#shipping and currency conversion just makes it worse

[stickers95]

I love living in Sweden I really do but THERE IS ABSOLUTELY ZERO CARS MERCH.

NONE!!!!

[depressedhouseplant]

Just Fucking Write - Day 40

Prompt: It’s kinda long so you can read it here

A/N: The altered prompt is in italics & my work is not. Also we’ve made it to Day 40! Woohoo! Also I hope my currency conversion was correct 😳

Seungkwan sighed as he rode the elevator up to his office. His day job was not what he wanted to be doing right now. He wanted to be at home researching Vernon and coming up with a plan to stop him.

“You need the money, you need the money, you need the money,” he repeated to himself. Being the city’s mysterious hero definitely didn’t pay the bills.

The doors opened and he plastered a smile on his face. He walked through the front doors and froze. Someone was talking to the receptionist.

“Mr Boo! Perfect timing! Mr Chwe is here to see you,” she smiled brightly. Vernon was standing there, a smirk on his face. Seungkwan took a deep breath and didn’t let his smile waver.

“Good morning. Please follow me to my office and we can meet in there,” he said. Vernon nodded and followed him.

“What are you doing?” Seungkwan hissed when he closed the door behind him.

“I thought you’d be happy to see me. You’ve put so much work into figuring out where I go, I thought I’d throw you a bone,” Vernon smiled and sat in one of the chairs. Seungkwan glared at him as he sat at his desk. Vernon rustled through some papers on the desk.

“I also thought I could save you from this dreadfully boring job,” he said.

“I don’t want to hear it,” Seungkwan snatched the papers back from Vernon.

“You sure?” Vernon asked.

“Yes, I’m-,” Seungkwan started.

“Because I could double your salary and give you time to do whatever you want. There’s just one condition,” Vernon said.

“Which is?” Seungkwan stood.

“You have to do one mission with me,” Vernon’s lips curled into a devilish grin. “And come live with me, but we can talk about that part later.”

Seungkwan sat back down because he knew if he didn’t then he might fall over.

“Do a mission with you? Like on the same side?” he asked.

“As much on the same side as we can be. I think it’s one you’ll find appeals to your sense of…justice,” Vernon said. “There’s a shipment coming in three days. It’s blood money. I want the money and you’ll want to keep the men worse than me from getting this illegally obtained currency. Seem like your style?”

“What do you mean ‘blood money’?” Seungkwan questioned. It’s not like he’d never heard of the concept - blood diamonds for sure.

“Money that was given in exchange for things like overlooking slavery or sex trafficking. The people waiting for this not small sum make me look innocent as the day I was born. I want to get to it first and you can help me do that,” Vernon replied.

“How?” Seungkwan asked.

“Look at where you work. You work one level above entry level at a shipping company. A shipping company that for the right fee and the right person will overlook what’s in the containers,” Vernon told him. “The shipping company that happens to be accepting a shipment of ‘custom stationary’ in 3 days.”

Seungkwan’s heart dropped into his stomach. It wasn’t possible. Vernon had to be lying. Bad guys lied all the time. But if what he said was true, how many illegal goods had Seungkwan unknowingly passed through believing that they were what the paperwork said they were?

“How much?” Seungkwan asked.

“Which part? How much would we be intercepting or how much am I going to pay you to help me?” Vernon leaned back in the chair.

“Either? Both?” Seungkwan replied.

“The shipment is about 9 trillion won. As for you, I’ll pay a minimum of half a billion won every month. Of course, when you’re living with me it’s not like you’ll have bills to pay,” Vernon told him casually. Seungkwan almost choked on his own spit.

“You’re serious?” he stared at the annoyingly attractive man sitting across from him.

“Would I have come to your place of employment and be sitting in a chair that’s ridiculously uncomfortable if I wasn’t?” the other man pointed out.

“Fair enough. What do I need to do?” Seungkwan sighed.

“So you’re agreeing?” Vernon asked.

“Yes, I’m agreeing,” Seungkwan confirmed.

“I knew you would,” Vernon grinned. “I can’t wait to get started.”

[wildermount-blog]

~

[treesnutsandleaveswrites]

Stay Close

pPairing: The Bad Batch x Reader (Polyam)

Summary: After working non-stop, you go on a mission with the Batch and you get to be on the field with them this time. (Polyam series pt 6)

Warning: ANGST, some fluff, mentions of slavery, depictions of violence, blood and injuries

Word Count: 2190

A/N: I FINALLY KNOW CROSSHAIR'S LITTLE THING ON THE SHIP IS CALLED A GUNNER'S MOUNT CUZ OF THE RECENT EPISODE HAHA

pt v, pt vii

XXXXXXX

It had been a week ever since your break in Coruscant. That time and the moments that followed have been playing in your head non-stop ever since you got back to Kamino. However, once you got back, you were swamped with work. You were one of the only non-clone communications officers based on Kamino, so you had to deal with some data that came in from off-planet bases. It was frustrating to say the least and most of the clones who dealt with communication for their squadron left most of their work unprocessed, so you basically had to clean up after them. Due to work being unprocessed and sorted could cause a malfunction or even a virus to attack the computer system on Kamino. That would result in multiple horrible outcomes if the separatists get access to anything on the clones or any other upcoming projects the Kaminoans were working on for the Republic.

It seemed like you were living in that communications room because none of the boys really saw you anywhere else. It concerned them greatly and they decided to intervene before you die from overworking yourself. You were typing away on the computer when the door slid open which let in the batch one by one. You didn’t bother to turn to acknowledge them as you were sorting out multiple files.

“Mesh’la?” Hunter called.

“Hm.” You responded nonchalantly, still working.

“You’ve been at this for 93 hours, 34 minutes, and 20 seconds.” Tech explained while looking at one of his devices, “Working at this rate is concerning and unhealthy, especially for a simple being like you.”

“Huh… so if a clone were doing this they’d be able to work just a bit longer?” You asked, not looking away from the computer.

“What he’s trying to say, cyare, is that you need to take a break…” Echo insisted, placing one hand on your shoulder.

“I’m almost done, I swear.” You murmured, looking over data being transferred.

“Lucky for you, darling. I’ve created a program to help sort stuff out.” Tech went to the computer and plugged a small goober into one of the ports on the console, “It’ll notify me when it’s done sorting.”

“Come on, ad’ika, time for rest!” Wrecker moved to pick you up and carry you out of the communications room while the others followed.

You all arrived to their room and Wrecker tossed you onto one of the bunks, which caused you to laugh gently. You sighed, relished the feel of the bed under you, then it dipped slightly. You looked to see Hunter with a gentle smile on his face, which you returned before he pulled you up onto his lap. You pushed off the bandana around his forehead which caused some hair to fall into his face so you pushed it away for him. He held you closer, placed his face into your chest, and sighed.

“You alright, Hunter?’ You murmured, caressing the hair on the back of his neck.

“He’s missed you, like the rest of us have.” Echo smiled while cleaning his mechanical hand.

“It wasn’t like I was off-planet. I was just working.”

“Well, the idea of you working usually involves being with us most of the time.” Tech explained, “So it was odd not seeing you for such a long period of time.”

You hummed before kissing Hunter’s head, “I missed you all too…”

The next day, all of you were sent on an important mission. The Kaminoans didn’t give you much detail, only saying that it was urgent. You sat on the Havoc Marauder, looking over the map of the planet on your holopad.

“We have to be careful, this planet is famous for raiders, thieves, and smugglers.” You stated, looking everything over.

“We’ve handled much worse than that combined!” Wrecker laughed while slapping Tech’s back, almost causing him to drop the device he was holding. You shook your head, made your way out of the cockpit, and found Crosshair cleaning the parts of his sniper rifle.

“Do you think it’ll come to that?” You murmured, crouching beside him.

“Have to be prepared for anything, sarad. Especially on a planet like this.”

You nodded gently, picking up one of the pieces, “You should teach me…”

“How to put it together, or how to shoot?”

“Both… but we can take it one step at a time.” You looked at him with a smile.

He hooked your chin, “Well, let’s work on your aim without a blaster first. And test how good your eyesight is. When we get back to Kamino, I’ll show you the shooting range.”

“Kamino has a shooting range?”

Your question caused Crosshair to smirk as he finished cleaning all the pieces.

You shook your head with a small laugh, “I guess I don’t know Kamino as well as I should.”

He nodded gently and helped you up. Before you could move away from him, he grasped your wrist. His smirk was gone, his eyes were now focussed, and his stature became tense. He raised his other hand to cup your cheek and look into your eyes.

“You stay close to us…”

“I know, Cross…”

He nodded before going to the gunner’s mount to wait there until you landed. You strapped in as you were arriving at your destination. Once you landed, you all geared up and got ready to tread through the town to reach your target. You wore simple civilian clothing because it wasn’t safe to be wearing a Republic uniform full of outlaws and mercenaries. You pulled up the hood of your cloak over your head before nodding to Hunter. You all then left the ship and headed into town.

Tech was using a tracking device while you walked the streets, he was babbling on while you and the others looked cautiously at your surroundings. There were multiple stalls along the edge of the dirt street, selling many different things including spice, weaponry, and droid parts. You were in the center of the batch, and they urged themselves closer as if to shield you from danger. Hunter turned his head to you, which caused you to nod reassuringly. Even if you couldn’t see his eyes through the visor of his helmet, you knew he was checking up on you. You all then turned into a vacant alleyway to discuss how you will find the target faster. The boys discuss different strategies and you tried to listen to them, but then the crack of a whip caused your attention to be caught outside of the alleyway. One of the vendors was holding the weapon and using it against a young twi’lek. They were speaking two different languages, so the chaos was uncontrollable. You winced while watching and couldn’t stand it any longer. The batch noticed at the last second that you had rushed out of the alley to stop what was happening.

“Lodestar!” One of them called to you, but you ignored it and blocked the vendor from hitting the young twi’lek again.

“That’s enough!”

The vendor growled, “The little slave was stealing from my stall!”

You quickly placed down some currency, “Now it is paid for.”

The vendor took the money and scoffed, “They are lucky this time. Next time, I will tell their master.”

You shook your head and urged the twi’lek away from the stall. Then you crouched down and looked at the child’s injuries, whispering gently. You were lucky enough to be familiar with many languages due to your past, so making conversation with the young twi’lek wasn’t hard. Footsteps approached the both of you, so you let the child run off and turned to see the batch. It was going to be no surprise that they were upset with you, so you said nothing and followed them. Tech had found the location of the target, so you all moved quickly. You had to separate due to the package you had to retrieve being heavily guarded. You were with Tech, helping him monitor the motion inside of the small building where your package was being held. You scanned the holopad before speaking into your communicator.

“Careful, Hunter. There are multiple bodies coming toward you.”

“See them. Find how many are guarding the package.”

Tech diligently moved the camera and you watch on the holopad.

“There,” You signalled Tech to stop and looked over the thermal radar, “Five that I can see, Hunter.”

“Cross, what’s your status?”

“None up top. All clear here.”

“Wrecker, Echo?”

“Almost have the grate open.” Echo responded.

“Charges are all set.” Wrecker confirmed.

You winced gently, looking down at your arm where the whip had caught you. You thought it was only a graze on the fabric, but it was deeper and blood was staining your sleeve. Tech saw it and was about to say something, but then there was noise near where you two were hiding. It was one of the guards and he was sniffing around. Your eyes widened and you looked to Tech before placing the holopad in his hands carefully.

“Our location is about to be compromised, I’m moving now.” You said quickly before climbing up to the roof of the building next to you. You looked over the ledge and kicked a small piece of rubble, getting the guard. He looked up and saw you. You smiled gently before running along the tops of the buildings. He ran along the street following your trail.

“Cross, I’m coming to you.”

“Excellent.” He responded and he started to set up his rifle before you reached him. You jumped onto the roof where he was set up and turned to see the guard shot down. He then stood up and looked at you. You sensed the disappointment.

“What?”

“You were reckless today.”

“I stayed close.” You shrugged, looking at the cut on your arm. He grabbed it gently and looked at it.

“How did you not notice that?”

You were quiet while looking at him, but then a small glint caught your eye and you gasped before pushing him away from you.

Blaster noises distracted the team from the mission, knowing it came from your and Crosshair’s location. Hunter had retrieved the package and had come out of the grate where Echo and Wrecker were..

“Lodestar! Come in!” Static.

“Crosshair!” Silence.

Then, guards started to rush around the corner. The three batchers rushed away and Wrecker had set off the explosives he placed around that area.

“Tech, head back to the Havoc Marauder! Echo and Wrecker will meet you there!”

“What about you?” Echo asked.

“I’ve got to find Crosshair and Lodestar.”

Hunter handed Wrecker the package and they went their separate ways. Hunter managed to get to one of the rooftops and rushed to where you and Crosshair were. He jumped onto the roof where you were and saw the dead alien, a blaster next to him. Then his eyes led to familiar white hair.

“Crosshair!” He rushed over to his side and saw you laying in his lap, unconscious, with a blaster wound on your side. He immediately noticed the race of Crosshair’s heart, and sensed his growing shock, so he placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder.

“We have to go. We have to get back to Kamino.”

Crosshair nodded before letting Hunter pick you up and rushed with him back to the Havoc Marauder. They arrived back to the ship.

“Tech! Echo! Get us out of here now!” Hunter called as he boarded the ship with you in his arms. Wrecker was frozen with shock when he saw you.

“Ad’ika.” He whispered.

The ship moved quickly out of orbit and it was only a few minutes before everyone gathered together. Tech and Echo were rendered silent when they saw you on the floor with Hunter by your side as he exposed your wound.

“I need a bacta patch, now!”

Crosshair was the one to move to get it and give it to him. He took his place on your other side and helped Hunter.

“So...so pale…” Tech whispered, almost speechless as he looked at your condition.

Hunter was getting extremely overstimulated with everyone’s heartbeats and breathing, but he tried to focus on you. Tech was right: you were extremely pale, but as Hunter sifted through the different pulses reaching his ears, he found your weak one. He cupped your face.

“Mesh’la…” He called, “C’mon, mesh’la.”

“Can we lightspeed jump to Kamino?” Echo asked Tech.

“I...I don’t know…”

“Figure it out, Tech! Hurry!” Wrecker pleaded, his eyes averting from you to him.

Crosshair was extremely quiet with his eyes only on you. A million thoughts ran through his head. It felt like minutes before he spoke.

“Do the jump.”

“What?” Tech asked.

“Do the jump, now.” Crosshair repeated.

“We don’t know if it’ll make the wound worse.” Echo explained.

“If it does, we’ll be at Kamino!”

“Cross, it’s too dangerous-” Echo started. “We have to, or else the Kaminoans will have no patient, and we’ll have a dead officer!” Crosshair snapped, gripping your hand in his.

The rest of the squad looked to Hunter, who nodded.

“Do the jump.”

XXXXXXX

Sorry for the wait haha -Tree <3

[fromtheglasscloset]

Pleasing Prices

The unfortunate reality of currency conversion in online shopping, and how to lower its impact on your purchases. A.k.a you might be spending more than you need on your favourite foreign brands.

Hi, I feel the need to preface this post with a few things:

1. I love Harry 🤍.

2. Yes this post is brought on by Pleasing, and uses the site as an example, but this is not a problem unique to Pleasing.

2. Currency conversion can be unfair.

3. Most of this is handled by 3rd party services - not the shopping site.

4. This is perfectly legal.

5. Examples are from my personal experience with buying the 'perfect polish set' using a foreign currency.

6. All prices have been converted to USD.

7. For this post: HC = Home country.

8. There is a lot of math in the post explaining things, but you don't need to understand it to benefit from the steps.

Okay let's go!

Btw: The Perfect Polish Set is listed as $65

No changes (Delivery to HC vs UK)

I live in europe and if I would have just gone to the site, put the set in my bag and payed I would have payed $132.42, broken down to price: $68.86 + shipping: $63.56.

Now, I have family in the UK and was curious what they would pay. So with just changing the mailing address I get price: $66.59, shipping: $9.84, tax: $15.36 (total $91.79)

In shop Currency Conversion

Weird that the price isn't the same and isn't the same as the $65 price listed either, right?

Well, no, not really. This is because the site/service doesn't necessarily use the same conversion as your bank.

So let's not let the site do the conversion, set the currency to USD (or whatever the 'official currency' of the shop is.)

Setting the currency to USD

UK: Change the currency, check out as usual.

HC: For some reason I could not checkout with the USD prices while I was logged in. However I could do it if I used 'check out as guest'

Result:

My currency converted vs USD

HC: $68.86 vs $65

UK: $66.59 vs $65

This might not be a huge difference in this case, but why pay more than you need.

Shipping & Tax

Another thing I noticed, was that originally when I was checking out using my HC, the breakdown only showed the price and shipping. Whereas using the UK I got price/shipping/tax. So originally I had assumed I would still need to pay tax on arrival on top of the $130+ I was looking at.

However, when I used 'checkout as guest' I could see both shipping: $36.4 & tax: $25.21. Which combined is lower than my original 'shipping'. Leading me to believe the tax was already added, but for some reason not visible.

Note here that the 'tax' might include costs that are enforced by your country for example a VAT processing fee. I recommend checking your regulations and seeing if the number makes sense.

End result

So, those changes resulted in:

Shipping to HC: Saved $5.82 / ~4.6%

$132.42 》$126.6 (later one listed with shipping & tax)

Shipping to UK: Saved $3.03 / ~3.4%

$91.79 》 $88.74

Scalability

Of this one nail set, this might not seem like a lot. But all of these numbers are scalable. The currency conversion is always going to be some % higher, not a flat number. The tax is then calculated as a % based on that raised number.

So if this was something more expensive you were buying, let's say $500, for my currency rate was about 6% worse, and 20% tax (UK)

Currency: $500 -> $545 -> add tax -> $654

USD: $500 -> add tax -> $600

So the more you are spending the worse this will hurt your wallet.

Hoping this might help you lovelies save a few $ in the future ♡

Note: if you think this is an attack on H or Pleasing, please read the 'preface' part again.

[bootlegmagicalwands]

WE DO NOT CONDONE BUYING BOOTLEGS

We will not EVER share links to these items. So don’t bother asking!

 We started this blog to explain why bootlegs are bad; to show how they’re inaccurate, a waste of money, art theft, and, in some cases, downright illegal. We made this blog so people wondering if what they bought is real can compare for themselves.

If you want to reverse image search, you can. If you’re determined to buy them, knowing their flaws, you can. We won’t stop you.

 For those arguing it’s classist, or racist, to tell people off for wanting bootlegs,  know this - many of the bootleg wands we feature cost more than their genuine counterparts, not less

The Flower Echo Wand is one such example, the original retails for around 20usd, the fake is almost 30 usd,  Who would want to pay more for a worse product?

Many of the Sailor Moon items, while the up-front cost may be less, they cost more in shipping, service, currency conversions, and “convenience” fees, making them barely cheaper but a fraction of the quality of the real thing.

There’s no -isms in wanting people to not waste their money  - or for not wanting them to go to prison.

Because it is illegal to import imitation goods

The items may be seized at the border and you may be fined. In extreme cases, there are prison sentences Typically, this only applies to those with fake branding and very accurate imitations, but that doesn’t mean other items can’t be caught out too. This has been experienced first-hand by Sailor Moon collectors associated with us, so it isn’t just a hollow threat or theory.

The truth is, we own bootlegs too.

Most were local purchases for cosplay purposes, knowing full well they were fake but choosing convenience and low-cost over accuracy, so we understand why people may want them But we’ve also bought them because we were scammed into thinking they were real. Mostly by people who knew full well their deception. And that has to stop.

 Ultimately, if you want these, we can’t stop you. But we aren’t going to help you, either.

[kylosbrickhousebody]

Ch. 4 of Quiet Hours is up

Ch. 4 of my super weird sadfic about KyloRen/Reader is up. If you liked Mercurial, you will probably (eventually) like this, too. NSFW

She stares at it for a long time—longer than she truly has to spend given that she’s already been separated from her work group. Her taskmaster is probably terribly confused; she’ll probably already face a beating when she goes back.

Still, the wonder of it holds her in place.

A credit.

Kylo Ren gave her a credit?

It’s there, unmistakable, on the table.

She blinks once, twice, three times, pressing her eyes closed tighter with repetition.

It just seems unbelievable. She’s never seen a real credit up close before.

She stares dumbly for a moment longer before realizing she should probably return it to him.

Having a credit on her person—well, it’s likely not even legal. Slaves can’t own anything, let alone carry currency. Possessing a credit is probably some sort of high crime.

She runs over to the doorway, peeks her head out into the austere hallways.

“Sir?”

She looks left; right.

There’s no one there.

Little legs carry her to one end of the hallway, where it splits into two leading to and away from the Bridge.

“Sir?”

Nothing. No response, no one in sight.

She runs to the other end, a little panicked now, whipping her head from side to side to try to catch a glimpse of him—the coattails of his cape, maybe, turning a corner somewhere in the distance.

Again: nothing.

She bites a lip and hurries back into the small room where he once sat.

It’s still there, still on the table where he’d left it.

She peers back at the doorway before she shoves it into the scratchy lining of one of her frock’s pockets.

Then she scurries out the door, into the foyer, down the passageways leading back to the Bridge. It’s critical that she re-join her group. If she doesn’t, she won’t be accounted for in the next check, and that means a guaranteed beating. Even worse, losing track of one’s group means she’ll likely miss both the next feeding and her next refresher break.

She nearly runs into one of the huge blaster doors guarding the entrance to the Bridge.

She bows her head at two of the elite squadron Stormtroopers stationed as guards.

“Could you please—erm—could you please let me in? My group was assigned to cleaning duties here, and—”

“Scram, filth.”

“I—yes, sir, I understand—but please, I need to rejoin my group, and—”

“I said,” one of the troopers says, shoving the butt of his blaster into her ribs, “scram.”

“Yes—yes, sir. Yes—”

She turns, quickly, and hurries down the hallway.

The cold sheet metal venting on the floor digs into her bare feet as she scurries out of the Stormtroopers’ line-of-sight.

They’re not going to let her in, and she certainly isn’t going to get away with tailgating an authorized person into the Bridge. She looked terribly out of place there—well, all the slaves did—and she wouldn’t even pass for a servant. The raggedy, unwashed standard issue of the slave uniform see to that all on their own.

She pauses to catch her breath in one of the less frequented tunnels. She presses her back up against the wall, the cool metal pressing into her shoulders. It grounds her a little, reminds her that she’s still alive somehow.

She waits a long moment, trying to clear her thoughts, savoring how pressing up against the wall slightly soothes her aching lumbar region.

She’s lost. So, so lost. She’s never been to this area of the ship before. Usually she cleans servant sleeping quarters, or the hallways in the hull: areas with predictable designs, created to maximize space and cram the greatest number of bodies and workspaces into the confines of the ship.

It’s clear now, though, that she’s very far out of her depth. The series of hallways she finds herself in doesn’t match the maze that she’s used to. This area of the ship is clearly designed for something else: comfort. Luxury. Flashiness.

None of it looks familiar at all.

She walks down more hallways, timid, trying to project as much feeble respect as she can in case she gets spotted. She presses her right hand up against the right walls, making every right turn she’s presented with. That should eventually get her somewhere, right?

Right?

It’s because of this frantic, desperate strategy that she finds herself actually relieved when she encounters another station of Stormtroopers. They stand guard against glass walls which look somehow familiar—maybe she passed them with her group—and she approaches as respectfully as she can.

“I’m afraid I’m lost, sirs,” she starts.

No answer.

The troopers look between each other. No doubt that she’s a strange sight.

“I was stationed with my group—we were cleaning—and I got pulled away for, erm, a specific cleaning assignment. Pulled away by a superior, I mean,” she adds quickly. “I didn’t just leave! I tried to go back to join up with my group again after I finished, but I couldn’t locate them again. I think by now they’ve likely moved on to another area of the ship. Could you possibly help me, please?”

One trooper tilts his helmet.

“Yeah, we could help you, honey. We could both help you. Right over in that break room, in fifteen minutes, when we get off shift. We’ll help you real good.”

She swallows, hard, shuffles a little bit in her place.

“Erm. I—no, thank you. I appreciate, uh…” she trails off. “Could you please tell me what time it is?”

It’s the other one who replies.

“11:43.”

Oh.

Much later than she’d thought.

She’d must have wasted precious time navigating the ship—or maybe the time spent with the Supreme Leader lasted longer than she thought—

She realizes, with a severe pang of regret, that she’s missed her daily feeding and one of only two refresher breaks.

“I—oh, okay, thank you—um—” she pauses, fraught with indecision about what she could possibly ask that might receive a real answer. “Do you know where I might be able to report to?”

“No idea,” the first trooper answers, sounding harsher this time, “but down those steps would be a good start. I’d get going before we report you for trespassing up here.”

That makes her blanch all the way white.

“Yes—yes, sir—of course—”

She hurries in the direction indicated, down a flight of stairs made from metal grating which tears at the underside of her dirty feet.

She emerges into a small atrium, simply relieved that she’s been able to get this far without a keycard.

Perhaps she’ll run into someone more approachable—an enlisted person, or maybe even a servant—who can direct her back to an overseer or taskmaster, back to her group. All she wants is to lay low, to do her work, to get the day done with.

She takes a right and walks down an arterial hallway lined with black pillars. There are sounds up ahead, she thinks; there’s faint clacking, fainter voices. She follows the noises, hesitant but nevertheless ready to accept her punishment and get it on with it, and soon finds herself tiptoeing closer to a broad sheet of glass windowing.

She peers in, obscuring most of her body behind the opaque paneling next to where the windows begin.

She discerns quickly that the room is some sort of feeding center; it’s set up similarly to the ones used to feed slaves, but this one is bigger, cushier. Cafeterias, she thinks they call them.

Multiple stations with multiple different kinds of foods line the walls. The people within—enlisted officers, it seems—actually talk to one another. Some even smile.

There are real tables and chairs—comfortable-looking ones—and refreshers off to the side for use at any time. It baffles her a little to watch the officers within just excuse themselves from conversations to use the refresher whenever they want.

And there: she spots what will become the primary temptation of the room. There, towards the edge of the feeding room, closest to her, sits a small table. She’s not sure exactly what the sign says, but the intention is clear. A small coffer rests beneath the sign emblazoned with some words and then the symbol for a credit. To the right and left of the coffer sit an arrangement of baked goods: odds and ends of assorted breads, day-old buns and pastries.

Just the mere sight makes her stomach rumble.

Slaves are usually only fed a porridge-like gruel once a day—it’s packed with all the nutrients you need! they say—and left to live life perpetually hungry for something more.

She’s certainly no stranger to hunger. It reflects in her body: in her lack of strength, her hair and her nails, the constant acidity that tinges her mouth from a stomach completely empty and angrily rumbling for more.

How bad would it be—truly be? —if she snuck into the room, placed her newfound credit into the coffer, and took a piece of bread?

She wouldn’t be stealing, she figures. After all, she truly does have the required credit.

And, true, while slaves aren’t supposed to eat food they aren’t explicitly given, its clear that the table is for cast-asides, for goods from yesterday.

She wouldn’t really be hurting anybody if she took something to eat on her way back to her group, would she?

The intense rumble of her stomach seems to provide an answer. She swallows back the newest wave of stomach bile and acid and walks into the room, confidently as she can muster, over to the table.

She tries not to look out of place, tries not to glance around to see if anyone is watching her: that would only draw more attention than her appearance does on its own.

She digs into her pocket and grasps the credit, then drops it quickly into the collecting coffer.

Her eyes survey the goods on the table a little greedily. There’s a half-torn bagel; a very dry-looking croissant; small end pieces of stale bread.

It takes a few moments before she sees it, but when she does, she knows its for her. It’s a small raisin bun, less stale-looking than her other options, small enough that she might conceal it in her pocket. She takes it and, indeed, pockets it, making quickly for the entryway.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” She turns, nervously, open-mouthed, to meet the eyes of an officer. “I just watched you steal, slave.”

“I—no, no, sir—I paid for it. I paid for it; I swear.”

“Paid for it with all that money they give you, did ya?”

“No—really—I had a credit, and—”

“You had a credit. Of course. And I have a luxury villa in Canto Blight, that’s why I work as a jailsman in the First Order. Please.”

The man moves forward, takes her by the arm.

“I know just the place to send you for punishment today. Consider yourself in luck. You’ll be getting a very special treat.”

“No—please—truly, I paid for it—”

“And even if you did,” he cuts across her, “you have no business in the cantina of your betters. You were trespassing at a minimum. And where exactly is your post? Aren’t you worked nearly all hours of the day?”

“I—well, see, that’s the thing—”

“Right. That is exactly the thing.”

“I—”

“Be quiet, slave-girl.”

She blanches white for the second time that day, falls completely silent. Her heart pounds out of her chest. She feels delirious.

He leads her back nearly the same way that she came: up the stairs, up past the two troopers stationed nearby, down an adjacent hallway.

He stops clear of a heavy metal door, which he unlocks manually with a set of keys tied to a clip on his waistband.

He rips the raisin bun out of her pocket just before shoving her into the room.

“I’m sure he’ll enjoy practicing his mysticism on you. Very painful, or so I’ve heard.” He cocks his head, considering. “Well, based on all the screams, that is.”

The door slams shut.

She manages only to make it to the other side of the room—a hexagonal cell, gray and dark and ominous—before she sinks down to her knees, the adrenaline rush shakes proving far too much for her joints and weak muscles to handle.

It’s exactly here that she curls up for the better part of an unknown amount of time.

The acid from her increasingly angry stomach burns her esophagus.

The hotness of her tears streak down the dry skin of her cheeks.

This is how she lies some number of hours later, slipping between light sleep and terrifying reality when the door opens again.

Heavy footsteps echo on the plate floors.

The metal door locks with a clang.

A tall, black figure stares down at her from within the shadow of the doorframe.

Kylo Ren.

[ayankun]

The Asset

so I’m making my mom watch Agents of SHIELD (obviously) and today we watched eps 1x03 - 1x06.  That’s The Asset, Eye Spy, Girl in the Flower Dress, and FZZT.

THEN I ACCIDENTALLY SPENT LIKE FIVE HOURS DISSECTING MY LEAST FAVORITE EPISODE YOU’RE WELCOME

First off, full spoilers ahead, of course.

1x03 is, hands down, the worst episode of the series.  PERIOD.  I didn’t give it my full attention when I did my rewatch, because I remembered it well enough for some reason and the guy that plays Quinn looks too much but not enough like Tahmoh Penikett to seriously irritate me.  DODGED A BULLET THERE.

Giving it your full attention does not do it any favors.  I was physically discomfited, squirming in my seat and dropping snide remarks every 12 seconds.  It’s bad, you guys. 

First off, we have this guy, who is, for now in S1, the one and only “Agent Mack.”

THE SIMILARITIES ARE UNCANNY.

Then this big rig gets dropped like 50 feet and I’m supposed to believe that this guy strapped in the back only had his glasses knocked askew?

Ok then we go see what the team is up to, and lord, three episodes has not been enough time for Chloe or Brett to Figure Their Shit Out.  They’re so awkward and dumb looking.

After a passable briefing scene, where we learn that Baldy McGlasses is a valuable asset (and beloved advisor to FitzSimmons) who was being transported with maximum security before being kidnapped, we get this wildly wild “we have to put something on the screen while exposition happens” shot:

Which cuts contemporaneously to

Thanks I hate it

Where did the atmospheric smoke go?  Was that highway always there?  What time of day is this supposed to be where the ambient light changes so drastically over a matter of seconds?  They couldn’t have kept the camera on the left side of the lane marker?

But it gets worse because Simmons has a line and the coverage for this is basically just a matched jump cut over to the other half of the line up and back again.

I can’t stand it.

So Agent Mack survived the fall and is still on the scene of the accident.  My mom was pretty incredulous that he was alive, and I was thinking it was too bad that he had to sit there for hours waiting to be debriefed instead of being taken to a hospital.

THEN there’s some FitzSimmons pratfall-adjacent sci-fi nonsense that my mom really got a kick out of.  But I was too distracted by Iain’s decision to play Fitz as a douchebag so far this season so I wasn’t in the right mood to be impressed.

Ok then we go back to the lab to do some science on the MacGuffin, and I will admit my favorite part so far is Skye challenging Coulson on the existence of the truth serum, and Coulson plays it so Coulson-y it’s truly chef’s kiss.

BUT THEN May comes along and drops 100 pounds of print media for Skye to review (oh yeah, there’s a key subplot about there potentially being a mole inside SHIELD, which is how McGlasses got got) and MY MOM who REGULARLY prints out things like Facebook posts to keep for posterity rightly pointed out that they have high-tech on this plane like holograms and stuff, so printing out all this correspondence in order to go through it page by page makes 0% sense.

Also we never see it again.

OKAY THEN COULSON AND WARD ACCOST A COWBOY RIDING A HORSE THROUGH THE WOODS.  Said cowboy also just happens to have the incriminating bag of gold on his person, which Coulson and Ward straight up steal.  That’s it.  That’s the whole concept for the scene.  Coulson’s just parked his car along a narrow woodland path, just waiting for a cowboy to come riding along so he can accost him/steal his gold. 

Check out how whack this scene-setting shot is, too.  We have Coulson on the left, facing the Cowboy on the right.  At this trajectory, you can see that Lola and the horse are basically pointed perpendicular to one another.

Yet cowboy pulls to a stop without banking and addresses something dead ahead of him.

Surprise!  Coulson’s over there now and Lola and the horse are facing dead on.

To really drive this home, cowboy spends the rest of the scene on the left, addressing Coulson who remains on the right.

Anyway so yeah, this scene is about roughing up an innocent civilian for intel and then stealing his legally acquired wealth.

At least they can’t take the sky from him.

The purpose of the cowboy gold is that it’s directly traceable back to Quinn Worldwide, which is hilarious considering that one assumes the under-the-table transaction used this method of currency in order to not be easily traced.

Coulson name drops Quinn like he’s some off-brand Tony Stark that we should be impressed with, and we are immediately shown that Ian Quinn’s defining characteristic is that he has an assistant to hang up his cell phone calls for him.  We are not impressed with Ian Quinn.

OKAY AND THEN WE GET THIS COMPLETE MIS-READ OF SCRIPT INTENT IN THIS SHOT

why why why why why why would you ignore a character’s line like that.  Why are you choosing to TELL me that a man is tied up when it would be SO EASY to SHOW me. 

Especially since the narrative so far is that McGlasses has been skillfully kidnapped by a very determined adversary, and this moment, this interaction, is where that assumption is proven erroneous.  Quinn’s line is a very specific cue that we are meant to SEE that he’s restrained, per our expectations following a kidnapping, specifically to introduce the twist that Quinn is just that budget Tony Stark who actually has no malicious intentions towards his former colleague.

A super close close up of McGlasses fails to achieve that moment the script was hunting for.  I’m feeling that the intent was to keep the focus on this dude because of the upcoming secondary twist where he is revealed to be the SHIELD mole who masterminded his own kidnapping, but this guy is So Bad at acting I don’t think keeping him front and center is ever going to pay off.

(ok I just checked and it turns out Ian Hart is a prolific English actor.  this makes me feel like I ought to chalk it up to “difficulty emoting while doing a fake American accent” but guys this performance is so bad I’m really not willing to believe there’s a good excuse)

anyway it turns out Quinn’s good guy!

.....but then he’s on the wrong side of the shot all of a sudden for no good reason and HEY maybe this set up with the wide angle on the lab and a clear look at McGlasses’ physical situation within that environment would have been an alternative for, you know, maybe some sort of establishing shot?  Maybe?  No?

Also here let’s take a moment to let the “plot” really sink in.  These two chuckleheads are former classmates and colleagues, even though one of them looks about 20 years older than the other, and Quinn discovered that “an asset” was being moved, “deduced” that the asset was McGlasses, and wanted to bring McGlasses in on his semi-nefarious science plan.  So to avoid SHIELD interference in his schemey scheme, Quinn

kidnaps McGlasses directly from SHIELD custody,

in the showiest manner, not only using but LEAVING BEHIND the exact product at the core of his scheme,

and pays a local cowboy with easily traceable gold in exchange for just some regular backhoe to bust open the big rig transporting McGlasses, instead of, I don’t know, using his massive wealth and influence and in-house R&D products to not massively incriminate himself

He couldn’t have just invited McGlasses over without calling attention to himself? 

There is the way that “the asset” was being “moved” makes it sound like McGlasses was on top secret lock down with no civilian rights or means of making/receiving contact with people like old colleagues.  But this is never clarified, like, the only other thing we know about him is that he evidently advises classes at the Sci-Ops branch of the SHIELD academy. 

ALSO we have yet to learn that McGlasses personally staged “being moved” and leaked the hints regarding the identity of “the asset” to Quinn just so that Quinn would do all these nonsense things he done.  He couldn’t have just invited himself over???

Also the conversation they have at this point is real rough, with non-sequiturs, shambling exposition, and garbage jokes that wouldn’t float even if you didn’t have a log and a ham struggling to mimic human behavior.

Also Quinn bought the PRIME MINISTER OF MALTA’S old manor specifically because it has a huge underground lab????  What about Malta do I need to know about before this makes sense?

Let’s move on.  FitzSkimmons have an only-mostly painful scene of exposition in which Iain is still having a hard time with the lines/characterization the Powers That Be are forcing Fitz to be at the moment.  I’m going to say it.  Season 1 Fitz is Utterly Unlikable.

However, this rant has given me the opportunity to 1) stand corrected and 2) appreciate this understated joke:

She’s still on page 1 of 1 billion LOLOLOLOL

The other nice thing to come out of this scene is the casual validation that the public school system may not be right for everyone, and that being a high school drop out does not mean you can’t also be an intelligent self-starter who finds value and satisfaction in picking up a trade skill on your own.  *coughs in Robbie Reyes*

UGH but then we go back to McWooden and Bargain Ham.  Their story is UNINTERESTING and their performances are HARD TO STOMACH.  Also it ends on a mirror of the shot we started with (so there is some evidence of intelligent design at play here after all)

But this framing makes me so uncomfortable like, I’ve shipped for less don’t put weird ideas in my head that no one wants least of all me--

Ok.  We’re a third of the way through.  It doesn’t stop getting worse.

So here’s the correct way to reposition your characters if you want to change up the eye lines without making it super jarring!  The start of this scene is actually really textbook-nice, just look:

The pre-mission planning is already in full swing, but we follow Skye, the outsider on the outside, approaching the scene with some amount of hesitation.

She starts on the right, facing left, and crosses across the path of the camera as it follows her towards the meeting, ending up on its left while the folks currently giving lines are framed over her right shoulder.  Your eye line and sense of positioning has fluidly followed hers, and this makes sense.

From this establishing shot, we do a real nice punch in on Coulson as he’s speaking, using a really action smooth cut as he does a bit of business with his hand.

We’re still coming into this scene from Skye’s POV, and this shot reflects that -- close enough to focus on the important action, but distant enough to show Skye’s current position (literally and figuratively) relative to the rest of the team.

The reverse shot is ... fine.  It’s fine.  I don’t like that she’s framed on the right hand side of the screen (exactly where Coulson was a split second ago), but the eye lines still match up and it does give the impression that the camera is the avatar of the audience and we just turned on the spot to look at her as she quietly invites herself to this scene and starts putting that big beautiful brain of hers to work.

Then we leave her to it!  Feel the difference this cut has, emotionally, from the last time we looked over at Coulson:

We’ve left Skye’s aloof POV and now we’re all up in his biz.  This framing tells us he’s no longer the subject of Skye’s contemplation and has gone back to being a character of the TV screen doing TV character things.

The remainder of this scene holds onto that “normal” shot-reverse-shot framing of the team as they give their opinions and work through the plan.

This laudable result of thoughtful camera work is almost instantly ruined by Fitz yammering on about using a brave little monkey to do their serious spy business and HOLY COW Iain does his best with the dreck he’s been given but there is no universe in which I will find this type of dialogue acceptable.

The valuable plot point here is that Skye is finding her footing on the team, doing hacky stuff on her phone and putting herself out there as -- wait for it -- an asset to Coulson.  Ward responds to this with bafflement, being generally supportive of her known abilities while also being doubtful that she’s a complete package, and turning to Coulson for advice on how to round her training out.

This results in yet another JARRING AF transition (read: there’s no transition) from Ward and Coulson’s heart to heart to Ward pointing a gun at Skye at some indeterminate amount of time later.

Look we haven’t even had time to ingest Coulson’s line yet and BAM we’re here.

This scene’s fine.  It’s doing double duty and that’s admirable.  Triple duty, even.  Many duties are being performed in this scene.  We have

fledgling Skyeward

the introduction to the gun-manipulation maneuver Skye will use later on

Skye’s irreverence butting heads with Ward’s need for brass-tacks

at least one solid joke at Ward’s expense

Ward valuing Skye’s er, assets -- I’M TALKING COMPUTER SCIENCE YA PERVS

a very competent conversational segue into Ward’s Whole Deal, wherein we are introduced to the concept of his childhood trauma (lolol and man does Brett just fail to deliver these lines in any sort of a way that inspires human empathy wowowo he’s so bad in this one)

a callback to an earlier conversation as well as a set up for a future joke

SKYE STEALING WARD’S GUN FROM OUT OF HIS PANTS A++++

Now we go into pre-heist plan-walkthrough mode, and it’s so boring and lifeless that Skye’s actual summary line is “Plan, green, drop, walk ... pie.”  To be honest, she got more out of the discussion than I did.

May has an interesting character moment where she’s complaining about going into the field and then immediately regrets it because she was never going to be sent in, but that means Coulson’s going in instead and that worries her.  I keep thinking back on this season as being unfocused, but that’s because I forget that the sales pitch for this entire shebang is “we killed Coulson in Avengers but now here’s a show where he’s the lead because everyone loves him so much” and the subsequent focus of the inaugural season is everyone’s burning curiosity to find out how they undid his murder. 

Aside from the sci-fi/Marvel/generic spy show gimmick of the week, these early episodes never fail to prioritize the interpersonal dynamic of their team while simultaneously teasing out the Coulson mystery with these nice little regular hits.

I let it keep playing while I was typing, and we flew over some whatever business where Skye goes to Quinn’s party, and Coulson and Ward land their little raft on the beach, and the other kids are watching from the Bus and FITZ IS AGAIN TERRIBLE

I feel you, Jemma.

(Also, am I wrong in hearing him give in and say “boobs?”  The Netflix subtitles have it as “oops” but that can’t be it.)

Anyway so Skye’s busy using her Assets to win Quinn over, and Chloe’s shining moment in this scene is the delivery of the drivers test joke.

Back to stuff that’s gratingly awful, we’re supposedly on Malta, right?  And you know how Hollywood generally and the spy show/movie genre specifically tries to stretch their location budgets by putting on color filters to “evoke” distant lands?

We go from the above, washed out and unfiltered, to this sepia-toned nonsense:

This is supposed to be taking place basically right outside.  Why not just keep the filter on for the interior scenes, too?  There’s plenty of searing Maltese light coming in through that wall of windows.

(They must have had a hard time on location for the manor shoots, though, it’s just as washed out in the earlier scene set outdoors that I didn’t show you because it was boring but I’m showing you know because it’s not even the same color filter as the Coulson/Ward shots

)

((Also, yeah, I get it.  You can’t fly to Malta for a day for a television shoot.  But how many people are you fooling when you put the Santa Monica mountains in the backdrop of every exterior shot?))

So we go back and forth between these high-grain-low-saturation beachfront stuff to these holy angelic light of judgement shots and I hate it.

Like, why choose to shoot against this nuclear-blast light?  It’s not doing your actors any favors.

Especially when you’re ALSO choosing to depict that same “natural” light with a whole different palette and then continue to give us the opportunity to compare and contrast.

Also I hate the Ward/Coulson business because it’s just generic spy stuff where some guards come out of nowhere and I guess maybe it’s implied that their cute boat was found but it could just as easily be that it was explicitly stated that there were guard patrols and I forgot. 

But then they fight and defeat the guards in literally under 8 seconds and that’s that.  End of stakes.

The character moment that validates this trivial obstacle is that Coulson tries to do something with a gun and finds that May’s concerns weren’t entirely unfounded.  He’s a little rusty. 

Also Ward’s response to this is to chuck the gun into the laser wall and I don’t know why.  In any case, the energy from both of them in this screenshot really resonates with me.

So then Skye Does The Thing with her Assets and if you’ll let me be picky again about plot holes, why does the wireless access MacGuffin need to have an interface for Skye to check that the connection is possible, and THEN have that connection activated by LITERALLY dropping it on the table.  They couldn’t have set it to auto-scan and then tell her through her earpiece to stay still when the connection activated itself?

Whatever.  Success!  Immediately followed by ... INEXPLICABLE OBSTACLE

WHO, praytell, is on the other end of that walkie talkie?  Because the downed man is the man you see.  Typically, it would be like a survivor of the scuffle who radios for backup, but here we see the scene of the scuffle and some unknown unseen ADDITIONAL MAN who I guess is just spying on them from somewhere and radioing still more unseen men?

Instantly hearing this news, the Unseen begin a sniper assault on Coulson and Ward, and we get to see their bullets getting evaporated by the laser wall.  Remember those guards walking along the sea cliff towards the sign?  There’s no place for the snipers to be sniping from, unless they have some kind of invisible floating island.

This scenario is made even more hilarious once Fitz brings down the laser wall and Coulson and Ward dive through like they think they some kind of James Bonds and then the wall goes back up and the snipers keep sniping.

Why aren’t the guards on the inside of the perimeter of the compound which they guard?  This laser fence is now protecting the intruders.  Minor design flaw.

Anywho, Quinn is still talking about how he doesn’t trust SHIELD and SHIELD doesn’t trust him, so it’s like, what are we supposed to believe about this guy anyway?  Why did Coulson introduce him as bargain bin Tony Stark if he was known to be bargain bin Justin Hammer all along?

So now that snipers have failed to snipe the intruders, some Seen Guards come to alert Quinn so he breaks the wireless MacGuffin and turns a gun on Skye.  (Just sayin, if it had been some secret device that was still in her bag, she’d have plausible deniability) 

I think, at this point, I have two conclusions

Team Coulson has no extraction plan for getting McGlasses out of the compound since they don’t have a Plan B to get back through the laser wall, no firepower to use on the Seen Guards, and no available land-or-sea getaway vehicles.

There was never any sort of extraction plan for Skye even if the laser wall and the Seen Guards were not an obstacle.

Here’s where it gets the messiest.

Coulson busts in on McGlasses but is told no rescue is required.

AT THAT SAME TIME

May has just popped open a tablet over in some room by herself, evidently disinterested in whatever FitzSimmons is probably doing right now in light of this drastic turn of events, and she’s randomly googling up on the SHIELD leak mentioned earlier, only to discover that it was MCGLASSES ALL ALONG.

Keeps a cool head, our May.

Yeah, we know, we .. he ... he just said ... you know what?  We didn’t actually care, though?  Who the mole was or that it was McGlasses.  We certainly didn’t spend the last half hour watching May diligently tracking down some breadcrumb trail of clues to get to this dramatic reveal, only to find out a second too late.  We didn’t even see her checking up that Skye had/didn’t have this angle covered.

Did she print out the contents of the four-foot binder as some sort of eco-terrorist cruel joke since she was just planning on spending three seconds on the computer to complete the same task?

Ok so Coulson misinterprets McGlasses’ decline of his rescue operation as collaboration with Quinn until May clues him in.  We then go to commercials and come back and have to go over all this info again just in case we didn’t follow that super exciting double-cross the first two times.

At which point we figure out where all the pre-production time was sunk -- somebody had to spend a lot of effort envisioning how they were going to do the wacky-gravity scenes.  My feeling is that fun challenges like that are what stand out to people who are working on a thing, and sometimes the prestige of “pulling that off” can overshadow the need to pay attention to other, less exciting aspects of filmmaking, like making sure your eye lines stay coherent in a scene or that your color gradings aren’t super distracting.

Anyway I do really like the load-bearing scene where Quinn threatens Skye at gunpoint because it is one of those many examples this season has of laying ground work for and paying off character moments.

Skye’s flip and smart and completely not ready for this level of field action, but she remembers her training, remembers how earnestly Ward wanted her to be ready for this defining moment, and gets the gun!

That “nOPE” when she can’t shoot the man is also Classic Skye and we Love Her For It.

Anyway oh yeah, McGlasses reveals his master plan to get kidnapped, so that he could get on site and ruin Quinn’s everything because he’s a Bad Justin Hammer.  His performance is SO PAINFUL and his reasoning has yet to make sense.  Coulson doesn’t ask “why did you have to be kidnapped to get in, though” but he does ask “why didn’t you try reasoning with him” as if that were the question we needed an answer to.

Also it turns out FitzSimmons has been pretty chill this whole time since their agents lost their extraction plan (well, they’re smart, they probably knew all along that there wasn’t one) and are just puttering around the lab working on what looks like their regular day-to-day science, talking excitedly about gravitonium rather than panicking that the whole plan’s gone to shit.

Unflappable.

COME ON PEOPLE the mission wasn’t “throw McGlasses into the gravitonium and do high-fives” it was “rescue McGlasses from Quinn’s grasp.”  From the way that this plays out, there is 0% indication that their initial plan was ever expected to succeed.

WE DON’T EVEN SEE HOW THEY GET OUT OF THERE, WE JUST LOOK AT SOME MCGRAVITONIUM AND THEN SEE COULSON ON THE BUS INSTRUCTING THE CONTAINMENT FACILITY ON HOW IT SHOULD BE HANDLED.

Oh well, the gratuitous plot is disposed with after this point.

In the denouement, we get to see May and Coulson interact over his experience in the field and her experience being stuck watching him in the field.  She’s finally ready for combat, but strictly for his sake.  And he’s at the point where he’s ready and willing to take her up on her offer instead of trying to prove that he’s everything he was before he died.

Following that, we get some Skyeward with some really gross romantic comedy type music.  Bear, you’re better than this!!  But the scene is nice, Chloe really brings it (almost brings too much) and Brett is there to support her.

It’s a really on-the-nose admission from Skye that her allegiances lie with SHIELD, but its an organic continuation of that bit from earlier where she wandered all up on their meeting, the outsider, and pushed her way into the heart of it.  She wants this.  She wants to feel like she belongs here.  And now she’s been trusted with some opportunities and tools to prove it!

This early in the season, we’re still doubtful that she’s on the up and up, what with that Rising Tide plot thread hanging so loose and tantalizing over our heads.  Due to the potential of a storyline revolving around her betrayal, there are a lot of fun little moments in the next few episodes where Ward gets to say some betrayal-related stuff that is absolutely excellent in retrospect.

I was watching some old interviews and while it is very clear Brett did not know the fate of his character in advance, it’s also distinctly implied that no one knew and the arc of the season may have developed episode by episode.  That’s so nutty to me, considering how strong the structure of the season is, how there are so many satisfying call backs and payoffs later on.

I think I’m more likely to applaud a well-plotted narrative, in which foreshadowing and a deliberate order of events slowly unravel to great effect.  But I can definitely appreciate the ability to force the illusion of the same by being crafty and attentive and not letting any usable threads go to waste.

Ultimately, whether by design or by providence, Season 1 is successful in pulling it all together.  It’s just that episodes like this one don’t really inspire you to believe that that outcome is likely, or even possible.  Episodes like this one cause a person to give up watching halfway through the season and walk away for years until cajoled into giving it another shot because “it got good somehow.”

But what this season has, every episode, especially ones like this one, is a pronounced, chaotic, relentless prioritization of Character over Plot.  What is this show about?  Who cares.  That’s the wrong question.  This show could have been about anything, and these early episodes are all too aware of it.  What kind of story can you tell when every option is on the table and no one knows what to expect from you?

You find that story, step by step, episode by episode, through the eyes of your characters.  The forward motion of the story isn’t “how did Coulson come back to life” but “what is life going to be like for him now?”  It’s not “will Skye betray the team” it’s “what does she want and what is she willing to do to get it?”

Posing and answering these character questions generates the Story of Agents of SHIELD.  Plots be damned.  Remember how at one point in this episode, our heroes robbed a cowboy at gunpoint?  Yeah.  Me either.

And I can’t agree more with this approach.  In my experience, PWP works best when its about the characters.

[kinsbin]

Mis-Messaged

Title: Mis-Messaged Ship: Alexys/John Doe [Joker] [Self Insert/Canon] Word Count: 2636 Summary: While spending time with her best friend, Alexys discovered that her crush likes her back. Bruce does his bet to set her up with John, but, what happens between them is up to them both.

A/N: A commission for @bad-blue-moon-rising​! I love their ship with Joker and it’s been forever since I’ve written for Telltale’s Batman series ;u; I hope you enjoy!

It was rare Bruce had a night in. Even more rare was it to spend it with Alexys, the two best friends sitting comfortably in arm chairs amidst the posh living room of the Wayne state. The fire roared in the fireplace, crackling and spitting out pieces of ash and wood through the vented chimney while the sound of rock music hummed low on the speakers of the stereo set at their sides. Bruce held a book between his fingers, flipping idly through pages as he read each line with easy diligence. Alexys had propped her laptop up on herself now, sitting in the chair so that her back rested on one arm and her legs were slung over the other. The nonsensical video game she had put up on the screen was simple and casual, a farming simulator involving cabbages and some sort of buy-to-win currency that ads would pop up for every twelve seconds. The thing about spending time with your best friend was, of course, the joy of spending it in complete silence. You had known everything about one another to the point of talking feeling useless. It was easier to enjoy one another’s company without forcing natural words between your lips. Alexys brushed back a strand of her hair as she sighed, tilting her head in an effort to angle the screen towards her better.

Ping...Ping!

Ping...Pingping-

“Bruce,” Alexys spoke through the gentle glass taps of alert noises, “Please look at your texts or put that phone on vibrate, I’m going to lose it if I have to listen to one more angry ping from that stupid thing.”

“Oh? Sorry,” He mumbled while reaching for his phone with a frown, “Guess I just get used to it after a while.”

“No you just have selective hearing,” Alexys smirked, “It’s like all the times I call you and you never pick up.”

“Low blow there, don’t you think? I am a working businessman.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

Bruce turned on his phone and scrolled through the messages. Out of the corner of her eye, Alexys watched her best friend’s face for signs of just who it was he was texting. She watched his blue eyes scroll through word after word on the screen before them. Not even a few lines down and she caught his brows furrowing, lips curving into a frown so reminiscent of when he was batman that it almost worried her too much to ask just what it was. Concern for her best friend, of course, put itself forward more than anxiety in one way or another. Shifting, she pulled the laptop off of her stomach and sat normally on the chair, placing it down in her lap before gazing at Bruce with concern.

“What is it?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing I-”

“Bruce Wayne don’t you like to me, you know it doesn’t work.”

Bruce sighed and put his phone down on his lap, a hand running over his face as he gave her an unreadable look. It was as if he were debating just how to tell her what was on the screen.

“John Doe...Uh he-” He tried to find the way to word what he wanted to say properly before taking a breath and giving up, “Wanted my advice on how to ask you out.”

“WHAT!?”

Alexys dove across the chairs, her laptop resting on its side on the floor now in favor of her body aiming itself perfectly at Bruce’s phone. Bruce, in turn, lurched and quickly held it out of reach as she all but dived across his lap, grabbing at the device with a desperation only a completely shocked woman could truly muster. Her eyes were focused as she caught glimpses of his phone screen through the struggle. Not much could be seen, but, she saw enough heart emojis and crying faces to understand the intent of the conversation, and it all but brought a worse blush to her face as she was quickly rolled off of the billionaire’s lap and onto the floor, where she covered her cheeks with her hands while attempting to sputter out some sort of response.

“I-I-! What the fuck do you mean he wants to ASK ME OUT? Bruce, that’s not something you just TELL ME.”

“You ASKED ME to tell you what it was!”

Another groan left her lips, Alexys falling backwards as she let her head rest against the plush carpet of the room, staring up at the insatiably high ceiling as the wheels in her mind worked. “Does that mean he...likes me? Like...LIKE LIKEs me?”

“What are you, in seventh grade?”

“Answer the question, Wayne.”

“Well, yeah,” Bruce gestured to her, “Have you seen the way he looks at you each time you meet him or you come with me to somewhere? It’s...kind of really obvious. He makes you laugh with every other word because he’s trying really hard to.”

“It wasn’t obvious to me! Oh my god, what should I do? How should I say yes?! God I wish I could have heard him tell me it himself and-”

“Well you’ll be able to,” Bruce noted with a quirk of his head, fingers typing lazily across his phone as he double-tasked the conversation, “I just told him I’d meet him at a local bar in fifteen minutes. You can go instead of me.”

“WHAT!?”

“What?”

“DID YOU JUST SET US UP!?”

“You said you wanted to say yes!” Bruce gestured to her with a laugh, “I would have found a way to tell him ‘no’ if you had said you weren’t interested.”

Alexys shut her mouth, dragging her hands down her face as she groaned towards her best friend, who frowned at her and moved off of his chair. Hand out, he waited for her to take it before pulling Alexys up and off of the floor she had chosen to lay on. Bruce stood there with her, eyes sincere as they had always been with her, and he took a breath, “Just promise me you’ll be careful...This guy is...well, he’s something. I don’t know if the word is dangerous, but, it might be. I just want to make sure you’re safe, so, take my car. Take a tracker with you to, and text me when you’re home, alright?”

“You worry too much,” Alexys laughed, reaching out to hug her best friend with a sigh, “But I promise, I’ll stay safe. Thanks for...well, everything I suppose.”

“Don’t mention it,” Bruce laughed, hugging back, “No get going.”

A brief change of clothes later, Alexys found herself just outside of a local bar, a simple and small place just out of the way enough for a car of Bruce Wayne’s to go relativlely unnoticed, yet, decent enough to not feel too shady. Alfred eyed Alexys through the rear view mirror, his eyebrows tilting at her as she fiddled with her fingernails, chewing on them lightly before taking a deep breath and pushing her hand away to play with each other instead, her lips pursed as she prepared herself to get out of the vehicle.

“You can always return to the manor, Alexys,” Alfred’s easy voice echoed like a father’s from the front, “Master Bruce will understand.”

“Thanks Al,” Alexys smiled warmly, “But...I want to do this, I swear. It’s just...hard...knowing you’re meeting a guy who not only likes you, but, doesn’t know that you know he likes you AND doesn’t know that you’re the one he’s meeting its-It’s a lot. I don’t know if this will work.”

“If I may say,” Alfred hummed, “Any man who is lucky enough to have your heart will make it work with you, for both of your sakes.”

Alexys laughed, but nodded and finally stood to get out of the car. She entered the bar and gazed curiously around. It was nearly empty, a few patrons lingering in the corner booths with nachos and a couple of beers while the low hum of jukebox radio echoed softly across the decorated walls. The scent of light cigars and pool table chalk filled her nostrils as her eyes settled on the man she knew she was supposed to meet. He sat at the bar, hands busying themselves with stacking the variety of coffee creamer and small ketchup packets into what looked to be an intricate pattern resembling the eiffel tower. She felt herself smile as she watched him, the way his tongue stuck from between his lips as he focused on the task at hand was utterly adorable. The way his nose wrinkled with intense concentration made her heart skip a beat as she approached, feeling herself ease up in his very presence. It was as if his existence relieved her anxiety, fighting it back with humor and fun moments.

“H-Hi John.”

He paused in his movements, eyes widening and cheeks flushing a brilliant shade of red that she wasn’t sure if she had ever seen on a human being before. His hand shifted, knocking the tower just enough so that it came crashing down on his lap and across the bar. John cursed, eyes widening at the events that had just occurred before his lip stuck out in a pout as all of his hard work laid itself out before him. Alexys hurried next to him, catching some of the pieces that were trying to roll off of the counter completely and placing them back in the small holder that the bartender (now staring at them with a look of begrudging annoyance) had left out for other customers. She laughed and slid next to him on one of the seats, brushing some of her hair back, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you that bad.”

“You didn’t!” John argued back with surprise before another pause overcame in and he shrugged, “Okay, maybe you did a little bit. But...I mean...It’s just that-Where’s Bruce?”

There was a contemplative pause as Alexys debated ratting out her best friend for reading out his texts to her. She decided that she would spare him the wrath of his best friend via an explosion of upset text messages he would without a doubt have to put out and settled with a light shrug of laughter as she rubbed the back of her neck. “He said that he couldn’t quite make it, busy with work and all you know? He asked if I could go instead, since, I know you and he trusts me ‘n all.”

John’s gaze narrowed as if in understanding of the situation. Though, he was probably thinking that he had set the both of them up without either of them knowing versus Alexys having scrambled to steal away his phone in the middle of the living room, but she was fine with allowing that thought process to continue. Instead, he waved the bartender over and grinned at him.

“Two shirley temples please.”

Alexys laughed at this order, her hand reaching up to cover her mouth as she grinned through it. “We’re at a bar. What are we, twelve?”

“Childlike wonder is never a bad thing to have,” John explained with a grin, “Besides, who doesn’t like Shirley Temples?!”

“That’s valid,” Alexys agreed as she took a deep breath of air to stop herself from giggling too much, “Sorry, I’m so tired and that was probably funnier to me than it should have been.”

“What? Don’t apologize for something like that,” John hummed, “I love your laugh...It’s warm and...really genuine. I like it.”

“You...You do?”

John’s smile was warm on his lips as he looked away, his own hand touching the back of his neck to rub at the thin strands of hair on it as he flushed with embarrassment, “Yeah I...Like a lot of things bout you, actually. A lot a lot….Uh, that’s kind of what I wanted to talk to Bruce about, but, I guess talking to you about it would be easier face to face too um-damn-Maybe not as easy as I thought but-”

There was a pause as the bartender brought them their drinks, rolling his eyes at the apparent conversation that was taking place. John grinned back, Alexys matching the look as they both waved their thanks towards the man who clearly wanted nothing to do with the two sober beings in his bar at nearly past midnight.

“So you...Like me…” Alexys tried the words on her tongue, averting her gaze with a laugh, “I don’t get why but...That sounds like something. I mean-”

John reached out now, taking her face in his hands and bringing it to his. Alexys’ eyes widened as she was forced to stare into his, which were a strange seriousness compared to their usual light hearted demeanor. His gaze held her own, as if trying to ensure that she knew how serious he was, but those orbs flickered to her lips and then up again. He licked his own, Alexys swallowed at the action.

“No,” He muttered, “What’s not to get? I mean you’re...funny a-and cute and...Your nose does the most adorable little wrinkling thing when you laugh...And oh that laugh, you sound like you’re singing each time. Alexys I...liked you the moment I met you.”

She inhaled sharply, trying to process all of the compliments the man before her had just showered her in. Did he really think those things? Even though he had said it...Even though she had seen the texts on Bruce’s phone...None of it wanted to make sense to her. She was waiting for him to say he was kidding. For him to laugh and for her to be forced to laugh along. That was what he did, right? He joked...things were funny...was this funny?

As if sensing the doubt in her tumultuous mind, John took his chance.

Closing the distance between them, she could feel his smile as he kissed her, long and deep and moving his hands so that they were on her shoulders, just light enough for her to pull away should she refuse the motion or his feelings. She didn’t pull away, however. Alexys leaned forward, eyes shutting as she felt herself smiling back, the both of them entwined in a kiss that made them grin from ear to ear as they shared it with one another. He tasted like sweets and alcohol and she could have sworn she was drunk off of it as she found his hands in her own, holding tightly while they separated.

“Can you two please either finish your drinks or get a room?”

They looked up at the bartender, who looked like he was very, very tired of the events going on.

John laughed in return, an infectious sound that made Alexys join him as they nodded at one another and waved off to the bartender, who had moved away to simply let them go. Turning back to her, the man before Alexys gave a hopeful, shy sort of look as he kept his hands in hers.

“So that’s...an ‘I like you too’ I suppose?”

Alexys laughed again, giving his hand a squeeze as they hopped off of the barstools together. Standing on the tips of her toes, she gave the side of his face a light peck before tugging him towards the exit with a grin.

“It is. I...love you a lot, John.”

The words filled his stomach with butterflies as he ran forward and hugged her, swirling her around as they made it to the door and grinned happily at her, placing another kiss on her forehead.

“I love you too.”

Perhaps the only time they could be serious...was when they were seriously in love? Alexys was okay with that.

[newstfionline]

Friday, September 17, 2021

Priciest Food Since 1970s Is a Big Challenge for Governments (Bloomberg) Whether for bread, rice or tortillas, governments across the world know that rising food costs can come with a political price. The dilemma is whether they can do enough to prevent having to pay it. Global food prices were up 33% in August from a year earlier with vegetable oil, grains and meat on the rise, data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization show. And it’s not likely to get better as extreme weather, soaring freight and fertilizer costs, shipping bottlenecks and labor shortages compound the problem. Dwindling foreign currency reserves are also hampering the ability of some nations to import food. From Europe to Turkey and India, politicians are now handing out more aid, ordering sellers to cut prices and tinkering with trade rules to mitigate the impact on consumers. The issue is more acute in emerging markets where the cost of food accounts for a greater chunk of household spending, and in crisis-hit nations.

Newsom Beat the Recall, Now Comes the Hard Part: Governing California (NYT) On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom beat back an attempted recall—but still had multiple crises to confront. Ninety percent of the state was in extreme drought. The median home price had eclipsed $800,000. Some 100,000 people were sleeping outside or in their cars nightly. And more than 6 million public school children were struggling to make up the learning they had missed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Although Mr. Newsom has the advantage of a unified base, a Democratic supermajority in the Legislature and the state’s attention, he also has these long-term issues, and more.

The Greatest Killer in New Orleans Wasn’t the Hurricane. It Was the Heat. (NYT) In many ways, Iley Joseph’s one-bedroom apartment was an ideal place to ride out a hurricane. It was on the third floor—much too high to flood—of a building that was sturdy and new, part of a sleek, gated community for older residents like him. But in the days after Hurricane Ida, his home began to feel like a trap. The huge power failure that cut off electricity to New Orleans rendered Joseph’s air-conditioner useless and his refrigerator nothing more than a cupboard. Even worse, the outage froze the complex’s elevators in place, sealing him inside the building because his health problems prevented him from using the stairs. Joseph, 73, insisted in telephone conversations with his sons that he was doing just fine. But in his apartment, No. 312, it kept getting hotter. On Sept. 2, the fourth day after the storm hit—the hottest yet—a friend found him lying still on the side of his bed. Only in recent days, as the last lights flickered back on in New Orleans, have officials here discovered the true toll of Hurricane Ida. Of 14 deaths caused by the storm in the city, Joseph’s and nine others are believed to be tied to the heat.

Lumbering Nicholas (NYT) Since the storm named Nicholas made landfall in Texas on Tuesday, it hasn’t traveled very far. It first lingered over southeastern Texas, dumping rain along the coast and causing power outages in Houston. Since then, the storm has moved east over Louisiana, sometimes as slow as two miles an hour. Nicholas could cause flooding in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida today and tomorrow. This kind of storm—big and slow, bringing enormous amounts of rain—is an increasingly common part of life under climate change. Hot, dry places—like much of the American West—have become hotter and drier, while wet places—like the coast along the Gulf of Mexico—have become wetter.

SpaceX launches 4 amateurs on private Earth-circling trip (AP) SpaceX’s first private flight streaked into orbit Wednesday night with two contest winners, a health care worker and their rich sponsor, the most ambitious leap yet in space tourism. It was the first time a spacecraft circled Earth with an all-amateur crew and no professional astronauts. The Dragon capsule’s two men and two women are looking to spend three days going round and round the planet from an unusually high orbit—100 miles (160 kilometers) higher than the International Space Station—before splashing down off the Florida coast this weekend.

Mark Milley’s secret calls to China (Foreign Policy) Phone calls between U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and his Chinese counterpart, Li Zuocheng, from October 2020 through January have caused a political kerfuffle in Washington. According to Bob Woodward and Robert Costa’s new book, Peril, Milley twice called Li to reassure him that the United States was stable and was not about to launch an attack on China, despite then-U.S. President Donald Trump’s attempts to cling to power. Numerous questions remain about how the calls took place and what exactly was said. Beyond Trump’s instability or Milley’s overreach, one leaps out: Why did Milley think the Chinese might overreact to the U.S. political drama so strongly, potentially even taking military action? U.S.-China relations are at a nadir, but the crisis doesn’t seem to have put fingers on buttons yet. If Milley thinks otherwise based on intelligence, that could be a worrying sign. It also could be the overreaction of one general. It’s even more unclear what Li or anyone else in Beijing has made of the whole affair. After all, if a Chinese general reached out to tell Washington everything was fine in Beijing and not to be concerned about coup rumors, U.S. intelligence would probably become concerned that a coup was happening.

Researcher acquitted after FBI case collapses (Foreign Policy) University of Tennessee professor Anming Hu has been acquitted of fraud charges after the FBI twice attempted to prosecute him, only to have its case dismantled by judges for flimsy evidence and false statements. The case against Hu should not have been brought even once; attempting it twice makes the Justice Department’s campaign against Chinese scientists accused of espionage appear vindictive and racist.

Biden’s travel ban on European visitors widens transatlantic rift (Washington Post) Last week, France became the latest European nation to issue travel restrictions on unvaccinated American visitors. The move prompted outraged responses from some, but many Europeans seemed to believe that the move was America’s just deserts. The issue for wary Europeans isn’t just the United States’ persistently high national coronavirus case numbers. It’s that most Europeans, vaccinated or not, have been banned from the United States since March 14, 2020: more than 550 days and counting. The U.S. ban—which affects most European visitors, but not American citizens, permanent residents and a limited number of visa holders flying from Europe—was imposed in the early days of the pandemic under President Donald Trump. Many Europeans believed President Biden would lift the ban soon after taking office. He didn’t. Later, some speculated he would do so after he visited Brussels or when he hosted German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Washington, around the time that Europe and Britain lifted most of their own blanket restrictions. Still, no policy change. Some Europeans see no hope on the horizon for a lifting of the ban. “At this point, it’s really just incomprehensible,” said Benjamin Haddad, director of the Europe Center at the Atlantic Council. With little sign of change, tensions are flaring.

Australia to get U.S. nuclear submarine technology as China looms large (Reuters) The United States, Britain and Australia said on Wednesday they would establish a security partnership for the Indo-Pacific that will involve helping Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines, as Chinese influence over the region grows. Under the partnership, announced by President Joe Biden, British Prime Minster Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the United States will provide Australia with the technology and capability to deploy nuclear-powered submarines, senior U.S. administration officials told reporters. Australia will not be fielding nuclear weapons, the prime minister said.

With foreign funds frozen, Afghan aid groups stuck in limbo (AP) A month after the fall of Kabul, the world is still wrestling with how to help Afghanistan’s impoverished people without propping up their Taliban leaders—a question that grows more urgent by the day. With the Afghan government severed from the international banking system, aid groups both inside Afghanistan and abroad say they are struggling to get emergency relief, basic services and funds to a population at risk of starvation, unemployment and the coronavirus after 20 years of war. Among the groups struggling to function is a public health nonprofit that paid salaries and purchased food and fuel for hospitals with contributions from the World Bank, the European Union and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The $600 million in funds, which were funneled through the Afghan Health Ministry, dried up overnight after the Taliban took over the capital. “All we do is wait and pray for cash to come,” one aid worker said. “We face disaster, if this continues.”

Hezbollah brings Iran fuel to Lebanon despite US sanctions (AP) Dozens of trucks carrying Iranian diesel arrived in Lebanon on Thursday, the first in a series of deliveries organized by the militant Hezbollah. The powerful group operates independently from Lebanese authorities, which are struggling to deal with a crippling energy crisis. The overland delivery through neighboring Syria violates U.S. sanctions imposed on Tehran after former President Donald Trump pulled America out of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in 2018. The shipment is being portrayed as a victory by Hezbollah, which stepped in to supply the fuel from its patron, Iran, while the cash-strapped Lebanese government grapples with months-long fuel shortages that have paralyzed the country. There was no immediate comment from Lebanese or U.S. officials on the Iranian fuel delivery. Local commentators said Washington, worried about chaos in Lebanon amid raging, multiple crises, may have decided to look the other way.

One million Nigerian children to miss school due to mass kidnappings, UNICEF says (Reuters) At least one million Nigerian children could miss school this year as the new term begins amid a rise in mass school kidnappings and insecurity, the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF said on Wednesday. Schools have become targets for mass abductions for ransom in northern Nigeria by armed groups. Such kidnappings in Nigeria were first carried out by jihadist group Boko Haram then later its offshoot Islamic State West Africa Province, but the tactic has now been adopted by criminal gangs. So far, there has been 20 attacks on schools in Nigeria this year, with more than 1,400 children abducted and 16 dead, UNICEF said, adding that more than 200 children are still missing.

Instagram blues (WSJ) Around 22 million teens log on to Instagram in the United States each day. According to an internal study by Facebook of teens in the United States and United Kingdom, 40 percent of Instagram users reported that they felt unattractive, and the feeling began on the app. Roughly a quarter said they felt not good enough, and that the feeling first started on Instagram, and lots of teens also said that the app undermined their beliefs in their friendships.

[under-snow-vixen]

Yuletide Letter

hi author! i’m vixen - UnderSnowVixen on Ao3. this’ll be my first yuletide :0

i like worldbuilding, especially around religion, government, and language; religion in general; change in government over time; character studies; explorations of close relationships; post-canon settings; canon divergence; crossovers, especially characters from one canon visiting or joining another canon; gender weirdness and exploration; POV outsider, especially with OC POV; Epistolary fics, especially through paperwork or (transcripts of) broadcast media; unusual formats in general; paperwork in general; political or legal comedy; fluff and comfort; temporary death/revival; travel, especially vagrancy or space travel; finding home in another; hope in the face of doom, be it futile or successful; complicated politesse; memory and its fallibility; storytelling; immortality and all that come with it, especially the gender of immortals; ensemble pieces; growing apart and fighting or accepting that; place-as-character; haunted, wrong, or angry places; liminal spaces; play and joy in terrible times; exploration of inhumanity, real or perceived; what it means to be a “good person” and worries over that; morality; conversations about music and art; prairies, forests, and lakes; things that live in those places, be it human, animal, or other; explorations of advancements in technology and how that affects personal lives; color and light; fables and fairytales, especially those that aren’t as well known; being trapped by snow or other weather; beauty in imperfection; existentialism; and what death means in different cultures

you can write your fic in french if you’d prefer!

DNW for all canons: works that would be tagged Explicit for any reason (mature is fine); references to COVID (other illnesses or even pandemics, even real, are fine); human, no power, highschool, or modern AUs; gender bending without trans readings; crossovers with RPF fandoms; bad endings; or podfic

Kino no Tabi | Kino's Journey - Keiichi Sigsawa (Kino & Hermes) : i love this canon for two big reasons: one is the exploration of cultures or individuals from an outsider’s point of view, and the other is the exploration of gender and identity through various cultures or personal lives. this is also a very existentialist canon, which i adore.

Kino no Tabi lends itself well to two of my favorite things: crossover - i’d pretty much read any crossover with it, even if i’d never even heard of the other fandom! - and outsider POV. Kino is a perfect outsider POV character, but often an outsider’s perspective on Kino can be more interesting. what does your favorite world think of vagrancy? what would Kino think of that world in turn? alternatively, make up an entirely new country for them to visit. a lot of canon countries are based on fables or psychology or philosophy problems, but they can be based on pretty much anything! as long as it’s something different for Kino to see i’ll be happy with it!

Kino is often read as nonbinary and i personally headcanon Hermes to be nonbinary too, but Kino and Hermes have never come across another nonbinary person in their travels. What would their time in a country that explicitly recognizes nonbinary people be like?

any pronouns are fine for Kino, play up the confusion! please do not use it/its pronouns for Hermes though, even from characters who wouldn’t know better. anything else is fine. no ships with Kino, please, Kino is transient. ships without Kino are fine, but of course shouldn’t be the focus.

Dr Cataclysm (Webcomic) (Agrippa & Melon) : if youre here for a different canon and haven’t read this... do so. its pretty short and its free. it’s also by the guy who made Off if that’s a drawing point. find it here.

give me some wholesome found family slice of life and i’ll love you forever. agrippa and melon need a break!! give them a nice dinner or something!! i don’t super ship but tossing in some agrippa/crocodile could be fun. or everyone!! just have agrippa and melon host everyone for a nice dinner. janos can be there as long as he’s chill.

alternatively... that last issue sure is somethin huh. what do you think happened? a where-are-they-now would be fun. i have my ideas, but what are yours?

if the crocodile girl shows up, don’t hurt her!!! she’s just a sick little girl she doesn’t need more stress :(

Moon Knight (Comics) (Marc Spector) : marc :( i love him but hes had such a hard time! (especially lately!!!) you could give him a nice day :) he’s honestly pretty chill despite all the uh... divine annoyances and mercenary tendencies, i’m sure there’s a few people he could just hang out and enjoy company with.

orrrr you could... make his day worse? :))) so many people hate this man, half the time he’s on a team he’s belittled constantly. what’s that like? i love ensemble pieces, if you stick him on a team or with a couple loners and explore their relationship that would be fun. what do people marc works with think of Khonshu? i’m a big fan of suprise revivals, and marc dies... so often.

marc is also really fun to shove into crossovers, and has a built-in excuse for it with Khonshu! part of his whole deal is he 1. is adaptable and 2. just Does Not Give Up. this means he will survive in any world you stick him in or die trying. and then get up and keep trying.

my favorite runs are v2 (1985) and v5 (2015-16) (the first half of v5 is really good), as well as his time with the WCA and the Secret Avengers. i also really liked contagion and conan serpent war despite their... debatable canon. i don’t really know what’s going on with the most recent avengers run.

don’t be weird about his mental illnesses. if you write Khonshu, i like Khonshu-as-God 10000% more than Khonshu-as-delusion and he should be an asshole, but in a lot of the more recent comics he’s just cruel which is :(. please keep to the asshole god side of things as opposed to a cruel god. the 2019 annual and conan serpent war have my favorite Khonshu characterizations. My Explicit-rating ban is lifted for this canon, but only for extreme violence and death.

Nuclear Throne (Video Game) (Yung Venus) : what’s his deal?? he’s a really comical character and probably has the least Bad Stuff going on with him in canon, but he’s still a god of money of all things. what does that mean in a world where currency is extinct? what does being a gun god mean when everyone has guns? is he revered or ignored? i’d love a more serious exploration of YV-as-god, or of his relationships with the rest of those around the campfire.

pretty much anything goes for this canon. mind the general DNWs. My Explicit-rating ban is lifted for this canon, but only for extreme violence and death.

Pyre (Video Game) (any) : while i love the characters of Pyre, what i love more is the world. what were the Scribes like, and what do people think of them now? we know that the Triumvirates were only a tiny portion of the Downside population, what are the rest of them like?

If you’re more partial to the characters, great! i love them all! (or at least all of those who were nominated this year!!) slice of life or post-canon political comedy is the way to go. give me a missing scene from the time spent on Mount Alodiel, or show me how the new government is handling things. depending on who made it up, they either have a lot of experience or none at all!

please feel free to play around with end conditions, but one i’m fond of (and the one i got my first time through) is to liberate Hedwyn, Jodariel, Rukey, Fae, Ti'zo, Pametha, and Oralech, while sir Gilman, Volfred, Bertrude, all non-Nightwings, and the Reader(+Sandra) remain. i tend to use Fae, Mae, or Gae for the moontouched girl but any name is good! i also tend to not give my Readers names, but if you’d like to go right ahead :)

please nothing with Manley, Lendel, or Brighton unless it’s an ensemble piece. no jodariel/ignarius.

thank you !!!!

[usatacticalgeartacticalgear]

How To Plan A Trip The Right Way

The world of travel is very vast and exciting. There are so many ways that you can enter this world and use your knowledge of traveling to help yourself have better trips. It depends completely on the individual. That said, no matter what your traveling skills are, here are some tips to help you along.

Luggage is often a large problem when people travel. While it might seem like a good idea to buy your children small size luggage, remember that they are entitled to a full size carry-on on most major air carriers. This extra luggage space can often save you from checking an extra piece of baggage. This will save you from $25 to $50 on most airlines!

When traveling by car, always make sure you bring along a bag for trash. Even if you don't plan on having meals in your car, the trash will build up surprisingly quickly. Having the bag ready will help you to keep your car neat and organized and make it easier to get rid of the trash when you stop.

You always want to make sure that you have a visa, if it is needed for entry into a county. Research exactly what you will need to present, to be allowed access to that location. Also, be aware that sometimes a visa will not even allow you entry.

If you are interested in international travel but you can't afford it, consider volunteering to work at with an international charity. Many charities will allow you to live for free at an overseas location, in exchange for your work at one of their facilities, such as a hospital, school or nursery.

If you are taking a long trip and you're packing light, pack a rain coat that has a soft lining. The weather can change at any given moment. A raincoat can also serve as a windbreaker when the weather is cold, and even a bathrobe for your hotel stay.

If you're going on a cruise, it's advisable to bring your own alcohol. While food is unlimited on the ship, alcohol is not. They won't charge you anything right then and there, instead you'll just swipe your room key. But come check out time, you may find you've racked up hundreds if not thousands of dollars worth of alcohol if you and your family like to drink.

If you are not interested in striking up a conversation with your seat mates, make sure you bring along big, noise-cancelling headphones. Most people will not try to strike up a conversation with someone who is obviously not interested in talking. These have the added bonus of blocking out the sounds of babies crying or people chatting while you relax.

If you plan to stay more than one night in a hotel room, bring a cheap over-the-door organizer for shoes or jewelry. Instead of filling it with shoes, you can use the pockets to store your toiletries, room key, camera, phone and any other objects which might easily get lost in the fray. The clear pockets make it easy to find things, in seconds.

If you will be on vacation for a week or longer, double check if there will be a laundry facility on site. If there will be then you can pack a little lighter and be able to throw in a load of laundry instead when you are there. Since airlines do charge for overweight luggage, it is nice to try to pack lighter.

A beautiful place that you should add to your trip to France is the Mont St. Michel. It is a very beautiful site, a "must-see" in France. Try to see if you can get an overnight stay to truly experience it's beauty during the evening hours.

If you are traveling with your pet make a vet visit before you leave. Get a full check-up with your vet. Also make sure your pet is fully vaccinated. It is a good idea to ask your vet if they can refer to someone in the area you going in case you end up needing medical attention for your pet.

An extra contact lens case can be useful for storage when traveling. These can be used to carry small amounts of gels or lotions that you may want, and save you a lot of space in your suitcases.

Need to convert your US Dollars to another currency? Don't convert them at the airport, as soon as you step off the plane! Many kiosks in airports, charge high teller fees for converting to international funds as an easy way to make money. If possible, walk to a nearby shopping mall or bank to convert your funds.

One of the best ways to understand the culture of another country is to visit their supermarkets. This is where the locals are almost certain to be found and seeing the real food can help give you a great overview of what type of culture you are experiencing. Be sure to pick up some new snacks too!

Go easy on the alcohol. Many people like to have a small drink when they are traveling by plane to relax them, but remember that alcohol will dehydrate you and can alter your perceptions. If you chose a larger alcoholic drink, you could arrive at your destination tired and grumpy, or even worse, too drunk to collect your own baggage and find your way to your accommodation.

When traveling in London, bring an A to Z(ed) guide. An A-Z includes detailed maps of the entire city, including nderground stops. These books come in different sizes and may even be available on your phone. You don't need to walk around with your nose in your A-Z, but having one handy will help you navigate in a pinch!

Travel is a fascinating and exciting world that is only limited by the extent of a person's budget. There are endless possibilities, combinations, and planning you can do. Start experimenting to find some place new for you to go or to learn something new so that you can improve your trips. Become inspired by these tips!

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Does anyone have experience adding cofounders, or being added as a cofounder, in a company that has already been around a few years? Any suggestions on which cofounder matching sites would be best for a hardware startup or late-co-founder searching? Where else to look and share? Any other advice or feedback is also appreciated.About a week ago I decided to start actively looking for more co-founders. My plans are to reach out in my existing network, go to more networking events, post on reddit in appropriate subs, and use third party co-founder finding sites.This is different from my first attempts in 2015/2016 because my company has existed since 2015 and has been shipping products since summer 2018, but it's still very much in the early stages and has not taken on any investors. I still consider the company a startup because it has potential for significant rapid growth and although it's more of a hardware business right now, the value proposition and core technology are not dependent on our, or any, specific hardware.The main reason I decided to make a post here is because I tried posting in /r/cofounder but my post is being blocked/deleted and the mods are not responding. I made my very first post in /r/crowdspark which is a similar new sub and that went okay for getting feedback, but the users there were more interested in downvoting because the estimated equity range had a low end of 1% equity (I've thought about it now and that was a bad idea, what co-founder would only be worth 1%?), but at least the post is up so it may still get more engagement later. I considered /r/forhire but that is more for normal paying jobs, and their rules state "NO REQUESTING OR OFFERING FREE WORK" but getting equity is compensation and not working for free, but then further down under If you're Hiring: it says "Pay in currency, not in equity or barter" so I decided not a good idea and it doesn't really fit in there.I want to do more online searching because my local area is not great, though it could be worse, for networking and finding cofounders, it has a small startup community but events are infrequent. I also plan to relocate coast-to-coast and bring everyone into one office in a couple years, so while having someone local is definitely better, it's not the most important factor to me.I'll share my post below which has more details and more of my thought process as well. This was for reddit, but I plan to use similar content for third party sites and for in-person networking, so feedback can help with all aspects of my search. If mods think sharing the full post is not adding enough value for potentially going against the rules then let me know and I'll pull out my thought process stuff and save the full thing for a sticky post.TITLE: Looking for various late-co-founders; Must Love LEDs and Music; Hardware/Technology startup w/ 2 members; profitable & self-sustainingThis is a very recent effort, we could bring on 1 or 4 cofounders, and it could happen tomorrow or in a year. Feedback on the approach and any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I shared my thoughts and reasoning throughout rather than making this a sterile job posting, partly because this is not a job posting, it is an open search for cofounders, but also to allow my logic and reasoning to be critiqued, and so others in similar situations (from either side) may gain more value from this post.Company Overview: We currently sell a single music reactive LED controller for the niche/high-end consumer and small to medium commercial installation markets. We will be developing additional controllers for consumer and commercial use, and accessories, as well as monetizing our technology via other avenues. Our long-term plan is to remain a small innovative technology company focusing on lighting automation, continuing to develop and sell hardware products to implement the most advanced automation possible, but focusing on primary revenue via other avenues.We are profitable and self-sustaining, but nobody is getting rich yet, nor even getting close to a market rate salary. Things are stable now, but it was a very bumpy and perilous road to get here.Value Proposition: Autonomous, real-time conversion of music into lightshows with high accuracy and high complexity. This functionality not only covers the raw data analysis to correctly synchronize lights with beats, it more importantly covers the artistic work of a lighting designer to create a lightshow that causes an emotional response. A quote from a customer:"Loving the ViVi, such an amazing device. When it first started working I had tears in my eyes, I was so awe struck! Just tested it out with my strips, next I'm going to set it all up over the next few days. Thank you!!"A strong second value proposition is reducing cost for creating and installing complex lightshows. Cost is reduced by lowering physical equipment costs as well as eliminating the time needed for programming/controlling light shows manually. A lightshow experience previously only possible with multiple stage lighting fixtures, additional controllers, a PC, and manually programmed shows per song is now possible with our standalone controller and digitally addressable LED strips. We have more planned to expand on and remain the industry leader for both of these value propositions.Who we already have and are NOT looking for:Marketing Director – manage marketing strategies, manage ad accounts, write copy, some sales and networking; plus all supporting marketing tasks (currently part-time)CTO – product and technology research, plan and prototype products, write magic firmware for products (less magical portions could be taken over by someone else); and currently everything else to run the business (full-time)WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR: Anyone who thinks they could be of significant value in growing our company. Ability to work without pay for a year. Office is currently in Virginia Beach, VA; remote work is possible; likely to relocate to California in 2-4 years. Part-time with future switch to full-time may also be possible.We are also seeking a paid, part-time, non-founder, employee local to Virginia Beach, VA for product assembly, testing, packaging, technical writing, and other tasks.Some specific examples of desired team members include, but are not limited to:Electrical Engineer – experience with PCB design for mass production, audio circuits, digital LEDs, DMXApp Developer – experience with both Android and iOS, BLE communication, Alexa/GoogleHome/IFTTT/etc.Product/Manufacturing Manager – experience with managing supply chain, manufacturing, logistics, inventory, distribution of hardware productsCEO – experience with hardware startup or smaller hardware companyAgain, we are seeking anyone who thinks they would be valuable to the company, so if you are familiar with what it takes to operate a company like this and think you would be valuable as a co-founder then you could be a great fit. There is a whole lot covered by “everything else to run the business” that is not covered by the example team members above, and filling the role for any big chunk of that everything else will allow our company to grow faster.COMPENSATION: Equity, variable depending on position and experience, 3% to 15%. We are an LLC, you would become an LLC member and directly own part of the company. No initial salary. When and how much can be discussed based on personal situation, it won’t be market competitive for at least 2 years because we need to reinvest significantly for growth. We want someone able to work without pay for a year to avoid the situation of choosing between losing a cofounder (who wants/needs more pay) vs slowing down growth/development.Why late-co-founders? My plan and thoughts. First a quick history: summer 2015 solo founded; spring 2016 KS #1 failed; summer 2016 added marketing co-founder; fall 2016 KS #2 success; winter 2016 – spring 2018 IGG on-demand to continue pre-orders, many delays, lots of work, $130k total raised; summer 2018 all pre-orders delivered, begin selling on Amazon and direct sales for commercial/bulk; fall 2019 surprise problems, inventory, and sales have stabilized enough to allow better long-term planning.Now we are ready to grow but 2 employees is not enough to manage the existing product and expand; even so, one new product is underdevelopment and one new avenue of revenue is nearing completion. So I have some options:Wait and grow revenue until enough to hire top-level employees.Thoughts: Why wait and do nothing, time will pass no matter what. This will occur on its own if options 2 and 3 don’t work out.Seek investors.Thoughts: I prefer not to give up equity for investment cash right now primarily because the current tech/controller is only a stepping stone to get started, significant value, and revenue, will come from new products and features that cost more to develop. I feel pitching a hardware company without a subscription service in place will make it difficult to get a good valuation. By sharing detailed information about future plans I could increase our valuation, but while some of our technology is very difficult to replicate, some of it will not be and I don’t want to share the details with someone with lots of cash and experience working with hardware startups. I’ve generally neglected investment focus, I will start to put some time into this now since it will be more attractive in about a year, but even with investment cash I still need to find those top level employees to hire.Add co-founders.Thoughts: This makes the most sense since it can overlap options 1 and 2 occurring. Find passionate co-founders willing to temporarily work for equity to grow the company as fast as possible.

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How to Trade the EUR USD (Warning!!)

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/how-to-trade-the-eur-usd-warning/

How to Trade the EUR USD (Warning!!)

Trading the euro US greenback in currency trading — messing around with the Kardashians — same final result that is VP welcome to the No-Nonsense foreign exchange YouTube channel And we’re gonna talk about essentially the most more commonly traded forex pair on the planet the euro US dollar but we’re gonna do it in methods that you’ve under no circumstances heard of earlier than i will be able to warranty you this so much so stick round First off you see under. I am a official currency exchange prop dealer here in the us, and i will be able to inform you this… The eight-determine organization that I alternate for, in addition they send out currency trading signals to their employees. By means of currency exchange signals I mean They ship out exchange alerts.They say "we’re going lengthy on this" or "we’re going brief on this" and it’s quite exceptional they are very superb they usually produce 1000s of pips a yr and some of the matters i realized correct away is they barely ever alternate the the euro greenback. And i additionally barely ever trade the euro greenback, and there’s a reason for that, you are gonna wish to understand why. First off — you recognize who does trade the euro dollar a lot? That ninety nine percent we talked about — the ninety nine percent of forex traders that either wreck even at pleasant or At worst simply get fully destroyed again and again Who would you alternatively be like? What side do you need to be on? If in case you have chosen the 1% in case you have chosen the side i am on proper now Then this is the channel for you, this channel was MADE for you. So hit that subscribe button hit the bell icon You will not miss something i have so many videos to exhibit you and you are not gonna want to overlook any of them when you consider that every single one you watch it’s gonna make you a greater dealer the second you’re done with it.Now if you’re unfamiliar with who i’m that is excellent this is certainly one of my first videos I’ve ever made, so let me give you somewhat little bit of historical past — I take, in each video, I take a forex pair, an indicator, some concepts, some question from a viewer, whatever I get my arms on and i give my legit opinion on it. I have been trading in view that 2009. I have been a professional in view that 2014 i have made every single stupid mistake there’s to make some of which I’ve made over and over again till I sooner or later learned, i have verified actually countless numbers of symptoms on every distinctive environment I would to find until I finally discovered a number of they had been really quite ideal and quite quite best and that is mainly all I’ve performed for the prior eight nine years.It’s what I nerd out on. It is what I love to do and the good news is is through these movies. You won’t have got to do all that, that you would be able to simply learn the outcome and and that i without doubt have a further take than you’ve got ever heard on the grounds that to get to that 1% you ordinarilly must do the opposite of what the 99 is doing and i will state my case for doing what I do every time, and eventually I want to ensure I offer you an actionable tip that you may truly go use proper now way too many Twitter feeds and YouTube channels and websites offer you a bunch of stuff that you simply can’t use or Worse than that they provide you with tools and principles that are gonna Lead you down the improper route and lead you right again into that ninety nine% pool So this channel used to be made in accordance with that and i am hoping you are on board.You’re quite gonna like what you see. Now Let me go forward and answer the the teaser. I gave you previous the Kardashians although you recognize the solar is kind of set on this whole phenomenon. (Thank God) however uh nobody was extra widespread at one time and nothing is still as wellknown as trading the euro dollar in currency trading but the chance is Messing around with the euro buck, messing round with the Kardashians as wellknown as they’re, Is gonna end you up within the equal place like terrible Lamar.And so what i am gonna do is provide you with two major reasons Why this is the case provide an explanation for the errors that the majority traders make in most cases provide an explanation for probably the most mistakes that you are making proper now and ultimately offer you some things which you can put off and go use proper now. Now the very first one i’m going to go over if you are an skilled trader possibly some thing you are already kind of conversant in however maybe not so certainly verify that one out after which And the second is the large bombshell i’m gonna drop on you that I bet you no one Realized, but it’s whatever you fairly particularly need to be aware of going ahead if you have any shot at attending to that 1% So let’s get correct into it so earlier than i am going too a long way. I wish to kind of qualify what i am talking about here I always attempt to use sources and in proof here this is from a site called stofs.Com. I think i am gonna hyperlink it under. It’s a really excellent website online for simply study and specific difficult numbers if you ever want them and the earliest i am sorry the cutting-edge I would find was once 2016, however i do not suppose it can be fairly changed an excessive amount of.We’re in 2018 now these are probably the most probably traded currencies of that year and The gap is honestly closed somewhat bit the euro dollar used to really run away with this, however it is still twenty three factor one percentage of the overall market share it is the most preferred currency pair traded out there at present and Take a look at this desk. There’s one specific foreign money that’s the normal thread of all of these realize it? We’re gonna talk about that too however sure it’s the most long-established and sure, it’s a predicament now. I want to go over Why individuals trade this currency as much as they do I’ve talked with plenty of merchants in my day and i continually try to get a suppose for where their heads at and the purpose why they do What they do and so many of them principally the younger ones and the newer ones usually alternate the euro dollar solely and i wanted to grasp why so These are the main answers I get and i’ll form of exhibit you the challenge with all these answers the primary one is that they had been just told to You simplest be aware of what you’re told and whilst you first be trained foreign exchange for the first time anywhere that was They talked quite a bit concerning the euro dollar you realize in addition they talked a lot about matters like moving normal crossovers and development strains and also you obtained all this for your head and so they confirmed you all these examples where everything labored out really fairly good, and you bought excited and also you used it too, and….The place ya at? The place’s your account? Is it potent? Mostly no longer given that they’re not excellent principles they’re now not quality recommendations, but we best be aware of what we’re instructed and worse than that after we bought carried out finding out about it each educational video, every Twitter feed, (well most of them I should say) exhibit examples of tradng the Euro greenback, so why would not we try this? You understand it does make sense, nevertheless it’s a huge tremendous mistake to only do what you are advised and simplest Use the principles that you just were shown there’s a a lot a lot bigger world available in the market And my buying and selling obtained significantly better once I stepped into that world.This next quote is a quote I really have a quandary with and we’re gonna go into this given that I you will have fought this earlier than you can be considering it correct now however we needed to dispell this right away. And what I hear from so many merchants is that this "I simply wish to get good at one pair earlier than trading the other" or the opposite remark I hear is, "I similar to the best way this pair moves" and my on the spot reaction is one of sheer confusion i don’t realize why that is or why any person thinks it is sensible purpose why, is since of point number one — Pairs do not need their possess targeted action that’s no longer the way it works. If you’re taking notes write this down (incidentally if you are taking notes i really like you by the way), however write this down. It can be very very main to understand you may also feel the euro dollar or the dollar yen, or the pound kiwi transfer a distinct means it can be no longer the case.That is just how they’re relocating proper now. It changes at all times i am now not gonna exhibit you my charts on this video, however for every video I make i have a corresponding web publication and i will take the euro buck and i’ll take a more obscure pair And i’ll show you on the 15 minute chart, on the daily chart, doesn’t subject the place you’re with each fifty to a hundred candle range, it can be gonna move one way and The 50 or 100 candles before it it likely moved completely distinct you are in order that caught up within the second you’re no longer seeing the giant photograph right here. Now, do not get me unsuitable Some pairs are extra risky than others, the pound kiwi for example way more risky than the U.S. Greenback is and this is pretty much the case all the time. But that is not what we’re talking about we’re speakme in regards to the genuine fluidity or choppiness or variety-certain development about something that a pair strikes and some pairs will move extra for the duration of exact periods if you are trading smaller charts I get that again We’re talking in regards to the colossal photograph.We’re speaking about that fifty to a hundred candle variety How does it transfer? Is it choppy? Is it soft? Does it move aggressively? Is it very calm? Are there spikes? What are the long-established character features of detailed pairs? The answer — there are none. I discovered this the hard approach myself early early in my trading career after I used to be younger and silly I had a pair that I adored it was the pound CAD I put all mixtures of eight predominant forex pairs up on my mt4 I Had had a little bit method in place that I proposal worked fairly good and that i back confirmed and that i seemed to peer which currency pair moved the first-class with my approach So I might go make cash and the pound cad was through some distance the winner.I had so many competencies wins and whenever there used to be a loss it was an extraordinarily small loss And it simply ended up getting right again into an extra win cherished it, after which I so I honestly began trading it in real time and i started winning and i couldn’t think my good fortune. I was once correct. I in the end discovered this treasure chest that just kept on giving and This pair on the 30 minute chart. I bear in mind that too simply kept giving over and over and relocating so well for me …Until it did not. And It received really choppy and relatively gross, and me as a trend trader simply obtained beat up so unhealthy, and i mentioned to myself " what? This thing has moved so well for see you later. It’s only a topic of time before it starts doing that again" and it didn’t and that i gave again every buck I made on this pair, after which some. This is without doubt one of the reasons I back in my early days of buying and selling I Blew out three trading accounts took them all of the means all the way down to a margin call and then just simply kept trading past that and took them down to zero and this is among the explanations Why was once my love affair with One currency pair — since I used to be dumb enough to feel that it was just gonna keep relocating that approach forever.Now the story has a glad ending. I spotted over time to as a substitute of falling live with one pair chart them all find out which ones are giving me the pleasant exchange setups regardless of what it’s and just trade that one pair or the 2 pairs that that is similar to and Over time I did not alternate the pound cad always however at any time when I did it was very superb to me due to the fact that I was once selective I was intelligent I took the satisfactory case scenario at any given time rather of doing the rookie move and simply trading one pair hell or excessive water So the predominant point of this and some thing on your notes is simply understand that pairs might transfer a exact means for a whilst but they’ll in no way stay that way. They wouldn’t have their own distinct movements and all of it comes down to a broader proposal referred to as chaos idea which is relatively technical and all, but in foreign exchange it’s not. It is in most cases simply this — order, into chaos, after which again once more — order is when price is not relocating entire lot its consolidating it’s finding out whether or not it is gonna go up or down and then chaos is that approach where it goes up and when it goes down, and it simply goes from side to side between this and the sport quite is to determine if you are a pattern dealer specifically when that chaos is coming and so which you can exchange it after which when that order is coming so that you could discontinue buying and selling it and With a particularly good system in place that i am gonna exhibit you over time From a technical evaluation standpoint just through utilising your charts that you can without a doubt figure this out So hit that subscribe button if you have not already on account that i’m gonna reveal all this over time Now what I wish to do is go back to that slide where I talk in regards to the things people say who most effective exchange the euro greenback So the entire "I want to get excellent at one pair before trading the opposite" is whole nonsense i’m hoping I’ve proven that to you by way of now.The other point I get Is rather quite fascinating "The euro greenback is the most liquid pair for this reason I must trade it". Now the first section is proper The euro dollar is the most liquid pair and what I imply by liquidity is simply what I was once speakme about before it’s the most popular pair it has probably the most cash passing through it Now some humans feel that in view that of that that implies the pair goes to move more fluidly things are gonna Make more sense and hence you’re gonna make more money off it. The reverse might not be more authentic. Liquidity in currency exchange does now not matter and it absolutely works towards you.Let me show you once right here How it’s not relevant at all so I cannot particularly converse for like you’re crazy exotics like your like your ruble against the Vietnamese dong. You know that is genuinely a currency pair and i’m certain it strikes crazy given that there is undoubtedly no liquidity and both a type of currencies from a currency exchange standpoint however just stay within the eight predominant Currencies and you are gonna be just excellent any mixture of those eight seeing that the currency trading market itself is already super liquid We’re speakme a couple of four to five trillion buck a day market no matter what happens it is no longer there’s so much liquidity going by means of it that no one — the richest people on the earth — don’t have adequate money to screw up your alternate one way or one more and this is truely a relatively good thing but simply know that considering that you’re in a pair of the eight fundamental currencies that is not particularly as liquid let’s consider the Aussie/Swissy For illustration it does not imply you’re gonna get extra bizarre spikes.That’s no longer how it works it might work That way in stock buying and selling or CFD trading or other markets. I have no idea however in foreign exchange consider me i have been buying and selling all these pairs for an extraordinarily long time it can be a delusion. It doesn’t relatively happen that manner so stop concerning your self about liquidity from that standpoint where you must fear about liquidity is the fact that there may be extra money altering fingers within the euro buck than anywhere within the entire market and thus it can be gonna bring me to factor quantity two and that’s this The euro US dollar is the one most fucked with forex pair on the complete planet.Had been you mindful of this? When you weren’t you quite need to let me provide an explanation for Spot foreign exchange is an us versus them game "us" being the traders "them" being The giant banks are you aware who certainly makes price move up and down in the currency exchange market? It’s now not us No, it is the large banks and institutions of the foreign exchange world and if you happen to didn’t understand that otherwise you’d like to understand extra I made a video on just this suggestion on my own it is very essential that you simply watch it too, for the reason that this is at the very core of the complete market we alternate and in the event you understand Why they do what they do and the way they consider, it is a gigantic abilities Going forward considering you’re gonna have the expertise of the on line casino as a substitute of the gambler. The on line casino makes all the cash in the end and so realizing how they believe is so key however i’ll just sum it up for you right here, so if you’re a dealer for the large banks And all the financial associations that ordinarily run the whole lot — if you’re certainly one of their traders You get to move in and see things that we are not able to see.You get to go in and discover where the money is for the entire currency trading market you it you get to see how much cash for every foreign money pair goes lengthy and the way so much goes brief You get to see how many orders are sitting on the lengthy side you will see that exactly how many are sitting on the brief aspect, and that is high-quality on the grounds that your job is To take that money and redistribute it back into the market so that you could simply make price go up or make cost go down Now this can be a zero-sum recreation anyone has to win someone has to lose is it going to be the majority of traders Or is it going to be the enormous banks? Good. I will spoil shock. It’s normally the giant banks They know what they’re doing if most of the money and many of the the orders are on the long part All they have to do is take it the other way and people merchants will lose their cash.They are going to exit their trades they will get margin called anything the case is and that cash will go proper back to the huge banks and then they get to do what they do in case you go lengthy and also you reward the traders, that’s money you’re not getting. That is cash you ought to give the traders which might be going lengthy, so it’s pretty apparent what you’re gonna Do you’re both gonna take the rate quick proper away Or you’re gonna Take it long a little bit, commute some of those orders, and then after that take it the opposite direction and this occurs over and again and again each day and people do not be trained and so it can be great it can be just you recognize The dumb traders are the reward that keeps on giving and that is why this forex market keeps continues moving day-after-day seeing that the banks just get richer and richer, they usually get to make a decision where fee goes therefore so if you are the sort of traders the place’s the best place to head? The place’s the first-class currency pair to spend most of your time to take merchants cash? It can be gonna be essentially the most popular Pair when you consider that that is where probably the most cash is sitting! If let’s take it to the animal kingdom.Should you needed meals And you’re gonna starve for those who failed to get it will you go to the apple tree on the Left the place there is lots of apples? And so they’re placing excellent and low and they’re handy to get to Or would you go to the tree on the proper the place there may be virtually no apples there method up excessive and if you get there they’re all shriveled. You recognize this here is the Euro buck this is the place they are going to be this right here is The Kiwi CAD you recognize a situation to where you recognize not plenty of folks are trading not a entire lot of money sitting in that pool So why even bother wasting your time here you want to be over right here, and that isn’t a good factor now not for us considering the fact that Banks are manipulating the cost of the euro buck more with the aid of far more than another currency in the market and it doesn’t matter how just right your charts are. It’s not relevant How excellent you are trading news on the grounds that it can be now not gonna add up your charts should not gonna Do what you feel they’re gonna do almost as more commonly, and God forbid you are you comply with fundamental analysis and take a look at to exchange information considering the fact that well for instance, do you ever capture those instances where there’s some quite best information for the Euro or some relatively horrible information for The greenback and so accordingly the price will have to without doubt go along, nevertheless it doesn’t and it definitely goes brief? You see it always, and there isn’t any rhyme or reason in the back of it however that’s considering the financial institution’s get to interpret information nonetheless they need. They get to take rate at any place they want. And they do it a ways extra traditionally than any location on earth Than the Eurodollar! You don’t want to be here You really need to be here so let’s speak about that so let’s return to that desk most mostly traded currencies and spot the euro dollar on the high however you do see one currency pair on virtually each single pair listed and that’s the us dollar The dollar as a standalone currency is the single most manipulated foreign money in the market so in particular as a newbie dealer or someone who’s most effective been doing this about a yr or even two The greenback isn’t a nice position to be.It can be a fairly fashionable location to be however now we have already pointed out what happens while you comply with the popularity instruct. It ends you up in that 99 percentage Being beneath the radar being off of the bank’s radar is particularly particularly net positive on this recreation So which pair will have to you exchange? We are going to go over that now as we to wrap the whole thing up, so actionable suggestions the takeaways do not confine your self to only buying and selling the euro greenback — if you happen to’ve realized something by using observing this video Distance your self from that as soon as you possibly can and if you’re a extra skilled dealer think free to alternate just procedure with various warning probably just alternate half of the amount of tons you typically would in that predicament if you are a one lot dealer with the euro buck exchange five minis, for those who exchange minis trade 5 micros you recognize just relatively proceed with warning on the grounds that the chances usually are not to your want, and if they’re not to your want Why would you exchange it the equal as other pairs after which begin exploring the other pairs with out worry in the event you don’t trade move pairs? And by way of that I imply pairs that don’t involve the greenback assess it out.You are gonna. You are gonna like the best way They transfer in view that they all form of transfer the identical just at different times it depends on when you’re they’re A quite just right trading process loves the unpopular. I alternate greenback pairs. I alternate the euro buck I simply don’t do it that regularly and once I do I Put less on it. You already know the cross pairs had been fairly quite good to me it is what has helped make me a legit together with really excellent money administration and type of learning what to not do and and i owe lots to the truth that I acquired far from greenback pairs seeing that I wish to be equipped to manage what occurs to my account.I don’t need the banks To have the ultimate say and the way you can do that’s to remain as below the radar as feasible and avert the pairs They fuck with probably the most So I fairly hope you acquired a variety of takeaways from this video in view that in the event you look for Eurodollar videos on YouTube correct now you are gonna see plenty of simply guys with arbitrary charts from God knows when that Put up a bunch of ideas that fairly don’t aid you at all right now Or i like stated the very worst would take you down the flawed course otherwise you see above all with Eurodollar movies quite a few excessive concept numerous just guys speakme about it just like the history of it and just random matters that do not aid you at all I imply clearly this man you might respect him his identify’s Robert Shiller is a quite smart economist right here in the States And i do not mind gazing him talk, however nothing he is ever mentioned has helped me trade this this is what this channel does.It would not just speak concerning the euro greenback it helps you’re making confidently euros and dollars for those who do it proper, so simply comprehend that everything I do goes to be an actionable video i would like you to invariably have a just right cast off and on the finish of the video i need you to be That so much of a better dealer than you have been earlier than you saw the video. So if you haven’t, subscribe. This is the channel you need. Over time I particularly In doing this realised how so much time and effort it takes just to position a really just right channel collectively and a relatively excellent blog collectively So in return i am gonna invariably i’m gonna keep bringing these to you every single Week in the event you would simply give me a like and for this video remark down below. Let me comprehend as of right now What your favourite foreign money pairs are to exchange and why I type of wish to get a general consensus of the YouTube buying and selling community? Too as far as where they’re at and why they do what they do on the grounds that i have never met you earlier than you understand this is the primary time so regardless assess out these movies obtained so much more to exhibit you let’s go GET IT

[batterymonster2021]

How to Trade the EUR USD (Warning!!)

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/how-to-trade-the-eur-usd-warning/

How to Trade the EUR USD (Warning!!)

Trading the euro US greenback in currency trading — messing around with the Kardashians — same final result that is VP welcome to the No-Nonsense foreign exchange YouTube channel And we’re gonna talk about essentially the most more commonly traded forex pair on the planet the euro US dollar but we’re gonna do it in methods that you’ve under no circumstances heard of earlier than i will be able to warranty you this so much so stick round First off you see under. I am a official currency exchange prop dealer here in the us, and i will be able to inform you this… The eight-determine organization that I alternate for, in addition they send out currency trading signals to their employees. By means of currency exchange signals I mean They ship out exchange alerts.They say "we’re going lengthy on this" or "we’re going brief on this" and it’s quite exceptional they are very superb they usually produce 1000s of pips a yr and some of the matters i realized correct away is they barely ever alternate the the euro greenback. And i additionally barely ever trade the euro greenback, and there’s a reason for that, you are gonna wish to understand why. First off — you recognize who does trade the euro dollar a lot? That ninety nine percent we talked about — the ninety nine percent of forex traders that either wreck even at pleasant or At worst simply get fully destroyed again and again Who would you alternatively be like? What side do you need to be on? If in case you have chosen the 1% in case you have chosen the side i am on proper now Then this is the channel for you, this channel was MADE for you. So hit that subscribe button hit the bell icon You will not miss something i have so many videos to exhibit you and you are not gonna want to overlook any of them when you consider that every single one you watch it’s gonna make you a greater dealer the second you’re done with it.Now if you’re unfamiliar with who i’m that is excellent this is certainly one of my first videos I’ve ever made, so let me give you somewhat little bit of historical past — I take, in each video, I take a forex pair, an indicator, some concepts, some question from a viewer, whatever I get my arms on and i give my legit opinion on it. I have been trading in view that 2009. I have been a professional in view that 2014 i have made every single stupid mistake there’s to make some of which I’ve made over and over again till I sooner or later learned, i have verified actually countless numbers of symptoms on every distinctive environment I would to find until I finally discovered a number of they had been really quite ideal and quite quite best and that is mainly all I’ve performed for the prior eight nine years.It’s what I nerd out on. It is what I love to do and the good news is is through these movies. You won’t have got to do all that, that you would be able to simply learn the outcome and and that i without doubt have a further take than you’ve got ever heard on the grounds that to get to that 1% you ordinarilly must do the opposite of what the 99 is doing and i will state my case for doing what I do every time, and eventually I want to ensure I offer you an actionable tip that you may truly go use proper now way too many Twitter feeds and YouTube channels and websites offer you a bunch of stuff that you simply can’t use or Worse than that they provide you with tools and principles that are gonna Lead you down the improper route and lead you right again into that ninety nine% pool So this channel used to be made in accordance with that and i am hoping you are on board.You’re quite gonna like what you see. Now Let me go forward and answer the the teaser. I gave you previous the Kardashians although you recognize the solar is kind of set on this whole phenomenon. (Thank God) however uh nobody was extra widespread at one time and nothing is still as wellknown as trading the euro dollar in currency trading but the chance is Messing around with the euro buck, messing round with the Kardashians as wellknown as they’re, Is gonna end you up within the equal place like terrible Lamar.And so what i am gonna do is provide you with two major reasons Why this is the case provide an explanation for the errors that the majority traders make in most cases provide an explanation for probably the most mistakes that you are making proper now and ultimately offer you some things which you can put off and go use proper now. Now the very first one i’m going to go over if you are an skilled trader possibly some thing you are already kind of conversant in however maybe not so certainly verify that one out after which And the second is the large bombshell i’m gonna drop on you that I bet you no one Realized, but it’s whatever you fairly particularly need to be aware of going ahead if you have any shot at attending to that 1% So let’s get correct into it so earlier than i am going too a long way. I wish to kind of qualify what i am talking about here I always attempt to use sources and in proof here this is from a site called stofs.Com. I think i am gonna hyperlink it under. It’s a really excellent website online for simply study and specific difficult numbers if you ever want them and the earliest i am sorry the cutting-edge I would find was once 2016, however i do not suppose it can be fairly changed an excessive amount of.We’re in 2018 now these are probably the most probably traded currencies of that year and The gap is honestly closed somewhat bit the euro dollar used to really run away with this, however it is still twenty three factor one percentage of the overall market share it is the most preferred currency pair traded out there at present and Take a look at this desk. There’s one specific foreign money that’s the normal thread of all of these realize it? We’re gonna talk about that too however sure it’s the most long-established and sure, it’s a predicament now. I want to go over Why individuals trade this currency as much as they do I’ve talked with plenty of merchants in my day and i continually try to get a suppose for where their heads at and the purpose why they do What they do and so many of them principally the younger ones and the newer ones usually alternate the euro dollar solely and i wanted to grasp why so These are the main answers I get and i’ll form of exhibit you the challenge with all these answers the primary one is that they had been just told to You simplest be aware of what you’re told and whilst you first be trained foreign exchange for the first time anywhere that was They talked quite a bit concerning the euro dollar you realize in addition they talked a lot about matters like moving normal crossovers and development strains and also you obtained all this for your head and so they confirmed you all these examples where everything labored out really fairly good, and you bought excited and also you used it too, and….The place ya at? The place’s your account? Is it potent? Mostly no longer given that they’re not excellent principles they’re now not quality recommendations, but we best be aware of what we’re instructed and worse than that after we bought carried out finding out about it each educational video, every Twitter feed, (well most of them I should say) exhibit examples of tradng the Euro greenback, so why would not we try this? You understand it does make sense, nevertheless it’s a huge tremendous mistake to only do what you are advised and simplest Use the principles that you just were shown there’s a a lot a lot bigger world available in the market And my buying and selling obtained significantly better once I stepped into that world.This next quote is a quote I really have a quandary with and we’re gonna go into this given that I you will have fought this earlier than you can be considering it correct now however we needed to dispell this right away. And what I hear from so many merchants is that this "I simply wish to get good at one pair earlier than trading the other" or the opposite remark I hear is, "I similar to the best way this pair moves" and my on the spot reaction is one of sheer confusion i don’t realize why that is or why any person thinks it is sensible purpose why, is since of point number one — Pairs do not need their possess targeted action that’s no longer the way it works. If you’re taking notes write this down (incidentally if you are taking notes i really like you by the way), however write this down. It can be very very main to understand you may also feel the euro dollar or the dollar yen, or the pound kiwi transfer a distinct means it can be no longer the case.That is just how they’re relocating proper now. It changes at all times i am now not gonna exhibit you my charts on this video, however for every video I make i have a corresponding web publication and i will take the euro buck and i’ll take a more obscure pair And i’ll show you on the 15 minute chart, on the daily chart, doesn’t subject the place you’re with each fifty to a hundred candle range, it can be gonna move one way and The 50 or 100 candles before it it likely moved completely distinct you are in order that caught up within the second you’re no longer seeing the giant photograph right here. Now, do not get me unsuitable Some pairs are extra risky than others, the pound kiwi for example way more risky than the U.S. Greenback is and this is pretty much the case all the time. But that is not what we’re talking about we’re speakme in regards to the genuine fluidity or choppiness or variety-certain development about something that a pair strikes and some pairs will move extra for the duration of exact periods if you are trading smaller charts I get that again We’re talking in regards to the colossal photograph.We’re speaking about that fifty to a hundred candle variety How does it transfer? Is it choppy? Is it soft? Does it move aggressively? Is it very calm? Are there spikes? What are the long-established character features of detailed pairs? The answer — there are none. I discovered this the hard approach myself early early in my trading career after I used to be younger and silly I had a pair that I adored it was the pound CAD I put all mixtures of eight predominant forex pairs up on my mt4 I Had had a little bit method in place that I proposal worked fairly good and that i back confirmed and that i seemed to peer which currency pair moved the first-class with my approach So I might go make cash and the pound cad was through some distance the winner.I had so many competencies wins and whenever there used to be a loss it was an extraordinarily small loss And it simply ended up getting right again into an extra win cherished it, after which I so I honestly began trading it in real time and i started winning and i couldn’t think my good fortune. I was once correct. I in the end discovered this treasure chest that just kept on giving and This pair on the 30 minute chart. I bear in mind that too simply kept giving over and over and relocating so well for me …Until it did not. And It received really choppy and relatively gross, and me as a trend trader simply obtained beat up so unhealthy, and i mentioned to myself " what? This thing has moved so well for see you later. It’s only a topic of time before it starts doing that again" and it didn’t and that i gave again every buck I made on this pair, after which some. This is without doubt one of the reasons I back in my early days of buying and selling I Blew out three trading accounts took them all of the means all the way down to a margin call and then just simply kept trading past that and took them down to zero and this is among the explanations Why was once my love affair with One currency pair — since I used to be dumb enough to feel that it was just gonna keep relocating that approach forever.Now the story has a glad ending. I spotted over time to as a substitute of falling live with one pair chart them all find out which ones are giving me the pleasant exchange setups regardless of what it’s and just trade that one pair or the 2 pairs that that is similar to and Over time I did not alternate the pound cad always however at any time when I did it was very superb to me due to the fact that I was once selective I was intelligent I took the satisfactory case scenario at any given time rather of doing the rookie move and simply trading one pair hell or excessive water So the predominant point of this and some thing on your notes is simply understand that pairs might transfer a exact means for a whilst but they’ll in no way stay that way. They wouldn’t have their own distinct movements and all of it comes down to a broader proposal referred to as chaos idea which is relatively technical and all, but in foreign exchange it’s not. It is in most cases simply this — order, into chaos, after which again once more — order is when price is not relocating entire lot its consolidating it’s finding out whether or not it is gonna go up or down and then chaos is that approach where it goes up and when it goes down, and it simply goes from side to side between this and the sport quite is to determine if you are a pattern dealer specifically when that chaos is coming and so which you can exchange it after which when that order is coming so that you could discontinue buying and selling it and With a particularly good system in place that i am gonna exhibit you over time From a technical evaluation standpoint just through utilising your charts that you can without a doubt figure this out So hit that subscribe button if you have not already on account that i’m gonna reveal all this over time Now what I wish to do is go back to that slide where I talk in regards to the things people say who most effective exchange the euro greenback So the entire "I want to get excellent at one pair before trading the opposite" is whole nonsense i’m hoping I’ve proven that to you by way of now.The other point I get Is rather quite fascinating "The euro greenback is the most liquid pair for this reason I must trade it". Now the first section is proper The euro dollar is the most liquid pair and what I imply by liquidity is simply what I was once speakme about before it’s the most popular pair it has probably the most cash passing through it Now some humans feel that in view that of that that implies the pair goes to move more fluidly things are gonna Make more sense and hence you’re gonna make more money off it. The reverse might not be more authentic. Liquidity in currency exchange does now not matter and it absolutely works towards you.Let me show you once right here How it’s not relevant at all so I cannot particularly converse for like you’re crazy exotics like your like your ruble against the Vietnamese dong. You know that is genuinely a currency pair and i’m certain it strikes crazy given that there is undoubtedly no liquidity and both a type of currencies from a currency exchange standpoint however just stay within the eight predominant Currencies and you are gonna be just excellent any mixture of those eight seeing that the currency trading market itself is already super liquid We’re speakme a couple of four to five trillion buck a day market no matter what happens it is no longer there’s so much liquidity going by means of it that no one — the richest people on the earth — don’t have adequate money to screw up your alternate one way or one more and this is truely a relatively good thing but simply know that considering that you’re in a pair of the eight fundamental currencies that is not particularly as liquid let’s consider the Aussie/Swissy For illustration it does not imply you’re gonna get extra bizarre spikes.That’s no longer how it works it might work That way in stock buying and selling or CFD trading or other markets. I have no idea however in foreign exchange consider me i have been buying and selling all these pairs for an extraordinarily long time it can be a delusion. It doesn’t relatively happen that manner so stop concerning your self about liquidity from that standpoint where you must fear about liquidity is the fact that there may be extra money altering fingers within the euro buck than anywhere within the entire market and thus it can be gonna bring me to factor quantity two and that’s this The euro US dollar is the one most fucked with forex pair on the complete planet.Had been you mindful of this? When you weren’t you quite need to let me provide an explanation for Spot foreign exchange is an us versus them game "us" being the traders "them" being The giant banks are you aware who certainly makes price move up and down in the currency exchange market? It’s now not us No, it is the large banks and institutions of the foreign exchange world and if you happen to didn’t understand that otherwise you’d like to understand extra I made a video on just this suggestion on my own it is very essential that you simply watch it too, for the reason that this is at the very core of the complete market we alternate and in the event you understand Why they do what they do and the way they consider, it is a gigantic abilities Going forward considering you’re gonna have the expertise of the on line casino as a substitute of the gambler. The on line casino makes all the cash in the end and so realizing how they believe is so key however i’ll just sum it up for you right here, so if you’re a dealer for the large banks And all the financial associations that ordinarily run the whole lot — if you’re certainly one of their traders You get to move in and see things that we are not able to see.You get to go in and discover where the money is for the entire currency trading market you it you get to see how much cash for every foreign money pair goes lengthy and the way so much goes brief You get to see how many orders are sitting on the lengthy side you will see that exactly how many are sitting on the brief aspect, and that is high-quality on the grounds that your job is To take that money and redistribute it back into the market so that you could simply make price go up or make cost go down Now this can be a zero-sum recreation anyone has to win someone has to lose is it going to be the majority of traders Or is it going to be the enormous banks? Good. I will spoil shock. It’s normally the giant banks They know what they’re doing if most of the money and many of the the orders are on the long part All they have to do is take it the other way and people merchants will lose their cash.They are going to exit their trades they will get margin called anything the case is and that cash will go proper back to the huge banks and then they get to do what they do in case you go lengthy and also you reward the traders, that’s money you’re not getting. That is cash you ought to give the traders which might be going lengthy, so it’s pretty apparent what you’re gonna Do you’re both gonna take the rate quick proper away Or you’re gonna Take it long a little bit, commute some of those orders, and then after that take it the opposite direction and this occurs over and again and again each day and people do not be trained and so it can be great it can be just you recognize The dumb traders are the reward that keeps on giving and that is why this forex market keeps continues moving day-after-day seeing that the banks just get richer and richer, they usually get to make a decision where fee goes therefore so if you are the sort of traders the place’s the best place to head? The place’s the first-class currency pair to spend most of your time to take merchants cash? It can be gonna be essentially the most popular Pair when you consider that that is where probably the most cash is sitting! If let’s take it to the animal kingdom.Should you needed meals And you’re gonna starve for those who failed to get it will you go to the apple tree on the Left the place there is lots of apples? And so they’re placing excellent and low and they’re handy to get to Or would you go to the tree on the proper the place there may be virtually no apples there method up excessive and if you get there they’re all shriveled. You recognize this here is the Euro buck this is the place they are going to be this right here is The Kiwi CAD you recognize a situation to where you recognize not plenty of folks are trading not a entire lot of money sitting in that pool So why even bother wasting your time here you want to be over right here, and that isn’t a good factor now not for us considering the fact that Banks are manipulating the cost of the euro buck more with the aid of far more than another currency in the market and it doesn’t matter how just right your charts are. It’s not relevant How excellent you are trading news on the grounds that it can be now not gonna add up your charts should not gonna Do what you feel they’re gonna do almost as more commonly, and God forbid you are you comply with fundamental analysis and take a look at to exchange information considering the fact that well for instance, do you ever capture those instances where there’s some quite best information for the Euro or some relatively horrible information for The greenback and so accordingly the price will have to without doubt go along, nevertheless it doesn’t and it definitely goes brief? You see it always, and there isn’t any rhyme or reason in the back of it however that’s considering the financial institution’s get to interpret information nonetheless they need. They get to take rate at any place they want. And they do it a ways extra traditionally than any location on earth Than the Eurodollar! You don’t want to be here You really need to be here so let’s speak about that so let’s return to that desk most mostly traded currencies and spot the euro dollar on the high however you do see one currency pair on virtually each single pair listed and that’s the us dollar The dollar as a standalone currency is the single most manipulated foreign money in the market so in particular as a newbie dealer or someone who’s most effective been doing this about a yr or even two The greenback isn’t a nice position to be.It can be a fairly fashionable location to be however now we have already pointed out what happens while you comply with the popularity instruct. It ends you up in that 99 percentage Being beneath the radar being off of the bank’s radar is particularly particularly net positive on this recreation So which pair will have to you exchange? We are going to go over that now as we to wrap the whole thing up, so actionable suggestions the takeaways do not confine your self to only buying and selling the euro greenback — if you happen to’ve realized something by using observing this video Distance your self from that as soon as you possibly can and if you’re a extra skilled dealer think free to alternate just procedure with various warning probably just alternate half of the amount of tons you typically would in that predicament if you are a one lot dealer with the euro buck exchange five minis, for those who exchange minis trade 5 micros you recognize just relatively proceed with warning on the grounds that the chances usually are not to your want, and if they’re not to your want Why would you exchange it the equal as other pairs after which begin exploring the other pairs with out worry in the event you don’t trade move pairs? And by way of that I imply pairs that don’t involve the greenback assess it out.You are gonna. You are gonna like the best way They transfer in view that they all form of transfer the identical just at different times it depends on when you’re they’re A quite just right trading process loves the unpopular. I alternate greenback pairs. I alternate the euro buck I simply don’t do it that regularly and once I do I Put less on it. You already know the cross pairs had been fairly quite good to me it is what has helped make me a legit together with really excellent money administration and type of learning what to not do and and i owe lots to the truth that I acquired far from greenback pairs seeing that I wish to be equipped to manage what occurs to my account.I don’t need the banks To have the ultimate say and the way you can do that’s to remain as below the radar as feasible and avert the pairs They fuck with probably the most So I fairly hope you acquired a variety of takeaways from this video in view that in the event you look for Eurodollar videos on YouTube correct now you are gonna see plenty of simply guys with arbitrary charts from God knows when that Put up a bunch of ideas that fairly don’t aid you at all right now Or i like stated the very worst would take you down the flawed course otherwise you see above all with Eurodollar movies quite a few excessive concept numerous just guys speakme about it just like the history of it and just random matters that do not aid you at all I imply clearly this man you might respect him his identify’s Robert Shiller is a quite smart economist right here in the States And i do not mind gazing him talk, however nothing he is ever mentioned has helped me trade this this is what this channel does.It would not just speak concerning the euro greenback it helps you’re making confidently euros and dollars for those who do it proper, so simply comprehend that everything I do goes to be an actionable video i would like you to invariably have a just right cast off and on the finish of the video i need you to be That so much of a better dealer than you have been earlier than you saw the video. So if you haven’t, subscribe. This is the channel you need. Over time I particularly In doing this realised how so much time and effort it takes just to position a really just right channel collectively and a relatively excellent blog collectively So in return i am gonna invariably i’m gonna keep bringing these to you every single Week in the event you would simply give me a like and for this video remark down below. Let me comprehend as of right now What your favourite foreign money pairs are to exchange and why I type of wish to get a general consensus of the YouTube buying and selling community? Too as far as where they’re at and why they do what they do on the grounds that i have never met you earlier than you understand this is the primary time so regardless assess out these movies obtained so much more to exhibit you let’s go GET IT

[thomasroach]

Battle Shapes Review

The time-honored arcade classic Asteroids gets a lot more competitive with the release of Kawaiisun Games’ Battle Shapes. Featuring dozens of ships, a number of different game modes, and a nefarious villain named “Evil Mustachio,” should you set out to blast your friends?

Battle Shapes Review

At first glance, the controls of Battle Shapes seem like a straightforward affair. The left trigger scoots you forward, while the right trigger is used for firing. With the left trigger, players can adjust their trajectory with carefully timed acceleration, getting to where they want to go without crashing into enemy fire or walls. Conversely those who hold down the right trigger will be able to target their enemies with a clear shot.

These two mechanics are not the deepest around – there’s no serious metagame here – but they are responsive and work quite well when things get heated. Put simply, a death on the battlefield is nobody’s fault but your own.

There are certainly a number of different ways players can utilize these controls in Battle Shapes. Combat is divided into three different modes: Payload has players capturing a ball to net points, Elimination is your typical deathmatch scenario, and Heist is a makeshift Capture the Flag-style mode with a ball that can be captured. There’s not a lot of variety when it comes to each play field, but these three modes change things up enough to encourage repeat plays.

The same goes with its ship variety. Players start with a lowly triangular ship, but your hangar can quickly fill up with a number of different purchases. There are dozens of ships to choose from, each varying in speed, handling, rate of fire, bullet size, and respawn ability. You won’t find any crazy designs, but players will no doubt have fun experimenting with each type. Just be warned that there is a grind to unlock everything, and it takes even longer to unlock additional gear – the in-game currency will be your best friend before too long.

Battle Shapes has your typical suite of options. Players can quickly jump in with up to three other players with its Free Combat mode, while those looking for something a bit more structured can play through six stages in its Arcade Cabinet. There are also 40 different challenges players can undertake in its Champions mode. Note that there is no online play in this title, but bots and couch co-op are both present.

Rounding things out is a very sleek presentation that cribs notes from titles like Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. series. It’s menus and UI had a lot of work put into it, and little touches like the witty narrator known as the Welton King bring everything together.

Though Battle Shapes lacks online multiplayer, the high amount of polish, unlockables, and variety more than make up for it. Those looking for a more competitive take on Asteroids could do far worse than this title.

This review of Battle Shapes was done on the PC. The game was purchased digitally.

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