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natsumebookss · 6 months

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State of the Nebula

I'll get the good news out of the way first--I'm remastering and finalizing Espoir and Bijou's designs and commissioning a new piece featuring my magical girl duo! It'll be '90s style manga art, so I'm super excited!

But you know what I'm not super excited about? Writing the damn thing. I've been in a creative rut since finishing Imperfect Storm, and I've mostly been writing little scenes from future books instead of prioritizing a Book 2. For awhile, I didn't know why or where to go from here, but now I do. And the reason is that...I've been hiding some stuff about Premiere Nebula from everyone.

(Discussion/critique of what I'm gonna call "Tumblr magical girl culture" will be down below. Just being a magical girl fan on Tumblr doesn't mean you're one of the people I'm talking about. It's like the difference between an "adult who likes Disney movies" and a "Disney adult.")

So I don't think we talk enough about self-censorship in the writing community. Sure, we talk about things like how actual book blurbs are starting to contain words like "unalive" now, but we don't talk about the more insidious and pervasive version that comes from censoring out dark topics altogether. The utter fear that, if I write this thing or this subplot, the people I want to market this to will hate me for it. And because I want to please the people I want to market this to, I don't write it, even if it fits perfectly into the plot.

This is the hell Premiere Nebula has been in for years. Yes, it's a story that's essentially about kidnapping and the various mental health effects it has on its victims, but it can't be too fucked-up because it's also a magical girl story. Plotlines like the Manufacturer liking the dark spirit he's created from day one, even though she's resided in Valka's body since she was a minor, were scrapped and left only to implication until these plotlines came to the attention of my pre-readers. In complete opposition to what I thought they would say, they said things like "this adds a lot to the story" and "it's almost creepier if a mass child kidnapper didn't have some weird obsession with kids in that way." They loved the criminal psychology behind it, something I've had a morbid fascination with since I was a kid.

But even then, I couldn't write it.

This is where I might offend some people and get some anon hate, but I'll say it anyway: magical girl fans on Tumblr can be just as toxic as those sorts of cartoon fans. (Again, talking about the Disney adults of magical girl stuff, which likely doesn't include any of my followers on this blog.) Ever since Madoka Magica came out, there's been this boiling hatred of darker magical girl concepts that has never fully gone away and an assumption that all dark MG series are inherently exploitative. There's also a silent pressure to make your stories more in the Precure or Sailor Moon style (or at least, what's perceived as "Sailor Moon style;" there's a discussion to be had of how the manga is pretty damn dark and the people who call Sailor Moon "light" may not be fully familiar with the original source material, but that's magical girl mansplaining for another day). Anyway, for awhile, that's what I thought I wanted PN to be--a story about both a rebel group and a group of friends who had funny moments and fought enemies that were, in hindsight, watered down versions of what I wanted them to be.

The ideal Premiere Nebula that I want to write is probably somewhere in between Madoka and Utena. A lot of the elements I've toned down so far are the Utena-like ones that deal with child exploitation and how manipulative adults like Akio take advantage of minor's naive perceptions of the world. People joke about Utena as "the magical girl series with trigger tags," but when I rewatched it, it made me realize that my original concept of PN had been like that, too. Just off the top of my head, I can think of "ideal PN" as having the following TWs:

kidnapping

frank discussions of mental health

suicide (no explicit depictions, mostly talking about how the rebel leader Valka is immensely suicidal and how her friends have had to talk her down many times)

physical and verbal abuse (mostly from Omega's ex, who she leaves in Book 1)

child abuse

non-consensual magical acts (brainwashing, as well as Stelle being forced to exchange magic with Alarice akin to a forced fusion in Steven Universe)

addiction

grooming (mostly looked at through a non-sexual lens with a ton of vampire/thrall imagery, long story short I've been listening to that one Olivia Rodrigo song a lot)

the aforementioned pedophilic implications of falling in love with a spirit in a child's body, like if Victor Frankenstein was even more fucked-up

Many of these have been self-censored to varying degrees in the finished Nebula product, with the last one being practically non-existent. But here's the thing: I'm not sure I want it to stay this way. I want PN to be a magical girl series that's "for adults" in more than just a superficial sense--I want to discuss things in it that happen to teenage girls and adult women in ways that children's media can't.

I have no problem with people who love traditional magical girl stories and children's entertainment. I'm one of them! But sometimes, I feel like the vocal minority stifles my creativity and, since most of the magical girl people I've met have been on here, makes me scared that there's no place for a story like mine as I want to write it. Sometimes, I wonder if that's been my real biggest fear after all.

I don't know how to end this, really. I may delete it down the road if I feel like I've vented too much here. But I want Premiere Nebula to stay a concept that shows my love of both dark and light media, something I jokingly call "pastel goth." I feel like anything less would just, well, not be Premiere Nebula anymore. I don't want to keep pretending it's something it's not anymore, even if it loses me potential readers. I want to get back to the way I was before, where I'd just write a scene without wondering how the fandom at large would see it.

Most of all, it'd be a disservice to the people who've read and followed my Premiere Nebula content until now to not receive a finished product written how the writer fully intended it. You all have been thoroughly amazing to me and gotten me through more hard times than you'll ever know. If Premiere Nebula--Alexandria's Version (as much as Taylor Swift annoys me, this is the best metaphor I have for this situation) isn't your cup of tea, I completely understand and wish you the best. But if you're the type of person who some darker social commentary with your magical girl stories, I hope I can do the concept justice for you.

Either way, I hope I was able to give you a fun experience with what little I have now, and I hope to keep doing so with a renewed inspiration.

#magia record #premiere nebula #alexandria rambles #may delete later #long post

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dowagersqueen · 9 months

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I’m not trying to be pedantic or rude here, so you are of course welcome to just ignore this! Just my thoughts on a book that people take both too literally and not for it’s word 🥲 The line about Helaena and Alicent being loved by the small folk is blown up by both teams imho- the whole construct of the book is that the maester writing it is biased as he’s covering it post all of these events. So, like actual historians, he’s making a connection between the riots in KL/storming of the dragonpit and Helaena’s death, since they occur so close to one another. The disruptions are already brewing for some time, as Rhaenyra has been taxing the citizens severely to fund the war, not to mention they/their families are dying as a result of this inner Targ beef. Aegon, on the other hand, hasn’t been seen for months since Rhaenyra took the castle. So he, and his queen, who is shut up in her room 24/7, seem like “better rulers” by comparison. There’s nothing in the text that says Helaena is particularly involved with the small folk or contributing to them- it’s a great trait! I think it works for her and I know many people have written it into fics. The small folk come to the dragon pit and kill Dreamfyre quite brutally. There’s no way they wouldn’t have known she was Helaena’s dragon. If they were rioting in her name, would they really have gotten so carried away that they murder her beloved dragon? Who knows. Again I hope this does not come across as arguing, you are free to interpret as you want!

on one hand, sure, i do not think the small folk held uncondtional love for any of them because that's not... possible or to be expected, however, if we take it like this, that can also be said about rhaenyra.

i think considering that grrm was obviously focused on team black while writing it, and wasn't as generous with the greens, there is something to be said about the fact that he emphsized that both alicent and helaena were loved, and this before and iirc not in relation to rhaenyra's troublesome rule later in the story.

the book exaggerates some parts and romanticizes others, but i don't think it's fair to scrutinize whether or not there's truth or deep powerful meaning to alicent and helaena being loved by the people while entertaining every possible obviously romantciized line about rhaenyra. and besides this point, it's also okay for greens to entertain and talk and uphold positive things said about the greens.

as for dreamfyre: again, the smallfolk did not love the targaryens uncondtionally and i don't think that could ever be the case. like you underlined, the smallfolk were suffering a lot due to the war: there were shortages, people dying, places destroyed, economical problems, etc. like rhaenyra says in episode 10 "when dragons flew to war, everything burned".

at the end of the day for the smallfolk these dragons were like beasts and weapons at the same time. sure they had grandour, sure they could be used for good things, but at that point they had been one of the most important element that was making their lives worse. it took a preacher to get them started and some say it was a conspiracy, but i'm sure that resentment towards them existed. and of course by extension to at least some of their riders.

so i don't personally think that the smallfolk storming the dragonpit to kill what the "weapons" they taught were causing the suffering is a sure proof that hey, they didn't love helaena like that. they also killed the very young dragons of princess jaehaera and dead princess jaehaerys aka morghul and shrykos. they would have killed as many of them as they could.

the show might go the way you're suggesting, where they'll try to show us that the people actually hate alicent and by extension helaena and that any love they have is propganda, because the show is imo biased, but we shall see.

i did not take your ask to be rude, don't worry, but i do feel like this never happens with other women in the story (in a serious discussion, i mean, not silly tweets), where every positive aspect is picked apart. i'll personally say that they were loved, but the war changed the smallfolk as much as it changed them. you're of course welcome to believe they were not that loved which is why they killed her dragon too.

#asks #helaena targaryen

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trendingfunnygifs · 4 years

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Since there is a lot of discussion about what infographics are and are not, I created a Venn Diagram showing some of the key components of an infographic.

#Infographic #infographics #best infographics #reddit infographics #Since there is a lot of discussio

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paradoxesofgalaxies · 2 years

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This one gets morbid. Content warning for discussios of death

I don't even remember what started it, but we spiralled on the thought of dying early. This was a chaotic deluge of conflicting parts so the following might be confusing or out of order because it was

Some parts are convinced we will die early. Honestly, to some extent, most of us are, though for some us that means 60s while others think we'll be dead in our 40s.

The thoughts of having maybe a decade left sparked fears from other parts related to not never getting back on our feet, never getting better

It feels like we restarted our life at 30. We lost so much during our time in the Manor our subsequent escape. All of our savings were squandered and we ended up massively in debt, our credit in ruins, and we had moved back in with our parents. All this while discovering our DID and having a drastic shift in the parts who were active. As a part, i was born out of this chaos. It feels like that is when my life began.

And we've made a lot of progress since our escape. We've grown a lot.

But it still feels like we're waiting. Waiting to transition. Waiting until we can get a therapist. Waiting for the next step.

And from the perspective of those convinced we have maybe a decade left, it doesn't feel like enough time. Will we die having only been a burden? Will heal only for things to end?

Of course, no time is guaranteed. We could die tomorrow. But it's hard to plan for the future when so many parts don't think we have one.

#galactic gab #parts stuff

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minimarker · 5 years

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The Talllle of Glennnn and Daaaale

(and Gaiiiil and Marrrrsha)

(Note: some of the footage of the 2017 P4A was lost. This compilation was the best I could do from my memory and the footage available. If I made any mistakes or forgot any parts I apologize.)

In the 2017 Project for Awesome the Missoula crew were hanging out the first night when Brit Garner brought a bunch of props from a local theatre. As Hank said, “Brit is here and she brought… something terrifying.” That terrifying thing was Glennnn the sheep. From one angle Glennnn looks like he smoked a bunch of weed and then killed someone. From another angle Glennnn looks like he’s very tired and knows a lot about you. From yet another angle Glennnn looks proud, like a spiritual teacher. Like a gentler Rafiki mentor. Apparently, Victoria looks at Hank like Glennnn a lot, especially when he has “ideas.” Glennnn reminds Hank of Undertale. At one point Glennnn was called the Merlin to Hank’s King Arthur. Hank quickly became so attached to Glennnn that he promised to work Glennnn into the sequel to his book.

Glennnn came to the stream with two hats: a green visor and a gold crown. When wearing the green visor, it seemed like he will do your shady taxes and launder your money for you. Or maybe play poker with his friends. Does he have a gambling problem? No, he’s just a CPA. When wearing the crown, he is King Glennnn. We will get to that later.

Soon a consensus was made on the spelling of Glennnn. Glennnn must have 4 n’s, three of which are silent. It does not matter which three are silent. Later we learned that Glennnn is pronounced “Glen” if the last three n’s are silent and “Gle-n” if one of the later n’s is the audible one. At this point chat was overtaken with sheep emojis, all from Glennnn the Sheep Father. Some chatters went overboard and were informed that Glennnn can’t have five n’s, we must keep it reasonable!

Quickly we learned more about Glennnn: he is a hollow shell full of wisdom … and MURDER. Hank claimed that NASA is hiding the fact that for years they have observed Glennnn through a powerful telescope. Someone claimed that Deadpool wishes he didn’t wear such a skin-tight suit and instead wore Glennnn’s hat… and nothing else.

Meanwhile, the nerdfighters quickly made social media accounts for him. Glennnn The Sheep soon had an Instagram with a screenshot of the P4A stream as the profile picture. The bio read “Hi, my name is Glennnn, the last three n’s are silent. My favorite people are the Nerdfighters that are currently watching the livestream of the Project for Awesome!” A twitter account was also made for Glennnn, @GlennTheSheep. Later, when describing the discrepancy in n’s on social media, we were advised to type as many n’s as your heart tells you to find Glennnn on social media.

Soon Matthew Gaydos joined the stream and was introduced to Glennnn. Matt found his legs “interesting” and when chat asked him how to buy the sheep Matt said “You can’t! Glennnn is a human! No, he’s not!” Hank questioned if Glennnn is 100% sheep and Matt clarified that he is 4% wood and 96% sheep. When Matt had to step away he left Glennnn in charge of the stream.

Somehow Glennnn lost his hat. Matt gave him the crown and declared him King Glennnn. King Glennnn of the Glen, Hank added. It is Glennnn’s Glen, he is not king of the forest. Daaaale is his brother, King of the Dale. And Marrrrsha, of the Marsh, is their sister. Clearly glens were named for Glennnn. As Hank said “If Glennnn can see you, you are in his Glen. You are turning into a sheep. Can you feel it?”

Hank invented a new version of Instagram for Glennnn: Glennnnstagram. All pictures on it are of sheep and glens, except the one picture of a dale from when Glennnn visited Daaaale. Chat suggested a Glennnn theme park and Matt seemed confused about what that would entail. Hank suggested making a hat with Glennnn on it as a perk for P4A 2018 (as of the posting of this it has not been announced as a perk but Glennnn and Daaaale plushies are totally a thing!). Much of this conversation happened while Hank’s face was being painted to look like Pizza John. Hank then declared that Hank-Pizza John Green of the Glen is a subject of King Glennnn. Chat requested that someone kiss Glennnn and Matt promised that someone would at 1.4 million dollars. Hank offered to kiss Glennnn, although I am not sure if he ever did.

Soon talk turned to a major event in Glennnn’s past. Apparently, a sheep’s hair is only shorn when he loses in battle. Glennnn’s hair is the longest in the Glen. Daaaale’s hair is slightly longer. Glennnn of the Glen is the hero of the Battle of Glen-Dale. The elves know him. Songs have been dedicated to Glennnn. It is proposed that Lin-Manuel Miranda or Al Roker should write a musical of the battle of Glen-Dale.

Then Rodney appeared and it was confirmed that Glennnn has Rodney’s back because, of course he does. Rodney said, “the sheep is everything” and as Glennnn was passed from person to person we learned that holding Glennnn feels so right that you forget he’s there. For a time Glennnn wore the frog hat instead of his crown. We also learned that Glennnn plays the banjo just like Ed Helms and Ryan is his middle name. Maia and Valerie drew Glennnn eating corn in a timed competition.

The next day we learned that Glennnn is everyone’s baby. He belongs to the world. Unknowingly, Destin was encouraging donations by offering to write donors’ names on magnets and one was a sheep. The chat insisted that the sheep was Glennnn. Soon a donation came in from Glennnn but Destin rejected his name because he “is not a real person.” The chat declared that while other magnets were worth a certain donation amount the sheep should cost $1000 in honor of Glennnn. Ben donated $1000 and Destin insisted “but does he want the sheep?” He then offered that Ben could name the sheep whatever he wanted. When Destin wrote on the sheep he could feel how much it mattered to chat. “This is the most important thing I’m gonna write on a sheep, probably in my life.” Destin writes “Ben (Glenn)” and chat quickly corrected: Glennnn has four n’s.

Back with the Missoula crew we learned that Glennnn is Tuna’s favorite quadruped. Since we had last seen the Missoula crew, Ashe had made a painting of Glennnn. The donations reached a milestone and Brit brought in a surprise. DAAAALE HAD ARRIVED! Daaaale bowed to Glennnn, for he was the hero of the Battle of Glen-Dale.

“All hail Daaaale!” someone declared. “Disagree!” countered Hank. Soon it was questioned where Marrrrsha is and Brit clarified “I drive a Honda Civic, I can only do so much.” After a brief debate, it is confirmed that Daaaale has four a’s and can be pronounced as “Dale” or with a bleating sound in the middle (like a sheep). Soon the battle between Glennnn and Daaaale was sparking again, they began to tally a donation battle between the brothers. “Is the vote just a tally? I’ve made a spreadsheet!” someone said, proving how nerdy we all are. The spreadsheet was put to use as the tally was called the “popular vote” and the spreadsheet was used to count the amount donated to each sheep. Suddenly most of the Missoula crew was on Daaaale’s side. “We’re just excited by the new thing” said Caitlin (and seconded by Hank).

The following was determined about the First Battle of Glen-Dale:

-It took place in 1994 (Possibly 640? Possibly yesterday? It couldn’t have been yesterday!)

-Different spellings are all accepted: Glen-Dale, Glennnndale, Glennnn-Daaaale

-Hank’s recap of the Battle: “This is Glennnn, king of the Glen. This is Daaaale, king (queen?) of the Dale. The Dale and Glen were once one land until the Battle of Glennnndaaaale. Very sad for Gaiiiil, their mom. Their sister, Marrrrsha, inherited the Marsh that no one wanted, so it is a peaceful land.”

Now we are in the Second Battle of GlennnnDale! Accusations were thrown at the brothers and slogans were created:

-Glennnn had cow pox and did not tell his lady-friends about it

-A vote for Glennnn is a vote for cow pox for the entire flock

-Tip the scale for Daaaale

-Justice for Daaaale

-A win for Glennnn is a fail for Daaaale

-Daaaale has kind eyes (contrasting the discussion of Glennnn’s eyes from the first day)

-“If Daaaale fails I will wail”- Julie

-Glennnn is such a good friend!

-RiverDAAAALE!

-What do we know about Daaaale? Nothing!

-Daaaale is against Net Neutrality

-We are feeling sheepish about Glennnn

-Daaaale will prevail

-Tip the scale for Daaaale

-Glennnn and Daaaale have beef with each other

-A vote for Daaaale is a vote for a world of snacks

The Battle paused to introduce and catch up the new guests. Brit explained everything as “Brit brings props from community theatre but they are now their own things and stories.” At this point Daaaale was wearing Shrek ears because Shrek lives in a swamp. (I’m still confused on this one since a dale is not a swamp.) The new guests were happy to jump into the Battle and insisted that cow pox gave us vaccines. As their connection to the stream went in and out it was commented that the Battle is causing wooly connections and shear brilliance of puns. I’m not sure you herd me. Chat declared the puns to be flocking awesome.

As the Battle waged on and the donations continued to pour in Brit called for peace: “I need to take them back in the same vehicle.” Hank agreed, adding that Glennnn and Daaaale need to go sit in the same basement together. Soon donations were submitted for peace and were tallied under the joint ticket of Gaiiiil and Marrrrrsha. Unfortunately, this peace was short-lived as the debate was reignited by the question of if Glennnn or Daaaale is older. Eventually it was decided that they are twins but Glennnn is older.

As is to be expected, Harry Potter was soon pulled into the battle. In the heat of anger Glennnn was declared a Slytherin but it was soon walked back. He is a Gryffindor. Daaaale is definitely a Hufflepuff. Both Glennnn and Daaaale love Harry Potter. The discussion of Harry Potter brought us back to Nerdfighteria and Brotherherd 2.0 was born, as were its fans the Herdfighters of Herdfighteria. Quietly Brit lamented, “Why do I feel like they are never going to be returned?”

“I’m for Daaaale, but when I look into Glennnn’s eyes I feel the need to vote for him” commented Hank. There is definitely something about Glennnn’s eyes. Ben (possibly the same Ben from before) made a big donation in Glennnn’s name. He was declared Glennnn’s SuperPAC which was soon replaced with SuperHERD (or SuperFLOCK). Since Glennnn was given larger donations than Daaaale, Glennnn was declared a puppet for Big Sheep. Soon the Second Battle of GlennnnDaaaale was ended due to the $5154 donation that did not vote for either sheep. The votes were tallied and Glennnn won the Second Battle of GlennnnDaaaale.

As they were finishing up for the night Brit went to wash dishes and found a picture of Reed hugging a different sheep from the theatre… and also a large goat (which Brit did not bring to the stream because it was too big).

You would think that would be the end of Glennnn and Daaaale for the evening BUT NO! They traveled to Synema Studios to visit that crew into the wee hours of the morning. Michael Aranda questioned why Glennnn gets to be the lord and savior (and wear the crown). He was then given a quick recap of the story. Soon it was discovered that Glennnn and Daaaale were in marching band together as drummers. As the stream continued the Synema crew gave Daaaale a lot more attention than Glennnn because Glennnn is a king and “Daaaale just lives in a swamp” (Note: a dale is not a swamp). At the end of their shift Michael declared that it was more of an honor to be in Daaaale’s presence than Glennnn’s and chat was offended.

As the 2017 Project for Awesome came to a close Hank thanked Glennnn and Daaaale for their efforts. Glennnn appeared to celebrate the end of the livestream. After John and Hank said goodbye the last shot of the stream was Glennnn.

(Here’s a link to my Butfartman Lore Compliation.)

#Glennnn #Daaaale #Project for Awesome #P4A #Nerdfigher #Nerdfighteria #Butfatman

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marmalade-megumi · 6 years

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if u still taking these keith + don't let them see u cry? ♡

ahh you’re so popular what are you doing on my blog??? but thanks for the ask!! im so flattered lol

since i’m always a slut for 5+1 fics, here are the five times keith fought back tears & the one time he didn’t

card & masterpost

It starts out on the playground.

Keith was running around the kindergarden playground at recess with his friends, Drew and Jayden, when their teacher announced that it was time to go inside. Letting out a collective groan, the class reluctantly began to follow Mr. Blake inside. But Drew looked to Keith and Jayden, with a playfully mischievous glint in his eyes. “Let’s race on the monkey bars, then catch up with the class by the time they get inside!”

And of course, no one denied the challenge. All three boys rushed to the ladder, scrambling to get to the top the fastest. Keith was there first, being the fastest of the three, but the others caught up quickly. Jayden was the strongest, so he finished first.

But as Keith grabbed the last rung, tied with Drew, he lost his grip and fell.

Both Jayden and Drew rushed to his side, asking if he was okay. It took Keith a few seconds to process what had happened, and then realize that his leg hurt a lot. He saw his teacher from across the park begin to notice the commotion, immediately reprimanding the group from not following with the others.

The shock from falling was probably what caused his eyes to well up with tears, moreso than the pain he felt, but either way, he was about to start bawling.

“Are you crying?” Drew asks incredulously, almost mockingly. “We weren’t even that high up! You barely fell!” He laughs in Keith’s face. When their class approaches, following Mr. Blake with interest, he starts to hear more laughter. Keith wills himself to stay calm, to not get too embarrassed, to not get emotional.

“Baby Keith, do you want a pacifier? You want me to get your mommy?” And Keith doesn’t know who said it, can’t identify the voice, but it makes his stomach churn. Resolutely, he stands up and tries not to show how much his leg hurts, crosses his arms over his chest and stares, as maliciously as possible, at his classmates.

“I don’t need a mom,” he states vehemently, still glaring at his class. He doesn’t need to show them how shaken up he feels, how upset, so he reminds himself to keep it together.

He can’t show weakness, he can’t show emotion, he can’t let them see him cry.

Keith hates every second of the funeral. It isn’t anything like what his father would have wanted. It’s too formal, too emotionless, but most of all, too empty. Keith knew his father hadn’t had tons of companions - they’d lived in the desert, for god’s sake - but he at least expected more people to show up at his funeral. It’s just terrible.

And the worst part: his father is gone now. His loving father, his gentle companion, his teacher, his role model. His only family.

He’s alone now.

A small group of people surrounds him at the freshly covered grave, all staring at the headstone. Keith can barely make out the words on it, because his eyes start to water, and he falls to his knees. He just can’t even believe that his father is gone, that he will never see him again. He thinks about how he never got to say goodbye as he hugs the gravestone, wishing it was his dad’s embrace.

He can’t cry though, not with all these people around. He learned his lesson a few years ago and will never make that mistake again. Back then, he had to live without a mom, but now everything has changed. He has to live without his dad, too.

He doesn’t know what’s going to happen to him. He doesn’t know how to live, how to function, how to be happy. His entire future is uncertain now. He’s about to start sobbing when he remembers his father’s words, about how he needs to be strong. He wipes at the unshed tears, finding strength in the memory, and fixes his gaze ahead, emotionless.

After all, he can’t let them see him cry.

“Mr. Kogane, this is not a discussion. You are expelled, as of right now.”

“But Dean Jacobs, it isn’t fair,” he begs, desperate not to lose the best opportunity he’s ever had, “Iverson was antagonizing me, I didn’t mean to!” However, the dean in front of him isn’t keen on second chances, or third, or fifteenth, which is about how many times Keith has messed up here. “Please don’t make me leave, I promise I’ll -”

“As I’ve stated before,” he speaks formally, but letting out frustrated breath, “I am not arguing with you. Go pack your things, and you will be escorted out tomorrow morning.”

And that’s when the reality sets in for Keith. This is it. He’s losing this too, so soon after Shiro was declared dead. He wouldn’t have lashed out if Iverson hadn’t poured salt in his wound, if he knew it would lead to his expulsion. He feels his throat close up with oncoming tears, lip trembling, voice breaking as he pleas, “I have nowhere to go, please don’t kick me out, please.”

“I’m sorry, young man, but you’ve been disobedient one too many times. See yourself out.”

He wants to scream, to yell, to sob, but instead, he just gets up, and leaves. But not before punching a hole in the wall.

When Keith is late again due to his Marmora training, he finds his entire team glaring at him. His stomach plummets at the looks on their faces, angry and resentful and despising him.

He’s disappointed them. The first real family he’s ever had. And that solidifies his decision. He can’t stay here.

When he explains this much to them, he’s met with support. Unwavering support. And even though he knows they’re just trying to help him, it hurts. No one asks him to stay.

Still, they wrap him up in a big hug, they tell him they’ll miss him, and most of them have tears in their eyes. He wants to cry too, especially when Lance asks who he’s gonna make fun of. Because, damn, that boy was the first real friend he’s ever had - complete with playful teasing and unending support. And he won’t be able to see Shiro every day, to make sure he’s safe and healthy. He won’t stay up with Pidge, talking about conspiracy theories. He won’t learn how to cook from Hunk. He won’t bond with Allura or learn from Coran.

He refuses to get too upset though, and just smiles at them gently before exiting the room.

He cries himself to sleep that night, but at least no one is around to see it.

“You’re my…mom?” He knows his voice is wavering, he knows he sounds so vulnerable but, fuck, he can’t help it. He’s gone his entire life thinking he’d never meet her, let alone during intergalactic war. He stutters through a few more rushed questions, sounding desperate and pathetic the entire time.

But she brushes him off, insisting that the issue isn’t important now. Implying that he doesn’t matter. And he honestly should’ve known; she left him alone on Earth when he was little. What made him think that things would be any different now? She’s still the same heartless woman that abandoned him and his father.

His eyes water with the sting of rejection, but he fights it down, buries all his feelings under a cold gaze and reserved posture. She doesn’t deserve to know her effect on him. She doesn’t deserve the satisfaction of hurting him.

When they get back to Earth, Keith doesn’t quite no where to go. Everyone is going back to see their families and, since Krolia stayed back with the blade to quell resistant Galran loyalists, Keith is kind of alone again. So he returns to his shack, checks on his motorbike, and cooks himself a pathetic dinner with the leftover canned veggies from his pantry.

The next day, Pidge calls him up and invites him to dinner, promising that the whole team will be their with their families. He feels foolish going alone, but agrees anyway. When he shows up, the house is lively and decorated, insinuating a mother celebrating the return of her family. It makes Keith feel warm inside. When he walks in, a chorus of voices greets him.

“Happy Birthday, Keith!”

Except it’s January.

They seem to notice the confusion on his face, so Hunk takes a step forward, placing his hand on Keith’s shoulder. “We know it isn’t your actual birthday,” he explains, nervous smile on his lips. “But you were with the Blade during your actual birthday, so we never got to celebrate with you! We had parties for everyone else, and you’re an important part of our team, so we figured since we have some down time, we could celebrate with you…?”

And for the first time in his life, Keith doesn’t fight back the tears.

The smile on his face is blinding, even though everyone looks confused for a second. Then, they each step up and embrace him in a group hug, as he cries happy tears into their shoulders. “I love you guys.”

And being loved in return is certainly a feeling Keith could get used to.

#lily answers prompts #bad things happen bingo #prompt: don't let them see you cry #keith whump #keith angst #kangst #voltron #vld #vld keith #keith and his team #my writing #my ficlet #keith and his mom #keith and his dad #krolia #texas kogane #autumngerard

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stellar-stag · 7 years

Text

The Problem With Tech

Disclaimer: The opinions reflected in this essay are my own and do not represent LinkedIn, Inc. For any questions regarding LinkedIn, please direct inquiries to [email protected].

(don't wanna be sued or fired, so...)

Juicero is the hot new joke right now. A startup offering a $400 juicer (or juice bag squeezer, I suppose) that has an internet connection and QR scanner to keep you from drinking anything that's spoiled or recalled, with the distinct side effect of being legally unable to obtain your juice if the scanner breaks, your internet or Juicero's server goes down, someone hacks the juicer, etc etc. When a company has to issue a statement asking people to not manually squeeze their product despite it being both easy and the purpose of the product, something has gone horribly awry.

And we laugh and we mock, but underneath it all I feel that this is an issue that's perfectly representative of some of THE crucial issues in West Coast Tech right now (I would say Silicon Valley, but Seattle and Los Angeles companies are equally guilty). Some of you must be wondering how this could have possibly gotten through four rounds of investing, extensive design and user testing, and release before these issues came up.

It's not that they didn't know. It's that they didn't care.

There's a lot of factors that led us to this point, but I'm going to narrow it down to what I think are the four biggest: An idolization of "intelligence" as a supreme moral good, a conflation of success with intelligence, a lack of personal responsibility for consequence, and a widespread sense of complacency.

To start off: I am a software developer working for LinkedIn, and I currently live with three other software developers: two of them work for Google, one works for Facebook. Our broader local social circle consists almost exclusively of developers, mostly Google but also Uber, Infer, Palantir, and the like. And while I can't claim this is a universal attitude amongst tech, at least amongst this group, everything is an optimization problem. Playing board games, especially euro games, is an excruciating process where they can take upwards of twenty minutes to take a single turn, taking the time to analyze decision trees and modeling other players strategies and decisions. But they also seem to be completely ignorant of board games as a social function. My roommate who optimizes most is, as a direct result, very good at board games. But when players act against him to prevent him from winning because he always wins if we don't stage intervention, he protests. When someone makes a move he's deemed suboptimal, and it ends up being a benefit to them over what he thought was optimal because he didn’t anticipate it, he still couches it in language of "the wrong choice" or "what they should have done".

Because this group values optimization, efficiency, and intellect above all else. Obviously, this has a lot of issues, as "intelligence" as a quality has a long and storied history of being used to denigrate others and justify oppression, despite it being, just as anything is, a collection of unrelated skills that people can have varying amounts of practice at, and in practice far less important than dedication and willingness to practice and learn. Intelligence, as the public regards it, seems to mean "skill at mathematics, logic, memory, and reading comprehension, as well as rate of skill acquisition in these areas". But when you treat it as a general marker of value, we start getting problems.

This ties into the next point: Tech regards success as a marker of intellect, and therefore a moral good. When Elon Musk joined Trump's advisory board, there were arguments about whether or not it was good or bad, if it was lending legitimacy to Trump and cozying up versus an attempt at harm minimization. Regardless, people protested and boycotted, and I saw a former classmate respond that we "mustn't shame the smartest people in the country". And that really stuck with me. Putting aside the Tesla, which is admittedly a massive advancement towards renewable energy vehicles, and the advisory board debate, Musk has made some intensely strange causes as his goals, such as brain uploading and other transhumanist causes, which some might argue shows a disregard for accessibility or practicality, while simultaneously disincentivizing those who work in the Tesla manufacturing plants from unionizing by attempting to placate them with frozen yogurt. He also claimed that the unions were an unjust tyrant over a powerless oppressed company by likening it to the tale of David and Goliath. Panem et circenses, indeed.

In short, there is much about Musk to criticize. To claim he should receive immunity from this criticism by virtue of intellect is concerning to say the least, but it's an idea that's present in the tech community at large, from the rationalists at LessWrong.org to the Effective Altruism movement, and on down to the people who, in complete seriousness, advocate for Silicon Valley to lead the world, with Elon Musk as CEO of the United States. The form differs, but the underlying idea remains the same: the best thing one can be is smart, and since we are successful, we are the smartest and therefore the best.

However, despite feeling responsible enough for the well-being of the world to oh-so-magnanimously offer to take the reins and save the common masses from themselves, tech has a consistent problem with personal accountability. Facebook was, and remains, a prime means of spreading misinformation. But it took massive outcry for them to cop to their complicity in this matter or to take action. And this manifests in so, so many ways. One of my roommates refuses to act as though the rising costs of living in the Bay Area are detrimental, claiming that the influx of tech into SF is harmless because "cities are made to house people" and "tech has buses to get employees to work, so that lower income workers are driven further away from work isn't a problem" (ignoring the historical and cultural issues at play in gentrification, a rising sense of entitlement, and the fact that most tech companies only offer such luxurious benefits to their salaried and full time employees, not the contractors or part time workers, a.k.a. the workers who make the least, have the most trouble securing consistent transportation to work, and are most necessary to the upkeep of the offices and the benefits they provide while receiving the least respect and compensation. But hey, at least the buses have WiFi so you can work while you commute!)

And that's not the worst example. An acquaintance, who has thankfully moved very, very far away, once attended our weekly board game nights. He was a software engineer for Facebook. For those unaware, ad revenue is the prime, and essentially only, stream of revenue for Facebook. As part of compensation, workers receive ad credits, to be used for ads on Facebook. And this acquaintance once had an idea. He convinced his fellows to pool their credits together, and with it, he purchased an advertisement with the following stipulation: This ad would be served to all women in the Bay Area within the age range of roughly 23-30 or so. The content of the ad was simply his picture and the phrase "Date <acquaintance's name>" (at least, as he related it to me. I thankfully never witnessed the ad directly).

Now, given the fact that tech is incredibly male dominated and hostile to women, one would think this ad is at best tone-deaf and at worst horrifying. And yet, he related this to me in candor, treating this all as a joke that had gone awry. When I raised the possibility that this was literally harassment, regardless of any potential joking intent, I was met with blank stares and an insistence that it was hilarious and not serious (of which I remain unconvinced). Granted, one of the women targeted by the ad was his ex-girlfriend, who lodged a complaint, and the acquaintance was subsequently fired for his conduct after a massive scandal about the potential issues regarding the invasiveness of targeted advertising and how it contributes to a culture of exclusion.

Just kidding! There was a single local story about it where he was kept anonymous and he got a slap on the wrist and a book deal about his experiences dating in Silicon Valley as a software engineer. The book can be purchased on Amazon and while I haven't read it, nothing about the title, description, or author bio implies to me that he is even remotely repentant, beyond a vague sense that his missteps are due to being *socially awkward, but in an endearing way* as opposed to, you know, actively curating and supporting a toxic environment for women.

And it might seem as though these examples are simply bad eggs, but they really aren't. They're just symptoms of an industry that looks at a lack of diversity and, rather than seriously examine why women don't stay in industry and how the culture they so take pride in is complicit, decide that obviously it's just that being programmers didn't occur to women, so we've just got to make programming seem fun and feminine, right? Just lean in, women! Just grit your teeth, prepare yourself for an unending nightmare of disrespect and abuse, and lean in! And that's not even remotely approaching the severe underrepresentation of black and Latinx people in tech.

But I digress.

Where does this aversion to responsibility come from? There are so many possibilities. But the one most unique to West Coast Tech is the corporate culture, or perhaps, the lack thereof. It's a land of man-buns, flip flops, and company t-shirts. My roommate owns a combination bottle opener and USB drive, proudly emblazoned with Facebook’s logo. The brogrammer is alive and thriving. And to be completely fair, this culture is actually something I quite like about working in tech (The casual part, not the acting like a college freshman part). That I may be frank in my discussions with my co-workers, swear profusely and use emojis in email, and casually discuss my mental health with the man three steps above me in the corporate hierarchy (and two below the top) is quite refreshing. But it has drawbacks.

I attended a college that required a minor in the humanities, and had as its mission statement to educate people in STEM who would understand the impact of their work on society. But so many people just viewed those requirements as an obstacle, or just took economics and got the takeaway of how to best impact markets. And most colleges don't even pay lip service to such a goal. So I worry that "casual" is code for "unwilling to examine potential harm caused by one's actions". That the culture is why harassment can be seen as "just a joke". Why anyone who feels unwelcome is just "too uptight". Why people can be reasonably othered and rejected in interviews because of "a lack of culture fit". And without a willingness to accept responsibility for the consequences of actions, nothing will change.

This ties into the final point: the complacency. Everyone in tech wants to be seen as changing the world. But I'm also privy to the conversations we have in private, and you know what we care about more? Compensation. Its pretty rare that someone I know will come home from work and express that hey, their company is working on something that will legitimately help so many people. More often, we have discussions about who has the better offices, or the best snacks, or the best free meals. I like to think I'm a kind person, but is that really true? I may profess to be aware, but I still own no fewer than ten garments with LinkedIn's logo on them. I still take full benefit of all of the compensation, including free breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and great insurance, and a free gym. I still just used my ludicrous paycheck to purchase a condo instead of anything magnanimous or truly worthwhile. And my fellows are much the same.

The irony that I wrote this entire essay, on company time, on a company device, because today is the Friday per month we get to devote to professional development and is discounted in work estimates because we are expected to do something other than our normal duties (read: not come to work) is not lost on me.

I touched earlier on the Effective Altruism movement, which is comprised primarily of tech and tech-adjacent workers. I remain somewhat critical of the movement, for a number of reasons. Firstly, there is a focus on its own impact while simultaneously continuing the trend of disavowing consequences. One of the most notorious discussions in Effective Altruist groups is the avoidance of a theoretical AI that could eliminate humanity. This conversation seems to be staying in the wheelhouse of safety of testing of AIs that don’t seem to be anywhere close to a reality, rather than more concrete examples of how tech reinforces power imbalances, like, say, advertising algorithms that reinforce racist stereotypes. The second criticism I have is that for many of the metrics used by EA to measure the effectiveness of charities are purely monetary: how much of what goes in goes back out. This ignores other factors, such as raising awareness, operational costs at various sizes and scales, and a question of how directly does money even translate into benefit? The good done per dollar is not considered, merely dollar preservation from donor to donee. Furthermore, that the natural extension of Effective Altruism is that, in order to be a good person, the best thing one can do is obtain a high paying job (such as one in tech) and donate money, rather than donate time by volunteering, strikes me as convenient justification rather than honest analysis.

This excellent article (which by and large inspired this one) touches on many of these issues, but I would like to highlight one statement in particular: “Solving these problems is hard, and made harder by the fact that the real fixes for longevity don’t have the glamour of digitally enabled immortality.” As Emily Dreyfuss points out, Silicon Valley has very little interest in actually bringing about progress. Silicon Valley is trying to sell you on the idea of progress. They want to peddle you a “The Jetsons”-style future, but instead of the post-scarcity society that has mastered space travel, they want you to buy Rosie the Robot Maid. Helpful? Sure. Revolutionary? Hardly.

It's perhaps unrealistic to expect tech to actually do the hard, thankless work to improve the world, but it's certainly not unfair to expect them to at least be honest. LinkedIn is more benign than most tech companies: it is, for all intents and purposes, a resume book masquerading as a social network. The adage goes that "if you're not the customer, you're the product" and that rings true in tech. In exchange for use of the site, people surrender their information to the company to be sold as potential customers to advertisers. At least with LinkedIn, that's the expectation and goal. People give LinkedIn their resume and employment information and LinkedIn, in turn, lets recruiters look for leads. But the users more or less expect and want this, because they joined for the express purpose of finding job opportunities. But that this is benign doesn't mean it is revolutionary or radical. It remains only useful to white collar employees. Blue collar workers have no use for LinkedIn, and we can hardly claim to be changing the world of employment when the people who need us most can't benefit from the services we offer.

Could I go and find a company that does nobler work, or enter academia to advance at least the collective knowledge of humanity in some way? Sure. Will I? No. I am selfish, and don't want to give up my cushy job, and cushy benefits. And I'm not the only one.

The most interesting thing to me about the Juicero debacle is how with even the slightest forethought, they could have actually done something impressive. Consider the As-Sold-On-TV devices you see sold: I mean, who really needs a one-handed spaghetti twirler, right? Well, people with motor control issues or disabilities, is who. People who struggle with tasks most consider trivial. But people don't care about that, they care about what can be marketed, so we instead act as though the world is simply excessively clumsy and hope that someone who really needs that extra help sees it.

So, consider the Juicero bag. Reporters have noted, laughingly, jokingly, that the bag is exceedingly easy to squeeze and thus remove juice from. It's so simple, it requires hardly any effort! Someone went through the process of designing a bag, meant to be able to dispense its contents far more easily than other bags, as well as a device to automate the squeezing. Now I don't have motor control issues or disabilities, but I'm willing to bet: someone who does? Or who can't easily get, say, orange juice cartons from the fridge, open the top, lift the heavy, irregular object at just such an angle in just such a location for just such a time, all to get themselves a cup of juice? Yeah, I bet someone, somewhere, saw this and thought, finally, I can actually get myself milk without needing help or preparation.

And Juicero made this device, slapped an internet connection, QR Codes and a $400 price tag onto it, and marketed it as being the future of juice, vulnerabilities and use cases be damned. And I want to scream.

Because in the end, they cared more about being successful than being helpful.

Unfortunately, identifying the issues is one problem, addressing them is another. I'm not sure how to even begin tackling these. But we have to. People in tech, myself included, need to take responsibility for our culture and creations. We have a moral duty to do better. To be better. The internet is, at its core, a wonderful tool for accessibility of information. But like all tools, it can and is misused, and we're the ones who let it happen. We need to fix this.

#ramblings of a gay man #long post #tech #silicon valley

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unicornforcewinds · 7 years

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WAM: Chapters 1 & 2

Just went through and edited this fic, so am reposting.

The Wolf and the Mermaid: Solas is a forensic financial investigator, and Lavellan is a mermaid performer with a mysterious past. Fluff, Smut, Angst, and lots of Drama. Solas POV.

Entire fic on AO3.

Chapter 1: Kieran’s Birthday

Driving was normally relaxing, when for leisure or because you were heading toward a pleasant destination. Today, every remaining mile seemed to stretch on for an eternity, a pit of dread in his stomach growing tighter and larger as he drew closer to his destination. It would normally have been nice to escape the city and enjoy the mountain air, and it certainly would have been if he was not diving head first into a den of hungry wyvern.

Morrigan had apparently hired a mermaid of all things. That was so quintessentially her style – over the top and ridiculous. He would begrudgingly admit to a modicum of idle curiosity, but was fully prepared to be underwhelmed. The whole affair had devolved into something preposterously extravagant, especially by the standards of a party for children. Why did he even need to be there? They were, after all, only related by technicality.

Kieran was an undeniably remarkable child, but what did that matter? He was nearing forty and had no children; so his going made no sense, but Mythal had made declining the invitation impossible. Seeing his family, if it was indeed appropriate to refer to them as such, was not agreeable under the best of circumstances. Standing beside a pool bustling with noisy children and in very real danger of having his Antivan shoes ruined was not what he would consider the best of circumstances.

It could’ve been worse, he thought, since he had been mostly left alone… but of course, that was when Morrigan decided it was necessary to swoop in and harass him.

“Enjoying yourself, are we cousin?” Her smirk was positively feral.

He would not take the bait, replying deadpan, “I cannot fathom a more pleasurable way to spend an afternoon.”

“Tis a pity we’ve pulled you out of your solitary reverie and forced you to be around people, in the outdoors.”

“My dear Morrigan, I have nothing whatsoever against the outdoors, even when accompanied by the potent aroma of chlorinated water.”

“Not to mention what would happen if it got on your shoes.”

She winked at him, actually winked! Her gall was unnerving, and he was about to make a retort of his own when the elusive mermaid made her appearance. It was… a startling sight – she was all glowing skin, long, cascading hair, and a glittering tail . While she would have been a striking picture on her own, she happened also to be carried by a hulking, one-eyed qunari . The whole of the spectacle left him quite without words.

Morrigan had, at some point, scampered away, and it wasn’t until her eyes met his for the briefest of moments that he realized he was staring, barely breathing. How was this possible? She couldn’t be a real mermaid, of course, but she certainly was extraordinary, if not legitimately magical. As everyone else became aware of her entrance and took in the sight of her, everything fell silent – people stopped talking and children stopped playing – all anyone could do was stare in awe. Even Morrigan was impressed, though she’d never admit it. If they had ventured to guess what a mermaid performer might look like, she had clearly defied expectation.

When the pair approached the side of pool, the qunari knelt down and gently deposited his cargo on the marble edge, her tail going underneath the water up to about where her knees would be. From this perch, she looked like a queen surveying her kingdom, and she might as well have been, for the way everyone reacted to her.

“Well hello my darling little ones!” She cooed and waved to the children, “My name is Lyna, and I’ve traveled from across the Waking Sea in hopes that a very special boy will let me spend his birthday with him. What do you say Kieran, would you like to swim with me?” While speaking, she had been making dramatic, sweeping gestures with her arms that should’ve looked absurd, but were somehow enchanting… it was a marvel. She was a marvel.

Kieran waded forward curiously and tilted his head sideways, examining the strange woman before him. “Why do you have a tail?”

She giggled, and Solas had determined that he was in fact losing his mind.

“Well my dear, it’s much easier to swim with fins than with feet!”

“Hmm,” He responded, thoughtfully, “Then I think I would like to have a tail.”

She lifted herself off the edge, and eased into the water, swimming towards him. “And perhaps one day you shall!” She smiled and gave him a little splash, before darting into the water and swimming towards the increasingly excited group of children at the other end.

He was watching, almost in a daze, and it was only a matter of time before Morrigan picked up on his piqued interest and felt behooved to antagonize him. Sooner, rather than later, as was usually the case. A self-fulfilling prophecy that thought had been, as that was exactly when she chose to appear.

“It appears as though you’re enjoying the party after all, cousin. ”

“Did I not already say I could think of nothing more pleasurable?”

“Hmm. Well, I for one cannot wait to see the look on Andruil’s face when she hears you’ve been gaping at the help.”

He looked her in the eyes and she was beaming at him, so certain she’d gained some kind of upper hand. Of all the conniving, underhanded… but she had an Achilles heel.

“Were you not so busy surveilling me, you might’ve noticed how taken Kieran is with the help . One would be inclined to think, that as his adoring mother, you would take no course of action that might lead to upsetting him.”

And there it was, that glimmer of feline satisfaction turned instantly into a scowl. He could not say he wasn’t enjoying himself; that was a first.

The party went on in relative peace until it was time to eat; Solas had even managed to reply to three work emails. The illogical distraction that was the mermaid , Lyna she had said, had proven to be troubling but not altogether unwelcome. It was unlike him and also alarming to be so… mesmerized… no, he was just caught off guard, that’s all. Even so, it had made the time pass quickly and he’d never disliked his family’s company less, and that was certainly something .

Kieran had decided that he wanted to eat in the pool, with Lyna, and everything had begun to quickly unravel. Where relative calm had reigned for the past two hours, utter chaos was quickly erupting. Solas squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose, suddenly remembering why he had been so reluctant to come in the first place.

Because things certainly had not escalated enough, the mermaid-carrying qunari was approaching – not them, but walking straight towards him. He cleared his throat before speaking.

“You seem like a reasonable person,” here he glanced sidelong at the gaggle of bickering people to the left, “Boss is already ten minutes past her contractually obligated break, and I’m sure I don’t need to tell you the problems that come with defaulting on a contract…”

Of course, because of course. He heaved a sigh and rolled his shoulders in an effort to release some of the tension. At this point he no longer cared that his shoes were destined to be ruined.

“Yes, I understand. Thank you for your patience.”

He walked towards the pool, crouched down and used his most authoritative voice, “Kieran, I understand that today is your birthday and you want to have your way, but your friend Lyna,” here he avoided looking at her because that could only cause trouble, “needs to take a short break. After you’ve eaten your dinner, she can help you open your presents.”

Kieran frowned, but his face showed that he was considering.

“And if you decide that you will not behave, Lyna will have to leave early and you will have to open your presents alone.”

Kieran’s mouth dropped open. It appeared he had chosen the right approach, and it left him feeling oddly self-satisfied.

“Alright,” he reluctantly agreed, and Solas reached down to pull him out of the water, getting his clothes much wetter than he’d have liked. The day was turning out better and better…

As soon as the kids had begun climbing out of the pool, Lyna pulled herself up and the qunari knelt down to lift her. When he stood up, mermaid across his chest, she was at eye level and she looked directly at him.

“Thanks for that,” she smiled, winking.

She wore contact lenses, over-sized and purple. Why was he so curious of how she looked without them? As the pair made for the guest house, which had apparently been their designated staging area, he chided himself sternly. Wondering who she was and how she looked when she wasn’t dressed as a magical creature was foolhardy, but he found the thought irresistible still.

Crazy, he had to be going crazy. Food would be good, or perhaps he should simply excuse himself and leave the party prematurely? Proximity would surely change things and that was definitely for the best, but what if he was required to diffuse another such situation? He needed to speak to Morrigan or Mythal, or someone with an ounce of sense and reason. In this family he was most assuredly wasting his time. With a weary sigh, he knew resolutely that it was going to be a very long day after all.

Before dinner, he decided to approach Sylaise, who was, sadly, his best option. While perhaps in short supply of altruism, she could, at least, be counted on for her diplomacy. He might’ve explained the situation himself, but he rather preferred that someone else handle it if possible; especially someone better liked by his family.

As a distant non-relative, he had already performed duties above and beyond what even they could expect of him. No, this was not something he need be further involved in. He ate his meal in the kitchen, where he could find peace - if only for a moment.

Shouting from the other room informed him that discussions regarding presents and contracts were fully underway. He could scarcely wait for the fun that awaited him once he was again pulled into the fray. Tense fingers were already rubbing the back of his neck when Mythal’s voice silenced everyone else’s.

“There is no reason you cannot act like rational adults.” He thought his eyes might roll out of their sockets, the hypocrisy was nearly hyperbolic. “We shall eat dinner like civilized people, the mermaid will help Kieran receive his presents, and when that is done, the party will wind down and everyone will leave. It is not so difficult to figure out!”

No, of course it wasn’t difficult to figure out. It’s just that they were all such blustering egomaniacs that they could never agree on or settle anything. At least the party was nearly over.

By some wild twist of fate, the present opening went almost smoothly. Kieran, who was sitting in Lyna’s lap, seemed more interested in her than in his gifts. That was no good to the attendees, who wanted it known that their gift was the best received. She had to be exhausted, Solas thought, but she took it all in stride – the companionable smile never leaving her face. If even his patience was being tested, it spoke volumes of her restraint.

His own offering was a hand-bound, antique journal, perhaps not entirely appropriate. He almost thought he saw Lyna look at him curiously for just a moment, but it was far more likely he’d just imagined it.

Solas decided that he’d wait to leave until she had been spirited safely away. Mythal had suggested he stay the night, but that was completely out of the question. No, the long drive back to his empty apartment was infinitely more pleasant than remaining in current company. Besides, driving always cleared his head, and that was something he definitely needed.

It didn’t work though, and when he got home, took a hot shower and changed, sleep did not come easily. This was unfamiliar and uncomfortable territory to say the least. He hoped that tomorrow would see things returning to normal.

Chapter 2: Dorian’s Soiree

Three months was not enough time to recover between parties. It wasn’t as though there was some kind of intrigue to observe or engage in. He would have been eager to attend if it would in some way appeal to him or further his interests, but this was nothing more than a social gathering. An overabundance of heavily intoxicated people moving haphazardly to very loud noise that passed itself off as music - it was not something he looked forward to.

Dorian and he were… friends, so to speak, but he really needn’t be there to prove that. It wasn’t even a celebration marking some kind of important occasion. Did Dorian hate him? It might be time to start seriously rethinking his interpersonal relationships. Maybe he should just get a cat. Anders was constantly raving about them. But then there would be shedding, and possibly vomit, and he decided that a cat was a terrible idea.

He was arguing with himself and scrutinizing the wall clock when his phone rang. It was Dorian; he sighed before picking up and didn’t bother to say anything.

“…Hello? Solas, I know you’re there.”

A pause.

“You’ve caught me at a bad time, was there something you needed?”

“The only bad time you’re having is trying to come up with a reason you think I’ll believe for not coming to my party. Save us both the trouble and just say you’re going to be there.”

“I would really rather not.”

“I didn’t ask what you’d rather. I put up with you and one of your contractual obligations as my friend is showing up when I throw a party.”

Just hearing the word contract reminded him of Lyna… what was wrong with his brain? It had been three months, but the memory was still so sharp.

“Solas, I know you have no prior engagements and the only thing you have to do tonight is stay at home and read or watch Netflix. Even you have to crave excitement sometimes!”

That was untrue, he did things, many sorts of things! Yes, he read a lot and he liked documentaries, but he also painted and did work and… other things. He sighed. Lately, one of those other things was finding himself caught up thinking of a mermaid he should’ve very much forgotten by now. Maybe some kind of distraction was in order.

“Have you gotten so old that age has addled your brain? Earth to Solas! We’re having a conversation here, do try to keep up.”

Another sigh. “Very well, I will be there.”

“Perfect! I knew you’d see reason. You have the address? You know what, I’ll just text it to you, again. That way you can’t say you forgot or lost it. I’ll see you at 9!”

He closed the phone and rubbed his eyes. Maybe he was getting too old for this.

The closest spot where he could park was about half a mile away, and he could already hear the party before even reaching the doors. It was certainly not a good sign. Actually walking inside was no less than an assault on his senses. He definitely needed some very strong tea, but they were unlikely to have that here, so he’d settle for a double of vodka – top shelf, of course.

Dorian approached him as he took a seat at the bar.

“You know, I take back all the bad things I said about your bald head. When the light hits it right, it bounces off and I can see you from anywhere in the room! Just imagine, if you had hair I might not have found you.”

Solas downed his shot before answering, not bothering to turn his head.

“That would, most certainly, have been a great disappointment.”

“Don’t be so dour! This is a party, afterall. I know you’re out past your bedtime, but even you must be capable of having fun once in a while.”

He might need another shot.

“Besides,” continued Dorian, “I’ve managed to arrange some truly one of a kind entertainment, something that even you might be interested in. I’ve hired a mermaid to perform dur—

Solas sharply spun on his stool to stare at him, eyes wide. The sudden movement and expression had been enough to make the human stop talking, and that was impressive, since he loved the sound of his own voice.

“… Are you… alright?”

He offered no response, just staring at him, unblinking. It was apparently making him feel a bit uncomfortable, as he started to fidget.

Eventually the right wires crossed in Solas’ brain and he turned back to the bar, ordering another double.

“Mermaid got your tongue or something?” He did have to admit that was rather on the nose. “You know, I really went through a lot of trouble to get her, and then I’ve been dealing with her brute of an attendant. I think he was actually hitting on me! Can you imagine? As though I would go for some insolent lughead… Are you even listening to me?”

He downed the shot.

“Not really.”

“One mermaid in all of Orlais, highly sought after and always booked solid, and I manage to get her for my party. Most people would ooh and ahh and be impressed and clamoring to see the mermaid but not you, oh no. Dowdy, boring Solas doesn’t get excited about anything besides work and dusty old books written by dead people.”

That was dramatic, even by Dorian’s standards, which frankly, said a lot. He was of a mind to tell him so when they were interrupted by a large hand cutting between them and smacking the counter. Immediately they both turned, necks lifting upwards to lay eyes on a familiar qunari. Dorian’s posture instantly tensed. He couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle at that.

“I’ll take the strongest drink you have, and cranberry juice ,” he shook his horned head at the last part. “And another round for my friend.” He waggled his eyebrow and inclined his head towards Dorian.

To this, the human scoffed, but it made the qunari smile. When he turned his head to Solas, his eye narrowed slightly for a split second.

“I remember you. Mr. Reasonable, right? Surprised to see you here, it doesn’t seem like your kind of place.”

“It isn’t.”

He would not have liked the place on its own merits, but being in the same place as her was another matter entirely. Part of him wanted to leave and part of him wanted to immediately seek her out. It could not be healthy to be so at odds with oneself.

“Don’t you have some work you should be doing?” Dorian offered snarkily.

“Oh, a gig like this, there’s really not much to do.”

“Isn’t there some line in your contract preventing you from harassing your client?”

“I can’t be sure. Maybe we should go over it together. How ‘bout right now? There’s an empty office upstairs.”

Dorian started choking on his wine. It was a good sign that Solas should be finding somewhere else to be, like home. As he started to stand, he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

“Since you’re getting up, and you’re not enjoying yourself anyway, why don’t you take this juice to the sea maiden?”

Now he was the one choking, and he began to shake his head when the glass was thrust into his hand. He spared a second to look at Dorian whose face was contorted in disgust. He did not appear to be in genuine distress, so it looked like he was going to have to face her after all.

“Hey, Reasonable,” the qunari was addressing him again it seemed. “The guy working security for the door backstage is Krem. Tell him Bull sent you.”

Before Solas had a chance to nod in response, Bull had already turned back to Dorian. No escape now, he thought, and sighed heavily as he made his way through the crowd of people and toward the back wall. The stage curtain was down, which was a relief, because then at least he would not be caught up in staring.

“Sorry sir, no guests backstage.” The security guard, Krem, informed him as he got close to the door.

He paused, feeling positively ridiculous, and gestured toward the glass.

“Bull sent me.” It sounded as awkward as it felt.

“Ah, should’ve said so. Go right on through.”

He inclined his head as a form of response and walked inside. It appeared to be some kind of large storage and staging area, for whatever acts performed here. Having never been before, he could only venture to guess, but he assumed there was lots of loud noise involved. He was walking forward slowly, observing the surroundings when a voice startled him, her voice .

“Well you’re certainly not Bull.”

She was smiling at him, perched on a platform atop what looked to be a large aquarium.

He cleared his throat, “No indeed, I…” he trailed off. Why was it so hard to talk when she was looking at him? The silence continued uncomfortably until she decided to break it.

“But you’ve brought me juice it looks like? I’ve been dying for something to drink.”

“Something one might think odd for a mermaid to be in want of.”

She let out a small laugh, and he smiled despite himself.

“Well, I could drink tank water, if I was really desperate, but nothing short of dying would compel me to do that.”

He chuckled, surprising himself. She was truly spectacular.

“So, are you going to bring me the juice, or do I have to flop over and get it?”

She was teasing him, and it made his chest tighten.

“My apologies.” He inclined his head and climbed the stairs, bringing them much too close.

“You’re an odd one, you know,” she said, taking the drink.

He gulped. She was wearing large, teal lenses tonight. Her hand brushed his when she took the glass.

“It is not the first time I’ve been called something to that effect.”

Her gaze seemed to be piercing right through his heart, and he felt out of breath.

“You look like this is the last place you want to be, but here you are, coming to my rescue for the second time.”

She smiled at him and winked. She… she remembered him? He remembered her of course, she was not the kind of person anyone was likely to forget, but she had remembered him ?

“You give me more credit than I am due.”

“Or perhaps you just undersell yourself.”

He did not know what to make of that, except that he felt as though someone had lit him on fire. He was also staring full on at her, too shocked to be self-conscious. She looked away minutely, but then back into his eyes.

Her drink was empty now and she was extending the glass to him. When had she had finished it? He had not even noticed.

“I hope you enjoy the show.” Her parting words, he supposed.

“I am certain that I will, Lyna.”

He started to turn around, but she interrupted him.

“Ellana.”

“What?” he turned suddenly, facing her again.

“My name, it’s Ellana. Lyna is just my stage name.”

“I, Ellana, it is… beautiful.”

She laughed, more fully this time, hand covering her mouth.

“Thanks, but don’t go spreading it around. I wouldn’t want my secret identity getting out!”

He bowed at the waist.

“You have my word.”

He was almost to the door when she called out to him.

“I didn’t catch yours. Your name, I mean.”

“Solas, my name is Solas.”

“Goodnight, Solas.” She gave him a small wave before dropping into the water.

“Goodnight,” he whispered back, knowing she wouldn’t hear him.

-----

He sat himself at a vacant table near the stage. Thankfully, most people were preoccupied with dancing, so there was room. The house music tapered off, and what he assumed was the performance music started low and was quickly building. He would normally have considered it too heavy for his tastes, but when the curtain rose and the show began, he decided that it fit perfectly.

There were gasps and applause and even raucous hooting. She seemed to possess some innately bewitching quality that had everyone beguiled. He felt as though she was performing solely for him, and his mind flashed for the briefest second to the image of her on his bed… but no, that was highly inappropriate, not to mention disrespectful. She wasn’t performing for him or any other specific person here, he didn’t think. No, if anything, it was most likely that she was performing for herself alone.

“Can I get you something, doll?”

He hadn’t even noticed the waitress walk up, until she cleared her throat at him.

“Yes. I’ll have a vodka, with cranberry.”

What? So he had a sudden taste for cranberry. It signified nothing.

When there was suddenly a drink before him, he averted his eyes briefly and caught the bright smile of the waitress. He tipped 25%, he was feeling gracious.

“My thanks,” he said, lifting the drink to her.

“Any time, love.”

He sipped his drink slowly, his eyes glued to Ellana. Her movements were graceful, effortless, but with an almost predatory edge, like she was seducing the audience in attempt to ensnare them. Were it the case, he was not the evening’s only successful conquest.

At some point, Dorian had joined him, and even distracted as he was, Solas couldn’t help noticing that he appeared the slightest bit disheveled. He might have made an issue of it, but at this moment, it didn’t particularly interest him.

The show seemed to go on forever and yet ended far too soon. When the music died off and the curtain fell, it was almost painful. Just the sight of her set him ablaze; the loss snuffed the flame out like a bucket of ice water. He couldn’t explain it; was not the least bit comfortable with it, but it felt amazing . How long had it been since he smiled the way he was tonight? He had been content in his routine and was unaccustomed to change, but suddenly it had become very appealing.

Reluctantly he got up to leave, stopped by Dorian scoffing.

“That’s it?!”

He lifted his eyebrows, indicating his confusion.

“You leave me with that b rute , run off to do Andraste knows what, and then I find you with your eyes searing holes in my mermaid, without so much as a Hi Dorian, great party, I’m having ever so much fun .”

“It seems you found ways to sufficiently occupy your time in my absence.”

If Dorian was going to behave like a brat, Solas was not going to let him get away with it.

“You,” he coughed, clearing his throat, “I am not nearly drunk enough for this conversation.”

“Engrossed as I was, I did manage to notice the rather significant look our qunari friend gave you as he left.”

Was he blushing? He certainly looked flustered, but Solas could not let him off so easily.

“It was remiss of me to abandon you, especially when I was conscripted into service, but it seems your evening was far more eventful than mine.”

“Fine, fine! I yield. You’re an ass, Solas.”

“Perhaps.” Definitely, he thought.

“And you thought you wouldn’t have any fun.”

Dorian smirked at him, winking. He stood up, inclined his head, and left.

That night, he fell asleep thinking of Ellana - inside and out of the water. It was foolish, he knew, but he didn’t care.

#solavellan #solas x inquisitor #solas x lavellan #solavellan fanfiction #solavellen hell #solas #mermaid au #uni writes

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andythomas684-blog · 4 years

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List of blunders for hikers

Careless hikers are more likely to tumble off a cliff, poke a diamondback rattler, and otherwise get themselves in trouble’s way. And frankly, our nation needs more outdoorsy people, not less.

So Backpacker asked me, the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Backpacking and Hiking, to answer all of your camping, hiking, cooking, training, you-name-it questions. I’m no gonzo, Everest-scaling, bear-wrestling hardman, but I’ve hiked enough miles to recognize which mistakes first-timers tend to make. Let's count 'em off:

1. Wearing denim like Johnny Depp on 21 Jump Street

News flash: Denim is cotton, so wearing jeans (and jean jackets for that matter, Mr. Depp) is a poor choice for any hike, especially in rainy or cold weather. That’s because cotton retains moisture instead of wicking it away like wool and polyester fabrics. Once cotton gets wet, it takes a long time to dry out; that moisture on your skin siphons away body heat through convection, leaving you shivering in your boots, and more susceptible to hypothermia (hence the aphorism “cotton kills”). Jeans are the worst of all cottons because they can ice up in below-freezing weather. I learned this lesson on my first hike with the Appalachian Mountain Club in New Hampshire, and I’ve remained cotton-free ever since, except on short summer hikes where getting chilled isn’t a danger. So the next time you see hikers wearing blue jeans, remind them that the 1980s are over and that Johnny Depp now prefers tri-corner hats and eye-liner. Related Articles : https://www.hikingbay.com

2. Buying your tent or sleeping bag at Wal-Mart

Sam Walton was an Eagle Scout, but he didn’t become America’s richest man selling top-quality camping and hiking gear at discount prices. Yes, Wal-Mart does sell an Ozark Trails sleeping bag for $10, but I wouldn’t use it on a real Ozark Trail. It's fine to buy your beef jerky, trail mix ingredients, and propane canisters at big-box retail stores, but trust specialty outdoor stores and reliable brands for the gear that matters most, like footwear, raingear, sleeping bags, and tents.

3. Hiking a trail with a road map

Not all dotted lines are made equal. Thus, the map that helps you find the trailhead parking lot won’t help you navigate a trail. Hyper-detailed USGS topographical maps (called “quads”) are the gold standard for backcountry navigation, but they are often overkill for popular and well-marked trails. Much easier to acquire and use are designated trail maps that include topographical features like rivers, ridges, and peaks, as well as key info like hiking mileage and trailheads. Book stores and visitor centers often stock maps and guidebooks for local trails, while National Geographic’s Trails Illustrated series is great for U.S. recreation hot spots from Acadia to Zion. And don’t forget Backpacker.com’s new Print & Go weekend planners, which include gear checklists, driving directions, and waypoints for dozens of popular hike what to wear on a hike and still look cute https://www.hikingbay.com/what-to-wear-on-a-hike-and-still-look-cute

4. Packing a first aid kit as if you’re landing on Omaha Beach

Morphine? Check. Gauze bandages? Check. M1 rifle? What? Most novice hikers either forget to bring a first-aid kit, or pack an entire pharmacy. Neither represents the right approach. You should bring a first-aid kit appropriate for the length of your trip, the size of your group (along with any individual medical needs), and your medical knowledge. The last one is important: If you don’t know how to use a first-aid item—like a suture kit—you probably shouldn’t be carrying it. Packing obscure supplies you’ll probably never use in place of additional bandages and painkillers doesn’t make sense. Basic first-aid essentials for most outings should be: adhesive bandages (various sizes), medical or duct tape, moleskin, sterile gauze, ibuprofen, Benadryl, antibiotic ointment, and alcohol wipes.

5. Being overhead saying, “Lightning can’t strike me—I’m not carrying anything metallic.”

If you think lightning only strikes metal objects, ruminate on this ancient Chinese proverb: “The tallest blade of grass is the first to be cut by the scythe.” Then substitute “knuckleheaded hiker” for the tall grass and “zapped by 100 million volts of electric juice” for the scythe, and you’ve got Professor Hike’s updated proverb on why you absolutely need to descend from exposed peaks and ridgelines when an afternoon thunderstorm is brewing. Lightning is attracted to tall, isolated objects, which could be anything from a clueless hiker standing on a summit to a lone tree. And even if you're not touching that lone tree, the lightning might strike the ground right next to it, or the ground current may surge up you. Secondary strikes can be just as deadly. What's more, lightning can strike targets up to 10 miles from the center of a storm. Trust me on that; I’ve got a few hair-raising tales from New Mexico to prove it. Instead, get into a forest or the low point of rolling hills, a ravine, or a gully. lattcure outfitters sleeping bag https://www.hikingbay.com/finding-the-best-lightweight-sleeping-bag-for-hiking

6. Going ultra-light without ultra-experience

A regular backpacker going ultra-light is like a vegetarian becoming a vegan—it takes time to dial down a new, safe system. Definitions vary, but ultra-light hiking generally means having a base pack weight (your gear minus food and water) of 10 to 12 pounds. The advantage, of course, is that you have less weight to schlep, but your safety net also shrinks: You have fewer backup provisions (food, fuel, warm clothes) if things go wrong, like you fall in a river or rodents steal your food. The more backcountry experience you have, the more safely you can go ultra-light simply because you’re better equipped with skills to, one, avoid such mishaps and, two, improvise if they do occur. However, even expert mountaineers can pay the ultralight price. Think of Joe Simpson of Touching the Void fame: During his and his partner’s ascent of Siula Grande in the Andes, bad weather prolonged their climb, causing them to run out of fuel for melting snow for water—something that later would contribute to Simpson’s fall into a crevasse. That’s why ultra-light hiking should be a gradual goal and not a first-time objective. Reducing pack weight is a skill you hone after much experimentation. So how much weight should you carry on a typical day-hike? Is it 10, 15, or 20 pounds? It all depends on the circumstances. If you’re hiking a dozen miles alone on a mellow trail, you can carry a sub-10 pound load of water, snacks, rain gear, headlamp, and the always essential map, compass or GPS. But if the trail is unfamiliar, tricky, or remote, and you’re hiking in a larger group, you might want to add a small first-aid kit, warm clothing, and extra water and food that pushes your weight north of 15 pounds. That’s because carrying more gear—along with the skills to use it—is your best strategy to reduce risk.

7. Wearing boots fresh from the box

I’m not a fan of hiking proverbs, but there’s one that I consider gospel: “If your feet are happy, the rest of you is happy.” I wised up to that fact on a 95-mile trek (Scotland’s bonny West Highland Way) that I began with stiff leather boots I hadn’t worn in eons. Those boots shredded my feet on the first day out, and I spent the next week limping up and down Scotland’s green hills. Trust me, neither you nor your feet will by happy if you begin a big trip with untested shoes or boots. Starting weeks ahead of time, you need to break them in while mowing the lawn, walking the dog, or running errands around town. Trail shoes, which perform more like athletic footwear, conform quickly to your feet, while taller, rigid boots require more break-in time. Wear recently purchased shoes indoors at first, since most outdoor stores have return policies that exclude those worn outside. If your feet hurt or develop hotspots or blisters, apply bandages, experiment with different socks, and keep at it. Remember also that most people’s feet swell a half size or more by the afternoon.

8. Starting too late in the day

Showing up an hour late for a 7 p.m. dinner reservation is bad manners. But starting at 2 p.m. a hike that you intended to begin at 10 a.m. is bad news. Unless you want your 15 minutes of fame on the CNN ticker (“Clueless Hikers Survive Freezing Nights in Wilderness”), it’s best to start on time, or shorten your route. I learned this lesson the hard way on a 10-mile hike in New Hampshire that began four hours late, included a few frustrating wrong turns, and ended at the trailhead parking lot just before midnight.

Besides an early start, how fast you move matters, too. An athletic adult hikes at 3 mph, but that rate drops to 2 or even 1 mph when you factor in rough terrain, elevation changes, and rest breaks. Groups always move slower than individuals, and a snail on crutches will beat families with toddlers. If you find yourself starting later than anticipated, check your map for shorter routes or a cut-off trail to reach your destination before sunset. If you find yourself falling behind, avoid the lure of cross-country shortcuts, and instead keep moving, watch the time, and be prepared to finish using headlamps, which you packed for just such an occasion.

9. Ignoring the weather forecast

A little rain isn’t a reason to cancel a hike. That’s why we have Gore-Tex boots and waterproof jackets, right? But even the best equipment can’t provide 100 percent protection from the soggy remnants of a hurricane or an Arctic-born blizzard. So before every trip, I review the website www.noaa.gov, which uses a Google Maps interface to generate five-day forecasts for precisely where I’ll be hiking. These results are far more accurate than the traditional forecasts for the nearest town, which could be miles away and thousands of feet lower than a trail. Plus, you can read the “Forecast Discussion,” which is like eavesdropping on local meteorologists during their coffee breaks. Thanks to a NOAA forecast, I knew ahead of time that a powerful thunderstorm would crash a recent backpacking trip in the middle of the night. So I minimized the danger by picking a sheltered campsite, pitching my tent away from lone trees and dangling branches, and tightening the guy-lines for my rain-fly. Sure enough, I awoke at 1 a.m. to witness a ferocious—but mostly harmless—atmospheric cannonade of light and sound. And by morning, as the forecast predicted, the skies were blasted clear. best winter hikes in washington https://www.hikingbay.com/10-best-winter-hikes-in-washington

10. Skimping on Leave No Trace

Litterbug? Not you. I bet you’re a committed recycler. Maybe you even wash and re-use zipper-lock bags. But on a camping trip, where do you dump the soapy water after washing dishes? Do you really strain out the food bits and scatter the “gray” water at least 200 feet from any lake, stream, or campsite? And do you use biodegradable soap? That’s what Leave No Trace (LNT) (www.lnt.org)—seven principles promoting ethical, low-impact outdoor recreation—advises you to do. It’s easy to practice LNT’s major rules: Carry out trash, keep away from wildlife, and minimize the impact of campfires. The finer points, however—like packing out toilet paper and building small fires—are harder to follow. But since Bambi doesn’t crap up your bedroom, you should extend the same courtesy. So here are Prof. Hike’s six tips to make the tough tenets of LNT more achievable:

• 200 feet equals 40 adult strides. • Use the rubber tip of a spatula to scrap leftover food from plates and bowls into your mouth. • Reduce odors by placing silica gel desiccates (those moisture-absorbing packets found in shoe boxes and other packages) into your trash bag, then double-bagging it. • Use dryer lint as natural fire tinder. • Carry versatile sanitary wipes instead of flimsy toilet paper. • Stop washing dishes, as veteran hiker Johnny Molloy advocates in this June 2007 Backpacker article.

OK, there you have it: my top 10 list of n00b blunders. Let us know what you would add to the list!

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supervillainproject · 5 years

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Here's a Quick Way to Solve Low Ranking

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It's furthermore important to realize that SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION is not the only method to show on top associated with search engines. Semantic Lookup: Further fortifying the value of this sort of articles creation strategy, as well since the SEO advantages it may translate into, it's essential in order to comprehend Google's recent focus upon something many known as semantic search.

is a Toronto structured social internet marketing agency, expert in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), social networking management, digital marketing plus online branding. The biggest SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION change and trend I discover already happening in 2018 will be Google's in order to the mobile-first index, so if the website is not yet mobile-friendly and optimized for it, is actually critical to prioritize this because it is now fundamental for the SEO success. Since we look ahead to SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION in 2018, discover our forecasts for what we should believe will be one of Google's biggest years yet for lookup. Keyword research is 1 of the first things trained to beginners learning SEO plus is still very effective in order to this day. Google already announced that these people are experimenting with mobile-first indexing, which shows that it's a single of the most important SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION trends that they are severe about prioritizing. In addition to making content material available to search engines such as google, SEO also helps improve rankings to ensure that articles will be placed where people will more readily find this. The web is becoming significantly competitive, and those companies that perform SEO will have the decided advantage in visitors plus customers. A good SEO strategy in 2018 requirements to consider the way all of us consume visual content and just how search engines now go over and above text to explore the altering habits of search. As a matter of truth, the strength of any website is situated in the DA. Domain Specialist is SEOmozs calculated metric with regard to how well a given website is likely to rank looking results. An SEO expert can tell you this single modification may not improve your web page rankings or authority very very much, however it will get even more clicks. Off-page SEO very efficiently in marketing your business where social press, bookmarking sites, forums, blog directory site, Q&A, articles, videos, image plus infographic sharing, and document discussing play well. Even though AMP is not so very much a ranking signal for SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, you can imagine that AMP's, when properly utilised, provide the broader visibility. The white hat SEO methods are good for future-proof SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION results Meanwhile, black hat need to be avoided at all expenses as they strategies are the particular ones that Google and some other search engines are determined in order to root out. Which exercise reflects in SEO ranking. -2 - We ought to have realized Search engines will use engagement data intended for rankings, but they're not going to talk about it. They possess nothing to gain from getting open, and a reasonable education of risk if they request spammers and manipulators to imitate searchers and click for ranks (a practice that, sadly, offers popped up within the grey hat SEO world, will not really sometimes, unfortunately, work). Marketing and SEO experts like as Bill Slawski, Eric Enge, and Marcus Miller believe the particular chase for a featured little can become the focal point within 2018. SEO merely stands forSearch Engine Optimisation. He is passionate regarding online marketing technology and like to spend the valuable period to research and operate SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION operations Team. Carrying away technical SEO for local lookup engines is a similar procedure. Technical SEO involves producing sure everything behind the moments is set up for ideal rankings.

This totally changes black head wear SEO tactics to gain relevance for various searches by making pages that are individually designed for different keywords. S. S Please note that SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION techniques works on the vast majority of websites. SEO agencies offer solutions that change from writing next text messages to giving advice on the particular subject of the website, plus choosing the best directories which usually the website can be authorized at. A few unethical SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION agencies have given the market a bad name through intense marketing strategies and attempts upon gaining ranks in unfair methods. These 8 On-Page SEO methods are simply some of the particular ways to increase organic research traffic. Off page SEO signifies search engine that how the particular particular website is being recognized by other website and customers. Most associated with respondents gave thumbs up in order to Mobile SEO and AMP adopted by featured snippets and lengthy tail keywords. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION today is what it's often been: making sure your web site both ranks well and turns traffic. As an SEO, this particular means that you have in order to significantly raise your standards close to quality content and links within order to achieve top research engine rankings. Presently there are no shortcuts when this comes to SEO, regardless associated with what some unethical search motor optimization providers will tell a person. Content denseness could be the major requirement of natural SEO services High-quality content plus proper keyword stuffing in the website helps to grab the particular attention of the viewers plus enables the website to obtain the traffic easily. Therefore, it's about time you transformed the way you conceptualize that will SEO strategies for mobile lookups. 1- We know that backlinks with crawlers or programs, that not great for SEO and Much larger Search engines do not love it i actually mention to Fiverr Gig”. Running both PPC plus SEO campaigns side by aspect can improve the CTR associated with keywords and therefore we obtain organic traffic. While every single client has a different goal, the SEO ranking principles are the identical. In 2018, it's going in order to be increasingly important for SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION builders to incorporate longer-tailed key phrases into queries. On-page SEO is the marketing of the elements that can be found on your own website, which includes content, the code behind each page, visual elements and consumer experience. Only continuous updation of your website with the particular latest SEO techniques will help to raise it to the particular top most positions within the particular ranking. No matter how many up-dates Google gets released for SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION but without having a appropriate content for a website almost all these updated will be used up. That makes SEO an perfect leads generation tool, because when people follow links back to your own site, you have the possibility to convert them to potential clients, and later make sales. There's simply no question that focusing on your own business' SEO is critical intended for a successful marketing strategy. In the same time, SEOs may need to pay more interest to Long Tail Keywords. SEO Smart links enables you to specify a term, like 'SEO' and after that link this to a post on your own web site. SEO web design for that client's site is also the big influence in the rank of the site as properly as the popularity of the particular site to human browsers. Together with this new accepted company reality, there are many declaring they have the "secrets" in order to achieving Search Engine Optimization (SEO), when in reality it almost all comes down to making certain your web site is properly built, taken care of and promoted. In that will post, I broke down most the steps to do the full SEO website audit plus included a template for customers to download. Whenever these two are fully used, one will generate a much better user experience and improve the particular effectiveness of their SEO technique. Rank today has more related to significant and useful content than SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION voodoo link crazy linking strategies and spending your time upon keyword density and other specialized items.

Their own product categories often rank very first in search under keywords such as ‘weightlifting shoes. ' They concentrate primarily on on-site SEO. Some search engines have furthermore provided to the SEO market, and are frequent sponsors plus guests at SEO conferences, webchats, and seminars. Trying to find ranking movies last few weeks for key phrase like SEO Outsourcing” and Wp training London” and some SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION agency terms here. Because an SEO person, you should be actually fast at learning and presenting innovative tactics to stay forward in the competition, and making sure that your company appears upon the first page from the particular search engines is not because easy a job as it could appear. With all the particular talk in the SEO globe today about content and interpersonal signals it's easy to overlook just a little thing that will happens to be the basis of SEO: keyword research. I am together with you 100%, I think #0, AMP, video and all RankBrain stuff it's gonna make the particular main subjects in SEO (and marketing) for 2. 017.

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, while still search engine marketing, encompasses so much more procedures in 2018. Consumer experience has never been even more important to SEO. In this blog page post, I am going in order to share a few On-Page SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION techniques with you, that may be done completely through White colored Hat method. Meta descriptions have simply no impact on your WordPress SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION when it comes to ratings. But if a person engage in genuine conversation plus your site is helpful in order to users, you're on the correct track to boosting off-page SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION. With social videos producing 1200% more shares than textual content and images combined, according in order to WordStream, look for video posting to be a big SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION trend in 2018. It can exciting, but my mind-set regarding SEO has changed… I utilized to over-think it, trying in order to develop the right” variety associated with periods to utilize key keywords. I've been doing SEO for the last 5 years, and throughout those years, I've attempted to consume all the information about SEO which i could get my hands on. This blog post is all that information plus new ranking techniques that work in 2018, condensed. With more than 200 ranking factors in Google's search algorithm, SEO is right now a highly complex process. A SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION process may involve a web site's coding and structure, content plus copywriting, site presentation, as properly as fixing other issues that will will prevent search engines through indexing your company website. Just since Google and other search motors are using personalization more frequently in order to get more accurate search outcomes for their users, user customization has become more prevalent within SEO. The particular need to learn about brand-new entrants like Siri, Alexa, Fb, Linkedin, and specialist search motors (like, for example) will maintain SEOs on their toes with regard to years to come. It took me plenty associated with time to get ready for it, in order to conduct the research and therefore forth. It is very helpful to have the information upon how the very best professionals use SEO at hand. Affected sites along with poor onpage and offpage SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, and has a massive impact on location related search.

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