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animalinvestigator · 9 months ago

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This is a silly question but what do you think would happen if current Skipper and Phi encountered original old story Skipper and Phi

hello anonymous.....!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE QUESTION YAAAAAAAAAY ENABLING ME i get so happy people are interested in this story becaues its meant a lot to me for a long time .not too silly at all becuase ive definitely considered it before ,lol >:3 BIG LONG REPLY undder the cut..

a lot of things on the surface about the characters haven't changed...but since their circumstances are so completely differnt, their deeper personalities and motivations are really different too...so, i think that there would be some interesting interactions...

skipper is definitely the one who would have the most clash with the original take on his character..in both iterations, the idea was to have a character projecting an "easygoing, shounen hero-ish" personality, which is kind of thinly masking their real feelings, and those feelings emerge once pressure is put on their belief system and their facade..but because skipper's life in the original story was really quite sheltered and without substantial conflict for until the story starts to set in motion, his real feelings are really just a slighlty more selfish and less presentable version of the person he tries to come off as. he really is pretty naive, idealistic, and childish in the first draft...he struggles with a lot of problems with abandonment and self worth and his over the top personality is an attempt to hide that, but beyond that, hes pretty true to himself, almost against his own will.... his aspirations are earnestly from the heart, as immature and idealistic as they are......whereas, in the most recent draft, skipper doesn't really want anything, and all of his drive and passion is put-on for the sake of his family ...his over-the-top outward presentation is less to mask his insecurity and more to smother his feelings of guilt for having been born, nihilistic lethargy, and anger at his circumstances...i think he would consider the original version of his character kind of a stupid kid, like a parody of his own parody of himself, if they were to sit down and have an honest conversation about their feelings. how-e-ver. because of the way that both of them are, that probably wouldn't happen, and in that circumstance, new-skipper would be like , haha this guys stuuuuuuuupiiiiiiiid. Wanna play kickball. after all, they both ultimately have the same interests and the one thing that will never change about skipper is that he's just trying to have some kind of fun while he can...

phi has always had a really mild personality... i think he's much more of an "empty vessel" in the original draft -- the story then was a lot less about trying to find "meaning in yourself" and more about trying to grapple with the concept of "dreams", so the focus of his character was " a character with no dreams." because of that, he had to be really unmotivated and placid...my intent in writing the story is totally different now, so while phi still kind of has those traits, his main rhetorical role in the narrative is a lot different, so he has a more freedom to have a little bit louder of a personality. . the original phi is bordering on selectively mute and generally more of a puppet than a person for most of the story,so none of the self-defensive verbal retorting and standoffishness that defines his present personality is there at all...in the original story, he's the type to go anywhere he's dragged without a peep...in the new draft, even though he still struggles with agency, he at least has the mind to roll his eyes about things he doesnt like a little, haha. his core beliefs havent changed much in that, he doesn't really have any besides a general sense that the world is unsafe and he doens't know what he's doing in it or who he is. he's experienced a lot more things in general, even though he doesn't remember them, in the new take on the story, so i think he's a little bit more of a realized person to start out with than he was initially. he'd maybe think, "wow, this other version of me is really empty and pathetic." but, ultimately, if you were to put the two of them in a room together, they're both tepid enough that i think they'd mostly just sit next to eachother in silence and pick at their sleeves.....even the more realized and spunkier version of phi i'm writing now is mostly reactive in the cases that he lets his personality shine through....they have a pretty big difference in physical appearance, but even that would probably be an exchange like, "woah, what happened to /you/?" (noncommital shrug) "...okay." and that would be the end of it...

its really interesting to imagine...i think that if you put all four of them in a room, that's when you'd get something crazy... for example , i can imagine 1.0 skipper being genuinely scandalized by phi 2.0's coldness....phi would get annoyed by his clinging and prodding and say something kind of mean, and it would ruin skipper's entire month...those two wouldnt be able to be friends at all, haha...... and i think skipper 2.0 would be EXTRA obnoxious to phi 1.0 to try to provoke a reaction ,and get increasingly frustrated at how little he can coax out...things like that....

they're definitely foils made specifically for eqachother...so their interchangability is....almost zero..haha :3

thank you again so much for asking i had a lot of fun thinking about it in more detail..i hope ti was interesting to you...........and that you have a lovely night!!!!!!!!!!! ^O^

#ocs #i had so much fun.

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individualcudi · 3 years ago

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Hey tumblr, I decided to come back one final time before I leave this and the history of this account behind me for good. This account has been with me for the duration of my love life and has seen and heard every little bit. But with things occurring in my life now I’ve decided to put it behind me now.

I’ve written on here about every girl I interacted with or had feelings forfrom Chai to Jei, to Phi, to talking to Joy, to Angel and finally the supposed love of my life Camille.

My time with Camille recently ended back in February after 4 1/2 years, and today was supposed to be our 5 year anniversary but so much shit happened and I’d rather not bother with the details. But the energy shifted and I don’t wanna bother playing the blame game, because frankly after 4 months of back and forth and nonstop drama. I. Am. Tired.

I’ve been told things could have been different. I’m told people in our ear doomed us. I’m told we still could’ve fixed things. But she left me, and I declined her not once but TWICE, and after things I’ve heard as of late, I feel so validated in my decision that I cannot help but feel it was meant to be. That I was right in my choice to decline both times.

I carried resentment in my heart because I felt crushed by her, I felt abandoned, i felt talked down to. I questioned my self worth. But us splitting was inevitable. Things happen for a reason. I mourned the death of our relationship and I still do now. However my eyes are looking towards the future.

4 months later and I’m better, physically stronger, my mental health has gotten so much better. My emotional health has healed. I’m working towards something great once more. I have people in my corner supporting me. I don’t feel alone any longer. I have people giving me words of affirmation and praise, showing that my efforts and hard work are being noticed.

It’s ironic. A couple months ago you asked me if I would date Patty. I said no, because I didn’t have anything to offer, I didn’t have the confidence that I would be worthy of someone like that. You took no time to agree with me, and I felt slighted and disrespected. After talking to a close friend she said that was fucked up, that other people agreed you were wrong for that. The biggest fucking irony is that I do have something to offer. That I have fucking value and can bring things to the table.

Who knows if you’ll ever read this, nobody comes in here anymore and I prolly expect you to still be talking shit in your private diary even now. And probably continuing into the future. I know you’re actively working against me, because you see I’m happy. And you don’t like that, you can’t stand it can you. You think I’ve just got up and moved on and replaced you because she gives me what you weren’t willing to provide anymore. You’re doing mental gymnastics rn trying to talk nasty about me to whoever is willing to listen to you, to gather as many people to your side.

Yet here I am, entertaining no conversations about you. Nobody will hear my side because I don’t give a fuck to talk about it and nobody needs to know my business. I saw you at Joshua’s and told you I was proud of you. That I hold 0 ill will towards you, and that I want nothing but the best for you. But I hear about the things you do and the things you say, and it’s disappointing as fuck, but absolutely expected outta you, to no surprise. So I will say hi to you moving forward, I will smile and continue to show love.

So thank you for pushing me away. Thank you for enabling me to grow and change and to find an unlikely friend who would do what you couldn’t do. Now go and be happy with someone who will do better than me, that’ll give you whatever the fuck you wanted. Because I failed you, and you failed me.

Signing off this shit I have nothing left on my chest to say. If you see this then fine, if not, whatever it’s lost to the internet. But if you do see this you’ll prolly screenshot it and send it to whoever is willing to listen to you but as for me I’m done with this situation.

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bookworm-2692 · 4 years ago

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For the ZE Ask Game: 1b, 1e, 2a, 3d, 5e, 5f and 5n!

Thank you for sending the asks! I love talking about Zero Escape so thank you for enabling me :D

Questions from here

1b: Favourite character design?

Okay, you know how hard it is for me to pick favourite characters because they’re all wonderful and that’s why you went with this question haha. Hmm. There are so many good designs (especially with the colour coding!!!). I prefer the designs in the first two games, since they’re really bright and colourful, and the third game is darker and dingier. I like that each character has a main colour that stands out and doesn’t really belong to anyone else (except for Dio and K who both have the red and gold aesthetics, but that’s valid because red and gold is a brilliant aesthetic). I think in 999, my favourite is actually Junpei’s - I love the blue colour of his vest, and the blue vest and red shirt just. Work super well together. It’s a fashion disaster but it’s also an aesthetic I vibe with so. (also love the red blue colour coding with Junpei specifically so). In VLR, much as I loathe him, I really like Dio’s design. The top hat and the braids and the red and gold work really well together and it’s fun. Dio is super frustrating though, but his design slaps!

1e: Favourite scene?

Oooo tricky. There’s so many good moments. I think I have to go with the classic though - the moment in 999 True End where Junpei gets the safe end code, and the narration goes “How did Junpei know? He knew because I knew”. It’s so chilling and also so satisfying to see everything suddenly click. I love it, and I love watching people experiencing that for the first time. It’s like. The best part of the game, I reckon.

2a: Least favourite character?

Okay I’m trying to not immediately say Delta but like.... Delta. I think he had a super interesting concept, but the way it was executed made it so much worse. I hated that they just.... hid him from view so then the twist was that this character you didn’t even know existed was Zero? It just felt cheap. Also ~complex motives~ got really annoying - I would have much preferred it if he had said “yeah I’m only doing this to ensure my birth (and the birth of my sister). soz lmao”. Because that motive feels more real? Rather than just adding a whole random “religious fanatic” in a vague sort of way. I do like the concept of him and Phi being twins and being separated in such a way that they’re very different ages now, but again the execution of Sigma and Diana’s romance was like. Not done well.

So yeah, Delta is my least favourite because he doesn’t significantly effect the plot, barely exists, and when he is present his motives don’t make sense and his abilities are not foreshadowed at all (morphogenetic fields in 999 were good, the entire game was spent explaining the concept. Mind Hack? Right outta left field and also if we’re trying to make it work based on how morphogenetic field theory was explained in 999, the “reading minds” part of it is “extremely strong receiver”, and the “forcing people to do actions” part of it is “extremely strong transmitter”, so he should have one of the abilities but not both. And if he is a really strong transmitter.... he’s gotta mime out the action in order to write it into the fields to encourage others to follow! And I reckon natural transmitters, who are worse at receiving, are naturally slightly resistant to this, natural receivers are more vulnerable to this, and normal people somewhere in between. But yes, if Delta is gonna Mind Hacc Eric, then we should see him in the corner miming holding a gun, pointing, and firing!! Bleugh!

Wow that turned into a bit of a rant. Whoops?

3d: Rank the endings

I have been given the choice to either rank the true ends across the three games, or all the endings within a particular game. I am so bad at choices ugh.

Anyway, the true ends:

999 - it really tied everything together and explained everything. The sequence in the incinerator, seeing 12 year old Akane and 21 year old Junpei talking to each other, Junpei saving young Akane, Clover’s absolute joy at finding out Light is alive, the “he knew because I knew” thing that I mentioned above, just everything. It was a self contained story, so everything was addressed and it was good.

VLR - this is more second by default, since I love 999′s true end and hate ZTD’s true end. But overall, this is fairly solid, and I like the concept of them doing this in 2074 to change an outcome in 2028, but it loses points because it relies on ZTD to “complete” it

ZTD - I hate this true end. The game has very enjoyable moments, but unfortunately the true end amounts to “oh let’s just... SHIFT to a timeline where we all survive” and that’s it? Which just feels sort of pointless tbh. And is so unsatisfactory

Within 999, I feel all six five endings are extremely solid, and all have a part to play an a story to tell. Knife End may be the most unsatisfactory, but it’s still okay. True, Safe, and Sub Ends are the ends with credits, and they’re all full of great dialogue and story. Axe End is also great, and I love the way you get to see the other side of Clover (and I really like the art of Clover holding an axe, I actually drew it on Saturday (when I started writing these answers, but it’s Wednesday now because I’ve been busy) for a friend’s birthday, which is technically my first ZE fanart and I’ll post it here at. Some point. Knife end is a bit quick, but honestly that’s okay? Especially when considering how many bad ends the other two games have that aren’t even named. Coffin End was my first end, and I wasn’t expecting the “to be continued” so I basically just collapsed and lay face down on the ground for a fair bit, but again given how many plot locks the other games have, coffin end is chill. So 999 has the most solid endings overall.

Within VLR, there are nine named endings, one for each character, and 13 ish unnamed bad ends. The unnamed bad ends are all like.... basically as soon as you make the decision you die or whatever, they don’t continue onwards like they do for Axe End etc in 999. I like that the named endings are designed for you to learn about each character, even though some of them are kinda weak. Like Quark’s ending, we didn’t really learn about him, and most of what we learnt about him was from Tenmyouji’s ending. I agree with what you said, Finch, about how it would have been nice to get some more Quark content/bonding/something, after he wakes up. Clover’s ending was also pretty disappointing, since she vaguely alluded to 999 and then everyone killed themselves. But there were some really good ones, like Luna’s and K’s and Dio’s (very fun that Phi was about to smash his head with a rock even if betraying Luna to get to that point is painful). Actually I really like the whole murder mystery aspect of everything behind the Magenta door.

Within ZTD, I do appreciate that the endings all served their purposes, but I disliked the way there were sometimes multiple endings in the same timeline, while other timelines... had none. It just was a bit all over the shop. Most of the endings were informative for the characters, but the true end sucks.

5e: Rant about something you liked from the games

I adore all the red/blue symbolism in the games, especially in 999. The way every time the morphogenetic field is described, the transmitters are red people and the receivers are blue people. And then when you learn who the espers are, you can see how the colours align. Clover is a transmitter, and her colour scheme is a lot of dark pink, close to red, while Light, a receiver, has lots of blue in his design. Junpei and Akane can both transmit and receive (with each other), and this is shown by Junpei wearing both red and blue, and Akane wearing purple, a mix of red and blue. It’s really neat. Also, Junpei is new to the morphogenetic fields, so his blue and red is still separate, but Akane is so entwined within them, and uses them so easily, that her blue and red have mixed to become purple.

In VLR, Clover is still pink, and Junpei still has blue (even though he’s lost the red, but that could show he’s lost connection to Akane and now has no one to transmit to, although I think it’s hilarious if he was still unintentionally transmitting to Akane over the years, and that’s how she kept tabs on him and found him again for VLR.

In ZTD, Diana is red and Sigma is blue. I actually headcanon Diana as a receiver and Sigma as a transmitter (as in, he transmitted his memories to himself across timelines rather than a natural receiver ability), so I like that in ZTD they have opposite colours/each other’s colours. Phi is blue in both games and still a receiver imo.

So the colour symbolism is obviously strongest in 999, but I really like it.

5f: Rant about something you disliked from the games

In VLR, Clover says that stronger espers absorb the powers of weaker espers, and that’s why she can’t contact her brother. I hate this “fact” actually, because it directly contradicts the way the morphogenetic fields work in 999 and ZTD, and also in VLR itself. In 999, we have nine sets of esper siblings during the First Nonary Game, and since they all survived, we know that their esper powers must have worked correctly.... which means we can’t have had one Super Esper absorbing all the powers. The true end of ZTD has the powers of all the espers working together to create a resonant effect so that even Eric and Mira, non espers, can SHIFT. I also dislike SHIFTing (a rant for another day), but the idea of multiple espers in a vicinity resonating/boosting everyone’s powers makes way more sense than.... one person absorbing everyone else’s powers.

And even within VLR.... Tenmyouji does the ally/betray swapsies thing with Sigma and Phi, which means he is also remembering another timeline.... which means his powers are still working and not being absorbed by Phi and Sigma. Also.... both Phi and Sigma are using their powers and SHIFTing everywhere. Why doesn’t one of them absorb the other’s powers? Also also, we learn in the True End that Akane was in K’s armour the entire time during the timeline where Sigma and Phi most use their powers for all the bomb passwords and locations etc. You cannot try to tell me that Akane isn’t the strongest esper, ever. She simply is. If absorbing was true, then we would literally never see anyone else use their powers, because Akane is always there (FNG, 999, VLR, ZTD) and would have to be doing all the absorbing. Gah.

So I reckon, even though Clover said that, that she was simply wrong. That was the current theory SOIS had, but.... they don’t have to be right.

In any case, there are other reasons why Clover might not have been able to contact Light in VLR. The first is simply that he is dead. Another is the idea that minds linked by the morphogenetic fields have a sort of... shape. That fits perfectly with those they are esper partners with. And as the espers grow, so do their mind shapes. Clover was frozen on the 22nd of December 2028, and awoke on the 25th of January 2074. Her mind shape was not able to evolve and grow, so it is preserved. Light however has been living those 45 years, which means that’s been a lot of time for his mind shape to grow and change. Clover can’t find Light’s mind in the morphogenetic field, since it no longer looks the same, and their shapes no longer fit together. This is my personal headcanon, and it means that when Clover finds him, their minds can get used to each other again and their shapes can align, and they can be linked again.

5n: Do you have any fanart/fanfic/fangame recommendations?

Boy, do I ever? The First Nonary Game by @airdeari . What it says on the tin, folks! Airdeari has named all nine pairs of siblings, and created unique sibling relationships and unique experiences with the morphogenetic field for all of them, and woven a beautiful story together, and it’s just wonderful. It’s my favourite fic ever, to the point where I literally bound it and it now exists as a physical book in my life. Like, I cannot recommend this fic enough, it is the best.

AO3 Summary: A tale of nine children aboard a sinking ship, and the unbelievable story of how they survived.

#zero escape #999 spoilers #vlr spoilers #ztd spoilers

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kommanderkale · 6 years ago

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Greetings

Hello,

I am Kale, leader of the 4th Combined Brigade and one of the organizers of the Eorzean Alliance Discord group. I will not embellish myself further and simply say it; I have been accused of various inappropriate behaviours towards female players by a number of people. I am not here to refute those accusations, or try bend matters with remarks such as “Yes, but…” or “Well, actually…”. I am here to own what was said, apologize, and indicate how I will do better. I owe it to myself, I owe it to the people who have followed me for leadership in RP for the past 2 years and change, I owe it to the people who have stood by me in the community, and more importantly, I owe it to anyone who I have made feel uncomfortable over the years.

These response-like statements are always a bit clumsy. They are often interpreted as a “cover your arse” sort of move, with some readers disregarding what is to be said as a weaselly attempt to repair one’s own reputation. But at this point, silence is useless, and there is nothing left to repair. It is at a point where it simply cannot be ignored. At time of writing, the Eorzean Alliance Discord has around 140 members. Even if it drops by not a single number, should I interpret this as support for myself? Absolutely not. People will remain either because they do not care, because they care more about Alliance RP events, or some other reason. People who remain in EA know that they do not have to interact with me beyond a superficial level (if at all) in order to enjoy our large-scale events. I will not use this possibility as an excuse to shrug this off and press on. In the past, with more private transgressions, while there may or may not have been exchanges of apologies, I was otherwise able move on from the matter.

Before I get in-depth, please know that the main transgressor of all of this is myself and nobody else. I do not think I have been sheltered or enabled by anyone. My friends have counseled me on these behaviours; in fact, we were working on a different sort of statement like this one, but obviously now it would be insufficient. Admittedly, that previous statement may have had the luxury of omittance which this one no longer enjoys. Perhaps that is for the best for the sake of being frank and open, for I am now writing this on my own. Digression aside, please do not think badly of those who had stood by me. If anything, they were my friends because they freely called me out on my BS, a trait I am always grateful for. This is entirely my responsibility.

Firstly, permit me to give some background information about myself. I started Final Fantasy XIV at the age of 23 at 2.0’s release, and I can safely say I was a maladjusted and unbalanced young male in a state of extended adolescence. From 2013 to 2014, I pursued RP relationships that were vicarious in nature. When things did not play out as I wanted, my emotionally immature self would throw his toys out of the pram in various ways, such as harassing or unwelcome whinging until a blacklist was put in place. With a twisted sense of smugness that that particular connection was at last concluded, I would move on.

I do not want to say this pattern of behaviour lasted into the latter half of 2015 when I met my wife for the first time, but I may have to accept the possibility that it did. A lot has happened since 2013; I moved from my home city of London, did 4 years in the US military, married my wife, completed a master’s degree, and settled down in the western United States. I know for certain that while my transgressions may have decreased in intensity from then until now, the core behaviour might have merely evolved into something more polite and, as a result, perhaps more insidious. I shouldn’t even use ‘may’ in this regard. I think you may agree in the assessment that recent events confirm this thesis.

I understand very much why advances to pursue particular types of RP were not rebuffed. What are you going to do when a prominent community leader chases you up for RP? What might happen if you turn them down? This power dynamic is problematic and resembles several recent events IRL. I wince uncomfortably as I consider the array of past interactions where I misconstrued politeness for receptiveness. It is such a textbook error that I am embarrassed that I could not identify these imbalanced arrangements before.

Everything that you have heard from the past several years comes down to this moment. Prior introspection from before this event reveals to me that those reflections were actually not enough. I thought that modifying my behaviour to be more “polite” while still pursuing my RP preferences was sufficient enough for me to tell myself that I had been acting upon my introspection. I can see now that that was a poor assumption to make. It was not enough to rebrand my behaviour and call it a day. It required me to fully abolish and reform how I approached FFXIV RP and its community.

Please, however, do not think me predatory in nature, though you reserve the right to stand by that conclusion. Though it was not the case five years ago, my real life now is prosperous and productive. Why I have decided to migrate old preferences and behaviours to my new married life is something I did not seriously introspect on until now. The best of both worlds, perhaps, and yes, I know how problematic that comment is. I would like to say that I am just an idiot who doesn’t know tact, social grace, or how to consider the ways in which his community position could be exploitative. I have to admit I might have unconsciously used my position to pursue preferred RP. In fact, I can now see how the friendly persona I’ve striven to convey in public spaces is contrasted against these private developments. I would not be surprised if people thought me manipulative or even sociopathic. Again, my failure to consider this arrangement has brought me to this point.

Idiot or not, my actions have made several players feel uncomfortable or worse, be it five years ago or five days ago. For all of this, I apologize deeply. I do not expect this apology to be accepted, and there are consequences. First among them is relinquishing control of the Eorzean Alliance Discord. Whether it be disbanded or reformed is not my decision. I made a severe mistake by expanding my interests in the community without the corresponding abolition of private behaviours. I have had an utter blast running it, and that is no doubt thanks to your participation. Between Phi Slamma Gamma, the Second Grand Melee, and the recent Ala Mhigo ceremony, there have been some amazing events that were made so by you and your friends. I was extremely excited to plan an event around the Ghimlyt Dark, as a sort of capstone of EA’s successes for Stormblood, so I hope I can convey how much it pains me to part ways with it. You all deserve the opportunity to participate in a military RP community that is safe and inclusive for everyone. It does not need to be tainted by my presence. Its very existence I firmly believe is amongst the greatest achievements of Balmung, soon to be the Crystal Data Center. I wish I could be there for its future, but I have done what I have done.

In addition to this, I will simply... stop. In some ways, perhaps this was a necessary thing. Even in recent years where I was under some delusion that I had “improved”, there was still this shroud around myself, and around all the RP spaces I touched. I always wanted it displaced, and with the disclosure of the recent example, it is clear I did not endeavour enough to properly see the shroud gone. I loved what I did in FFXIV RP. I loved creating military RP, I loved going to all your community events, and I loved meeting new people. Ideally, I would have liked to keep doing what I do in FFXIV, especially with 4.5 upon us and 5.0 offering exciting adventures in the near-future, but I may just have to settle on being able to retain a basic membership of the community. To have any hope in doing so, I must focus on the simple mantra of “being better”. With the spotlight of the community on me, I will do this. I do not expect grace or clemency going forward. I think there are meaningful and sincere relationships to be had still, so I will do my best.

While I may have this optimism, there are further consequences that are outside of my control. My ship is sinking and my FFXIV world appears to be unraveling around me. At least one member of the 4th has reported harassment from a third party because of me, and I have heard that members of related groups as well as my friends are receiving similar treatment. I am not in a position to ask anything, but please, I have let these people down and they do not deserve being burned for it. I have lost the confidence of my officers, and I hold no ill-will against them for this. I do not know where I am going next in FFXIV, but I do know that members of the 4th should not be besmirched because of me.

As such, the 4th Combined Brigade brand and namesake will be turned over in addition to the Eorzean Alliance. There is no need for Immortal Flames RPers to be without a central group because of me, and I always claimed that the concept of the 4th was that of a community fixture, not an extension of my own fancies. I do not need to say how painful this is for me, but in the end, I am not the 4th. The members of the 4th are, and they deserve to stay in touch with one another and continue to RP what they love.

My future in the FFXIV RP community is unclear. I wish things didn’t have to be like this, but this is the situation I’ve put myself into.

Again, to everyone and for everything from the past five years, I am sorry.

I can be contacted on Discord at Seriphyn#0337 or in-game under “Kale Aideron”. You may speak to me for whatever reason. I will take advice or admonishment. Thank you very much for taking the time out of your day to read this far.

Best,

Kale

#ffxiv #ff14 #ffxiv rp #ff14 rp #balmung rp

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kissykiwi · 7 years ago

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green eyes, red handed (part 1)

wherein harry and y/n hate each other. and they don’t. (college au, 3k words)

[next]

To say that Y/N hated Harry would be a misnomer. She didn’t, really, no matter how many doubtful looks her friends might have thrown her way whenever she insisted so. It was more that Harry liked himself enough that she didn’t exactly need to contribute too much. Maybe it was the way he carried himself, the easy, distant smile he had ready to charm any and all who looked too long, the way he could wear a handful of rings and not look stupid and pretentious- it drove her crazy. It drove everyone crazy, and he fucking knew it.

Across campus there were men and women alike (students, TAs, the odd staff member or professor) who would do vile and gruesome things for just one night with him. She should count her lucky stars, they all thought, that he ran in her circles.

“Hey Y/L/N!”

Oh boy, was she counting.

“Styles. And to what do I owe the pleasure of your company this fine morning?” Y/N sighed, not faltering in step. She’d gotten up late, only managed to get halfway ready, and she didn’t much feel like lingering in front of campus in her “I’m only barely trying” outfit.

“Can’t I have a chat with my favorite girl fo’ no particular reason?” Harry purred, throwing one long arm around her shoulders and pulling her to a stop in front circle. He was wearing a royal blue tee shirt over black jeans with those stupid boots that made him even taller than he already was, hair tousled just so and draped lovingly over an ear, long fingers glittering under the weight of his ever present jewelry. Across the grass, a boy was so caught up in staring that he didn’t notice the frisbee headed his way until it made contact with his temple. There were at least two girls that Y/N recognized glaring at her fixedly.

“No,” she said, summoning all of her patience and resuming her walk. “But you can cut the cutesy shit and tell me what you want. I have class in ten minutes, didn’t have time to get coffee, and don’t have the tether to deal with you right now.”

“I’ve got fifty dollars for a bottle of Johnnie, black label, and no time to go buy myself b‘fore tonigh’. Ginny told me yer goin’ to the J&J, n’ I know she’s draggin’ yeh to this little shindig,” he said. The fifty dollar bill that fluttered in the wind seemed to mock Y/N as she looked from it to his face and back again. Harry was pouting a bit, but his eyes were teasing. She wanted to poke them out.

“Fine,” she said, plucking the money from his hand. “Consider this a debt.”

“I gave you the money!”

“And I’m giving you the legwork. You owe me one, Styles. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m dangerously close to being late for Semantics.”

One would have thought that walking away would be enough, but when dealing with a gnat with legs the approximate length of the Eiffel Tower, it never was.

“Would y’accept sexual favors? Given that yeh haven’t gotten any in a hot minute, I mean.”

“I told Ginny that in confidence!” Y/N snapped, stopping fully to glare at Harry as her face turned a hot and angry pink.

“And she didn’t tell me at all, that’s the magic of it.”

“God, I’m so considering pocketing this fifty and watching you try to get drunk off of frat beer. You really, really owe me now,” Y/N answered. Harry pulled a face at her back as she turned and stalked away to class.

That night saw Y/N at the latest campus bash- this time a kegger at Phi Kappa Tau to celebrate some minor holiday. The beer was warm, the freshman were dressed to the nines, and Y/N was laden down with Harry’s Johnnie and her own booze. It definitely wasn’t a night she was ready for. In fact she was only here because Ginny, her enabler/best friend/roommate, had determined that “Y/N, you study too much! Steve invited us, both of us, and besides, you know you want another chance to flirt with Harry!” which- okay, no. First of all, her major was challenging, alright, and the amount she studied was in perfect proportion. Secondly, Steve would have invited the Dean of Students if it meant he had a shot at Ginny (who wasn’t even single anyway and had never acted otherwise). And the Harry comment? Well, Y/N could barely justify that with a response. Whatever it was that she and Harry did-- and she was certain that psychologists had any number of names for it-- that was not flirting. But anyhow, Y/N was there in black jeans and a cute enough top, forced into her most comfortable heels because Ginny wouldn’t have anything else.

“Y/N, doll, I can hear you blaming me for your being here all the way across the room,” Ginny chirped, throwing her arms around Y/N’s neck. “You know what that means?”

“It means you’re gonna make me drink.”

“That’s right babes! Get boozin’,” she cheered. From somewhere, using the kind of party magic that the campus had become used to associating with her, Ginny had produced jello shots, which she forced towards Y/N’s hands. In shades of blue and red, (was it only Labor Day?) they wiggled ominously. Y/N sighed, hefted her bag into an easier position, and sucked down one, then the other.

“Only you could keep tha’ sour face in the middle of a party,” said a low voice from her left. Her eyes rolled as she swallowed a mouthful of blue, sugary booze. There was Harry, wearing the same jeans and boots but changed on top into a button down likely stolen out of Minnie Mouse’s closet. He looked stupidly, unfairly good for such a ridiculous pattern.

“Only you could forget that I have your alcohol,” Y/N answered, turning to face him fully with a pleased smirk. There was the ghost of a smug expression playing on his face, but she could see the cogs turning in his head as his eyes caught on the whiskey peeking out of her purse. In an instant the charm was on, beaming as hot as though Y/N was standing next to a bonfire.

“Gorgeous. Doll. Flower. Have I told you how delicious you look in that outfit?” he purred, settling arm over her head and curling in towards her. Y/N threw him a glittering grin, already feeling the warm hum of a beer and the shots curling up through her veins.

“Mmmm, not lately but please, tell me more.”

Harry pulled a face, but her bag was behind her back and he knew from experience that reaching around her sans permission would result in pain on his end.

“Every man in this room is starin’ at those legs of yours in those tight jeans, babe. I’ve heard at least three people tryna figure out how to chat you up.” His voice was husky and soft as he leaned in to murmur in Y/N’s ear, and she couldn’t help the heat that flared low in her stomach as she looked up through her eyelashes into jade eyes. If it wasn’t for the insistent press of the bottle of Johnnie in her back she’d lean in, close the distance, act on all the want that that look inspired in her. But it was for whiskey, and they hated each other as often as they were friends.

“Well now you’re speakin’ to my ego, baby.”

Another cocky smile thrown his way, and Y/N could pretend for a minute that he paused, that his eyes lingered slow and sweet on her lips, but then she was pulling the whiskey from behind her back and he was throwing himself into the pulsing crowd without so much as a thank you. She blinked once after him, face falling into a small, unconscious frown. God, but she needed more alcohol. Y/N wasn’t into him, she wasn’t. He was awful, swinging from moody and angry to charming and sweet in seconds, always getting her hoping and then throwing her down. It seemed he’d hated her from the word go, and she tried to only give as good as she got, but sometimes he could be so honestly, truly mean. But when Y/N hoped, boy did she hope. When she was what he was focusing his attention on, even when it was nasty and teasing and cruel, she felt like the only person in the world. Somehow, there was always a part of her that thought-- well. It hardly mattered.

“You know if you two wanted to fuck, may I suggest some place less public?” Ginny laughed, but the look Y/N gave her had her thinking twice. “More jello shots, got it.”

Ginny pulled her through the hallway, grimacing slightly as her shoes stuck to the alcohol soaked wood, towards the blindingly bright kitchen. Inside of it was Todd, floppy black hair falling into his eyes as he held court with some of his frat brothers, arm braced next to a tray of booze.

“That’s a Harry face,” he sighed, eyes scanning Y/N’s raised eyebrows and defensive stance. “Take the red ones, they’re higher alcohol content, and I’ll tell the DJ to make it sexier.”

It was easy to forget when she was sober just how much booze made Y/N dance. And not a boxstep, oh no- alcohol, vodka especially, got her down and dirty, jeans lovingly following every move as she got low, thrumming music dancing up her spine and through the swing of her hips. The eyes that she could feel on herself were almost as intoxicating as the ethanol, a comparison Ginny had made once that both could vibe with in the swirl of colored lights that house parties provided. Ginny and Y/N were dynamos together with just a little bit of liquid courage, unstoppable force meets immovable object, courting the attentions of a wash of partygoers with a tag team act of twisting bodies. Vodka and a dancefloor were all they came to these parties for.

It was an hour later, under the thrum of a particularly good bassline, that Y/N began to scan the crowd. The persistent fire of a sea of eyes had finally forced her to take a look, only to catch the bright glare of whiskey fueled green. Harry was staring at her, the bastard, gaze positively molten as he looked low over the rim of his cup, but eye contact was enough to make him look away coolly, as though she’d just happened to be in his line of sight. The encounter alone made fierce, itching fire lick up under her skin, made her want to shake him and strangle him and ride him ‘til he broke.

“Jesus, wish Clark looked at me like that,” Ginny whispered in her roommate’s ear, throwing her fiery head back to rest in the dip of Y/N’s shoulder. All she could give in response was a slow sway of her hips, all for the benefit of her voyeur, and she watched in selfish satisfaction as his eyes swung back, tracked the movement before hers slid closed once more. Ginny was as excitable drunk as she was sober, whirling at top speed through an evening, but Y/N always felt slower and warmer, more attuned to the things around her and the way she moved.

“You know Gin, given how he treats me, I’ll trade you for Clark.”

“You’re such a cynic, Y/N. Haven’t you heard of pigtail pulling?” she giggled, turning about in a hurricane of sheet straight hair. This was an argument they’d both had too many times to count. Ginny was dating one of Harry’s friends- a nice boy named Clark who lived in the same building as Harry, Todd, and a few of their other friends, which Y/N and Ginny called Cellblock Mate- and for some reason this made her feel that she had insider information as to how Harry felt about Y/N. Y/N, for her part, found this argument patently ridiculous. Ginny knew this, but she couldn’t help being convinced that if Harry and Y/N just ended up together the whole thing would be horribly romantic.

“Haven’t you heard of people just not liking each other?” Y/N shot back as Ginny pulled her hips forward to sway in sync to the beat. Across her shoulder, Y/N once again saw the glint of bright green eyes. He was talking to a girl that Y/N remembered being nice enough, but his eyes were on her, pinning her down completely but saying nothing besides. It made her hot in ways she couldn’t even begin to explain. When the girl he was talking to leaned in to kiss him, once, hot and insistent and with a bit too much tongue, they didn’t move, didn’t even twitch away. It was all Y/N could do to suck in a breath and spin Ginny so that she didn’t have to face him any longer. “Let’s just dance.”

The rest of the weekend was spent bouncing back from a truly spectacular hangover, the kind that wiggly blue alcoholic treats in inadvisable quantities engendered, and by Monday Y/N could just about stand sunlight again. It was a good thing too, because the day dawned harsh in the bright autumn sunlight on her ten A.M., the one she shared with the menace. The course was Introduction to Classical Studies, a course that in the past had been a bird. Unfortunately, Professor Morrow was not much of a bird sort of professor, and for the vast majority of the class they were suffering for it. Y/N had taken it out of general interest, something to cover a breadth requirement, and she’d always been a hard worker. Harry was that jerk who breezed through the toughest of classes without a hair ever falling out of place, and while he whined to Y/N often about helping him with the subject matter, his grades never showed any need of aid.

“Miss Y/L/N, you’re looking fresh as a daisy this morning,” her professor offered as greeting. She tended to show up early (and besides had sniffed Morrow out for the slave driver he would be the second she’d stepped through the door) and so she had come to know him as comfortably as a professional relationship would allow.

“You know me Professor Morrow, as soon as I see alcohol I consider how it would affect my Classics course.”

“Yes, and the amount of times you’ve come into our Thursday class with your eyes barely open certainly reflects that.”

Harry walked in at the comment, rolling his eyes at Y/N’s answering laughter. He had clearly gone out a second time if the purple bags under his eyes were anything to go by.

“Morning Curly-Q,” she chirped as he threw himself into the chair beside her. Classics always got Y/N in a good mood, something about the class she enjoyed, but the same couldn’t’ be said for Harry. He liked Morrow well enough, but the material was denser than lead and he didn’t have the affinity for details that she did. If Y/N had been paying more attention, hadn’t been coming off of a joke, she probably would have seen his sour mood coming.

“Do yeh think we could cut the Snow White act this mornin’?” he hissed. Y/N clenched her jaw and turned to her bag, pulling out her sticker covered laptop. So this was how the morning would go. “Aw, what’s the matter pumpkin? Me pointin’ out that y’aren’t a Disney princess got yeh poutin’?”

This was the Harry Y/N was used to, the one who found what made her upset and needled it, all biting words and nasty tone.

“If you’ve decided to be in a bad mood this morning then why don’t you keep to yourself,” she suggested coolly. He snorted.

“‘N if it’s you that puts me in a bad mood?”

The class was beginning to trickle in, people filling the rows behind them- Y/N always sat front and center and for some reason, Harry always sat with her- and she heard distinctly a boy suck in a breath. Obviously he found that to be a good comeback. Well, if she was going to keep herself from committing homicide she thought, she might as well focus on refreshing herself on the readings.

In fact, the title in Greek can mean indifferently ‘constitution’, ‘state’, or ‘society’....

“Ah, ‘n now she’s ignorin’ me. Tell me Y/N, how do all the boys resist yeh with all yer nonexistent charms?”

…only coming later to bear the narrower meaning of a particular kind of constitution, the meaning it now bears in the English transliteration.

“Yeh deaf, or jus’ ugly?”

Y/N’s head snapped up, fist clenching on the keyboard of her laptop hard enough to make the screen skip through tabs. The students who weren’t used to Harry and Y/N’s particular song and dance were staring unashamedly. All she wanted was a peaceful Monday morning.

“What about you, hm? I told you to fuck off if you can’t keep your shitty attitude to your shitty self. Veux-tu que je le dis en francais?”

This, in particular, got him riled up. She had always been better in French, and whenever she spoke it a hot, patchy blush would inevitably crawl up his neck. His face twisted into an irritated frown, and his mouth flapped up and down for a second before he managed a blustery “shut up,” and turned to face the board. He was sulking, no doubt, in a truly spectacular shade of pink, and Y/N thought if he even tried speaking to her again she would tear him apart. She could still feel the eyes of those who didn’t know them, waiting hopefully for a second bout of drama, and had half a mind to turn around and rip into them, too. It was probably in the interest of everybody that class started then.

“So! Plato’s ‘Republic’!”

#hell yeah! here we gooooooooooo #harry styles imagine #harry styles #himagine #text

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applicationsoftgo · 2 years ago

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Mesh enabler installed but not working

About: I'm doing my best to live little parts of many lives - part engineer, part architect, designer, cyclist, bread baker, furniture maker, and the other two halves are CNC machining specialist, teacher, and phi Add Teacher Note. I guess now is a good time to give it a shot! Thanks for sharing this! I will see if I can convert the captures I've made into solids. Did you use their repair solution? I've been wanted to do a D Capture of my car for a while now. If the gaps are large that probably going to be an issue - but Netfabb has been awesome for me to close smaller holes. Try Netfabb again, tweaking repair parameters. When you restart Inventor, it will be automatically embedded in the program. Just download the app and close Inventor.

Go to the subscription app page for Autodesk's Mesh Enabler, which allows you to convert a mesh to a solid base feature once your file is imported into Inventor. Go to the Netfabb website to download software that will allow you to repair any gaps in your model to create a solid that Inventor will be able to recognize without errors. This depends on your machine and versions of software, but play around to get the most detail possible with the lowest facet count. Once you've got your capture downloaded, use Autodesk's Meshmixer to import the capture. Use your phone to take photos and upload the model for your to download to your computer. Grab Autodesk's D app to capture the geometry of whatever it is that you'd like to model. Did you use this instructable in your classroom? Add a Teacher Note to share how you incorporated it into your lesson.

This tutorial is to take D captures or other meshes and convert them to editable solids in Inventor using the following workflow.

#Mesh enabler installed but not working

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tkmedia · 3 years ago

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Eckert: OL Stat Study 2.0 Using PFF Run/Pass Blocking, SIS Total Points Earned Metrics 2016-2020

Today I am continuing my “Offensive Line Study Series”, here is a link to the first study that I would recommend for full context of this study: OL Study 1.0 I wanted to dive deeper and get a broader view than a single season. I also wanted to answer this question: How did the players grade according to stats from Pro Football Focus (PFF) and Sports Info Solutions (SIS) in the last five years? Here are the definitions for the datapoints used in this study: - PFF Run Block Grade (RBLK) = PFF Grade for Run Blocking - PFF Pass Block Grade (PBLK) = PFF Grade for Pass Blocking - SIS Total Points Earned (TPE) = The total of a player’s EPA responsibility using the Total Points system Some important things before the graph, the players in this study are the leaders in single season TPE with the highest snap counts (for durability), then layering in the PFF grades and TPE from 2016-2020. I also focused on more recent players that have played since 2018, then how those players did over the five-year sample size with the above datapoints. With that in mind, here’s what 2016-2020 looked like:

Great! I really enjoyed layering in the TPE as the dot sizes to see how their team value datapoint compared to the PFF Grades. Any players with larger dots in the bottom left were favored by the TPE stat, and any smaller dots elsewhere were favored by PFF grades. I also marked the Steelers players so we could see how Alejandro, Maurkice, and Ramon compared to the league. This again highlights how durable Villanueva has been, along with the new era at a position we’ve been blessed to see great stability in personnel for several years. All being below the mean in run blocking leads me to an interesting question: Are you optimistic the Steelers line will improve in run blocking this season? If so, which players could be above average league wide? Now let’s look at this angle, who were the best TPE players from the graph according to SIS, with PFF Grades, and Study 1.0 Ranks: Total Points Earned Rk RBLK Rk PBLK Rk Study 1.0 Rk 1. Joe Thuney 29 22 2. Andrew Whitworth 18 2 3. Jake Matthews 42 10 22 4. Zack Martin 2 9 5. David Bakhtiari 20 1 6. Alejandro Villanueva 37 16 23 7. Rob Havenstein 14 48 3 8. Shaq Mason 3 36 9. Kevin Zeitler 26 14 49 10. Rodney Hudson 22 4 21 11. Jack Conklin 11 27 12. Charles Leno 35 26 24 13. Kelvin Beachum 62 25 19 14. Gabe Jackson 46 29 44 15. Ronnie Stanley 27 6 16. Quinton Spain 47 44 17. Ben Jones 16 30 27 18. Andrew Norwell 39 13 19. Brandon Fusco 34 50 20. Brandon Brooks 6 3 21. Joel Bitonio 24 5 5 22. Cody Whitehair 8 53 23. Anthony Castonzo 23 15 24. Ereck Flowers 49 47 25. Germain Ifedi 58 58 39 26. Maurkice Pouncey 44 35 27. Duane Brown 15 12 8 28. John Miller 53 46 29. Corey Linsley 17 17 30. Ryan Jensen 30 43 40 31. A.J. Cann 55 52 32. Ali Marpet 7 20 33. Orlando Brown 36 21 32 34. Trenton Brown 38 33 35. David Andrews 13 34 36. Matt Paradis 10 38 53 37. Bobby Hart 60 59 38. Nate Solder 31 31 39. Ramon Foster 56 19 40. Marshal Yanda 5 7 41. Taylor Moton 28 18 26 42. Quenton Nelson 1 11 2 43. D.J. Humphries 9 40 1 44. Richie Incognito 21 8 45. Donald Penn 19 49 46. Chase Roullier 41 28 6 47. Max Unger 52 24 48. Jordan Mills 64 60 49. Bradley Bozeman 43 63 52 50. Brian O’Neill 25 42 12 51. Travis Frederick 4 23 52. Jermey Parnell 32 37 53. James Hurst 63 32 54. Austin Blythe 57 64 29 55. Will Hernandez 59 51 56. Connor Williams 45 54 15 57. Ted Karras 33 45 36 58. Isaac Seumalo 50 56 59. John Jerry 51 41 60. Dennis Kelly 40 57 45 61. Erik McCoy 12 39 34 62. Greg Mancz 48 61 63. Austin Howard 61 62 64. Austin Corbett 54 55 25 This view will tend to favor players with longer/healthier careers but that is valuable for as physical this position group is. We know this all to well regarding having an offensive line as one of the strengths of the team to being one of the biggest concerns in this sample size. Hopefully this will apply to the 2021 o-line, staying healthy (knocks on wood) so they can build chemistry and hopefully be successful. Now I would like to take all the information from this study to get a more complete ranking for this study: Study 2.0 Ranks POS TEAM 1. Zack Martin RG DAL 2. Andrew Whitworth LT LAR 3. David Bakhtiari LT GB 4. Brandon Brooks RG PHI 5. Joel Bitonio LG CLE 6. Quenton Nelson LG IND 7. Rodney Hudson C LV 8. Duane Brown LT SEA 9. Shaq Mason RG NE 10. Ronnie Stanley LT BAL 11. Jack Conklin RT CLE 12. Joe Thuney LG NE 13. Marshal Yanda RG BAL 14. Rob Havenstein RT LAR 15. Jake Matthews LT ATL 16. Ali Marpet LG TB 17. Anthony Castonzo LT IND 18. Alejandro Villanueva LT PIT 19. Corey Linsley C GB 20. Ben Jones C TEN 21. D.J. Humphries LT ARI 22. Andrew Norwell LG JAX 23. Charles Leno LT CHI 24. Richie Incognito LG LV 25. Kevin Zeitler RG NYG 26. Travis Frederick C DAL 27. David Andrews C NE 28. Cody Whitehair C CHI 29. Taylor Moton RT CAR 30. Kelvin Beachum RT ARI 31. Chase Roullier C WAS 32. Orlando Brown RT BAL 33. Brian O’Neill RT MIN 34. Gabe Jackson RG LV 35. Nate Solder LT NYG 36. Matt Paradis C CAR 37. Brandon Fusco RG ATL 38. Maurkice Pouncey C PIT 39. Trenton Brown RT LV 40. Quinton Spain RG CIN 41. Ryan Jensen C TB 42. Erik McCoy C NO 43. Donald Penn RT WAS 44. Ramon Foster LG PIT 45. Ereck Flowers LG MIA 46. Jermey Parnell RT JAX 47. Max Unger C NO 48. John Miller RG CAR 49. Connor Williams LG DAL 50. Ted Karras C MIA 51. Germain Ifedi RG CHI 52. A.J. Cann RG JAX 53. James Hurst LT NO 54. Austin Corbett RG LAR 55. John Jerry LT CIN 56. Dennis Kelly RT TEN 57. Austin Blythe C LAR 58. Bradley Bozeman LG BAL 59. Bobby Hart RT CIN 60. Isaac Seumalo LG PHI 61. Will Hernandez LG NYG 62. Greg Mancz C BAL 63. Jordan Mills RT BAL 64. Austin Howard RG WAS For the next study, I will add playoff value like my other series and wrap up with more visualizations, hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts in the comments!

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gapgirlgia-blog · 5 years ago

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Laos (1 week)

I went back and forth for a few weeks on whether or not I wanted to check out Laos, and Im so thankful I did because it might have been my favorite experience in Southeast Asia. I wish I had spent more time there, but I was really looking forward to getting to Vietnam based on everyone raving about it. The determining factor in my decision was honestly the Instagram poll I posted, and Laos won over Vietnam last minute. Laos a diamond in the rough and a super bang for your buck.

1. Don Det (4,000 Islands)

(5/10-11) The Last Resort

Newer guesthouse made of teepees and hay-made bungalows, the most basic bathroom/showers made of cement walls and straw roofs. Cute in pictures but very uncomfortable due to the heat. Delicious, fresh food provided but expensive given it being a tiny island (inland).

(5/12) Overnight Bus to Vang Vieng

Purchased through hostel

Got a bus from Phnom Penh to the 4,000 Islands which took 1.5 days, including multiple buses, tuk tuks and little boats. Laotians live very simply but accommodate tourists very well considering their lack of resources. The Li Phi Falls / Tat Somphamit Waterfalls in Don Khon is about a 40 minute bicycle ride away and so nice! You can swim in the stream but its not the clearest or cleanest. On the way, there are graveyards with colorful, white, glittering, glassy gravestones.

2. Vang Vieng

(5/7-9) Nana Backpackers

Party hostel with a pool and bar/restaurant. Someone broke a beer bottle in the room and the staff wouldnt clean anything up, which wasnt cool with me.

Vang Vieng is situated between insane mountains with cute night markets. You can hire a tuk tuk driver for a couple bucks to take you to the Lagoon (Lagoon #3 is the most beautiful and less crowded than the others). You can also hike up to the view points, it was very green and lush during the month of May, which made it similar but different than northern Thailand. I also went to some nice Yin Yoga classes at Silver Naga (2 classes for $15). And little did I know, Laos is one of the cheapest, if not the cheapest country to ride in a hot air balloon. So dang nabbit I had to do it!! It lasted for only 30-40 minutes, which was disappointing but worth it.

Silver Naga hotel (after yoga class), Vang Vieng, Laos

Lagoon #3 hike to View Point, Vang Vieng, Laos

Hot air Balloon, Vang Vieng, Laos

3. Luang Prabang

(5/10-11) Lakangthong II Friendly House

Breakfast provided, $3/night, bathrooms didnt have showerheads, so you had to bathe while kneeling next to toilets which was grossss

(5/12) Overnight bus to Vietnam

Purchased through hostel ~$40

Absolutely loved Luang Prabang, it reminded me a bit of Kampot. The night markets are a lot bigger than Vang Viengs and the variety of food is plentiful. Another country where you can get .75 cent fruit smoothies. Its a very artistic place with hundreds of handmade craft artists, painters (shown below). Below are the Kuang Si Falls, which are so bright and crystal blue because of the limestone pools. Not shown is a gigantic waterfall which enables the water to flow so heavily.

Kuang Si Falls, Luang Prabang, Laos

Artist, P.Noy, most famous female expressionist artistin Laos

#expressionism #art #painting #hotairballoon #airballoon #travelsoutheastasia #asia #chasingwaterfalls #waterfall

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artificialqueens · 8 years ago

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Favorite (Katlaska) Chapter 3 - Aliena

AN: Again, thank you so much for your lovely comments, they really mean a lot!

This fic really is all about the slow burn. I hope you don’t mind too much. This chapter contains mentions of Alaska x Jinkx, Alaska x Adore, Alaska x Willam x Courtney and Katya x Violet, but it’s really only mentions.

She gets used to it, spending time with Katya, to the point where she feels a little bit lost when she’s not. It’s not so bad when she’s at home, with familiar people and familiar places that provide a safety net. But every new hotel room in an unfamiliar city feels claustrophobic when she she doesn’t have the option of walking a few doors down to another room and welcome company. It’s easier to slip and fall when you don’t have anyone to hold on to. It’s a relief almost, that the whole All Stars circus is followed by a few BOTS shows and then the Christmas Queens tour. She knows it’s hardly healthy though, to shift her dependence from one thing to another. So she tries to make it back to her own room most nights, instead of falling asleep in Katya’s bed. It isn’t until one night, when she’s making her excuses , and Katya’s voice stops her, that she realizes that maybe Katya is just as dependent on her as she is on Katya. ”Could you stay?” Katya asks, just as Alaska is about to open the door. ”Just… Brenda is being really fucking vicious tonight,” she continues when Alaska turns around to look at her. ”I don’t like to ask, but…” she trails off and shrugs, looking embarrassed. ”Why?” Alaska asks in disbelief. She crosses the floor and sits down on the edge of the bed, not grabbing Katya’s hand, even though she kind of wants to. ”Why wouldn’t you ask?” Katya’s smile is slightly wobbly. ”I’m really terrified that you’ll get annoyed with me.” ”Oh god, Katya, I am so frequently annoyed with you,” Alaska says, and she must have managed to find the right tone of voice, because Katya bursts out in a laugh. ”But never because of something like this.” If they wake up with Alaska’s arm wrapped around Katya, wrinkles from Alaska’s t-shirt pressed into Katya’s cheek, neither of them mention it. But after that, she doesn’t even pretend to want to go back to her own room anymore. She’s rehearsing Read U Wrote U with Katya and Detox, and they’ve figured out that if they just do twenty seconds of synchronized choreography, it’ll make up for the rest of the number being improvised depending on mood, venue and audience. ”I have a question,” Katya says, once they’ve given up and are sitting on the floor, and raises her hand, as if in school. ”Yes, miss Zamolodchikova?” Alaska says, and Katya grins. ”Will Roxxy murder us in our sleep for mocking her verse like this?” Detox snorts. ”No, she won’t mind. We made fun of her part of Can I Get an Amen for two years, she was fine with it.” ”Where my people at? Where my people at?” Alaska sings off-tune, raising her arms. ”You are both horrible people,” Katya declares. Alaska looks at her pointedly. ”Well, you’re the one who kept wanting to send her home on All Stars, so if there’s anyone she has a reason to hate…” she says, and Katya sighs. ”Well, I couldn’t send Detox home,” she says plaintively, ”because she lent me her lipstick.” Alaska narrows her eyes as Detox cackles. ”And I couldn’t send you home,” Katya says to Alaska, smiling sweetly, ”because you’re my favorite.” Detox gags and Katya looks imploringly at Alaska until Alaska cracks a smile. ”Lucky for Roxxy I’m the worst lipsyncer in Drag Race herstory,” Katya continues with a pitiful sigh. ”Not the worst,” Alaska allows. ”You were just up against the best.” She holds out her hand, and Detox slaps it. Manila and Phi Phi join them for lunch, which they have right there on the floor, because why the hell not. As she finishes eating, Katya almost absentmindedly stretches her leg over her head. Alaska hates her a little for it. ”With cooter-slam enabled hip joints stolen from the living body of Katya Zamolodchikova”, Manila says in a robotic voice, causing Katya to choke on her water. ”What? What?” she manages to get out between coughs. ”What was that?” ”You know, from Alaska’s song,” Manila says, taking the bottle of water from Katya’s hand to avoid her spilling it all over the floor. Katya turns sharply to Alaska. ”No it isn’t. I’ve listened to your songs.” ”It’s from Slaytina,” Phi Phi says when Alaska doesn’t answer. Katya frowns. ”No, I’ve definitely heard that one.” Alaska remains silent. She feels a strange kind of mix of pleasure and embarrassment hearing the others discuss her songs. As Manila is searching for the song on her phone, Katya leans over to Alaska. ”I really have listened to your albums, Barbara,” she says, batting her eyelashes. ”I know all the words to It Is What It Is.” ”No, we can no longer be friends,” Alaska says drily. ”My true friends know the words to all my songs.” As the music suddenly blares from Manila’s phone Alaska squirms. She’s not wild about listening to herself, at least not with other people around. ”Look, do we have to…” her voice is cut off by Katya putting her hand over Alaska’s mouth. ”Hush! I’m listening.” The temptation to lick Katya’s palm is so strong. But, well, it’s Katya. She doesn’t know where that hand has been. So she remains obediently silent as they listen, instead watching the frown lines appear on Katya’s forehead as she’s concentrating on the lyrics, only barely noticing Detox pouting her lips, and Phi Phi showing off her teeth when their names are mentioned. When Katya hears her own name, she starts laughing, and Alaska gives in to temptation, licking a broad stripe across Katya’s palm, tasting salt. ”Disgusting!” Katya declares as she pulls her hand away, wiping it on her shorts. ”And I have heard the song. But there is a slight possibility I maybe didn’t pay attention to the lyrics. Clearly, it was my loss.” Alaska nods benevolently. ”That said,” Katya continues, ”should I be concerned? That whole thing about stealing my hip joints from my living body raises some questions.” She stretches her legs out in front of her. ”Without these hip joints, I am nothing, mama.” Alaska raises herself to her knees and straddles Katya’s thighs. She knows it’s a bad decision the second she does it, because she didn’t count on the way Katya’s breath hitches, or the way her own body reacts to the proximity. But she still caresses Katya’s hips gently, leaning forward slightly. ”But I’d be so gentle,” she says softly, moving one hand up towards Katya’s chest. ”You wouldn’t feel a thing.” Katya’s eyes widen a fraction, and Alaska wants nothing more than to give in to temptation again, but she suddenly remembers that there are three other pairs of eyes in the room, so she leans backward and smiles brightly. ”Lunch break over!” (She replays the moment in her head so many times that after a while she’s not sure what actually happened and what her subconscious added in afterward. Could she actually feel Katya harden under her, or was she not close enough for that to be possible? Did she see Katya’s tongue dart out to lick her lips, or is that wishful thinking? Did Katya’s hand tremble slightly when Alaska took it to help her up from the floor? ”Yes, yes and yes,” Katya says when Alaska asks her in a weak moment, though she’s probably as unreliable a narrator as Alaska is. But then again, it hardly matters anymore.) Katya swears loudly in Russian. She’s sitting on the bed, legs bent, a wig stretched over her kneeand she is trying to untangle the knots in it. ”What the fuck did you do to that poor thing?” Alaska asks. ”Nothing out of the ordinary,” Katya says, pulling the comb through with so much force it makes Alaska wince. ”So you could have dragged it across the stage and dipped it in Red Bull and cigarette ash for all I know?” Katya looks stricken. ”Is that not part of everyone’s daily hair care?” she asks, her eyes wide. Alaska sits down cross legged in front of Katya. She grabs the comb from Katya’s hand and pulls Katya’s knee with the wig on closer to herself. ”Also, you know you’ll ruin the shape of it by having it on your knee like that.” Katya smirks. ”Yeah, but that’s the beauty of being me. I can get away with wigs looking like they’ve been flushed down the toilet. It’s all about choices. You chose the gorgeous alien princess, I went with the Russian bisexual transvestite whore.” She watches Alaska carefully combing through small portions of hair. ”That’ll take you ages, don’t even bother with it.” ”So impatient,” Alaska chides. ”Sharon is exactly the same. I used to do this for her all the time.” ”That’s what you get for sleeping with another queen,” Katya says. ”Double the maintenance.” Alaska looks at her for a moment. ”Have you ever done that, though?” ”Have I ever done what? You’re going to have to narrow that down quite a bit.” ”Slept with another queen. Actually, in the name of narrowing it down, another Ru girl.” Katya cocks her head to the side. ”Have you? Apart from Sharon of course?” ”I asked you first,” Alaska protests. ”Then it’s only fair that you should answer first too, isn’t it?” ”Fine.” She concentrates on a particularly nasty tangle in the wig while Katya waits patiently. ”There’s been a few.” Katya gasps in mock horror. ”A few? And here I thought you were the absolute paragon of virtue!” Alaska snorts. ”Right.” Katya pokes her in the thigh with one of her toes. ”So? Tell me who.” ”Nope,” Alaska says loftily. ”Wouldn’t want to ruin your image of me.” Katya pokes her harder. ”Please, Mother, I’ll be ever so nice if you tell me the sordid details of your sexual affairs.” ”You know, that voice is really creepy.” ”Everyone always tells me so, Mother,” she continues in the same voice and grins. ”That’s why I like it.” Alaska focuses on the wig, instead of looking at Katya. ”There was one time with Jinkxy. Which was lovely, and then it was extremely fucking awkward for quite some time.” ”Oh,” is all Katya says. ”We’re fine now though, I think we’re just pretending it never happened.” It just seems easier. She abandons the comb and starts working through the worst tangles with her fingers. ”Adore, a few times.” She hesitates before mentioning this, because it’s not a fond memory. ”That should just have been fun, which I guess it was, for a while, but it was actually shit, because she was really messed up at the time, and I didn’t realize until it was too late.” Too late for her, actually. Adore seemed to bounce back a lot faster than Alaska did. ”That’s not on you though, you know that,” Katya says gently, and Alaska forces herself to look up. ”I guess,” she says. ”Still feels like shit, though.” ”You don’t have to tell me this, if you don’t want to,” Katya says. ”No, it’s fine. No one knows though, so…” ”I won’t tell.” Alaska nods. She’s quiet for a while, trying not to remember sitting naked outside a bathroom door, listening to Adore hurling and crying inside, without being able to do anything about it. Katya starts braiding a section of hair on the other side of the wig, her fingers occasionally brushing against Alaska’s. It’s utterly unhelpful but she appreciates the gesture. ”And then there was Willam and Courtney.” Katya nods, and then her eyes widen. ”Wait, Willam and Courtney? At the same time?” ”Yes gawd,” Alaska says in her best Laganja impression, and can’t help to feel a bit smug when she sees the look on Katya’s face. ”You absolute whore!” Katya exclaims, with a delighted grin and slaps Alaska’s leg hard enough to make her flinch. ”Was it hot? I bet it was hot.” Above all it had been fun, which had surprised Alaska, but yeah it’d been pretty damn hot too. ”I don’t kiss and tell,” she says innocently and Katya narrows her eyes. ”If you don’t, I’ll ask Willam. She’ll definitely tell. Do you really want me to hear her version instead of yours?” She really doesn’t. ”It was hot,” she admits. ”I mean, it was in the middle of summer in Australia, so it was bound to be.” She’s not really sure how it happened. Somehow it just seemed like the thing you do in Australia. At least that was what Courtney said. ”Tease,” Katya says, but doesn’t press the issue. ”And that’s it!” Alaska says. ”That’s my little black book of Ru girls. Now, tell me yours.” ”It’s a very thin book,” Katya says, holding up her thumb and index finger with the tiniest of gap between them. ”One page, barely worth the publishing fee.” ”Seriously?” ”Unlike some people, I don’t shit where I eat.” Alaska wrinkles her nose in revulsion. ”I did not ask what you did in bed, just who you did it with.” ”You disgusting cunt,” Katya screeches, but breaks out laughing the second after. ”You know what I mean.” Alaska sticks her tongue out, giggling when Katya does the same in return. ”So,” she says. ”Who was it, who was the chosen one that made Katya Zamolodchikova break her principles and sleep with a mortal queen?” Katya leans back against the headboard, looking smug. ”Guess.” ”That’s not fair!” Alaska whines. ”I didn’t make you guess.” ”Wouldn’t have been much point in that, would it? I could have pretty much said any name, and I’d been right.” Her voice is teasing, and she’s poking Alaska in the thigh with her toes again. ”Come on, it’ll be fun.” Alaska studies Katya in silence for a minute. ”There is an obvious answer, of course,” she says finally. Katya nods. ”And if the obvious answer was true, I don’t think you would have made me guess.” ”I always said you were smart.” ”So it’s not Tempest DuJour?” Katya screams with laughter. ”How did you know? We’ve been having an illicit affair since the first time I saw her in the work room. Ours is a forbidden but delicious love.” ”So,” Alaska says, once Katya calms down. ”Not Trixie?” ”Not Trixie,” Katya confirms. Alaska bites her lip, pondering her next choice, but she can’t let this go, not when it’s finally up for discussion. ”Why not?” Katya blinks. ”Why haven’t Trixie and I had sex?” ”Yes! You’re basically married already.” ”I suppose,” Katya says. ”We’ve made out, which was amazing. And I love her, so freaking much. We’ve even talked about it, which was very mature of us. It just wouldn’t work. She wants a husband and kids and that whole thing. I could never give her that.” She smiles quickly and picks up the wig that’s been forgotten, smoothing down a few stray strands of hair. ”Guess again.” It’s obvious she wants to steer the conversation in a another direction, but Alaska’ll let her. For now. ”Phi Phi,” she says. ”No.” Katya looks surprised. ”Why would you think that?” She honestly can’t believe Katya is this oblivious. ”She is so into you.” That had been clear from the minute they walked into the work room on All Stars. Katya scrunches up her face in a manner that is almost adorable, if Alaska was the type of person to find things adorable. ”Really?” ”How are you this blind? Yes!” ”Really?” Katya says again, looking intrigued. ”She’s very attractive.” Alaska shrugs. ”She’s only a few doors away, if you want to give it a try.” Katya ponders this, a little too seriously for Alaska’s liking. ”I’ll keep that in mind,” she says. ”Guess again.” ”Give me a clue.” ”It’s someone from my season,” Katya says. ”There are only a couple left to choose from.” Alaska goes over the queens from season seven in her head, and oh, of course. It’s obvious really. ”Violet Chachki,” she says, certain that she’s right. Violet talks a little bit too much about fucking Katya for it not to at least be based in reality. Katya just nods, almost looking a little embarrassed, and Alaska grins. ”Look at you,” she drawls. ”Blushing and everything.” Now it’s her turn to poke Katya with her toes. ”When did this happen?” ”First time was the night of the season finale,” Katya says, ignoring Alaska’s ”First time?” She smiles fondly. ”She was so fucking pissed at me for that stunt Ru pulled, when she called out my name.” ”I would have strangled you on the spot,” Alaska says. She remembers all too well how highly strung she had been at the season five finale. If Ru had called Detox’ name, she would not only have strangled Detox, but Ru Paul herself. ”I think she was tempted to,” Katya says. ”But she cursed at me for about five minutes, and then, she dragged med into the bathroom, and well…” She grins. ”But apparently we’re not going into details tonight.” ”Bitch,” Alaska mutters, but she’s not letting her off the hook this easily. ”But you said first time. How many times have there been?” ”I don’t know, a few? When we happen to be in the same place at the same time, and haven’t anything, or anyone, better to do.” Katya shrugs and starts braiding the wig again. ”Violet’s good at getting what she wants, and for some weird reason, every so often that seems to be me.” ”It’s not that weird,” Alaska can’t stop herself from saying, because it’s anything but. ”You can say a lot of things about Violet, but there’s a reason no one ever questions her taste.” She can feel herself blushing when Katya looks up at her sharply, but she has no idea where to go from here. So she grabs the wig from Katya and and picks up the comb again. ”Now let me tell you a thing or two about proper wig care.”

#favorite #katlaska #aliena #katya zamolodchikova #alaska thunderfuck #manila luzon #detox icunt #phi phi o'hara #rpdr fanfiction #submission #favorite by aliena #canon compliant

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citizentruth-blog · 6 years ago

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Ex-Frat President Fined $400, Walks Free in Drugging and Rape Case

“What will they tell the next victim when she questions why she did not know Jacob Anderson was a sex offender?" In a case eerily reminiscent of Brock Turner for its remarkably lenient sentencing, a judge has accepted a plea deal for a former fraternity president accused of sexual assault at Baylor University that will allow him to walk away a free man and relatively untouched by charges that he drugged and raped a woman in 2016. Jacob Walter Anderson was indicted on four counts of sexual assault in 2016 and accused of raping a 19-year-old student, known as Donna Doe in court documents, at a Phi Delta Theta party. According to the victim, Anderson drugged and repeatedly raped her then left her to wake up alone and choking on her own vomit. The victim claimed in a lawsuit against the fraternity that she drank a cup of punch at a fraternity party and immediately felt woozy after drinking it. Anderson then led her behind a tent where he repeatedly assaulted her and she blacked out. In court, the victim addressed Anderson directly saying, "It must be horrible to be you, to know what you did to me, to know you are a rapist, to know that you almost killed me, to know that you ruined my life, stole my virginity and stole many other things from me.”

A Too Lenient Plea Deal or Best Possible Outcome?

However, thanks to a highly controversial plea deal for a lesser charge of "unlawful restraint" Anderson will pay a fine of $400 and avoid any jail time as well as avoid being forced to register as a sex offender. The plea deal sparked outrage from the victim and over 91,000 people who have signed a petition opposing the plea deal since it was announced. Doe and her family claimed the prosecutor had assured them that Anderson would be convicted. “I am devastated by your decision to let my rapist Jacob Walter Anderson go free without any punishment,” Doe said in court to Texas State District Judge Ralph Strother, according to the “Today” show. In her victim statement, Doe had written, “What will they tell the next victim when she questions why she did not know Jacob Anderson was a sex offender? How does she think the girls in his current College classes feel knowing they could have been his next victim? I am writing this letter to hold the DA accountable to do their job and seek justice. To hold Jacob Anderson accountable for his crimes. He raped me. He almost killed me.” The District Attorney on the case, Hilary LaBorde, claimed the plea deal was the best outcome for the case given the facts. According to Texas' Star-Telegram, LaBorde emailed the victim's family saying she offered the plea deal after losing a recent sexual assault case that was similar to Doe's and she feared Anderson would not be found guilty. “(The jury) engaged in a lot of victim blaming — and the behavior of that victim and (Doe) is very similar,” she said in the email. “It’s my opinion that our jurors aren’t ready to blame rapists and not victims when there isn’t concrete proof of more than one victim.” “Conflicting evidence and statements exist in this case making the original allegation difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt,” LaBorde also said in a statement. “As a prosecutor, my goal is no more victims. I believe that is best accomplished when there is a consequence rather than an acquittal. This offender is now on felony probation and will receive sex offender treatment, a result which was not guaranteed, nor likely, had we gone to trial.” The victim’s attorney, Vic Feazell, told local outlet KWTX, “I never, ever have seen such a sweetheart deal for a defendant like this,” adding, “It pays to be rich and white in McLennan County when you’re charged with a crime.”

Baylor University and Sexual Assault

In recent years a number of sexual assault cases have come to light involving Baylor University, including a 2013 case where a woman alleged she was gang-raped by two Baylor football players and a 2015 case involving another Baylor football player. The sexual assault cases sparked a federal lawsuit against Baylor University last year accusing it of using sex to recruit football players and market its program which created a sexually violent atmosphere at the expense of women at Baylor University. The lawsuit alleged that between 2011 and 2014 there were 52 instances of rape perpetrated by at least 31 different football players -- behavior allegedly enabled by the football program. Baylor coaches allegedly arranged for women to have sex with recruits visiting the campus. In one specific example cited in the lawsuit, Assistant Coach Kendall Briles said to one Dallas area high school athlete, "Do you like white women? Because we have a lot of them at BAYLOR and they LOVE football players." In September of 2017, the lawsuit was settled out of court but details were not made public. “It really all came together as a product of a lot of really frank and meaningful discussions over the past months,” John Clune, who represented the plaintiff, said in a phone interview. “We started talking with the university in a nonlitigation, nonadversarial fashion and really just having some meaningful discussions that led to us getting together and figuring out how to get it done.” At the time, the settlement was the fourth Title IX lawsuit Baylor had settled related to sexual assault, but six more sexual lawsuits against the school remained. The school also settled three other Title IX sexual assault cases with victims who did not file lawsuits. Read the full article

#BaylorUniversity #fraternityrape #lenientrapecases #Rape #sexualassault #whiteprivelege

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tamikademaine9-blog · 7 years ago

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The NSA Will Destroy The Bulk Phone Records It Accumulated.

Incredible Elegance is the best-known hymn of all times. Không chỉ sống sang trọng ở Zimbabwe, hiện hai vợ chồng bachelor's degree có biệt thự ở Nam Phi, quê cũ của Grace Mugabe, bất động sản ở Hong Kong và Malaysia. Actors Charlie Day as well as Chloë Elegance Moretz, who both have duties in CK's I Love You, Father, have actually revoked any kind of movie promo. After safeguarding control of the state broadcaster, an army spokesman, Major General SB Moyo made a telecasted statement at an early stage Wednesday claiming Head of state Robert Mugabe and his household were sound and safe and their safety is ensured". This is the very first time in X Aspect background that acts have been encouraged to execute their own product, yet we're a little dubious about it. OK, so we acquire that Rak-Su and also Elegance Davies have been composing tunes for several years, but exactly how is it that, over the course of an X Element week, there's time to transform them into appropriate manufacturings that sound, in words of the ever-repetitive Louis Walsh, like prefabricated "hit records"? Grace Mugabe and Mr Mnangagwa had both been seen as possible followers to the aging president. Allow your love and also your passion for Jesus Christ reveals via in every single word that comes out of your mouth. Mrs Mugabe, 50, a mother-of-four as well as former typist who confesses she is as insensitive as a crocodile", made her remarks in the local language Shona to countless advocates at a rally in Mberengwa, southern Zimbabwe on Saturday. Grace Ambrook mentors conscious vibrant females to trust their inner voice and also the increased vision of life recognized by your Heart. In case you have any questions regarding exactly where as well as the best way to use Sporhobisi.info, you possibly can e-mail us in the web page. By taking a look at just what your confidence needs and at exactly how God offered Jesus Christ to fill that need we understand just what a spiritual measure is. South Africa has approved polite resistance to Zimbabwean First Lady Poise Mugabe, enabling her to leave the nation without answering inquiries regarding an attack allegation. Calling Poise's tale an unpleasant experience" with a strongly horny asshole" may be just as reductive as calling it an attack, an awareness I pertained to after hearing the voices of other women who processed my thoughts and also shared their very own. The tests of life are part of God's lessons in elegance. President Robert Mugabe is 90. His 2nd partner, Elegance, is 49. Initially i was uncertain, cynical as well as uncertain, however i just provided it a in 7 days when i went back to Canada, my partner( now spouse) called me by himself and also pertained to me asking forgiveness that whatever had actually been settled with his mother and family and also he got a brand-new job meeting so we ought to obtain married. Poise waa 52 jir, 40 sano ayay ka yartahay ninkeeda Robert Mugabe kaas oo Zimbabwe madaxweyne kasoo ahaa tan iyo sanadkii 1980-kii. Authorities in Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party will certainly fulfill today to draft a resolution to reject the 93-year-old at the weekend break and lay the ground for his impeachment next week if he chooses not to stand down, a senior event resource has actually told Reuters. Both had actually looked for sanctuary in Mugabe's house throughout the requisition as well as were held under home apprehension there by the military throughout the eight-day dilemma. A statement read: For virtually four years, Zimbabweans have endured under the tyrannical regulation of President Robert Mugabe, an oppressor who has repressed his people and also presided over the financial wear and tear of his country. Mrs Mugabe, a 49-year-old sybarite famously called Zimbabwe's First Consumer", is among one of the most reviled people in the nation. DROOP Life time Achievement Honor victor Debbie Reynolds is seen backstage at the 21st yearly Screen Casts Guild Honors at the Shrine Auditorium on Sunday, Jan Zimbabwean defence pressures have actually taken control of the state broadcaster ZBC overnight, screening a statement declaring that it is targeting wrongdoers" around the president, Robert Mugabe. When i contacted Dr.Zabaza i never educated that this would have been possible but to my best shock after 48hour of me contacting Dr.Zabaza my lover called me and also said that he is ready making for lost time and he desires me to forgive him as well as approve him back as my fan, While up until this minute my eyes are full of surprise because i never ever taught that he will come back to me. At this moment i have absolutely nothing to say than to give thanks to Dr.Zabaza for his great powers as well as for utilizing it in order to help those in requirement. Zimbabwe's leader Robert Mugabe has surrendered as head of state of Zimbabwe, ending a 37-year regulation. The discovery of Spirit knowledge as well as Love as the energy behind all creation, which Grace referred to as your SoulSignature, is the important things that truly transforms peoples lives around. 1. God provided your confidence Jesus Christ to show so that you would not should job for tomorrow.

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creativesage · 7 years ago

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By Tom Steinberg, Guest Contributor

The "I’ve got a new job!" social media post is one of modern life’s new normals, the sort of thing that washes over all of us every day, now, without much comment. But last month, one such post appeared on Facebook that’s very interesting, indeed. It’s from an experienced software engineer named Brian Acton, and it went like this:

What Acton doesn’t mention in his modest post is that he was a co-founder of WhatsApp, not just a regular staffer. And as such, he’s worth an estimated $6.6 billion, thanks to Mark Zuckerberg’s historic purchase of WhatsApp in 2014. He’s already donated shares valued at hundreds of millions of dollars to community issues, and this Facebook post marks a more direct step out of the business world and into the nonprofit universe.

If Acton was nothing more than a highly successful businessperson moving on with his life, I probably wouldn’t have paid any attention. But I am myself someone who spent a big chunk of his career founding, growing and then eventually leaving a user-focused, tech-for-good nonprofit. Significant new players in this field are rare and interesting, and there are all sorts of reasons why Acton might be the most interesting new arrival ever. To explain why, I need to step back a couple of paces, and explain the fundamental challenge with the entire tech-for-good sector.

Explosive Complexity

Every successful nonprofit organization or campaign group has to assemble a range of moving parts to have a chance of succeeding. Even the simplest of soup kitchens needs to bring together property, volunteers, food, equipment, energy and more before they can hand out a single plate of food. If even one of those is missing, or badly delivered, the whole thing can fall to bits.

This is where digital technologies bring extra excitement and risk. Modern tech is a bit like a volatile rocket fuel when it comes to new organizations and projects: It can massively increase your impact (think Wikipedia), but not infrequently, it can blow up in your face and leave you with a load of smoking wreckage for your considerable investment. Funding and running nonprofits that are highly digital is like taking a double-or-quits bet about impact—but times a hundred.

To avoid this fate, successful digitally enabled nonprofits (such as Crisis Textline or Frontline) need to get a whole bunch of really difficult things just right, including: product design and product conceptualization skills; user-centered design skills; market analysis skills; engineering and design skills; a realistic theory of change; and money and other scarce resources, like passionate volunteers.

Getting all these lined up is really hard. So hard, in fact, that total project failure is not at all uncommon in the tech-for-good world, and why the whole sector is littered with projects that almost got going but didn’t ever really launch. You might think this is true of all startup fields, but the cycle in tech-for-good is especially vicious, and the money and the tech-savvy talent don’t naturally come from the same places.

A Unique Starting Point

Brian Acton starts in a remarkable and almost unprecedented position for someone starting a tech-driven nonprofit because he can almost certainly tick off all the items on the list above before he even starts. This is what made me sit up and pay attention to his Facebook post.

So obviously, he can tick the "money" item off that list pretty easily. But it’s the other items that are actually more rare amongst traditional donors. For example, you only have to open WhatsApp to understand how much Acton and his circle clearly know about product design, engineering, and responding diligently to user feedback and complaints. But if he only understood the iPhone-buying demographic, that wouldn’t make for a very promising nonprofit—the skills would likely be irrelevant.

However, WhatsApp is a famous exception to the "isn’t everyone middle class?" assumption baked into so many Silicon Valley products. Its co-founders were famously interested in the lives and constraints of people whose most valuable possession was a $10 Nokia phone, and for whom 1 cent per SMS was an unaffordable and frustrating expense. They actually beat competitors partly because they understood what it was like to live like this. This perspective will be an amazing asset if Acton plans to run a project that will be of value to people who don’t drive everywhere in the latest Tesla.

Now, that said, whilst I think Acton’s in a fantastic position, there are still some things I’d like to convey to him and the team that I imagine he’s building. Here’s what I’d write to him, if I still actually wrote letters:

Hi Brian, Hi Team!

You don’t know me, I’m just some British guy who reads the internet a lot, and who spent a good chunk of his adult life trying to build public-good digital applications before working in the funding world. Because of your skills and resources, I think you’ve got a fantastic chance of starting something really important, and there’s a whole load of stuff I could tell you that you already know. But I’ve wracked my brains, and here are some things that might be of use to you.

There’s a lot of knowledge from past failures lurking in the tech-for-good scene, so seek them out. A lot of people have already tried to build a lot of digital services to make the world a better place, with a predictably high failure rate. But this sector doesn’t have a TechCrunch that documents every last story, so you can’t just read about it all online in one place. Instead of Googling, you should try asking around among some of the sector’s more connected people, to see if you can fix conversations with people who might already have tried projects like the one you’re working on, to save you some pain that might be avoided.

Work hard to articulate and toughen up your new venture’s "theory of change." Even if they don’t use that strange jargon phrase, most nonprofits have one of these anyway. What it means is that deep within the heads of most non-profit founders is an idea of roughly this form: "If only we can do thing X, then good thing Y will happen (or bad thing Z will stop happening)." It’s really easy to get quite a long way down the road to setting up a nonprofit without ever really articulating or testing your theory of change because, well, nobody demands it of you. But if you don’t have a good one, it almost inevitably bites you badly on the backside later on, when the going gets trickier. So get yourself a few good, disinterested people to kick the tires of your idea a few times, and see if you can spell out your theory of change really clearly.

Don’t fudge the nonprofit/for-profit choice. It is very tempting to try to build an organization that’s a hybrid for-profit and nonprofit so that it has some sustainability, whilst still doing socially valuable nonprofit work. Having witnessed many attempts to do this, I am now of the view that organizations are much more focused and successful if they stick clearly in one camp or the other. If your idea is really more like a for-profit, make it as a for-profit—there are great social-impact businesses out there. If your idea is truly incapable of making a return, don’t mess it up by giving it a distracting secondary business mission. I’ve written on this before, elsewhere.

Be aware if you’re about to compete with someone you might not know already exists. Markets are fundamentally about the virtues of competition, and competition can be quite valuable in the nonprofit world, too. However, please be aware that if you launch a new competitor to an existing organization that the reaction won’t be the same as it would be in a traditional business—observers and future partners might be horrified rather than impressed; they might diss you instead of celebrating you. So take a bit of time to determine whether or not you’re actually competing with anyone else (even a tiny micro-project), and then if you do, be kind and respectful about it, even if you do end up replacing it.

Build systems for honest feedback. People in the nonprofit world are terribly nice. They’re not really like your historical tech customers who love to complain about every tiny feature choice and bug. If your nonprofit project sucks, people are still quite likely to tell you it’s lovely and you’re a good person for running it. So you need to establish special systems to truly listen for signals through the thick curtain of politeness. If everything you hear is that your nonprofit is awesome, you need to invest more time and money to hear the voices that are not content.

O.K., it’s late night here in Olde England, so take care and good luck!

***

Tom Steinberg is Digital Transformation Lead at the Big Lottery Fund, the UK’s largest community funder. He was the founder of mySociety, a civic tech organisation. His other writings are available here.

[Entire post — click on the title link to read it at Inside Philanthropy.]

***

At Creative Sage™, we love to connect corporate leaders and entrepreneurs with good causes, and help companies start genuine Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability, Social Entrepreneurship, Intrapreneurship, Impact Investing and/or philanthropy programs that are a win-win for all partners. We’re also researching new developments in the Sharing Economy that include new business models to increase profits, and also support social good.

Please do not hesitate to email us if you would like to discuss your situation and find out more about how we can help your organization move forward to a more innovative and profitable future, strengthening your branding and resonance with customers while helping to do good in the world through appropriate, authentic CSR partnerships with nonprofits, philanthropists, educational institutions and programs, or government agencies and community organizations.

We can also help you connect with celebrities and other notable people who can help amplify your message of social good, or headline entertainment events and concerts for good causes. You can call us at 1-510-845-5510 in San Francisco / Silicon Valley. We look forward to talking with you!

***

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hottytoddynews · 7 years ago

Link

Abby Bruce stands at 17,060 feet in front of Montaña de Siete Colores in Cusco, Peru. Photo courtesy Abby Bruce

Since she was 5 years old, Abby Bruce, of Saltillo, has wanted to be fluent in Spanish. Thanks to an endowment created by a private gift to the University of Mississippi, the senior will graduate with a degree not just in Spanish but also in international studies.

Every day, in classrooms and labs across the UM campus, students are moving closer to earning college degrees. For many, higher education is a critical step toward realizing a lifelong dream, one made easier to attain by the generosity of Ole Miss alumni and friends.

Like Bruce, two other UM students – Miranda Craft of Jackson, Missouri, and Mikayla Johnson of Mooreville – are finding that scholarships have enabled them to have a better-than-expected college experience. And these are just three examples of the more than 2,600 Ole Miss students on scholarship during the fall 2017 semester.

This year, Bruce received the Alfred William Milden Scholarship, which is designated for rising seniors majoring in the fields of ancient or foreign language.

“The scholarship has enabled me to pursue my language study even further and to have the means to travel to study the language intensely,” Bruce said.

Upon receiving the award, Bruce felt compelled to write the Milden family a personal thank-you note, attaching several pictures of her study abroad experience in Peru last semester. Pictures included sights such as Machu Picchu, one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World.”

“Those are experiences that you have to search for and, as always, it’s nice to have a little more financial support,” said Bruce, who wants to return to Latin America soon. “After you’ve immersed yourself once, you crave that adventure again.

“And I now have a good group of Columbian, Mexican, Peruvian and Chilean friends – connections that make me want to return even more.”

Bruce, a member of the Croft Institute for International Studies and Phi Kappa Phi honor society, hopes to have a career in which she can communicate in Spanish.

“Even if the job itself doesn’t use Spanish, I’d like to live somewhere that utilizes that language, whether that’s a different country or a region of the states with a large Hispanic population,” she said. “I want to continue to improve.”

During her time at Ole Miss, Bruce has been a member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College as well as an active member of Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority.

Craft is the recipient of the Everett-Williams Memorial, which has enabled her to pursue a pharmacy degree by eliminating the financial burden of tuition.

“This scholarship has given me additional aid toward my dream of becoming a pharmacist and impacting the medical field,” said Craft, a member of the American Pharmacists Association, Phi Mu sorority, Phi Kappa Phi honor society and Kappa Epsilon, a professional pharmacy fraternity.

The scholarship has also given Craft experiences that she believes will be valuable to her career path.

“The highlight of the scholarship was being able to attend the monthly dinners and meet leaders in the context of Oxford and the university while being inspired by their different outlooks on life,” said Craft, adding that she also appreciates her scholarship’s mentorship component.

“It has changed my outlook on life by giving me the opportunity to interact with strong leaders on campus.”

Johnson, the recipient of the Mildred H. Center Council Scholarship, said her dream of attending medical school would not be possible without financial support.

The scholarship is granted to students through the Ole Miss Women’s Council and is endowed by the R.H. and Mildred Center Foundation. Johnson applied for the scholarship as a high school senior and has been a recipient since her freshman year. She is also the recipient of the Rural Physicians Scholarship that the University of Mississippi Medical Center awards.

“I hope to practice pediatrics and come back to Pontotoc,” Johnson said. “I didn’t really have the means and Ole Miss wasn’t really in my plan. I just applied to see what would happen.”

As an OMWC scholar, Johnson meets weekly with her mentors to discuss anything from test grades to career plans. She also has developed strong relationships with fellow scholars, for which she is thankful.

“We met before the first day of school our freshman year, so it was nice to see a familiar face because I didn’t know anybody coming here,” Johnson said. “Also, I’ve enjoyed the relationships with Nora Capwell (OMWC program director) and Suzanne Helveston (OMWC career and leadership director) because it’s nice to have someone to talk to.

“I feel like those relationships are definitely going to go past my time at Ole Miss.”

The OMWC recently introduced the Global Leadership Circle, a philanthropy program that provides opportunities for donors to sponsor students hoping to pursue international studies or internships. Johnson plans to use the scholarship to study abroad next summer.

“I’ve been talking with Nora, and there is a chemistry class offered in Paris that would allow me to study the chemistry of food and also the culture,” Johnson said. “I’m a chemistry minor and so if I get to travel for this class, it will definitely be the highlight of my program.”

Johnson is a member of the Honors College, Phi Kappa Phi honor society, American Medical Student Association and American Medical Women’s Association.

For information on endowing a scholarship at UM, contact Sandra Guest, vice president of the UM Foundation, at 662-915-5208, [email protected] or visit http://www.umfoundation.com/makeagift.

By Mary Katherine Withers

For more questions or comments email us at [email protected].

The post Private Giving Offers Students More than Expected appeared first on HottyToddy.com.

#hottytoddy #olemiss #oxfordms #oxford ms #mississippi #university of mississippi #the grove

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bookworm-2692 · 3 years ago

Text

I posted 13,055 times in 2021

9 posts created (0%)

13046 posts reblogged (100%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 1449.6 posts.

I added 2,939 tags in 2021

#red vs blue - 840 posts

#doctor who - 627 posts

#zero escape - 362 posts

#bbc ghosts - 221 posts

#999 spoilers - 213 posts

#atla - 166 posts

#fic recs - 134 posts

#eurovision - 131 posts

#star wars - 129 posts

#vlr spoilers - 116 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#and so my cousin was like ‘oh that’s not a word. theyve removed gullible from the dictionary’ and granny was like ‘what they cant do that!’

My Top Posts in 2021

Men vadå - sju låter och ingen Thomas G:son??? Vart är han? Känner han okej?

5 notes • Posted 2021-02-06 19:52:46 GMT

Christer Björkman, vinnaren av Melodifestivalen 1992, pratade med Arvingarna, vinnarer av Melodifestivalen 1993

6 notes • Posted 2021-02-06 20:32:12 GMT

Oh also loved how Christer was nudging Arvingarna like “if you win you’ll sing in Eurovision in an English version right? Right?” And they were like “maybe. Or in Swedish!!”

10 notes • Posted 2021-02-06 20:34:05 GMT

For the ZE Ask Game: 1b, 1e, 2a, 3d, 5e, 5f and 5n!

Thank you for sending the asks! I love talking about Zero Escape so thank you for enabling me :D

Questions from here

1b: Favourite character design?

1e: Favourite scene?

2a: Least favourite character?

Wow that turned into a bit of a rant. Whoops?

3d: Rank the endings

I have been given the choice to either rank the true ends across the three games, or all the endings within a particular game. I am so bad at choices ugh.

Anyway, the true ends:

5e: Rant about something you liked from the games

So the colour symbolism is obviously strongest in 999, but I really like it.

5f: Rant about something you disliked from the games

So I reckon, even though Clover said that, that she was simply wrong. That was the current theory SOIS had, but.... they don’t have to be right.

See the full post

16 notes • Posted 2021-04-14 00:07:55 GMT

It was my friend’s birthday the other month, so I gifted her a sketchbook and decided to a Clover in it to christen the book! The drawing was accidentally too big for the page so I had to add a flap haha.

Enjoy a Clover drawn traditionally in coloured pencils!

41 notes • Posted 2021-06-23 23:36:16 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #about me #idk the first two tags were automatically there so they can stay I guess lmao #you can definitely tell I’m a blog who reblogs rather than posts #also you can super tell my new hyperfixation - 840 tags for rvb but I didn’t start watching it until September 2021? Whoops #anyway #enjoy!

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