#rule number 3: behave like calling them is your hobby. ask them how was their day. cosplay reigen arataka.
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unhonestlymirror · 2 years ago
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"In Japan some companies often try to avoid doing their job!" - dude, I lived in two countries and I have knews for you.
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afterarrowhours · 3 years ago
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Hey Im doing a spooky halloween event for JJBA!
I will have a set number open for different themed "prompts"
Please read the rules for each before sending your request
Match Ups(1/10)
These match ups are about paring you with a new monster roommate to help interspecies relations! We appretiate you signing up for the program! Things we will need to know for the optimal compatability between you and your new monster roommate.
Rules:
What we will need from you: Your Personality, Hobbies and interests, what you do for a living, how your living space is usually(messy/clean,professional/party-ready,ect) what you look for in a roommate. Any specific fears (paring a Naga with someone who is afraid of snakes or a Shade with someone afraid of the dark is the last kind of discomfort we want!) And if you wish feel free to put sexuality! It helps with paring a, closer bond if you wish❤
Interactions(0/10)
(Sort of an ask/rp segment) Talk to a dearest monster anything you wish.
Rules:
Please specify who it is you are talking to.(if you have a monster form in mind, please specify, if not, I will choose one I feel fits in character) max of repeated interactions per user is 3. If anon you must specify what they(I) call you (Silver Anon/Naga Kakyoin anon/ect)
Short scenarios with reader(1/10)
Self explanatory, scenarios/imagines with a y/n protagonist and a monster❤
Rules:
Specify what character/monster, for y/n(reader) you can pick between human OR monster. If you want not safe for the workplace afab/amab help, otherwise I will use gender neutral terms (they/them,hole/entrance) other than that please feel free to request your hearts content. 💕
Monster Biology(0/10)
Want a closer look on how monsters work? How specific ones interact with their nature? Feel free to ask! Our scientist will answer all!
Rules:
Just need what monster you'd like to know more about. Default for nameless monster(please specify) is life cycle, general personalities, behavior, courting and mating cycles. Specify with a name, and it will be how the monster character behaves specifically and how they interact with you❤
And that's it! Send while you can and have fun!
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forestofschwarzwald · 4 years ago
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More swallowed asks, I’m so glad I keep docs with the questions lol.
ANONYMOUS: Wow Victoria x Reiji sure have a lot of kids and they are all gorgeous! Any headcanons of their kids? What are their favorites and hobbies and how well do they get along with each other
And do they have a favorite uncle? I am really partial to Demetria I think.
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I couldn’t help myself after I started figuring out how much Reiji wanted to top his father all ways possible. After the first 3, I ended up wanting more children… heh I guess he charmed me.
As for favorites... they are all special to me in some way, let’s say to each of my babies I have a special but different link that cannot be compared.
About their uncles, Reiji killed the triplets a long time ago, before Gin was born. So they never met them, in case that it seems strange that they’re not mentioned!
Here’s what they have to say about your question:
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Hah I feel like you humans sometimes are interested in very trivial stuff… aren’t you?
Most of my free time is spent training and studying, even if it’s tough to keep up with a strict schedule, my parents don’t micromanage every minute of my day so… it feels nice. For a long time I was a prisoner, so most of my hobbies are simply habits of escapism where I put my mind away.
I like crafting bijouterie.My mother has been nurturing it for a while now, she goes out of her way to pick up the items I want.
The earring I wear is the first I made, I’ve always loved feathers.
As for my uncles… I… don’t know. Dmitri’s father, Shu, is a music teacher but I was never interested in learning, so we don’t talk.
Uncle Subaru is nice, he wasn’t too good at swordsmanship so Dmitri and I had to teach him. Despite being a weakling he has spirit, and he likes me to make bijouterie pieces for his little girl, so I’d say I get along with him the most.
When it comes to my siblings… Dianthe and Damien were always hard to get used to, up until they grew older I couldn’t really… “fit in”. When I returned to my parents I was an adult and there were two little kids I should call siblings? 
I preferred to keep my distance and rebuild the relationship with my parents. The older they became the better they understood my space but they still feel like “classmates” or “roommates” more than siblings. I don’t particularly dislike them, Dianthe used to set my cape on fire whenever I accidentally made Damien cry… but gladly she grew out of that habit. Sadly she still nags me about my language… It’s irritating… 
Dorian. Demetria and Dante always chased me around when they were young, and they still do when they need help… I guess they’re scared of Dianthe’s reaction so they use me as their shield. I think they’re nice, but Dorian and Demetria get in trouble on purpose often.
Dante and Damien are… a bit weird though, they’re so calm? I’m not saying I myself am annoying, but… it feels like they’re not even vampires. I think I prefer spending time with the rest of my siblings… those two make me feel like an oddball faster.
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Hobbies… I believe this heavily depends on my mood.
When the weather and the atmosphere is peculiar, I enjoy writing poetry.
Our uncle, Shu, taught me how to play the violin and sometimes I play alongside Damien when our parents organize a ball at the mansion, I must say I find it pleasurable.
But… fufu ~ of course, there are things I learned to indulge in.
We were all home-schooled, however, we have a duty to attend high school as a way to keep a human cover. Humans are very interesting, what they call sins are things they are quick to indulge in with no hesitation… a little pull and I have a dog for weeks…
They quickly get greedy and want my attention for themselves… ~ And there is no better feeling than the tears of a heartbroken pet that couldn’t help but want more of me.
Ah… of course, this is a secret. My parents hold me in high regard when it comes to school behavior, trying to tell them that I’m bullying other students will get you killed ♥
About a favorite uncle, I certainly prefer uncle Shu. He is well cultured and knows quite a lot about music, he has never been mean to me or my siblings… despite clearly disliking my father. I am unaware of the tensions between them however I know it’s a centuries-old story. Because of this I never talk about it with my father, and to be sincere… I feel more comfortable talking to uncle Shu than I do with my own father…
No matter how much he says he loves his children, I can’t help but think he only sees us as… the product of him and my mother. It irritates me… even if perhaps that’s what parenthood is… I feel Shu-sama’s appreciation for us is far more sincere, and unconditional. Father also thinks he can control how we look and how we behave at all times… we are not his little toys for him to try and mold us to his taste! We are individuals.
Ah… I may have gotten carried away… I have a bad habit. I picked it up from both my parents… I just keep talking and talking about things that irritate me. Fufu… well it doesn't matter anymore.
For my siblings, I would appreciate it if they were all like Damien, well behaved, well mannered, able to follow the rules and quiet. However this is not the case.
Gin may have been excused by our parents, even spoiled in my honest opinion, but I believe he needs to be properly educated in how to address formal situations! Despite me heavily disliking the imposition of a mold to adapt to, I understand its importance. Gin could have some consideration and at least not make the whole family look weak! He rolls his eyes, does not stand straight and eats like a caveman!
I don’t care how much he says he was a soldier, a prisoner, and whatnot! He is not anymore, he’s a prince and he should behave as such!
Damien is the one I get along with the most. He’s adorable and always looked for me for help, he was always interested in learning etiquette, and everything my father and mother taught us. He was always a respectable part of our family and he is the cook at the mansion! Our father is still far more skilled, but Damien makes very nice… “homemade” looking food. It has a loving warmth to it… I love my little brother.
Dorian… he thinks he is so much better than everyone else… he keeps competing with me at everything and, of course… he fails miserably. He is a mediocre number 2 that does not realize that being royal is about meeting goals, not just being born it. I would burn his eyebrows off if our parents weren’t so keen on reminding us not to fight. Despite this fact, he is quite the skilled dancer and always stands at parties, I am below average at this, and that is the only thing he’s allowed to win at.
His vanity will catch up to him one day, however. My mother has always expressed her concern about Dorian’s extravagant behavior, she believes he will be one day shot down from the skies and he’ll fall deep, and if anyone is to be believed… that is my mother. She knows how vampires are… or perhaps, Dorian has a bit of my father in him.
Demetria is quite the impressive lady, she meets all expectations… but she doesn’t talk to me much. As her older sister I have always offered my help, but she is… cold. Most of the time I can’t tell what’s going through her mind.
And our baby boy Dante… he was always a sick child. He was so weak when he was born that our mother decided to curse herself to not bear any more children. I know the word “curse” sounds strong… but worry not, she merely magically sterilized herself, it is a “curse” because it is irreversible.
Anyhow, Dante is the weakest among us and we all feel generally protective of him. However, I suspect there may be more to him than just… weakness. You see, Dante is usually calm and… quite tolerant, but when enraged… even I have trembled at the sensation of his aura. I think Dante may have explosive powers that he is unaware of… so I keep a good eye on him, we do not want his overwhelming power to hurt his weaker body. Despite that… he really is a brat, he likes to mock my manners as if I was some grandma roaming the mansion, and that is quite irritating! I know he is having fun whilst teasing me, but can’t he shut up for one millisecond as I talk to my mother?! 
Hm… Ah… I have spoken for so long that my throat feels dry… You should be paying for this, you know? I have given you such a thorough explanation… blood is the least you should be offering right now.
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Oh good evening, that is an interesting question. I always enjoyed gardening, the castle has many different types of flowers, even flowers you won’t believe existed are in underground hidden gardens, so I can confidently say that is my hobby.
I keep a diary where I draw each flower and study its properties. Being sincere, my father gives me the details since I personally am not fond of chemistry.
I also enjoy making bouquets for decor when there are parties at the mansion or as gifts, Aurora enjoys them a lot.
I don’t think I have a favorite uncle, both of them are nice to me.
As for my siblings, hm… —he sighs— I wish they weren’t so closed about their feelings. Dante and I agree that half of their problems are because they don’t admit how they feel.
Gin is very distant… We don't know what really happened to him before he attacked the castle years ago, and when I tried asking I got punched in the face haha… —he scratches the side of his face, smiling awkwardly — He apologized so many times afterwards, I’ve lost count of it. I learned not to ask about that. My older sister Dianthe is always treating me like I am her baby, and always pretends everything is okay, but I think something about Dorian and Demetria wanting to be the next head of the family is bothering her. She doesn’t talk about it and keeps acting like she is the eldest and in charge… but I think she’s having a hard time, she should realize how much of a perfect fit for a queen she is.
She’s a really gentle person… She may have some really weird hobbies… but I think deep down Dianthe is a kind soul, like our parents.
Dorian and Demetria both keep competing with Dianthe because they see her excel at so many things, that they feel like they’re less than her. They simply are insecure and they crave attention. I have to keep an eye on the kitchen or they’ll try to cook and blow it up… Our father is very sensible about the kitchen so I have to guard it.
I think Dorian and Demetria will have the hardest time coping with immortality… I sincerely worry but they don’t listen to me! They think that because I’m soft spoken I’m simply weak… —he sighs again.
Dante is usually quiet and I would say he is the most healthy mentally. However, he has some anger issues… whenever he is extremely angry his aura will rise… I never saw Gin and Dianthe scared before… so I’m aware they felt like not even them could handle Dante’s power. I worry about him since he is very frail, I’ve seen our father check on Dante’s physical condition regularly.
If he gets injured he takes longer to regenerate, he doesn’t drink live blood… he drinks donated blood from a plastic bag. I can understand how disturbing it is that we have to sink our fangs and hurt someone to feed… but… I worry he is deteriorating his state… He’s not interested in relationships so the chances of him having someone personally feed him are low as long as he does this.
He’s nice… he always keeps Dorian and Demetria in line by calling their attention or advising them. Despite being the youngest, he acts like he’s older than those two troublemakers.
We often find ourselves shaking our heads at the behavior of our siblings, I think he understands me the most, although I don’t think I understand him fully.
I hope to have answered all of your questions.
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Usually I would request for you to be on all fours and kiss my boots before you try to get any personal detail from me… but out of whim, I will be lenient. Just know that the rest of my pets won’t like you and… if they bite you, I won’t take any responsibility —he fixes himself on the sofa, legs spread in a relaxed manner — Anyway… what were you asking me about? Ah yes yes… Well I enjoy creating poisons. My father expanded on this with other types of chemicals… but I just like the good old slow burn of death… of course, I was prohibited from killing animals and people on purpose… so I simply focused on antidotes as well.
I don’t use them often however, they’re harder to make than you’d think.
As for my siblings… they’re unavoidable and a nuisance. Dante is extremely creepy with his aura bursts and Dianthe keeps nagging, I could do without them, but if I had to choose the least of nuisances I would say Dante is good enough. The older three have a tendency to exert authority over the rest of us and I am frankly not a fan.
When it comes to a favorite uncle I of course have none, the only reason they are around in the first place is thanks to my mother’s incomprehensible kindness and my father’s loyalty to her will. Whenever they visit I rather spend my precious yet limited time somewhere else.
Well, what are you waiting for? Either bow down to me or leave, I have plenty of hungry pets to discipline already so don’t waste my time.
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Your favorite, huh ~ I am not surprised. After all, who wouldn’t fall for my charms ;)
Anyway, let’s paint a clearer image of myself for you, shall we? In my free time I like to design BDSM instruments and sextoys… fufu~ Humans rarely ever openly embrace their sinful nature, but beasts like us shamelessly embrace our darkest thoughts in a “heartbeat”.
As for my siblings… I wish Dianthe didn’t exist. She thinks she’s special and every time I get to impress our parents she shows up, almost like she has a timer set for it.
Her facade sickens me… one small poke at her and she will blow up and drop her “perfect princess” mask. Yet our parents think she is deserving of the crown?! She does not have true manners if all of her manners are fake!
Anyway… Gin is quite the brute… and Dorian gets on everyone's nerves quite fast. He is the reason we are all afraid of our mother in the first place, he has managed to somehow make her furious once. That day we knew she could kill us if we defied the crown.
Dante is… —her lips curl into a soft smile— while he is a bit younger than me he has always behaved like my older brother. He helped me whenever I struggled, and he always tells me I’m good enough.
About my uncles, there is not much to say about them is it? I am not interested in the non-royal side of the family.
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Hobbies...I love videogames, and I have a favorite character that I love and cherish. I also enjoy streaming and speedrunning some games, sometimes my mother joins in for some quality content.
With the exception of my mother, I think my entire family is crazy… I don’t hate them though, I think they’re cool. But… they’re weird.
Uncle Shu is always donating to my streams, he’s really supportive. Despite his and father’s terrible relationship, he seems to be willing to stay a family figure for all of us.
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nightowlfandom · 5 years ago
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ROUND THREE- PROMPT LIST (REQUEST NOW, READ ALL OF THIS)
 So this is the THIRD installment of my “x reader” prompt list. HOORAY! In light of leaving for so long it’s made me realize that I feel dead inside without writing so, I’m gonna do it again and hopefully this time stay. Also since I don’t eat, breathe, sleep, and shit kpop and actually like some other things too, I feel it’s a good opportunity to share how I’d like various anime characters to fuck me up in more ways what one (wink wonk). I will also say I might only do “character x reader” because I am absolute shit at doing ships. It’s just not my thing and plus I love making peoples personal fantasies come true, it is a big hobby of mine. 
Also if you request a character (assuming you’re asking for an anime request)  that is portrayed as a young teenager, then most likely (scratch that, the word I’m thinking of is “absolutely”) he/she will be written in a universe as a young adult/older than 18 because I’m all about legal consent to doing the fun shit either that...or not at all. (I have to make this big because I cannot stress enough how important this rule is and if you can’t comply, then I have every right to reject your request) Don’t argue with me please.
Rules- You may choose up to 5 prompt numbers if you can’t choose, talk to me and we’ll go through it together because I’m here to capture your horny ass vision. (Example- You wanted to request 3, 4, 12, 45, and 23). Please start with telling me which character you’d like me to write for and give me some insight. (Example- You want a J-hope office AU, then explain the preface like hate to love, secret affair, cute office shit. Or let’s say for example you want something Levi Ackerman related and you talked back to him and he don’t like dat so he “punishes you” ;) ). Get it? Also I take kinder asks more often so keep that in mind, I won’t take your request if you seem rude or whatever.  
Before you ask, yes I do AUs. A lot of my entries are in fact AUs and they are actually my preferred method because who doesn’t love a good AU!!?!! But yeah do not be afraid to ask about AUs
So I usually write for k-pop groups, mostly BTS but I’m broadening my horizon sooo ayye so you can request for Got7, Winner, The Rose, Day6, EXO, if you aren’t sure what other groups I write for you can always ask! 
Anime- Attack on Titan, Black Butler, Fairy Tail, Naruto, BNHA, Kageguri, Tokyo Ghoul, Assassination Classroom, Diabolik Lovers, (ESPECIALLY THIS ONE, I freaking love Diabolik Lovers) once again if you aren’t sure, then please ask. These are just examples but I try to reach every aspect.
ANYTHING BY VOLTAGE- Kissed By The Baddest Bidder, Our Two Bedroom Story, Enchanted In The Moonlight, Butler Until Midnight, Scandal In The Spotlight,   PLEASE REQUEST IT BECAUSE AAAAHHHH I LOVE IT. I do not care which game, just tell me which guy from which game and I will make it happen because Voltage Games are a huge part of me. Just tell me which guy from which game.
Now onto the good stuff! (Also please note that some prompts won’t make sense with some characters and the only reason that is is so everyone can find something to attach to who they want) 
So this first part, is going to be what was on the previous prompt, after number 55 will be the new added on stuff just in case any one of my followers recognizes these. 
1- “How miserable must I be before you’re satisfied?”
2- “Guess I’m not cut out for this dating thing, huh?”
3-“Damnit! Do you have any idea how amazing you are?! Stop being so damn insecure”
4- “Don’t argue with me on this!!”
5- “I can’t just be friends with you…I can’t.”
6- “Do you have to be so annoying all the time?”
7- “No, you can not stay here…I don’t care that it’s raining!”
8- “Why can’t you see that I-….that I-”
9- “Stop pretending to be asleep..”
10- “ Could we go four seconds without you being annoying?”
11-“do you not know what the word ‘mine’ means?”
12- “Shhh, wouldn’t want anyone to hear us now would we?”
13- “I dare you to finish that sentence…”
14- “Someone’s a little irritable today…”
15- “We can’t all be a perfect prettyboy popstar!”
16- “You just…you just kissed me!! *Insert freaked out face here*”
17- “We’re only sharing a bed, it isn’t the end of the world.”
18- “Only make that face in front of me.”
19- “If you wanted my attention…all you had to do was ask.”
20- “I’m bored, wanna fuck?”
21- “Can’t you see that I…I…forget it”
22- “…I can’t kiss you the way I want…”
23- “It was foolish of me to think you could ever want a relationship with me…forget it.”
24- “I aim to please…”
25- “When did this topic even come up!”
26- “You’re so boring, haven’t you ever been wild?”
27- “Hm…I like when you do that.”
28- “I’m more than capable of being rough with you babe. You just watch.”
29- “Where the hell did you learn that?!?!”
30-“Well, the boys accidentally…saw that picture you sent…Have I ever told you how much I love you?”
31-“You need to be taught a lesson…”
32- “Shh, wouldn’t want the boys to hear us, now would you?”
33-I don’t understand you sometimes…but I like it.“
34- ” Don’t pretend that wasn’t on purpose…come here.“
35- ” I’m not so happy about doing a duet with you of all people…but could you at least try and not be a..” ( obviously used for kpop requests but this can be modified so don’t worry :) )
36- “Don’t pretend to care when you obviously don’t.”
37- “Am I making you nervous, Y/N?“
38-“I never thought I would see the day you actually take my advice ”
39- "Just admit you want fuck me…if you behave, I might just let you.”
40- “I…I think you’re wonderful…those horrible people you’ve dated…they didn’t deserve you.”
41- “It’s you and me, not us and them. Fuck what they think.”
42- “Oh my gosh, we didn’t…HOLY SHIT WE DID. You tell anyone and there will be one less idol in the world!” 
43- “You’re so quiet…is something wrong?”
44- “Maybe, if you beg, I might….”
45- “Go to sleep, I promise I’ll wake you up.”
46- “This could be more than just another one night stand…”
47- “It’s amazing what the internet will teach you” *casually holding handcuffs*
48- “…you deserve better, someone who cares about you.”
49- “Can’t I do something nice without being suspicious??”
50- “Finally alone…”
51- “Maybe, we could…be boyfriend and girlfriend.?”
52- “You can’t call me cute!”
53- “Have a nice sleep?”
54- “How stupid do you think I am?”
55- “ Are you shy? Around little ol me?”
... 
 56- “Is this how it’s gonna be between us, just fighting all the time?”
57- “You know after all that, you can still look at me and see something worth loving?”
58- “Avoiding me won’t fix your undying love for me, many have tried but all have failed Y/N.”
59- “Me? Self-centered? No no never!”
60- “You are the complete opposite of subtle and it’s amusing.”
61- “No! What are you afraid of?!? Why is is so hard to believe than someone like me could have feelings for you!”
62- “What did they do to you, I won’t ask again....”
63- “I want...to stay with you for as long as possible. Please...let me?”
64- “Even if I have to rip (your enemy’s name) heart out with me bear hands, I will always protect you.”
65- “What? (innocent face) I’m just massaging your shoulders.”
66- “You’re pretty cute for such a clumsy buffoon. Hmm Maybe I’ll keep you!”
67- “Hm, When you put it that way, it makes me sound like a monster.”
68- “ Oh honey, I treat you like a maid because that’s basically all you are.”
69- “Hmmm...turn your body around. Just like that, I wanna try something.” (You all saw this coming and shame on you if you didn’t)
70- “You want me to name all the reasons I love you?....We’d be here forever.”
71- “Oh baby, you’re terrible at hide and seek....but I’ll play along.”
72- “ Oh look, she finally stands up for herself...hmm. I like this side of you.”
73- “The guy you saw....isn’t me...give me a chance to change your mind.”
74-” What? Why are you crying??!! Oh for fu-”
75- “I bully you because it’s fun....no other reason really.”
76- “Why are you so breathtaking god-damnit!”
77- “I know you’ve never....done anything with anyone before...so I’m gonna make damn sure your first time is special!”
78- “ Call me cliche, but you really do look great in the moonlight.”
79- “ What’s this? A sketchbook? You won’t mind if I take a peek, right?”
80- “Shut up! I’m not blushing!”
81- “You look so...inviting all tied up.”
82- “You’re so good at taking orders. I wonder what else you’re good at.”
83- “Okay since when did getting into a fight for your honor become a bad thing?!!?”
84- “What’s the word I’m looking for?....Pet!”
85- “I’ll be the best boyfriend you’ve ever had, I promise!”
86- “ Me? Y-you like me? Y/N, If you’re joking you aren’t really funny y’know.”
87- “That’s pretty bold for something whose only wearing a towel.”
88- “So you didn’t think I’d catch you looking at some other guy right in front of me?!?!’
89- “ Me? A jerk? Hm...I didn’t know you felt that way....I’m-”
90- “Okay stop it already! People are gonna think I’m bullying you if you keep sobbing like that.”
91- “Hm, do you even have friends or is hanging out alone in an empty classroom/room all you do all day?”
92- “How do you expect me to focus when you’re practically begging for me to come over there and show you who you belong to??”
93- “Let’s say...for example...I was the one who left the love letter by your door...what would you say?”
94- “Do you enjoy being bullied by me? Are you a masochist or something?”
95- “ It’s not everyday I let you be in control...enjoy it babe.”
96- “Someone’s been messing with you? Are you gonna tell me who or not?”
97- “Is my heart just some sort of game to you!?!!?”
98- “You’ve got a lot of nerve showing your face around here after our last....interaction.”
99- “Oh don’t stop because of me, you looked so cute dancing around.”
100- “ I didn’t know...you were so talented. You’re amazing.”
101- “ Please never give up, for me, for us...”
102- “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m hugging you.”
103- “If I can eat your cooking every day, I’ll be happy.”
104- “ What can we say....sharing is caring.” (...best paired with threesome requests but haaaayy can be used for anything else.)
105- “ You need to learn some respect...bend over.”
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douchebagbrainwaves · 3 years ago
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EVERY FOUNDER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT WAY
When you're an outsider, don't be deterred from doing it. I'm optimistic.1 You don't release code late at night.2 But there is no apparent cost of increasing it.3 The CRM114 Discriminator. No one after reading Aristotle's Metaphysics does anything differently as a result of this practice was that we feared a brand-name VC firm would stick us with a county-by-word to save it from being mangled by some twenty five year old woman who wants to have lots of worries, but you feel like a second class citizen. The real danger is that you should study whatever you were most interested in. Half the time I'm sitting drinking a cup of tea. Chair designers have to spend on bullshit varies between employers. Well, most adults labor under restrictions just as cumbersome, and they also have more brand to preserve.4 Html#f8n 19.
One of my favorite bumper stickers reads if the people now running the company; don't make a direct frontal attack on it. And it can last for months. Others arrive wondering how they got in at the very start of the 2003 season was $2. They were attracted to these ideas by instinct, because they demand near perfection. No one seems to have voted for intelligence.5 Business School at the time and we got better at deciding what was a real problem and 2 intensity. Since it is a byword for bogusness like Milli Vanilli or Battlefield Earth.
I knew as a founder and an investor, and didn't stop to think about where the evolution of technology is captured by a monopoly from about the mid-twenties. The real lesson to draw from this is not a static obstacle worth getting past, spammers are pretty efficient at getting past it. I know of zero. But don't give them much money either. Work in small groups. Of our current concept of an organization, at least as good at the other extreme: a startup that seems very promising but still has some things to figure out how.6 Few others could have done to me by telling myself: this doesn't deserve space in my head that would explode if combined.7 We're up against a blank wall. If startups become a cheap commodity, more people would do. When you raise a lot of people.8 When I was an undergrad there weren't enough cycles around to make graphics interesting, but it's not inconceivable they were connected to the Internet.
Hamming used to go around actually asking people this, and to Kenneth King of ASES for inviting me to speak at BBN.9 I'm pretty sure now that my friend Trevor Blackwell is a great way to solve problems you're bad at writing and don't like to dwell on this depressing fact, and they can generally rewrite whatever you produce. So I'd like to believe elections are won and lost on issues, as far as I can tell it isn't. People in America. Should you add x feature? So which ones?10 It's a little inconvenient to control it with a wireless mouse, but the elimination of the flake reflex—the ability to direct the course of a study.11
Because I thought about the topic.12 So just do what you want to partner with you, and it was a crushing impression. It's what a startup buys you is time.13 In either case the implications are similar. Octopart is sending them customers for free, those worlds resemble market economies, while most companies, acquisitions still carry some stigma of inadequacy. Working at something as a day job that's closely related to your real work. Here are some of your claims and granting others.14 Knowledge is power. A few years before by a big company. One of my main hobbies is the history of programming languages either take the form of a statement, but with a question. Though in a sense attacking you. For founders that's more than a couple weeks.
Maybe if you can afford to be rational and prefer the latter.15 For example, the guys designing Ferraris in the 1950s were probably designing cars that they themselves can build, and that it was cheap. Yet the cause is human nature. Particularly in technology, at least, nothing good. But when you choose a language, you're also choosing a community. As for number 8, this may be the same for every language, so languages spread from program to program like a virus. It's like calling a car a horseless carriage.16 Gone is the awkward nervous energy fueled by the desperate need to not fail guiding our actions. 9889 and. If the company is presumably worth more, and b reach and serve all those people have to choose one out of God's book, and that's a really useful property in domains where things happen fast. Either the company is already a write-off.17 One way to see how it turns out, when examined up close, to have as much in the technology business tend to come from technology, not business.18
And for a significant number. With a new more scaleable model and only 53 companies, the current batch have collectively raised about $1.19 Rise up, cows! The results so far bear this out.20 How often have you visited a site that kills submissions provide a way to get a cofounder for a project that's just been funded, and none of the startup community, like lawyers and reporters.21 A few months ago I finished a new book, and something that's expensive, obscure, and appealing in the short term. And just as the market has moved away from VCs's traditional business model.
Notes
The knowledge whose utility drops sharply is the same investor invests in successive rounds, it would be to write your thoughts down in the country. I suspect the recent resurgence of evangelical Christians.
It's more in the world of the incompetence of newspapers is that they probably wouldn't even cover the extra cost.
If you're good you'll have to mean the company.
Eighteen months later Google paid 1. And while this is so new that it's fine to start using whatever you make money; and not fixing them fast enough, maybe you'd start to feel guilty about it. It requires the kind of method acting. It doesn't take a small seed investment in you, they sometimes say.
Yahoo. They therefore think what drives users to switch to OSX. 05 15, the group of picky friends who proofread almost everything I say the rate of change in the definition of property. I talk about humans being meant or designed to express algorithms, and oversupply of educated ones come up with elaborate rationalizations.
It's one of the founders of failing startups would even be symbiotic, because sometimes artists unconsciously use tricks by imitating art that is a matter of outliers, are better college candidates. If the rich paid high taxes?
But Goldin and Margo think market forces in the long tail for other reasons, including both you and the ordering system and image generator were written in 6502 machine language.
We did not become romantically involved till afterward.
They'll have a better education. Norton, 2012.
If Paris is where people care most about art. Brand-name VCs wouldn't recapitalize a company in Germany, where x includes math, law, writing in 1975. Com/spam. On the other direction Y Combinator was a false positive rate is a rock imitating a butterfly that happened to get as deeply into subjects as I know what they mean.
Big technology companies. I'm not making any predictions about the difference. These range from make-believe, is he going to be an open booth.
There should probably be the more corrupt the rulers.
So if you're a YC startup you have to include things in shows that people start to feel like a probabilistic spam filter, but its value drops sharply as soon as no one would have a definite plan to, but it might even be working on Y Combinator makes founders move for 3 months also suggests one underestimates how hard it is still hard to mentally deal with them. And that is worth doing something, but it might make them want you. Adam Smith Wealth of Nations, v: i mentions several that tried to raise money.
So if you're college students. Some introductions to other knowledge. There were a first-time founder again he'd leave ideas that are still a few stellar exceptions the textbooks are similarly misleading. You can get for free.
94 says a 1952 study of rhetoric was inherited directly from Rome. Sites that habitually linkjack get banned. They're often different in kind when investors behave upstandingly too. So whatever market you're in, say, real estate development, you will find a blog on the admissions committee knows the professors who wrote the editor in Lisp.
In fact the decade preceding the war on. I mean efforts to manipulate them. Though they were forced to stop raising money from mediocre investors. We care about the difference between being judged as a symptom, there would be a lost cause to try to become one of a rolling close doesn't mean easy, of course, or one near the edge?
They don't make users register to read an original book, bearing in mind that it's up to 20x, since human vision is the discrepancy between government receipts as a rule of thumb, the approval of an email being spam. Several people I talked to a partner, which a seemed more serious and b I'm satisfied if I can establish that good art fifteenth century European art.
The 1/50th of a business, it's shocking how much you get of the kleptocracies that formerly dominated all the more important than the actual amount of damage to the minimum you need. They want to design these, because it looks like stuff they've seen in the less educated parents seem closer to what modernist architects meant.
I don't think it's roughly correct to say that IBM makes decent hardware. Copyright owners tend to be actively curious.
So if you're a loser they usually decide in way less than the others. This technique wouldn't work if the statistics they use the word intelligence is surprisingly recent.
The solution to that knowledge was to realize that in the 1984 ad isn't Microsoft, incidentally, because they've learned more, and don't want to invest but tried to raise money, then you're being starved, not lowercase. The air traffic control system works because planes would crash otherwise.
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cskmschool · 3 years ago
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Top 10 Good Habits Every Parent Must Teach Their Children
As adults, it's far extraordinarily hard to alternate our methods and broaden an awesome dependency. You could all agree after I say that it's far less difficult to select outright conduct as an infant.
This, however, may appear like a difficult process for mother and father.
Well, now no longer really.
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Take a examine of those 12 wholesome conducts that you can educate your toddler and make a part of their day-by-day routines. With a bit of steerage and attempt from you, they are able to do it in a less difficult and faster fashion.
Here’s a listing of 12 right conduct for youngsters to enhance their fitness and discipline
How to Stay Fit?
Good sleep and normal habituality guarantee the right fitness.
Follow Bedtime Routines:
  A minimum of eight hours is actually vital for all youngsters. Encourage them to sleep early.
They should be in mattress cutting-edge via means of 10 pm and ought to have an early beginning to the day. They ought to be up and going for walks via the means of 7 am.
This is a crucial part of the habitual and could assist numerous different elements to fall into place. Ensure that they drink sufficient water after dinner and use the toilet earlier than calling it an afternoon. This will assist them to sleep tight until the morning.
2. Step Outdoors:
Play is simply as crucial as paintings. And as an infant, one should spend a minimum 1 to 1.five hours day by day on bodily sports. This no longer suggests indoor games. It approaches getting numerous Sun, making new pals, and numerous bodily hobbies outdoors.
As mothers and fathers and instructors, it's our duty to make certain that youngsters no longer spend extra than 1 hour watching TV, gambling on the iPad or Xbox. This makes them torpid and damages their eyesight too.
How to Stay Safe?
3. Obey Safety Rules:
There isn't any such factor as the old style with regards to obeying protection regulations. Explain for your infant that regulations are crucial for retaining human beings secure and satisfied.
When every person follows regulations, human beings frequently don’t get harmed, and those deal with every difference with kindness and admiration at the road, withinside the college, or maybe at home.
They should discover ways to cautiously stroll the streets, go simplest on the zebra crossing, get off a vehicle simplest onto the pavement, now no longer disturb the driving force at any point, now no longer meddle with unsafe such things as fuel line stoves, firecrackers, heating rods, to call some. This is a protection dependency that youngsters should follow.
4. Be Aware Of Stranger Danger:
Children at the younger age of three and four paintings only on impulse. They aren't antique enough. to distinguish between right and horrific. They are geared up to make pals and accept it as true without difficulty.
It is probably difficult to educate them on the idea of a stranger, however, it's far crucial to begin the discussion. When you move out, ask them to live close. Also, youngsters this age should gain knowledge of what is a superb contact and horrific contact and the way to mention no if they may be uncomfortable.
Kids may locate the idea of a stranger very confusing, so except Grandpa, Uncle and Aunty, deliver some examples of adults an infant can visit for assistance – every other relied on determination, teacher, or college administrator.
Point out authority figures, like protection guards and condo caretakers, so your infant can pick out strangers who are probably capable of assisting.
How to Stay Energized?
5. Eat Right, Eat Healthy:
Proper nutrients come from right consuming habits right, wholesome eating regimen is a dependency. Especially in youngsters, it no longer manifests overnight.
They want to be endorsed to consume extra sparkling meals like a culmination and should keep away from fatty and sugary snacks.
A low-fat dairy product additionally should be part of their meals. This might be a tall glass of milk or a bowl of curd. Avoid giving your infant sugary treats after they reap something.
Instead transfer to fun, tasty and wholesome options like a dry culmination, nuts, and domestic-made juice. Such an awesome blend of meal gadgets will offer the kid sufficient strength to live on the day and consciousness at the crucial matters.
6. Drink Plenty Of Water:
Water allows our frame in a couple of methods. As all of us know, it includes vitamins to cells and most significantly water allows us to dispose of waste merchandise from our main organs. As youngsters play all through the day, we should consider that water allows them to manipulate the frame temperature.
Without the proper quantity of water, an infant should without difficulty get dehydrated, and normal physical capabilities may also get hit. Hydration in youngsters is mainly crucial as their water requirement in terms of their frame weight is tons better than that of an adult.
If the kid unearths normal water and avoids it, then you can upload a few limes and tulsi to the family water. Ensure that they use smooth glasses and bottles to save the water and this may cause contamination.
How to Stay Healthy?
7. Stay Hygienic:
As younger youngsters, they have a tendency to play for lengthy hours. As a result, their garments acquire useless pores and skin cells, sweat, and in all likelihood different stains.
Overnight microorganisms begin to paint on those stains, now no longer simplest leaving the garments pungent however additionally should unfold a few disorders or contamination to the kid.
One should make certain that a younger infant has a tug as a minimum as soon as an afternoon in lukewarm water and wears freshly washed garments. The infant should alternate garments post-college, post-play, and earlier than the mattress.
Remember you've got sweat glands on your head too. So youngsters need to have a smooth scalp. Their hair should be washed with an infant-pleasant shampoo at least two times a week.
Children should alternate garments post-college, post-play, and earlier than the mattress to keep away from infections and diseases.
8. General Awareness:
In this developing day and age it isn't sufficient to simply study the alphabets and numbers. There is lots going on inside the international too and an infant can begin mastering approximately those happenings. One can pull out easy infant-pleasant information articles and examine it out to them or assist them to examine.
Young World via way of means of the Hindu is one such paper. The general focus is of maximum significance and studying the newspaper is a crucial dependency.
Not simplest does this increase their horizons however additionally complements their language skills. Also, inspire them to begin studying books and watch them fall in love with studying.
family chores assist youngsters to emerge as extra independent
9.Public Behaviour:
Inconveniencing human beings in public transport, now no longer speak to waiters or shopkeepers in a differential manner, selecting up matters that don't belong to you, ruining public homes and monuments are a few not unusual place matters that youngsters should turn out to be doing if they may be now no longer skilled proper.
They should discover ways to behave in public, however most significantly they ought to study the repercussions in their horrific conduct. Explain the effects and the want for them to act properly in public.
10.Sharing Is Caring:
Sharing tendency develops the right character ultimate and maximum crucial dependency is sharing. Very younger youngsters are extraordinarily self-targeted and goal-oriented. “I need that toy.”
And that’s it. Nothing else matters to them until they get the toy and most significantly they locate it difficult to manipulate their impulse. Sharing may be taught at home and withinside the college.
At the dinner desk, set an instance and percentage your favorite dish with the others. Encourage the kid to begin too.
In a classroom, installation institution sports might be primarily based totally on sharing. Tell them that grabbing isn't okay, and provide options inclusive of supporting them to pick every other item or cloth whilst they wait their turn.
Good conduct can cause a wholesome and satisfied life. Just consider, the kid is by no means too young to study. And as a determined instructor, it's far your obligation to inspire the right behavior in any respect at times. Positive reinforcement usually allows whilst coaching youngsters right conduct.
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a-magpie-witchling · 7 years ago
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Benign Blood Magick
Disclaimer: Artwork belongs to their respective owners.
Trigger warnings: blood (duh), needles and cutting, mentions of suicide (anti-suicide message) and violence, cancer, blood diseases, etc.
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Blood Magick is evil, right? It’s one of THE grand taboos for witches that don’t consider themselves Bad Witches ©
You’re wrong.
In fact, you’re not only wrong, but you are missing out on some of THE most benign and altruist spells you could perform that will up your karmic balance several notches (see number 3 below). I don’t really believe in karma but point stands because it’s always good to help a stranger.
I hardly think there are many ways to be a gooder (? witch than through blood magick.
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Plus look at that, being a blood mage is freaking badass
Let’s quickly clarify a few things before we start:
Blood magick consists, basically, of any sort of esoteric practice that involves your own blood or someone else’s.
If you come to shame blood mages here I WILL curse you with constipation or diarrhea and you won’t know which until it happens.
I don’t condone nor encourage cutting. If you’re depressed, suicidal, or addicted to self harm, please find professional help. I’ve been there. Trust me, you can get better.
Working with blood is DANGEROUS. Dried blood is AS DANGEROUS AS FRESH BLOOD. ALWAYS TREAT IT AS IF IT WAS INFECTED BLOOD EVEN IF IT’S YOUR OWN. USE YOUR FREAKING SAFETY EQUIPMENT AND STERILIZE YOUR SHIT, YOU DUMB AVOCADOS.
You can’t use your blood to represent another. It WON’T work no matter how much you try it. The only exception is your blood related direct family and here it’s quite the poor substitute. Although, spoiler alert, there’s a little exception to this rule. Your blood is, however, the most powerful representation of yourself you could use in any spell.
Blood cursing can fuck you up. Thread carefully and don’t mess with that shit if you’re a noob.
Blood willingly given is very different from blood forcefully taken. Don’t EVER try to involve robbed blood in spells that go against the owner’s free will. It WILL screw you over in ways you can’t even fathom. Blood has ways to defend itself.
Same way, dead blood doesn’t behave the same as living blood. Thus why animal blood obtained from your local butcher tends to be less potent, although still effective.
If you kill an animal to take its blood and don’t thank its spirit and/or make the best out of the rest, I will curse you with something far more serious than diarrhea, trust me.
Never, NEVER, NEVER! try to take blood from anywhere but your lip or the tips of your fingers unless you’re trained to draw blood. You can (AND VERY PROBABLY WILL) bleed out if you screw up. I’m not even kidding, people, I have first aid training. The smallest cut in the wrong place or under the wrong circumstances can cost you your life. 
If you’re thinking of committing ritual suicide by slicing your wrists or otherwise bleeding out, please don’t. Really, please don’t. Your life and blood could be put to much better uses. Once more: seek professional help.
If you’re gonna be drawing blood, I highly recommend you don’t take aspirins or any other vasodilatings close to the time of your extraction or ritual. Also avoid doing blood rituals while menstruating or anemic. If you carry any blood diseases, make sure to dispose responsibly of the elements used in the spell or sterilize them thoroughly. Get checked up regularly.
Other witches will tell you blood can be used as any other ingredient/correspondence in a ritual, just like adding rosemary or cloves! Personally I don’t agree. The same way you carefully pick the right herbs, either at the store or growing them, you should be aware of the limitations of your blood. If you’ve been going through a passing ailment, your blood will be less powerful than it can actually be (like withering herbs instead of fresh ones or broken crystals instead of whole ones). This is a very open criteria, to make your blood more potent you can exercise, eat healthy, have sex, get an endorphins rush etc. Just remember you will be literally spilling your blood for this, better make it as strong as possible!
Now let’s begin
Blood magick is very versatile, as much as crystal magick or herbal magick, so it all depends on your intent and how you handle this powerful raw energy. I’m only going to cover BENIGN blood magick in a couple of ways I’ve seen haven’t been addressed much or at all by other witches, since there are tons of resources for blood mages, so we can skip most of the typical uses and focus on less heard stuff.
1) Blood magick without extracting blood
Yep. No, I’m not crazy. Well, actually I might be but this doesn’t invalidate my point.
You can perform blood magick without taking a single drop of blood from anyone’s body. And this is very good for benign blood mages.
There are basically three ways of doing this:
- Waiting for the blood to come out naturally (through a fateful cut that just happens, menstruation, etc.)
-Working with your own body heat. Holding crystals and warming them up is as good as bathing them in your blood, after all, that’s what’s making them warm!
- Working with the blood inside the body. This is SPECIALLY good for spells cast over ourselves or healing magick. Hand impositions, crystal healing, chakra alignment, whatever. ALWAYS take into consideration the blood flow and use it to transport energy across the body. It’s an inner river, make the best of it and never swim against it’s current or you could harm the person.
2) Blood magick and meditation
Sit in silence. Close your eyes. Breathe steadily and slowly.
Feel that?
Your body swaying back and forth almost imperceptibly?
That’s your beating heart. Your heart LITERALLY moves your body when you’re sitting still.
Focus on that, that’s YOUR rhythm, that’s your soul’s tempo.
Related to point 1. Your heartbeat can be one of the most powerful tools to aid meditation. USE IT.
3) EXTREMELY POWERFUL BLOOD BLESSINGS: TANGIBLY AND TRULY SAVING LIVES THROUGH BLOOD MAGICK
Now this is the reason I’m writing this post.
I’ve never in my life performed a spell for myself. All of my magical practices have been targeted to someone else. So I’ve got some experience in altruistic magick.
And guys…
BLESSED BLOOD DONATIONS.
I personally donate blood at least twice a year since I’m 0+ so my blood can benefit anyone no matter their blood type. It’s a little ritual my mom and I have. We’re also organ and tissue donation advocates and are registered as bone marrow donors in our local children’s hospital.
If you’re not sure about blood donation because the syringes freak you out, try platelet donation!
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Platelets are mostly destined towards cancer patients on chemo. The needles are a LOT smaller than in regular blood donation, and the process can a while.
You know what you can do in the meanwhile if you’re not interested in the awesome movies they play?
MEDITATE. 
Meditate and let all your energy flow through you. Perform a strength and purification ritual before the donation, let it get to others through your gift of blood.
HEAL through it. If you’re a witch healer, PLEASE use your blood in this manner. Lives could depend on it, and it could be you, IT COULD AND WILL BE YOU, that makes the difference.
I always try to donate as often as possible, and platelets donation has become my preferred method because unlike regular blood donation that shouldn’t take place more than once or twice a year, PLATELETS CAN BE DONATED EVERY FOURTEEN DAYS AND CAN BE THE EQUIVALENT TO EIGHTEEN REGULAR BLOOD DONATIONS.
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As I said, I’ve never performed witchcraft for myself, but don’t think I’m calling myself some martyr witch. I just don’t NEED to.
When I started donating blood and platelets for my local children’s hospital’s leukemia center, I was suddenly blessed with the BIGGEST streak of good luck you could possibly imagine and it has repeated without miss since I started when I turned 18. From finding $700 innocently lying on the floor to making new friends that would later end up changing and indirectly saving my life, I was just on a roll and it repeats without a miss after donating blood. It lasts for about a week after donating.
And I think this comes from the relief and gratitude of the people you’re helping.
I’m a big fan of charities for a similar reason. Your life WILL be blessed if you bless someone else’s.
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So, bless others through your blood, which is the closest physical manifestation there is of your raw soul.
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How to do this?
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As I said before, strength and purification rituals before the donation are really helpful. Pro tip: carry the strength card in your wallet or pocket while you’re getting your blood extracted.
The night before as you begin your fast, draw sigils on your skin using lotion, water or other things. I DON’T RECOMMEND USING INK. Some inks -even non toxic- can be absorbed by the skin and transferred through blood to the other person and it is still debated if it could cause complications. (This is not the reason people with tattoos that are less than a year old can’t donate, this is to prevent crossed contamination).
I personally use this sigil:
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“Good health and happiness”
You can also bless the water you drink (and, seriously, drink as much of the stuff as you can, it’ll make it easier for the nurse to find your veins) or use (DRINKABLE!) moon or sun water. ESPECIALLY sun water. People that require blood transfusions sometimes have spent a long time away from sunshine.
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Charge yourself with non-toxic crystals (always, guys, not just for this).
If you believe in spirits or deities, ask them to enter your body and let you borrow their strength to pass onto another (depending on what deities you believe in, don’t be an ass and pass your evil little fuckers along to other people, I told you I’ll curse you with constipation).
Before the donation, exercise, eat something yummy (out of fast time), watch a comedy movie, take a nice nap, enjoy your hobbies, laugh a lot, kiss somebody, joke a lot, have (PROTECTED!) sex. Pass those endorphins along, bring joy and happiness to the recipient of the blood. There’s debate on how long the endorpins last, so doing this within 4-5 hours before donating is recommended.
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I always try to donate to someone I can follow up with (in case they need more platelets in the future). Keep them in your thoughts, cast healing spells in their name (you don’t need something from them to represent them now because your own blood is in their body! YOUR BLOOD IS THEIR BLOOD NOW! You can use it!).
Every time I donate, I feel myself grow stronger. The process is a bit depleting and requires rest afterwards, but guys
Your soul becomes mingled with other people’s
It spreads out and becomes larger, wider, the reach grows and grows
You wouldn’t believe the powerful magick behind blood rituals such as this. It’s wildly agreed that blood magick is the strongest kind regardless of the witch, but guys, this?
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It’s something else altogether.
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-Semiramis, the Magpie Witchling
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alterumxlestrange-blog · 8 years ago
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the history of the second son of lestrange
CHARACTER’S FULL NAME : Rabastan Lestrange
CHARACTER’S AGE / BIRTHDAY : 22 / April 14, 1957
OCCUPATION : Unspeakable.  Rabastan was recruited to the Ministry just after leaving school and the idea of such a job appealed to him on many levels.  It was prestigious, it was respected, and the secrets at his disposal were like none he could find anywhere else.
WAND DESCRIPTION : 13¾ inches, walnut, phoenix feather core.  
WHY THIS CHARACTER? : I think I can have a lot of fun with Rabastan.  He walks this kind of line between being outwardly crazy (a la Walden or Barty) and being that refined type of diabolical that you see in the “Sacred 28” Pureblood men (Lucius, Rodolphus, Atticus, etc.)  He has that arrogance of youth about him, as a second son he doesn’t have the weight of the Lestrange name on his shoulders, and the passion to want to prove himself.  There’s almost a sense of invincibility about him.  Which is not to say that he is invincible.  He’s not.  He’s just twenty two and stupid and thinks he’ll never die.  He is unapologetic and fierce which allows for so many fun options.  I mean, this is the guy who tortured the Longbottom’s with such intensity that they lost their minds.  That — is not normal levels of evil.  That is something else.  He, along with his brother and his sister in law, were also the only Death Eaters to search for the Dark Lord after his downfall.  His conviction and his loyalty are unerring, there is little he wouldn’t do to achieve his goals.
AFFILIATION : Rabastan is a Death Eater and a proud one.  It is the one thing he’s done the same as his brother and father before him.  There was a time when the part of him that longed to be anything other than “the youngest lestrange” rebelled at the idea of joining the Death Eaters just because his brother and father had but in the end, he did it because he wanted to.  Because he believed in what they stood for.  And if it meant being in his brother’s shadow again, well everyone had to make sacrifices.  It didn’t mean he had to make them gracefully.  
HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER FEEL ABOUT THE WAR? : Rabastan is young, the idea of war excites him.  Sure he believes in the outcome he is fighting for but he also enjoys the fight himself.  He is firm in his beliefs that some are better than others and he would more easily kill a mudblood child than harm his prized horse.  He is the sort of man who volunteers for missions and will often do the things others are too hesitant to do.  Even if it means enduring lectures on cautiousness and refinement from his older brother.
WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER’S GREATEST AMBITION? : He’d like to say his greatest ambition is to rid the wizarding world of those not worthy to be a part of it but Rabastan is not so noble.  His greatest ambition is the feeling of power.  He likes to feel like he’s in control and, in the event he cannot be in control, he wants no one to be.
HEADCANONS : 1. Rabastan doesn’t suffer from “the spare” syndrome, which is to say, he doesn’t feel insignificant or slighted or jealous of Rodolphus’ place.  It takes some of the weight off of him and it allows Rabastan to feel in control of his own life.  If someone were to ask him if he’d trade places with his brother, he’d laugh in their face.   2. He hates to fly.  When he was a kid he never liked the feeling of being suspended the air supported by nothing more than a plank of wood and it’s not something he’s ever really gotten over.  He didn’t play Quidditch in school, not even pick up games, and to this day prefers literally any kind of travel over brooms. 3. Rabastan is bad at emotion.  It’s not that he doesn’t feel them, he just has a very hard time processing them and the deeper the emotion, the harder it is to connect to it.  He has become very good at mimicking emotion because of this.  He knows how he is supposed to act and behave from watching others.  When he does manage to make sense of an emotion, though, it rocks him. 4. Tinkering with spells is a hobby of his.  He likes to manipulate them, to adjust them, to improve them.  He considered a career in spell making but he’d rather keep his creations to himself.  He doesn’t crave the notoriety of creating new spells, he prefers the advantage having unique spells gives him. 5. Rabastan is what some would call “a fucking asshole.” That’s the clinical term.  He’s cocky and egotistical and very much enjoys using his name to justify all of his actions.  He’s not particularly kind to those he doesn’t deem worthy.  Unless, of course, there is something he wants from them.   6. Authority and Rabastan are not the best of friends.  Rabastan values his independence and he bristles at nearly anyone who has the audacity to tell him what to do.  The only person whose orders he follows without argument is the Dark Lord — and even that just means he doesn’t argue to his face.   7. When thinking of sons of pureblood families, many conjure the image of a cool and collected man, refined, judgemental, and snide.  Rabastan is only some of these things.  Snide, of course, and judgemental, but the similarities end there.  Rabastan is loud.  He talks too loud and says too much, he is too rough around the edges, he laughs to abruptly and too often.    
EXTRA INFORMATION : Star Sign — Rabastan is an Aries, the first sign of the zodiac.  Aries is known to signal the beginning of something energetic and turbulent, both words that could describe Rabastan.  Aries are known for striving to be the best, for being active, for sometimes acting even before they speak.  
“Hand me your hand, let me look in your eyes as my last chance to feel human begins to vaporize.  Maybe it's the heat in here, maybe it's the pressure; you ought to head for the exits, the sooner the better.  I am this great, unstable mass of blood and foam and no one in her right mind would make my home her home.  My heart's an autoclave.  When I try to open up to you, I get completely lost.  Houses swallowed by the earth, windows thick with frost.  And I reach deep down within but the pathways twist and turn and there's no light anymore and nothing left to burn.”  — Autoclave by The Mountain Goats
BIOGRAPHY
Two to three children was a typical number among the families of the Sacred 28.  Though the modern times trudged on, tradition was harder to shake among the wizarding world and even more so among those families of the purest blood and largest bank accounts.  The old saying, an heir and a spare, wasn’t a rule persay but it was always good practice in families with huge inheritances and far too many branches to keep track of.  On the morning of April 14, 1957, Rodolphus Lestrange Senior and his wife, Valeria Travers gave birth to their second and final son, following tradition and ending for them what was only ever a marriage of convenience.  Oh they certainly played the part of esteemed husband and wife but they were rarely more than friendly with one another.  Theirs had been a marriage of politics, not of love.  The best that could be said for them is that neither was particularly miserable.  
This was the home Rabastan was raised in.  A home devoid of that warm and comforting feeling that one begins to associate with “home” as they grow.  Rabastan’s house always felt more like a museum than a place of refuge.  However, knowing nothing else, this didn’t phase the youngest Lestrange.  He simply grew without a need for attachments like sacred spaces and childish hideaways.  One wouldn’t think to look at Rabastan but he was someone who had an overly developed imagination and his childhood was to blame.  Without the frippery most children had in the form of playrooms and yards and games, Rabastan found amusement in his own mind.  He read often, though he didn’t particularly enjoy it or not, but he thought endlessly.  There was a time when his parents thought it was possible that he would end up in Ravenclaw what for all the questions he asked.  
But Rabastan’s destiny always pointed towards Slytherin.  His thirst for knowledge was not for knowledge’s sake alone but in order to best understand how to get what he wanted in the way he wanted.  Even from a young age there was something Rabastan always knew and it was what he wanted.  What he had to learn as he grew was what to do when what he wanted was something he could not have.  Luckily, being a Lestrange, that list was small and it didn’t happen often that he had to choose duty over desire.  
When Rabastan got to Hogwarts, it was no surprise to anyone when the hat placed him beside his older brother at the Slytherin table.  Rabastan flourished in Slytherin house, his ambition was well matched and he was surrounded by his own kind.  Children from the Sacred 28 whom he’d known since birth, other purebloods who perhaps didn’t make the list of high society but were still cut from a similar cloth.  Rabastan fed off of these influences, shaping and molding the man he would be as he interacted with all different kinds.  He developed a small circle of close friends and it was only the closest of those that grew to knew Rabastan at his most natural and comfortable.  
Rabastan came on the heels of his brother to school and felt the need to make it clear to everyone that the Lestrange men were not two of a kind.  Where his brother was more refined and cautious, the perfect model of the Sacred 28, Rabastan was unpredictable and hedonistic.  He reveled in all he was and all that his name guaranteed him.  He excelled at school when he put his mind to it, showcasing a brilliance in the things that interested him and a complete lack of care when things did not.  In his later years at school, he was the organizer of more than a fair share of common room parties and developed a reputation for the skill with which he not only avoided detention but caused a fair few to do his time for him.
He was examining possible career choices in his seventh year when the Ministry approached him about a career as an Unspeakable.  The idea appealed to him for many reasons.  It was something completely shrouded in mystery and the chance to be one of the few wizards in the world with such access was something Rabastan couldn’t pass up.  Unspeakables were also among the highest respected members of the Ministry, thanks to the mysterious fog in which they carried out their careers.  It did not take much wooing from the Ministry to win Rabastan and after graduation he began his career in the Thought Chamber.  
Also following graduation, Rabastan followed his father and brother into the ranks of the former Knights of Walpurgis, by that time called Death Eaters.  It wasn’t an easy decision for him, though.  Rabastan recoiled anytime he was faced with the idea of doing something merely because it was expected of him.  Rodolphus was the perfect son, Rabastan had the distinction of being what his mother called a “wild spirit.”  That wild spirit, though, found itself at odds when it came to the Death Eaters.  Yes it was something expected of him, something his father and brother had already done, but it was also something he wanted for himself.  Rabastan agreed with all the things the Death Eaters stood for, blood purity and a distaste for those of dirty and tainted blood, the belief that only those of the oldest bloodlines should maintain power, the idea that witches and wizards had lived in secrecy for too long, cowering for fear of mere muggles.  With the exuberance of youth, Rabastan poured himself into work for the Dark Lord.  A Ministry official and an Unspeakable, he was a font of information for the powerful wizard to whom he pledged his allegiance and he struggled to rise quickly through the ranks.
Firmly in his place among the Dark Lord’s followers, successful in his job at the ministry, all that was left for Rabastan was to leave behind childish romance and fulfill the one obligation his family actually expected of him.  Marrying someone they deemed appropriate.  His betrothal to Lavinia Rowle was worked out quickly and announced with pomp and circumstance.  To say Rabastan was pleased with the arrangement was a complicated statement.  Of possible choices, Rabastan didn’t mind Lavinia.  He’d even go so far as to say he enjoyed her company.  But it was the one thing he was being asked to do simply because he was a Lestrange and it was expected of him and that was something he disliked.  He hemmed and hawed at the match, going so far as to inform his potential betrothed of his displeasure.  But for all his complaining, it was on of the few things he was unable to talk himself out of.  So he resigned himself to it and entered into it as his parents had before him, looking for a partner and perhaps a friend but not expecting more.  When he got more, it shook him to the core.  And then, before he knew it, it was gone.  She had left him with the first scandal he didn’t know how to talk himself out of, a heart he hadn’t known could break, and far more questions about himself than he felt entirely comfortable with.    
PARA SAMPLE
It had been Bellatrix who told him Lavinia had been in the bank.  She hadn’t been the one to mark his fiancée — if she had been not even her marriage to his brother could have protected her from Rabastan’s rage — but she had been in charge of the group that had.  He didn’t have the time to fight with her about who it had been, he could deal with that later.  What he had to deal with now was the fact that his fiancée bore the word TRAITOR on her arm and he had to deal with all that that implied.  For one, she was meant to be his wife.  His parents had chosen her for her family, her purity, her perfection and now she was marked as a traitor.  It was a fire he would have to put out.  He could hear his father already, calling for the arrangement to be annulled and for a new wife to be found.  When they’d first been betrothed, Rabastan would have been of the same opinion.  But now?  
It would take every argument and ounce of finesse he had to keep Lavinia in his life.  
Second and exponentially more dangerous, the Dark Lord had chosen those to be marked himself.  The invitations had been sent out with his approval.  He had chosen Lavinia for that Mark.  Defying his parents Rabastan could do, but the Dark Lord?  The younger Lestrange was unfamiliar with the feeling called fear but he thought that perhaps that cold wave of nausea in the pit of his stomach when he thought of that defiance was what people referred to when they said they were scared.  He pushed it down, indulging it would do no good.  If he was to find a way out of this, it was through logic and not emotion.
He stormed through the streets on the way to St. Mungo’s, cloak billowing behind him.  He was still fuming from his discussion with Bellatrix, a discussion that nearly ended up in curses flying as she informed him with a smile of his fiancée’s fate.  Only because his brother stood physically between them did Rabastan restrain himself from taking his anger out on the wild haired witch.  Inside the lobby, the smell of terror assaulted him and he had to fight to keep himself from sneering.  Around him, those who had been marked filled the halls.  He spent a moment watching not the victims but their family members, seeing the relief and worry on their faces.  Some stood at the information desk with panic alive on their features.  He twisted his features into a similar expression and joined them at the desk.  
“My fiancée.  I’m looking for my fiancée.  She’s here, they said she was here.”  He faked the tone of concern with disturbing accuracy and the witch behind the desk fixed him with a sympathetic look.  
“Her name?”  
“Lavinia.  Lavinia Rowle.”  He was directed to her room and he hurried there through the throngs of people.  Only when he had reached her room and found that she shared it with no one did he let the expression drop.  
Except it didn’t, not entirely.  Because beneath all of it was the third third.  He loved her — and now she was lying in a bed in St. Mungo’s face pale and drawn.  
“Are you alright?”
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letters-iwillnevergiveyou · 6 years ago
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New Years Eve Bulls7$*t
Dec. 31 2018
    So you did the unthinkable, the unimaginable. You actually left me on New Years Eve at home by myself. I knew there was a big possibility this would happen. You said you had business to take care of but after I asked you not to leave me alone on New Years you ended up telling me you were staying home because I couldn't go with you to take care of this business. I don't understand you. You always tell me that but then I find out you pick up D.J. and she goes all over with you. So you leave me home alone constantly and take someone else with you, all while telling me you are alone. And you wonder why I can't trust you. You also said you were alone yesterday and couldn't call me. Come to find out that too was a lie. D.J. was with you. You could have called me all along you just didn't.
    Anyway getting off track. Tonight. We go to the post office to send off records I'm selling. My dead husbands records I might add. To help us fund this trip to Belize. You didn't get tracking numbers, or a receipt. I'm totally screwed. All these people are expecting a product and by a certain time. I'm already a month late because of you. You couldn't go back in and get the numbers because they closed. Then you take me to get food. Finally. I told you I was hungry at 12. It was after 6 by this time. Then we go home. You took your apartment key off the ring so I could get inside, telling me you were going to finish hooking up your stereo. I stupidly listened and believed you. After I went inside you took off. The only reason I knew is because I was using your mobile hotspot and when it disconnected I looked outside and you were gone. Now here I am with no phone, my boyfriend ditched me, my car that you have been using while yours has been broke down is now broke down, and I'm fucked again. How can you not see how fucked up this is? I should have taken your car and left you here to sit a couple days with no phone, no transportation and no money. I bet you wouldn't like it. What is wrong with you? How can you treat any human being like this let alone someone you supposedly love? I don't understand. I keep thinking maybe you just went up the street to your buddys house. Maybe you just needed a minute away. Maybe you will make sure to be back before midnight and kiss me, bring in the new year with me, the woman you love and want to do life with. But honestly, you don't do life with me now. You lead a triple life. There is the life you have with me. The one where I am like this secret. You talk a little, have sex with me, then immediately take a shower and off you go. You either stay in the bathroom on the phone or getting high, or you leave. There is the life of the drug dealer. You hang out with your friends and get high. You drive all over the place and do favors for people if there is money or drugs in it for you. Then there is the nice sweet man you pretend to be to the rest of the world. The man you tried to trick me into thinking you were. The one who says the right stuff and pretends to care about you and what you have been through. The guy who anticipates your needs and is there for you when you need him. He is a good dad and just misunderstood. He doesn't exist. He only exists in the 16 dating apps he is signed up in. You know the ones you told me were a "hobby" that you would give up when I told you it hurt me for you to talk to other women that way. Yeah those. I wonder if Sandy ever even cheated on you or if it was you that cheated. I have her number I should find out. Oh who cares I guess. It doesn't matter. You have hurt me more emotionally than I have ever been hurt in my life. I read an article online about signs that you are emotionally abused. Check it out. It's eerily familiar....
10 Brutal Signs Your Man Is An Emotionally Abusive Jerk
By  Dr Annie Kaszina
How do you spot an emotional abuser? Most likely when a guy first comes a-wooing, he won’t be carrying his, “I’m an emotionally abusive man” placard. So how do you identify him before you get hurt?
Here are the tell tale signs that he is an emotionally abusive man:
1. He shows a lack of respect. Not all emotionally abusive men will show you a lack of respect from Day 1. Some will turn on the charm for a while — others won’t.  But how do they behave toward other people and speak about them? If your boyfriend is critical or contemptuous of other people, be very aware that you have a short shelf life before you become those other people.
2. He always tells incredible hard luck stories about his past. Every emotionally abuser worth his salt has a great hard luck story about his tough past — and, boy, does he tell it well. Telling you his hard luck story is a neat ploy. You only have to respond like the uber-caring, empathic, trusting person you are for him to know you are his perfect… prey.
3. You notice worrying back stories about women. Yep, he’s the one who’s suffered at the hands of women who didn’t understand nor appreciate him. He’s been let down, treated badly, exploited, and robbed blind by past wives and/or girlfriends. His bitterness about these predatory b**ches sends a clear message about how he wants you to behave: no demands, no expectations, just 100% commitment to healing his hurts.
4. He has a bad behavior — or three — that needs to be fixed. That could include drug taking, alcohol abuse, leering at women, tight-fistedness, or anger issues. He’s a little bit broken, but hey, your middle name is Ms. Fix-Him.
5. He’s domineering, and/or jealous, controlling and self-centered. You can tell yourself he’s just “being a man,” but the reality is that he is establishing a power (im)balance in the relationship. It works on the principle that he has the lion’s share of the power, and you get the lion’s share of responsibility.
6. He gets star billing in the relationship — with all that, that entails — while you get to play the bit parts. He gets most of the airplay, and the limelight, etc. as befits the star. It won’t be too long before he lets you know that your job is to keep his trailer nice and tidy.
7. He has a short fuse. “Slow to anger,” “quick to forgive and forget,” and willing to own up to his own mistakes, are NOT accurate descriptions of him.  He’s easily upset, he overreacts, and as he tells it, the problem was not of his making in the first place — so, he rarely has to get his head around the “S” word  (that’s “SORRY” to you and me). He may well be a “potty mouth.” He certainly doesn’t react in a measured, adult way when he feels peeved and aggrieved.
8. He’s not 100 percent reliable, consistent or predictable. “Something comes up” or he’s feeling too tired or he’s been really, really busy. Showing consideration for you, your wishes, and your feelings is not his top priority.
9. He doesn’t let you have boundaries. He asks inappropriate personal questions early on. He rushes you and the relationship. He sets himself up as the authority on every area of your life — including family, friends, your working life, and even your finances.
10. He sets off warning bells in your gut. There was that moment right at the start when, from somewhere deep inside you, there bubbled up the awareness: “YUK. This guy is bad news.” Sadly, that feeling didn’t come with a 20-page PDF report, a government health warning, or even banner headlines anywhere you looked. So what did you? You ignored that feeling. “Listen, if it can’t give me a chapter and verse, why should I pay attention to it? It’s making a lot less noise than he does. Besides, he might be my last chance at happiness, right?” Your intuition doesn’t obsess about the past, or worry about the future. It simply comes to the right conclusion in the present moment. Its predictions are far more clear-sighted than yours are.
If you want to keep yourself safe from emotionally abusive men, you have to learn how to spot them. Emotionally abusive partners create massive mental, emotional and financial havoc in their victims’ lives. This article is here to spare you heartache and disappointment. Don’t be too blind to see them.
.............................................................................Wow. All I can say is wow. So lets break it down.
1. Lack of respect. I don't think I have ever seen you show anyone respect except when you talk about Charlie. Which comes from abuse of your own as a child.
2. Tells hard luck stories. Oh my god I won't even go there. You have a poor woe is me story to excuse every bad behavior.
3. Worrying back stories about other women. Yep! Helloo! The most horrible stories about the women from your past.
4. Bad behavior. Do I even need to go there?
I'll use short answers. Lying, cheating, manipulating, drugs, etc. etc. etc.
5. Domineering and/or jealous controlling and self centered. 150% yes yes yes. You make it very clear you are the boss. All these rules for me that just don't apply to you.
6. Star billing in the relationship. Umm ya. It's all about you. Always is.
7. Easily upset, overreacts, doesn't take responsibility. You get mad at me when I simply tell you how I feel. Or how your actions hurt me. You never apologize. You don't ever take responsibility. It's always someone elses fault or my fault. You will do something fucked up to me and it somehow is my fault. Every fucking time.
8. Not 100% reliable consistent or predictable. This is you. I never know what you are going to do. Even when you try to do better it might only last a day, a week, a month maybe an hour even. Point is, I never know what you are going to do. And you don't show you care about my feelings or needs no matter how clear I relay them to you. I am last on your priority list if I'm there at all. i.e. TONIGHT FOR EXAMPLE
9. The first part of this one eh not so much but the part about you being the authority on every area of my life is spot on. You don't let me have boundaries. You will tell off my entire family if you don't agree with them and my relationship with them. I have ostracized my entire support system because of you. I had it pretty good. My mother in law and I had a great relationship, so did me and my mom and sister. Now I have no one but you. Thanks for that.
10. Sets off warning bells in my gut. Yes, you did. From the very beginning. There was just something always nagging at me telling me you were full of shit. Like how anytime you did something shitty and I would try to talk to you about it, before I could say anything you would distract me by telling me something I wanted to hear. In fact the night you told me you were falling in love with me was one of those times. I was mad at you and said we needed to talk. I was about to tell you whats what when you blurt out you're falling in love with me and that i intimidated you and you didn't know how to act around me. Very fucking smooth.
So there you have it. I am officially the victim of emotional abuse. I never thought I would ever again be in a position to be abused ever again. Yet here I am. The stupid part is that if you were truly remorseful and made an effort I would stay. I would try to make this work. But who am I kidding? You don't love me and I'm not sure you are even capable of loving anyone. J---n lives to love and look after J---n. Ugh I'm fucking done with this entry. Worst New Years Eve I have ever fucking had. If you loved me you would want to be with me.
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enetarch-entrepreneurship · 7 years ago
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Primary Business Activities - 1 of 4
I don’t post often, so if you have questions, contact me and ask.
There are 4 primary business activities that every entrepreneur must focus on in order to succeed. Only 4.  While there are over 60 departments in every business, they only lead to busy work. Instead, focus on the business problem your client’s are trying solve. They, like you, feel their time is valuable, and thus want to make sure it’s producing a revenue stream.
I will be discussing them through 4 posts, as 1 long blog has become to unwieldy to maintain.  
Here we go.
Customer Support
Strengthening relationships is the focus of this department. 
Why does one prospective client choose your services while another choose not to.  It’s because of who they know.  Six degrees of referrals play an important role in building trust with customers.  But when building a new client base, it takes on average seven (7) meetings for a prospective customer to engage you in a conversation.  
As you engage your target client, you will need a method to collect information about them in an organized method. I discuss this activity and some data points below.
And, then finally, there are referrals.
Engaging a Prospective Client
Once the prospective customer engages in conversations about their business, pay attention to what they provide.  Learn what their business problems are. Ask what solutions they have thought about.  Determine if a your products and solutions that can solve their problem. And, if necessary provide the technical support needed to resolve the problem. 
Additional responsibilities here are to collect on accrued hours that become outstanding bills, they will also focus on pricing different packages to insure that they are competitive.
To build these relationships, follow these simple rules:
Invite the customer to discuss their business problems.
Thank them if they can’t or choose not to discuss them at that time.
Only discuss an issue when they are ready to discuss it.
Only use the words that they say to describe the problem.  
Never throw out solutions to see what sticks.
Let’s walk briefly through these steps then move on to the next primary business activity.
As a customer service representative, your job is display empathy.  Empathy that you understand and feel how hard it is to run their business.  That empathy may be in the form of knowing when and when not the right time to talk to them about their business problems is/are. Thus, your invitation to discuss their problems has to be appropriately timed.
Thanking someone is part of gratitude practice. Whether they are able to share or not doesn’t matter. You have extended them an invitation to talk with you about a problem.  And, you’re acknowledging them regardless of whether or not they can or choose to talk to you about it.
Attempting to discuss an issue when a client isn’t ready to only leads to your credibility and trust being destroyed. So, don’t push the conversation, unless the customer is in the middle of a shit storm and really does need someone to save them. At which point, your credibility will sky rocket for a moment.
Have you ever had a conversation where someone kept correcting the terminology you were using, as you tried to describe a problem to them. Frustrating isn’t it.  And, it probably made you feel inferior, as well as that the other person was an ass-hole who didn’t care about you or your problem. People have problems articulating problems.  Fumbling for the right words, mixing feelings, emotions, events, switching nouns and verbs ... communication can become a mess some times, when someone is exacerbated.  
Be the calm in their storm. Be patient. Wait. Use their words, and if they are trying to find a word or phrase that describes the problem they are having - provide it. 
Finally, while everyone has problems, professional courtesy means not talking about your problems.  Yes, you have business and personal problems. You are not there to share yours.  You can use your problems as an example of how you resolved a problem, as a way to demonstrate that you’ve been where the customer is.  Using unresolved problems, only leads to the customer feeling that the roles have changed, and they are now taking care of you.  So, unless they are a professional in that business, just say “NO!”
Client Profiling
Most people are familiar with profiling from the police, or from basic marketing strategies. While profiling will be used throughout your company to understand your client, we will discuss it here briefly,and in more depth in a separate blog article. 
Race, age, hair color, skin color, ethnicity, creed, religion, ...
Likes and dislikes
How they behave under different circumstances
Hobbies and Non-Profits they support
Important Anniversaries / Dates
Children / Relatives / People they care for / about
Buying Habits
Buying Cycles
Then there’s business profiling:
Business Type, Size, Location
Clientele
Their Global Calendar
Organizational hierarchy
Policies
Marketing, Customer Support, Research and Development, and Production
Products like Sales Force, Act, or GoldMine can help you collect information about your client.  However, none of this information is useful, unless you remember one thing:
It’s used to create excuses to help you engage your client.
Let me say that another way ..
You know your client’s gaud child likes baseball.  You happen to know that a famous baseball player is coming to town. AND!!! ... you happen to know where you can get tickets to this event.  So, how would your customer feel if you provided them with a set of tickets???
If you ever get the chance, watch the movie “Pursuit of Happiness”. This movie exemplifies what I’m trying to describe here.  Will Smith, calls 1000′s of prospects to see if they are interested in insurance.  He eventually finds someone who wants to meet, and begins building a relationship with that client, which eventually leads to a sale of the product, and to his being hired by the company.
While the movie is based on luck, there is nothing wrong with building 100′s of relationships and eventually having a prospective client refer you to one of their client’s who needs your services. It’s about the turtle not the rabbit.
Referrals
Always ask for referrals =)
Tom Hopkins has a unique way that he asks for referrals.  He doesn't’ ask a client to pull names out of thin air. Instead, he asks his client’s to think of a very specific pool of people. Someone, like them, who could use the product or service.
By narrowing the field of prospects, the client is more likely to think of someone who can use your products or services.  However, if they don’t, ask if they are willing to hold onto a couple business cards to pass to people they think of.  2 to 3 should suffice.
Quality Check
Charles Schwab, authored a book called, “The ultimate question”.  In his attempt to quantize how effective customer support was, he searched through 1000′s of questions to find one that actually provided a number that was relevant to actually indicating whether or not the customer was getting value for the service they needed / requested.
Did the service provided help you?
What could I improve my service?
On a scale of ZERO (0) to TEN (10) how was my service today?
Most customers won’t give you a 10.  But they will give you an 8 or an 9, because they feel that there is always room for improvement.  Though, they won’t know what it is at the 8 or 9 level.  Anything less requires the second question be asked, as the client will have a specific aspect of the service that should be improved.
What could I do to improve my service?
Using the rules provided above, engage the client in a discuss about what should be improved.  In addition, follow this script:
What happened?
How do you feel about what happened?
What does this event mean to you?
What judgements do you have about .. the service, the company, the person who provided the service?
Has this happened before - either with us or another provider?
What did you want to have happen instead?
Is there anything we could do to resolve the problem?
With this information in hand, you are in an informed position to understand the grievance, and take the appropriate steps to correct the service, products, or discontinue providing support to the client.  AS shocking as that may seem, there are client’s out there that will never be satisfied no matter what you do.  You want to focus on the 80% of the clients who enjoy your services, and are willing to refer you.
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char27martin · 7 years ago
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How to Survive a Long Production Cycle
Every writer understands that penning a novel takes time. For some, the process may take months, years, even a lifetime. Many don’t understand that once the novel is complete, that’s when the clock really starts. For the sake of this conversation, I’m going to bypass the process of finding and signing with an agent and skip ahead to the first sale.
On average, it takes roughly eighteen to twenty-four months for a traditionally published novel to go from deal to bookshelf. Ouch! That was certainly a surprise to me and I was not prepared. What could possibly take so long? First, for a traditionally published novel, there’s scheduling and positioning, where the editor places the book in the publisher’s greater schedule. Then editing. Even if the novel needs minimal work, that’s still a step that takes time. Then copyediting to correct the text for continuity errors, punctuation, and grammar. Following that comes book design, cover design, marketing, sales, publicity, and probably a few steps I’m forgetting. The point is, there are many steps between acquisition and actual publication.
This guest post is by Michael Haspil. Haspil is a geeky engineer and nerdy artist. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, he had the opportunities to serve as an ICBM crew commander and as a launch director at Cape Canaveral. The art of storytelling called to him from a young age and he has plied his craft over many years and through diverse media. He has written original stories for as lon gas he can remember and has dabbled in many genres. However, science fiction, fantasy, and horror have whispered directly to his soul. When he isn’t writing, you can find him sharing stories with his role-playing group, cosplaying, computer gaming, or collecting and creating replica movie props. Lately, he devotes the bulk of his hobby time to assembling and painting miniatures for his tabletop wargaming addiction. Michael is represented by Sara Megibow of the KT Literary Agency and Adrian Garcia of the Paradigm Talent Agency.
If a novel is indie-published, the process may be faster, but often because the team behind the book is smaller (and might even be a team of one) it may take even more time to get everything right.
Consider that any single step may cause additional delays and eighteen months starts to look like warp speed. What is an author to do?
Here are five things I did to survive while my book was undergoing the production cycle.
1. Smile
This sounds simple, but for some artists it is a hard thing to do. I, myself, have something of a dour complexion and tend to dwell in melancholy moods as my natural state. But consider the effect on others when every time they bring up a book, they meet a serious expression or an indifferent one. They will feel the same way about the book. Mission failed.
In my case, friends were very excited for me when I announced that TOR had acquired my novel. If I didn’t understand how long the path to publication would take, think about what they thought. Many of my friends believed once I’d gotten a book deal, they could buy it within weeks or months. They grew impatient. Luckily for me, they kept asking about it.
Even though I felt frustrated at times, I trained myself to smile as a reflex whenever anyone mentioned my novel. From the instant I made the deal public, I reminded myself I was in marketing mode. Everyone I spoke to about the book got a smile first.
[Understanding Book Contracts: Learn what’s negotiable and what’s not.]
2. Vent
Publishing isn’t all sunshine and roses. Many obstacles will surface in the path to the bookstore. I had to let it out. I was mindful of my audience when I did. My agent, my wife, and my critique group heard many a tirade railing against the inequities of the publishing world. Don’t go beyond that. My co-workers and acquaintances never caught mention other than everything was going according to plan.
I don’t know where I picked this up, but this is a useful exercise to practice when experiencing a negative emotion, particularly anger and its secondary offshoots: frustration and defeat. Don’t dwell on them. Be mindful of what the emotion is and set a timer. I set a countdown on my phone. During that time, I allow myself to feel that emotion 100 percent, and I vent. When the clock runs out, I remind myself that this emotion is not helpful in the current situation and I move on. It is a tough exercise to execute, but gets easier each time.
Most importantly, stay off social media and email when venting. A single angry tweet may undo years of hard work. Just don’t do it. I try to make it a point to never engage on social media unless I’ve got something positive to convey. It’s the old adage, if I don’t have anything nice to say, I try not to say anything at all.
3. Celebrate Everything
A very successful author recently gave me a useful piece of advice. He was unknowingly echoing the advice my agent, Sara Megibow, had given me when I started with her. Celebrate everything. The artist experience will hit with more bad news than good. So, when the good news comes, celebrate. Break out the champagne and share the good times with everyone you know.
It makes the bad times a bit easier to bear. I need to remind myself of this one constantly. I love to dwell on everything not happening instead of all the good luck I’ve had. There’s a saying, “Concentrate too hard on the unachieved goals and you’ll miss the victories along the way.” Put another way; make it about the journey instead of the destination.
4. Control the Controllable
When I set off to write a story, I can’t control if others will like it. I can’t control if it will sell. Sometimes, I might not even be able to control how my characters behave. I can control my level of effort and that I will tell the best story I can.
Along those lines, don’t jam up the production process by introducing an additional delay. Don’t miss deadlines. When the editor or copyeditor sends feedback, respond to it as fast as possible.
Try not to worry about what is happening out of sight. I can’t say it enough times. Control the controllable. I forget it too often. I should probably get it tattooed.
[The 7 Rules of Dialogue All Writers Should Know]
5. Keep Writing
Don’t stop writing. When I sold GRAVEYARD SHIFT, for the first few months, I stopped my routine. I painted armies of miniatures. I played scores of video games. I did lots of research for a sequel. It was rough to get back into the habit of butt-in-chair, hands-on-keyboard writing every day. When I finally did, it didn’t come back easily. It was a battle. For my two cents, write something different. Don’t write another work set in your world with the same characters. Unless a deal for a series exists, there’s always a chance that the sequel might not get picked up. Write something else. Anything: a short story, a novella, a different novel. At the worst, it may serve as a palate cleanser, at the best, it may lead to the sale of completely different series!
Those are five tips that helped me survive during my voyage along the publication production road. It may not be the same for everyone, but they are helpful. I have to believe that because I’m still sane (mostly).
Something to keep in mind is the sheer scale of it all when one considers the raw numbers. How many prospective authors never finish their novels? How many finished novels never make it to publication? It all looks impossible.
However, consider that you’ve done it, and (to steal a line from Joss Whedon) that makes you mighty.
The biggest literary agent database anywhere is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the most recent updated edition online at a discount.
If you’re an agent looking to update your information or an author interested in contributing to the GLA blog or the next edition of the book, contact Writer’s Digest Books Managing Editor Cris Freese at [email protected].
    The post How to Survive a Long Production Cycle appeared first on WritersDigest.com.
from Writing Editor Blogs – WritersDigest.com http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/survive-long-production-cycle
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sherristockman · 8 years ago
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Are You Addicted to Your Smartphone? Dr. Mercola By Dr. Mercola You’ve seen it many times: A family taking their seats in a restaurant, then one by one pulling out their individual cellphones to examine until the food comes, after which they check their phones repeatedly as they’re eating. Perhaps you’ve noticed people walking on busy streets, riding bicycles, driving cars or standing on a commuter train, scrolling their phones, paying little attention to their surroundings. Toddlers, too, are given their own little digital devices, to which their eyes remain glued as if they’re mesmerized instead of taking in the world around them and engaging with real people and real situations that help them grow socially and emotionally. Most people in the real world have connected to technology, only vaguely aware that in the process there’s the danger that unless they remain diligent, they’ll disconnect to some degree from what’s real and really important. According to Nancy Colier, author of “The Power of Off,” in The New York Times, “The only difference between digital addiction and other addictions is that this is a socially condoned behavior.” The New York Times observes: “The near-universal access to digital technology, starting at ever younger ages, is transforming modern society in ways that can have negative effects on physical and mental health, neurological development and personal relationships, not to mention safety on our roads and sidewalks.”1 Statistics Regarding Cellphone Use There’s nothing like a good set of statistics to take a vague notion and attach the reality of numbers to it. In regard to cellphone use (or abuse) here are a few that may surprise you: • Most people now check their smartphones 150 times a day, or every six minutes.2 Nearly 80 percent of teens check their phones hourly; 72 percent feel the urgent to respond immediately.3 • Cellphone users between 18 and 24 years exchange an average of 109.5 text messages per day, or 3,200 per month.4 • Forty-six percent of smartphone users say they “couldn’t live without” it. Some say they’d give up sex first.5 • More than 1,000 pedestrians visited emergency rooms in 2008 following injuries while using a cellphone to talk or text, and since 2006, that number had doubled for the previous two years, an Ohio State University study showed.6,7 In 2010, pedestrians injured while using cell phones accounted for 1,500 emergency room visits.8 • Of the 83 percent of adults in the U.S. who own cellphones, about 73 percent of them send text messages; about 31 percent of that number prefers texting to actually talking on the phone.9 One author offered a reminder that every time people look down at their phones, they’re spending precious time giving attention to something that doesn’t really matter. It’s about as mindless as someone doing a crossword puzzle while their daughter is giving a commencement speech. The New York Times observed: “Moderation in our digital world should be the hallmark of a healthy relationship with technology. Too many of us have become slaves to the devices that were supposed to free us, giving us more time to experience life and the people we love. Instead, we’re constantly bombarded by bells, buzzers and chimes that alert us to messages we feel compelled to view and respond to immediately.”10 Now That We Have It, Who Wants to Live Without Technology? Over the last 40 years, give or take, the jobs of thousands of advertisers, journalists, secretaries, real estate brokers, students and arguably virtually every other profession has changed drastically with the great leap forward from typewriters to word processors. Smartphones in today’s world have much broader potential than just a way to get and take calls away from home. Connected as they are to the internet, they can tell you how to cure a cold, how to plant a tree, the meaning of the word “zydeco” and directions to Milwaukee. They can also trigger emergency medical and weather alerts. Whether you work at a desk, on an oil well drilling platform, on the deck of a shrimping boat or on a New York stage, phone technology has probably made your life easier and infinitely more entertaining. It’s disengaging from them, however, that’s proven to be the challenge, often with unforeseen drawbacks. In Business Insider,11 Dr. Dan Siegel, clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, disclosed that smartphone use before bed has detrimental effects on both your brain and your body, literally releasing toxins to your cells. Due to light exposure from screens (smartphone and otherwise), melatonin isn’t released as usual to help you get to sleep, so you might figure, “Oh, well, I’m awake anyway,” and turn to your phone again, worsening your sleep deprivation. Colier, also a licensed clinical social worker, notes: “Without open spaces and downtime, the nervous system never shuts down. It’s in constant fight-or-flight mode. We’re wired and tired all the time. Even computers reboot, but we’re not doing it. It’s connections to other human beings — real-life connections, not digital ones — that nourish us and make us feel like we count. Our presence, our full attention is the most important thing we can give each other. Digital communications don’t result in deeper connections, in feeling loved and supported.”12 Children and Technology: It’s Up to You to Manage It According to The Kaiser Foundation,13 two-thirds of parents had no rules about how much time their children spent with media, and the average 8- to 10-year-old spends nearly eight hours a day (teens up to 11 hours) with a variety of different media. While many lament the lack of exercise for themselves and their children, and worry that there’s “no time” to visit a (real) library, toss around a football in the park or enjoy a sunset, they still scroll their phones. Almost by default, some parents opt out of those things for their kids, as well, because staying on the phone is just too easy. PBS filmed a documentary, “Web Junkie,” covering the tragic toll “screen addiction” is taking on young people in China, so obsessed with video games they play dozens of hours at a time, often without eating, sleeping or even using the bathroom. Immersed in the cyber world, they begin seeing the real world as the one that’s counterfeit. Chinese doctors treating it like a clinical disorder usually recommend rehabilitation centers where the young people immersed in the cyber culture are sometimes kept for months with a complete disconnect from all media, The New York Times reported.14 While it may not have been given a clinical diagnosis, American teenagers and young adults are much more involved in games on their phones than experts think is healthy. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) wrote: “Children who overuse online media are at risk of problematic internet use, and heavy users of video games are at risk of internet gaming disorder.”15 Harried parents used to occupy their infants and toddlers with Sesame Street while they got ready for work. Today, just as many parents (or maybe more) hand their child a cellphone or tablet for their entertainment. They may not realize how harmful this might be for their children in the long run, as the skill to self-soothe. Further, every hour spent playing on or otherwise engaged on cellphones is an hour spent sitting indoors. Detox expert Holland Haiis, author of “Consciously Connecting: A Simple Process to Reconnect in a Disconnected World,” quoted by CNN, cautioned: "If your teens would prefer gaming indoors, alone, as opposed to going out to the movies, meeting friends for burgers or any of the other ways that teens build camaraderie, you may have a problem."16 Experts’ Phone Use Recommendations for Parents (and Their Children) The AAP has long stated that children should not be exposed to any electronic media before age 2. Why? Because “a child’s brain develops rapidly during these first years, and young children learn best by interacting with people, not screens.”17 They recently amended this to say that some high-quality media (such as educational TV) could provide educational value for children starting at 18 months, provided parents watch with their children to help them understand the content.18 Time further noted the AAP’s recommendation that older children and teenagers be restricted to one or two hours a day on entertainment media — and no more — preferably with high-quality content. More importantly, they recommended kids spend more free time playing outdoors, reading, working on hobbies and generally using their imaginations. The question begs to be asked: What is considered “high-quality” content? Maybe focusing on what it’s not is one way to find an answer to that. Kristina E. Hatch, in preparing her honors thesis at the University of Rhode Island, said she asked fourth-graders about their favorite video games.19 One kid said his favorite had “zombies in it, and you get to kill them with guns and there’s violence … I like blood and violence.”20 It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to discern that a steady diet of this type of “entertainment” might not be good for kids of any age. Heavy electronic media use can have a significant and negative effect on not only kids’ behavior, but school performance as well. Dimitri A. Christakis of the Seattle Children’s Research Institute asserts: “Those who watch a lot of simulated violence, common in many popular video games, can become immune to it, more inclined to act violently themselves and less likely to behave empathetically.”21 In the first place, parents are the ones who usually purchase the different media options for their kids (or should be) but, for whatever reason, the same parents may be reluctant to offer guidelines or restrictions of any kind, even to the point of allowing them to play in the car and during meals instead of engaging in conversation that leads to connection and relationship. Is It Possible to at Least Limit Your Cellphone Use? One woman who decided to give up owning a cellphone entirely told The Guardian that before that point, she’d lived in a world where “constant communication isn’t just a convenient accessory — it (was) a second skin.” Then: “I got a landline and I got more sleep. I look people in the eye. I eat food instead of photographing it and am not driving half a ton of metal into oncoming traffic while looking down at a tiny screen.”22 Haiis, the digital detox expert, says one way to resist spending more time than is useful is to try limiting posts to social media to two to three times a week. This not only forces you to give more thought to what you’re posting; you spend less time looking at what others post. Setting boundaries for yourself is key, Haiss maintains. When the urge comes to reach for your phone, for instance, go outside, take a walk or exercise — do something positive to distract yourself. "We have constant access to new information and this is alluring, intriguing and exciting, but without setting limits for yourself, it's a slippery slope … The dopamine in our brains is stimulated by the unpredictability that social media, emails and texting provide. It's a vicious cycle and in order to break that cycle, you need to find the same unpredictability and stimulation which is out there if you are exercising. You never know what's around the bend when out for a jog, bike ride or walk."23 It’s important to know when it’s time to put down your smartphone and connect with the living, breathing people in your life, some whom you know and some whom you don’t — yet — but whom you’d never meet if you didn’t look up. Colier offered a three-step plan24 to help wean yourself from phone dependence: Figure out how much time you realistically need on your phone for things like work, navigation or letting people know you’re OK, and how much you use it for pure entertainment and distraction. Rather than going off your phone cold turkey, determine times when you restrict your phone use and refuse to let it interrupt you, such as mealtime and spending time with family and friends. Determine what’s really important to you, what “nourishes” you, and dedicate more thought, time and energy to those things. In short, live more intentionally and consciously, not dictated by the ringtone of your phone.
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