about education in the Capitol recently. Coriolanus mentions the Academy as the finest secondary school in the Capitol, and I kind of see the Academy as a private school equivalent. I think the Academy probably has a primary school too that is much smaller and much more exclusive, which allowed all the 'old' and important families to get to know each other as kids (such as the Snows, Cranes, Ravinstills, Creeds, Dovecotes, Cardews, Prices etc etc) before the school opened up to a wider selection of students in secondary. Haha, would love to hear your thoughts on education in the Capitol and how even that is sorted by class (as it is in our society too). Maybe some kids even have student loans for university?

i always pictured the academy to be more of a private-school type situation where only these truly elite families attend! but then it was pointed out to me that actually there’s around 400 kids in each year at the academy. that’s a pretty massive school!

it’s still described as “anyone who is anyone” attends but it really makes me question what level of important you have to be to attend- because with that many students i’d wager you don’t have to be super elite and important.

but it also makes me wonder how many other school there are in the capitol (and do they compete in sports or other activities?)

i really like the idea of the primary school being much smaller and attended by those children who are truly ultra-rich and elite! i agree because i think the ultra-elite wouldn’t want their young kids mixing with ‘lesser’ children before they’re ready.

coriolanus talks about how important the connections he’s made at the academy may be to him in the future. he also talks about how if he can’t attend university he may have to get a ‘low-level city position’. this is interesting to me because is he able to get these jobs because of his connections or are these just the typical jobs offered to people who graduate from lesser schools? and what other jobs are offered in the capitol because he does say that capitol jobs are hard to come by.

if the jobs are so hard to come by then how are so many people graduating and entering the workforce every year? there must be other, ‘lessor’ jobs for all of these people- particularly the ones who aren’t elite and can’t afford university.

anyway, i apologize i’m getting off topic. back to your point about student loans- i actually don’t think that’s an option? at least, the way i interpret the way coriolanus describes it- he isn’t able to attend university unless he’s able to come up with the money to do so. (which again makes me wonder- are all those other schools kids just entering the workforce post-graduation? and what are they doing?)

i’m not surprised in the slightest that education in the capitol is primarily tied to status and money because that’s pretty much the way it is in our society. if i had to guess- i’d say even the 24 mentors spots are tied more to money and status then to academic achievement.

i’m going to go back off-topic again under the cut-

but snow talks about how being in debt is historically a ticket to being a peacekeeper. i can’t help but wonder what true poverty looks like in the capitol. what if someone lost their housing and cannot get a job because they cannot afford to go university to get a good position? is being unhoused in the capitol an option or are you automatically going to end up as a peacekeeper (or an avox)? what if someone in the capitol is living with a serious mental illness and is genuinely unable to support themselves? what becomes of them if they can’t support themselves but they also aren’t able to be a peacekeeper?

are people who live with smi locked in an institution? killed? i don’t see how in tbosas there would be enough resources for the programs needed to adequately support people who are truly in need. so where does that leave people?

[lexascend]

Blog 1: Introduction & Project

On July 11, 2024, I entered the last year of my twenties. Each year, on or around my solar return, I like to take time out and deeply reflect on my life. I think about how the past year has been. The ups and the downs. The decisions I've made. And then I think about how I want the upcoming year to be.

For the past few years, I've been a stay-at-home mom and while I thoroughly enjoy being able to be so hands on with my babies, it is not fulfilling. I believe that I have more gifts than motherhood alone. There's a feeling of unease that comes with the awareness of unused potential and I have gotten to a point where I can no longer ignore said feeling.

So, here it is, almost a month later, and I'm at the start of my graduate program. It's been over five years since I last attended a university. Between then and now, I've gained two of the most venturesome children, a husband that insists that we both operate off of only my brain (we have been contemplating donating his for scientific research to avoid waste), a chorkie that believes he's a ferocious guard dog, and approximately ten extra pounds that refuse to part ways with me.

Regarding this semester, excitement is an understatement! I feel like I can conquer the world and all the challenges these rigorous courses may bring. One of the major differences between "undergraduate me" and "graduate me" is my perspective. As an undergraduate student, I failed to see the value in any post-secondary education. I was there because my parents insisted that I go, and I just wanted to get it over with so that I could be "done with school for the rest of my life".

Ha! Look at me now. My twenty-one-year-old self would be nothing short of flabbergasted.

Now that I have more clarity on what I'd like to make of myself in this lifetime, I am eager to learn. I see the value in higher education and professional development. I am ready and committed to applying myself and going full throttle after the goals I've set.

Ergo, upon seeing the project listed for my "Writing Creative Nonfiction" course, I did not huff and puff. I smiled in anticipation. As you can imagine, a lot of my time is spent taking care of others. This project gives me the perfect opportunity to get in the habit of doing something solely for myself. For my semester-long project, I've decided to take weekly Pilates classes in efforts to lose those stubborn ten pounds that are no longer aesthetically serving me and tone my body for a more fit appearance.

Let the journey begin :)

[kalamatagreen]

Hisashiburi

I was listening to a podcast called "You Do You," a Japanese language podcast that features two best friends, one in Australia. The one in Australia mentioned that she had revisited her old blog posts and was quite impressed with what she had written, and that the last one was in 2017! Much the same with me. I just logged on here to see that my last post had been in October-ish 2017. I had written about the wrap party in Santa Rosa for the WWE2K video games.

I don't think I'm ready to make this private, but it's a big deal to be sitting at my desk at all typing out my life. Some folks are smoking cigs outside and apparently celebrating a 21st birthday and it is really grinding my gears with this period-induced headache I've been nursing.

The Australian in the Japanese podcast said she had been ruminating on the quote, "If you think that sunshine brings you happiness, then you haven't danced in the rain." The quote hit her differently when she first blogged about it, thinking simply that it was a nod to having a shift in perspective to think more positively. But after experiencing more tragedy and loss and such, she's realized the deeper meaning of being able to find joy and meaning even within sad moments or pain or a state of tragedy.

Today, I asked my 6th period Japanese Language Arts 6th grade class what they had done during Thanksgiving. One student Enzo had gone to Austin and Houston, visiting his dad's cousin's family, as well as NASA headquarters. I immediately thought of my dad visiting NASA headquarters for his work but didn't mention that, just asked if Enzo had any family working for NASA, which he didn't. I did say that I'd also been to Austin over the Thanksgiving break. What a coincidence and small world. Enzo cracks me up because he talks in a stream-of-consciousness way in both his speaking up in class and his storyboards. I know his style of writing now.

At the AirBNB in Austin, there was a book in my bedroom titled "Write your novel in a month." I combed through it a bit. I believe the target was to get down on paper 50,000 words. I guess that's 500 times as much as 500 words, which is one to three pages? Doesn't sound insane. I think about all of the characters I've come across in my life, from my elementary, secondary school days, college life, JET Program life, Monterey Institute torture, 2K Games adventures, Tonko House stint, freelance and freeloading days back at my dad's, and now working as a full-time Japanese language teacher at Culver City Middle School in the immersion program! What are the odds??

I watched "The Gospel of John" on youtube for the second night in a row, and my roommate Jaspreet caught me watching it as I sat in my workout clothes (burgundy ribbed tank top and black pants). I felt a little self-conscious about it so I watched a few more minutes and then switched over to "Komi Can't Communicate," watching the last few minutes of the first episode. So you can see that I don't watch TV for extended periods of time, not since moving to this branch of Category/Common - Matteson, where I have two male roommates in their 20s, versus the rotating band of adventurers at Centinela, except for Terri who stayed firm through to the end, although she had moved in a couple of months after me originally. At Centinela, I had faithful TV-watching buddies in Terri and Ariel.

Lord, I find it hard to orient myself. The kids were singing "Country Roads," the English version, along to the Japanese version that I was showing them through an EdPuzzle. My favorite Ghibli movie of all time, though I usually publicly say it's "Princess Mononoke," is actually "Whisper of the Heart" - "Mimi wo Sumaseba." The theme song in that is "Country Roads," sung by the lead character and accompanied by her boyfriend on violin and his grandpa's string quartet. I found it so charming that the 6th graders knew "Country Roads." I asked them how they knew it, and they said they simply just did, because it's a song that people know, and that it's a classic. That means so much in this age where shared culture has been fragmented by the internet.

I was thinking that I've had the privilege to re-live my adolescence every half generation or so. I re-lived it once in Fukuyama, Japan, as I taught 5th- 9th graders as an assistant language on the JET Program, and now I'm re-living it in a more removed, reluctant way... I pretend I'm so much more experienced and wise than the kiddos, but really my most vulnerable experience happened in 8th grade, and that was losing my mom.

"Mimi wo Sumaseba" was a Studio Ghibli VHS tape that was part of a collection that Masayuki Ojisan, my mom's younger brother gave to us on our summer trip to Japan, probably between 5th and 6th grade. I remember watching that video tape and feeling so connected to the story - a young girl coming of age and falling in love and trying to find her gift of writing, and being inspired by the boy who made violins, and them performing "Country Roads" together and her following a random fat cat on a train and through town, and how charming it all was. I showed this to my Japanese classes last year, and my Japanese 1 class in particular seemed similarly charmed by it.

[rockmiyabideusexmachina]

Megaman Battle Network Legacy Collection Art Countdown Event!

Hi everyone, I'm back with more! I'm so sorry, I was hoping to get this started a bit earlier, but better late than never.

With the clock ticking down, we are getting ever closer to the release date of the Megaman Battle Network Legacy Collection, which launches on April 14th. And to help celebrate that, while enjoying some memories of the series, we are going to have a little art countdown event.

Read on after the break for the event rundown.

How will this work? 

Well, for starters this is an open signup, welcome to artists of any skill level. The signup will consist of you choosing one single Net Navi, virus, boss or human character from the Battle Network/EXE franchise that you would like to draw. It will be first come, first serve. Once a character has been chosen, nobody else will be able to take them. Cross Fused/Soul Unison/Cross characters will be considered their own unique character to choose from. 

To go along with the character you choose, we will also require a secondary Battle Network-related prompt to include with your character. This could be any battle chip/weapon/attack/Program Advance for a Navi, such as Kawarimi or Hi Cannon. It could be a location, such as MaHa Ichiban or SciLab, that you draw as a background. It can be a reference to an anime episode, such as baseball outfits, Neko virus or swimsuits at the hot springs. Etc., etc. 

Your character and prompt do not have to match something we have seen in the games/anime. So that way, we can have unlimited fun with it! So if you wanted to draw Meijin-san in the Aki idol outfit from the anime, or disco agent outfit Mariko-sensei, that is allowed! Create a Zoano-form for a Navi that never was in Beast or Cross Fuse a pair that never showed up in Stream. This is up to your imagination. I will list a few example prompts, but feel free to come up with your own.

Since I failed and am behind on launching this, I'm not sure if we will be able to post art for a full 30 days before the game's launch on Friday, April 14th. We can still try, if we have some fast artists and enough people join in. But the goal will be to have the first pieces submitted and ready to post 21 days before (March 24th), giving us 3 weeks of content counting down until the game's release date.

Between @tentokki​ and myself, we are going to try to keep a public spreadsheet of what has been taken updated and as current as possible as people sign up. This first day or so might be a little messy as we try to see who called who first and get everything initially set up, so try to have a backup option or two ready. While I am opening this up tonight, I might not be able to get back to everyone to update this list until tomorrow afternoon, as a disclaimer. Appreciate your patience! Please try to watch through the replies to ensure someone hasn't already called out your choice first. Once you have gotten the OK in a reply back and are added to the list, you are on the clock to begin working on your art.

There will not be a hard deadline for everyone to start out, but we will need at least one person done and ready before March 24th. Please choose a realistic deadline for yourself between March 23rd-April 14th, so that we can assign you to post on that specific day.

TLDR; When signing up, we need: 1.) A character 2.) A BN related-prompt included in your art 3.) Your own chosen deadline date between 3/24 - 4/14/2023

(View confirmed sign ups on this spreadsheet)

When you are finished, please send your art to me via DM or email [rock2125(at)hotmail(dot)com], and we will make sure you are set up a day for you to post your art. Then, when we hit that March 24th date, we will begin the countdown by having artists post their pic to their Twitter/tumblr, asking you to use the hashtag #MMBNLCCountdown in your post, along with stating the number of days remaining until the collection's release. 

If we get enough participants, then some days we might have more than 1 piece of art posted. Sky and I will then be reblogging/retweeting your posts each day, so that the focus is on your account and art. We'll continue counting down with new art each day until we reach the game's release.

What's in it for you? 

Well, besides hopefully having fun and reminscing a bit, I will also once again hold a prize/prize money raffle to give away copies of the game (standard version) for those who complete a pic. But once again, like the Valentine's Event, you will only be eligible for this raffle if you sign up, submit your art to me, and complete your art in time.

Already preordered it? Well, I'll instead offer you the cash to cover what you paid, if your name is drawn. As always, please have a valid Paypal account to receive your winnings. Total amount of prize winners not set in stone, but likely at least 6.

How to sign up! Sorry if I was not totally clear when I first posted this yesterday in my haste to get it online, but please either comment on this post, the Twitter post, or send a DM with your choices to sign up. Once again, please check the spreadsheet to see what has been taken already. The spreadsheet linked above is publicly viewable, but you are not editing or signing up on there. That is just for everyone’s reference as I officially confirm each sign up.

We will begin to assign people days to post as we get closer to the March 24th date. If you finish early, before your estimated deadline, still send it in via DM/email to me. The more people are done before March 24th, the easier it will be to organize and set up people to post on specific countdown days between  3/24-4/14.

As always, any questions, feel free to ask! First time trying this format, so we'll see how it works out!

Example Prompts (feel free to use one of these or your own!):

Devil Chip  Idol Outfit  Ghosts!  Pink Squirrel  Neko Virus Summa DIS Whiskey  Astronaut Suit  Hot Springs Disco Outfit  Baseball Uniform Buttferfly Net Car Race Star Potter Red Carpet  Copyroid  Curry Humor Program Zoo animals  Plunger on the head  Froggy trash can  Oven on fire!  Throwing your PET Jack in! Beast out!

Cannon Wide Shot Variable Sword Recovery Kawarimi Guardian Super Vulcan Dream Aura Muramasa Blade PoisonAnubis Z-Saber GunDelSol DarkSound CornShot MiniBomb Boomerang NumberBall PitHockey HyperBurst DreamSword

[ladderingyoursuccess]

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[froppy-butterflyfan2000]

If they were to find out about the incident, there would have been a recall and the game would start over from scratch, because global news duh. Although, she scroll down her cell phone at the videogames’ review site to see many people having positive reviews of this game. Kristen Beetles too. Holly’s mind wonders off as she is obsessing over the day she snatched a Tiny’mon with her a Tiny’mon Battle Cube, that was so familiar, as the tiny cold droplet of white snowflakes and downpour of rain falling down in the City of Townsville. Holly put her cell phone back into her backpack and stand there at the transit bus stop. Holly let out a sigh because she shouldn’t be thinking about Tiny’mon right now. It is obviously that they are going back to their respective post secondary now that winter break is over. She and her friends are college/university students after all, and they have their own goal. Holly needs to obtain her Townsville’s community college diplomas (mechanical engineering - design and medical laboratory technician), then re-enters SFIT’s annual showcase in Hope for a scholarship, and she will transfer to SFIT robotics program in her third year of Townsville’s community college with 6.0 full course equivalent. However, she wonders if that person is still there. Still protecting Sans Fransokyo. Holly continues pondering on having a university life in Sans Fransokyo, when a familiar person arrives.

“Hey Holly, cat got your tongue?” Haruko asked.

“Oh, hey Haruko,” Holly greeted, stopping her thoughts about her future. “I am just thinking about being ready to be back at college. How was your break? I know you told me that you want to go to France…. I hope that you gotten your application, if you have doubts. We can do a study group session.”

“Holly, I am feline fine and rejuvenated now. I do not need to be stressed out on the first day back. Plus, you be fine, you are a good friends and also a genius as well. So don’t count chickens before they hatch,” said Haruko, sensing Holly’s intention for helping her. Haruko start checking on her cell phone and entering the Tiny’mon Go! App to waste time in waiting for the transit bus. Haruko frowned, seeing there are no Cat Tiny’mons in this area. She is about to put her cellphone into the secure place of her jacket’s pocket when suddenly, Holly quickly starts up on a new conversation. Noticing that Haruko is playing the Tiny’mon Go! mobile app, perhaps this gamer and gaming informant could helps her.

“Haruko! You are an excellent hacker and gamer,” said Holly. “I just need to know why this Tiny’mon looks so different. Can you look at it for a moment please? Perhaps your experiences in Tiny’mon can help me find the answer that I am looking for.”

“Pawdon me?” Said Haruko. Holly gets her gameheld console from her backpack, open up the console, and activates the game. “You want me to see your Tiny’mon?”

Though she play Tiny’mon, she is only a casual player, rather than hardcore player. Unsure she could help Holly.

“Yeah, because I never seen this Tiny’mon before. It is never appear in the official Tiny’mon Dex I saw in social media people leaks,” Holly explained further and quickly added. “For personal research purpose,”

Haruko narrowed her eyes when she mentioned the word, leaks. She hate spoilers, but this information sparks her interest.

“Could it be an exclusive Tiny’mon?” Haruko wondered. If this Tiny’mon is rare, then she can find out where to get it.

“Sure,” Haruko accepted Holly’s request.

Haruko looks at Holly’s TinyDex Entry of her newly snatched Tiny’mon:

LillyFurball

Age: One Week Old

Power Points: 0

Skills: 0

Moves:

Pity Crying

Fur Dancing

Puppy Eyes

Attack Demolish

“She looks so cute if it were a cat,” said Haruko, looking at the Tiny’mon Holly just snatched. “It’s totally looks like a furball, which is what the name of this Tiny’mon is called. Though I am unsure where the name Lilly comes from. Hmm, judging by the stats, it is weak. Plus, there are many non-damaging moves and only one damaging move. I suggest you do some grinding to get power points and skills.” Haruko analyzed. Holly nodded, though it was not the answer she is looking for, it is the best advice Haruko gave her. “Thanks for the help,” said Holly. “No paw-lem!” Haruko replied.

The transit bus finally came and the two get onto the bus, with their stuffs, heading to their destined community college.

Haruko Fife belongs to @aprilbrowines

Lilly belongs to @gloriousdreamunknown

Holly Test belongs to @froppy-butterflyfan2000 (me)

[ohsolovingsouls]

Pinned Post: Muse List

Updated: 17th Sept 2024 - Bios are short for the moment as muses are being explored/revamped and full bios will be written out in good time.

Brief Rules and Muses are below the cut. - This blog is incredibly slow I also run @tealeavesandthorns (Main blog -and where follows come from) and @dxnisheatingdetective (secondary blog) - the muses here are mostly tertiary and muse comes and goes for them.

Rules:

Mun and Muse 30 +

No force shipping

This is a sideblog, just exploring the muses and having fun populating spy universes. Initially setting up as low activity.

Don’t be a dick

Hate isn’t tolerated 

Asks are always open.

All current muses on here are heterosexual

Larger list of rules can be found here (ignore muse specific ones)

- Hugo Teddy Wallace - 003 - 35-50 -

Brief About: Cocky, arrogant, annoying, Hugo is a bit of a thorn in the side of MI6, he likes to think he's the hero everytime and has a real hatred of Bond, seeing him as the favourite. In love with and a bit obsessed with Maria Bloomsco, Hugo generally does things for one of two reasons, will it benefit him or will it impress Maria. Tags: ;they love to hate me (fc), ;Hugo Thread, ;Hugo Likes

- George Finley - 45-55 -

Brief About: All anyone really knows about George is that he always has a ham sandwich for lunch and always drinks tea from a flask with a tartan print on it. Beneath his quiet exterior though George is a complicated man with a passion for numbers and a history in domestic espionage that runs deep. Tags: ;the most boring man in the world (fc), ;George Thread, ;George Likes

- Charlie Dawson - 35-45 -

Brief About: Charlie is the fun loving head of admin at Kingsman, her code name is Kilgharrah, the great dragon. Charlie is well known for her love of karaoke, the Mamma Mia movies and wine. She's open, always ready to offer sound advice and friendly but if you cross her she has a very good death stare. Tags: ; they call me the fun one (Charlie fc), ;Charlie Thread, ;Charlie Likes

- Huck Wells - Agent Rum - 45-55 -

Brief About: Grumpy but with a heart of gold, Huck has heard every pun about being a pirate because of his codename and his beard. Huck has been an agent for a long time, a mentor to a lot of others too. Huck can be stand offish at first but like an old dog once you have his loyalty it's there for life. Shipped with: Sora (@agent-scotch) Tags: ;not a pirate (fc), ;Huck Thread, ;Huck Likes

- James Davenport - Agent Cador - 50-60 -

Brief About: Once upon a time James Davenport was 007 and known as James Bond. He got so used to James as a first name that he ended up legally changing his own. After retirement from the 00 program James tried to slowdown and enjoy a quiet life but he itched to be back in the field, albeit without the constraints of the government. A contact put him in touch with Kingsman and James became agent Cador - though not as spritely as he once was James still gets involved in information gathering but mostly mentors new agents and talks them through missions whilst Merlin is busy. Tags: ;Life in the old dog (fc), ;James Thread, ;James Likes

- Indy Baxter - Agent Alundyne- 35-45 -

Brief About: Born with a freaky gene that heightened her pain threshold and made her freakishly strong Indy is a force to be reckoned with in the field. Though her parents dreamed she'd be an archaeologist and bring them riches galore, Indy instead became a Kingsman Agent. This gal is relationship shy, loves having a good time and can really kick some arse when it needs doing. Tags: ;No guts no glory (fc), ;Indy Thread, ;Indy Likes

- Arty Mills -Agent Tristan - 35-45 -

Brief About: Boyish, soft, charming and mischievous, Arty loves his job at Kingsman but not as much as he loves his little dog Betsy, a scrappy Jack Russell, that followed him around on a mission one time. Arty is well known for getting himself into scrapes and only just getting himself out of them. His mouth often also moves faster than his feet can. Tags: ;Don't stop me now (fc), ;Arty Thread, ;Arty Likes

- Dr Briar Rowan - Botanist and Zoologist - 35-45 -

Brief About: Soft and loving Briar lives her life amongst nature. Adoring it from a young age thanks to her hippie parents Briar decided to become both Botanist and Zoologist when she couldn't decide which of the disciplines she adored more. Briar loves the more beastly of plants, animals and insects and has a knack for seeing the charm in the more deadly and monstrous. Tags: ;Mamma Mia here I go again(fc), ;Briar Thread, ;Briar Likes

- Dr Stephanie Harker - Cosmologist and Vampire - Appears 35-45

Brief About: Focused, driven and driven Stephanie Harker was only ever concerned with her work studying the potential for other universes. She was obsessed and her family facilitated her obsession. It was all she ever wanted until one day her head was turned by a werewolf bodyguard assigned to her. Stephanie fell head over heels and eventually the two had a child.

One day her daughter went missing, never to be seen again and Stephanie was convinced she had stumbled upon a rift in the universe. Her and her husband drifted and he too disappeared. Stephanie set out to find them traversing universes and never giving up hope. Tags: ;I've got you under my skin (fc), ;Steph Thread, ;Steph Likes

[commodorez]

Hello! Just read the post about younger generations having gaps in computer literacy. I work in adult education and digital literacy is a major focus of national college and career readiness standards, which influence state adult ed standards. Literacy Minnesota’s Northstar Digital Literacy is a comprehensive program that many adult education schools use, as it’s designed for our population. I hope something similar can be implemented in K-12 and secondary settings.

Right on! Keep doing what you do! The fact that such education was removed in some places, or never existed in the first place in others is... concerning. I had the lucky break of being in a K-12 school system that had some cash to spend on computers and other technology. There were always computer labs available, to the point where I used one on a weekly basis. I could recount all of the reasons we would use computers, but I'd be here all day.

[whentherewerebicycles]

somehow it’s noon already!! but it’s been a productive morning. in my earlier research i’d been so focused on their first-gen numbers i somehow missed or didn’t fully register the fact that fully 40% of this school’s incoming students each year are transfer students from two-year colleges, which is obviously !!! a specific student population with unique needs that i should be prepared to address in whatever presentation i put together! so i did some initial research and reading in the secondary literature + then also reached out to two former advisees who transferred from community colleges and always had a lot to say about the types of support structures they wished they’d had. they were v happy to help so i set up calls with them tomorrow and on wednesday so i can pick their brains on how to effectively engage & support transfer students in undergraduate research. i made a promise to myself earlier in the week that i would only do rabbithole-style research if it felt like the topics would’ve been fascinating to me even if i didn’t have this interview, but i actually DO find this question super interesting and it’s also a fun excuse to reconnect with former students i haven’t caught up with in a while.

also man i just feel really happy and so much more like myself when i’m in this mode. my brain is WORKING again! i’m overflowing again with thoughts and ideas! i do think that trying a job outside of academia was a valuable life experience for me... and i do realize that this particular job is not representative of ALL non-academic jobs (if i didn’t have such a difficult manager i might’ve been able to stick it out here a lot longer). but also: i feel like you gotta pay attention to what energizes you vs. drains you in this life! and i am so energized by teaching, mentoring, program design, and doing any kind of research on those topics. i also feel my heart LEAPING at the thought of being immersed in a university community again. it’s funny because i get all the petty academic politics stories from macky and i knoooow how difficult & prickly & impossible academics can be but idk! as far as lightly dysfunctional work environments go, i find this form of dysfunction familiar and comforting! and i feel like the joy of working with students is sufficient recompense for the at-times harrowing experience of working with other academics lol. i’m just ready to be back in a place that i love and i’m really excited about this school in particular.

i was rereading the job posting earlier this week and thinking about how much more work it’s going to be than my current barely-anything job, which i know will probably cut into my loooong leisurely walks and my hours-long cooking sessions and my ability to lie around in bed for hours every day. it’s been nice in some ways to have so much time to do non-work things and to really get myself into good routines with cooking/exercising/etc, but i just DO NOT THRIVE when i have too much unstructured time and i am really, really starved for the casual friendly daily social contact i got from my old job. i feel like too much unstructured time = more time wasted because the time doesn’t feel valuable to me.

and idk i need people time! i need relationships with others! i need it both in a social energy and in an intellectual way... like, my conversations with students and the interpersonal conflicts you have to navigate and the unexpected things that come up in a teaching/mentoring relationship provide so much grist for the ol’ reflective mill. i feel like part of the reason i’ve felt sooooo bored and so annoyingly self-absorbed the past six or seven months is that i just don’t have enough INPUT you know?? i need all those interactions to spark new ways of thinking about something or new ideas or new interests to research. otherwise i’m just stuck in my own head, endlessly turning over my small cares and petty little resentments, without anything to challenge me or push me out of myself or force me to recalibrate the way i’m viewing a situation. anyway idk it’s all good data! as i am always telling students even bad or meh experiences can teach you something useful about who you are & what you need to thrive!!